Posts Tagged ‘inkwest’

State of the [Dis]Union – What Now?

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Table of contents for State of the [Dis]Union

  1. State of the [Dis]Union.
  2. State of the [Dis]Union – That’s Life.
  3. State of the [Dis]Union – What Now?

Yeah, I know.

I should be ashamed of myself for not posting anything in months. As you may know I had originally set out to chronicle my effort to get into comics whether it was with the big boys or self-publishing. That’s still the plan but I’ve also had other aspirations that are vying for my attention such as a clothing line, Wear Wolf Apparel and a day gig as a designer. The economy being the way it is, makes it more difficult to focus on personal projects but I have done what I could where I could sacrificing things along the way.

So what have I learned?

The subject manner of this blog could use an adjustment to increase the likelihood of me making a post at least once a month. I believe moving it into a wider variety of pop culture & creativity could do the trick. I’m almost positive my take on movies and television will get a response or two. I may even chime in on music even though my taste in music sucks. I’ll also make an effort to keep you informed of all of my ventures and not just in the realm of comic books. What I’ll do to set myself apart is this, whenever possible, I will share my ideas & feelings as well as related articles about how we can be doing the things we love for ourselves rather than allowing the big studios to have all the fun and make all the profit. If it sounds cool, stay on board, I thank you in advance.

Speaking of comics…

A while ago I posted a form on this site, asking for people to join me on my comic project. Like the rest f the blog it had been set aside and nearly forgotten. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted via the contact form and was introduced to an artist, Gilbert Murillo and a writer Nicholas Titus, whom both are being patient with me as I try my best to alter my output to get them the materials they need. They deserve a shout out and more.

Did I mention you should be buying my stuff?

Well, you should. It’s not very often you’ll have the opportunity to meet a up and coming clothing designer. It’s also not very often that you can be the first to have a new brand before everyone else. So if you’re that type that needs it before everyone else, I have an item for sale, come make an order. If you are on Facebook, look me up and also join the Wear Wolf Apparel fanpage!

Wear Wolf Apparel on Facebook

This blog is still ugly.

I think I have a solution, so if you happen to visit and notice the site is acting weird, that’s probably me trying to install a new look. We’ll get it right, you’ll see.

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State of the [Dis]Union – That’s Life.

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Table of contents for State of the [Dis]Union

  1. State of the [Dis]Union.
  2. State of the [Dis]Union – That’s Life.
  3. State of the [Dis]Union – What Now?

The silent treatment.

Yes, the blog posts have come few & far between. Life is what happens in the time it takes to register what’s gone before your eyes and blink before asking “what just happened here?” The day job demanded my full attention and I obeyed out of fear that I’d be hungry, naked & in the dark. I’m going to have to remedy the dry spells though, as I feel there is so much more that could be happening with this blog.

Guest Bloggers?

The man idea I’ve been tossing around is searching for other artists and writers & multi-faceted creators to share opinions, observations & tips with us to help with the creative journey. I’m going to work twitter like a Tijuana hooker old rented mule well oiled machine to see if I can find a few brave suckers volunteers to help with the cause.

Speaking of life…

I wear a lot of hats. [Yes, I know I have a big head.] Not only am I doing graphic design by day but in my spare time I’m either practicing my writing or designing for my tee shirt line. Admittedly I’m also feeding my twitter addiction in hopes of attracting more folks to join in on the madness.  What I’d like to do is develop an active list of people who view this blog & use twitter so that we can develop a network associated with the subject matter of the blog as well as our other interests.

Which, in my case I’m looking for an artist or two wanting in on the t-shirt biz. I want to incorporate my designs with comic related art for something different.

This blog still sucks.

Information wise I guess it’s ok, but looks wise I’m still not happy. One of these days I’ll build it myself or at least have somebody I trust have a go. Untile then, yes, I know it sucks.

I need pictures.

What will also help it not suck is a bit of eye candy, I rarely have time to do any art work, so I’m asking my fellow creators out there to lend a hand. If you have some original work that can spruce up the looks of things around here and youw ant a little exposure, let’s make a deal, bktribals [at] inkwest.net.

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State of the [Dis]Union.

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Table of contents for State of the [Dis]Union

  1. State of the [Dis]Union.
  2. State of the [Dis]Union – That’s Life.
  3. State of the [Dis]Union – What Now?

First of all major apologies for the lack of updating in the past couple of weeks.

2009

With the beginning of the New Year, we have been busy trying to organize ourselves to focus upon bringing the best content available to fit your possible needs as a comic creator / enthusiast.  After some analysis [read: somebody brought it up and I looked and said, "oh you're right"], it’s been determined the site is rather bare when it comes to visuals.

In an effort to remedy that, the call is being put out for artists to share some of their work.

We would like to enhance the blog’s layout and make it as much of a home to artists as it is writers. To do that, we’ll need your help. This will also include volunteer opportunities with our in-house projects, perfect for those willing to put in time / elbow grease for rewards & recognition down the road.

So, What is INKWEST?

INKWEST is an acronym for Inspiration, Necessity, Knowledge, Wisdom, Effort, Strength, Talent – the ingredients necessary to get anything you’d like accomplished. It’s the name that was developed to represent the small  publishing imprint I had in mind a few years ago. That’s still the plan as I have begun the process of putting together my first graphic novel and I have decided to not only chronicle my journey but provide a resource to any and all interested in doing similar.

More readers & content by you.

We want to have the right content, we also want you to feel like this is your true resource to get a comic done. If you have some gems to share don’t sit on them! Write us up an article,  tell us what information you’ve learned or things to consider; if we like it, it’ll get posted, if you do enough of them and help us build a steady readership, you can become a regular.

While I’m on the subject, it’s quiet around here and I’d like to change that, if you’re lurking, don’t be afraid to speak up and of course, invite a few like minded friends along as well. Ask questions, that will help with bringing you the answers you want & need!

Feed back

Like what you see? Don’t like it? Tell us and if you have suggestions on how we can improve INKWEST, share!

If you [or anyone you know] are interested, drop us a line,  info [at] inkwest.net or leave a comment.

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Just do it! – Introducing a new article series.

Friday, December 12th, 2008

If you have been thinking about making a comic for yourself, allow me to give you a bit of advice.

JUST DO IT!

This message is for anyone at any level of skill but especially to those like me, that tend to second and third guess decisions especially when it comes to dreams and aspirations. Don’t let your mind override your heart in this instance, you have a story to share whether it’s serious or just meant to entertain, let it out.

With that said, there is one thing you should allow yourself to pause for consideration for, this issue is important and should not be set aside if you’re serious about taking the steps necessary to becoming a published comic creator.

Will I be able to dedicate myself to doing this right?

This is a red pill, blue pill sort of question.

The red pill leads to hours of study, lots of stops and starts and a quality product.

The blue pill leads to an on-the-fly sort of experience that hops, skips and jumps to different things at different times and may or may not lead to a quality product.

Both pills lead to something that may be fun, it’s all about how you’d like to spend your development time.

In this series I will break down the elements of the red pill scenario so that you can see in some sort of order how you could be going about building your comic, the blue pill scenario has the same elements, it just runs on the chaos rule: there are no rules.

In some instances these elements can be broken down further; I will try to do that when time permits.

For now, these are the topics I plan on touching over the next few weeks.

  • Story
  • Tools – Get Organized & Be Productive
  • World Building 1 Concepts, Reality & Scope
  • Audience
  • Characters
  • Style pt. 1 – Drawing Them In.
  • World Building 2 Location, Location, Location
  • Collaboration – Pros & Contracts
  • Format – How You Want To Share It
  • Style pt. 2 – A Panel Discussion
  • Protect What’s Yours
  • The Fine Print – Self Publishing
  • Promo 1 It’s Ok To Be A Tease
  • Promo 2 The Saturation Game
  • Promo 3 Outside of the box

In the meantime, start thinking about the sorts of things you want in your comic, write down notes as you get your ideas and remember the only stupid ideas are the ones you didn’t give a chance to.

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A CALL FOR TALENT! WE NEED YOU!

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Cry Havoc: Dogs of War

A CALL FOR TALENT!

It’s been a long time in coming but the first official graphic novel project is ready to be started! Now all we need is the means to carry it out. This is where you come in.

WE NEED YOU!

Read over the project details below and if you feel up to the challenge, fill out this form. We’ll review your info and get in contact with to follow up.

We hope to offer other opportunities in the future so keep coming back! Stay tuned for Inside INKWEST, a blog about Art, Comics, Film, Music, and everything between.

Project: Cry Havoc: Dogs of War / Comic book Imprint

Type: Volunteer / short & long term

Status: Active

Mediums: Digital / Print [ It will be set up initially th rough digital means at print quality so that there's an easy transition to print. The first release of the material will be online.]

What is it?

A series of graphic novels chronicling a series of events centered around the ancient struggle for balance between light & dark / good & evil throughout past, present & future history from the point of view of major & bit players.

Why the title?

It’s an old english military command: HAVOC! a call to all out war, a line made famous by Shakespeare, “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!” The dogs of war being soldiers. This is about the soldiers as much as it is about a war.

What’s done:

Character concepts: Still in progress, 4 completed. There needs to be more, much more. I’d like some artists to step up, get out of that box, right now this is all about passion for a project, it could turn into something bigger though.

Storyline: Admittedly it’s play as I go, but there’s a workable 1st draft of an issue’s script, hints at the next issue and a few years worth of old material to troll through to develop the rest.

Character Biographies: This needs and overhaul, I have a large list of characters and some info is relevant but most is out of date. The people I’d bring on to assist with the storyline would help me out here.

What’s needed:

Artists /
Illustrators (2-3)

1.) Pencils / Inks: Someone to do the pages, must have sequential art experience, preferred western style.

2.) Colorist / Inks: Someone to do coloring, yes this is listed separate because often theres a separate colorist, if you do both art / color you have the option of taking both duties.

3.) Cover Art / Promo: Someone to do concepts / covers / promo material this is to minimize the weight of duties on each person.

Writers
Writer / Editors (4)

1.) Collaborative Writer: You’ll be helping with the development of storyline and characters. You’re the guy / gal in charge of catching weak spots, cliches and plot holes as well as plugging in fresh ideas.
2.) Spell / Fact checker / Copy editor: You’ll get the draft material and look through it and do your thing with the spelling and grammatical issues. Officially you aren’t required to lend a hand on ideas but you won’t be turned down if you have some.
3.) Managing Editor: You’ll oversee 1 & 2 + assist in project management in terms of the writing duties of the overall series. You work with the Creative Director and Art Director to bring the whole thing together.
4.) Content specialist: You’ll be in charge of writing for anything that is required outside of the core story material. This includes web / print articles, news releases & promo material.

Other Staff
Managers (3)

1.) Creative Manager – I’m doing this until I can get somebody willing to have the headache and sharing the same vision. The duties here are to marry the writing and visual aspects into a solid product by working with the Managing editor and the Art Director.
2.) Art Director - I’m willing to split this job. You’ll be in charge of the illustrators and anything related to promo art material.

3.) Project Manager – You’re the glue, you make sure everyone has what they need and are on schedule, you keep track of the schedule & duties and help determine goals & deadlines.

If you are interested, sign up here!

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