Monday, February 28, 2011

Some new pages

Thought I'd post a couple of pages from Chapter 1 I scanned and used for the book proposal.










That's all for now. A new illustration is almost done, so I hope to be able to put that on Deviantart sometime soon, but I'm starting to get swamped with end of term papers and projects, in addition to trying to finish everything on Akari before next term starts. I can't wait to just be done with everything.
~6H

Saturday, February 26, 2011

SEA Report

So the past two days I was at the Self Employment in the Arts Conference, an annual conference hosted by my school every year. It's always been a really good time in that I learn lots of things and get lots on insights, but this year has been the best, hands down, so far.

First off, I presented Akari in a book proposal to Jennifer McCord, a really big name in the publishing business. She gave me lots of great critique, but it was most unexpected when she told me that the book proposal itself was "excellent", that it really made her intrigued and made her want to read more, and that I had an excellent story idea that is very appealing. I'm on the right track.
But there's still a long way to go. She gave some good suggestions I'm considering, but it will require a lot of work to change them.

Next, I met with Micah Farritor, an illustrator and graphic novel artist who is an alumni from my school. He looked over my pages and gave more good suggestions and said that it looked really cool! I'm pretty happy, because I thought my work really sucked. I've been working hard, but...I still have lots to learn about art and drawing, even writing (though I think my writing is light years away from my art in terms of quality).

I'm excited, because it feels like I'm finally in a position to get up and go (if I take the opportunities and work hard rather than being a forgetful lazy bum) but it is a bit daunting. Other people my age are already selling their manuscripts. My friends on deviantart have way more hits on their pages and are selling commissions while I can't even get comments on most of my work. Hell, I don't even have any comments on this blog. But...I'll keep going. I'll find a way to become a graphic novel artist and get my books out there. If nothing else, at least I'll be a really bitchin art history professor.

I also can't wait to write another book proposal, particularly for my next serious work, Dresden 1945
~6H

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A Promising Future?!

Hello all!

I'm presenting a book proposal this Friday at the Self Employment in the Arts conference! I'll be meeting with two people from the publishing industry. I'm very excited and nervous! Ack!

Also, I'm happy to have found out I have strep throat, instead of a cold. This means that I have drugs to cure me rather than suffering with a cold for weeks on end! HUZZAH!
~6H

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A Book Proposal!

So the Self Employment in the Arts Conference, or the SEA is coming up rapidly and this year they have a mock Book Propsal. I thought I might be adventurous and put myself out there with a book proposal for Akari so we'll see how it goes. (They might not accept it cause it's two weeks late, but considering that the head lady told me about it the week after the deadline...?) I'm not sure I wrote the propisal totally right, but I think the graphic novel pages will think for themselves. They look pretty good, and with the Wildwords font...that really pulls it all together.

The only thing that makes me a bit sad is that the original pages have a bit of a warmer or neutral gray tone to them while the scanned in versions look a little more blue or cooler in tint...hmmm....
~6H

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The End is In Sight!

97 pages down, 63 to go! It;s such a great feeling to know that only 63 pages stand between me and a finished book!

And for some reason, 63 seems a like a small amount...

I also have finished the Chapter 3 pencils! But chapter 3 was pretty short (only 15 pages). Some of the panels turned out absolutely gorgeous! In fact, the entirety of Sc. I is amazing and I can't wait to have it complete. I can't stop looking through it and absorbing it...it's such a melancholy scene...but so telling of both Akari and Takaharu, of the sexual and emotional tension between them, and especially insightful of Akari's feelings. And I hadn't gotten to do much with Akari since The beginning of Chapter 2, so it was refreshing to put the action back on her. I had run out of manuscript paper, but luckily some more arrived today (YAY!) so I can pencil Chapter 4 right away...

But that probably won't happen. I got to do some inking and painting, I have a paper due on Friday and my nephew's birthday party is on Saturday. Grrr.... :( I don't like going to these, but now that I drive myself, I can peace out whenever I guess. Just have to stay for cake because my sister makes THE most bitchin cake known to man. She made my birthday cake. Delicious.
~6H