NancyGormezano Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Starting today, I'm going to be running a tutorial of sorts for how-to make a 3D webcomic (which is really just how *I* make a 3D webcomic.) It's going to be in comic strip form, so that I can still have a gag a day, but I do plan on covering most of the things I do in actually creating the comic, so that might be of interest to some folks... Sounds like a wonderful idea! Kill 2 parrots with 1 comic schtick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 Exactly, Nancy! Although I should say that I do not condone the killing of parrots for any other reason. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Here's something different! I talked with Rob Tracy on the phone last week and he had an idea I really glommed onto: doing a Wannabe Pirates coloring book! After a whooole lot of work and a lot of checking around for printing, I sent the files off today! There's a Webcomics Expo coming up next weekend in Dallas and I'm going to attend and have them for sale. Here's a tiny peek at some of the pages! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished book! It's a pretty cool thought to think that there will be little kids coloring Wannabe Pirates pages! :-) On a tangent... when I was working on the page with Doc Bokor's Voodoo Mask, I suddenly remembered the inspiration for it. I can't imagine it's obvious to anybody but me, but I was thinking of Dr. Venture from The Venture Brothers when I first designed the mask. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 That's wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Excellent idea! How did you render it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Thanks Gene & Ken! I wanted to set it up so that it told part of the story (then the last page is the hard sell to get them to go to the website and read the complete story), so I picked out relevant panels and brought them into Illustrator, gave them 50% opacity and "inked" over them using the pen tool as if the panels were pencils. To give it the look of Coloring Books I remembered from my youth, I made the backgrounds look like they were inked with a pen and the characters like they were inked with a brush. It really makes the characters stand out and it did help simplify the process. Drawing all of those lines on the ship was hard enough without having to try to imitate brush strokes. :-) No toon render or anything like that. Everything you see is vector art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimd Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Thanks Gene & Ken! I wanted to set it up so that it told part of the story (then the last page is the hard sell to get them to go to the website and read the complete story), so I picked out relevant panels and brought them into Illustrator, gave them 50% opacity and "inked" over them using the pen tool as if the panels were pencils. To give it the look of Coloring Books I remembered from my youth, I made the backgrounds look like they were inked with a pen and the characters like they were inked with a brush. It really makes the characters stand out and it did help simplify the process. Drawing all of those lines on the ship was hard enough without having to try to imitate brush strokes. :-) No toon render or anything like that. Everything you see is vector art. That's great work ! and it will make an excellent coloring book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 In fact, if you put them online, I'll buy one for my niece and nephew. They're 4 and 5 so probably about the right age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Thanks, Jim! Ken, for all your help with modeling characters for the next story, I will happily mail you a couple for your niece and nephew. Email me with your address! Also, I don't want to jinx it by saying too much, but let's just say in the very near future, you may be able to buy the graphic novels for your mobile devices (iPhone/iPad/Android, etc.)! I'm very excited about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Looking Great, Largento. Another idea... digital coloring book... Flash programmed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Thanks, Matt! That would be cool! I've considered taking a couple of pages and submitting them to some of these online coloring book places. There are tons of sites that have coloring book pages you can download and print for your kids ...most of them violating copyrights... but I thought it would be a good way to plant a bit of advertising. I've got a few things going right now and am hoping they will all add up to a bigger audience and awareness for the Wannabe Pirates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Mark that coloring book art is terrific and the idea is inspired. Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 14, 2010 Author Share Posted August 14, 2010 Thanks, Gerry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 14, 2010 Author Share Posted August 14, 2010 I think I've made mention here that I've been turning "The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island" into a graphic novel, reformatting the pages to comic book proportions. It's been a fun challenge and I must say I prefer the way it looks as a graphic novel to the uniform panels of the comic strip. Today I ran into challenge: Part 158 of the story was this 1-panel gag: To get it to work on the comic page, I had to split it into two panels like this: The only problem is that although you can see they are running in opposite directions, it's not clear that they are about to intersect. So, this time out I was forced to create a new page. It was fun, though and it helped me bridge a problem with the next strip which introduced these big robot suits as a throwaway gag in the last panel. It was very satisfying to be able to show the collision I had always assumed happened. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtpeak2 Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 Looks great Mark, though I think the floor could use a softer reflection. Try adding roughness to the floor. The coloring book sounds like a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 I like the glass like reflection of the spaceship. It's funny though....if you look in the middle of the first image, you'll see Mr Sneeze's reflection in the wall and he's upside down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtpeak2 Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 I also noticed, it seems they're running with the same arm/leg side foward. Shouldn't the arms be the opposite of the legs? It just looks odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 15, 2010 Author Share Posted August 15, 2010 Thanks, guys! Yeah, it's been too long to remember, but I must've thought they looked right at the time. :-) They should definitely be the other way. I used the same reflection style on all of the spaceship sets, so I would be looking at an impossible amount of re-rendering to change it. I've actually got a deadline now, as I've promised to have all of the pages completed by tomorrow. It's going to be wild having the whole thing finished. A 206 page graphic novel ain't nothin' to sneeze at. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 Thanks, guys! Yeah, it's been too long to remember, but I must've thought they looked right at the time. :-) They should definitely be the other way. I used the same reflection style on all of the spaceship sets, so I would be looking at an impossible amount of re-rendering to change it. I've actually got a deadline now, as I've promised to have all of the pages completed by tomorrow. It's going to be wild having the whole thing finished. A 206 page graphic novel ain't nothin' to sneeze at. :-) always makes me smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Thanks, Gene! I'm not ready to make a formal announcement yet, but I'll informally say that I just signed a deal to have the "Greyhawk and the Starbucklers of the Caribbean" and "The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island" built as iPhone/iPod apps! I am really excited about the prospect and hope it will be a way for a bunch of kids to discover The Wannabe Pirates! If only I was gainfully employed, I could buy a new iPhone & an iPad and right it off on my taxes. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 17, 2010 Admin Share Posted August 17, 2010 I'm not ready to make a formal announcement yet, but I'll informally say that I just signed a deal to have the "Greyhawk and the Starbucklers of the Caribbean" and "The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island" built as iPhone/iPod apps! I am really excited about the prospect and hope it will be a way for a bunch of kids to discover The Wannabe Pirates! Great news Mark! I'll have to start saving my pennies for when your characters make the transition to action figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Don't forget, Mark, tenacity is the unsung virtue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fae_alba Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Here's something different! I talked with Rob Tracy on the phone last week and he had an idea I really glommed onto: doing a Wannabe Pirates coloring book! After a whooole lot of work and a lot of checking around for printing, I sent the files off today! There's a Webcomics Expo coming up next weekend in Dallas and I'm going to attend and have them for sale. I could never stay within the lines on those things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 Truer words were never spoken, Myron! I just got back from picking up the coloring books! They look great and a few friends chipped in to increase the order to by 50 books! Bless them, since that lowers my per book cost! I'll post a picture soon. They came out great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 And here they are! I'm very happy with how they came out. Can't wait to see little kids coloring them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Oh yeah, those are nice Mark. By the time you get around to that animated series, you're going to have a lot of the merch already all set up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Available from the website, I presume, and how many doubloons will it take to get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 Thanks, Homes! I'm working on the pricing now, Myron. I've got to figure out how much they'll cost to mail and balance everything with how much PayPal takes out. They cost more than expected to print. Best guess right now would be $5 including shipping. A bit steep for a coloring book, but they are a very limited edition. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Mark, I just wanted to say how pleased I am that you are finally finding a way to make The Wannabes pay! You have done a sterling job throughout and I wish you every success with the new opportunities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjustme Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Cool coloring books, Mark! Where did you get them printed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thanks, Paul, David! I used a local printer. I was checking around and a friend of mine knew of a printer that could give me a reasonable price on a short press run. The big printer I used to work at wouldn't even consider doing the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjustme Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thanks, Paul, David! I used a local printer. I was checking around and a friend of mine knew of a printer that could give me a reasonable price on a short press run. The big printer I used to work at wouldn't even consider doing the job. Seeing your coloring book made me think about whether it would be possible to set up a dedicated page online to color similar images. I found CanvasPaint and it appears capable...just something for me to let ferment in my head for a while and I thought I'd share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 I did come across a website that was set up to do that. At least that was my impression (I didn't stick around long.) A thought I had was to take a couple of pages, put copyright notices on them and submit them to some of these places that offer free coloring book pages to download. A kind of advertisement for free. What I found was mostly a wild west of copyright infringement. Obviously, that's not a huge concern in that I'm giving it away, but it seems like those are the kind of sites that could be packed with malware and that kind of stuff and I'd hate to have somebody email me that they got a virus because they downloaded my coloring book page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 19, 2010 Admin Share Posted August 19, 2010 That coloring book is too cool Mark! I want one! (Actually.. more than one. One to color and a few to give away to really cool people as gifts.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thanks, Rodney! Instructions are now up on the website if you want to order the Coloring Book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 Working on covers for the iPhone/iPad app version of The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 I like the top 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 24, 2010 Admin Share Posted August 24, 2010 Thanks, Rodney! Instructions are now up on the website if you want to order the Coloring Book! Thanks Mark! Nice covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 Thanks, guys! I had fun doing them. I've never done anything that went for multiple issues like this, so it was cool to get to play with changing the colors of the logo and picking out elements from each section rather than doing just one general, all-encompassing image. Here's a random thing I found interesting. For these apps, I have to create application icons for the various devices. It's wild, but the icons for the iPhone 4 are bigger than the ones for the iPad. It's because the iPhone 4 has a much higher resolution display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 24, 2010 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 24, 2010 Do you have a small-size button I could put in the links on the side of my blog? Something 220x50 pixels would fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 I don't, Robert, but I will very shortly. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 26, 2010 Author Share Posted August 26, 2010 Robert, here's the graphic ...and thanks for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 Just making a note that the new story will be starting on Monday! Sword of the Rightwise King has been pushed back until the next story, although this new one will set up elements for it. The new story's called: "The Wannabe Pirates and the Amulet of the Apes." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 28, 2010 Admin Share Posted August 28, 2010 Just making a note that the new story will be starting on Monday! Sword of the Rightwise King has been pushed back until the next story, although this new one will set up elements for it. The new story's called: "The Wannabe Pirates and the Amulet of the Apes."[/quote] Interesting! Way to keep us on our toes and guessing. Note: I haven't plunked down my change into your tip jar yet but I will. I'm overextended on my 'fun money' right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 28, 2010 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 28, 2010 Robert, here's the graphic ...and thanks for the link! It's up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 28, 2010 Author Share Posted August 28, 2010 Thanks, Robert! Rodney, there'll still be a window to get coloring books for a little while. There's a pirate festival here in October that I'm hoping to get them into and I'm expecting to sell out of them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 28, 2010 Admin Share Posted August 28, 2010 Rodney, there'll still be a window to get coloring books for a little while. There's a pirate festival here in October that I'm hoping to get them into and I'm expecting to sell out of them there. I'll donate to the tip jar regardless of whether or not it gets me a coloring book. If you can find and please new fans with your coloring books please do that! Hopefully you'll sell out and need to launch a few more print runs. Coloring books or not... I'm a fan. Hopefully I'll snag one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks, Rodney! I'm cranking away on strips trying to get ahead of the game for once. As worn out as I was by the end of the last story, I'm really having fun being back into it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptiversen Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I just ordered your coloring book. Keep up the great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks, Tony! Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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