KenH Posted August 30, 2010 Posted August 30, 2010 The lighting/skin on the story teller is sublime. Are you refining the process as you go or did he always look that good? Quote
largento Posted August 30, 2010 Author Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks, Ken. I play around as I go. I think the lighting is probably very similar to the first panel of the last story. I set up the lights and then switch it to IBL and use the Photoshop image I created of the wall at some percentage (like 40% or 30%). I use a lot of warm colors, even though I kind of think of the Storyteller as a bit of a mysterious character. Essentially he's like the Cryptkeeper or the Witch in the old horror comics. :-) Quote
largento Posted September 8, 2010 Author Posted September 8, 2010 Some new stuff! I modeled and rigged the rats today. I also went and heavily modified the Nash model to be Waldo Morgan. Not as accurate as he would've been had I started from scratch, but he doesn't play a very big part in this story. (at least I don't think he does. I'm kind of playing this one more by ear.) He actually looks kind of like a young Ben Franklin to me. :-) Quote
ptiversen Posted September 8, 2010 Posted September 8, 2010 I just received my coloring book today, Thanks. It looks great. where did you get it printed? Quote
jakerupert Posted September 8, 2010 Posted September 8, 2010 Great smooth design and models! Would love to see some animation clips with them one day. I wish for you, that your constant presence will build the chance for that also in the future... May I ask, if you still manage to make a living aside of your pirates work or do you live on your "spare" ( probably don`t know the correct word here) money at the moment so that the chance might be, you will have to pick up regular work again sooner or later? all the best Jost Quote
largento Posted September 8, 2010 Author Posted September 8, 2010 Thanks, Tony! Glad you like it! I used a local printer that a friend of mine had a connection to. I think they did a great job. Thanks, Jake! I want to do animation at some point, but right now my focus is on the webcomic. Unfortunately, my freelance work has slowed to the point that currently I'm a little desperate. The money that I put aside to get me through the first six months is long gone. (It's been 17 months since I quit my job.) I've had to move in with my sister and I'm having difficulty finding enough work to cover bills. I've been trying pretty hard this month to get something going, but the business isn't coming. It's very frustrating, but I try to stay focused on working on the Wannabe Pirates so that at least I'm being productive. I keep thinking that it will help me in the end. :-) Quote
largento Posted September 17, 2010 Author Posted September 17, 2010 Lenny the Homing Gull is finally making his first appearance in the Wannabe Pirates today! Lenny, you may remember, was expertly modeled by Ken H.! Having Lenny laugh his head off at Flemm is something I've been waiting a long time to see. :-) Quote
largento Posted September 22, 2010 Author Posted September 22, 2010 He turned out great, Ken! (And the name of the current storyline should give you a hint as to what other character you modeled that will show up this time around.) Today, Greyhawk and the Starbucklers officially moved to its own website! Starbucklers.com now houses Greyhawk's adventures, while the Wannabe Pirates site now only houses the Wannabe Pirate strips! I think it will be interesting to see the two strips start to grow separate audiences. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted September 22, 2010 Admin Posted September 22, 2010 Very cool news Mark! I should point out that your link didn't work for me. But this one did: http://starbucklers.thewannabepirates.com/ I like the look of the new site! Edit: Okay... that was weird. The link updates now. Must have been a slow connection or cache problem on my end. Quote
largento Posted September 23, 2010 Author Posted September 23, 2010 Thanks, Rodney! I'm just pointing the domain name to a subdomain for the start of this. If it starts generating enough readers to justify paying for a new hosting plan, I'll do that. Quote
largento Posted October 1, 2010 Author Posted October 1, 2010 Kerpapple and Dittzleboog are revealed in today's Wannabe Pirates! When I decided they were going to be in this story, I wanted a way to tell them apart. I had eventually gotten around that in the last story by giving them two different colored suits, but since they weren't going to have the suits, I decided on giving them these devices that would change their voices to sound human (and free me up from those alien word balloons) and allow them to be in disguise. I've been letting the early part of this story go where it wants to go, which has been fun. I had a thought that Flemm might think he had rats on the ship and then go down and find Kerpapple and Dittzleboog. Then I thought it would be funny if they actually were disguised as rats. Then it became a matter of trying to figure out when and how to do the reveal. I thought it would be fun to have one of them turned into a giant so that I could have an action sequence. That's where the story is going right now. Quote
largento Posted December 2, 2010 Author Posted December 2, 2010 Nothing too amazing, but I realized I haven't posted on this thread in awhile! Here's the namesake for the current storyline. This will be the Amulet of the Apes: Quote
largento Posted December 5, 2010 Author Posted December 5, 2010 Thanks, Ken. What does it look like? (I mean besides a watch or a ring?) Quote
largento Posted December 11, 2010 Author Posted December 11, 2010 It's wild looking back at the beginning of this thread ...this was supposed to be a quick and easy project. :-) Some of you may have seen that I've put the strip on hold until the start of February. I have to let the real world interfere for awhile. But I've also started to circle around an idea for an endgame. What I'm thinking of is finishing out the current storyline and then doing the final storyline as a graphic novel only. This won't be online as daily strips, but rather done offline designed from the start as a graphic novel. As far as the daily strip would go, it would convert to a gag-a-day format (not tied to stories) ...or maybe just updates on the graphic novel. I'm thinking then that I'll take a look at where I am and make the decision whether or not to go forward from there. At that point, I'll have three 200+ page graphic novels (plus a book of the 2D strips). Not too shabby. If things change and the strip starts to generate income, I can always just keep it going, but I think I'd like to be able to move on to other projects. It will be cool to have this thread as a journal of the entire journey. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted December 11, 2010 Hash Fellow Posted December 11, 2010 It's a fine looking project! I hope the future holds a way to make it pay off somehow. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted December 12, 2010 Hash Fellow Posted December 12, 2010 These are great looking characters. We need to find a way to make a movie out of them. Where did I put that $50 million.... Quote
jimd Posted December 12, 2010 Posted December 12, 2010 These are great looking characters. We need to find a way to make a movie out of them. Where did I put that $50 million.... i agree with that, so keep at it Mark one never knows now does one j Quote
largento Posted December 12, 2010 Author Posted December 12, 2010 Thanks, guys. Robert if you run across that $50M, let me know. :-) One of my goals with the final story (the graphic novel) is to create a story that would make a great standalone movie. That's partly why I'm doing it independent of the gag-a-day format. I'm imagining it as a feature film in graphic novel format. By doing it offline, it's also something I could take to studios to pitch as a movie. I think The Wannabe Pirates could even work as a live action movie. Jim, I think I'll feel satisfied by the end of the process whether it generates a dime or doesn't. I do think that I'll have to take a hard long look at it when I reach that point, though. I'll likely be 45 years old at that point. I'll want to consider other options. Although I see the potential for many more Wannabe Pirates stories, I might want to do something (or anything) else by then. :-) Quote
jakerupert Posted December 12, 2010 Posted December 12, 2010 >One of my goals with the final story (the graphic novel) is to create a story that would make a great standalone movie. That's partly why I'm doing it independent of the gag-a-day format. I'm imagining it as a feature film in graphic novel format. By doing it offline, it's also something I could take to studios to pitch as a movie. And I am at a point, where I lost some of my impetus, while realising the huge amount of work still ahead just for a pitch presantation to do all the voices and sound to make the whole comic an animatic (Like my short sample). You have several advantages on your side living in America you have all the native speakers to aim at and prepare for a worldmarket more easily and I guess you have much more possibilities TV channels , movie productions etc. to present your fine work to. So I am very eager to follow, what will come out of it. What took a little bit the wind out of my sails was also, that not even TWO with it`s huge effort could get sold to somebody. So I am planning to aim much lower for the time being and aim at much smaller goals. I wish you all the best of luck as always. http://www.marinavonsee.de Quote
HomeSlice Posted December 12, 2010 Posted December 12, 2010 What took a little bit the wind out of my sails was also, that not even TWO with it`s huge effort could get sold to somebody. I think you can get your movie into some kind of distribution channel relatively easily, as long as you don't care about making any money on it. Martin contacted Netflix to see if they would carry TWO. They referred him the their distributor, Victory Multimedia. By the time the distributor got back to Martin, he was in Africa, so he asked me to look into it. They sent me a contract which looked scary and also we were required to have our packaging and ISBN number and bar code already produced so they could look at a sample of our product to see if it met their standards. Jason got the packaging/ISBN etc together. I am paranoid about signing contracts. I have to feel good about something, or at least neutral, before I will sign it. Sooo I converted the contract into an Actobat form so Martin could read it, fill out all the official bits and digitally sign it. But all he had was his iPhone (and of course he was in the African bush) so he couldn't do it. So I called the Victory representative to ask a couple of questions and wasn't getting a very good feeling about him, then he quoted me a percentage that was different (less) than what the contract said. At that point, I said, "Thank you very much" and walked away. But I do think they would have carried the movie, at least for a little while. Quote
largento Posted December 13, 2010 Author Posted December 13, 2010 I think the likelihood of a production company/studio buying the rights to The Wannabe Pirates is pretty close to zero, but I'm doing the graphic novel anyway, so why not give it a shot? I watched a documentary on screenwriting awhile back and someone in it wisely pointed out that no one's ever been fired for turning down a script. If they say "yes," then all kinds of money is on the line and if it's a flop, that person can get fired. If they say "no," their work is done and they can go to lunch. Still, you never know... Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted December 13, 2010 Hash Fellow Posted December 13, 2010 What took a little bit the wind out of my sails was also, that not even TWO with it`s huge effort could get sold to somebody. I think you can get your movie into some kind of distribution channel relatively easily, as long as you don't care about making any money on it... If TWO ever pursues distribution again I'd like to see us consider using a revised edit. What's on Youtube and the DVD now have too many needless goofs. Quote
HomeSlice Posted December 13, 2010 Posted December 13, 2010 If TWO ever pursues distribution again I'd like to see us consider using a revised edit. What's on Youtube and the DVD now have too many needless goofs. Maybe you could send Jason a hard drive and ask him to copy the TWO files, renders, Premiere project etc. on it and mail it back to you. I wouldn't mind seeing another edit of TWO, but I'm sure not going to do it. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted December 13, 2010 Hash Fellow Posted December 13, 2010 If TWO ever pursues distribution again I'd like to see us consider using a revised edit. What's on Youtube and the DVD now have too many needless goofs. Maybe you could send Jason a hard drive and ask him to copy the TWO files, renders, Premiere project etc. on it and mail it back to you. I wouldn't mind seeing another edit of TWO, but I'm sure not going to do it. TWO 2.0 Quote
largento Posted January 25, 2011 Author Posted January 25, 2011 Working on a cover for the print edition of The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island! Using some of the elements I used before, but I think the back-to-back Greyhawk and Flemm works better. The books themselves are going to be kind of pricey since they'll be print on demand, but at least they'll be available. I'm mostly looking forward to having one for myself. :-) Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted January 25, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah, looks sharp! Quote
NancyGormezano Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 Looks terrific! Are you going to use your full names? Quote
largento Posted January 25, 2011 Author Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks, everyone! Nancy, I'm using the full names inside, but not on the cover. Quote
Fuchur Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 Cool Stuff! Looks very well done! Keep on rocking See you *Fuchur* Quote
largento Posted January 31, 2011 Author Posted January 31, 2011 Thanks, everyone! As you may remember, I broke up the graphic novel into four parts that were turned into iPhone/iPad applications. Well, there's a new website called The Illustrated Section that features Comics, Picture Books, Art Books, etc. and I've put up the four parts there as PDF files. In my mind, the iPhone/iPad apps are cooler, but if you'd like a digital version of them that works on anything that can read a PDF, here's a way to get them! The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island #1 The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island #2 The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island #3 The Wannabe Pirates and the Curse of Greyhawk Island #4 If you do pick up one or all, please write a review on the site! Thanks! I'm still working on the Print On Demand version. I want to include extra content to add value to it. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted February 1, 2011 Admin Posted February 1, 2011 Very cool Mark. I'll be purchasing. Quote
largento Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 Thanks, Rodney! Hoping a lot of folks will find it there! Quote
largento Posted February 26, 2011 Author Posted February 26, 2011 Waaaay back at the beginning of this project there was one set that I knew I'd have to build because it would be featured so much. I gathered up tons of reference materials from all sorts of image searches on Google ...and went years without ever modeling it! :-) But today, that changes! As much as I shake in my booties when faced with having to create a set, I am going to knuckle down today and do it! Finally, I'm going to create the Tavern set! I'll update here as I go! Quote
largento Posted February 27, 2011 Author Posted February 27, 2011 Well, it's a start! :-) Here's the exterior front wall. Loosely based on the version McCrary did in 2D. I'm going to start with the walls and use them to define the interior. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 27, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted February 27, 2011 i like the non-square windows. Quote
largento Posted February 27, 2011 Author Posted February 27, 2011 Thanks, Robert! I'm trying to break out of perfect square stuff, but it's still baby steps time... Here's a little bit of an update. The roof is just temporary. Not sure how I'm going to do that yet. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 27, 2011 Hash Fellow Posted February 27, 2011 Maybe those wooden beams could be more rumpled to go with the windows? Quote
HomeSlice Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Maybe those wooden beams could be more rumpled to go with the windows? Oh yes, make the beams match the style of the windows. That would look better. That looks like a tavern fit for Flemm! Quote
largento Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 Not that it's likely to generate any money, but to answer readers' requests, I've set up a Cafe Press store with Wannabe Pirates and Starbucklers designs for T-shirts, mugs, etc. You can check them out here! I'll admit that if I weren't broke, I might buy a couple of these for myself. :-) Quote
largento Posted March 12, 2011 Author Posted March 12, 2011 Holy moly! This is post #1000! I am very close to finishing everything for the print version of The Curse of Greyhawk Island. I'm going to be doing it print-on-demand, so it will be a bit pricey, but there's just too few readers at this point to justify plopping down $1K+ to do a print run. Here's a mockup of the cover (back cover, spine and front cover.) It's going to be comic book size (6.75" x10.25" and .47" thick.) I'll post again here when copies are available for sale! Quote
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