So I learned a decent lesson today, which ironically is one I should have learned before. See years ago I was working on a comic, "Abraham Lincoln; Zombie Hunter" which I stopped because it turned out there was 3 or 4 comics and book, and a movie (which should be out soon), I didn't want to look like I was just copying someone's idea. When I started this project I did some quick research and it looked like there were maybe one or two similar projects but nothing dead on. Should have done better research. In fact I was looking at Newsarama and it looks like Larry Young may be doing a book called 'Zombie Dinosaur'. . .crap. If you've read previous posts you know I really like the AiT guys, and definitely don't want to step on any toes, especially as I really respect the work they put out.
Now I'm not going to stop, don't get me wrong. I'll have to put the comic out under a different name, maybe "Dawn of the Dead Dinosaurs" or "Evil Dead Dinosaurs", etc. But I should have done more research. I figured since I hadn't heard any info on Zombie Dinosaurs comics and couldn't initially find anything much on the subject it would be unique. With Kirkman's 'Super Dinosaur' already on the shelves, I run the risk of looking like someone that can't come up with original concepts.
And I think that speaks to a fear of artists/writers, etc. to create something, and it's not original, or worse look like a rip off artist. One of the reasons I liked the conceit of Zombisaurs is that it's wacky, weird, not something you hear of every day. I think my presentation is going to be fairly unique, but still it's annoying to arrive on a project a day late.
So the leason today kids is do a LOT of research before starting on a project, no matter how hot to trot you are.
Even though I'm stuck at work today (day/pay job) I should be able to put up a decent post a bit later.
-T
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 18: Getting Closer on conceptual visuals (zf)
Wife is sick, so after getting home at 8:45, made her some chicken noodle soup from scratch and then tried to get a chunk of the house chores done, which didn't leave a lot of time for zombie dinosaurs. Still, I'm getting closer on how I want the zinos to look. Such as. . .
Kinda happy with this one, especially since I pounded it out so fast. Had just looked at Frank Cho's 'Women' before I sketched this one out, and think I stole to heavily from his style, albeit by accident since it was so heavily in my mind. Anyway, Like the look of this one, but don't know if I want to carry over the 'spore stick' from the zants. Thoughts?
Day 17.5: Pump up the (undead) jams.(ZF)
Crazy day at work. Will try to color this in later. Didn't feel the last Zant was creepy enough. Here's the more 'pumped up' version.
Once I put some color on this guy, I think he'll look far more frightening. Not sure if I'm getting stuck late at work tonight, but if I'm not expect more zino-goodness, including more story and art. If I do. . .well, there's always tomorrow. L8R G8R's.
-T
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 17: First 5 pages of Script
So without too much further ado here's the first 5 pages of script. Please let me know what you think, and remember this is the blog reader's comic as much as mine, so any input will be seriously considered. The first 2 pages are the same as the May 3rd posting so if you've read that you can skip it. Also the cut and past I did out of the Word doc seemed to change the formating, so some of the placement may be off. Sorry, but it's 11:14 and I need some shut eye.
I'll put up some corresponding sketches later, my home scanners acting odd again.
- - - -1st 5 pages of Zombie Dinosaur script (rough draft) - - - - -
I'll put up some corresponding sketches later, my home scanners acting odd again.
- - - -1st 5 pages of Zombie Dinosaur script (rough draft) - - - - -
Page 1
Splash Page: We see a Hadrosaur, wearing a tie and broken glasses running franctically toward reader, through a city street. Behind him a group of Infected (zombie) Dinosaurs are in pursuit, lusting after the Hadrosaur's flesh. Various signs and marquees show this to be a modern looking city but populated by Dinsosaurs.
HADROSAUR
Oh Dino-Christ! Zombies!
Cap Box: Finally the truth of how the dinosaurs became extinct. Ignore the erronious theories
of meteors, volcanoes, and ice age, in fact what brought down the thunder lizards. . .was something more fearsome. For what truly brought the Dinosaurs down. . .was ZOMBIES!
Page 2
Panel 1: Hardrosaur POV: looks behind shoulders to see a pack of zombie dinosaurs right on his tail get closer.
HADROSAUR
C'mon, C'mon
Panel 2: The Hadrosaur runs into an alley, desperately trying to get away.
Panel 3: We see the zombie dinosaurs run past the alley as the Hadrosaur keeps his back to the wall, as the Hadrosaur keeps his back to the wall, trying to hold his breath.
HADROSAUR
(Whispering) Can't believe that worked
Panel 4: As the Hadrosaur slinks further back into the alley, we see pair upon pair of small, hungry eyes emerge from the refuse of the alley. A pack of infected Compies. They slink silently toward their unsuspecting prey.
HADROSAUR
Okay. Okay. If I can just get to a car. Something I can.. .
Panel 5: Long Panel; We only see the shadows of what is happening at the alley, as the Hadrosaur screams. The pack of Compys is obviously attacking and killing him.
HADROSAUR
ARRGH!
CAP BOX: But how did this once great civilization, so much like our own, die and crumble, and more importantly how did their dead come to rise against the them. To discover this we must go back some three months before this poor soul's demise.
Page 3
Panel 1: Top down perspective above a lush jungle. Large dragonflies buzz about in the distance, shimmering in the sunlight. The pristine wilderness is only marred by a long plume of brackish smoke oozing into the air from a small clearing in the jungle.
CAP BOX: Three months ago; the Pangaean Rainforest (Cairns Australia)
Panel 2: We see what would look like a normal logging operation in the amazon today, except it’s Dinosaurs that are working the machines, and chainsaws.
A Pair of Dinos, Earl (Megalosaurus) and Roy (T Rex) are walking through scene.
ROY
So Earl you hear the rumors about Richfield?
EARL
The Boss? What now?
Panel 3: The pair stop in front of an enormous tree, which lumbers over them. They crane their necks upwards to look at it. It has an X painted on it.
ROY
Yeah it’s this one. Anyway, some of the guys think he’s dumping some of the waste from the refinery out here in the middle of nowhere.
Panel 4: Earl starts to prep the chainsaw, priming it, pulling the cord.
CHAINSAW: BRUMP-a-Click-Click-Click
EARL
Roy that’s ridiciculious, even for Richfield. . .stupid chainsaw. . .look. . .even Richfield wouldn’t be that greedy or stupid to dump toxic waste by his own logging site.
Panel 5: From the shadows of the jungle canopy we can see a dark form watching the pair, chitinious legs tensed to pounce. Earl continues to stuggle with the chainsaw.
EARL
Stupid . . .chainsaw.
ROY
I don’t know pally-boy, the way he’s been cutting costs. . .I
could see that happening
Panel 6: We see what’s waiting in the underbrush, watching the pair. A giant, mutated zombie ANT!
ROY
(cont) . . .after all it’s not like he cares about us. . .
Page 4
Panel 1: It’s nighttime and we see some dubious looking dinosaurs (wearing black turtlenecks and dock caps) dumping barrels of Toxic waste in the Jungle. Little ants scurry about as they are dumping the waste on an anthill, unaware or uncaring.
CAP BOX: Unfortunately Roy was correct about their boss’s concern for both them and the environment.
Panel 2: Close up of the waste soaking into the jungle, anthill, and more importantly leaves.
CAP BOX: For weeks, the underhanded company had been dumping waste from one of their other capital ventures, since they had procured the rights to the land for logging purposes. .
Panel 3: Close up of a ‘zombie ant’ on a leaf releasing its spores. The spores are mixing with the waste, creating a glowing snow of undeath on the unsuspecting ants below.
CAP BOX: . . .to disastrous results.
Panel 4: We see the zombie ant start to shudder and mutate as radioactivity does something. . odd to the fungus.
CAP BOX a pod of ants infected by the fungus Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, had positioned itself by the impromptu dump site in their death knells. The fungus reproduces by infecting the ants, then through chemical manipulation forcing the ants to climb the foliage so the fungus can reproduce through spores, killing it’s host all the while. Turning the ant into . . .a zombie!
Panel 5: The ant is getting bigger, as the radioactivity and fungus tear at it, as it’s carapace tries to expand to compensate. Think of the old movie THEM but more zombiesque and fungusy (fungi-y?)
CAP BOX: Already a nasty parasite, once it was mutated by radioactivity, the results were. . .
PAGE 5:
Panel 1: LARGE PANEL; A Zant (Large Mutated Zombie Ant) erupts from the foliage and attacks the pair.
ROY
What the
EARL
Roy look out!
Panel 2: Roy is getting mangled off panel. Earl runs up behind cranking the chainsaw, his fright and concern for his friend finally getting enough thrust to turn the motor over
ROY (OP)
AHHHH!
EARL
Get off him you. . .!
Panel 3: Earl PLUNGES the Chainsaw into the ZANT
EARL
Die you @#$%%$@%!!!!
######
So there you have it folks. 5 Bonus points to those who get the 'hidden' joke(s)-Hint: think 90's.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 16: Quick Break
Sorry for the delay in posting folks. Crazy Saturday, and my wife somehow managed to get me to relax and take a day off from three separate jobs( day/pay job, TV show development, comic) on Sunday and relax for once. How did I relax, well. . .guess which one I am in the picture (hint: they're not the 'horns' I was trying to make the 'thwip' hand motion.)
Should have a full posting up tomorrow. Thanks for the patience. Just needed a day off.
(And no I didn't go in costume, I have a snazzy hoodie that zips up as a full mask)
Should have a full posting up tomorrow. Thanks for the patience. Just needed a day off.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day 15.25: Dead Ant, Dead Ant, Dead Ant, Dead Ant, Dead Ant, Dead Aaaaaannnnnt (ZF)
Like the Pink Panther theme, get it. . .never mind. Philistines.
Anyway at work, but brought the sketchbook, so here's a quick posting of the mutated zombie ants that start the infection/outbreak. . yes that is a radioactive barrel of toxic waste. What you think the dinosaurs didn't pollute? How naive. . .anyway the spore's just started mutating at the start of the story as they dino-loggers are well. . .logging in the Dino-Amazon rainforest. Suddenly the zants (ie zombie ants) break out, attack and infect the Dino-Loggers. . .The zants are really only in it for a second or two (the comics about zombie dinos not ants after all) but still, they're amazingly fun to draw. The below is a scan of the pencils for a zant.
More stuff coming soon.
Anyway at work, but brought the sketchbook, so here's a quick posting of the mutated zombie ants that start the infection/outbreak. . yes that is a radioactive barrel of toxic waste. What you think the dinosaurs didn't pollute? How naive. . .anyway the spore's just started mutating at the start of the story as they dino-loggers are well. . .logging in the Dino-Amazon rainforest. Suddenly the zants (ie zombie ants) break out, attack and infect the Dino-Loggers. . .The zants are really only in it for a second or two (the comics about zombie dinos not ants after all) but still, they're amazingly fun to draw. The below is a scan of the pencils for a zant.
More stuff coming soon.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 15: Watching the Doomsday Clock
I'm getting some more art done and still working on the 1st draft, but seeing as my work schedule is downright insane right now, I'd like to bring up something important to all self publishers: time.
Time is really the most important thing to a professional publisher, so think how important it is to those of us self-publishing, especially those of us slaving away at a 9 to 5 (Or in my case a 6am to 10pm). Now I'm 'blessed' in that I'm an insomniac that suffers from chronic (clinical) migraines, so, as much as I love it, sleep and me. . .we don't meet too often. This gives me a bit more time in the day than the average joe, but even so I still need to keep a schedule like everyone else.
Which brings me to a major point: Those with drive to truly accomplish something, learn the self-discipline to do it. They MAKE the time. I know a few people that start to work on their comics, but the siren call of TV, Xbox, Hulu, etc. numb their brains and achievements. Nothing worth doing in the life is easy. You're going to have to strive to do it.
I'm not going to babble on how you should keep a schedule, block out time for yourself every day to work on your project, etc. That works for some of us, not all of us. What my sleep deprived mind is try to state, that if you truly want to do something, you will keep at it, and force yourself to do it. MAKE the time. And if you have that drive it is something you were meant to do, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But to do something you HAVE TO DO IT. So figure out a way to make time work for you. Draw, write, create on your lunch break. Work on YOUR project instead of zone out on some mundane TV show. As much as you want to hang out with your friends, explain you have to get that page done, that script finished. If they're your friends they'll understand. Try to make every step you take push you further, instead of standing still.
And for god's sake believe in yourself. Before having faith and others, or concepts, or whatever, have faith in yourself. You are the only thing you can with out any doubt, say exists, and has relevance. . .you.
Because if you don't, who will.
Enough exhausted pep-talk. Zombie Dino goodness coming up in the next day or so.
By the way Gin and Natural Pineapple juice is an amazing combo.
-T
Time is really the most important thing to a professional publisher, so think how important it is to those of us self-publishing, especially those of us slaving away at a 9 to 5 (Or in my case a 6am to 10pm). Now I'm 'blessed' in that I'm an insomniac that suffers from chronic (clinical) migraines, so, as much as I love it, sleep and me. . .we don't meet too often. This gives me a bit more time in the day than the average joe, but even so I still need to keep a schedule like everyone else.
Which brings me to a major point: Those with drive to truly accomplish something, learn the self-discipline to do it. They MAKE the time. I know a few people that start to work on their comics, but the siren call of TV, Xbox, Hulu, etc. numb their brains and achievements. Nothing worth doing in the life is easy. You're going to have to strive to do it.
I'm not going to babble on how you should keep a schedule, block out time for yourself every day to work on your project, etc. That works for some of us, not all of us. What my sleep deprived mind is try to state, that if you truly want to do something, you will keep at it, and force yourself to do it. MAKE the time. And if you have that drive it is something you were meant to do, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But to do something you HAVE TO DO IT. So figure out a way to make time work for you. Draw, write, create on your lunch break. Work on YOUR project instead of zone out on some mundane TV show. As much as you want to hang out with your friends, explain you have to get that page done, that script finished. If they're your friends they'll understand. Try to make every step you take push you further, instead of standing still.
And for god's sake believe in yourself. Before having faith and others, or concepts, or whatever, have faith in yourself. You are the only thing you can with out any doubt, say exists, and has relevance. . .you.
Because if you don't, who will.
Enough exhausted pep-talk. Zombie Dino goodness coming up in the next day or so.
By the way Gin and Natural Pineapple juice is an amazing combo.
-T
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Delay in post
Sorry for the delay in posting folks. Works gotten crazy (approx 20 hour workdays) so as soon as things calm down and I can get a bit of sleep I'll post more. . .
Friday, May 13, 2011
Day 14.5 The last Survivor (ZF)
Taking a break from the Comic Creation stuff to post the last Survivor, Paul (named for a friend of mine Paul Donoghue - Paul I chose your name when we were talking at Free Comic Book Day just so you know). It's kinda Ironic though as the real Paul is a pretty decent guy, and this Paul (the Dryosaurus) uh. . .isn't. Selfish and Self-Absorbed the dino Paul's survived by being downright underhanded and mean (sorry Paul, he was the last character that wasn't named).
This is being scanned at work (will be here very late tonight, and my co-woker had to fly out to a funeral, so quite frankly I'm surprised I found the time to do this) so quality isn't amazing, for which I apologize. I sketched it out in non-photo blue, so I'll try to a scan that shows what I meant about inking over non-photo blue can come out odd later.
This is being scanned at work (will be here very late tonight, and my co-woker had to fly out to a funeral, so quite frankly I'm surprised I found the time to do this) so quality isn't amazing, for which I apologize. I sketched it out in non-photo blue, so I'll try to a scan that shows what I meant about inking over non-photo blue can come out odd later.
In any event there's the last of the protagonists. Next up some more story and devs for Zombie Dinosaurs.
Have to work tomorrow as well, so the biggest update will probably be on Sunday or Monday.
-T
Day 14: the search for day 13.
WHEW. Blogspot put up the missing post that this rant is about, so that's back in place, but of course if you tried to comment it didn't stick. So if you had anything to say about any of the posts please let me know. As a result I've done a quick edit to this post. As always anything I can do for you, just ask -Trevor
Okay kids the moral of the story is apparently NEVER USE BLOGSPOT.
Naturally on the day the great folks at Comicrelated.com run a story on the blog, what does Blogspot do? they put the site down for maintenance, make it so nobody can post, or send messages, and to top it off, they delete everyone's last post. So my day 13 posting about budgeting, which I wrote at 12 at night, is now gone (If anyone for any reason saved a copy, please let me know. I usually save everything in a word file, but was exhausted after working over 12 hours at the day job, and forgot.) So I have no way of tracking anything that happened yesterday, anyone that tried to post or send me a message, I'm really sorry but I didn't get it. I'm trying to conact google the owners of Blogspot, so see if there's anyway to recover that post, comments, etc. but it seems improbable (we live in an infinite universe-nothings impossible). Had I gotten some kind of warning email, or, ANYTHING that showed an once of professionalism I wouldn't mind. As it stands I'm kinda ticked off right now.
Worst case, I'll retype the information I posted, I still have it all, I just don't want to possibly skip out on something I had mentioned before. .
On the plus side had to work really late yesterday, so I got a sketch or two done while I was waiting for downloads and burns to finish (the day/pay job is at a post production facility).
If I hadn't already done some marketing and made some contacts I'd jump ship to a different blog company. As it stands I'll work with Blogspot for now, but if something like this happens again, I'll have to seriously consider going to a different company.
-There should be more zino (zombie dino) goodness tonight,and if I have a second or two I'll redo the post for day 13 budgeting.
-T
On the plus side had to work really late yesterday, so I got a sketch or two done while I was waiting for downloads and burns to finish (the day/pay job is at a post production facility).
I
-There should be more zino (zombie dino) goodness tonight,
-T
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Day 13: It's all about the Benjamins' baby (CC)
ZOMBIE FANS the next week or so is gonna be dedicated to the story and art so you should be having a ball. This post is gonna be for those crazy folks thinking about self publishing so please, bear with me. .
Just got home from work (10:36 yikes) and I didn't have much time to work on character designs for the last dino-survivor BUT I did get some price quotes back from some respectable printers that have a distribution chain set up with Diamond distributors, so now I have an idea of what my personal costs will be. As I stated early on the blog (which reminds me: if you're new to the blog best to start at day one and work your way up. It will also explain that the headers CC stands for blogs mainly put up for Comic Creators and ZF for Zombie Fans. . .which I guess is pointless since I just explained it) this is what I was looking for, production-wise:
" a quote for a 1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 unit run of standard size comic book, saddle stitched, 24 pages, B&W interior on (preferably) 50 press, with a color cover (preferably) 70 or 80 press"
Again if you don't get any of what I said, start at day one (or was it two...whatever).
So the quotes I'm getting back are around (give or take a couple hundred):
1,000 units (issues) ---$1,000
3,000 units --- $1,500
5,000 ---$2,000
The math astute of you will realize the larger the volume, the cheaper the price. Why is this? Since I worked with a professional printer I can let you in on a secret: A large part of your cost is the 'set up' for each job (one customers publication would equal one job). It takes time to get those giant presses set up, calibrated, inked up, etc. for a good run. Once it's set up all your really paying for is expendables (paper, ink) not TIME. For printers TIME = MONEY (Well really thats for anyone, but I digress).
Now I've seen quite a few cats and kittens use digital press companies to put out their books, the one I like the most is Ka-Blam (http://ka-blam.com) from what I've seen quality-wise. I've gotten pretty impressed by the dramatic rise in quality from some of these vendors, and to be assured the convenience of them can not be beat. BUT there's one problem:
Digital Printer (name left out on purpose. . .)price quotes comparable to the above printers:
1,000 units --- 2185.00
3000 units --- 6555.00
5000 units --- $10925.00
Digital printers are great if you are doing small runs. . .and in fact that's what they are intended for. . .they way the operate their set up time is less (although potentially so is their quality). If I ordered 100 comics from the same company I quoted above it's only $218 roughly. If I ordered that from the printers I've contacted I'd be looking probably around 500 to 600 dollars, if I'm lucky. So they are great for promotions, small scale distributions, selling at cons, etc. My focus is to hit the big leagues and get a deal through Diamond, and an ad in their Previews (which I'll have to pay for-more on that in a later post).
Now then we have to think about profits. Comics range from 4.50 to 2.99 on average. The problem is, at least in my opinion, that I'm not good enough to justify the steep 4.50 cover price, so I'm currently thinking 2.99 cover price. So some quick math and we see:
1,000 ---2,990
3,000 ---8970
5,000 ---14,950
If we reduce printing costs we're (at first looking at a profit of):
1,000 -1990
3,000 -7470
5000 -12950
Looks pretty snazy right? Wrong. Here's why: First off, Diamond takes a chunk of those profits. What, you think they distributed comics for free? Of course not. Their website has changed so I don't know how current this is, but their old website used to state , "If you publish comics Diamond generally receives a discount in the range of 60 to 70 off of the us retail (cover) price. Non-comics product discounts vary". Now lets take the 1,000 units as our example because if Diamond picks up this comic that's probably going to be their initial order, unless I can generate some AMAZING pre-press buzz (which I will, don't worry). So at (best case) a 60% discount, and priced at 2.99 I'm looking at selling 1000 units at (1990 X .60 =) 1194. And how much did we say it's going to cost me to get 1,000 issues printed? 1,000. So profit wise I'm looking at $194. Big bucks right? Oh and let's not forget that I'm gonna want to spring for a ad in Previews (the monthly magazine/catalog that comic shop owners purchase the comics out of the store from), and other marketing. That is not going to be covered by 194 dollars. No way, no how.
The Big Guys make money because they've established their companies, brand and characters ( I would argue that the characters actually are a brand themselves, but that would lead to a 25 page dissertation on branding, symbolism, and mythology and even I don't want that. . .okay I do, but I'm sure you don't). This means they have more of a share of the marketplace, get the public eye more, and naturally they sell more comics. I'd wager they even have their own printers, which of course lowers the cost even more. This is my first comic. I'm going to take a hit (at least I should, but I do have a cunning plan I will reveal soon. . .because as the blue unicorn said to Charlie. . ."you got to be sneaky Charlie. . .Sneeeakkkyyyyy") which I knew going in. I have to establish my brand, and that costs. But if I can survive the losses for the first year or so, I should have established my company as a fun, quality based, and most importantly UNIQUE, comic company.
Okay, that's all the 'info dump' I have for now. I'm exhausted, my co worker has to leave for a few days (loss in his family) so I'm doing both our jobs and best of all I have to work through the weekend. . .on my birthday. Yeesh. Kids never go into television.
Till later; Be brave. Be well. Be kind.
-Trevor
Just got home from work (10:36 yikes) and I didn't have much time to work on character designs for the last dino-survivor BUT I did get some price quotes back from some respectable printers that have a distribution chain set up with Diamond distributors, so now I have an idea of what my personal costs will be. As I stated early on the blog (which reminds me: if you're new to the blog best to start at day one and work your way up. It will also explain that the headers CC stands for blogs mainly put up for Comic Creators and ZF for Zombie Fans. . .which I guess is pointless since I just explained it) this is what I was looking for, production-wise:
" a quote for a 1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 unit run of standard size comic book, saddle stitched, 24 pages, B&W interior on (preferably) 50 press, with a color cover (preferably) 70 or 80 press"
Again if you don't get any of what I said, start at day one (or was it two...whatever).
So the quotes I'm getting back are around (give or take a couple hundred):
1,000 units (issues) ---$1,000
3,000 units --- $1,500
5,000 ---$2,000
The math astute of you will realize the larger the volume, the cheaper the price. Why is this? Since I worked with a professional printer I can let you in on a secret: A large part of your cost is the 'set up' for each job (one customers publication would equal one job). It takes time to get those giant presses set up, calibrated, inked up, etc. for a good run. Once it's set up all your really paying for is expendables (paper, ink) not TIME. For printers TIME = MONEY (Well really thats for anyone, but I digress).
Now I've seen quite a few cats and kittens use digital press companies to put out their books, the one I like the most is Ka-Blam (http://ka-blam.com) from what I've seen quality-wise. I've gotten pretty impressed by the dramatic rise in quality from some of these vendors, and to be assured the convenience of them can not be beat. BUT there's one problem:
Digital Printer (name left out on purpose. . .)price quotes comparable to the above printers:
1,000 units --- 2185.00
3000 units --- 6555.00
5000 units --- $10925.00
Digital printers are great if you are doing small runs. . .and in fact that's what they are intended for. . .they way the operate their set up time is less (although potentially so is their quality). If I ordered 100 comics from the same company I quoted above it's only $218 roughly. If I ordered that from the printers I've contacted I'd be looking probably around 500 to 600 dollars, if I'm lucky. So they are great for promotions, small scale distributions, selling at cons, etc. My focus is to hit the big leagues and get a deal through Diamond, and an ad in their Previews (which I'll have to pay for-more on that in a later post).
Now then we have to think about profits. Comics range from 4.50 to 2.99 on average. The problem is, at least in my opinion, that I'm not good enough to justify the steep 4.50 cover price, so I'm currently thinking 2.99 cover price. So some quick math and we see:
1,000 ---2,990
3,000 ---8970
5,000 ---14,950
If we reduce printing costs we're (at first looking at a profit of):
1,000 -1990
3,000 -7470
5000 -12950
Looks pretty snazy right? Wrong. Here's why: First off, Diamond takes a chunk of those profits. What, you think they distributed comics for free? Of course not. Their website has changed so I don't know how current this is, but their old website used to state , "If you publish comics Diamond generally receives a discount in the range of 60 to 70 off of the us retail (cover) price. Non-comics product discounts vary". Now lets take the 1,000 units as our example because if Diamond picks up this comic that's probably going to be their initial order, unless I can generate some AMAZING pre-press buzz (which I will, don't worry). So at (best case) a 60% discount, and priced at 2.99 I'm looking at selling 1000 units at (1990 X .60 =) 1194. And how much did we say it's going to cost me to get 1,000 issues printed? 1,000. So profit wise I'm looking at $194. Big bucks right? Oh and let's not forget that I'm gonna want to spring for a ad in Previews (the monthly magazine/catalog that comic shop owners purchase the comics out of the store from), and other marketing. That is not going to be covered by 194 dollars. No way, no how.
The Big Guys make money because they've established their companies, brand and characters ( I would argue that the characters actually are a brand themselves, but that would lead to a 25 page dissertation on branding, symbolism, and mythology and even I don't want that. . .okay I do, but I'm sure you don't). This means they have more of a share of the marketplace, get the public eye more, and naturally they sell more comics. I'd wager they even have their own printers, which of course lowers the cost even more. This is my first comic. I'm going to take a hit (at least I should, but I do have a cunning plan I will reveal soon. . .because as the blue unicorn said to Charlie. . ."you got to be sneaky Charlie. . .Sneeeakkkyyyyy") which I knew going in. I have to establish my brand, and that costs. But if I can survive the losses for the first year or so, I should have established my company as a fun, quality based, and most importantly UNIQUE, comic company.
Okay, that's all the 'info dump' I have for now. I'm exhausted, my co worker has to leave for a few days (loss in his family) so I'm doing both our jobs and best of all I have to work through the weekend. . .on my birthday. Yeesh. Kids never go into television.
Till later; Be brave. Be well. Be kind.
-Trevor
Monday, May 9, 2011
Day 12: Bleed suckas! (CC with a little ZF)
Today on the wonderful wily world of weirdness we’re gonna look at the difference between Bleed and Non-Bleed comics. Most of this is going to appeal to those of you that have come for the self-publishing bit, but don’t worry dead-heads, they’ll be some zombie dino action for you gals/guys as well.
To start with most mainstream comics you probably pick up are non-bleed comics. What this means is the panels are separated from the border of the page (see example below). It keeps things, neat and tidy. It also raises cost due to the printers set up time, and quite frankly budget is a big factor for a self-publisher (don’t believe me; check out some of the indie comics at your local store/stand).
Bleed comics, on the other hand, has the art drawn all the way to the outside of the page, in other words it’s drawn to the trim, and some of this art is most likely going to be lost. (Again, see example below).
I personally work on art boards that are set for comics. These are 11X17 bristol
Granted you don’t have to buy comic boards to draw. I prefer to because it’s and industry standard, and as I’m only looking at printers that have output comics in the past, it will avoid confusion. But if you want or need to put your art on regular or a unique sized paper, keep in mind you will need to know what the reproduction ratio is. Also the nice thing about Blue Line and Strathmore is they have set panel blocks you can use quickly if you feel the need.
So a quick (simplified) breakdown of scales you’ll need to know, that I stole out of Digital Prepress for Comic Books by Kevin Tinsley is as follows:
BLEED BOOK | Art Size (inches) | Print Size (in inches) |
Dimensions | 10 1/8 X 15 | 7 X 10.375 |
Trim Boundries | 9 37/64 X | 6.625 X 10 |
Bleed Allowance | ¼ | 3/16 |
Safe Area | 9X 13 27/32 | 6.1875 X 9.5625 |
Okay, that cleared that up hopefully. Sorry to belabor a point, but it a really important issue that many comic creators don’t think of until they’re done, and suddenly realize their comics either going to be more expensive, harder to output, or they’re gonna have to figure a way to cheat approx. 24 pages of art.
While I’m on the subject of artboards and blue line, let me quickly pop in on another topic: Non-photo pencils. If you’ve never seen these they’re blue (sometimes red) pencils that look like a standard colored pencil, that just like the blue lines on a comic art board will not reproduce if scanned right. Some people like them, some don’t. I’m fifty fifty on them, only for the reason I still like to ‘manually’ ink my pages (in other words I don’t do it in photoshop) and whatever stuff they put in the blue graphite seems to not want the ink to stick. So you keep having to go over it to saturate the area, which then becomes a problem in itself. I personally like to have everything done in a light lead, like a 3h or 4h – it’s just soft enough some nice technique work comes through, but erases easy. Oh, that’s the other thing, I have a really hard time erasing the non-photo pencil work.
So there you have it. Below is a reduced example of a comics page, with non bleed on the left and bleed on the right. It's rough pencils, I promise you the final product will be a lot cleaner and more professional. got home at 10 last night, and cooked dinner, so I didn't have much time to pound this out on an artboard. (Click the image for a better view).
.
NEW NOTE: Actually I just realized I made a mistake on the non-bleed, which just goes to show how important this is. On the non-bleed I put the panel up to the trim line. The Trim line indicates where the comic will get cut at the printers. My boarder of the shown panel goes right up to it, meaning . . .mistake, and more importantly a problem for the printer. I should have moved it down a 1/4". SEE, TOLD YOU THIS WAS IMPORTANT!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Day 11.75 Late Night Post-Now with more Fungi.
It's 3:13 in the morning, my head is pounding and no amount of painkiller is actually letting me sleep, so I figured I'd put something up real quick.
I'll handle bleeds tomorrow. I feel it's an important subject that many people overlook when producing their comic, so I want to do it more justice than I'm able to at the current, given sleep deprivation and pain levels.
So as a result I'm putting up a sketch relating to the zombie fungus that's affecting the dinosaurs. In case you're coming in late to the blog, (in which case I recommend starting at Day one and reading through) the zombie 'plauge' is actually getting based on a real fungus found in Brazil that essentially turns ants and other insects into real zombies. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110302171309.htm for more info on that.
So far I've put up quick sketches of the fungus which has been mutated due to radiation and how it may look on the dinosaurs that have been affected. Here's a sketch of what it may look like, if I try to make it look closer to how the fungus actually looks.
I'll handle bleeds tomorrow. I feel it's an important subject that many people overlook when producing their comic, so I want to do it more justice than I'm able to at the current, given sleep deprivation and pain levels.
So as a result I'm putting up a sketch relating to the zombie fungus that's affecting the dinosaurs. In case you're coming in late to the blog, (in which case I recommend starting at Day one and reading through) the zombie 'plauge' is actually getting based on a real fungus found in Brazil that essentially turns ants and other insects into real zombies. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110302171309.htm for more info on that.
So far I've put up quick sketches of the fungus which has been mutated due to radiation and how it may look on the dinosaurs that have been affected. Here's a sketch of what it may look like, if I try to make it look closer to how the fungus actually looks.
Now I personally am not a fan too much of this one. Drawing undead Dino's with dealy-boppies coming out of their head seems a little silly to me, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.
More Undead, Fungal, Dinosaur Goodness (or badness) tomorrow.
-T
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Day 11.5 Quick Ink job (ZF)
Finished off the sketch of Suicide with a quick inking job. Probably should have waited till my migraine subsided, as the line weights are all off. Line Weights are how thick an inked line is, and becomes very important to the composition of the piece. Then again these are all quick sketches to show the basics of the characters. . .so I'm not going to worry to much. Besides I'm in too much pain to worry about anything right now.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Day 11: quick post
Got home at roughly 9:45 which makes for a long day. I'm going to post the sketch (only the head shot is inked) of Suicide, the 'spitter;-punk rocker that is making his way through the Zombie Dino outbreak.
Scanners acting funny, need to correct it later (hence the grey 'tone' at the top). At least this way folks can see how I start to rough out a sketch.
I'm fairly beat so what I'll do is post a quick list of recommended reading for those of you that are looking to self-publish and call it a night (also some miniatures just came in the mail, and as I'm an avid war-gamer, I'm dying to open the package up).
1) True Facts: Comics' Righteous Anger by Larry Young (the title is very tongue in cheek, relax) If you are thinking about self-publishing go out and buy this book NOW. Invaluable. BUY IT ASAP and digest book immediately.
2) Digital Pre-Press for Comic Books by Kevin Tinsley. Another must have. It will tell you a lot about the physical process of preparing your comics, and you need to read this before you start.
3) (For color comics) Hi-fi Color and Mastering Digital Color by Brian and Kristy (SP?) Miller. Similar to #2 but a great look at the process of coloring a comic from starting flats to finished product.
4) The art of comic book inking by Gary Martin - if you are going to be inking your own work, buy the book (reasonably cheap) and go through ALL the exercises. I wish I had this book when I had started on comics in the past - I wouldn't be fighting against bad habits I learned before reading this book.
5) Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. Even if you don't plan on making your own comic I recommend this book more than anything else for comic fans and artists alike.
That's it for now folks. Good night and good luck.
(Also don't turn off the lights. . .that's how the Grue get ya!)
[yes that was a Zork reference]
-T
Scanners acting funny, need to correct it later (hence the grey 'tone' at the top). At least this way folks can see how I start to rough out a sketch.
I'm fairly beat so what I'll do is post a quick list of recommended reading for those of you that are looking to self-publish and call it a night (also some miniatures just came in the mail, and as I'm an avid war-gamer, I'm dying to open the package up).
1) True Facts: Comics' Righteous Anger by Larry Young (the title is very tongue in cheek, relax) If you are thinking about self-publishing go out and buy this book NOW. Invaluable. BUY IT ASAP and digest book immediately.
2) Digital Pre-Press for Comic Books by Kevin Tinsley. Another must have. It will tell you a lot about the physical process of preparing your comics, and you need to read this before you start.
3) (For color comics) Hi-fi Color and Mastering Digital Color by Brian and Kristy (SP?) Miller. Similar to #2 but a great look at the process of coloring a comic from starting flats to finished product.
4) The art of comic book inking by Gary Martin - if you are going to be inking your own work, buy the book (reasonably cheap) and go through ALL the exercises. I wish I had this book when I had started on comics in the past - I wouldn't be fighting against bad habits I learned before reading this book.
5) Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. Even if you don't plan on making your own comic I recommend this book more than anything else for comic fans and artists alike.
That's it for now folks. Good night and good luck.
(Also don't turn off the lights. . .that's how the Grue get ya!)
[yes that was a Zork reference]
-T
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Day 11: Reading, Writing and . . .uhm, just reading and writing (CC/ZF)
This post is gonna have a lot to do with writing comic scripts and reference materials, so heads up to all you illiterates out there. . .wait. . .drats.
In a second, I'm gonna post the first two pages of the rough draft below. Not overly happy with it, but figure it might help those of you here more for the self-publishing side (although it does have same 'zino' goodness for you undead-heads). Please keep in mind its very rough.
Now first off, one of the more annoying aspects of comic, is everyone seems to have a different way of writing their scripts, unlike plays, television or movies. While this can be liberating to the writer, it can annoying for the penciler to say the least. You want to have a clear concise style of writing that conveys what's going on, and how it breaks down in panels, if you, yourself are not penciling (ie drawing in pencil before inking). And don't be surprised if the penciler does something different to the panel structure: remember he's the guy/gal you picked to convey your words to images because THEY are the artists. In this case my meager skills are doing all the heavy lifting so I can write for myself, which is great because I get how the flow goes in my head as I'm writing.
This brings me a note for those self publishers that are doing both the writing and art on your project. I HIGHLY recommend writing the script before you start drawing. Writing the script and going through a couple of drafts will allow you to see mistakes in the story and give you a clear structure to work off of. Trust me I know how tempting it is to just pick up an artboard and go at it, but in my personal experience (which admittedly is not large) it is always important to have the script done before any graphite hits bristol.
As an aid to those REALLY new to writing comics, I'll put a couple of standard examples of structure that are out and about. A number of writers format their scripts similar to the below, with of course a level of variation.
QUICK EXAMPLE ONE:
PAGE ONE
1. Superduper-man flying above the Washington Monument as his dog Whipto soars at his heels. The sky is a bright and beautiful day.
SCROLL CAPTION: Washington, DC
CAPTION: After saving the Senate from the evil Sluganoids, Superduper-Man and his dog Whipto fly to their secret layer.
2. SDMan looks behind him to Whipto. Whipto is sniffing the air
SDMAN, THOT: I wonder what Whipto is sniffing at?
[Etc.]
QUICK EXAMPLE TWO:
Page 1
Panel 1
Small Panel on BROODING MAN. He looks up glaring hate at the YUCKSTER
BROODING MAN: Where are the drugs?!?
Panel 2
Reverse angle from the Yuckster's POV. BROODING MAN is boiling over with rage
YUCKTER: Sorry didn't understand you? Could you
BROODING MAN (INTERRUPTING): WHERE ARE THE DRUGS?
And of course there is a multitude more. One note, even if you are, in fact, both writing and penciling, I do NOT highly recommend what is known as the 'Marvel Method'. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on it, and if you want to know more I suggest you google it and make sure to read the criticism that actual comic writers have of the method. Note this has nothing to due with Marvel comics, other than the writers that developed this style worked for Marvel and utilized it because of their high output volume (that should tell you a lot right there).
So without any further blabbering, this is how I personally write. If you've ever seen a TV or Movie script it may look somewhat familiar. I like to write for both of the afore mentioned mediums so my style barrows heavily from that (Rule #4: "Do what you know". It comes right after, Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamination of . . .no, that's not right either. >Sigh< I need to sleep before I post these).
***
In a second, I'm gonna post the first two pages of the rough draft below. Not overly happy with it, but figure it might help those of you here more for the self-publishing side (although it does have same 'zino' goodness for you undead-heads). Please keep in mind its very rough.
Now first off, one of the more annoying aspects of comic, is everyone seems to have a different way of writing their scripts, unlike plays, television or movies. While this can be liberating to the writer, it can annoying for the penciler to say the least. You want to have a clear concise style of writing that conveys what's going on, and how it breaks down in panels, if you, yourself are not penciling (ie drawing in pencil before inking). And don't be surprised if the penciler does something different to the panel structure: remember he's the guy/gal you picked to convey your words to images because THEY are the artists. In this case my meager skills are doing all the heavy lifting so I can write for myself, which is great because I get how the flow goes in my head as I'm writing.
This brings me a note for those self publishers that are doing both the writing and art on your project. I HIGHLY recommend writing the script before you start drawing. Writing the script and going through a couple of drafts will allow you to see mistakes in the story and give you a clear structure to work off of. Trust me I know how tempting it is to just pick up an artboard and go at it, but in my personal experience (which admittedly is not large) it is always important to have the script done before any graphite hits bristol.
As an aid to those REALLY new to writing comics, I'll put a couple of standard examples of structure that are out and about. A number of writers format their scripts similar to the below, with of course a level of variation.
QUICK EXAMPLE ONE:
PAGE ONE
1. Superduper-man flying above the Washington Monument as his dog Whipto soars at his heels. The sky is a bright and beautiful day.
SCROLL CAPTION: Washington, DC
CAPTION: After saving the Senate from the evil Sluganoids, Superduper-Man and his dog Whipto fly to their secret layer.
2. SDMan looks behind him to Whipto. Whipto is sniffing the air
SDMAN, THOT: I wonder what Whipto is sniffing at?
[Etc.]
QUICK EXAMPLE TWO:
Page 1
Panel 1
Small Panel on BROODING MAN. He looks up glaring hate at the YUCKSTER
BROODING MAN: Where are the drugs?!?
Panel 2
Reverse angle from the Yuckster's POV. BROODING MAN is boiling over with rage
YUCKTER: Sorry didn't understand you? Could you
BROODING MAN (INTERRUPTING): WHERE ARE THE DRUGS?
And of course there is a multitude more. One note, even if you are, in fact, both writing and penciling, I do NOT highly recommend what is known as the 'Marvel Method'. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on it, and if you want to know more I suggest you google it and make sure to read the criticism that actual comic writers have of the method. Note this has nothing to due with Marvel comics, other than the writers that developed this style worked for Marvel and utilized it because of their high output volume (that should tell you a lot right there).
So without any further blabbering, this is how I personally write. If you've ever seen a TV or Movie script it may look somewhat familiar. I like to write for both of the afore mentioned mediums so my style barrows heavily from that (Rule #4: "Do what you know". It comes right after, Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamination of . . .no, that's not right either. >Sigh< I need to sleep before I post these).
***
Page 1
Splash Page: We see a Hadrosaur, wearing a tie and broken glasses running franctically toward reader, through a city street. Behind him a group of Infected (zombie) Dinosaurs are in pursuit, lusting after the Hadrosaur's flesh. Various signs and marquees show this to be a modern looking city but populated by Dinsosaurs.
HADROSAUR
Oh Dino-Christ! Zombies!
Cap Box: Finally the truth of how the dinosaurs became extinct. Ignore the erronious theories
of meteors, volcanoes, and ice age, in fact what brought down the thunder lizards. . .was something more fearsome. For what truly brought the Dinosaurs down. . .was ZOMBIES!
Page 2
Panel 1: Hardrosaur POV: looks behind shoulders to see a pack of zombie dinosaurs right on his tail get closer.
HADROSAUR
C'mon, C'mon
Panel 2: The Hadrosaur runs into an alley, desperately trying to get away.
Panel 3: We see the zombie dinosaurs run past the alley as the Hadrosaur keeps his back to the wall, as the Hadrosaur keeps his back to the wall, trying to hold his breath.
HADROSAUR
(Whispering) Can't believe that worked
Panel 4: As the Hadrosaur slinks further back into the alley, we see pair upon pair of small, hungry eyes emerge from the refuse of the alley. A pack of infected Compies. They slink silently toward their unsuspecting prey.
HADROSAUR
Okay. Okay. If I can just get to a car. Something I can.. .
Panel 5: Long Panel; We only see the shadows of what is happening at the alley, as the Hadrosaur screams. The pack of Compys is obviously attacking and killing him.
HADROSAUR
ARRGH!
CAP BOX: But how did this once great civilization, so much like our own, die and crumble, and more importantly how did their dead come to rise against the them. To discover this we must go back some three months before this poor soul's demise.
###
Well that's it for tonight. Exhaustions got the better of me. I might even take 15 minutes to play my XBox tonight. Haven't touched it since I started this blog/comic, let alone the TV show I'm developing with my buddy Keith. Tomorrow should have a few sketches, and I might preemptively put up the splash page mainly so I can show how a splash page works and what I'm talking about when I say 'bleed' (so newcomers to the game will know how to account for, and draw with those boundaries in mind).
I'll try to start of the post with a list of books I recommend for self publishers.
-T
(Can't sleep clowns will eat me)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Day 10: Quick update (ZF)
So things have gotten even crazier at work. Working in Post Production (i.e. editing, color, sound corrections, etc.) means that the closer that we get to the end, the more dramatic the work load, so I apologize that I didn't get to post from Friday until Monday night.
Real quick here's another one of the survivor cast; Claire, a Pachycephalosarus, who is an EMT by trade.
Real quick here's another one of the survivor cast; Claire, a Pachycephalosarus, who is an EMT by trade.
You can't see it too well in the scan but I'm using charm bracelets, and a necklace to denote gender in this case. I've decided not many dino's are wearing shirts. . .
I've got some of the initial pages done, but I want to see if I can post them in a better format for the blog, so give me one or two days.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it up to Anaheim for the Wizard World convention. Santa Ana winds were blowing so hard some of my windows almost cracked, and I'm a light sleeper, so I got almost no sleep that night, and had only gotten 3 hours the night before. So driving there and interacting with people on 15 minutes of sleep, didn't seem like a good plan. Free Comic Book Day (May 7th) is coming up, so I'm gonna see if some local comic stores will be willing to carry the bookmarks I already have made. The amazing folks at Brave New World Comics in Newhall, CA are already carrying them, and I'll most likely be at the store helping out on Free Comic Book day, so if you want, stop by and say, "Hi".
More survivors, plot line, and information on self publishing to come soon. I'm gonna be going into depth on splash pages, scanning resolutions, an drawing for bleed pages (not as gross as it sounds, I promise) in the next few post, as well as giving some tips for books to reference.
-Yours in Mesozoic Undeath.
Trevor
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