tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1789980133329079902024-03-21T14:49:12.420-07:00Studio of Michael ReginaMichael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-42531381839132670912010-07-10T11:41:00.000-07:002010-07-10T11:43:10.607-07:00Blog MovedI've oficially decided to move my blog to my personal server. Please visit it at <a href="http://www.michaeleregina.com/blog">www.michaeleregina.com/blog</a> Update your bookmarks, rss feeds and the what not. Appreciate everyone stopping by!Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-75309000063348548782010-05-13T19:05:00.000-07:002010-05-15T08:19:45.117-07:00Things I've Learned About Producing a Graphic NovelSo this will be the production diary entry part 1, for Kevin and Light of Destiny book 1. Seeing as how The Unknowns isn't moving forward and the story I've decided to focus my attention on is Kevin's adventure, I thought people might find it interesting to learn more about what I've learned already in my one month of production book 1.<br /><br />1) Production schedule is everything.<br /><br />Making a graphic novel is basically like making a film on paper. All of the same things apply. You have to begin with a good idea and script and then there's loads of development that goes into executing the story. I kind of did minimal planning on book 1 of Kevin, other than have all of my story beats laid out and a few drawings of my characters. What I failed to consider is just how much design work would need to be done to successfully execute the look and feel of the book. I found myself recently struggling long and hard to get through the coloring process on a page that really was pretty simple, just because I hadn't really thought out all of the design issues with the school yard and people in the background. In the end I felt that page was effective, the story made sense and worked. But it's not the standard I really want in this book. I don't want this thing to feel slapped together. I want it to feel like it makes sense as a book... as a whole complete thought. <br /><br />That lead me to the conclusion that I need to segment my production process a bit more. Last summer I spent all summer just drawing the rest of FDTN book 1 and did nothing as far as the computer work is concerned. What this allowed me to do was focus on each part of the storytelling independent of the others. I really feel like in general it's lead to a better execution of the end of book 1 because of this. So I've decided I need to stop my weekly updates for now, in favor of completing one process thought at a time. <br /><br />The first act of Kevin is essentially the big set up. All of our worlds are presented and the baisc design work of those characters and settings need to feel set in stone. Tangible. Real. I hope this will help me do that. <br /><br />Stay tuned for part 2:Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-5315692153656304812010-04-19T19:48:00.000-07:002010-04-19T19:51:20.935-07:00First Digital Landscape Painting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i4kaHUni9m81ZHnzaXBroPRt8p4mJHteSosA1R7o26juiu1yO_-b8cUPhLFa5XpfQAlJ9mcMk2RCPngLJBwZeip455gUzRGwclOU_F2JnI2L-E2ScMHdVwkZVsBmZowdAVcl5GVpyxA/s1600/rock-pool.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i4kaHUni9m81ZHnzaXBroPRt8p4mJHteSosA1R7o26juiu1yO_-b8cUPhLFa5XpfQAlJ9mcMk2RCPngLJBwZeip455gUzRGwclOU_F2JnI2L-E2ScMHdVwkZVsBmZowdAVcl5GVpyxA/s400/rock-pool.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462046183769538514" border="0" /></a>I spent some time today just relaxing and working on my first attempt at landscape painting in the digital realm. This is a an angle from a trip I took to North Carolina a few years back. Really happy with how it all came out. I've been looking at doing more of this sort of thing and selling them as prints. Love to hear if you all would be interesting in seeing that available in the <a href="http://www.michaeleregina.com/store.html">store?</a>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-55364281863747122922010-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:002010-04-19T20:08:57.164-07:00An Interview With Denver Jackson<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Denver Jackson is one of those artists who's ability to convey energy and originality, makes me cry myself to sleep at night. OK, maybe not quite that, but he is darn good. His range of abilities and talent is inspiring. In some ways he's a jack of all trades, but I wouldn't dare add in the second part: "master of none." Denver runs a production studio, prints a small press comics anthology, draws comics, writes kids books, works with me as an assistant on Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet series and still has time for God of War 3. I know. It makes me sick too. Denver took some time out of schedule to answer some questions with me. Hope you all enjoy the interview.</span>
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<br />1.) You're a pretty diverse guy when it comes to the material you create. Can you tell us a bit more about all of the projects you've got going?</span>
<br />Currently, I'm animating a music video for an artist named <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_0">Peter Shelley</span> and I've just recently completed a short film titled 'the White Boned Demon.' I've as well just self published a storybook called 'Astra's Melody' and in the process of illustrating the 'Solis City'; <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_1">graphic novel</span>. I find the work process exciting going from different mediums of storytelling each time; from <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_2">traditional animation</span> to mixed media to comics.
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">2.) Something that seems to be catching a bit of buzz in your area is your </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_3">comic magazine</span></span> STRIP. What was the genesis of that and what has been the response?
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<br />Marc Junker (the other co-founder) and I found our inspiration in a popular comic anthology called 'Flight.' This series of graphic novels contains amazingly diverse art styles and stories it really brought out something in us. We collaborated by selling our own little zines printed on ink jet at comicons - which was a terrible idea. We weren't concerned about the costs due to the fact that we were "living our dreams," so to speak. However, after a couple of years, more and more anthologies provided us with inspiration (Popgun, Afterworks, 24Seven) and we found ourselves working with more and more talented artists (including the third member of strip, Glen O'Neil) and decided that the idea of a comic anthology in the format of a free publication (available to pick up in coffee shops, etc) would be a fantastic method of promoting the growing comics scene on Victoria, on the island, and in Vancouver! The response has been great as we are constantly receiving emails from artists looking to contribute or get involved.</span></span></div><meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title></title> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.0 (Unix)"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <div class="im"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">3.) And this is something that anyone can submit to for having their work showcased? </span></span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;">Yes it is. We are constantly looking to make connections with fellow artists/new friends.</span><div class="im"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">4.) What are the types of projects you are looking for?</span>
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<br />I usually will pick up a project that I know I will learn something from or that I am strongly connected with the story no matter the genre. I have many personal stories that I would love to tell however, I'm constantly doing freelance work to pay the bills.
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">5.) Your film work is pretty unique. I was first turned on to your work because of your adaptation of Kazu Kibuishi's Copper. What training did you have and any specific programs you use for your visual effects work?</span></span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, I spent a year in art school were I'd be doing many art projects that sucked up the time I needed to complete my personal projects such as comics or film. In the end, I decided that my personal projects taught me a lot more than what school was doing so I dropped out. Other than that, I have had no prior training. Through the magic of the internet, there is a library of information on almost any topic!
<br />In terms of programs, Photoshop is essential! I use After Effects to do composting and animation work. For the adaptation of Kazu's Metropolitan, I worked with flash.</span><div class="im"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1XU63tqsIks3gjF0l8fyFgMvg07_EifCBrEyxVQx8Rkwmh4_fMUfGTxygRgZJXw7b8PPxRCAq5Q2VDpHt3IU65-MZmMv0wNXlYbOXomqmR0mmGOESbATRuhUpMjUov0iH12PtPKUraA/s1600/astras.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1XU63tqsIks3gjF0l8fyFgMvg07_EifCBrEyxVQx8Rkwmh4_fMUfGTxygRgZJXw7b8PPxRCAq5Q2VDpHt3IU65-MZmMv0wNXlYbOXomqmR0mmGOESbATRuhUpMjUov0iH12PtPKUraA/s400/astras.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461696400659396002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">6.) That adaptation of Kazu's work lead to lending a hand, which is where we met, on his series Amulet. Can you tell us a bit about the work you've done on that series?</span>
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<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;">The work on Amulet is by no means grand or spectacular. We basically fill in colors so that the painters can focus strictly on painting. Anyone who knows their way around Photoshop can do what we do. But we do help out a lot and Kazu and Jason have shown great appreciation for the work we put into it. It has also been such a great learning experience as they will also take the time to answer any questions we had if we weren't sure of something.
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">7.) Since working on Amulet, I've seen your work become more comics focused altogether. What's the drive behind that, and what projects are you preparing for the future?</span></span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />Working with comics is just another form of visual storytelling and you and I are doing the exact same thing; telling stories. It's no different than film. The passion comes from storytelling.
<br />With comics, stories can get told easier without relying on an entire crew/cast but they do loose that collaboration of many different ideas.
<br />My friend Marc and I are currently looking for funding to fully animate 'Astra's Melody.' We're both working on a screenplay and starting the animation process (concept art, storyboards, etc). Hopefully, we'll be able to start filming mid July!
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">8.) Any webcomics, maybe? :-)</span></span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />Haha, I'm currently working on one that takes the idea of the '<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_5">infinite canvas</span>' as <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_6">Scott McCloud</span></span>explains in his TED talk. If anyone is interested, they can go to my blogspot for updates:<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_6"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://djaxx.blogspot.com/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_7">http://djaxx.blogspot.com/</span></a> or follow me on twitter- <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/djaxx"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_8">http://twitter.com/djaxx</span></a>
<br />Also, I'm happy to announce that Strip will launch its website very soon with three weekly comics by three artists, Glen O'Neil, Marc Junker, and myself. So keep this website in mind- <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.stripcomics.com/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1271649683_9">www.stripcomics.com</span></a></span> .
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<br />Check out the trailer for Dnever's film: THE WHITE BONED DEMON
<br /><object height="265" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10889269&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10889269&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="265" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10889269">The White Boned Demon trailer</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/djaxx">Denver Jackson</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p> <span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">
<br /></span>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-29248487976513484602010-04-03T10:33:00.000-07:002010-04-03T21:22:22.995-07:00Kevin And The Light Of DestinyI love, love love a good treasure hunter story. I love it! Two of my favorite movies of late have been the new National Treasure films and the always dependable Indiana Jones series. And now I am in love with the Uncharted game series. Recently a buddy of mine, Josh Ulrich, started up his own treasure hunter series called Jacki Rose. It's great fun and I highly recommend checking it out. But around a year ago I began writing and drawing a story called Kevin and The Golden Temple. It was a short story in the same vein as an Indiana Jones series but with a young twist and a dash more fantasy. At the time it was intended to be a short story, about 60 pages in total. As I kind of worked through the details of what the story was I saw a much better and more complex story I could tell. Unfortunately, or fortunately I guess, the project fell apart and I was left with this short, badly paced story (I had to compress the whole thing down to like 20 pages). I really fell in love with the adventure and characters I was creating and actually this was the idea I was going to turn into my next online project. Then The King's Game happened and I started working on the pitch for that project. And if you have been following me in the past you know that my previous agent left the firm I am signed on with and that left me to transition to another agent. Through much conversation with her, she basically answered what I had been feeling all along: I just need to actually finish a project and then we can go submit to publishers. Basically, I'm not at a point where pitching a book makes a lot of sense. I have no finished works to my credit, I only have pitches and ultimately very little presence in the bigger comics world. So, how can I expect a publisher to get on board with me?<br /><br />This took a bit of time to swallow, though I knew it was true. She asked that I work some more on The King's Game, but ultimately started debating whether that was the best project for my new found devotion to completing projects. Thus the Kevin story reared its head again.<br /><br />This story about Kevin is a blast of a tale. Adventure, fantasy, humor and other worlds await our little treasure hunter and I felt that this project most speaks to the audience I want to right now and because of the story structure I can actually finish chunk of it faster and have completed material to show to everyone. Basically the book will divided into three installments at about 100 pages each. Targeted at a younger audience and I will be looking to put out one volume a year. I am planning on issuing this online as a webcomic so, that will be coming up online by the end of this current month.<br /><br />Sorry if anyone out there was jonesin for some King's Game. I am very much excited about that book, but the tone, length and spirit of the material is just not something I feel ready to tell yet. It will be on the docket for the next go round. But for now, as Josh and I say all of the time now, make books son!<br /><br />So, I will be updating later about the exciting adventure of Kevin and the Light of Destiny. Here's an old image from the short story version:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6ocO0YJA5AJr0v3jcyhwP5slqkeIe-K9WvwnPceBUP9xL87jrKLWiK3K1ZMKwNJ-6s26OQx3F9NQMhFvE8PecEqVNj7lzXB-1q3G3Ql64thJaNdHEmx9IJW1Rnlut8Pj8m9Ake6NMBk/s1600/kevn.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6ocO0YJA5AJr0v3jcyhwP5slqkeIe-K9WvwnPceBUP9xL87jrKLWiK3K1ZMKwNJ-6s26OQx3F9NQMhFvE8PecEqVNj7lzXB-1q3G3Ql64thJaNdHEmx9IJW1Rnlut8Pj8m9Ake6NMBk/s400/kevn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456132771119245122" border="0" /></a>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-85192834835826864402010-02-26T21:56:00.000-08:002010-02-26T22:04:12.938-08:00New Portrait Up - "Claire"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmZcYApt6JocCLuMEJDn_b0_TqMHNSG2kqxJEMbXPZjRGSMRGleABK6dhieDR02inRJrv9SMJV2uS0zTEm9Fpxc0q6guwe_KpCOkc27g_2rL1Hp7GJcCBToQkHiss5o4F6786z4Z1yqQ/s1600-h/claire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmZcYApt6JocCLuMEJDn_b0_TqMHNSG2kqxJEMbXPZjRGSMRGleABK6dhieDR02inRJrv9SMJV2uS0zTEm9Fpxc0q6guwe_KpCOkc27g_2rL1Hp7GJcCBToQkHiss5o4F6786z4Z1yqQ/s400/claire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442798263892895890" border="0" /></a>This past week I handed over my most recent portrait to my patron clients, the Trammell family. This is the second portrait I've done for the family. The first was of their oldest daughter, Emmie. I was really pleased that at that time they said they wanted me to do another portrait for them in a few years once their youngest daughter was a bit older. Well, those years are past and we finally got around to creating our portrait. It was a real pleasure to complete this. It was a challenging piece, but I was really happy with it all. Thanks again, guys for letting do this for your family. I hope we all see each other again soon!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaAI2t3kcOVJqAzHv9dNsniZ8yAn-14DY-LKcuw9KQMkZLkkZbsCWq_yUj906SPICiWQ9OIsu36saldazdjPYWKOQyT3OwAU9xGpRpvTA8mVcMIjMGRacTq46EsYM_386zbYVL8hZWiY/s1600-h/final-detail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaAI2t3kcOVJqAzHv9dNsniZ8yAn-14DY-LKcuw9KQMkZLkkZbsCWq_yUj906SPICiWQ9OIsu36saldazdjPYWKOQyT3OwAU9xGpRpvTA8mVcMIjMGRacTq46EsYM_386zbYVL8hZWiY/s400/final-detail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442799591030332002" border="0" /></a>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-19723628255741215302010-02-20T11:24:00.000-08:002010-02-20T11:52:41.491-08:00Making The Decisions... The King's Game is coming.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVrQxTQYrPts85Dus-B7y4SSt78sXOgi7UeqLN57-VMy-bXjz25j4aIBIjDDWd2T97x6sQ1N6b5V2a0sXFNT6MQSboXC13YOVHxV2k_cW-tMnxE2aJvkZqFtWo8OEDUxTiBtTp1CwYiM/s1600-h/banner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVrQxTQYrPts85Dus-B7y4SSt78sXOgi7UeqLN57-VMy-bXjz25j4aIBIjDDWd2T97x6sQ1N6b5V2a0sXFNT6MQSboXC13YOVHxV2k_cW-tMnxE2aJvkZqFtWo8OEDUxTiBtTp1CwYiM/s400/banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440410258799388578" border="0" /></a>It's hard to make decisions sometimes. Especially ones that will encompass so much of your time and energy as the work of creating a comic can. I've spent the last three years "learning" comics all over again. When I was younger lad, I drew comics that looked like your normal news stand issue of X-Men. My goal there was to get to work on those titles. They were the reason I fell in love with comics in the first place. Then I became a fan of the now dead CrossGen universe. And what caused me to fall in love with those books was that they were telling stories with their comics. Not a battle a month style of book. This is something that may seem odd nowadays, but that wasn't very commonplace here in the states for a long time. Shortly after I met webcomics for the first time when I stumbled on Derek Kirk Kim's "Same Difference" comic.<br /><br />The weight of that discovery threw me into another direction creatively for a long period in my life. I created my first online book From Death Til Now, which is now wrapping up its first volume. But what I found was that I was learning all over again. Learning how to create a comic from the very beginning and having to carry it through all of the steps to completion. I look back on so much of that early art that was done for From Death Til Now and it's hard to believe I drew that, and thought it was good. Honestly, I drew much much better than those pages showed, I just didn't know how to get it all out my head into the digital realm, using all of these tools.<br /><br />Now, I sit here three years later, making another decision. I spent all of last year pitching my first graphic novel The Unknowns to publishers and ultimately that didn't pan out. It's perfectly, OK. I met my agent and other great folks and the doors are open. In fact I'm still in the process of pitching my graphic novel project (more on that in a minute), but I've made a decision about how I'm going to approach my career from here on out.<br /><br />The King's Game is the title of the book I am pitching next. But rather than start working on another title or pitch next, I'm going to make this book. Whether it gets picked up or not, The King's Game is coming ( Lord willing). I had been going back and forth on this for a few months, as to if I should create another webcomic. And leading the way in that argument for making one, was my previous pitch The Unknowns. After a good talk with my wife, I made the decision that The King's Game should be the project. Because it's a simple, emotional story that can be finished in one shot and I think will be immensely fun!<br /><br />What's been the reason for this decision is that, quite frankly, I just want to tell my stories. The idea of a publisher and all of that is awesome and I will keep pursuing that sort of thing, but ultimately, I don't want to spend all of my time on pitches and have nothing else to show for.<br /><br />The reason I posted so much else about my development is because this is the first time, on the cusp of finishing FDTN book 1, that I think I'm really ready. It took a lot of work and time, but I want to approach this as professionally as possible. I want to create a book that you truly feel is worthy to be on the shelf next to any other book we love at the books store. So, it may be awhile, it may even get picked up, but The King's Game is coming.<br /><br />See you then!Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-58959044638054358712010-02-19T21:27:00.001-08:002010-02-19T21:34:12.811-08:00FDTN Book 1, Cover Revealed!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zz5jCMTyFKYuYvbLkACUqSeTZVlghByaZHVetvHczuPw4I3OhBMt4cYWVTK4U2FQdD61OdLnOLvU6fspika_MgIMKghW8OKtZJQWnCQbEWlPLoNfNbGS7fNqsB4L-uaoSx5G58hYW1s/s1600-h/cover-bk1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zz5jCMTyFKYuYvbLkACUqSeTZVlghByaZHVetvHczuPw4I3OhBMt4cYWVTK4U2FQdD61OdLnOLvU6fspika_MgIMKghW8OKtZJQWnCQbEWlPLoNfNbGS7fNqsB4L-uaoSx5G58hYW1s/s400/cover-bk1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440193144231966082" border="0" /></a>I thought I would share with everyone the completed inks for the cover of FDTN book 1. I haven't even cleaned up the red lines yet. It's coming out pretty spiffy I think. I plan to color it with a very watercolor style approach. Something different than the way I usually approach my colors work. It was hard to come up with an image that brought everything together real well and felt like a nice image overall. In the end I wanted it to feel like an Indiana Jones poster, which I think will make more sense when it's done.<br /><br />I blocked out my schedule on somethings coming up and if everything goes as I would like, I expect to be done with book 1 by April and then have the book available for purchase in June. <br /><br />A lot of work is in front of me though, as I am working to build up a second webcomic. I tend to be very cautious about starting a new project and showing it to people unless I've completed a lot of work for it. So that's making this new project take a bit more time before putting it out. But things are moving along. I feel prepared now for book 2 and I think it's really going to be a fun project moving forward now that all of the setup is done.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-19019268403078652172010-02-08T14:28:00.000-08:002010-02-08T21:04:06.232-08:00Four Years and Finally Done!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRtuHGeAtBnu8WpnGmEvbCDOH5QSn9yCqAm11wfbz29RXpUbQlI8Rv9h7qcrBRiEZSxxE9GC4ROdr3FY5zsfa4T2V0yF_nZ5ZlBktvUdERrjtreahQs0LnAwN3UhcCfBeL9UAnrzAtH0/s1600-h/IMG_6532.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRtuHGeAtBnu8WpnGmEvbCDOH5QSn9yCqAm11wfbz29RXpUbQlI8Rv9h7qcrBRiEZSxxE9GC4ROdr3FY5zsfa4T2V0yF_nZ5ZlBktvUdERrjtreahQs0LnAwN3UhcCfBeL9UAnrzAtH0/s400/IMG_6532.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436104584096638674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Well, well, well.... I did it! It took way longer than expected, but From Death Til Now book 1 is finished... As far as the line art is concerned. The first book clocks in at 152 pages, and it will have some bonus features in it as well. I'll be putting those together, but first thing is first. I have to finish the final 32 pages of the book.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcklcqzosbZh1nwoBWQnXSeoDZBz0aoOEmLIQYyU-kyQgRGisO151gKI6BDor8vxvQR1GiP_8f0soeLkYWnzhqWPd8f4N6YlfowgiM2-IPfb2Zu9EMViZVZu0jopwOMK1tv-r-wQ2IlJA/s1600-h/IMG_6531.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcklcqzosbZh1nwoBWQnXSeoDZBz0aoOEmLIQYyU-kyQgRGisO151gKI6BDor8vxvQR1GiP_8f0soeLkYWnzhqWPd8f4N6YlfowgiM2-IPfb2Zu9EMViZVZu0jopwOMK1tv-r-wQ2IlJA/s400/IMG_6531.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436104579955602994" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>It's been an odd journey with From Death Til Now. I started this project four years ago really and expected I would be finishing it a lot faster than I have been. I suppose thats the case for most. I just simply had a lot to learn about everything that goes into creating a complete comic book. But I am immensely proud that I've followed through and soon the final product will be there for people to read and enjoy.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>The other big news is that the preview for my new graphic novel pitch "The King's Game" is complete and in the works for being handed out to publishers real soon. Everything had a huge wrench thrown into it though when my agent, Brendan Deneen, left his position at the agency I'm signed with to become an editor for St. Martin's press. I'm super excited for him and he's been great to work with. Hoepfully I'll get to work with him in the future again, until then, you are awesome Brendan! Thanks for everything.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>So, what that's meant for me that I am in the process of transitioning to another agent and I'm excited about the prospect of potentially working with another agent there I'm familiar with. I'll update as that becomes available.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>But the preview itself I think is really really strong. When I compare it to The Unknowns pitch I did a year ago, I can't believe it came from the same artist. Speaking of The Unknowns.... This year I willbe starting up my next online project. At this point The Unknowns is leading the way for what will be my first all ages story.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>I've recently been doing a lot of thinking about what exactly I want to do with my comics career right now. I'm really proud of everything I've accomplished so far, but one thing is nagging me. I have only one book to show for it (and it's not even done yet)! I've spent the last two years creating pitches for publishers to consider, but so little time focusing my attention on actual projects that I will complete and put out there for people to buy and enjoy. I still very much want to keep pitching books, but I want final products to show for my time even more.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>So, with that I will be putting a much stronger focus on just creating comics and finishing the books I have in my head. We'll see how it all pans out, but I have been developing a process for creating my books that is a lot more streamlined and will allow me to blaze through it. Hopefully. I have a few things to consider, but I'm excited. I feel in the drivers seat which is really gratifying. </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>Here's to an exciting 2010 and my first completed books!</div>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-19604990666880871752010-01-09T15:20:00.001-08:002010-01-09T15:32:37.645-08:00Guest Art For Tom Dell'Aringa's Marooned!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWytkZ9CltM0hholu0hYJHT9o_8C6f_RXGhyphenhyphenUYncgRuC48K5PIff-mdVl0_t2i-cKa7B3Aetots57Iv64SeUGOZXd_v4YtqYSGm4_3IAmTFGef1gEYP6Nreed9G1yyviQVIABQ_2Vnn2M/s1600-h/marooned-web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWytkZ9CltM0hholu0hYJHT9o_8C6f_RXGhyphenhyphenUYncgRuC48K5PIff-mdVl0_t2i-cKa7B3Aetots57Iv64SeUGOZXd_v4YtqYSGm4_3IAmTFGef1gEYP6Nreed9G1yyviQVIABQ_2Vnn2M/s400/marooned-web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424884246968641666" border="0" /></a>A few months back, Tom Dell'Aringa of the webcomic, <a href="http://www.maroonedcomic.com/">Marooned</a>, asked if I would be willing to contribute a piece for the art gallery in his first book. Being a fan of Tom's I obviously said yes! I had a lot of fun working this piece and learned a lot as well. If you haven't checked out Tom's comic... Go do it already! It's a fun story and it's awesome to see how far Tom's work has progressed since he first began.<br /><br />Things of late have been slammed with progress on Amulet 3. <a href="http://djaxx.blogspot.com/">Denver Jackson</a> and I, moved from working on the flating preparation of <a href="http://www.boltcity.com">Kazu's</a> pages, to actually coloring a few. It was a huge honor to get to help see through the final process on the pages and help <a href="http://blog.jasoncaffoe.com/">Jason Caffoe</a>, <a href="http://anthonygoes.com/">Anthony Wu</a> and Kazu out as they barreled through to the end. The book looks amazing and I can't wait for everyone out there to see what we've all been up to for the past year.<br /><br />Other than that, The King's Game has been what I've been working on and I think its coming out great! So far, my agent has been ecstatic about the pages I've shown him, and I have about a month left of work I would guess before I'm ready to ship it out to him.<br /><br />Oh, and I expect From Death Til Now will return this week as well. :-)Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-27667378917633822512009-12-27T21:33:00.000-08:002009-12-29T18:02:24.986-08:002009 - Year In ReviewOne of my favorite things to do in life is to look back on all that has transpired over the course of a year and assess where things are in relation to goals, new goals, enjoyment and other of life's fun things. So here is my list for favorite things in this past year, beginning with something fun.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)">5 Favorite Movies of the Year<br /><br /></span>5. Coraline<br />4. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince<br />3. Star Trek<br />2. District 9<br />1. Up<br /><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ykerxoT84xi1sFJ-JNW2SDGRKSGBvWldPNYB7GS0_TkItWdI8m9WXPNYdVQzvdCeLft3XXSjLVz3BLWfxei9BrLlEVMd1VRDHRvUF-ZrEl7wo0-ypWf5epg7LFCUTWzlKRORO-vFeFM/s1600-h/up.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420157769784934082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ykerxoT84xi1sFJ-JNW2SDGRKSGBvWldPNYB7GS0_TkItWdI8m9WXPNYdVQzvdCeLft3XXSjLVz3BLWfxei9BrLlEVMd1VRDHRvUF-ZrEl7wo0-ypWf5epg7LFCUTWzlKRORO-vFeFM/s400/up.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">5 Books I Most Enjoyed This Year (In No Particular Order) </span></span></p><strong><span style="color:#ff9900;"></span></strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><p><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">5. Found<br />4. The Lightning Thief<br />3. Ultimate Galactus<br />2. Amulet 2<br />1. 100 Cupboards<br /></p></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1ToxOTsv6fjOv4u55b2V79EVmZ1TY5ozyTz_StoibrIufi4eGD9CTM4tSASLOMQYtiamog_ekJF9iMnf6UrCw2tCKG4bQEXqfL34uTxUn9LHs79S4JShKs44wId2V5f8sLKMN5j0hMY/s1600-h/cupboards.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420158973845064338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 235px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1ToxOTsv6fjOv4u55b2V79EVmZ1TY5ozyTz_StoibrIufi4eGD9CTM4tSASLOMQYtiamog_ekJF9iMnf6UrCw2tCKG4bQEXqfL34uTxUn9LHs79S4JShKs44wId2V5f8sLKMN5j0hMY/s400/cupboards.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)">Biggest Lessons Learned This Year</span><br /><br />- To Be thankful for all of the great blessings God has blessed me with today, and not spend so much time thinking on the future.<br />- Dreams are great to have, and should be worked diligently towards, but they pale in comparison to many other things like family, friends and service towards others. They must be kept in their proper place.<br />- The publishing world requires a lot of patience. Publishing on the web, just requires my time. Both of which I am fine with.<br />- Parenting is both a joyous and hard task. I can only pray I'm doing a good job.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)">10 Favorite Moments of the Year (In No Particular Order)</span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br /></span></span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">10. Writing a complete script for a graphic novel, The Unknowns books 1.<br />9. Finishing all of the line art for From Death Til Now volume 1.<br />8. Going on our first family trip to Disney.<br />7. Finding out I'll be an uncle again. Twice!</span></span><br />6. Getting promoted at work.<span style="COLOR: rgb(255,153,0)"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-size:0;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">5. Watching my daughter grow up all year long.<br />4. Signing with my literary agent, pitching our first book and seeing doors open for the future.<br />3. Seeing my name in print on a comic book. Check out the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi to see my name bringing the supporting role, beginning with volume 2.<br />2. Going up to NYC to visit my father.<br />1. Celebrating another year with my amazing wife.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3j0puzCJfx2Jb_RSIvaKMBPHNezUsofkKG320h0PjPKWe_IYsV_CvSMhrRu3lL2YAeYy7N3ALyrfwYIFSz44abXC5DGTUbFLiKKEHOPeYMaBHpTweVHdMxr-4rvORAlgWbNn0_bfC83U/s1600-h/disney.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420160354972640002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3j0puzCJfx2Jb_RSIvaKMBPHNezUsofkKG320h0PjPKWe_IYsV_CvSMhrRu3lL2YAeYy7N3ALyrfwYIFSz44abXC5DGTUbFLiKKEHOPeYMaBHpTweVHdMxr-4rvORAlgWbNn0_bfC83U/s400/disney.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />So this is a bit of an abbreviated list. I do a lot more thinking on things, especially on New Year's Eve night. I'm a bit of a resolution setter. I think having goals and working towards them is a great thing for anyone to do. They should be goals that you really do care about though. Not throw offs that you just put down on paper to say you did it. I think long and hard about what those things are and if they are obtainable. If they aren't I try and set stepping stones to get the process started. So, I hope you enjoyed my look back at the year. Feel free to share your favorite moments here too!Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-47214881122711670862009-12-15T22:17:00.000-08:002009-12-15T22:20:04.104-08:00Awesome Video Interview With N. D. WilsonMy favorite children's author has an interview that was posted up on youtube recently. Thought I'd share it. Again he brings some awesome words of wisdom on the craft:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yOK4EjUB9Xs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yOK4EjUB9Xs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Also, check out an interview he did about his other book called Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl, a compilation of thoughts and essays on God and His world. Also great reading:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmXQiuLTcdo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmXQiuLTcdo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-77232685858855709842009-12-03T07:18:00.000-08:002009-12-04T14:07:45.608-08:00First Peek At "THE KING'S GAME" - Page ProcessSo, I have been working on another pitch for a graphic novel that is under the working title of The King's Game. I thought it would be fun to share with you all the first completed page and show you how I did it. Let's start with the original image:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosx0FTq6yx9f-Ibc6mO3FUKMkAF4gvfi-zjtO4T95eaM3_VYbZOz0B1YSYizs-BsGsQbII8biQCYT-dX4-43ydRwE95FvrlTGbG3T6GT0gt1oyp2tFywLsrJlWNWpyjRfkIOeVB1UhnA/s1600-h/page_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosx0FTq6yx9f-Ibc6mO3FUKMkAF4gvfi-zjtO4T95eaM3_VYbZOz0B1YSYizs-BsGsQbII8biQCYT-dX4-43ydRwE95FvrlTGbG3T6GT0gt1oyp2tFywLsrJlWNWpyjRfkIOeVB1UhnA/s400/page_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411031424827493794" border="0" /></a> This was my first concept of what the page would look like. I had the idea of it being a small coliseum with a water pit and you wouldn't see any of the creatures in the water until later when our hero's ended up in it. The image was useful for the the intimacy of the event, but eventually I thought (and with other great input from friends and artists) it needed to be more epic feeling. I then got the idea of putting the whole thing out on an open ocean with a coliseum built on the edge of a rock face which lead to this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFe6pB90uY8K0QILiyPybvu5p6PK-qac2_OnmweYRz_CJnzVL67IeRAzbozxe2kF7losyDZX7peFlgSEYWjIDYzezADwqWwf2GfOetctH5NmGOx6Qf1iF4Z_bozY-Em3gJz__WwnGd4Jg/s1600-h/preview_04-5_pencils.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFe6pB90uY8K0QILiyPybvu5p6PK-qac2_OnmweYRz_CJnzVL67IeRAzbozxe2kF7losyDZX7peFlgSEYWjIDYzezADwqWwf2GfOetctH5NmGOx6Qf1iF4Z_bozY-Em3gJz__WwnGd4Jg/s400/preview_04-5_pencils.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411031434154222418" border="0" /></a>These are my original pencils for the page. I do this all on 8.5 paper. It helps me see the scope of everything in a smaller way. I get lost on a larger format. I take these loose scribblings and scan them into the computer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13LAuQy8mQsmuCzN4XAkCnZEtn3GPTaeLFQfPbB_Q9tG4N4-CvoFUt3L9V54HlsnxJldviQaG3_gNijH4WzBnprVEvnOK63E4YH5OdGeZSDoEQa6VajsPsDHKciExZGe5UmUMC4udajg/s1600-h/preview_04-5_reds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13LAuQy8mQsmuCzN4XAkCnZEtn3GPTaeLFQfPbB_Q9tG4N4-CvoFUt3L9V54HlsnxJldviQaG3_gNijH4WzBnprVEvnOK63E4YH5OdGeZSDoEQa6VajsPsDHKciExZGe5UmUMC4udajg/s400/preview_04-5_reds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411031437643907906" border="0" /></a>As you may have seen in an earlier post on my Bounty Hunter drawing, I then convert these lines to red line art in PS using a fill layer and set the layer to Screen. This will turn all of my lines into the shade of red I want. From there I print this out on two pieces of bristol card stock and tap the pages together so I can do the inks. I stick to this format for now because its what my printer handles with ease and I don't think it hurts the final product.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXH4syGvoEvSCfnyVXryHt-yxCZbJ-qvLS3z2hQO9pw237sKkq2pYV7GEBZ9AcQev2fXWwk9jkxQ7MPScO4JNwmvhwXToJgCIOnhyOzRBhXLXonDAgJQ1je42mesfgj9XT_NBBC2-BlE/s1600-h/preview_04-5_inks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXH4syGvoEvSCfnyVXryHt-yxCZbJ-qvLS3z2hQO9pw237sKkq2pYV7GEBZ9AcQev2fXWwk9jkxQ7MPScO4JNwmvhwXToJgCIOnhyOzRBhXLXonDAgJQ1je42mesfgj9XT_NBBC2-BlE/s400/preview_04-5_inks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411031439111986210" border="0" /></a>After I've inked the whole thing I scan it into PS and removed the red line art using the Hue/Saturation tool. Then I do some clean ups using a soft white airbrush set to color dodge nd the opacity turned down to 14. This lets me pick up small artifacts that remain after the red has been pulled out and holds up the darker intended lines.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcirP6entBbmbFY1jsVGsHuNHsdxID3YCXghdUsCJfEUFQGxfXTja7GjyuvX3Yjy_d4cKU2NKOm6V_k26D-61EL8w39ArNeAbzvRC3zBt8RLzcUNupW_DL94k6ruc1kgbUU8JDZXn_S0/s1600-h/preview_04-5_flats.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcirP6entBbmbFY1jsVGsHuNHsdxID3YCXghdUsCJfEUFQGxfXTja7GjyuvX3Yjy_d4cKU2NKOm6V_k26D-61EL8w39ArNeAbzvRC3zBt8RLzcUNupW_DL94k6ruc1kgbUU8JDZXn_S0/s400/preview_04-5_flats.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411031441035236162" border="0" /></a>The next step is to Flat the page. This is basically breaking down all of the shapes into layer groups for easy selection. I can then paint freely on one object without fear of it impacting the others around it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbCVkFwEhh9QcFdxYPTYINDxxGWX6ZSGgNHDY_Lpf3WqaycvbfNN7vBSwHotaLEwCgy9Ez7rBEf_f5wkFlYdm1qNcClUek-OYyccKhiot2qgAa1NNg-Vu5USva9TLXuVWdiFuDyzRrrg/s1600-h/preview_04-5_grays.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbCVkFwEhh9QcFdxYPTYINDxxGWX6ZSGgNHDY_Lpf3WqaycvbfNN7vBSwHotaLEwCgy9Ez7rBEf_f5wkFlYdm1qNcClUek-OYyccKhiot2qgAa1NNg-Vu5USva9TLXuVWdiFuDyzRrrg/s400/preview_04-5_grays.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411034417892271218" border="0" /></a>Even more important than color in a painting is the values of the colors. These help things recede and push forward. You can use temperatures to do this as well, but value that works well can create just as stunning of an image as one with vibrant color. Even more so if the artist has no sense of values. So what I've done is started using a fill layer set to a middle gray tone and the layer set to color. I put this on top of everything and will constantly toggle back to it as a way of checking if things are separating like they should and if my focal point is working correctly. I caught a lot of stuff this way.<br /><br />And finally:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LNffIey8NYO_jRxhOkblGCiLNpRdsEBV9B4jaFth8EtAQU4PN84nO0eKsCtw3gwJdsqtduDiKRsmqrlvTeFq9GIdgMo8DBjfwBj2Hi8f4lADTTRXq7ePjqnz1ZU0FKZSD2fcsaqmQlQ/s1600-h/preview_04-5_v03c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LNffIey8NYO_jRxhOkblGCiLNpRdsEBV9B4jaFth8EtAQU4PN84nO0eKsCtw3gwJdsqtduDiKRsmqrlvTeFq9GIdgMo8DBjfwBj2Hi8f4lADTTRXq7ePjqnz1ZU0FKZSD2fcsaqmQlQ/s400/preview_04-5_v03c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411505619746963026" border="0" /></a>I complete the painting. This thing kicked my butt. I pushed myself hard on this and I think the result is better than I imagined. Its got me excited for the rest of the scene coming up and with this image in place, I'm set to start painting the rest of the scene.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LNffIey8NYO_jRxhOkblGCiLNpRdsEBV9B4jaFth8EtAQU4PN84nO0eKsCtw3gwJdsqtduDiKRsmqrlvTeFq9GIdgMo8DBjfwBj2Hi8f4lADTTRXq7ePjqnz1ZU0FKZSD2fcsaqmQlQ/s1600-h/preview_04-5_v03c.jpg"><br /></a>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-57627187391940309932009-11-13T10:12:00.000-08:002009-11-13T10:40:08.185-08:00The Process Starts All Over Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_ZRbjsAsHhUGjE0-3bBKC_zwv3EvjM7cJjDd1FUODAovfKmAjviqD6g7_daReAIwGyjUYIaQFjmoFPHssEKKCv7FmuPV3TFzWkMucTF669Ts89jagbPjmTgUTwJkFbBq2NSb_2jytjA/s1600-h/IMG_5592.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_ZRbjsAsHhUGjE0-3bBKC_zwv3EvjM7cJjDd1FUODAovfKmAjviqD6g7_daReAIwGyjUYIaQFjmoFPHssEKKCv7FmuPV3TFzWkMucTF669Ts89jagbPjmTgUTwJkFbBq2NSb_2jytjA/s400/IMG_5592.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403653089836786674" border="0" /></a>Well the whole process for The Unknowns is winding down to what appears to be a no go at this time for it getting picked up. That's put me back at square one with everything as far as preparing a comic for submission to publishers. I actually really enjoy this process. The Unknowns got really solid readback from a few big publishing houses and I don't hate them for not picking it up. They have to make a business decision and unfortunately they passed for now. For now. :-) The door is still open. Not all responses have been returned. You know who you are. <br /><br />But if you want to get something published in a traditional manner I have learned two big things; patience and continued work. The down time between finishing up one project and pitching the next is not chillax time. It's the time you use to prepare the next thing.<br /><br />So I sat down this week and started penciling up the preview sequence for the next project. My agent was really excited about this one when I first showed him an image of it. Which really got me pumped because I was already excited to get the ball rolling on it. I put together the roughs and started cracking. This project has felt like, as Kazu Kibuishi sometimes says, editing a movie. I have used the pencils from several pages and then went back and completely rearranged the layouts and angles from the shots. Forming either whole new pages or more dynamic shots. Photoshop has really made this process easier. It's weird looking at the first two penciled pages because I have done two "takes" on them and it feels like two totally different cuts of the same moments. Only heightened in the second versions. It's been the hardest I've ever worked on creating a sequence. Thanks to Josh Ulrich for some really good suggestions and keeping me honest. You're making it awesome with me! I'm happy to say, it's also shaping up to be one beast of a preview. Truly terrifying.<br /><br />One of the things I have spent a lot of time thinking about lately has been the place that webcomics is going to have in my future moving forward. It seems a lot of people take one and leave the other. Meaning going through a standard publisher and/or striking it out on your own through webcomics.<br /><br />I owe a lot to webcomics. My graphic novel From Death Til Now has given me the courage and confidence in my own abilities that I can create the stories I want. And the beauty of all of it is, that the web will ALWAYS allow for that. Meaning that while I am going after a publishing deal for several of my properties, I am not depending on them to be the life or death of my projects. The Unknowns may become a webcomic at some point. And I think it's just as viable a way to tell my stories or get them out of my head. My hesitation with a project like it and the web is that it's a series of novels and will take years to finish. Just like FDTN, so I don't need another one. But I guess my point is that a successful artist is not one who limits themselves or their opportunities. So with that in mind, I am looking to release a whole new graphic novel web property next year. It will be a one and done style book, so I can get in and get out. But I plan to make it something really special and fun. So we'll see what the new year holds! <br /><br />And don't worry FDTN readers. It'll be around too. :-)Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-48450956150372250352009-11-08T11:27:00.000-08:002009-11-08T12:03:52.758-08:00Bounty Hunter 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9I7cW08iSnIFWRZaluYeRJseW54gSfWHPsU3p_fKDTnqxrw5RBZGpMhj9NYrqoQqjOyusGP1guGpby4N06nwmvJ1JyarGzkEW887-GgLlLRXXWKXcnMBDQVV_3pzFlWJyKD1kB2GrDj0/s1600-h/bounty-2b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9I7cW08iSnIFWRZaluYeRJseW54gSfWHPsU3p_fKDTnqxrw5RBZGpMhj9NYrqoQqjOyusGP1guGpby4N06nwmvJ1JyarGzkEW887-GgLlLRXXWKXcnMBDQVV_3pzFlWJyKD1kB2GrDj0/s400/bounty-2b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401825981726889426" border="0" /></a><br />I spent some time this weekend completely a second drawing of my bounty hunter character. I actually begun it awhile back but things got busy and it took some time. I'm pretty happy with how it call came out. I figuring this digital coloring thing out.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-14190079420448595472009-11-05T09:21:00.000-08:002009-11-05T09:24:31.441-08:00CollisonN D Wilson is a writer I have discussed earlier. Well, his father is a pretty prominent person in the Christian world. He and his father edit magazine called the Credenda Agenda. His father also went on a tour of debates with Atheist Christopher Hitchens. They've made a movie about it. Looks pretty intriguing:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vtFENgBUllA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vtFENgBUllA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Sorry for no big art updates at this time. I've been busy with a lot, but unable to say much for now. Still getting my feet under me. Stay tuned for those updates as they come.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-34566066470799690632009-10-20T13:38:00.000-07:002009-10-30T08:20:20.572-07:00Amulet 3 Update and Video<div>Days and nights have been filled lately with production assists on Amulet 3. Denver Jackson, Stuart Livingston and myself have been laying down what are called the "flats" for each page. A process you can find out more about <a href="http://www.boltcity.com/workshop/amulet/flatting/">here</a>.<br /><br />The task has been hugley rewarding and fun to get get to know the rest of the crew, which at this time is the "flats crew," Jason Caffoe, Anthony Go Wu and our leader Kazu Kibuishi. I stumbled across this video and thought it was pretty cool for those who like Amulet and for those who would like an intro to the project. This appears to have been made back in the production of book 1. Enjoy!<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fdBM3TgSJ3o&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fdBM3TgSJ3o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value=""></object></div>Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-79607578409034146962009-10-12T17:24:00.000-07:002009-10-12T17:35:26.225-07:00What To Do While You Wait...It's been a couple of months of waiting on news regarding The Unknowns. We had some interest from a large publishing house, but we're still holding on to any news from them as well. My agent and others tell me no news is good news at this point. I've also read that this isn't uncommon and so therefore, I should chillax. So, I haven't lost much hope for it. The most difficult thing is the waiting. You spend so much time and energy getting something togther, you're super pumped when it leaves your hands and then you wait.... and wait... and wait. I feel bad for my agent. Not only does he need to sell my material, he has to deal with my impatient, sometimes insecure self. He's always been very kind.<br /><br />I decided to email him recently to ask what he thought I should be busy working on right now, while we wait. He suggested that I start working on the next idea. Because while we still hold a lot of hope out for The Unknowns, having the next thing ready to go can keep us moving. I've already prepared a packet on my Kevin story to pitch the bigger idea to publishers. I actually am really excited about this idea. I think it's going to be really fun and unique. <br /><br />I then came up with another idea that <a href="http://michaelregina.blogspot.com/2009/08/game.html">I've posted a concept piece from here on the blog already</a>. I can't give much away about it here, but after showing it to my agent and others, the feedback has been really strong. So I've been developing a proposal piece for this and that ought to keep me quite busy while we're waitng for final words. No worries though, it's still too early.<br /><br />Beyond that, I've found that the best rememdy for idleness is just keeping at things. I recently had to set up a priority list of projects so that I could get some things done. It can be hard to be patient, but when you keep the work in front of you, you stay focused and purposeful with your time.<br /><br />At least that's what I tell myself... before I click refresh on my email box.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-79568244596685295242009-09-23T22:34:00.000-07:002009-09-23T23:01:36.317-07:00Thoughts On Dreams<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TUZwdbeS2mM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TUZwdbeS2mM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey is one of those songs that every time I hear it, I get a super pumped. (sorry for the crazy ammounts of pop ups that are on this video) But the song reminds to hold on to that which matters most to you.<br /><br />My wife and I have fallen in love with the show "Glee" which is where this version of this song comes from. What I love so much about this show is that it reinforces a lot of good things that are missing in high school dramas. Now, granted it supports A LOT of things I don't think are very healthy. The core of the show, however, deals with kids getting over themselves and realizing their potential, or embracing a dream. While it may not be a show to live by, point after point, it does have a lot of redeeming qualities: The high school football star realizes he doesn't care what people thinks and pursues his dreams of singing. The struggling teacher finds purpose again in going after a life he's "really passionate about." It's full of those sorts of things.<br /><br />Why this matters to me is because I think there's a misconception with people. We're all raised as children to believe we can become anything we want to be. We believe it and pretty quickly want to become a dinosaur when we grow up. I kid, obviously, but kids do have real dreams that grow out of themselves from that sort of thing. When I was in third grade I wanted to be a marine biologist. It was then that I had my first adult moment, now that I look back on it.<br /><br />I pretty well remember being at the beach, playing around with fish in the water and thinking, "I do not feel like studying science this much or touching these things everyday." I then wanted to be a ninja, before taking out a sheet of paper to draw one. Shortly after comics became a real desire in my heart.<br /><br />So, the misconception I think kids are given is this. We are told we can be whatever we want to be when we grow up, but we tend forget the qualifying statement attached to that: if you work REALLY hard. I spent most of my life in high school wanting to be a comic book artist, but I think drew maybe 15 pages of actual comics work. It wasn't really until about 8 years later that I got really serious about creating comics. I have truly come to appreciate that wisdom of working hard at things. What I think happens with us is we believe that once we go to college for that dream job, we will be able to graduate and end up in our desired field. We're all a bit dismayed when we end up going into a completely different profession. What happens is we get comfortable making a living and that's good for a lot of people. And I do believe that it is enough for a lot people, and that's a great thing. I really do think that. What bothers me are the people who sit watching the tv at night and wonder if they'll ever have a job they love, having a life that they are truly passionate about.<br /><br />I'm very happy about all of things I have. I have a great job, I have a loving family, home etc. The Lord has been so good to me. But I know where I want to go. And I sing that great ballad by Journey to myself every so often to remind myself to keep going. No matter what. Because I too believe that you should be passionate about the life you live. That means a lot of things to a lot of people. Whatever it is (beyond it being illegal, completely gross or just silly) you should keep that flame alive. Dedicate your life to it and work with all your might. You never know... One day you may realize it's come true.<br /><br />So get to work.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-77516205973268844402009-09-22T22:01:00.000-07:002009-09-23T21:48:57.022-07:00An Interview With Kazu KibuishiHey Everyone!<br /><br />Today I have a special treat for those who come by and visit on occasion. Amulet creator <a href="http://www.boltcity.com/">Kazu Kibuishi</a> took some time out to answer some interview questions from me. Kazu is my favorite creator in the business. It's really refreshing to see such family friendly material that just glows on the page. This is the kind of comic making I wish I could have found as a kid.<br /><br />The sequel to the Amulet series<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stonekeepers-Curse-Amulet-Book/dp/0439846838/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253682919&sr=8-1"> "The Stonekeepers Curse"</a> debuted at the number 2 spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list for Graphic Books - Paperback! I was fortunate enough to be an assistant on this book and I'm really happy Kazu fit some time in his busy schedule to answer these for us.<br /><br />I hope you all enjoy the interview, and look forward to some more interviews with other artists/creators/friends that inspire me real soon!<br /><br />-----------------------------<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSgH7VExFDFz7mg6cbX5Q_wbWmSXkt3flg9ituGjKCwwoW1WFvbRYxchz-bCsGdkpCAdr2mvCB_BOxtSCZ_uYUpGw1vwwNzrMlIA15FPIGdAyFqrr2bj7agIVdQI2ThhD00TO8bZqLLE/s1600-h/gadobatrees_01_02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384530149929396626" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 306px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSgH7VExFDFz7mg6cbX5Q_wbWmSXkt3flg9ituGjKCwwoW1WFvbRYxchz-bCsGdkpCAdr2mvCB_BOxtSCZ_uYUpGw1vwwNzrMlIA15FPIGdAyFqrr2bj7agIVdQI2ThhD00TO8bZqLLE/s400/gadobatrees_01_02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">MR: Can you give us an overview of </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_0" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Amulet</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">?</span><br /></span><br /><div>KAZU: Amulet is the story of two kids, Emily and Navin, who travel into a fantasy world to save their mother's life. Emily is aided in her quest by a powerful, and potentially evil, amulet, as well as a host of robots and talking animals.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">You've talked a lot about how</span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_1" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> Silas (Emily and Navin's Great Grandfather)</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> was a puzzle-maker. I was really intrigued by this idea and it figured a bit in the first book. Is that going to become a bigger part of the overall story later? The idea of puzzles?</span></span></span><br /><br /></div><div>Yes. Puzzles, and especially games, will play a major part in the last chapters of the series.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">As a </span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">graphic novel</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> creator myself, I've found a lot of wisdom in seeing you work through a creative process on Amulet. What's been the biggest challenge in creating these single volume </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_3" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">graphic novels</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">?</span></span><br /><br /></div><div>The biggest challenge has been in breaking down the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_4">writing process</span> into a short, fast-paced schedule. Once everything is written and thumbnailed, it's very easy to schedule the production. The more I get to know the story and characters, however, I am finding that the writing is becoming more manageable. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the self-discipline. Since much of the book is created in a vacuum- with my publisher a country away and with no formal editor on the project (beginning on Amulet 3) - it's difficult to keep myself motivated to keep progressing at a proper pace.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0wyiAF0UDBw0g5_UgXkDLccrOeGDwIBIlqIaYhHdvJsG09Wy-sV5NRXobEagIdEsgVCC6YRxJwQyDeFJifBNdXvVb8lMkuVgnbJwvllDQS5o84dCRFPRKCkqFe4kyZ1vuFA2lRxfE8c/s1600-h/41464294.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384530509354879266" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 274px; cursor: pointer; height: 400px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0wyiAF0UDBw0g5_UgXkDLccrOeGDwIBIlqIaYhHdvJsG09Wy-sV5NRXobEagIdEsgVCC6YRxJwQyDeFJifBNdXvVb8lMkuVgnbJwvllDQS5o84dCRFPRKCkqFe4kyZ1vuFA2lRxfE8c/s400/41464294.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">There are a lot of artists out there who are wanting to create bigger stories like this, but are trying to figure out how to get started. What would be your advice to those out there who are trying to find their way as </span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_5" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">comic artists</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">, or more importantly, storytellers?</span></span><br /><br /></div><div>Start out with something simple and manageable. I did many short stories before I even considered tackling a large project professionally. Of course, I did attempt to get large projects started in my free time for many years before Flight, Daisy Kutter, and Amulet, but I never was able to completely follow through. My ambitions were greater than my actual skill and experience. It wasn't until I created the Copper stories, which are single-page standlone stories with a beginning, middle, and end, that I found a way to build confidence as a storyteller. Since then, I began to see storytelling and worldbuilding as something simple and organic. Every story project is the same at their core, whether it's a single Copper comic or an Amulet book, but they can be allowed to grow bigger on their own accord. The concept for Amulet was simple. Much of it was built around two concepts. I wanted to show kids having to grow up faster than they intended, and I wanted to use a fantasy world to get these ideas across. Once that was set into motion, the characters took over and now I follow them. One of the great joys about my job is that I get to see these characters start asking larger questions I never thought to ask before, and I can go on the journey with them to see what answers they can find.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">With two volumes now under your belt with Amulet, what have you found to be the best way for writing these single books? Do you approach it as one large script or break it off in pieces?</span></span><br /></span><br /></div><div>I write a very brief synopsis of the entire book on one page, and I generally stick to it as my guide. If it reads well in the short form, and people get excited about the book because of it, then I know I have a solid foundation to build on. After that, I break the story up into several manageable chunks and treat each section like I would a short story, and essentially create my own <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_6" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;">comics anthology</span>. I don't write a script because I find that most times the images alone tell the story very clearly.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">I was fortunate enough to help you on Amulet volume 2, The Stonekeepers Curse, and I found the process of working in a group a really rewarding one. I've made some encouraging friends and acquaintances because of it. How do you feel getting back to this type of system is going to open comics up for new creators to get more and more prolific work out there?</span></span><br /></span><br /></div><div>It is so much fun doing comics this way, compared to drawing and coloring it all by myself. I think two of the biggest problems a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_7" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;">comic artist</span> faces are often loneliness and an overwhelming amount of work. By collaborating with others who are excited about the project, much of the pain caused by these problems is alleviated. Perhaps it's because I just like being around people, but this system works well for me. Hopefully, this type of set up encourages people who are used to working in large companies to make the transition to drawing comics professionally.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">We've been seeing a real encouraging boom in all ages graphic novels which has been great for everyone. Do you feel like finally comics are being given some real credit in help young people read and in education?</span></span><br /><br /></div><div>Since I grew up during a time when comics were extremely popular and watched as that popularity imploded over the years, I feel more like we're just beginning to get back on track with creating comics that service a true mainstream audience. The audience has, at least over the past decade, wanted comics to be a part of their life, but the creators moved away from the mainstream audience to service a very vocal minority, and by doing so backed themselves into a corner. The widely growing use of all ages comics as a developmental tool is a reflection of both children who are hungry for fun comics material (since very few people have been creating work for them) and an adult audience wanting to pass their love of comics down to the younger generations. The creators of comics are the ones who need to step forward and accept the social responsibilties of educating and entertaining the young readers, so it's not so much that the audience has been embracing the all ages comics but that the creators are more willing to make material for them.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">You've started up a studio system now and you've been preparing a couple of new </span></span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253683063_8" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">graphic novel projects</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">. How has that experience been and is there anything you can share with us about those new projects?</span></span><br /></span><br /></div><div>The experience has been great. Get back to me in a couple of years and I'll let you know if it turns out well!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Thank you for your time. I can't wait for next volume of Amulet and everything else coming out of your studio!</span></span> </span><br /><br /></div>Thanks Michael! And thanks for your help on Amulet 2!Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-91570426485184435802009-09-13T13:12:00.000-07:002009-09-13T13:16:59.400-07:00From Death Til Now Comes Back!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hBfymNYNRCcPG-3PZUtstS4lYmvVE8T4oIPFiC6vvQ_lfciZ9pEQl_8eVMYJjJLCZxfHZhxe3DJRXnRwjrRPYq1bAQGe3jTAO-Efbx6e9RahdY87xEXz3H0bQwAwZ6qvOgru0ArQ8Yc/s1600-h/page-a110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hBfymNYNRCcPG-3PZUtstS4lYmvVE8T4oIPFiC6vvQ_lfciZ9pEQl_8eVMYJjJLCZxfHZhxe3DJRXnRwjrRPYq1bAQGe3jTAO-Efbx6e9RahdY87xEXz3H0bQwAwZ6qvOgru0ArQ8Yc/s400/page-a110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381047592031624242" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.fromdeathtilnow.com"><br />From Death Til Now</a>, my online graphic novel, is back in full swing with weekly updates. It was really nice to spend some time finishing up the line art of the first book. Hopefully soon I will pick up the weekly updates to more than one page a week. It's been nice to get back in the saddle though and start seeing some finished pages again.<br /><br />In other news, Amulet 2 debut at the number 2 slot on the New York Times Bestsellers list for paperback graphic novels. Congrats to Kazu and the rest of the crew on a great book and first week!<br /><br />See everyone next week with the next FDTN page.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-8750376198726484642009-09-01T19:28:00.001-07:002009-09-01T19:50:55.668-07:00Amulet 2 Hits Shelves Today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOLammpUK0kwMJ38rPSvq6B2Fub1LNHtB6oV4Ipi_L2l0VscoC8vBl14dZF3NimZkMvPFTs9fvOC-mUjWwTGDSkfkA2ejaiE-NNDxgYSJcJoogYHjVkqG84caEI31O6ZRRKHPhxaZeIQ/s1600-h/amulet-poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOLammpUK0kwMJ38rPSvq6B2Fub1LNHtB6oV4Ipi_L2l0VscoC8vBl14dZF3NimZkMvPFTs9fvOC-mUjWwTGDSkfkA2ejaiE-NNDxgYSJcJoogYHjVkqG84caEI31O6ZRRKHPhxaZeIQ/s400/amulet-poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376691404920657954" border="0" /></a>Above is a piece of fan art I did for the Amulet series by <a href="http://www.boltcity.com/">Kazu Kibuishi</a>. When I sat down to do this, I really wanted to do something that felt like an official style poster since I've been working on my design skills. I'm happy with the result :-)<br /><br />I was fortunate enough to be a part of the crew of people working on the sequel to this awesome graphic novel series: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stonekeepers-Curse-Amulet-Book/dp/043984682X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251859268&sr=8-1">Amulet: The Stonekeepers Curse</a>. I owe a lot to Kazu and his contributions to comics. He's been very kind to all of us who've helped him. The people I've gotten to know as a result to working on this has been a real added bonus. You guys are awesome and I hope I get to know all of you better.<br /><br />If you haven't read the series or are already a fan, let me tell you, book 2 is awesome. It's everything you'd hope for in a sequel to the first book. So, pick it up everybody!Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-79215700888022522562009-08-28T22:17:00.000-07:002009-08-28T22:19:56.548-07:00The Game<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDDeHXz0I7DZ-zooqICBVHeGCHYaUHf61Ez9vvDk9HzlVekDSjRYfssjRDR6xcJIbSbl2eVOZVAP_MeSmEQtMzX-FF5XmgfHZUDNVxM0CME8zJNVX3ZdBfBessUFRT9f9b2vhQrFnGPM/s1600-h/board-game.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDDeHXz0I7DZ-zooqICBVHeGCHYaUHf61Ez9vvDk9HzlVekDSjRYfssjRDR6xcJIbSbl2eVOZVAP_MeSmEQtMzX-FF5XmgfHZUDNVxM0CME8zJNVX3ZdBfBessUFRT9f9b2vhQrFnGPM/s400/board-game.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375250766757115474" border="0" /></a><br />This week's painting is a conceptual painting around a story idea I am still in the infant stage on, called "The Game." It was quite the challenge to push myself on. Hope you all enjoy it. Click the image above to view the larger file.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-60579904704600710252009-08-27T20:25:00.001-07:002009-08-27T20:47:57.441-07:00Taking The Time Out For MeLately I've spent a lot of time drawing and painting for myself. This past two weeks I've drawn five illustrations and painted two. The first one was the Bounty Hunter (see below) and the second was a fun pin up I had drawn of the Amulet series awhile back that I had never painted. What was so rewarding about this is that I have never really allowed myself to just do this stuff for the sake of doing it in years. Since I graduated college I have spent most of my time drawing and painting as a career thing, to one degree or another. While I'm still doing a lot of work for projects that are coming up, this has been a really refreshing time for me. I've always wanted to spend more time working on building up better single image style drawing. Over the coming weeks expect to see a lot of one off drawings here on the board. I'll post my Amulet piece once the book comes out. I don't want any spoiler type things at this point, but I was really happy with it. So a word to all of you hard workers out there. Take some time to splurge on yourself creatively. Mentally you need it sometimes.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178998013332907990.post-70681409800491922872009-08-21T23:01:00.000-07:002009-08-22T07:47:48.228-07:00Bounty HunterI drew for pure fun today for the first time in a long while. I decided to spend some time drawing a character I had been developing a few months back. I'm pretty happy with how it came out.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNs0IQIjMHnVkjJeSfnNDv0hQcQ5LLLy0qism7R3IiZhTzHlmZOCl01NjACbAsLwO8_qU8QAOy4Riy8isLSJMtBLBHbdCz26NO6pAEdrjKfdv1R8BtFkF1EuHW__iwWtxFIeMyT6hw_8/s1600-h/bounty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNs0IQIjMHnVkjJeSfnNDv0hQcQ5LLLy0qism7R3IiZhTzHlmZOCl01NjACbAsLwO8_qU8QAOy4Riy8isLSJMtBLBHbdCz26NO6pAEdrjKfdv1R8BtFkF1EuHW__iwWtxFIeMyT6hw_8/s400/bounty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372799611739848354" border="0" /></a>I decided it would be cool to show you all my process. So here's how it all starts...<br /><br />This is the original rough drawing. I make a lot of mistakes in my drawing process, so doing my initial drawing this way really lets me be messy and get what I always intended from the drawing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FhOiuc-VqzTS8I1EEUoAecI6EdqSH96Nlx62yOStyz2CEEkUWmdE4aBTJtQwWe5DcPSrNc5l1GvGTT0ptMhSurMZLYItVtLJ5SxBH2gIqhLZXM2S7w8ifPSLw_DsUX5rtjPpQdjUGPU/s1600-h/hunter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FhOiuc-VqzTS8I1EEUoAecI6EdqSH96Nlx62yOStyz2CEEkUWmdE4aBTJtQwWe5DcPSrNc5l1GvGTT0ptMhSurMZLYItVtLJ5SxBH2gIqhLZXM2S7w8ifPSLw_DsUX5rtjPpQdjUGPU/s400/hunter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372665608831338946" border="0" /></a><br />I then scan that drawing into the computer and convert the pencil line work to red lines like so...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgTFWiA69TLNFqx2mUimEedeH1xdwnr_o7_j5Ko9OOSuPJvsPAyOt0cDKq07D3Pt73lxXXgPEhLgTQ4-cH1h0CUlWMSchPmpQYRyZmx7QUYlc7maPIddKdatE6vFsS9J-H2_WLbTWyqw/s1600-h/hunter+reds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgTFWiA69TLNFqx2mUimEedeH1xdwnr_o7_j5Ko9OOSuPJvsPAyOt0cDKq07D3Pt73lxXXgPEhLgTQ4-cH1h0CUlWMSchPmpQYRyZmx7QUYlc7maPIddKdatE6vFsS9J-H2_WLbTWyqw/s400/hunter+reds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372665617859378722" border="0" /></a><br />Then I print that off on a sheet of bristol and draw it all again using a 2B pencil which helps the coloring process have a more painterly feel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYypE4ZWt96U06fblzKMueEmkh7f_ZyXNKdIq4cxqeNRg5KwJnGfShW_HMrTSTnbcbnzZiIMez0Nn-Ulflp08dC5N1nQNEg9hG27N9EsclJ_F1KBeascGdt26MsefiKqq2nKFaawBFwN4/s1600-h/bounty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYypE4ZWt96U06fblzKMueEmkh7f_ZyXNKdIq4cxqeNRg5KwJnGfShW_HMrTSTnbcbnzZiIMez0Nn-Ulflp08dC5N1nQNEg9hG27N9EsclJ_F1KBeascGdt26MsefiKqq2nKFaawBFwN4/s400/bounty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372665627235287714" border="0" /></a>And well, you've already seen the finished product. From here I flat the whole thing in with simple colors and go to town coloring.<br /><br />I meant to save an image of the flats, but I had forgot.Michael Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361885564494159397noreply@blogger.com1