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Friday, November 20th, 2009
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1:31 pm - Book and SDCC madness
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Well, that happened fast. Posts on Facebook from friends either snagging or being turned down for San Diego Comic Con tables caused me to, with some bleariness, start looking into SDCC 2010. I had sort of thought about going but wasn't really sure, and since the book won't be out by then it wasn't a must. But I thought, probably best to get a first wave of promotion out at SDCC and get my feet wet there (never been before), so that when I do actually have a book in hand I won't be trying to learn the SDCC ropes at a time when all will be chaos.
Lucky me: Prism Comics has been selling my minis at SDCC and other shows for years now, and they always open up booth space for creators to come do signings. So my current plan is to buy a table share with Prism for a couple of days (the con is 4 days) and hang with the gays. In 2011, when I'll actually have physical books (not just minis) to sell, I can look at doing the full 4 days.
SDCC is still the holy grail of comic conventions despite its obsession with movie and video game promo (but who can blame them? Movies and video games both make buckets more money than comics). Ya kinda sorta Have To Do It at least once.
In book news, I am eschewing all other work distractions for the entire week of Thanksgiving to work on the thing. My goal is to finish up ALLLLL the storyboards, and to go back and tighten up the dialogue on everything. It's the sort of work that comes most easily when I'm immersed in it rather than trying to poke at it for a couple of hours a day amidst a host of other distractions, so I am hoping for a very productive week. Then, first week of December, I have a phone meeting with my editor to go over the things what need going over.
So! Things are happening and madness, as ever, reigns supreme.
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| Monday, November 9th, 2009
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9:28 am - And the winner is ...
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Monster C! Who did not actually receive the most votes (came in second place), but whose backers provided the most compelling arguments. I spent yesterday playing around with different design ideas since I wasn't really thrilled with the background as-is. Observe the results:
These colors may not wind up being exact (I think the shirts have to be CMYK, and this is RGB), but I, at least, would totally wear this on a shirt. :) [NB: The © info will be smaller on the printed version; the size here is just for web-resolution readability.]
Many thanks to all of you for your input!
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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10:18 am - Indecision
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I'm changing the way I do my feep shirts (I've been doing iron-on transfers that I have to cut out by hand, switching to direct-to-garment printing that I have found to be at least as durable, if not moreso). This does require me to put in minimum orders, though, so I'm not rolling out every single design right away. Instead I'm picking four to start with, and going from there. I already have three chosen, but can't decide on #4. So please, if you would, tell me which of these you would most want to see on a shirt. Pliz to comment with your opinion, yes?
Option A:
Option B:
Option C:
Option D:
EDIT:
For reference, here are the other three:
( yet more images )
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(24 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
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9:32 am - Art show closing party this weekend
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So! The closing party for the ASG Art Show, in which I have many feep drawings displayed, will be this Sunday! That's Nov. 1, 2009 at the Hideout (617 Congress Ave) in downtown Austin. Sketchgroup itself is from 2:00 - 6:00 if you want to hang out and draw. The party goes on until closing at 9:00.
There will be booze and food. Any art you buy you can take home with you right then and there. Come hang out, chat with the artists, drink some wine, and buy some art so I don't have to carry all that stuff home!
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, October 16th, 2009
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10:08 am - How's the book going?
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I keep having to answer this question one-on-one, so I guess it's time for a public broadcast. Efficiency!
First of all, yes, it's taking longer than I thought. Y'see, it's like this. When my editor asked for a time estimate way back in the contract negotiation stage, I told her I thought it would take me about a year to do 100 pages of writing and drawing. And that would probably have been true but for two factors:
1. Interviewing real people, with their own real people schedules, and having them give their own round of approval to the adaptations I've done of their stories. It's extremely important to me that the people who invested a lot of their time in working with me are happy with the end result. But it does slow things down.
2. Having an editor actually edit. For basically my entire career in publishing, I have never had an editor vetting my work. I'd just hand it in and they'd print it with no call for corrections. I think twice an editor came back and said, "Erm, I don't get it," but didn't fuss after I explained the cartoon. So my time estimations didn't include rounds of revisions because I haven't had to do them before. I don't resent this, by the way. It's one thing to do a panel cartoon with no overhead. It's another thing entirely to write a whole book. Stories wind up falling prey to that same phenomenon you experience when you think about a single word too much. "Fork. Fork? Fork. Is fork even a word anymore? I can't remember. It sounds so weird. Fork!" By the same token, when you stare at a story for too long, it's hard to tell if it's good anymore, or if it makes sense, or even if you wrote it in English. Having an editor look at it with fresh eyes and say, "This bit is weak. That bit needs to move over there. You can lose that bit altogether," is enormously helpful.
There's also the fact that I'm doing more complex storyboards than I would ordinarily, because I need other people to be able to read them. I won't say it adds a huge amount of time to the total, but it probably doubles or triples the time spent storyboarding.
Luckily, the deadline was flexible from the start, and the publisher is more interested in putting out a book that's good than a book that's now.
So. Yesterday I finished up the scripts for Aaron's and James's stories, and am working on the storyboards for those. That leaves Henry and Avery, both of whom have very interesting, very complex tales to tell that are proving particularly challenging to adapt. I have them roughly where I want them, but I want to get this other stuff storyboarded and sent out for comments first before I dive back in.
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, October 11th, 2009
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10:44 am - Now with more black
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I know, I know. You've been asking yourself, "What sorts of bizarre decorating shenanigans has Dylan been up to lately?" But you didn't want to ask because it seemed rude. Well! Wonder no more.
Not to shock you or anything, but it turns out I save up money for this time of year, and then hit the stores looking for the better-quality Halloween furnishings. What can I say, October and fall and pumpkins, all decked out with monsters and ghosts and crepuscular things, make me feel like I'm wrapped up in a warm, fuzzy blanket.
A WARM FUZZY BLANKET COVERED IN SKULLS
( And so on )
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, October 8th, 2009
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10:40 am - Cal's story page 11 storyboards
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( Cal's story page 11 storyboards )
See all posted pages
This is the last page of Cal's story, so you can now read the whole thing in one swell foop if you are so inclined.
I may post excerpts from Adam's story next, though I probably won't post the whole thing since it's really long. It breaks up neatly into 3 or 4 sections, though, so I might share a section with you. I'll have to see how it scans without the full context.
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
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12:33 pm - Clearly it's time for Vitamin to get a job
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Dammit, I keep forgetting to be rich.
Right after my cat got done chewing on my bank account, my car has decided to have several critical problems at once. Since I can't afford to fix all of these things right now (unless the mechanic is willing to take extracted tumors as payment), I'm opting for whatever is causing the most trouble right at this very second. Timing belt, schmiming belt. (Yes, I know, the car explodes horribly forever if you wait for the timing belt to fail before replacing it. That is why it is funny, ha ha, that I am making light of replacing it! Ha. H ... ha. Gulp.)
This sounds like a good time to come down with whatever it is that's going around. Done and done!
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, October 1st, 2009
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9:31 am - Cal's story page 10 storyboards and ASG Art Show
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( Cal's story page 10 storyboards )
See all posted pages
Also, tonight I go to hang a bunch of stuff in the Austin Sketchgroup art show, which will be up throughout the month of October. The Hideout is at 617 Congress Ave., here in Austin. I've done several new pieces for this show, including my current favorite, this snuggly little fuzzy thing:
There'll be a reception at some point, and I shall inform you of such when I know more.
current mood: arty
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
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9:23 am - Cal's story page 9 storyboards
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| Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
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3:57 pm - Further adventures in the cat saga
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Just got off the phone with the vet, who was relaying the results of Vitamin's tumor analysis. (Did you know there are people whose job it is to courier tumors from vets to labs? Well, there are. I don't know if they show up at the vet's office and say, "I'm here for the tumor," but they should.)
Anyway. Analysis. First off, the margins were clean, which means they got all of it. Second, it definitively appears to be of a non-spreading variety, so now that it's gone there shouldn't be any further complications. At least, not until the next body part of Vitamin's starts to act up and I have to get yet more pieces of my cat removed.
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(9 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, September 20th, 2009
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1:30 pm - Sunday afternoon frivolity
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1. What's the last thing you put in your mouth?
Apple, almond butter, and rye/pumpernickel bread.
2. Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew?
I had a boyfriend named Matt, so yes.
3. Where was your profile picture taken?
At my old apartment.
4. Who was the last person you rode in a car with under the age of 20?
Probably my nephew.
5. Can you play guitar hero?
Yes, but I greatly prefer Rockband.
6. Last time you walked further than a block?
I walk at least 2 miles most days, or bike 6 miles (or the equivalent of 6 if on the stationary bike). In an ideal world I'd be able to walk to all of my day-to-day errands and take a train to anything out of walking distance. Apparently this means I need to live in Europe.
7. Name someone that made you laugh today?
My housemate (a conversation about what life would be like if our cats could text us)
8. How late did you stay up last night and why?
I went to bed pretty early for a Saturday (about 1:00 AM) as I was completely exhausted. I keep waking up to make sure my cat is not ripping her neck open.
9. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yes, and will sooner or later. West coast is my next destination, though I would love to live in the UK again, maybe even somewhere else in Europe. I don't tend to like staying in the same place for too long.
10. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
No.
11. Do you believe exes can be friends?
I know it can happen, and I managed with one ex, but we drifted apart after awhile.
12. Do you like calling or texting better?
I hate calling more than just about anything.
13. How do you feel about Diet Dr Pepper?
I don't really like soda. I used to drink Dr. Pepper when I was a kid, but I'd have hated the diet version, I'm sure.
14. When was the last time you cried really hard?
It's been awhile. I'm not sure.
15. Where is your biological father right now?
I expect he's at home.
16. Where are you at right now?
In my room, finishing up my lunch and hanging out with my cat.
17. What bed did you sleep in last night?
That one, back and to the left.
18. What was the last thing someone bought for you?
A friend bought me a beer at a baseball game a couple of weeks ago.
19. Who took your profile picture?
I did.
20. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
My cat and her super-hideous frankenscar. Wanna see? Last human was the friend at the baseball game.
21. Was yesterday better than today?
Yes, because she seems less determined to force me to pack her up and haul her off to the emergency vet.
22. Can you live a day without TV?
I enjoy watching the Daily Show and Robot Chicken, but honestly I get tired of watching TV very quickly. If I didn't have it at all I wouldn't miss it.
23. Are you a bad influence?
Depends on who you ask, I guess. Fundie xtians probably think I'm a demon from hell, but I don't tend to encourage people to engage in self-harming behavior, so I would say I'm not.
24. What items could you not go without during the day?
I admit, I get a little antsy without the iPhone. It's funny how rarely I use it for phone purposes; most of its functionality for me is in the other six billion features.
25. Would you share a drink with a stranger?
Sure. Have done.
26. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
Wow. I dunno. I guess my sister-in-law when she had her first baby.
27. What does the last text message in your in box say?
"Creepy"
28. What are you wearing?
Jeans and a t-shirt. I am a fashion juggernaut!
30. If we were to look in your in box, what would we find?
Lots of work-related stuff (NDA, bitches), comment notifications, invitations to various things. I don't really engage in email conversations much these days.
31. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Ha. No.
32. What song is stuck in your head?
I'm cycling though a few. "Memories" and "Angels" by Within Temptation, "Ghost" and "Enemy" by Blue Foundation.
33. Someone knocks on your window at 2 am, who do you want it to be?
Well, I've always wanted to meet someone who can fly, and that's who it would have to be.
34. Who was your last missed call on your cell phone?
The vet. I called them back.
35. Can you handle the truth?
I love the truth. It's fake-nice bullshit for the sake of social propriety or saving face I can't stand. I hate being lied to, and I especially hate when the lie is so transparent it's obvious in the moment that you're lying. Makes me wonder what else you've lied to me about.
36. What was the last book you read?
I'm currently working on The Butcher Bird. It's not all that great, to be honest, but it's good enough to bother finishing. You can have it when I'm done.
37. Is there something you always wear?
No.
38. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yeah, but not for any interesting reason.
39. What's something that can always make you feel better?
When someone, completely unbidden, says something unabashedly nice to me. It's the spontaneity that makes it.
40. What do you want right now?
Short-term: for my cat to heal up so I can stop being paranoid about her health. Long-term: one of those relationships that completely transforms your worldview. Is all I ask.
41. Look behind you, what do you see?
Dresser, bookshelves, skulls.
42. Have you ever worked in a food place?
No, I always avoided such.
43. Could you answer all of these questions honestly?
Yes.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, September 17th, 2009
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4:44 pm - Paying the cat bill
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I meant to post about this earlier but never really got to it. Vitamin, my cranky-ass 13-year-old cat, was diagnosed with a malignant mast cell tumor at her annual vet visit a few weeks ago. I just got her back from surgery, and she looks a bit like Frankencat's Monster, with a big ol' scar on the side of her neck. Also, both her front legs are shaved, so she also looks like Frankencat's Poodle.
The suck part is pretty much the surgery and the significant lightening of the bank account, plus surgical follow-up (administering meds to cats is always buckets of fun). The "upside," such as it is, is that as far as we know the tumor had not metastasized (I guess mast cell tumors typically don't?), so there's no spread to contain. Which is good, because I'm not sure how much more cat one could get away with removing.
General panic abating, replaced with the more mundane grumph of coping. I expect she will be fine - instead of instantly diving under the bed to hide, she is preferring to hang out on the floor next to my desk.
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
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9:28 am - Cal's story page 8 storyboards
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( Cal's story page 8 storyboards )
See all posted pages
I think I've finished scripting the rest of the book. Mostly finished, anyway. Turns out only about half of my original draft was usable, so I wound up rewriting the other half from scratch. Such is the way of things!
Right now I'm letting the newly written stuff cure for a bit. You ever have one of those clever ideas that oxidizes and turns into a stupid idea not too much later? My way of keeping those clever-turned-stupid ideas from escaping is to take a break from what I'm working on and come back to it a few days (or weeks, or months, or years) later and see if it's still any good, fix up the bits that need fixing, or start over if it's hopeless. With any luck, this new incarnation won't need too much patching.
current mood:  busy
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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9:52 am - Cal's story page 7 storyboards
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| Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
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9:28 am - Cal's Story Page 6 Storyboards
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This is the point at which we begin to ooch into NSFW territory:
( Cal's story page 6 storyboards )
See all posted pages
In other book news, I've been working on more scripting this week. I'm not exactly sure how I want to arrange the remaining material (a series of separate stories? alternating snippets of different people's stories for a compare-and-contrast effect? alternating present and flashback?), so I'm breaking it down to the smallest components and scripting those. Perhaps once the pieces are done it'll become clear how to put them together.
Scripting is the most challenging part for me, since there's no point in going further if the script is lackluster. No amount of drawing will fix boring dialogue or a mediocre story. Drawing is very labor-intensive, but fairly intuitive. Scripting is the part that requires the most mental energy, and the hardest decisions.
current mood: workin'
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
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9:36 am - Cal's story page 5 sotryboards
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| Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
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9:58 am - Further along the storyboard road
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| Monday, August 10th, 2009
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9:31 am - Moreyboards
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| Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
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9:45 am - Further storyboard adventures
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