ToonJet.com, The GhoulTones Demand Attention

For weeks now, I've taken a break from drawing. Yes, I know I do this occasionally, but there is a reason, I swear! Don't hurt me, I promise to pick back up soon.

Anyway, as mentioned in my previous post, I've started up a new website devoted to showing classic cartoons. The post turned out to sound more like an advertisement than I realized, but hey, I was excited, what can I say? I've been adding loads and loads and loads of new Looney Tunes, some Tom and Jerry (the human series), and Woody Woodpecker cartoons.

And then there's The GhoulTones. A couple of weeks ago, an old band mate of mine passed away, and at his funeral, I met up with all of the members from my old punk/ska band, and they asked me to play a benefit show for his wife and children.

Not that I don't totally dig getting together and playing drums in a band again for the first time in 7 years, but it takes some time to adjust to everything...playing again, renewing old friendships, finding a babysitter...it seems to take a lot more effort than it used to.

At least I can't say I don't have enough to do. :)

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The Case of the Missing Hare

Drawing Project:Camelot Page 9

This comic book page from Project: Camelot #1 is supposed to show Jackson Vogel in his civilian role. The script called for a sexy, seductive blond being told about Al-Quaeda having giant killer robots...and believing it! Pretty funny, probably one of my favorite pages so far...of course, I haven't gotten into drawing the armored team yet, either... :D

I've been trying to find more time to draw, and that's been nigh impossible, so I've come up with a new plan: lose the sleep! So, the last few days, I've been doing without a full night's sleep so that I can have a chance to draw. Plus, it's the weekend, so that helps. A little.

Besides helping my wife study for nursing, there haven't been any drunks in the yard, so this weekend seems to be going pretty smoothly. I've been kind of scouring the planet for a Wii, but that seems as nigh impossible as finding time to draw. :D So, I guess I'll have to keep spending my time trying to FIND time to draw...and make drawing videos.

Dang, my life is boring...

Project:Camelot Comic Book Drawing Video - page 8

http://blip.tv/file/812682

Camelot on Fire, and A Drunkard in Trouble!

I've not had much time to draw the last week, because my Daughter was on spring break, and we had a busy week.

I did manage to finish the newest page finally, after many labored hours of swatting away kids, and trying to blare music in my ears to drown them out! (not really, I love my kids to death, but they are loud beings when you're trying to concentrate! :)

I also had a drunk guy trying to break into my house and both my cars today while yelling "help me! help me!" and when we called 911, they transfered us around, and didn't send anybody out even though they had our name and address (!!!) So much for that lovely service. I asked the guy if there was anything I could help him with, and he stumbled off in the other direction. I think if I had my gun handy, I probably would have fired it into the air to see how fast he could run drunk. Talk about an eventful weekend! Sheesh! I'd rather be left alone, thanks!

ComicStalk Comic Book Forum, and "The Dark Knight" 6 1/2 Minute Video!

Something that I have been working on is the Comicstalk Comic Book Forum. It is functional after a MAJOR overhaul, and there are some cool things already happening there, like a 6 1/2 minute video of footage from the upcoming film, "The Dark Knight."

Registration is required to view the link, but it's free, and it's definitely worth it! Check it out, because it shows Heath Ledger as the Joker, which is cool in itself!

Project: Camelot Coming Along

It seems like even though I get time to do some drawing, I never actually complete what I want to. I managed to finish pages 4 and 5 of Project: Camelot #1, but I am really looking forward to getting this puppy finished, so I can see the final bad-to-the-bone product.

I'm digging the story that Travis Legge has put together, so that makes it that much cooler to work on. It's different from anything I've ever worked on, but I have to say that I feel really comfortable with the pages, and that's something that almost never happens with me!

I almost never feel satisfied after finishing a page, except maybe for some of my "3 Witches" pages, so I think this is a step in the right direction.

Project: Camelot, Page 3

After jumping around from project to project for a while, I finally finished up the newest page for my comic project, Project: Camelot, written by the talented Travis Legge.

The Saveria speed painting is still being discussed on Youtube, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXIgxiasnTY (see my previous post), so check it out and join the discussion. I'm sure you'll find some "colorful" comments there, to say the least. ;)

I'm hoping to get more P:C pages finished soon, but I'm also working on a fantasy painting I've been working on since January on the side. Ahhhh, so much time, so little to do...wait, or is it the other way around?! *Sigh*

--J.T.

Painting of a 10-Year-Old Pop Singer

This is a digital painting in tribute to the talent of Saveria, an emerging 10-Year-Old pop star from Canada. It is set to her upcoming single, "Unwillingly." Saveria can be seen on national television commercials for the Mini Pop Kids CD's, and sang the US and Canadadian national anthems for the Toronto Blue Jays.

I have to say this one was met with some extreme different views on Youtube. Some thought it was too "girly" and made some crappy comments about it. Two people even went to try and make bigoted remarks. But, I believe it is they who are girly-men 0.o hmmmm. I think it was they who tried to sniff one of their kind out. It is they who wear the little girly perfumes and put on lipstick in the mirror while singing Alanis Morissette to themselves. o.0

Then, there were the cool ones who just...kept quiet and didn't say a word! Then, there were the extra heavy metal cool ones who posted nice comments, and gave compliments on the vid. Applause, my friends. The girly men were taken by supreeze. :D

Obviously, I've been sleep deprived the last couple of days, partly because I've been putting this together. So now I must get some rest.

read more | digg story

The Magic of Coloring Comics

MORE Comic Book Coloring Fun

So, here's the latest from 3 Witches. A while ago, I wasn't sure if I would even continue with 3 Witches, because of its cartoony look, and because it seems like everyone is doing something a little more...mature, I guess you could say. But, it seems like every time I start something else, I keep coming back to it.

Anyway, these are the last 3 pages of the first story, where they all basically get sucked into the wormhole, and begin to swap places.

You can also find more 3 Witches at www.3witches.net . Read and enjoy!

--J.T.

Coloring With Tentacles

Tentacles. I need tentacles. Eight, to be exact. If I had tentacles, I'd get stuff done. Believe me, that's a fact.

Switching gears a little this week, I've been working on coloring 3 Witches pages. They're a bit rushed (I've been doing 2 a day when I've been off work), but I'm pretty satisfied with the results so far. I'm hoping to post a comic book coloring tutorial or video soon, so keep checking my blog for details. :)

The pages shown here are from my website, 3witches.net. It sets up the story for the 3 Witches' counterparts in the "normal" world, in the city of Richville. Later, they swap places, with the 3 Witches ending up here, and Sally, Jane, and Frances being teleported to Witchville, the 3 Witches' home. The comics will primarily be focused in Richville, with the 3 Witches having to adjust to a really f****d up world that has to rely on things other than magic. I may do a story on the richie girls in the future, one never knows.

Betsy, Tartella, and Gruel are loads of fun to draw, but these girls are almost as fun, so I'm hoping to leave room to tell a story or two about them.

If you have a blog, feel free to post these images and help me promote my comics, and my new online flash comic viewer, Comicvision.

--J.T.

New Legends Comics on Comicvision

I think that if I can get the word out, Comicvision will grow into something cool and usable. Legends #1 has been converted. If you want to help spread the word, help me out by following this link, copy the source code, and paste it on your blog or website. I think Comicvision has a lot of potential, so help spread the word! :)


Put Legends Comics on Your Website

Faster Than the Speed of Graphite :D

From the outset of the pencil on its journey to the bottom of the page, I propped the drawing up on my lap and let it scream! EEEEEEEEeeeeeee! My hand was on fire, and nothing was going to slow it down! Raw, cutting energy unleashed upon the page. Flames erupted as abrasive friction fueled the pressing matters of creative supernovas forming in the mind. It all exploded like the birth of a star, meeting the all-encompassing life of the evolving planet. Then, it was finished, abrupt. Now it exists.

(in other words, I actually had an hour of free time, and kicked butt until I was finished with the rough pencils for my new page... :)

Self-Publishing and All the Crazy Stuff That Goes With It...

The past couple weeks, I've been trying to get back in the swing of things with Project: Camelot, the comic book I am currently doing the art for. The premise is pretty simple, but effective-the government brings together some of the best soldiers from different branches of the military to form a top-notch team for fighting terrorism. Named after different knights from Arthurian legend, they are each fitted with their own high-tech, battle-blazing armor, armed to the teeth with sophisticated weaponry, sensors, and communications technology. Pretty cool, huh? The story is by writer Travis Legge, who has other projects in the works, as well.

The plan is to release the story in graphic novel format, but it will be roughly 110 pages so don't look for it on the bookshelves for a while. It's slavery, I tell you. They don't let me stop until my eyes have swollen shut from punching myself to stay awake at night. :D

There is always the option of letting a third party publish the book, but unless it's Image, or fairly notorious company, I am wary of any deal that might be struck. The reason is this: when you publish your comic book and present it to Diamond, they are given 35% off the cover price. Usually, a comic book company will want a cut from the profits. We will use a 40% discount as an example. Say the cover price is $9.95, and Diamond gets the first $3.48, leaving $6.47. We'll set the printing costs a little high, at $4.27, leaving $2.20. Comic book company gets the next $.88, leaving you with $1.32. Selling 1,000 copies leaves you with $1,320 or $2,200. If you were lucky enough to sell 10,000 copies, you would get $13,320 through comic book company, or $22,000 on your own.

Just starting out, though, it may benefit you to have the publicity a comic book company would bring along with it. That may be worth the 40%, depending on the amount of publicity one receives from the company. Just food for thought...

Now on Comicvision....

For a very long time, I have wanted to find a way to show my comics in a single browser, with downloadable modules containing individual issues. So, I finally got up the willpower to sit down and write the program. I am not a programmer, but I have been tinkering with flash for a few years, so I chose to do it in flash. Instead of downloadable modules, I created it so that every page is downloadable. This way, it is all contained in a single panel, with no files on your hard drive that you have to search for, etc. I believe the big plus is that you can copy and paste the code to your website, blog, or Myspace page, like an embeddable Youtube player for comics. That makes it even cooler! :D


Online Comics at 3Witches.net

Source Code:

<object width="558" height="480"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowScriptAccess="never"
data="http://threewitches.comicgenesis.com/3w-001a/
3w-001a.swf">
<param name="movie" value="http://threewitches.comicgenesis.com/3w-001a/
3w-001a.swf"></object>
<br><a href="http://www.3witches.net">Online Comics at 3Witches.net</a>

Adobe Photoshop Textures and Effects Video Tutorial 1 - Parchment

A few years ago, I experimented with Photoshop to try and make something look like an old piece of parchment for a website I was working on for my online comic books. Recently, I started a new site for my online comics, and finally found a solution. I created an Adobe Photoshop video tutorial showing how I made the parchment effects on my website. The website will be up soon, so check back to see it in action. It's at: http://realmwalkers.comicgenesis.com. Check out the video and let me know what you think!




View this video on MySpace, Metacafe, Google, Revver, DailyMotion and Veoh

Youtube Vids: Viral, or Just Sick?

In doing my artwork and posting videos on Youtube and other video sites, I've been trying to find out a little bit about getting seen, and from what I've seen, it's a pretty methodical process to actually make a video go "viral."

I haven't actually experimented with most of the practices because they aren't all ethical, but some of the websites that I've come across actually presented some very good information. I decided to list a few of the more helpful hints on getting more views on Youtube. So, here they are:

1. Blogs - *ahem* I don't know what you're talking about. No, not just this kind of blogging. I like to find other blogs with similar content as mine, and post a relevant reply to the post. This creates an instant link to your blog (or website, Youtube channel, etc.) One website suggested that you pay others to post blogs linking to your video. I find this practice a little...questionable, at best.

2. Forums - Why not? I have accounts at several forums, and I've used them as well as I know how. Some other users can be very critical of what you're posting, but if your content is strong enough, other users will defend you outright. Plus, controversy around your ideas are not a bad thing, you know.

One example of controversy I have in mind was a person who posted my video in their blog, and explained that I spent 9 hours on the Dumbledore painting that I did. For one, this sparked a lot of interest around the fact that I liked Harry Potter enough to spend 9 hours on a painting of one of the characters. BUT, the first comment on the post was completely negative, saying my version looked more like Gandalf than Dumbledore. Other readers then came to my defense. Also, they spent several posts debating what scene I was trying to represent in the painting. The fact is that I was actually only loosely depicting the escape scene in Dumbledore's office. The point is the fact that the more you can generate discussion around your work, the better. Some people will like your work, and some will not. If you have something that's worth discussing, that makes your work stand out to the readers (0r viewers), and it just might generate some interest in what you're doing. :)

3. Social Networking (Myspace, Facebook, etc.) - This one works, but it requires a lot of "legwork." Since I have been trying to promote my videos, I have been trying to beef up my friends lists, and posting bulletins with links to my vids in them. So far, it seems to be somewhat effective, I haven't been able to track links from my bulletins, so not too sure. But, theoretically, this should work well.

You also have the ability to directly post videos to others' comments, though you may want to use caution in doing this, because some people don't like the fact that videos or large graphics can mess with the layout of Myspace pages. So, use your own judgment here.

4. Email Lists - Hmmm, yeah. This one I can see working out okay, only if you have permission to email your recipients. I personally use #5.

5. Youtube Friends and Subscribers - I'm finding out that subscribers are important, but there are other strategies to working the Youtube system. One thing that works sometimes and sometimes not is adding other people as friends, like on Myspace. I have to say that it is much harder to get a Youtube user to befriend you than it is to add people on Myspace. Youtube sends your new friend an email that says that you want to be able to share private videos with them. To a lot of people, this sounds like an indecent proposal, but we're only using it for the forces of good! :)

I've found that one thing you want to do before you ask someone to be your friend is drop them a line. You don't always have to be on their friends list to post a comment to their channel, like on Myspace, so I always leave a short message to say "Hi," or to comment on one of their videos. This sort of lets them know you're not trying to send them 30 porn links without even a kiss.

--J.T.

Links:
The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral” Videos
TUTORIAL - How To Get MORE VIEWS on YouTube videos.. REALLY!

It Is My Lifelong Ambition...

It is my lifelong ambition to put Richard Simmons in a headlock and ram his head into a wall repeatedly. It is my lifelong ambition to be able to draw and paint whilst I sleep. It is my lifelong ambition to quit my job and bum off of everyone else's tax dollars to buy beer and crack. (Okay, that one's not true.) It is my lifelong ambition to visit Scotland, Wales, England, and maybe Germany, and take a tour of all of the castles there. It is my lifelong ambition to don a unitard, grow my hair long and curly, and sing (or play drums) in a hair metal band. It is my lifelong ambition to be able to support my family from doing my artwork.

I just thought I would post some of my lifelong ambitions. Now, I want to hear yours. Post a comment with your lifelong ambitions, no matter how small or astronomical. C'mon, it's just for fun!