Category Archive: Comics

May
21
2010

Reminder: Cartoon Boot Camp starts on June 7, 2010 at the Cartoon Art Museum!

I just confirmed that there are still spaces available in the Cartoon Boot Camp Classes at the Cartoon Art Museum this Summer in which I will be the teacher.

The classes are aimed at students ages 10-14 who are looking for something that goes beyond the basics. The classes move fast and they are designed for kids who are all ready working on their craft to start with (i.e. intermediate)

The classes are going to be lots of fun and really exciting I think.

June 7 – 11: Character Creation and Design

Learn the engineering of character design: Construction, Costume, Store, and more! This class will focus on learning the structure so that you can draw what you imagine.

June 14 – 18: From Storyboard to Animatics

Students learn to draw storyboards that will be ‘filmed’ into a animatic with sound and posted on the web. Here is the one we did last year…

June 21 – 25: Fantasy Creatures and Mythical Beasts

Gryphons, unicorns, and dragons, oh my! Students learn to draw mythical beasties from around the world and even make up their own. Some of the highlights will be: drawing creatures on all fours, drawing simplified fur and scales, and setting the scene and mood.

June 28 – July 2: Animation and Motion Comics

Thanks to modern technology we have seen a new art form, the motion comics. This class will allow students to learn how to take their own comics and artwork and animate them in both traditional and digital methods. The final video will be available for the world to see on the internet.

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May
20
2010

Sketch Friday: Super Apes and friends

by Brian

Here are some drawings that I did today, starting with drawing from a photo and then taking them to a super place.

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Apr
11
2010

Q) What format for a comic?

by Brian

(can’t see the images in facebook/email, view it here: http://atomicbearpress.com/2010/04/11/comicformatquestion/ )

Now that our comic work will most likely appear in multiple formats: print, web, ipad, iphone/ipod touch, Motion Comics, cel phone, e-book reader what is the best format to aim for first?

There is…..

1) Standard Comic Book Format (portrait aspect ratio).

Pros: Works good for print and on correctly formatted screens like the new iPad from Apple. The print copy might sell better in Comic Book Stores.

Cons: Posting it on the web requires the user to possible scroll up and down which could take away from the experience. For smaller screens like the iPhone, the page might need to broken up into single panels.

2) Web format comics (landscape aspect ratio)

Pros: Works good on monitor screens with out scrolling around.

Cons: Harder to print as a book. For smaller screens like the iPhone, the page might need to broken up into single panels.

(example: Travis Hanson’s The Bean. It looks great on screen and the printed books are nice but might take more work to create)

the bean page 100 by *thebeanbytrav on deviant ART

3) Panel by Panel (web format) Each panel is a separate illustration which is then can be edited into a page layout if desired.

Pros: Panels are ready for digital formats like cel phones and the iPhone. Can be edited into a comic page if desired. Feels like a picture book or a story board/animation that is reveled as you scroll downwards or sideways. Can control how the reader sees the work since they focus on only one page at a time. Easier to make into Motion Comic.

Cons: Still might have to edit it into a page for print. Would produced full page layouts that are pretty un-dynamic based on their standard shapes. Story telling can possibly go slower paced then a full page of comic. The reader has less control how the view the information since they only see one panel at a time.

(example: Derik Kirk Kim’s The Tune. Cinematic, looks great on screen, can control how the reader see’s your vision more so.)

44) Square.

Pros: Nice, friendly format. Feels like a childrens picture book. Stands out as different then a standard comic. Looks pretty good aspect ratio wise on computer screen.

Cons: Might be harder to print and format for some smaller screen media like the iPhone.

(example: Mouse Guard and Jim Hennson’s Fraggle Rock from http://www.archaia.com)

Are there other formats to consider as a starting place? Which one do you like?

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Apr
09
2010

CAM Cartoon Boot Camp 2010 poster

by Brian

This June I will be teaching 4 weeks of Cartoon Boot Camp at the Cartoon Art Museum. This is the poster I designed.

Find out more about these intermediate classes for students 10-14 CLICK HERE.

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Apr
04
2010

Wondercon 2010 highlights

by Brian

Well Wondercon 2010 has come and gone, ending this afternoon 4/4/2010. This year was bigger and more crowded with lots of fantastic names in comics and pop culture. I had one of my best years and can’t wait for next year. Below is just some highlights of this weekend. I hope to post more this following week.

- Thursday came and got my badge and dropped off some materials at my Artist Alley Table AA48. Was pleased to see everything in the area was set-up and registration was quick and mostly painless.

Friday…
- I arrived a bit late to find that the place was jumping with large crowds. I am guessing this was because many had off from work for good Friday.
- Great to see so many friends and familiar faces.
- I had two amazing neighbors on either side of my table: Lark Pien and Alexis Fajardo (who I have done work for in the past)
- I did my first art commission of a Buddha Cow (below, click for bigger image)

- Went to an excellent event at the Cartoon Art Museum for the Hero Initiative and to raise money for comic great Ed Hannigan. Here Mr. Hannigan talks about the Hero Initiative…

Saturday…
- Lots and lots of folks. The report is that the day was SOLD OUT! It really felt like a tiny SDCC which is a good thing in my opinion.

- Got to do some commissioned art, but I forgot to take pictures of most of it… (click for bigger image)

- Got to meet Dave and Jeff from a favorite Disney podcast of mine…Mousetalgia. Jeff is the creator of a wonderful Haunted Mansion website…DoomBuggies.com and Dave is the webmaster of the wonderful blog mousevinyl.com. There you can listen to Disney Records of by gone days. Becky and Kristen did not make it.

- Got to visit with one of my best friends from Highschool who came to see me. He has a cool hobby…he does Paranormal research.

- Had lots of sales for my black greeting cards and mini prints especially of my 25 Penguins. I only used 14 of them and maybe that was too many. One of the most popular was the Frankenstein Penguin.

- Got to have dinner with my buddy Lex (Kid Beowulf) Fajardo, his publisher and a host of other folks. The meal as a crazy big fest. Buca di Beppo gives you a giant cupcake within 7 days of your birthday.

Sunday…
- Got to create lots more cool commissioned art…

- Got to pick up some cool items: Becky and Frank’s mock little golden book, Tigerbutter. An art print by Darwin Cooke. Issue #3 and #4 of The Bean by Travis Hanson. Book #3 and #4 of Blair Kitchen’s The Possum. Discovered the work of Jeff Prechtel and his pirate drawings.

- Also got some great sketches:

- Emerged to the outside from the convention center to POURING RAIN! Fun. Not.

- Feeling energized and worn out all at the same time.

- Got lots of cool new ideas for the future.

Well, that’s all for now. Check out a few more photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/briankolm/sets/72157623647903357/

Check a nice convention review from artist Colleen Durant.

Most likely more later this week.

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Mar
24
2010

The Road to Wondercon 2010 – part 2

by Brian

Here is a sample of the postcard design I sent off to the printer today. The front features no only Victor Grassroot from Beyond the Great Chimney, but a few new characters for possible upcoming projects. The back has a promo for creative services I provide.

The cards should be available at Wondercon on Easter Weekend (April 2-4, 2010), so come on by and pick one up. Click on the image below to see it bigger.

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Mar
14
2010

Cartoonist Conspiracy SF jam comic – Once Upon a Frame

by Brian

Hey all, just thought I would drop a note about things going on with yours truly.

- I perticipated in the Cartoonist Conspiracy SF comic jam last week and you can read the results on-line. See if you can find my pages. Click on the image below.

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Feb
07
2010

Read: The Synthetic Owl (part 1 of 2)- a 24 Hour Comic Book Day comic (2005)

by Brian

As I bring my website back to life I will be re-posting some older work from the early days of blogging. Today is one of my favorite ones.

In October 2005 I did my first 24 Hour Comic Book Day challenge. That is to create a 24 page comic in 24 hours. I have since done it twice more with each one getting better and better (2008, 2009) and I would recommended all artist do the challenge at least once in their career.

The challenge was a great experience for me, not only because I could see what I was capable of doing, but also I met Doc Pop, Mike and Meredith and soon joined them as part of the Cartoonist Conspiracy San Francisco. The challenge allowed me to expand my world as an artist and to make some new friends, leading to more friends and artistic challenges.

I am not going to go into a lot of details about the process of 24 Hour Comic Book Day since I have done that with the other times I have taken the challenge. (note: 2009 is offline due to hacking and I am hoping to recreate it somehow.)

I will say I am happy to see how things have changed over time: my art style, my skill at telling a complete story, and lots of other important stuff.

So, let’s get reading. Click on the images to see them bigger on Flickr.