'Descendant' Promotion Events

Hello my minions!

I want to let you know I am holding a few events:

1. Yeah!! I hit 70 fans on Manga Magazine and 60 on Smackjeeves today! I'm still waiting for 100 so that I can draw you fun art! These will be separate so 2 people have an opportunity to receive free art.

Also:

I would like to encourage everyone to SHARE the links provided. Every share and every fan, especially on Smackjeeves, allows me one step closer to being the success I wish to be, but I can't do it without your help. If you have any social media outlets, please use them. I will do my very best to reward you all for the effort in a great story and great and evolving art as well as bigger and better events and goodies revolving around 'Descendant'. Also, don't be shy! Feel free to drop a line every once in a while and I'll do MY very best to keep you all updated as well.

Descendant on Smackjeeves


2. Title page art: I am accepting title page submissions to attach to my chapters as the story progresses (on Descendant). The best of the best will be featured in the official printed books, those who do not make it into the books will be featured on my official 'Descendant' website as fanart and, eventually, be compiled into a fanart book that will be the goal for a future contest as well as printed books! :3

To view current fanart and contest entries:

Un-Chaptered Work and Fanart

Submissions must be 8x11 or 10x14 at 300 DPI. They must be of the characters in my comic and be done to the best of your abilities. All fanart will be featured on Smackjeeves.

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I am letting you all know that I start printing in October and since some of these companies have page minimums, that will mean I want to fill the blank pages with art from not just me but also from you! How cool would it be to see YOUR art in a book?

Also, as an added incentive, I will be offering space after my chapters for a preview of any titles that you may want to see in print someday as an advertisement! That's right, I am offering to feature your webcomic in my book to expose you to my audience as well as anyone else who picks up the book! More details coming soon!

3. I will be resurrecting my drawing classes every Sunday at 5pm EST (or, depending on how many want to participate). These classes will go over story design, character design and general illustration. I will be running polls on my deviantart account and asking here what you all would like to go over. This will continue based on PARTICIPATION. Meaning, if nobody shows up, I will not be doing this anymore. I don't like to offer to help people and have nobody take advantage of it.

Anyway, I hope you all participate! Once money and time become more available, I'll be doing a lot more.

Faux Business Plan

Journey of a Comic Artist

Earlier this year, I created a fake business plan but based it on real life dreams of mine. I know some of the information is dated but I couldn't find some fresh material to use. My Marketing figures are definitely off. Also, my instructor didn't require a Financial section...which I thought odd but I added at least a mention of where I hope to generate capital.

I'm show you now so maybe someone out there has ideas on how to improve this.

Also, forgive all the grammar and spelling errors. I didn't have time to edit it before I had to be in class.

\( ﾟヮﾟ)/

~DJ

Descendant Chapter 4: The road to color

Well, I was supposed to post a new page for Chapter 4 today and I'm behind...mostly because I wanted to start coloring and when I got through the first panel, I thought it looked really bad:

Light is a bitch.

 My other thinking was: This story is set in the old west. ORIGINALLY I wanted to have a color overlay on top of tones or gray tones to give the comic an old movie feel. Like one of those old black and white westerns back in the early days but, even then, I couldn't settle on the right feel.

For the first 3 chapters, I compromised with just tones and trying to make up for the lack of "oomph" through the story but there are things coming up IN the story; silent pages, lots of spells and rituals, the will require the very best of my current art skills.

I want this to look awesome on screen and, eventually, on paper. I think I'll revert back to my original idea: doing the old movie thing, but then there is the problem with night scenes.

Since I consider myself a creator who is unafraid of elevating people of color into roles of authority, AND since a lot of this project takes place at night, how do I make my characters stand out against the background, especially characters like Laini and Ohanzee. Laini, pictured above, specifically who is an Egyptian goddess (may as well be. I love her!!) <3 p="">



Anyway, dark skin+night scene= Can't see them! D': This must be corrected. I tried using Gradients to fix this via toning but I thought the fact that it was night was being lost on people. I need this to translate. How do you handle this? I want them to be in the story like they're supposed to. 

So, dearest Internet, I am begging, PLEADING even, for your help. I've been looking around and asking for a very long time now and nobody seems to have any answers. I need YOU, Internet. I need you!

And if begging doesn't work, maybe this cute picture of baby Bender, maybe?

~DJ

So. You want to own your own business.

This article is a hypothetical. But maybe not. Maybe this can happen, yes?

Anyway, it was for a school assignment.

---------------------------

    And you came to me? Seriously!?

    It's all good.

    If I were to give serious advice about owning and operating your own business, it would be this: WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN!

    It's hard, it's arduous, it can crush all hopes and dreams with the cold hard facts of doom! But it's supposed to. It's supposed to take the mystery out of your business approach.

    Your business plan is there to serve as a window into reality. Once you have the facts; once you have the rulebook for your business and industry, then you can get creative.

•     Creative with your image.
•     Creative with your product or service.
•     Creative with your market reach.

    The most effective purple cow can come from already having a clear grasp on the rules and your business plan is, again, that rulebook. Now, don't let this intimidate you and don't run at it like an angry bull charging that irritating little man the red flag. Be calm, open-minded, willing to change and tackle each section one at a time until it's finished and you'll get a clear idea of what your business is and where it could be.

    This also doesn't mean you can't be working on your product or service in the meantime. For example: I finished the First and Second chapters of 'Descendant' while writing my business plan. It was through this process that I realized the only way I could reach my audience was through smart Marketing and knowing how and where to talk to them.

    Marketing and skill. These are what I needed to have in order to draw in my audience.

    So, you can then start to set priorities with your business. For instance: I did my financials last because I wasn't going to be asking for money because I knew I wouldn't be able to pay it back within a decent amount of time. I wanted to, first, prove that my product could at least break even so when my investors did help me with capital, I was able to attend more functions, put more effort into advertising and marketing and turn a business that was just breaking even into a business that became a profitable share in the comic book industry. And, when you turn a profit and can show you're doing it, you become more attractive to investors, your audience and anyone else who may draw inspiration from you.

    The business plan is, by far, the most important thing you can do for yourself as a small business owner. If you have an existing business, you could do this as well. You can then easily see if your practices are making you the most profit it can or if you're missing something.

What? Oh yes. Alive.

So.

I have this blog, you see? And I always forget to update it. Why?

Because...I just do.

ANYWAY

I want to inform everyone that I've been working hard on my webcomic. You can check it out here:

Descendant on Smackjeeves

For now, I'll just update to let people know I'm alive! Oi! In a while I'll do a fun "this is what I've learned" thing and outline my goals for each chapter as I go along.

Now, you may be wondering (or maybe not) about Slayers: Divine? I'm going to finish it but I want to work on my original while I have the steam for it. I think it's going great and I can't wait to gain more readership!

Please do forgive the long bouts of silence. I promise...I'm still here and alive!

Slayers: Divine restart

Slayers: Divine on Smackjeeves

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let the sphere know that I've finally restarted my doujinshi efforts. If you've been following me (or even if not) I've been using this doujinshi as a way to improve my art and storytelling abilities. A way for me to learn to organize my thoughts and to translate what I want to say through pictures and dialogue. I hope I'm getting the hang of it because, you see, I want my original titles to be amazing when they really hit the ground running!

Maybe I can learn some marketing while I'm at it, nyo.

So follow along, why not?

Recent sketches

Been off and on with the drawing thing the passed few weeks but with my recent job situation I think it's finally coming back. I'm going to keep working on it, of course. Because I love it. <3 br="br">

A little angry...

 As I stated in a previous blog I've been pretty upset all day. First, WoW isn't working the way it should which is annoying  because when I can't get my pen moving I like to relax with some video games. But no. That was a bust. Second, my computer magically erases 2 chapters of my doujinshi which was enough to make me cry. Seriously. Sob..like a little kid. Mostly because of the kind of work that goes into creating a comic book of any variety and..poof. Gone. The stress was enough to give me a monster sized headache that attacked me all day long. /ugh

To be honest though I'm not really worried about the WoW thing but my art? Shit. I could have punched puppies I was so mad.

And lastly, I got into a sort of shit fight with my sister. I hate fighting with my family mostly because it opens up old wounds that have seriously yet to heal. Talking to them reminds me of just how hated and neglected I was as a youngster and even now. They have a special way of making me feel useless, worthless, unwanted and only good to be around if they want something. And the excuses for the neglect are unbelievable half the time but...I think over time I've become numb to the thoughts until we start to converse and she was being particularly disrespectful.

Anyway, it's been emotional and irritating but I'm still pushing forward regardless. Giving up is just not in my base programing. I drew these little bits to calm myself down and think a little bit. The first one is Xellos and Lina Inverse from Slayers (I'm working on a doujinshi so it'll be Slayers fanart for a while!). I actually drew this last night but kept tweaking it and this is the final result. The second one was ...well, the calming piece.

Usually when I get pissed off like earlier I draw angry art but not tonight. I decided to draw something a little calmer, sensual even. I think my wonderful crack OTP is perfect subject matter for my learning experience and they have a fond place in my crooked little mind. The intent was to calm but I still feel pretty tense. I think I need some sleep so...off we gooooo!

Art Block PART 1

This is an old post from DA that still has merit. Please enjoy.

Out of the 805 people that voted on the last poll (ON DA), 507 of you have asked to bring back guides, advice and tutorials on how to break art block.

So with that observation I have decided to reinsert my time into the community as I still have great faith that each and every one of us has the patience, talent and potential to start our respective projects and persist even in the harshest environments.

Let's start from the top: What causes art block?

Trends and Industry Health

As it stands the illustration community, be it video games, comic books, animation, etc. Has taken a great nose dive into the concrete in recent years, especially if you live in the land of the free, home of the brave.


I have noticed that industry trends can have an adverse effect on those of us who wish to create what we feel are great works of art and collections of love-laboring. With a drowning industry and seeing our favorite books and videos being removed from all distribution channels we begin, in the back of our minds, to lose heart in our own pushes forward.

It has an even more negative effect on those of us who believe we were made for nothing else but story creation and art. It's as if we are chasing a speeding train that has what it needs to survive on the bones but not what it needs to plump up.

This may seem like meaningless information but...

The industry shapes how we draw and what sort of stories we tell. Many notice that vampires, zombies, ninjas and samurai are popular in the mainstream and then create stories and characters based on that thinking theirs will also be popular only to find that it doesn't work. And if it does, it's because people are 1) looking for it and 2) the art or story compensates for lack of the other.

If you do see your numbers go up through that strategy, it's only because it's been tossed in the corner with people who are already fans of these subjects.

Another problem we seem to run into a lot around here, especially on DA, is the fanart issue. DA has bred a place where fanart gets the most unintentional praise than original works and if you do happen to post an original that does well it's because you're :devgenzoman:.

This fanart versus original art thing has REALLY disheartened an entire generation of artists that I believe to be devastating to the health of our community. The fact that a poorly drawn MLP doodle can acquire 1000+ hits but an original piece that took days barely breaks 100 views.

Using DA as a gauge to track your progress...?

This is probably a terrible idea as well. I used to think that's what the pageview numbers were for. That each hit told me that people were at the very least noticing my work and the more people visited, the more motivated I would be to create something new. Personally, I have broken myself out of this thought process a long time ago but that doesn't mean it's still not a rampant reality for others. I stopped caring about the numbers and started focusing on the fact that my projects were moving forward. I was doing my absolute best at that time and using my various projects to continue to improve. Slowly, but at least it's moving forward.

But these numbers can be disheartening BUT it can tell you how you truly feel about your art when you take a step back from it.

But DJ! (;O;)

Now, now, don't cry...

A problem many of us face is that we don't push ourselves or attempt daring ideas. We all have these ideas: I want Character A to stand in the middle of the page striking a bad ass fighting pose.

Cool, we have the parameters but define "Bad ass" Define "fighting" Define "middle of the page". As artists we have to break each element down like scientists looking for the God Particle. As artists, we have to put words with our work and let that sense of expression come out.

Now let's say you finish this masterpiece and you post it on DA. You feel good about it. Colors are awesome and well placed, the background reinforces your message, your character is posed beautifully and everything about the composition screams "I DEMAND YOUR ATTENTION" But it only receives 132 views.

Quite the slap in the face, huh? You thought it would be the one. You thought you worked hard on it. You thought that you had overcome some soul-gnawing hurdle that you were trying to overcome for months. This original thing you want to blurt to the entire planet! But, no. 130 dev views.

Even the most introverted comic book artist I have ever met posts their work on this site (and many others) because they want to share with the world the things they feel they can't say out loud. But this dev view system really has a way of kicking you in the teeth when you feel you've attempted that very feat. So we retract.

We begin to question our push forward and that hinders our movements. Especially if you're like me and have to teach yourself everything you know through observation, tutorials and books. We see these numbers and trends, these people passing us up as road blocks that crash to the ground every time we feel we're at our current goal.

^----This can all cause art block.

Personal problems and financial burdens

It's a craptastic economy, we're all mostly in debt and even worse off if you're an artist and there are no jobs that match your skill set. Tensions are high, anxiety shaking you to the bones. Political upheaval every time you turn on the TV.

Life sux

The things in our lives tend to either block us from going forward or push us in the desired direction..or even back, if you're a scientist. ...you know. As Nian said in Stargate SG-1: "I am a scientist. A step in any direction is still progress." _{...something to that effect.}

Here's what you do:

(and yes, I'll be following my own advice and if it works for me, I'll be starting an Artist Anonymous group, right here on DA.)

First, if you're having a problem in your life that is getting in the way of your creative energy I would say, instead of trying to draw through it, try taking care of that problem first. If the problem is time sensitive, ie you can't drop everything to tackle it like Emmitt Smith in the good ol' days then don't worry about it until you CAN take care of it.

Once this problem has been kicked off the edge of the cliff like Smeagol in the lavas of Mount Doom, reflect upon any life lesson this problem may have taught you and pat yourself on the back. You not only learned something for later in life but you also learned something your dear original characters can use in your story process later.

Another idea is to become excited about the problems in your life. I know this seems like a bizarre approach but if you head into what appears to be a bad situation with a gung-ho 'tude from the get-go, you can inspire the people around you like a beacon of hope that any problem can be overcome with a little positive influence.

If you're like me and "positive" just isn't in your programming, might I suggest 'calm' at the very least. But I have a horrid temper so...yeah. :|

Carry a sketchbook

I say this all the time but if you're a serious artist and want this to be your thing you need to be drawing all the time, even during bad times. I know this is sort of contradictory to what I just got done rambling about but sketching, at the very least, will also help you get through a problem. Use that opportunity to draw expressions or gestures that require a little more...passion (anger) behind the lines. Use that energy and turn it into art.

Try other forms of art

Always wanted to try paints? AWESOME! Do it when you feel you can't draw. Pull up some how-to on color mixing and teach yourself about the color wheel and how to use gamut masks. Get some super sculpy and create a model for whatever reason makes you feel happy.

Try a craft. Buy some wood and make a clock or a weird looking spice rack for your mother (or father or anyone who likes to cook) /thumbsup

Listen to some music

Go to Pandora or another radio station and flip the stations to different genres. Let the tunes guide you. Maybe you'll even find another type of music that speaks to your creative soul and opens up new ideas and avenues you would have otherwise not considered.

I listen to different genres when I'm drawing different things. Dubstep for fanart, alternative and showtunes for my original work, ambient and electronic for random not-categorized art. There's an entire musical world out there that reinforces everything you do. Music can also hinder you. If you're listening to a song and you feel the urge to slaughter Alliance Gnomes in WoW instead of drawing, flip the station until your hands feel like sketching. :nod:

:iconforthehordeplz:

"Copy" someones art

I hate this but it's worth mentioning.  We all do it, we've all done it and if you say you haven't you're a dirty, rotten liar.

Go to your favorite persons DA or art piece and find the one that inspires you the most. Put it side by side a blank canvas in your program of choice and draw the ENTIRE composition, top to bottom. Color it if it's colored, add all the details...you get the picture.

NOW WHEN YOU DO THIS: Don't copy the STYLE of the persons work. If you're working on your own anatomy style or line style, use your own twists and turns to guide you through the process.  For example if I wanted to draw this:

"Mommy Dearest" -Pupukachoo on DA

I would draw Xellos the way I normally draw him. (I would also not post this rework if I ever did it)

Do this a few times. You'll not only learn something but you'll begin to train your brain into the kind of work and time it takes to create a masterpiece.

(I wouldn't post these compositions though due to trolls but if you do, put them in your scraps or post the original next to yours and let the original artist know what you're doing. As long as you give advanced warning most people are pretty cool about that sort of thing... Most...)

Exercise your body and mind

Yeah, go stretch, go for a walk, read some books on astrophysics JUST because you can. (can you all tell I like space yet?) Go dig holes in the ground and find some feldspar.... Explore another interest or something you've always liked to try.

For me? I've always wanted to take a horse out onto the plains with a telescope and a dog and stargaze.

These are also life lessons. The more you learn, the more art material you have to work with in your head and the better your stories will be because you'll have experience.

Museums are also gold mines of ideas and innovation.


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This post is humongous. It is for a reason and if I actually sat down and applied more thought into this journal, it would be a book.

A VERY LONG and SNARLING MONSTER of a book!

    

Like this one!

Only with an angry Leonardo DaVinci on the front posed like Uncle Sam in those propaganda posters telling you to buy war bonds.

Yeah...

Allpose: Finally here!

Allpose on Ebay!

I am pleased to announce that Allpose has brought its amazing resource here to the USofA.

What is Allpose?

Allpose is a set of books created for anyone looking for that perfect pose. The books are designed for animators, comickers and designers! Anyone who wants to add more movement and depth to their art!

Book Details:

•     70-72 Poses (equaling 2000+ images) per book
•     Full character turn-arounds including worm's eye, bird's eye and profiles.
•     Back cover pagination for quick flip, making the search for that perfect pose convenient.
•     A-5 size paper (the size of each volume)

Some pictures:

 
I have already seen an improvement in my personal artwork because of these books!

Believe me when I say THIS is the resource we are all looking for. Especially those of us who are just beyond the basic standing and sitting poses and who want to give out characters more flare.

Even better?

If you are already familiar with figure drawing, all of these poses can easily be adjusted to suit your artistic needs!

Want a FREE sample book?

Then feel free to drop me a line: djwaglmuffin@gmail.com
Subject line: Allpose sample book

Follow me on Twitter and join our Facebook group!

@djwaglmuffin
Allpose on Facebook!

Descendant

Descendant: Part One

I am pleased to announce that my official, original title "Descendant" is moving along well and Chapter one is almost finished! (yeah!)

I have huge plans for this title including: Character design sheets, history lesson webtoons, backstory compilation books, posters, prints, pins, you name it. This is my baby.

But, I have a waitressing job so if there are any small breaks between pages you'll know why. I figured I should let everyone know about this because despite my want and desire to make my book my everything I really can't. Bills beckon!

~dj

Reclaiming my lost blog

It's been at least a year or so since I've updated this thing. Seriously? I'm no good at this blogging thing. I was trying it on Tumblr but I have no real interest in talking to people on that which is why I like the Tweeter much better. ANYHOO, before I join the ramblin' man I think I should set some parameters on what I'll be blogging about:

• Art and a jumble of "how-to" so I can feel like I'm helping the average person with theirs
• Occasional politics. I love politics. 
• My life here in the Pitt and other such randomness.

^--all of this hinging on the fact that I actually remember to talk every once in a while.

I'm also going to use this as a platform to share some of my comic book so follow along everyone! This journey should be fun!

 Sleepy Xellos?

Ffff; I need to blog more.

No, really. My lack therof has really been evident, especially since I'm supposed to be getting my name out there as a budding comic book artist!**lawoo**

Anyway, a few life updates and then onto the good stuff:

As many of you are aware I have moved to Pittsburgh, PA. Just had to get out of the south, you know? I finally got my own apartment that needs a bit of renovation and i am working on getting a new computer for my arts. The one I have no isn't really doign the job as far as graphics go so...that's on the to-do list.

Right now, I am working on a Slayers Doujinshi which can be found here:

Djwaglmuffin @ Deviantart

I'll also be posting it on smackjeeves and drunkduck as soo as the first chapter is done...which is taking quite a bit longer than I wanted it to because of all the life drama...f'ing LIFE!!

I am also planning on the business side of the spectrum but I need money...and a computer but I wonder if I can use a small business loan for all of that. I need to ask these questions. Really...the biggest thing is a computer. Once I get that I'll be flying with thsi stuff.

Get ready, I'm comin'.


Slayers Divine: Tip the scales by *djwagLmuffin on deviantART

New artworks!

I sure do hope I'm improving. I feel that I am and I am far more confident in my abilities! :)









Soon I shall acquire my tablet and I shall star working on my novel and it shall be a wondrous, glorious thing! :)

comics, New York and ever growing optimism?

Ok; so here's what's crackin; I've finished writing the major bullet points for "Descendant" Part 1 and Part 2. There are some combat things I'm going through ut then I realized...it doesn't matter in Manga, really even though some things need to be explained but not as much as I thought they did; be excited because, I am!

I am still working on MICC contest entry but my work keeps improving everytime I put pen to paper and I finally was able to get some Zebra G nibs on sale at JetPens! (woo!) I need paper and some better ink**, but I'm working on it. A few months ago (when I had school) I gobbled up every Canson 11 x 17 pad of comic boards I could find but the American variety is way to expensive and the paper is took thick (in terms of working with these pens) and Felts just don't cut it. I need real manga paper that is the equivalent to 11 x 17; I haven't yet decided if I want to start Descendant on paper but if I do, I'm going to just stick with it. No point in doing all that work and then shoving it in a computer. My only issue at that point will be lettering so, if I have a job by then, I'll eb looking for someone to do that. Probably a family member or...someone I make friends with or something.

I'm still looking for someone to help me gather materials for backgrounds, but I figured DA is a good enough dumping ground for all of that so I'll use it to my advantage. I can forsee running into snags...with me shaking real bad when I ink to not having enough paper to how am I going to scan it all when I finally do get some of it done...it's gonna be difficult to tackle some of these issues but I may have people I can rely on for funds of such a nature and with x-mas (ugh) coming up, I can ask someone to dump funds in my paypal account so I can order the proper materials.

Anyway, my search for a regular job is still unerway. There are some fast food joints and stuff around here that I can work within walking distance so I've been trying to wait for an opening as soon as one comes up.

I hate fast food, but I'm good at it and willing to accept it provided they don't jerk me around like my prior fast food job.

Wingstop is pretty cool and it's all over the country (except Rapid City, SD; DAMN YOOOOO!!!) so I may go there and ask for manager staff and move to the state of my choice when I move on up because...I don't want to stay in Texas. My brother lives in Pittsburg and he was trying to convince me to move to NY with him so we can be penniless artists. How does that even work? The whole penniless thing? Well, New York isn't very commercial artist friendly, I don't think...if they have real comic book adventurers coming out of New York, I haven't seen 'em...not to say they don't exist (that would be stupid, right?) but I haven't really heard of them (or seen any...) Comic books, animation and video games are more of a West Coast thing...honestly, where I think I belong. Or closer to; I miss the desert/plains. But the thing is with major metropolitan areas they have a lot of people and a lot of people means a lot of backgrounds so I'm sure if I posted the words "I need a comic book inker" I'm sure SOMEONE in the fine city of New York, someone would answer the call. And they are known for their excellent gammer and academia. I don't know...isn't New York more of a "wall-street" "come here if you want to own AIG" or something? That would be awesome. Maybe someone would invest in the possibility that comic books could be one of those awesome international trading opportunities. I see it...but I know a lot of people who hate comic books (and frankly, they hate you too BUSTER!! ) But that's alright. I love it anyway.

Wow...I typed for a long time.

My only real intention was to tell you what was going on with my LIIIIFIIIIIIIFFFFEEEE!!!!)



I miss you guys; truly, I do want to get back on here and get the community cheering. I have good ideas...just need the stuff to get it done. But at least I can start, right?

--------------

** Maybe it's just because I need to practice with the G nib and crow quill, but the nib won't write on the Canson; this is not a thin or cheap paper and the nibs are not speedball (I don't like speedball) This is that, heavy bristol from Strathmore and I have some art boardz I found at the comic book store. I have probably around a hundred sheets of this, but the manga paper (the professional Maxxon paper) 11 x 17 equivalent is light and smoother so the lines flow real well. I've been practicing, maybe I just need to find my hand on it, but the felts look like crap except when I'm paneling and I plan to use my felts for the speech bubbles...good luck with me writing though, noone will be able to read it!! **AHHH

The Art of Copying

Recently, the DeviantArt, manga/anime illustration, and Bleach fandom communities slammed Gene Simmon's son, Nick Simmons, for copying art from one of the recent installments to the "Bleach" Manga series. You can read more about the specifics here:
Nick Simmons/Bleach Manga Plagiarism Scandal Rocks Comics Twitterverse

-------------------------------------------

Having read the article and then assessing my own illustrations I suddenly felt obligated as an intermediate artist to say something on this subject. Having not understood the entire context of the original conversation having entered it late, I slammed someone on twitter saying the following:

DjWaglmuffin: "hey, if artists want 2 sell themselves short by doing zilch but fanwork, let em'. They'll learn nothing and go nowhere in the end."

DjWaglmuffin: "if fanart is **ALL** you do than you're not learning. And I'm not a saint; I'm doing doujin but it's in MY style."

DjWaglmuffin: "For the record; the doujin that I am working on; I've written a story, developed a style and layed out the panels without copying."

DjWaglmuffin: "I've also learned quite a bit from artists that I admire; but when do you draw the line and branch out?"

DjWaglmuffin: "and once you get 2 that point, how do you convince yourself that what you're doing is not just a cheap knock off?"

Djwaglmuffin: "I'm not bashing you, but I do encourage other artists to create their own stuff EVENTUALLY. Practice is always a good thing."

---------------------

After that, I thought about correcting myself, but you know what? I'm not going to.

Here's why:

In Japan, it is encouraged during the learning process to reference to an artist or series of artists that you admire; I read this in a book which struck me as, almost taboo:

Shojo Beat’s Manga Artist Academy

This book is written by several popular Shojo Manga artists in Japan.

I understand this process, and anyone who draws comic books or animations, especially manga-ka, utilize this process at some point. It IS a very good teaching aid and you can learn a lot from it.

But all of those arists, regardless of how good they are or how popular they are, have been to school; taken design and fine art courses and that is something that a BULK of the American manga-ka have not done. Those of us who have try to utilize what we've learned as well as applying things from artists that we admire.

But in the end, the art is ours, not the person in which we reference.

The painstaking process of creating worlds is a labor of love. You want to do it because you feel you have something to share with the universe and the only way to do that is to reach inside yourself and yank out every shred of creative energy you have to create something amazing. Every single artist aspires for this and it will define you. But if you stay inside a fandom or a technique or under the wing of one artist you severly limit yourself and, eventually, you will begin to beat yourself up because, in the end: YOU ARE NOT THAT ARTIST.

In my opinion, that's what seperates the cream from the chaffe. To expound on a point I made on twitter: "You can't possibly rely on your ability to draw Mickey Mouse 6000 different ways, if you don't stop drawing Mickey Mouse and come up with your own original characters or art work in general, you'll be stuck copying and be considered cheap for the rest of your short lived creative career."

To be blunt:

If you're not ready to sit in front of a desk day after day to become the God of your own universe you have no business in this media.

Fanart is kind of insulting after a while as well. Granted, I'm probably speaking for a small sliver of the community, but some of us have bent over backwards to create our worlds, stories and characters to share with the planet and to fall through the cracks of "Naruto", "Bleach" or yes, even "Inuyasha" is kind of a slap in the face.

Now, I'm no saint. as I said in a tweet:

I am doing a doujinshi and I love to draw some of my favorite characters every once in a while, but it's not what I want to be remembered for. I don't want someone to come to my table at a con and remember me because I drew an awesome Sesshoumaru. I want someone to come to my table begging for the next installment of one of my original comic books.

------------------------ Recomendations-------------

Ok; so let's start from the beginning:

Copying, as an artist, is the practice of taking someone elses work and drawing all of the elements within in order to train your brain into understanding what it actually takes to execute a composition.

For example: Pose referencing, color referencing, composition layout, honing a technique, anatomical execution, page layout, element origanizing, etc.

However, eventually you will need to break away from copying and draw your own original material. And when I say original I mean: take all of your reference material, all of your books, hide them from yourself, sit down in front of that sheet of paper and apply what you have learned.

Borrowing:
It's ok to borrow a reference from another artist. Believe me, some poses are insane to draw, but try not to draw them exactly how are friend Nick Simmons did. All he did was add a few panels to a page, but the overall layout was exactly the same and THAT'S why the collective red flag went up.

--------Personal examples------------

**Feel free to reference to yourself at any point but for purposes of this blog I'll attack myself.**

In the year of 2004, back when I was in the Navy, I decided to resurrect my wants and desires for illustrative media. My passion is animation; period. I love it; I love watching something colorful and artistic light up the screen; I love all of the elements that can be used to create a story that you can't get in live action. I love that the world of animation is so vast and the possibilities are endless.

Below is my progression and how I applied everything that I learned from the time that I began posting my work on the internet back in 2003-present. You'll notice that after referencing, the art began to evolve into it's own thing and I can proudly say I've coined my own quirks. Nobody draws quite like me and I think everyone will enjoy that same level of satisfaction when they reach it.

**note:
I've actually been drawing since I was 13 but i didn't start actually applying anything until I got out of my familie's house.


-----History-----

Here is how copying can help you and not hinder you:

Back in 2004, I was a horrible artist. I couldn't draw, and everything I did draw was on the level of a third grader. So, I decided to go to school.




"Wedding; dated appoxe 2003-2004.



Back in those days I loved "Suikoden 2" and "The Legend Of Zelda" as well as "Slayers" anime series; these are what I started with as a youngin'.

--

I began to gradually morph having become a big fan of Inuyasha:



"Original character based on Inuyasha designs" 2005


--
It still wasn't working and I got stuck in Inuyasha for about 1 solid year until I started reading Manga. I was very closed minded and very confrontational with my work.





After I had a serious pep talk and began to convince myself I could do more, I stopped copying Rumiko Takahashi and stopped modeling my work after hers. it was at this point that i learned I will never be Rumiko Takahashi so I started doing more research on other artists and tried to ween myself out of her style.

So. I started reading a lot of Yuu Watase and eventually began to gobble up anything she wrote; here is an example of that switch:





"Zelda OOT Fanart, 2007"

And another, more evolved peice:





"Fallen kiriban piece 2007"


And then I started working on my own styles and exploring other artists I got even better:




"Mortal Kombat OC 2008"

This is the end of the Yuu Watase switch and began to reference more from different artists while adjusting according my own character aesthetics; here is Sesshoumaru at the end of that switch:




"Sesshoumaru Kiriban 2008"


My own switch toward the end of 2008:





In 2009 the artists I began to study were: Ite Ogure (action), Kosuke Fujishima (female dynamics), Kaori Ozaki (Male dynamics), And of course, Yuu Watase (effects and execution)



"WoW Death Knight: Jan. 2009"

And over the course of 2009 I hit compositions something fierce, as well as action poses; my goal is to draw in my audience this passed year:



"Sesshoumaru-Sama May 2009"

**I used the pose from the third movie to make it more identifiable. I also did this for fun, but the style is inevitably mine. I just took a character and drew him a different way. (Slapping myself for the Mickey Mouse comment ^^; )

Later in 2009 I began to utilize photography a lot more:



"Galactic Bad guys: Goa'Uld" End of May 2009

Later that year, I slammed compositions again and adding details which I started to refer to some of my favorite American comic books. Mostly "Thor" "Ages of Thunder" and "V for Vendetta".

I don't have anything uploaded from July 2009-November 2009; No scanner :[

Ok; so then I started working on page layouts and illustrations:



"Thor DJ Style: December 2009"

And that brings us to now.

You can see how referring to different artists and using the different resources out there can help you improve but I will never stress enough to rely more on your abilities. You can't rely on one artist to carry your progression through out your development; you've got to break away and try walking on your own legs once in a while; if you don't YOU WILL **NOT** LEARN!




"From the Beginning: A cosmic love story" Feb 2010

The above picture is an example of where YOU can be. I studied my ass off, drew every single day, messed up thousands of times, threw things, hit walls, cried, stopped eating, sacrificed time, but kept doing it. On and On and On and ON AND ON!!

You have to keep going!

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!

Get advice and take it, apply it.

Read tutorials, draw; DRAW!!

The bulk of my personal success, and I'm sure others will concur, is we drew ALL THE TIME!




--------------------Closing

So, is it ok to copy?

Yes. As long as, when you publish or present your work, you show us what you've learned. As a senior artist to some of my younger manga-ka counterparts, I want to see you improve upon your original ideas.

Did I say "Don't draw your favorite characters from Bleach?"

No.

But I do want to see how YOU would draw those characters if you didn't know anything about that story.

Exercise:

For those reading this I want you to try the following: Get on the interweb and find yourself a Stageplay. Read that Stageplay, pick a character and based upon what you read about that character, Draw them. Draw your interpretation, how you feel about them, how they feel, their environments, their colors, etc.

Learn to become your art; become apart of your own universe.


Go get em' guys!

~Djwaglmuffin



Links:
Djwaglmuffin's Deviantart

The Artist's Hosiptal on DA

The Drawing Board

Manga Tutorials

Manga University on DA

Deb Aoki's "Manga" on About.com

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Twitter peeps:

Deb Aoki

Yuri Con

Wintermuted

Djwaglmuffin

Jeph artist extraordinaire!

Mark Crilley

Terrance Zdunich: Face sucking, dry humping and fist shaking.

That pretty much sums up my weekend.

I went to San Antonio's Shadow Cast production for "Repo! The Genetic Opera" where the Co-creator Terrance Zdunich attended.The casting itself was alright; I can imagine the costume changes and the overall overtone of the production is hectic but...meh.

It was worth the drive.

After the show we had a meet and greet where I, being at the end of the line, commenced to dance and sing to various songs such as "Smooth Criminal" "Thriller" "Pocket full of sunshine" and various Qntal. I yelled and talked, sang and touched everyone that walked by. Then it was my turn to shake his hand.

I had done a project submission for him recently and when I told him my name he knew instantly. I felt special when he jumped up and quite literally glomped me in front of everyone who looked at me like I destroyed the planet.

I talked to him for a good 5 minutes about Art and his projects with the exception of Repo. It was mentioned to me later he must have appreciated the topic change. After that we took photos together, one of which he had his lips planted on my face for a minute while they took pictures. I then got dry humped and...well...feeling in the spirit of things, I licked his face. Yes...licked.

During our talks, I felt like I was looking in a mirror because sitting in front of me was someone who shared the same creative soul.

On Saturday we had another sort of smaller "Come talk to me" session where; again being last, I talked to him about the "how".

"Please explain to me how you started or rather what kind of avenues you had to travel to get from 'point-nothing to point-finished."

At first it started out as a conversation about him just being persistent with his endeavors. He had me explain my reasoning for asking and I suppose I led him to believe that my own path is one of financial gain. Or that's how he took it.

He saw something in me I didn't know was there and it freaked me out a little bit. While him and I share the same creative soul it was obvious to HIM that I was approaching it from the wrong direction and he told me thus.

"Bev, you're wrong."

He essential told me this, which I am going to share with you because I think it's very important.

"If you love what you are doing, then do it. It shouldn't be about the money or relying on someone to provide the way for you. If you want something, make the opportunities for yourself.

If you're an animator, then do an animation. You don't have to wait...yeah, its going to be difficult but it's worth it. It's worth watching it come to life. Same with Comic books, live action and art in general."

I later thanked him for telling me what I needed to hear instead of some sugar-coated hulla-balloo.

He said "Don't give up and good luck"I officially have a lot of respect for this man and maybe one day, we'll be sharing ideas.