'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.

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


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">

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.


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

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...

It's finished!

One Law by *djwagLmuffin on deviantART

So I finally finished it and posted it a few days ago...and now that *I've* had a chance to look at it again, I'm thinking my shadows might need some improvement BUT tis a giant step forward, people! FORWARD!

My goal for the next month and a half is to settle on a coloring style. I'm also still studying manga when I have a minute as well as trucking forward with both my original title and Doujinshi. I'm hoping to be finished with Slayers: Divine by December/January. Which could totally happen if I stick my nose to the grind stone. I'm also looking at attempting to apply for Comiket 2013 so...let's hope it works out.

Ayee, processes!

 

So here I am with my first art process blog. I posting this because I'm hoping in doing so I can formulate new avenues of approach and also allowing people to give me opinions on a better platform then DA. This way you and I can see the step by step  way I execute my compositions without me having to reload and hope that someone notices the changes.

Anyway, the top portion was the finished line work for Luna Inverse, Lina Inverse's big sister in the Slayers universe. She is an enigma of a character that I have taken a great fascination with. She and I connected on some level, mostly because as personality and situations go we have a lot in common. She's militant, I'm militant. She's a waitress, I'm a waitress. She's the oldest, I'm the oldest. She's scary, I'm scary. I swear it's creepy. Except I would NEVER wear that GOD AWFUL pink thing she's wearing. Ever. NEVER*.

*You know...unless I somehow managed to land myself an otaku boyfriend who was into that sort of thing... >.>

***ANYWAY***

I eventually finished the background characters as shown below. I believe Gourry and Dilgear (aka Spot) still need a little bit of work and I might tinker with Xellos a bit more just to give them some more life but we'll see. I don't want them to overpower Luna who is the exhibition in this piece. 

I then laid out the first run with colors. Again, I think the pink she wears is just terrible. It's doesn't say "I'm the most powerful human in the world" at all BUT that's one of the reasons why I like this character so much. She's insane powerful (as my interpretation of her goes) and you would have never known by these colors. For her traveling outfit I mix some deep violet, teal (to compliment her hair) and silvers. 

I am still trying to find my thing. My technique..something that is recognizable as mine, but I'm not sure how well that's working out. Granted, people know my style and the way I draw but not the way I color. I know I can do much better and I've been practicing, I promise. For the bottom preview, I started working more with different tools: Water, marker and blend. I like them all except the marker tool. For some reason I can't get them to reproduce the results I want that others seem to get. When I watch videos on SAI nobody talks about what tools and settings they use so I generally have to wing it. Lately I've just been watching the video and working towards my own results and I've gotta tell you, I've dabbled in just about everything, but I think it may be coming around. I think my use of colors will also improve once I figure it out.

 And finally we move onto where I am now. I finished her skin, hair and boots and changed her top to white, following a little closer to her canon picture. I also adjusted the color of her boots just a touch. Another problem I tend to have is I think too far ahead with my work. I'm always trying to rush so taking my time and doing a good job is a recent phenom. There's another piece that has stark light behind my Troll hunter and that one is kicking my ass. It's not the detail I'm having problems with, it's lighting and color choices. So this is going to be a good test, but I'll tell ya'. I have about 4 pieces I haven't submitted because I had the expressed intention of coloring them but am hesitating. 

I promise I'm working on it. I want to get better so the message I'm trying to convey in my stories will come across better. especially in my colored pieces.

~DJ~

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

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

Texas GOP Platform PT. 1

Here are the first 6 pages with my reactions in RED BOLD text next to the aligned statements. This blog will be split into parts so people can take a break from the hair pulling.

The BOLD RED TEXT are opinions...OPINIONS. Believe it or not, I'm still allowed to have one.

Links:
Newsy.com report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoFl0zayO7M

Texas GOP Site: Original transcript is at the bottom
http://texasgop.org/inner.asp?z=6





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

2010 STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM
PREAMBLE

The embodiment of the conservative dream in America is Texas. Throughout the world people dare to dream of freedom and opportunity. The Republican Party of Texas unequivocally defends that dream.

We strive to preserve the freedom given to us by God, implemented by our Founding Fathers,
and embodied in the Constitution. We recognize that the nuclear family is the strength of our nation. It is our solemn duty to protect life and develop responsible citizens. We understand that our economic success depends upon free market principles. If we fail to maintain our sovereignty, we risk losing the freedom to live these ideals.

PRINCIPLES

We Believe in:

1. Strict adherence to the Declaration of Independence and U.S. and Texas Constitutions.
Yeah...this should be good.

2. Preserving American Freedom and Texas Sovereignty.
Ok...sounds ok so far...but wait...just wait for it.

3. Limiting the expanse of Government Power.
If it's not far right Christian white supremecist fundamentalism.

4. The sanctity of human life, created in the image of God, which should be protected from fertilization to natural death.
Wait...whatever happened to "Strict adherence...to the US Constitution."?

5. Personal Accountability and Responsibility.
Does that mean you'll actually have Rick Perry speak for his support of Natural gas drilling next to schools and crowded neighborhoods?

6. Self-sufficient families, founded on the traditional marriage of a natural man and a natural woman.
No Constitional rights for YOU Mr. Gay man! (or woman!)

7. Having an educated population, with parents having the freedom of choice for the education of their children.
Oooh...is this like indoctrination? (ok, maybe that's pushing it a little bit?)
http://trueslant.com/michaelpreston/2010/03/16/the-texas-textbook-controversy-and-the-failing-american-consensus/


8. Americans having the right to be safe in their homes, on their streets, and in their communities, and the unalienable right to defend themselves.
Ok...I'm allowed to have an armory in my living room. I can live with this. (sword collecting...what're ya' gonna do?)

9. A free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies.
Anti-Fed at it's BEST. (is the Federal government really SO bad?) (probably)

10. Restoring American sovereignty and leadership, and we honor all of those that serve and protect our freedom with peace through strength.
Ok, I take specific offense to this because I did NOT waste four years of my young life defending JUST the Republican party and it's sorry attempts at white-washing American history. I think I attempted to defend EVERY SINGLE PERSON regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, age, social status, income, or even whether you like Superman over Batman (which is blasphemy, BTW)

PS: I KNOW for an unadulterated fact that we, as Americans, can inflict the worst atrocities to a group of people or need I remind you of the one-sided Indian wars or massacres such as san creek or Wounded Knee? Kthnx.

PRESERVING AMERICAN FREEDOM


Limited Federal Powers – We support state sovereignty reserved under the Tenth Amendment and oppose mandates beyond the scope of federal authority. We support the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

We oppose and refuse any federal mandates which infringe upon the right to self-government and rights of citizens, businesses and public entities of the State of Texas; we also support asking the Governor to direct the Texas Attorney General to pursue all other appropriate legal action that preserves Texas’ sovereignty. We further support abolition of federal agencies involved in activities not originally delegated to the federal government under a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Look; just because the FG wants a little bit of cooperation in order to help the people you're supposedly trying to protect from government take over is not a bad thing, Mrs. "Obama is going to kill my baby!"

We reject the EPA defining repairs as upgrades.

Constitutional Citations on Legislation – We urge that all bills presented in Congress include citations to the authorizing constitutional provision, cost to implement, and impact on the family.

If It’s Good Enough For Us, It’s Good Enough for Them – The Government shall not, by rule or law, exempt any of its members from the provisions of such rule or law.
But...what if what you're passing isn't good for us...or them? Like the ban on homosexuality?

Law Enforcement – P - 2

· We support limitation of criminal jurisdiction of federal law-enforcement agencies in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.

· We understand most crime is local, and the states, reserve law enforcement authority under the Tenth Amendment.

· We oppose expansion of federal law-enforcement authority and use of military against citizens.
Moblilzing the National Guard when we need them to help us contain natural/man made disasters is authorized. Thanks. Or...wait...would you rather have FEMA?

Preserving National Security – We believe terrorism is the greatest threat to international peace and to our safety. We urge our national leadership to protect our Constitutional rights and swiftly wage successful war on terrorists; to eliminate aid to any nation threatening us or aiding terrorists or hostile nations; to spell out consequences for terrorist activities and to publicly support other nations fighting terrorists; to reasonably use profiling to protect us; to prosecute national security breaches; and to revise laws or executive orders that erode our essential liberties.
So why don't we just, I don't know, bomb everyone who looks at us cock-eyed.

PS: One man's patriot is another man's terrorist.

Patriot Act – We urge review and revision of those portions of the USA Patriot Act, and related executive and military orders and directives that erode constitutional rights and essential liberties of citizens.
Meh...

Continuity of Government – We oppose appointing members of Congress to fill large vacancies, depriving our right to elect our own representatives.

Emergency War Powers – We charge the President to cancel the state of national emergency and charge Congress to repeal the War Powers Act and end our declared state of emergency.
But you JUST said you want them to protect us against terrorists, so unless you can clearly define terrorism (WITHOUT pointing out specific groups of people just because you don't like them like...oh, every muslim on the planet?). Terrorism is an ENDLESS term! What is a terrorist?! Now, if you said, "protect us against religious fundamentalists that want to shove their doctrine down our throats", first I would say "take the anti-hypocrite pill" and then "Ok, no we're getting somewhere." But you have to first PROVE to US that you can control yourself when in the company of someone who has different beliefs or ideas than you. You corn-fed, slack-jawed, "I wish this was the confederacy", MORONS!

Elimination of Executive Orders – We demand elimination of presidential authority to issue executive orders and other mandates lacking congressional approval, as well as repeal of all previous executive orders and mandates.
Sorry Mr. President (including all fiture president, democrat or republican) you are no longer allowed to tell THIS Texas what we can or cannot do regardless of the situation.

Inter-jurisdictional Agreements – We oppose inter-jurisdictional agreements with any state that prevent the Governor from controlling the military, police, other emergency management personnel, and State of Texas resources. We call for repeal of all such measures.
New mexico will throw you in jail but if you happen to accidentally make your way into the lone-star state..ya might get shot.3

Washington D.C. – We strongly oppose making the District of Columbia a state and adding unconstitutional voting Congressional members.
I didn't even know this was an issue...

Census – We oppose the Census Bureau’s obtaining data beyond the number of people residing in a dwelling, and we oppose statistical sampling adjustments in the “mid-decade” census. We urge that U.S. citizens who, because of religion or conscience, are compelled to withhold their full response to any census question, be held guiltless. We support the actual counting of people and oppose any type of estimation or manipulation of data.
That's why the Census Buerau is supposed to FOLLOW UP via telephone... :]

Preservation of Republican Form of Government – We support our republican form of government in Texas as set forth in the Texas Bill of Rights (Art. I, § 2, §29; Art II §1; and Art. XVII §2g) and oppose Initiative and Referendum. We also urge the Texas Legislature and the United States Congress to enact legislation prohibiting any jurisdiction from allowing any
substitute or parallel system of Law, specifically, but not limited to, Sharia Law, to be recognized which is not in accordance with the Constitutions of Texas or of the United States of America.
Germane Contents Requirement – All language in any bill must be germane to the title of the act.
We've been preaching and fighting to preserve Democracy and imposing those beliefs and government structures on other countries for the passed 9 years...but not anymore...because it has the word "Democracy" in it.

Vote Revelation Requirement – All bills passed in the U. S. House of Representatives or the U. S. Senate should require a recorded vote, and that the bill voted on not be changed after the vote. All U.S. House and U. S. Senate rules allow the passage of bills without a revelation of the recorded vote be eliminated, including but not limited to the various forms of reconciliation.
Ok..so Texas doesn't want the Federal Government to tell Texas what to do...but by golly...they're gonna tell the Federal government what to do. I may be mistaken, but isn't this just like the "Articles of Confederation" that..you know...didn't work?

Constitutional Convention – We oppose any constitutional convention to rewrite the United States Constitution. We demand the Legislature rescind its 1977 call for such a convention. We call upon other states to rescind their votes for such a convention.
I highly doubt the convention was formed for the purpose of re-writing the constitution but perhaps interpretating it for the new generation of people and for the document to grow and develop with the people that follow it? I'm sure the circumstances surrounding it's original founding are NOT the same as the circumstances are today, ya'll!

Affirmative Action – Inasmuch as the Civil Rights Movement argued against using race as a factor in American life, affirmative action reintroduces race as a powerful force in American life. The Republican Party of Texas believes in equal opportunity for all American citizens without regard to race or gender. To that end, we oppose affirmative action because:

1. We believe it is simply racism disguised as a social value.

Not to mention those pesky homosexuals, women and muslims!

2. We believe that policies that lower standards on the basis of race or gender create a disincentive to excellence and thereby encourage mediocrity.

So you just don't like the fact that the people mentioned in affirmative action are allowed to...you know, earn a wage.

P - 3

3. We believe that rights belong to people – not groups; therefore, we reject the notion of group-rights and policies that grant preferences based on race or gender. Policies of this type apply a blanket remedy before specific acts of discrimination are proven; thus, such policies compound one injustice with another.

Funny..they never mention religious affiliation...because they just told everyone while you're allowed to have rights your just not allowed to practice them? Or have them?

4. Affirmative action falsely casts those who advocate merit as racist.

oO what?

5. Affirmative action casts doubt on minority achievement making such achievement as seemingly unearned. We believe that true minority advancement will come from a demand for personal responsibility, accountability and competitive excellence.

Too bad us white folk are now the minority...and have been since the creation of the "skin color". Did you know that white skinned people make up only 11% of the TOTAL glbal population? And most of them are in Europe...not America?

Reparations – We oppose any form of reparation based on discriminatory criteria.

Essentially: if you get turned away from a job or situation where Affirmative Action comes into question because you're 1)Not white 2)Not a man 3)Not Christian 4)Not straight you are NOT allowed to sue or receive compensation for any damages procurred because of such discrimintory acts.

Annexation – All parties in annexation proceedings should be guaranteed these referenda: Residents of an area to be annexed may vote on annexation, and voters of the jurisdiction proposing annexation must authorize the proposal.

Let's do it via football game!

Property Forfeiture – We support strengthening present restrictions on use of civil forfeiture laws and assessing penalties to reimburse injured parties for costs accrued if property is returned to its original owner.

Eminent Domain – We support limiting the definition of eminent domain to exclude seizing private property for public or private economic development or for increased tax revenues. Additionally, we support market value compensation to the property owners for all damages from all sources as a direct result of any taking. All private property owners involved in eminent domain matters should be notified of their rights under law with regard to condemnation and the condemner should be required to show the public need and necessity by petitioning a court of jurisdiction. Taking of property should result in immediate compensation of fair market value to the owner.
I get this one and I think Democrats should seriously look into this as well. Taking someone's property just because they're in the way is...well...anti-american and if we didn't learn our lessons from the Native Americans...then we'll just never learn. It's also documented that Eminent Domain can trump constitutional private property clauses if a company owns mineral rights which may be under someone's property thus enabling them to come in at their diescretion (you know..when you're not home) and drill on your property regardless if you own it or not. And then don't have to pay you back...

Homestead Protection – We support continuance of Texas’ homestead protection.

Environment, Property Ownership, and Natural Resources – We reaffirm our belief in the constitutional concept of the right to own property without governmental interference. We believe that property ownership is the source of the nation’s wealth; free enterprise forms the foundation of our collective wealth; local stewardship of our natural resources is best;
sound science trumps politically correct science; groundwater is a vested ownership right; the state should not abridge or deny our inalienable property and mineral rights; in state control of state resources; in opposing nationalization of lands and watersheds; in opposing conservation easements on our natural resources administered by organizations unaccountable to voters; in opposing vast acquisition of Texas land by government agencies to protect endangered species; in allowing states to consider costs when comparing emission control techniques; in election of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality chairman; and in eliminating the Endangered Species Act.

Eminent Domain is BAAAAD! But Texas doesn't REALLY protect it's citizens against mineral take-over...probably because Rick Perry is married to the Natural Gas companies that drill here.

Conservation Easements – When conservation easements are placed on our natural resources, they should be administered by organizations accountable to voters.

I'm not clear on this one...does this relate to minerals found in conservation areas? Because I've never seen or heard of a voting party on behalf or otherwise in this area...I think they just "Drill, baby drill" where they want to. Like in your backyard.

Livestock and Pet Locations – We oppose a mandatory national animal identification system requiring registration of all animals, of animal owners and their properties, including GPS coordinates and the use of RFID technology.

My cat has dog-tags! :]

Banning the Use of Red Light Cameras – We oppose the manner in which alleged vehicle violations are documented and fines levied against individuals without proof of their having been the driver of the offending vehicle and we call for a ban on Red Light Cameras in the State of Texas.

I agree...I hate those things. I also think this outsources cops for machines. ( We're living the Matrix!)

Driver Licenses – We propose that every Texas driver license shall indicate whether the driver is a U.S. citizen. No such documentation shall be issued to anyone not legally in the country.

I disagree! This an unecessary measure and proves that they don't trust US when in fact it should be the other way around. Please...stop with the mexican witch-hunts.

Free Speech for the Clergy – We urge change of the Internal Revenue Code to allow a religious organization to address issues without fear of losing its tax-exempt status. We call for repeal of requirements that religious organizations send government any personal information about their contributors.

So...government officials have to report where they are getting their funds but not the church? What do they have to hide? PS: I don't want a religious shakedown when I'm trying to shop at Wal-mart...thanks. And if you insist on this I expect to see Muslim clerics and Jewish rabbi on the same corners...as well as fortune tellers, Voodoo priestesses and Buddhist monks. Kind of like a religious buffet!

Government Regulation of Religious Institutions – The state should have no power over licensing or training of clergy. The State should withdraw all imposed regulations.

Yeah, let's just give any gun-tottin' dude who claims to have the conviction of the Holy Ghost the right to preach to an impressionable group of able bodied sheeple!

Restore Constitutional Integrity in the Legislative Process – We call upon the U.S. congress to pass legislation to restore Constitutional integrity in the legislative process demanding Single Issue Legislation that prohibits the current practice of inserting into otherwise unrelated legitimate legislation funding for or federal regulations for special interest issues into virtually every piece of legislation.

No more mutli-tasking in the House?

P - 4

The Rights of a Sovereign People – The Republican Party of Texas supports the historic concept, established by our nations’ founders, of limited civil government jurisdiction under the natural laws of God, and repudiates the humanistic doctrine that the state is sovereign over the affairs of men, the family and the church.

Because women are no longer allowed to make their own decisions...seriously? Why don't we just start practicing Sharia law?

Fairness Doctrine – We oppose any attempt by Congress or any federal agency to implement any policy comparable to the “fairness doctrine” as terminated in 1987.

Empowering Local Government Concerning Religious Meetings – the Republican Party of Texas urges local government bodies to determine their own policies regarding religious clubs and meetings on all properties owned by the same without interference.

As long as they're christian...

Real ID Act – As the Real ID Act effectively creates an unconstitutional and privacy-inhibiting national ID card, we hereby call for its immediate repeal.

But you're pro-life...?

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) – We oppose this act through which the federal government would coerce religious business owners and employees to violate their own beliefs and principles by affirming what they consider to be sinful and sexually immoral behavior.

Oh yeah...GOOD BYE Affirmative Action!



RESTORING INTEGRITY TO OUR ELECTIONS

P - 5

Protecting Union Member’s Dues – We support legislation requiring labor unions to obtain consent of the union member before that member’s dues can be used for political purposes.

Campaign Contributions – We support full disclosure of the amounts and sources of any campaign contributions to political candidates, whether contributed by individuals, political action committees, or other entities.

Oh? Like Joe Barton told us about BP during his "Shakedown apology"?

Candidate Eligibility – A candidate running for office should be required to reside within the geographical boundaries of the office sought. A candidate must submit proof of qualifications for the office being sought, including proof of citizenship and in the case of a presidential candidate, an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, bearing names and signatures of parents, attendant(s), as well as date, time and location of birth for the purpose of satisfying the requirement of being a "natural born citizen".

Everyone except for President Barack Obama.

Voter Registration – We support restoring integrity to the voter registration rolls and to reducing voter fraud. We support repeal of all Motor Voter laws; re–registering voters every four years; requiring photo ID of all registrants; proof of residency and citizenship, along with voter registration application; retention of the 30-day registration deadline; and requiring that a list of certified deaths be provided to the county clerk in order that the names of deceased voters be removed from the list of registered voters.

Electoral College – We support the Electoral College.

Voting Rights – We support equal suffrage for all citizens of voting age who are not felons. We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, or creed and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts.

Felon Voting – We affirm the Constitutional authority of state legislatures to regulate voting, including disenfranchisement of convicted felons.

Protecting Active Military Personnel’s Right to Vote – We urge the Texas Secretary of State and the U.S. Attorney General to ensure that voting rights of our Armed Forces will neither be denied nor obstructed.
Not an issue...even though my vote for John Kerry got lost somewhere in the Pacific.

:[

Filing Date for Primary Election – We urge changing the Election Code date of filing for the March primary from January 2 to the second Monday in January.

Fair Election Procedures – We support modifications and strengthening of election laws to assure ballot integrity and fair elections. Specifically, we support a federal or state government-issued photo ID at in-person voting; increased scrutiny and security in balloting by mail; prohibition of internet voting and any electronic voting lacking a verifiable paper trail; prohibition of mobile voting; prosecution for election fraud with jail sentences; repeal of the unconstitutional “Help America Vote Act”; and assurance that each polling place has a distinctly marked and if possible separate location for Republican and Democratic primary voting.

HA! That way they know who to excercise they're "Second Amendment rights" on. And why get rid of "Help America Vote Act." Should you or should you not want your citizens to vote? OH WAIT...this is a "republic". Woops!

Residency Requirements – We support legislation that determines residence in accordance with common-law rules, as recognized by the courts, except as otherwise provided by the Texas Election Code.

Water Districts – We urge the Legislature to allow voters the ability to recall elected officials of an irrigation district, fresh water supply district, municipal utility district, or any other special purpose district.

Campaign Finance Reform – We urge immediate repeal of the McCain-Feingold Act.

Enforcing the Platform – The Republican State Chairman and county chairs are responsible for implementing this platform by requiring party candidates to indicate their positions on platform planks before their acceptance on the ticket and to make such information available on the Party website. The SREC should seriously consider candidates’ positions on the Party platform before granting support.

A platform they probably won't read because as soon as they open it, they see the word "God" and assume everything is kosher.

Contributions to Conservative Candidates – We support the withholding of campaign contributions to organizations or campaigns including the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and all other organizations or campaigns which would support candidates who do not support the principles of the 2010 Texas State Republican Party Platform.

Platform/Legislation – We urge the Legislature to permit a political party to require each of its candidates to indicate their position on each platform plank before their acceptance on the primary ballot. Publication and distribution of candidate responses should be permitted.

P - 6

BLA BLA BLA!

Conflicts of Interest – We support all legislation prohibiting influencing or voting of any elected official or appointee where a conflict of interest exists. No such official should represent paying clients before a state agency.

Lobbying Limitation – We support legislation to prohibit former officials and government employees from lobbying for a foreign government and/or any business for five years after leaving public service. We support legislation to prevent lobbying by any organization receiving federal grants except that relating to its tax status.

Legislative Accountability – We support rules requiring that all votes on bills cast in the Texas House and Senate be record votes freely available to the electorate.

AWOL Legislators – We urge the Texas House and Senate to compel attendance of absent members and penalize those who attempt to bust the quorum by leaving the state or hiding within it.

Governor’s Veto – We urge a Constitutional amendment permitting the Legislature to return for a three-day session in response to the governor’s veto.

Public Integrity Unit – We urge the Legislature to secure the impartiality and probity of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, by transferring its powers and funding to an impartial statewide elected judicial entity.

Filibuster – We support return to the traditional Filibuster in the U.S. Senate.

Rosebush-Blocker Rule – We oppose the Rosebush-Blocker rule in the Texas Senate.

November Election – All public elections, except for primary elections, should be held in November.

HONORING THE SYMBOLS OF OUR AMERICAN HERITAGE

This should be good...

Ten Commandments – We oppose any governmental action to restrict, prohibit, or remove public display of the Decalogue or other religious symbols.

I'm going to post some Asatru or Wiccan doctrine all over the place...

Constitution in Public Schools – We believe that all state-funded schools should read and teach the constitutions of the United States of America and the State of Texas.

Just not the guys who wrote it.

Pledge of Allegiance – We support adoption of the Pledge Protection Act. We also demand that the National Motto “In God We Trust” and National Anthem be protected from legislative and judicial attack.

American English – We support adoption of American English as the official language of Texas and of the United States.

Not that filthy british english or that pitiful correct language they teach in new york city.

Flag Desecration – Any form of desecration of the American Flag is an act of disregard for our nation and its people and penalties should be established for such.

Symbols of American Heritage – We call upon governmental entities to protect all symbols of our American heritage from being altered in any way.

Confederate flag

Confederate Widows Plaque – We call for restoration of plaques honoring the Confederate Widow’s Pension Fund contribution that were removed from the Texas Supreme Court building.

Yeah, because their husbands died for our right to tell you what to do, say and believe!

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

You know..I've been thinking. I'm not a REAL fan of the Democrats either simply because they will SEE this perfect political ammunition and instead of using it against the GOP, they'll run away and suck their thumbs in the corner. I fancy myself Independant and plan to stay that way. (not those crazy 9/12'ers or...libertarians.) I just want to see America become what it was originally intended to become...you know....the America we killed 9 millions native americans for, the America we send our troops overseas in countless wars and engagments for, the image we try to sell the world and so on. Please...my God...don't make their sacrafice useless.

Part 2 coming soon!

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

-----

Twitter peeps:

Deb Aoki

Yuri Con

Wintermuted

Djwaglmuffin

Jeph artist extraordinaire!

Mark Crilley