Comics University

Cebu Comic Book Convention

2011-08-03T07:44:00.000+08:00

Mark your calendars for the 2nd Cebu Comics Convention happening this October 1, 2011 Saturday at the UP CEBU grounds.

Highlights from the First CEBU Comics Convention!

2010-09-27T19:43:00.001+08:00

Resources

2010-07-02T18:09:00.000+08:00

If Budjette Tan says it's so it must be.

22 panels that work

16 panels that don't work

Dave Gibbons DRAWS Rorschach

2010-06-22T22:27:00.000+08:00

A useful video demonstrating how Dave Gibbons, artist extraordinaire who illustrated WATHCMEN, draw Rorschach for ImagineFX.

Steps to a Likeness: Oil Portraits

2010-06-20T20:38:00.000+08:00

Check out this great video!

Workshop at the Cebu Comics Convention!

2010-06-17T07:47:00.001+08:00

Big Ape Design Studio and JONASDIEGO.COM
in cooperation with Super Debil Robot Comics and Kawalo Concepts and Designs presents
The 1st Cebu Comic Book Convention
happening on the 25th of September 2010
10:00 AM to 7:00 PM at the Activity Center in Ayala, Cebu.

Check out the details here.

Hey, Jay!

2010-06-16T11:09:00.000+08:00

For those who need a bit of inspiration, take Jay's advice and dream big!

Freedom Forever!

2010-06-12T08:50:00.001+08:00

The Phil 24hr Comics Challenge!

2010-06-02T21:54:00.002+08:00

Check out the details here.

24

2010-05-24T17:45:00.001+08:00

Telling a Story...

2010-05-16T20:33:00.001+08:00

Is a very important part of being a comic book creator.

You may know how to draw really wonderful illustrations but if you can't tell a story with it, then it's still not comics.

Just pretty pictures.

Independent Publishers in the Digital Age

2010-05-14T11:53:00.000+08:00

Mark your calendars for this one:

"How Independent Publishers Can Thrive in the Digital Age"
Ayala Technohub
Quezon City
July 31, 2010

WEBCOMICS for Hacienda Luisita

2010-04-30T20:54:00.001+08:00

Check out this webcomics that we made for Sen. Noynoy Aquino dealing specifically with some issues related to Hacienda Luisita.

This title is a follow-up to first webcomics we made titled The Speech.

Embedded on some of the webcomics pages are links to videos about certain topics about Hacienda Luisita.

Hope you guys can check it out and tell your friends about it.

Click here.

We NEED more SERIOUS CRTICISM

2010-04-11T07:55:00.000+08:00

Gerry Alanguilan talks about why the Philippine Comic Book Industry needs more serious criticism in his blog.

Read his thoughts on the matter here.

The Price is RIGHT!

2010-03-12T13:10:00.002+08:00

I’ve made it my policy to keep the Komikero Komiks Anthology at Php 50.00 for as long as possible so that more people will be able to afford it and read our comic books. Thankfully, the comics is selling well enough to cover the next issue’s printing and to rent tables at a few local comic book conventions that happens during the year but just barely.

A lot of people have expressed wonder at how we’re able to keep an 88-page monster like the Komikero Komiks Anthology at Php 50.00. Well, mostly it’s because of cheap photocopying (we’ve found a photocopying shop here in Makati that charges only 75 cents per page). We can actually bring down the price a bit more but that would mean we’ll need a bigger capital to print en masse so we can lower the per unit price.

Money’s kinda hard to come by especially for indie comic book producers which is why most follow a print on demand business model. Print on demand is a relatively inexpensive way of a small number comics using digital printing and photocopying technology. Printing with a limited number of copies, your supply is often equal to the demand which great especially for unknown and newbie comic book creators.

If you run out of copies, it’s no problem because producing more is fast and easy. You’ll only need a Php 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 initial capital to print 25-50 copies of your comics depending on the number of pages it has.

The per unit cost of producing a copy goes up however with this type of printing which means you’re not going to get a very wide profit margin…if there’s one at all. Striking a balance is something that most comic book creators struggle with so I came up with a table which you can use to help you determine your indie comic book’s selling price.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

The GREAT Comic Odyssey SALE!

2010-03-10T22:57:00.001+08:00

It is not to be missed, I assure you!

Insomnia Level 3

2010-02-21T23:08:00.000+08:00

Check out this site for more information.

KOMIKSTRIP 2010 Coverage by FLIPPISH.COM!

2010-02-18T18:22:00.000+08:00

KOMIKSTRIP 2010 Pictures!

2010-02-15T00:29:00.001+08:00

The KOMIKSTRIP: UPLB's First Comic Book Convention is brought to you by the UP BUGKOS and JONASDIEGO.com in cooperation with the 101 Boutique and the Graphic Literature Guild.

The event was sponsored by T-Pencil and Visprint Publishing with exclusive online video coverage by FLIPPISH.COM.

The Komiks Art exhibit was made possible by the Philippine Comics Art Museum Online.

Check out more pictures from the event from the following people!

http://charlz-csweddings.blogspot.com/2010/02/komikstrip-uplb.html
http://aktibongpinoy.multiply.com/photos/album/63/KomikStrip_The_UPLB_Komik_Convention
http://charlz-csweddings.blogspot.com/2010/02/komikstrip-uplb.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/jwed2501/KomiksTRIP#

If you also took pictures at the KOMIKSTRIP leave a comment below with the link to the pics.

Next year uli!

PINTADOS Comics Making Body Painting Contest at the KOMIKSTRIP

2010-02-08T23:39:00.000+08:00

Join the PINTADOS Comic Book Making/Body Painting Contest! Click here for more information.

Only at the KOMIKSTRIP: The First UPLB Comic Book Convention happening this February 13, 2010 Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Presented by the UP BUGKOS and JONASDIEGO.COM in cooperation with the 101 Boutique and the Graphic Literature Guild.

Special guest include Manix Abrera, Gerry Alanguilan, Hazel Manzano, Carlo Pagulayan, Harvey Tolibao, Lyndon Gregorio, Mico Suayan, Carlo Vergara, Ariel Atienza, Komikero Artist Group, Bayan Knights, Ian Sta. Maria, Jann Galino, Gilbert Monsanto, Emil Flores, Andrew Villar, Randy Valiente, Dibuhista Comix Legends, Budjette Tan, David Hontiveros, Michael David, Ace Vitangcol, Jed Siroy, Kevin Ang, Rod Espinosa, Ner Pedrina, Edgar Tadeo, JP Cuison, and Boboy Yonzon.

This event is sponsored by T-Pencil and Visprint Publishing with exclusive online video coverage from FLIPPISH.COM.

Komiks Art exhibit is courtesy of Philippine Comics Arts Museum Online.

Sign up at our Facebook Event Page here.

Sign up for the ARTWORKSHOP here. Workshop fee is Php 150.00 with a maximum of forty (40) participants and will be on a first come first served basis.

For more information about the KOMIKSTRIP visit our official website here.

KOMIKSTRIP 2010

2010-02-07T19:06:00.002+08:00

Take a Trip to the KOMIKSTRIP: The First UPLB Comic Book Convention happening this February 13, 2010 Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Presented by the UP BUGKOS and JONASDIEGO.COM in cooperation with the 101 Boutique and the Graphic Literature Guild.

Special guest include Manix Abrera, Gerry Alanguilan, Hazel Manzano, Carlo Pagulayan, Harvey Tolibao, Lyndon Gregorio, Mico Suayan, Carlo Vergara, Ariel Atienza, Komikero Artist Group, Bayan Knights, Ian Sta. Maria, Jann Galino, Gilbert Monsanto, Emil Flores, Andrew Villar, Randy Valiente, Dibuhista Comix Legends, Budjette Tan, David Hontiveros, Michael David, Ace Vitangcol, Jed Siroy, Kevin Ang, Rod Espinosa, Ner Pedrina, Edgar Tadeo, JP Cuison, and Boboy Yonzon.

This event is sponsored by T-Pencil and Visprint Publishing with exclusive online video coverage from FLIPPISH.COM.

Komiks Art exhibit is courtesy of Philippine Comics Arts Museum Online.

Sign up at our Facebook Event Page here.

Sign up for the ARTWORKSHOP here. Workshop fee is Php 150.00 with a maximum of forty (40) participants and will be on a first come first served basis.

Join the PINTADOS Comic Book Making/Body Painting Contest! Click here for more information.

For more information about the KOMIKSTRIP visit our official website here.

KOMIKSTRIP!

2010-02-03T11:27:00.002+08:00

KOMIKSTRIP: The First UPLB Comic Book Convention is presented by the UP BUGKOS and JONASDIEGO.COM in cooperation with the Graphic Literature Guild.
Click here for more information! Click here to sign up at our Facebook event page!

How they do THAT!?

2010-02-02T08:33:00.000+08:00

If you want to see more of how LOLA: A Ghost Story from J. Torres and Elbert Or, published by ONI Press was produced, click here.

LOLA: A Ghost Story

Story by J. Torres
Pencils by Elbert Or
Inks by Jonas Diego
Grayscale by Robo Monkey Pixel Fighters’ (RMPF) Neil Amiel Cervantes and Katrina Mae Hao

Inking LOLA: A Ghost Story

2010-01-30T15:57:00.002+08:00

LOLA: A Ghost Story, written by J. Torres and pencilled by Elbert Or, is currently now available in hardcover from Sputnik Comics, Druid’s Keep, Comic Odyssey, Planet X and Fully Booked.

I did some inks here and there for the book and my studio Robo Monkey Pixel Fighters (RMPF) did some of the grayscale (some of Elbert’s students took some of the pages in an effort to meet the deadline). It was certainly an interesting project and a delight to help illuminate J. Torres’s story, especially one such as this that highlight Philippine culture and belief systems and spins it into one entertaining yarn.

I hope that we see more of these kinds of stories in the future.

There have been a lot of kind words online on the book and the illustration. In behalf of RMPF, especially Neil Amiel Cervantes and Katrina Mae Hao who did the grayscaling, we’d like to say thank you by giving you guys out there a peek into how a LOLA page got produced.

Let’s begin!

The Pencils

Elbert typically sends the pencils to me online in a 300 dpi, PSD format file.

I prefer to ink via traditional methods so the first order of the day is to convert Elbert’s lines into blue.

I do this to allow me to erase the blue lines digitally in Photoshop later, after I’ve inked over it.

This blue line version will now be printed out on a specialty board I buy that I use specifically for inking works.

With Elbert’s pencils I don’t go immediately to inks.

I spend some time figuring out the intent for a particular page via a script I was provided with. After that I spend some time with a blue Prismacolor pencil adding elements which I feel will help in the storytelling, setting up shadows to help create the mood and ambiance the scene needs, and correct some details in the art.

It is only after accomplishing this that I start inking over the blue lines.

The Inks

Most people probably think of inkers as tracers, content to follow the penciller’s lines and not figuring prominently in the art process.

It’s a common misconception by people not familiar with the comic book production process.

A bad inker can easily ruin great pencils so it is always in the best interest of an art team to get a good inker.

I use different tools for different inking projects.

In the case of LOLA, I used a Sakura brush, Chinese ink, Prismacolor blue pencils, UNI Pin technical pens of varying points, a felt tip pen, and a bunch of rulers, French curves, erasers, and a bottle of correction fluid (an inker’s best friend).

The finished product looks a bit something like this.

At this point, I turn over the page to Neil Amiel Cervantes or Katrina Mae Hao for scanning and cleanup.

They begin by taking out the blue lines, taking out the smudges and dirt found all over the page and making sure that the white are crisp and the blacks are…well, black. They check with me on the cleaned up line art and I go over it to see if we missed anything.

Once that’s done, I give them the go signal to start the grayscaling process.

The Grayscale

Disclaimer: The original mandate for the book was to produce it in grayscale.

It was only when promotions and solicitations for the graphic novel came out did I find out that it was converted into sepia. Consequently, some of the intended effects that were clear on grayscale were lost in sepia mode but I’m hoping the readers would still like it, nevertheless.

The guys used a combination of cell-shading and airbrushing techniques to great effect.

After adding grayscale, we go over the page again for a final check and then we e-mail it back to Elbert who will send it to ONI Press for lettering and whatever else that needs to be added.

Overview

Click on the image below to see the entire process

LOLA: A Ghost Story

Story by J. Torres
Pencils by Elbert Or
Inks by Jonas Diego and Elbert Or (with assists from some of Elbert's students)
Grayscale by Robo Monkey Pixel Fighters' (RMPF) Neil Amiel Cervantes and Katrina Mae Hao

Go buy our book now!

Gerry's Birthday!

2010-01-20T08:19:00.001+08:00

It’s Gerry Alanguilan’s birthday today so head on over to his blog and greet him! Click here.

The Numbers Game

2010-01-17T21:34:00.003+08:00

If there’s anything I learned over the years is that numbers are an important part of the indie comic book business.

While the story, the art, and the love for the craft of making comic books figure a lot in the scheme of things, the numbers also make up a large chunk of it. If you ignore the numbers part of the game, then it’s safe to say that you’re probably going to get in trouble somewhere along the way.

Let’s say that you made a half-decent comic book, the kind that one in every 20 person would want to read. Say that you had at least a hundred copies made. That means that in order to sell all 100 copies you have to be at a place where there’s going to be at least 2,000 people (preferably more) that’s going to pass by and see your comics.

This is why it’s important to put a lot of thought on the location of the table/booth you’re going to get at any convention you’re going to be attending.

But say that the convention you went to is only expecting 1,000 people to attend. What do you do then?

If you’re selling your comic books for Php 50.00, lowering the price to Php 25.00 may increase the chances that people are going to buy a copy because it’s cheaper. If you’re a relatively known comic book creator famous for making great story and art then it’s more likely that people passing by are going to buy a copy, making it possible that you can sell all 100 copies in a convention with an attendance of only 1,000 people.

But say that your art skills are only developing, you’ve yet to make a name for yourself, and you can’t price the book any lower because you’re going to sell at a loss if you do. What do you do then?

This is the time where you resort to gimmicks.

You could make really big attention getting signs to advertise your comic book. Make a brightly colored or shocking cover that sure to catch the eye of passersby. Get attractive and pretty friends to man the booth and sell your comics for you.

These tricks do not guarantee commercial success but they help improve your chances.

At the end of the day it really helps if you have a great product (i.e. a great comic book) but know the numbers and help stack the odds in your favor.

Learn COMICS at KOMIKSTRIP!

2010-01-17T09:00:00.001+08:00

Learn more comic book wisdom from the masters themselves at the upcoming KOMIKSTRIP at UPLB, Laguna this coming February 13, 2010!

KOMIKSTRIP: The First UPLB Comic Book Convention is presented by the UP BUGKOS and JONASDIEGO.COM in cooperation with the Graphic Literature Guild.

Click here for more information! Click here to sign up at our Facebook event page!

Alan Parson's Project teaches you COMICS!

2010-01-07T09:54:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T15:01:00.001+08:00

UNSOLICITED ADVICE no. 5: Experiment with Dialogue Bubbles

2009-12-29T22:28:00.000+08:00

Most dialogue bubbles you see nowadays are cut and dried.

Vary the texture and stroke, use different fonts, and play with layout and placement.

Make your letters and sound effects as expressive as the action and drama it is depicting.

Neil Gaiman in Google

2009-12-28T12:05:00.002+08:00

UNSOLICITED ADVICE no. 4: Persevere

2009-12-22T23:24:00.000+08:00

You’ll find that most of the successful comic creators had to endure hard times before they made it big.

No Dialogue

2009-12-16T07:34:00.004+08:00

Here’s one way to know if you’re doing your job as a comic book artist right: remove all the dialogue bubbles, captions, and sound effects.

If you can still get what is happening then you’re probably doing a good job.

All the techniques in your arsenal as an artist won’t count for shit if you can’t tell a story with it.

Without the ability to tell a story all those nice drawings remains just that: nice drawings. They’re not comic books because comic books tells a story (preferably a good one).

So, are you doing your job right?

Left to Right

2009-12-15T21:43:00.002+08:00

Always remember that most people read from left to right and top to bottom.

If you read Manga however you know that the Japanese does their comics from right to left.

While you might think that it’s cool for you to make comic books with a reading sequence that goes from right to left, if your audience does not share the same orientation, you’re basically making it harder for them to read your comics and get into the story.

Alan Moore's ADVICE to Young Artists

2009-12-15T16:22:00.001+08:00

Sage advice from one of the titans of comic books, Alan Moore.

UNSOLICITED ADVICE no. 3: Leave some Space

2009-12-15T15:30:00.003+08:00

Leave some space in the artwork for your letterer to put the dialogue bubbles, captions, and sound effects.

"Crap! The writer wrote a bunch of words and now there's nowhere to put those in!"

All too often, artists will draw the scene or action a script and fill up the entire panel, leaving no space for the dialogues. This leaves the letterer with less room to work with, leaving them hard put to ensure a logical flow in the placement of bubbles and captions.

Extreme cases will force the letterer to cover parts of the precious artwork which is something most letterers avoid whenever possible.

UNSOLICITED ADVICE no. 2: Don’t be Redundant

2009-12-15T15:10:00.003+08:00

Don’t write what is already being shown by the illustration. In radio dramas repetition is acceptable because there are no visuals to accompany the narration. In comic books however, narrating the action that is already being clearly shown is just stating the obvious and is plain redundant.

UNSOLICITED ADVICE no. 1: The Rules

2009-12-15T08:38:00.001+08:00

Don't break the rules for the sake of breaking them.
Break the rules because they help you tell a better story.