Lady of the Dark - Etherez

Hey all.  Been a bit, busy what can I say. Anyway, wanted to dump some more images of one of the more important characters of this Graphic Novel I am working on.  This character is really fun to write and with the thanks of Karsten, really awesome to behold.  I really love what he's done with the description.  Still figuring somethings out here and there but all in all she looks great.

 

Etherez, the lady of the dark.  In the most simplest terms she is like a prison warden.  She is in charge of Hell.  And its a job she absolutely enjoys.  I mean, after all, if you don't enjoy the work you do then why do it for all eternity right?  Inside joke, nevermind.  A little more detail goes to explain that she is the superior demonic entity in Hell that has been charged with the commanding the overall operations of Hell.  Shipping and Receiving souls.  Handing out extra punishment if it is necessary and maintaining a direct link to the Man in the Clouds.  While she was made in His image to instil fear and horror she has an extremely playful side.  But she is capable of flipping her switch so fast that one moment you may be in her good graces and the next you may be in the way of her wrath.  Look for her in the coming Graphic Novel later but for now you can find her on stickers and shirts that me and the artist are working on.  I'll post on that later.  Here are a couple more images of Etherez.

This is a quick sketch Karsten did to see what she could look like sitting on her throne and kind of getting an idea of what her throne might look like in general.

This is a potential sticker.  Not sure about the lettering right now.  Different font and words perhaps.  Will know soon and then post on it and expect to see some purchases.  hehe.

This was a good close up he did for me.  He was playing with the eyes.  Originally I asked for her eyes to be pure white with black dots in the middle but he thought that might be too bland and not portray emotion very well and even specific eye line.  I love the deep black of the eyeball itself surrounding the bright white pupils.  Looks great.  He also had the idea for the jewelry on the horns which I think looks great.  Also really love the work he has done on the wings in general as the first image can show.

Character Sketches for New Project

Hey everybody.  Been a bit since I last posted but not to fret I got some more images to dump on you.  I've really enjoyed working with Karsten so far.  He and I seem to click on a lot of things.  I rarely have to suggest changes to how characters look.  I think he got the female character down sport on with the first go.  Working on some fun merchandise for the story with Karsten as well.  I'll be using them to help promote the story, get some buzz going and start a fundraiser soon for it.  Here's to the future.

Some images of Gerry and Maybelle.  They are a couple and get to go to Hell together, isn't that sweet.  Anyway, enough chit-chat, here are some images.  I think I'm going to put up some of the script soon too to whet your whistles and maybe get some people to spread the word in their own circles about this cool-awesome-neat-super-project that is being made by some hard working independent folks.   *wink-wink*

 

Gerry's got a nice jacket, don't ya think?  As you can see it is going to be taking a lot of damage as he treks through Hell.  A long arduous trip both for him and his creators.  But no time for sleep.  Got to keep moving forward and get this beauty going.  It's going to be a great time.

Till then, Peace

Looking For Artist

Hey everyone.

So here's the thing. I've been working on a series for a year, had my artist bought and paid for, he did the entire first issue (five pages of which can be found HERE) but has stepped down for the rest of the project for personal reasons and I need someone who is interested in coming on board for the rest of the run.

It is planned for 25 issues, one down, 24 to go. As of right now I don't need any work done but I need an artist with a similar cartoon like style that is able to commit to the entire run. I am going to submit to publishers with the finished issue and an introduction of the new artist that has committed with samples of their work to show to the publishers.

If this gets picked up I can only imagine that this would be a monthly run so i would need an artist who can commit to the entire run and able to complete each comic with enough time to hand it off to the colorist, the letterer, etc. etc. Compensation will be discussed with the artist that commits along with whatever deal is made with any publisher that picks up the series.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask me here or email me directly @ nicholas.favorite@yahoo.com with the heading "New Brock Artist".

Thanks for the support and hope to hear from some people.

Till then, Peace!

Brock Teaser

While I'm working on my kickstarter pitch and all the necessary ways of promotion towards the site for my new project, I thought I'd share a little teaser of Brock: The First Chef Ever.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Brock right now.  Seeing that the artist left the project for personal reasons has put me in a tight spot.  I can't really pitch it to publishers as is.  They wouldn't be happy if I gave them something and said, by the way I need a new artist.  And I don't have the ability to start over right now.  I know there is always the chance that my pitch could be so awesome, the issue could be well received and the new artist with samples of their art attached could be promising might give a publisher enough to give me the chance to "start over" but that is a long shot and I don't really want to burn my first chance on a project with a lot of bumbs already paved into the road.

Anyway, here is a bit of a teaser of the first issue of "Brock: The First Chef Ever"

  

Pencils/Inks - John Huddy Jr.

Color - Juan Romera

Lettering - Ed Brisson

Loved to hear comments on it.

Kickstarter and/or IndieGoGo

I've been looking at two different fund raising sites to help with my newest graphic novel that I am currently working on, Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.  Right now I am thinking that IndieGoGo might be the best choice.  It's a difficult choice, obviously you don't want to run two different fund raising campaigns for the same project or else you split your funds and lessen your chances to reach your goals.  However, the IndieGoGo site still gives you funds raised even if you don't reach your goal.  Of course, if you don't reach your goal they take a little extra money but when it comes down to it.  After spending three months of your time promoting and pimping yourself out there only to be a few hundred or even a grand short of your project goal and then to get nothing compared to being a bit short and having to pay an extra 4% in fees seems like a much better outcome.  4% can turn into a lot of money when its combined to the other 6% they already take out but again, I'd think it is better to get something instead for your effort.

So I will probably be using IndieGoGo and pushing that out into the world.  I'm compiling a pitch package and prizes and rewards for contributors and will provide links here and on other sites.  All the money raised is going to pay the artist to draw the book.  He's pretty enthusiastic about this project and that of course makes me very happy to be working with someone that wants to draw this book.  I just have too many good scruples in my body and can't come to terms with trying to get someone to work for me for free.  I mean, it'd be nice if everyone wanted to work for free on things but this is a career choice.  If I expect to get paid when I'm hired to write something I should expect to pay people that I am hiring to render services for me...by services I mean artwork... *koff*koff

Anyway, I'll be posting a new character and sketches up here soon for the project and maybe some good news for Brock coming up soon.

"Myzl" Character Design for New Project

Karsten has unloaded some character designs on me so I am going to be sending these out every week or so as I get them, talk about the character etc.  Their personalities.  etc. etc.  So!  This is Myzl, pronounced - May-Zool.  He is a tiny impish demon that works in hell.  His profession?  Well he doesn't torture souls like some of the bigger meaner demons down there no, he keeps the place nice and clean.  After all, cleanliness is close to...ya know. 

So, Myzl is a lowly Janitor of hell and as he was working one day he is conscripted by Death to assist him in escorting Gerry (the main character) around town.  Myzl acts as the comic relief to most situations, or at least he thinks he's funny, and also helps to be the sort of encyclopedia of hell.  Expository character I guess you could call him.  He might look grumpy here but he has a good attitude toward life...I mean afterlife and enjoys what he does.  But he is always looking for any and all opportunities to be useful.  And helping the Angel of Death personally is a great honor in his mind.  Look for him in sticker, and t-shirt form soon but most importantly look out for him in the future when this project is finished and out on the shelves.

Below are some of the original designs we were working with.

This was the original design he did.  He was pretty cute and I liked the little necronomicon he doodled for the book.  Was thinking about keeping the book as a nod to a great movie franchise but decided it was not the best thing to do since Myzl is one of the main three characters.

 Karsten worked on body and an idea about wings.  We inevitably decided against wings and figured he just was able to fly or float through magics from his fork or even his book.  We can add some Kirby Krackle or something when he's flying to better illustrate that.  But we also tried to make him look older.  Not there yet.

 

Next he tried some body molds, but he was too fat for our liking.  I wanted a belly originally but I didn't want him to be ogre like.  Eventually he tried a face that I really liked and played with some emotions.  Grumpy, scared, mischief maker, happy-go-lucky and lazy.  I was sold.  And the top image is the end result and most likely what you will see in the book.

 

Something In the Works

While I wait for Brock to get some issues printed to submit to publishers I have been working on my next project.  Right now, it's tentatively called "Died And Gone To Hell" and I've been working on the script with a fine artist named Karsten, he actually has his own blog too right HERE.  He's compiling preliminary sketches of the characters for me and then I'm going to put together a kickstarter which is a way to fund your anything.  That way I can pay the artist to draw the comic.

It's an epic tale of one innocent man who accidentally is sent to Hell and his journey to get to Heaven.  Very Divine Comedy.  Here are some character sketches.

Like I said, fantastic artist and worth every penny I plan to pay him.  When I get the kickstarter going it would be great for any help, financial or promotion.  More sketches on the way.