I'm often asked how I come up with the ideas for my stories. Some are quite apparent, as they are either semi-autobiographical or are based on things that hugely interest me. For example I'm currently working on a comic that basically talks about my dating experiences and I have an original graphic novel in the works that focuses on Muhammad Ali. However I'm also working on some pretty fantastical projects such as Reality and a dystopian tale. Now, to some it would appear that I've just come up with something crazy and I can't possibly have something personal to say in these projects, but how wrong you are. Reality is all about my views on Reality TV, as well as fame and youth culture. I'm blown away by some of the things that are placed as important in todays society, particularly by teenagers. Every week when X-Factor is on I see my Twitter and Facebook feed explode with opinions on the episode and I wonder how anyone can care so much about something that to me seems so unimportant. As I work with kids in my full-time job I got to wondering 'what if one of these kids gained superpowers?' And the results of these thoughts didn't inspire me with hope. So as you can see Reality becomes a way of talking about and expressing these thoughts. So in some ways Reality is as autobiographical as anything else I have ever written. The same can be said of my dystopian story that will delve into my political views and talk about by my fears of Britain's political path.
So I've established that everything is semi-autobiographical, what is my advice to other writers? Go out and live a bit! A lot of the time the instinct is to spend all your time in doors writing, but if you don't have experiences, what are you going to write about? For a while I'd been staying indoors as much as I can and getting on with writing, but I wasn't really coming up with new ideas. Well this weekend just gone I went wild camping in Dartmoor and things turned ugly. Before I knew it I was lost up a hill, in a storm, gail force winds beating down on me, unable to see 20 metres ahead of me. I got out safe and sound of course, but being in that situation made me feel things I wouldn't normally feel and thus gave me new experiences and sure enough a new idea came to me.
Now I'm not saying you should all run out there and put yourself in perilous situations, but go out live a little, every so often try something new. Without experience there is no motivation.
Friday 23 August 2013
Thursday 1 August 2013
Black and white?
As some of you will no doubt have noticed page seven went up on the website yesterday and it was black and white. Marco and I will be going down this route as we want to keep you guys interested and deliver a page a week. As we don't have a colourist at the moment (these things cost money), we will be publishing the pages in black and white, with the hope that we can eventually get them coloured.
To get the pages coloured I'm looking to you guys, as Marco and I are poor boys, from poor families we are looking for donations. Any donations given would not line Marco's and my pockets but would pay for said colourist. So if you are a fan of what you see and would like to help get the pages coloured cough up.
Finally just to remind you, we will be trying our upmost to put out a page every week, so please check back for updates.
To get the pages coloured I'm looking to you guys, as Marco and I are poor boys, from poor families we are looking for donations. Any donations given would not line Marco's and my pockets but would pay for said colourist. So if you are a fan of what you see and would like to help get the pages coloured cough up.
Finally just to remind you, we will be trying our upmost to put out a page every week, so please check back for updates.
Monday 29 July 2013
Update
I've not posted for a while, so I thought I better let you all know I'm alive and well, although I did recently have a near death experience involving wild boars in Turkey. I also thought I better give a little update as to where Marco and I are at in terms of the project.
Marco has taken over the lettering the of the book and is currently honing his skills in this area, as with all other aspects in comic creation, Marco is taking to it like a fish to water. I really can't wait to show you his lettered pages.
You'll also notice we have a new URL, you can now find the main website at http://realitythecomic.hostei.com. Nothing really to report as to why, Marco just felt it was a better location for the site.
Anyway, this is just a short one, but I will post something more substantial later in the week.
Marco has taken over the lettering the of the book and is currently honing his skills in this area, as with all other aspects in comic creation, Marco is taking to it like a fish to water. I really can't wait to show you his lettered pages.
You'll also notice we have a new URL, you can now find the main website at http://realitythecomic.hostei.com. Nothing really to report as to why, Marco just felt it was a better location for the site.
Anyway, this is just a short one, but I will post something more substantial later in the week.
Sunday 7 July 2013
Keeping Busy
In the last week or so I have neglected Reality due to commitments on another project, and this got me thinking about something that I think is important for all aspiring comics writers, and that is staying busy.
All in all it takes a lot more time to draw a comic than to write it. Sure I do a lot of research and redrafts, but this still on an issue to issue basis doesn't compare to the time it takes to pencil, ink, colour and letter the book. So picture this, you've written the first issue of your future smash hit comic. You've found the perfect artist. They've started the project, but given other commitments they believe it should take three months before they finish the issue. What do you do? Do you sit there twiddling your thumbs thinking about how great your comic is going to look. Nay I say to thee. You want to be a writer, then you have to keep writing. Come up with another idea and find the perfect artist for that one. At the moment, I have 3 projects in full production and even then there are times I find myself with nothing to do, but wait for new pages to come in from an artist. I don't just sit there, I start brainstorming for another project. Due to this as well as the three mentioned, I have another project just about ready to find an artist for, I have another one with pages of notes and many more just at the initial idea stage. Remember you're not owed anything, you want to make it, you've got work for it. The more projects you have out there the more likely one of them will be your big breakthrough, and obviously the more you write, the better you will get.
Anyway these are just my thoughts, I could be completely wrong, maybe sitting there twiddling your thumbs will bring you success, but I doubt it.
All in all it takes a lot more time to draw a comic than to write it. Sure I do a lot of research and redrafts, but this still on an issue to issue basis doesn't compare to the time it takes to pencil, ink, colour and letter the book. So picture this, you've written the first issue of your future smash hit comic. You've found the perfect artist. They've started the project, but given other commitments they believe it should take three months before they finish the issue. What do you do? Do you sit there twiddling your thumbs thinking about how great your comic is going to look. Nay I say to thee. You want to be a writer, then you have to keep writing. Come up with another idea and find the perfect artist for that one. At the moment, I have 3 projects in full production and even then there are times I find myself with nothing to do, but wait for new pages to come in from an artist. I don't just sit there, I start brainstorming for another project. Due to this as well as the three mentioned, I have another project just about ready to find an artist for, I have another one with pages of notes and many more just at the initial idea stage. Remember you're not owed anything, you want to make it, you've got work for it. The more projects you have out there the more likely one of them will be your big breakthrough, and obviously the more you write, the better you will get.
Anyway these are just my thoughts, I could be completely wrong, maybe sitting there twiddling your thumbs will bring you success, but I doubt it.
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Our Credentials
I thought I would take the opportunity in this post to talk about our credentials, as in my last post I noted that Marco was 'new' to comics, this could certainly be said of me also, but what does it mean?
I guess most people would call us new as we have no published work. Now while this is technically true, I have a publishing deal with AMM Markosia for a 5 part mini series called No Romance and I also have a kickstarter pending and waiting for approval for an original graphic novel called The Fight We Never Saw. I also have various other comic projects in early stages of development and I was offered a publishing deal for the first comic I ever wrote, but the artist did not like deal and it all fell apart. In terms of writing outside of comics, I've also written a pilot and a series pitch for a TV show and wrote plays for local amateur drama productions. I of course also I have had a lifetime of reading and absorbing the work of great comics writers.
Marco meanwhile has been interviewed and given good reviews by Marvel editors. Carlos Pacheco whose artwork is well known by all Marvel and DC fans, greatly admires Marco's work and has advised him to seek out management. This talent didn't come over night however, Marco was drawing almost from birth and it was comics that inspired him. He has had his work used by bands for promotional material and could easily find work in other artistic ventures, but it's comics that pull at his heart strings.
Did I write this post to tell you how great Marco and I are? No, far from it. I guess all I really want to say is it takes an awful lot of hard work and commitment to be 'new' to comics.
I guess most people would call us new as we have no published work. Now while this is technically true, I have a publishing deal with AMM Markosia for a 5 part mini series called No Romance and I also have a kickstarter pending and waiting for approval for an original graphic novel called The Fight We Never Saw. I also have various other comic projects in early stages of development and I was offered a publishing deal for the first comic I ever wrote, but the artist did not like deal and it all fell apart. In terms of writing outside of comics, I've also written a pilot and a series pitch for a TV show and wrote plays for local amateur drama productions. I of course also I have had a lifetime of reading and absorbing the work of great comics writers.
Marco meanwhile has been interviewed and given good reviews by Marvel editors. Carlos Pacheco whose artwork is well known by all Marvel and DC fans, greatly admires Marco's work and has advised him to seek out management. This talent didn't come over night however, Marco was drawing almost from birth and it was comics that inspired him. He has had his work used by bands for promotional material and could easily find work in other artistic ventures, but it's comics that pull at his heart strings.
Did I write this post to tell you how great Marco and I are? No, far from it. I guess all I really want to say is it takes an awful lot of hard work and commitment to be 'new' to comics.
Thursday 20 June 2013
The Plan
So as you can see there is a mere six pages and the front cover of the first issue on the site and I know what you are all thinking 'I need more.' More is something Marco and I intend to give you. At the moment we are both busy working out the ins and outs of the website, but we intend to deliver the 5 issues here, on the website, for free. This of course isn't an easy process, as I'm merely a writer and Marco, being new to comics art, is still coming to grips with inking and has never coloured before. However we will push forward with this project and get other artists on board to assist with the inking and colouring process. This is where you can come in, if you like what you've seen so far and want more, then donate. Now I don't want to come across as someone that wants you to pay his rent, as I'm really not that guy. Marco and I do this out of the love of our hearts and we have hired an artist to do the colouring of the first six pages, but these things don't come cheep and if we want more pages coloured then I must turn to you. So please help us to tell you the story of Reality.
Tony
Tony
Monday 17 June 2013
Collaboration
I get asked by a lot of different people 'how do you find an artist to draw your comic?' This is a real tricky subject, as I imagine most of reading this don't have a bunch of comic book artists on speed dial, so I thought I would tackle this subject here. When I first decided I wanted to write comics I had no idea how to find someone to render my thoughts and I remember asking this very question to various creators at a small press show in London. I got a few different answers, but I'm going to go into the main the ones that I find most effective.
Firstly the one that has proven most fruitful and for me because this is where I found Marco and Voxie who is the artist on No Romance (a book written by me that will be published next year) is advertisement on various forums such as ZWOL. There are forums out there that are specifically designed for writers, artists and other comic creators to hook up. Now truth be told these sites tend to be dominated by writers looking for artists, as many an artist is under the impression they can write and some are right, some... not so much. So if you do go down this route make sure you're ad stands out, be specific about what you want from the artist in terms of art style and tone. Also make sure you make your project sounds exciting, believe me writing and exciting pitch that lures artists in is good practice for pitching to publishers later down the road. Finally be clear about what you're offering your artist. Many of the artists looking at these ads will expect to get paid, unfortunately that is not something I can afford to do and I aslo believe when you find the right artist they become the co-creator, so I offer a 50% share in the project.
The second way I tend to look for artists is on deviantart. This can be broken down into two main categories firstly you can advertise on their forums and secondly you can browse though their comic art groups and contact artists you feel would suit your project. Now I have to say I've never had much luck on the deviantart side of things, but I know some writers swear by it.
Finally I also like to go on general comics forums such as 11 o'clock comics and once again you can either post an ad or look at some of the art threads and contact perspective artists. Again I've personally not had much luck with this, but do find the forums a great place to gain advice and get intrest in your project going.
So all in all I think what I've pointed out here is that when looking for an artist, the internet is your friend. The other thing I would point out is that you must be patient, you will get sent a lot of terrible artwork and it may take months to find the perfect artist. I had to put my ad up a bunch of times before I I found Marco, but look at how thats turned out.
Tony
Firstly the one that has proven most fruitful and for me because this is where I found Marco and Voxie who is the artist on No Romance (a book written by me that will be published next year) is advertisement on various forums such as ZWOL. There are forums out there that are specifically designed for writers, artists and other comic creators to hook up. Now truth be told these sites tend to be dominated by writers looking for artists, as many an artist is under the impression they can write and some are right, some... not so much. So if you do go down this route make sure you're ad stands out, be specific about what you want from the artist in terms of art style and tone. Also make sure you make your project sounds exciting, believe me writing and exciting pitch that lures artists in is good practice for pitching to publishers later down the road. Finally be clear about what you're offering your artist. Many of the artists looking at these ads will expect to get paid, unfortunately that is not something I can afford to do and I aslo believe when you find the right artist they become the co-creator, so I offer a 50% share in the project.
The second way I tend to look for artists is on deviantart. This can be broken down into two main categories firstly you can advertise on their forums and secondly you can browse though their comic art groups and contact artists you feel would suit your project. Now I have to say I've never had much luck on the deviantart side of things, but I know some writers swear by it.
Finally I also like to go on general comics forums such as 11 o'clock comics and once again you can either post an ad or look at some of the art threads and contact perspective artists. Again I've personally not had much luck with this, but do find the forums a great place to gain advice and get intrest in your project going.
So all in all I think what I've pointed out here is that when looking for an artist, the internet is your friend. The other thing I would point out is that you must be patient, you will get sent a lot of terrible artwork and it may take months to find the perfect artist. I had to put my ad up a bunch of times before I I found Marco, but look at how thats turned out.
Tony
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