Update for December 9th

So again... not a lot has happened recently.

My computer was fixed about 80's one of my files of old concept art got corrupted but my more recent digital drawings are safe. I can't draw because of all the issues with my wacom but I am determined to keep working as hard as I can nonetheless.

I was able to get my submission materials to John Luther on time and now I will just have to edit and arrange what material I have and what material I will make over the weekend for next week. My wacom tablet should be fuctional by this saturday meaning sunday could be nothing but drawing and that is a huge relief to me.

Also
I have found several good revenues of research in the meantime.

The video channels, The Film Theorists

















A great video about sound design and the lack of information that makes J-horror work.

And the channel Every Frame a Painting:

A great video about framing as a way to make dialouge flow and character motivation visual.
I have been really digging deep into the technicals of framing and storytelling on a more visual level.
I have a script written for my three stories, but I am purposefully looking for what words can be cut out and the information can be shown visually.
Hopefully it will make the final product all the more enjoyable.

Update for Dec 2 2016

So not much to update this week.
My computer broke and is in the shop, so the weeks worth of digital art I was planning to do went down the drain real fast.

At the very least I was able to save my hard drive, meaning that most of my animations and sketches are safe but I feel horribly set back and I am not sure what to do.

I spent this week researching more narrative based themes when it comes to conveyance and audience involvement. I watched several documentaries on video game design and how an interactive story can teach the player what to do, what to feel and how to view the story through simple design changes. It pointed out how in Dark Souls, there are too many weapons and shields when compared to Bloodbourne that has NO shields in the game.
Dark Souls tells the audience that blocking is a valid form of defense even though dodging and parrying makes the game a lot more fun and fast paced, meaning the audience already starts frustrated and confused at the start of the game, and then gets little to no time practicing the dodge/parry technique which makes a lot of a tough bosses that much harder. While in the sequel series Bloodbourne, there are simply NO shields. Meaning the player has to practice and perfect the dodge/parry technique right at the start of the game and thus the entire game is easier and thus more fun. In addition, the practice one gets in Bloodbourne makes you appreciate all the other Dark Souls games as you now have the practice to handle those games.

It might seem like a rather tangential aside but it makes sense in context of my style. I eat that stuff up. Storytelling mechanics and subtle conveyance is my bread and butter. The entire feel and flow of a piece of media is completely changed by removing one superfluous feature. When it comes to structuring a narrative, editing your work to be more streamlined is key.

I have been working on my writing and asking myself how LITTLE dialogue I can use to tell the audience what is happening. Studying conveyance is important to unlocking the tools of storytelling.

In other news I have been working with Pen and paper a lot.




It is definitely making me feel better but I won't really be able to get back to were I was until I get my laptop back. Drawing is pretty much my only stress release and I am not doing too well without it.

Update for November 25th

Happy Thanksgiving.

Starting on monday, I will begin my 'test week' to see if I can make a comic page a day. It will be a fun test and hopefully productive.

I also plan to scan and upload everything I get done this week so my next post will have a TON of in process images.

In terms of research I found a wonderfully nostalgic gem.

The 1998 made for TV movie: Dream House.
I remember watching the tail end of this movie late one night on TV when my parents were asleep and hoooo boy.
Even if this is an awful movie in pretty much every aspect, it was like looking at myself through a time machine. It is EXACTLY the aesthetic and thematic style I like when making my own stories.
The movie is about an AI that is supposed to watch over and take care of a family currently going through their own personal issues. The AI falls in love with the dad and tries to kill the rest of the family so they can be together.
90's cheesy horror ensues and it is gloriously Canadian.
It really reminded me of old "Goosebumps" or "Are You Afraid of the Dark." episodes. That mix of "a ton of love and care is put into this, but also at the same time it looks like nobody gave any effort making this." aesthetic is hilarious, lovable and totally what I am trying to emulate.

It really made my day watching this and it was one of those movies I know for a fact that no one else will ever appreciate the way I do and I am feeling incredibly inspired to make my own delightfully cheesy horror story.

Let's go!

Update for NOV 18th

Plan!

I have a good plan.
Starting the end of thanksgiving break I will be dedicating myself to at least a page a day. Hopefully making 7 pages a week. I know that I can get at least 1 page done on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. At up to 2 pages or more on tuesdays and thursdays. Plus on the weekends I can work as much as I want making up to 3 pages each day.

This is however a rough guesstimation so I will be doing a 'practice' week when I get back to see exactly how much or how little pages I can make in a week then go from there.

I fully understand that some weeks will be super productive and I will be bogged down other weeks, but If i can get anywhere from 5 to 7 a week I should have more than enough pages done by the end of the semester and I will certainty have all the pages done by he end of the school year.
Technically if I play my cards right I could get the 30 pages done in a month and easily finish my graphic novel.

For example, this page took me only a few hours to make:

So I am very confident in my own abilities which is a new sensation for me to be feeling.
We will have to wait and see.

Update for Nov 11th

Updates:
I have been watching Black Mirror season 3. That's something interesting.

So far I think that the most important ones relating to my own work are episodes 1, 3 and 4

Episode 1:
A strong start to the new season had an amazing blend of bright shiny new technology and social commentary. It isn't scary by any means, it is actually pretty low key and more about subtle drama and commentary. It really cut into the "snapchat" culture where tweens take photos of the their meals and make fun of each others clothes. I think the 3rd act is a little weak and does not deliver on it's message but it was still a very solid story where they take an abstract cultural phenomena and makes it a literal mechanic of the world.
Fun fact, there is an app coming out that lets you rate people, a YELP for people so to speak.
God help us.

Episode 3:
I think the fact that nothing blatantly supernatural about this episode made it feel a whole lot more real. There are historical cases of people being blackmailed into committing crimes. It is genuinely creepy how easily these people can be pushed into pure evil with just a few texts. The twist ending is inevitable but still shocking. This is almost exactly how I want my stories to be like, a largely unseen horror, easily understandable characters, a looming sense of dread, and subtle commentary about the modern age and how technology can be used for evil without vilifying technology as a whole.



Episode 4:
Summary: Adorable
The whole time i was laughing because it was like someone took the "dead lesbian" trope and made it literal.
I think that the concept of a virtual afterlife was interesting and I really liked the whole "pick immortality or pick death" dynamic as it could lead to a lot of interesting discussions, but it was not as fleshed out as I thought it would be.
I am not complaining though, this is the first Black Mirror episode to have a happy ending. It was too adorable for me to handle.
I love well written LGBT romances.



That is all in terms of Influences and research.
Black Mirror had a lot of great concepts to think about and some really solid "ghost story" elements that I will need to look into when completing my project.
Episode 3 was a great STORY. Even summing it up in a sentence it is still intriguing.
"Once a teens secrets are stolen from his computer by hackers, he is forced to complete a series of escalating crimes in order to keep his secret from being released."

In terms of actual work, I have a lot to present at tuesdays critque, I have a lot more concept art, and I am going to spend this weekend on digital pages and even some animated elements.
I have been in a huge slump due to the crushing depression that resulted from the election but I am forcing myself to draw again and hopefully I continue to be productive in spite of my mood.

Update for November 4th

This update will quick and to the point as I have boiled down what I need to do a single concept.
I plan to work on 3 inked panels that I will scan and upload them to then re-draw them in photoshop. I will then try to animate elements of each page.
Hopefully I will have 3 semi-polished "examples" of what the finished product could look like.
I don't have much to report as I have just been sketching and storyboarding all week and there isn't really a lot to show for it.

In terms of outside research I am still researching Jim Ottaviani for his style and approach to narritive, as well as WEBtoons collection of Halloween horror animations.

I am planning this weekend to also do research into some good old fashioned cheesy horror movies because I began to feel very inspired by the concept of "ghost stories" not just horror stories but, "ghost stories" "Campfire stories" whatever you want to call them. Not the hollywood slasher movie but the lingering creepy tall tales that have unexpected twists and bone chilling endings

Hopefully I will have more to update next week, a few finished images, animations and some fully thought out concepts in the terms of the horror basics.

Happy Halloween!

Update for Oct 28

Not much to report this week as I had to forsake studio work time to deal with several family and finanical issues this week.
(sorry for uploading this basically at midnight)

This monday is halloween and it is time to get spooky.

I made some really interesting strides in my research. One of the main inspirations for my work is Bongcheon dong ghost. A horror webcomic with intergrated animated elements

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=31&weekday=tue

This is the link but fair warning, it is disturbing and rather shocking.



I will never forget how scared I was the first time I read this comic and it is exactly how I want my audience to feel when they read mine.

There is such a sense of fear and anticipation.
I think I identified what makes this comic so effective with the way it sets up it's horror "jump scares"

Out of nowhere one of the panels of the comic moves and the ghost turns around to face the audience in a jaw dropping display of gore and terror.

This first scare is rather small, but highly unexpected in a static meduim.
You see it and it suddenly dawns on you that the next time you scroll down to the next panel, another animated jump scare might happen.

By not showing the biggest scare first, the comic both shocks us, but also warms us up to the idea of the animated jumpscare. So you are not totally terrified but you are now mentally preparing for the next one.
The first one scared you because it came out of nowhere. The second one scares you because you KNOW it is coming, but you don't know what it will be or when it will happen. So you spend the rest of the comic wrapped in awful anticipation that only grows larger and larger the more you read.










And this leads me to my newest discovery.
An app called "Webtoon"
it lets you read webcomics from your phone , and has some exclusive titles that use the features of your phone to manufacture jumpscares, like a ghost appearing behind you using your camera or getting texts messages from a character in the comic.

This is honestly the most scared I have been reading a webcomic since I first read Bongcheon dong ghost back when i was 16 years old.

I plant to read all of them by next monday and begin working on a "mock up" of my own ghost comic to take advantage of the same medium.

And maybe watch some Black Mirror season 3 i have heard good things about it.

That's all for this week it was very slow and I felt very unmotivated and unproductive but I am working to get back on track and this is just the inspiration I need

Update for Oct/21

Update: I made a lot of progress with my inking techniques by making 10 different ink concept sketches, and 6 concept inkings of the final comic. As per the teachers instructions made 6 drawings as a sort of "preview" or "trailer" for the finished product. I considered it a "proof of concept" Due to how much ink and markers I used, it turned out great but very smelly.

Joel Reynolds: Ip rough timeline:

The main goal is to have steps 1-5 finished by december

Steps:
1.) Writing Script:
2.) Storyboards and Concept Art:
3.) Sketching Panels:

4.) Inking Panels:

5.) Scanning and Importing files:

6.) Re-inking digitally:

7.) Shading:

8.) Animating:

9.) Publishing:

As of Oct 20: I have 55 days until the end of the semester.

That’s about 6 days to each of the 9 steps.
With 4 work days a week and weekends for catch up time.

IDEAL TIMELINE:
1.) - 2 work days - 1 additional day to proof-read and edit. (3) [24th-26th]

2.) - 4 work days plus weekend (6) [27th-3rd]

3.) - 4 work days plus weekend (6) [4th-9th]
4.) - 4 work days plus weekend (6) [10th-16th]
5.) - 1 work day (1) [17th]

6.) - 4 work days plus weekend (6) [18th-23rd]

7.) - 2 work days plus weekend (4) [24th-28]

8.) - 1 month (30)

9.) - 1 week (7)

IDEAL TIME FRAME: [ 65-80 days]

Update for OCT 15th

This will hopefully be my last friday post NOT posted on a friday.

After meeting with Marianetta and Beth I am taking steps to not be so perpetually tardy.
I had initially thought that senior IP would be very work focused where everyday was individual work time on a schedule we set for ourselves. But I am learning that this is less self guided and much more like a traditional class with set weekly grades.

So my goal over break is to get back into the correct mindset for being a productive student.

Part 1: Scheduling: I have my weekly work time blocked out on a google calendar with reminders sent to my phone.

At the end of this week I will see how many pages I can ink and set my page limit for the rest of the semester. Hopefully I will be able to predict how long my final comic could be.

Part 2: Catch Up: I will be using the fall break to document all the work I have done so far.
I have done a lot of my work I just to show PROOF which is the key.

[X]- Stacks photos: I DO have many photos of myself researching in various libraries around campus. I will print them out.

[X]- Notes from Paul Sizer Interview: I wrote down all the notes I took on a piece of paper and just have to transfer them to digital so I can send it to Marianetta and Beth.

[X]- Future Interviews: I am currently reading Phoebe Gloeckner's biography and she has agreed to an interview at a later date.


Part 3: TRAILER:

To identify a singular project, I am going to be working on an 8-page preview "trailer" for my comic.
A "proof of concept" so it seems

Conclusion: I need to show PROOF that I am doing all this work or else it means nothing. I know that this isn't "busy work" but it is important to take this process in the correct order to ensure maximum success.
It might seem annoying but it is still important and I understand that.

Update for Oct 8th

Research:

The biggest progress I made this week was printing out my list of inspirations and motivations.

I can tell I am on the right track for my horror comic because all of my neighbors have mentioned how scary my workspace has become.

An important aspect of my research was a series of documentaries on cult leaders. I read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies on cult mentality and even participated in a podcast called
Sects Ed about the mob mentality caused by charismatic leaders.

Through this I watched a documentary on the symbolism of Twin Peaks. This lead me to watching the whole series (currently) and the follow up moive Fire Walk with Me.

I have always had a fascination with surreal horror and David Lynch proves to be someone I should do a great deal more research into.

One of my biggest worries is that my horror will be too straight forward and thus lack impact. So studying the techniques used by Twin Peaks might just be what I need to give it that frightening and truly disturbing edge.

Update for Oct 1st

Interview with Paul Sizer:

I got to do a 2 hour long Skype interview with Paul Sizer, the cartoonist and designer behind Little White Mouse and Moped Army. A lot of what we discussed was his how he creates his comics and where he gets his inspirations from.

But the most important part of the interview was hearing him talk about what possible paths I could take if I wanted to become a professional cartoonist. He talked about how he self published his comics and sold them at conventions as well as hosting them online. There were many clear steps that I could take if I wanted to get my completed story out to the public.

I have been struggling with my identity as an artist. I don't know who I am anymore or what I want to do with my art. I am not sure if I can really follow through with my ideas but I know that it would be worse NOT to.

Talking with Paul gave me a lot of insight on what I want from my project and where I want to take it looking towards the future.
I now have a much clearer goal when it comes to what I want to do and when I plan to do it. That is important to me

September 23:

This week was rather productive.

Research:
In terms of research, I was able to reach out to Phoebe Gloeckner for an email interview about her process when it comes to making Graphic Novels. Specifically her experience writing and publishing graphic novels could help translate into my project. I was lucky enough to study under Phoebe a few semesters ago, as she is the resident expert on the visual narrative.

I took a leap of faith that actually paid off in an unbelievable way. When I was growing up I met and was inspired by a man named Paul Sizer. He wrote a series of graphic novels called "Little White Mouse" and it was one of the books I read the most as a kid. While I was in middle school I took a comic book seminar with him at my local library and I believe this was one of the moments that made me want to be an artist.
I contacted him via his portfolio website and asked if I could have a short Skype interview with him about how he made his comics and what steps he took to become a published author. This is huge for me as I will be talking to one of my personal heroes and one of my main inspirations.

I am emailing Phoebe and Skyping Paul this weekend and will be able to formulate a mock 'schedule' for my project based on what they tell me. It will be a proposed schedule as if I am to make my IP into a fully published book. (and who knows, maybe I will in the future.)

This makes me very excited because it really feels like I am trying to step into the artist field that I intend to spend my life in.
It feels like I am taking some real steps forward.


Sketches:
I did some more concept art, slowly reaching the '50' interations of my ideas. I hope to capture expression, character design and major visual motifs that I will hopefully be incorperated into my final product.
I also have been practicing paneling and action with a short pokemon-themed comic to get the creative juices flowing.


Materials: 
I brought in large double sized strathmore paper that I intend to do my inking on in the future although I will be doing inital sketches in my sketchbook or on scrap paper.

Final Form of the Project:

In addition to an ink and paper zine style comic book, I plan to translate each of the stories digitally and host them on an online site. With some programing, the site could featuring animations and even interactable elements when reading the comic. This will help propel the themes of obsession and how the internet slowly draws people deeper and deeper into it’s web.

The final form will be between 40 to 80 pages graphic novel (Each story being anywhere from 15-30 pages each) that will also be available to read online. Key pages or panels will be animated, and certain sections may even have an invertible element, such as clicking on objects to further the story, or typing in codes hidden in cyphers as the story goes along. The graphic novel will be professionally bound and covered as if it was ready to be sold in stores, and the webpage should will look as close to professional as possible.

THESIS:

My art has always been integrated into the digital realm. Most of my projects mix traditional techniques that are then layered with digital animated elements. Because of this it is often best displayed and shared online, and thus I have met many artists who frequent the internet and use the resources that it holds to explore new avenues of creativity. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that the internet can be a scary place. Hackers stealing your personal information, stalkers reading everything you post, and people watching you from your very own webcam. Despite the darker aspects, there is still a bizarre fascination with the horrors the internet can hold, and that sometimes overlooked fear holds great potential. My project will be a graphic novel comprised of three shorts stories. Each story will be a modern re-telling of three classic horror stories in a gothic sci-fi film noir style. Specifically Dr. Jeykl and Mr. Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, and Dracula. I singled these classics out as they each have a darker element that could be reflected in today’s digital obsessed society.