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