POSSUM PRESS and ULTRAIST STUDIOS: table A12

Just a quick post to let everybody know that me and Mike are going to be at table A12 in the artist alley. Click here for the map.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Toronto Comic Expo: This Weekend!!!

This years highlights are Blair and Mike Kitchen who will be promoting and selling their comics, as well as some lesser known artists such as Mike Mignola and Jim Lee. If you are going, be sure to visit Me and Mike in Artist Alley! PLEASE!!! PLEASE, BUY OUR CIMICS!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Page 58: thumbnails to final

Here is another page, broken down from thumbnails to the final page. This one has dialogue, so as you can see, planning it was a bit more messy.
Again, the pencils were done on the train into work. I made up a new panel that wasn't thumbnailed as I was pencilling to fill some space. (the middle right panel). I find it hard to plan everything out in the thumbnail stage. It is more of a jumping off point for me (just getting something down to have a visual start). Once I start pencilling in the actual page, I get a much better feel for what I can and can't fit into a page. I can feel if the panels are flowing or reading much better.
Inked and ready for tones.
The final page, as it appears in the comic. Tones done in photoshop.

Page 57: Thumbnails to Final

Howdy! I thought I'd do a post on the evolution of a page from my comic book. This is generally the process I go through for each page, although there are no rules. It is just the way that I find works best. On the next comic I may find a better way, but for now, this is how it goes:
1: I keep two sketchbooks going at a time. In one I jot down any random ideas that I may have for various storys whether it is for the Possum, or for something entirely different. The other, I use for thumbnails, dialogue etc. for whatever comic I am working on at the time. I like the sketchbooks, because it keeps all of my thoughts contained, and organized. I do alot of this stuff on the train into work, so loose pages just get lost, or scattered between work and home. This page has no dialogue, so it was easier to plan out. If the page has dialogue, I usually write it all out first, then decide where I can break it up for each panel, then I do quick thumbnails. I usually base the page around a dominant image that I have in my head, then work the rest of the panels around that.
2: I do the rough pencils straight onto Peterboro illustration board (No. 27). I like the board, because I can keep them in my backpack to work on the train, and they can take a lot more abuse than paper. They also take the ink very well. I don't have to worry about them getting wrinkled and they are stiff enough to just pull out and start drawing. I don't need to carry around something hard to draw on. I got into a good rhythm of doing the thumbnails and penciling on the train, to and from work. When you have kids, and a full time job, you have to use every spare minute of the day to get things done. 50 minutes to work and 50 minutes home with no distractions is priceless. I keep the pencils pretty loose. My main goal is to get all of the thinking done at this stage, but because I am inking as well, I don't have to worry about someone not understanding what I put down.
3: Next, I ink right over top of the pencils, and erase them after the inking is done. Before inking I photocopy the pencils, just in case I really mess up. Because I'm not trying to get an overly slick, clean look, it gives me a lot more room to be looser in the pencilling stage. The inking is harder to find time to get it completed, because I can't do it on the train. I need a bit more room, and the train is too bumpy. I inked this comic with a Rotring art pen, with refillable ink cartriges. I chose these pens, because you can take them anywhere, and you don't have to dip them. They also have a round nib, so they handle circles and curves much easier than the hunt nibs that I tried. I also do all of the dialogue by hand. When it's done well (which I am still working on), I think it has a lot more personality than the computer fonts.
4: Lastly, I scan the inked page into Photoshop, and do the grey tones and dots on the computer. It's quite a lot of work to get 1 page of comic finished, but I really do enjoy it. I don't know how many times I cursed myself for making my first comic 72 pages though! Anyways, there you have it. I hope you get a chance to read the Possum, and enjoy it. I dropped some comics off at the Silver Snail in Toronto, so they should have some to buy, or you can get them from me on my website, or maybe I'll see you at the Comic Expo Sep 1-3!

WWW.POSSUMPRESS.COM IS NOW OPERATIONAL!!!

Hey everyone!! You can now order The Possum #1, and Possum T Shirts online! Go to www.possumpress.com, and click on the store link. Also for sale is SPY GUY: Minis, and SPY GUY: Bootleg, by my brother Mike Kitchen! You can get the whole bunch for a special $10.00 value pack rate, which includes a comic my brother did with a friend back before they went to college, thrown in for nothing. It includes a pin up I did when I was in highschool, which is quite embarassing......... good blackmail material! Don't forget to check out Mike's blog as well. www.ultraiststudios.blogspot.com

The Possum Press site, is still pretty bare bones, but it gets the job done. I will be adding to it when I can, so keep checking in.

P.S. Let me know what you think! Any suggestions, or feedback on any of this stuff (website, prices, art, anything), would be greatfully received (good or bad). There is a lot of decisions that go into all of this stuff, and I want to be sure I'm making the right ones. Thanks!

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 2: out of kvas

Back From Vacation

Me and Avery are back from our four day canoe trip down the Tim River, in the interior of Algonquin Park. We went with some friends from our church, and had an amazing time. This was Avery's first canoe trip, and now she is a seasoned pro! What a beautiful place!..... oh well... back to the grind.

Lion vs. Zebra spot to be shown at the Ottawa Film Festival!

Man, I've got a lot of news today! I found out not too long ago that a commercial that I directed for Chuck Gammage Animation was accepted into the Ottawa Animation Festival. It will be competing in the "commissioned animation" catagory. This is the first time I have had anything in the festival, so I'm kind of excited. Again, if you are going to the Ottawa Festival I hope to see you there.


If you haven't seen this commercial yet, you can watch it here!

Late Breaking News!!: Possum Press and Ultraist Studios will be at the Canadian National Comic Book Expo

I Just found out that Me and my bro Mike Kitchen (creator/artist of Spy Guy) will be attending the Comic Expo at the Toronto Convention Center Aug 30 - Sep 3!! We will be sharing a table in artist alley. If you are thinking of attending the Expo, please track us down and visit our table! I'll let everyone know more specifics as we find them out! Hope to see you there!

Check out Mike's Blog here, for samples of the new SPUD AND HARRY pages, (Mike's next comic in the SPY GUY universe) and other Ultraist studios news!

THE COMICS ARE HERE!!!!!!

44 boxes of The Possum #1 were delivered to my house yesterday! They are now sitting in my garage, and my wife is panicing, because we have no place to put them. I figure we can use them as furniture for a while. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. Of course there is a long list of things to do differently for #2, but for my first comic, I'm pretty happy!



I don't have my web site set up right now, but I'm working on a paypal account, so if anyone is interested in a copy........ I'm working on it. I'm going camping with my daughter until next Thursday, so when I get back that is my first order of business.

Animation!

Classical Animation Medly

Here is a sample of some of the commercial animation work I have been doing over the last few years. All of these commercials were for Chuck Gammage Animation in Toronto.

Stop Motion Medly
I spent a year doing stop motion animation for Disney's Jo Jo's Circus, at Cuppa Coffee animation. It was a lot of fun, but I missed drawing. I'd love to try out some feature stop motion at some point though.

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 1: cheez wiz speech of '93

More to come......

more life drawings

Here are some life drawings from the last two sessions. We are taking a break for the rest of the summer and starting up again in September. I know they aren't the most exciting of posts, but bare with me, I'm only one man!! More fun stuff is coming. I promise.