Posts tagged comics
A Design & Illustration Studio
Reminder Lexington locals…this event is tomorrow! I’ll be set-up with all my comics, books, and mini art-prints! And it will be full of other awesome artists with their ephemera. I’m excited that there’s an event that is centered around comics & zines sprouting up here!
-COMICS-Here at Cricket Press we’re working on several different projects we can’t show just yet…so…in between client-work or waiting to hear back from clients I’m fitting in work on my comic The Ghosts of Pineville - BOOK 3!
Yes, I’ve written it and now I’ve started penciling it. This will be my longest book in the series with a page count of 125 (at the moment). So, it will take me a bit longer to complete than my past books. And realistically, Cricket Press is a lot busier than we were when I started (& completed) the first 2 books. But I’m super excited to be working on my beloved series again and super excited about where this third story takes my cast of characters and the town of Pineville!
I write all my books in three parts with a significant intro before Part One. It’s my goal to have the 25 page Intro completed (penciled, inked, lettered and halftoned) for debut at this year’s SPX as a teaser booklet…to get people jazzed about the final story!
And I’ll most likely post about my work along the way. Yay for comics!
Poster Week - Day 5
And it concludes with…
This was not only a super fun poster to design but it’s an event that I’m super excited to take part in with my comics and books: The Lexington Ephemera Festival! So, if you’re interested in participating too…just go to their facebook event page and there’s a link to register. Since it’s the first year there is limited space, but it should be a great time! Can’t wait!
Details:
2 color screenprint
12”x18”
edition of 50
Mini-Comic Making!
2013 has started off with a bang in terms of creating comics! I thought I’d post a bit of the process I use in creating my mini comics. Two of my favorite motivators for creating are 1. Knowing a comic event is coming up and 2. Encouragement from other artists. In the case of creating these 2 new mini comics…I received both. I knew the Lexington Comic Con was approaching and a gentle challenge, from pal Justin Stewart, to have something new at the event got me moving!
The first mini I wrote was Ham Radio: about 2 kids who start talking with strange voices over an antique radio. I wrote it fast and simple, assigning one key plot point per page and providing no dialogue. In the case of this story I felt the actions of the characters were more important, dialogue being secondary. As you can see I don’t thumbnail my stories first pass. I just write out descriptions for action and/or dialogue. In this case all dialogue was created, at last minute, while thumbnailing the pages right before penciling.
The item to the right is my mini mock-up. I create one of these for every mini a make to help me properly collate the pages for printing. Most folks probably don’t need a crutch such as this, but I’m a very visual person…and a tangible mock-up helps me organize.
I pencil my pages 6”x7.5” allowing me to fit 2 pages per 11”x14” sheets of strathmore bristol. After the pages are all penciled and inked…I scan them into Photoshop where I add shading and lettering. This is also where I layout the pages into a template for printing. I print my minis out on standard 8.5”x11” paper from my laser printer. I can fit 2 sets per page. After, I cut the sheets in half and start assembling using a basic long-arm stapler!
For Ham Radio I wanted a screen-printed cover. Here I’m printing silver ink onto dark-blue paper…4 up. My ink is water soluble and dries quickly. Once the covers are printed and cut they too are ready for comic assembly.
All done! One important step…after I assemble my mini comics I trim all the sides leaving me with a exact 4”x5” mini. I have a large paper trimmer that allows me to trim 5 minis at a time. Most commercial print shops also have industrial trimmers that will charge a minimal fee per cut. Trimming after assembly makes the minis super clean and sharp!
It took me approximately 2 weeks to create Ham Radio. Once it was complete I was still feeling the comic magic! Another story had popped into my head and a weekend with no other plans made itself available to me. So my second mini for 2013, A Boy Born with Antlers, was created.
This story was written in a similar way…assigning a major action per page. But unlike my previous story I wrote all the dialogue up-front. I felt the narration of this ghost story was it’s heart. And there’s another mini mock-up!
With a constant stream of horror movies fueling my productivity…I was able to pencil and ink this entire mini in a weekend.
And again, after I was done with the art it was scanned into photoshop, shaded, lettered and printed out from my laser printer. And again…assembled by hand using a long-arm stapler.
I wanted the cover to be very simple for this story. I created a silhouette of my main character in Illustrator and laser engraved a bunch out of black paper creating a classic aesthetic. And that’s all I added to the cover…gluing them down with rubber cement. I felt this tiny ghost story was all about the physical “affliction” of the main character and there was no better way to portray that than with a silhouette…no title required.
All done! Both of these will debuting this weekend!
You can read more of my comics at The Ghosts of Pineville or see more of my work at Tiny Ghost Stories!
Ham Radio
- Mini Comic -
Here’s a teaser for one of my new mini comics debuting at the Lexington Comic Con this weekend!
This ghost story follows two kids who start conversing with strange voices over an antique ham radio. When they find a mysterious users manual…it offers some strange advice.
Details: 4” x 5” - 28 pages, Black & White, Screenprinted cover
Art & Story by Sara Turner, 2013, a Tiny Ghost Story Comic
TABLE 606!
I will be set up at The Lexington Comic & Toy Convention this Saturday and Sunday, March 16 - 17th, at Heritage Hall in downtown Lexington KY. I’ll have ALL KINDS of comic goodness including 2 NEW spooky mini comics: Ham Radio and A Boy Born with Antlers to compliment my other minis: I Dare You and The Collection of Emily VanWart! I’ll also have my series The Ghosts of Pineville available.
Along with all that I’ll have several other books including our Cricket Press Art Book, A Collection of Tiny Treehouses and Sketch Cards. And a ton of screenprinted mini art prints.
I’ll be seated at TABLE 606 beside some of my favorite comic peoples: Mark Rudolph, Justin Stewart and Tressa Bowling.
Stop by and let’s talk comics!
Sneak peek at another tiny ghost story I’m currently working on!
Sneak peek at pages penciled & inked for my next mini comic - Ham Radio.
This will be a 28 page tiny ghost story debuting at the upcoming Lexington Comic Con in March. Folks seemed to enjoy the process pics I posted while making my last mini I Dare You…so, I will try to do the same while making this comic.
‘Tis the ghostly season…I thought I’d post a link to a well-written and thoughtful review of my comic The Ghosts of Pineville that was just pointed out to me over at the review site The Lottery Party.
I’ll admit I don’t take the time to properly promote my comic. I love creating it, but feel weird constantly pushing it. That’s why it’s so nice to be reminded that it is being read (and sometimes appreciated) despite my publicity skills!
The comics are online and free to read, by the way, at The Ghosts of Pineville.
Satan is Alive
We’re proud to be a part of this anthology tribute to Merciful Fate: 5.5×7″ 144-page B&W book featuring an impressive lineup of cartoonists, writers and musicians.
The book received a really great review after it’s debut at this year’s SPX!
You can purchase the book and see the entire line-up of contributors over at Mark Rudolph Illustration.
Tiny Ghost Stories - C12 - SPX!
Making mini comics for SPX!
We’ll be at SPX this weekend Sept. 15-16th - BOOTH C12 - with my Ghosts of Pineville comics! I have several new items too including A Collection of Tiny Treehouses, Sketch Cards - A book of 130 portraits, new art, and some comic themed pendants! I’ll also have some oldies & goodies like mini art prints, buttons, original sketches, and my mini comic I Dare You.
Just look for the booth with the Tiny Ghost Stories banner - C12, stop by and say HI! So exicted!
Saturday, September 15: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday, September 16: noon – 6:00 pm
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Road
North Bethesda, MD 20852
THE END!
Page 81 of The Ghosts of Pineville is posted! You can go ahead and check out the pages of extras in the archive. Next week I’ll post the new site that will house the comic while I work on Book 3.
“…leader all the time.” Page 80 of The Ghosts of Pineville is posted! Only a few more pages! oh my.
