Inspiration Strikes: My Original Comics-To-Be

On top of being an artist, I want to write my own comics as well.  It's been a while since I wrote anything on any of them.  Unfortunately what I wrote today is still on notebook paper, but the important thing is that I'm moving forward with this.  Finally.  It feels good.

This story has been going on for quite some time.  I was really disappointed with it in recent years, mostly because I couldn't really nail down a solid plot.  I had a premise and a few pictures and that was about it.  Some of the ideas I really liked but it felt like it was lacking something.  It needed something to tie it all together.

I'm not sure how, after a good two years of lying dormant, this story managed to find its way back into my head.  And at work of all places.  Why is it that inspiration likes to smack you in the face when you're not close to a pen and paper?  I managed to fill in a few more details that made the puzzle much more complete and I'm picking this thing back up.

Anyway here's a little info on this project.

(Warning!  Old picture!)

circa 2010

Don't worry some things have changed lol,  Acutally a good bit of it has changed, but mostly the skill levels of myself and my good friend, Nga, or AutumnGoose on DeviantArt.  We have both definitely improved.  (And I don't use comic sans anymore because I learned better ...)

So to summarize:

Meet Riley, a nomadic bounty hunter determined to make her own way in the dog-eat-dog world of her profession. She prefers to stay alone, just her and her car, cruising the highways in search of danger, adventure, and the money that comes with a successful capture.  

After being denied a large bounty, she is asked for her side of the story by a journalist named Zeph.  Things don't go as planned when Zeph is attacked after leaving their chat.  Riley isn't given enough time for questions, with bullets flying her way, she only has time to act.  She helps him escape, only to find out that this journalist has stumbled upon a conspiracy and now she's stuck in the middle with him.  Guilty by association.

All she wanted was to take her bounty and take a tropical island vacation.  What she gets instead is headache by the name of Zeph and a bounty on her own head; right where she doesn't want it.  In order to restore her old way of life, she must get to the bottom of this conspiracy, expose the truth, and clear her own name.  Hopefully she won't die first.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a professional at this writing thing.  I doubt I even use the correct punctuation.  All of this is precisely why it will be a web comic and not a novel.  There is quite a bit still in the development stages.  I got a bunch of old sketches, both from me and from Nga.  There's a number of unfinished things floating around.  Like the picture below.

Work In Progress.  Riley and Zeph on the run, taking the back way.

Some of the things that will change, Riley will have more tattoos.  Almost a full sleeve and a few elsewhere.  Why is it in comics a tattoo always has to do something?  Why can't it just be a tattoo because the character felt like getting it?  It's always some tribal marking, some symbol of a secret organization, some magical voodoo crap.

So for the sake of being realistic, Riley's tattoos will be just that.  Tattoos.  An expression of who she is and what she wants, just like a real person with tattoos.

Another change will be her car.  I decided on the fly to give the setting a slightly more futuristic feel and this car is a bit too old.  1971?  Not a ton of them out today much less fifteen to thirty years into the future.  I've decided instead to give her a Mustang.  Oh, "A Ford Mustang?" You say.  "Every movie has one of those!"

They might, but not a fox.  By the point in time that this story is set, a fox-body Mustang would be a classic.  They look so plain, I feel like they are one of the most underrated models of that car ever made.  They're small, simple, easy to work on and pack power into.  Still has that signature sound too.  I haven't seen many of them in movies or TV and I wasn't really fond of them myself until I drove one and absolutely loved it.

Also, with a hatchback, those cars can be SO practical.

Ahem.

Back to the comic though.

I plan to self publish this as a web comic and with any luck it'll be in print as well.  I'll keep you guys updated on it as we come out with more!

But wait!  There's more!

Yeah, there's much more.  This is only the first comic that I have plans for. Yet another, is a post-apocalyptic fantasy.  No really solid plans for this one just yet.  It had started as a joint project with another writer, but he's since abandoned the project.  It sucks to lose a writing buddy due to ... reasons... (that actually have nothing to do with the story.)

On the bright side I have free reign with this one now and I plan to make it amazing.

I will try to avoid zombies.

Not a lot of art out for this one just yet.  It does, however, have a name and a premise.  The series name is, "E20XX" and the first installment will be known as, "The Ashes of Yesterday."  In this, the apocalypse is caused by magic.  The desperate actions of a realm at war cause a rift to open between dimensions and worlds collide.  Chaos and destruction ensue.  The story follows three groups of survivors as they struggle to adapt to a strange new world full of things both familiar and foreign.

Art by Sensevessel.deviantart.com  This was a concept piece that I bought mostly as a treat for myself a few years ago.

I know, doesn't seem super exciting so far but it'll get there.  It's like Lord of the Rings and Fallout had a baby.  One very strange yet very interesting baby.

This I plan to do after Riled.  It would be kinda ridiculous to dive into something of this scale without at least a little more experience with a successful comic.

This one is on the back burner for now but I'll keep the blog updated if I make any moves with it or come out with any more art for it.  Well, at least art that accurately portrays it... I guess.

And that does it for my update this Tuesday!  See ya again Thursday!  I do answer questions!  If you have any feel free to ask!

Intro: A Ship in Harbor

So, about me.

Hi, my name is Michele.  I'm a recently married, gunsmith, artist from Charlotte, North Carolina.  What a weirdo already, huh?  I'm one of the few people in Charlotte, that's actually from Charlotte, I have lived and worked with my husband for the past three years, and despite what you may think of my occupation I actually really enjoy yoga.

Things had been going smoothly for a while, but this year has been rocky at best and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier.  I do like my job, I've never truly hated it (just certain people that happen to be there) but there is one rather large and glaring problem with my employer: they're relocating.  Far away.  It's not been formally announced, but if they are trying to keep it a secret they are doing a terrible job at it.  Many people are quitting and there is absolutely no effort to replace any of them, and the temp workers have been told this place is no longer temp-to-hire.  Those aren't the only signs but that's all I feel like explaining.

I'm not exactly sure what caused this situational nosedive.  Last year we made plenty of money, we paid rent, lived easily and even saved the funds for a nice wedding.

Dawww we be so happy!

This year has been so cruel in contrast.  On top of the fact that we will both lose jobs when this place closes up shop and takes off, my husband has been moved to third shift.  Adjusting to sleeping alone has been rough.  It doesn't feel right having a king size bed all to myself.

All things considered we'd like to avoid the unemployment line.  I've done some looking around already, he has too.  The job market is slim pickings around here for someone like me.  I didn't exactly go to college, although, to be fair, going to college hasn't exactly helped some of my friends out much either.  It just seems to be the unfortunate state of the country at the moment.  I might go back to school if things really don't work out, but for right now it's just finding something to hold me over so I don't become unemployed.  Mostly I've been looking at the conventional types of jobs, but then I got a fortune from a fortune cookie.

Cheesy, right?

What is said really caught my attention though. It's probably a saying I've heard ten thousand times in other ways, but I liked how it was put.  It said, "a ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships were built for."  Maybe this is just how I've been treating my art, like a ship in harbor.  Perhaps this is the reason why I don't make enough money off of it to survive and why I feel like I need a regular full time job to continue living comfortably.  I suck at getting attention anyway, but I'm not confident enough in my artwork to really go for it.

Well the time has come, this ship's gonna sail.  I figure I have until August or so to get my ass in gear.  I'm going to build my portfolio.

Lines by Ace Continuado.  Commissioned for the first annual Alamo City Comic Con

I've done some colorist work before, like the picture above.  Ultimately that is what I really want to do.  I would love to do work as a colorist for a proper comic studio.  I like collaborating to begin with.

I've also been trying very hard to improve, not only my color skills, but my painting.  Textures, values, anatomy, movement.  I'm still far from perfect.  There's always room to improve.
This is my progress so far!

 The mission of this blog is to keep me motivated!  I must continue to improve and I must put together a portfolio.  If I'm not drawing, I need to write my little heart out.  Write about the things that inspire me, work on my own original comics while I'm at it.  Whatever it is I'm doing, I need to keep the creativity going.  I need to be discovered to live off of my artwork.  I will be keeping you guys updated with my progress as well as a few random anecdotes and adventures as they pop up.

I'm feeling ambitious!  Let's do this!