It’s Pronounced Zhee Clay
crossposted from Lee Edward McIlmoyle's blog
So it looks like we’re going to need that camera equipment AND a new (giclee; ‘HD’ pigment ink) printer to reproduce limited series of both Dawn’s work and my abstracts, which, to be frank, don’t reproduce particularly well in any other medium. So, where Dawn wanted to run a low key crowdfunding campaign and eke together $2K to buy a high end DSLR camera and some special lenses, lighting equipment, and basic backdrop materials, I’m going to have to up the ante to something like $5K, so I can afford to buy what looks to be a printer that retails for between $1500 and $2500, depending on what sizes and materials (substrates) I want to be able to print to. I’ll need special archival-quality substrates and pigment inks, as well. And I may have to bite the bullet and start renting studio space, as I can only do so much of the work here in our little apartment. Why is is starting to sound more like $6-7K?
*sigh*
If I thought I was able to keep doing these things for years to come without losing the plot, I would just stick with painting, but really, my work in abstracts is deceptively exhausting. Not wanting to BS or get all hippy dippy, but it’s almost a shamanic process, and I come out of the process aching and wiped out. I can remember back when it used to be easier to do. It certain LOOKS easy; believe me. I use more basic techniques than my hero Jackson Pollock did, but the process is essentially the same.
So the thing is, $5K is a pretty princely sum. And it takes a strong campaign and a lot of fans to get together any sum of money these days… unless you have a freak hit with potato salad or something. Somehow, I don’t think I can count on that.
So my thinking is, I need to structure the campaign around a series, so that there is a measurable, achievable goal that people can use as a litmus test to determine if the work is getting done, so they can see that their money was well-invested. The problem is, the one series I have planned requires approximately seventy-eight (78) pieces, as it’s intended to be a fairly sophisticated Tarot set, even though I have absolutely no plans to go into the Tarot card business. So I need a new, shorter, less exhausting series to build the campaign around.
What I think I’m going to have to do is play to my strengths as a storyteller and come up with a sequential art solution. For that, I need a very short story I can illustrate using some of my abstract techniques, but also using my questionable illustration and cartooning chops. So, sort of a Dave McKean/Bill Sienkewicz/Scott Hampton/David Mack kind of thing. Painterly, but not in the Alex Ross/Steve Rude way. I love me some Leyendecker brothers techniques, but I don’t think I have those chops, and really, those other guys have got that style sewn up. But I think that the way I work in abstract expression has something that other comic artists haven’t really done, without going totally abstract like Andrei Molotiu or Henrik Rehr (actually, I’d better go look at their work to make sure I’m not pissing up rope here).
So (I’ve used that word a lot in this post), A simple twenty-four (24) page comic, four to eight panels per page, telling a story that I’ll have to write, and using my abstract style to convey both action and space, as well as detail and texture. I’ve dabbled a tiny bit in this formula before, but never for twenty four pages of panels. It just might be the career-building challenge I’ve been looking for.
The thing about crowdfunding campaigns is, you need to offer something extra special for each tier of backer. So what if I decided to film the process and offer up the original pieces after they’ve been scanned and added to the book? Prep sketches, too? Finally, I’ll have to offer the book itself. That requires hiring a printer to make the books. Now we’re looking at something like $10K, if I’m not grossly underestimating the expense of a limited edition comics print run. And if it balloons into a graphic novel or an Interactive OGN, well… this could get heavy.
And the story?
I’ve got this idea percolating in the back of my head involving our two late cats (Lucky and Charlie) being reunited in the hereafter to go on an adventure together. Probably a detective story, but I’d try to do it different, so it wouldn’t be like a Sterling Carcieri story, or like a Golem story (you’ll be forgiven for not knowing those characters; their books aren’t finished yet). Maybe a road trip. On trains, maybe.
So there you have it. I need money, I need fans to give me money, and I need to get a campaign together to do a new comic. All so I can buy photographic and printing equipment to reproduce our art with. And you just read me working out the whole concept, live. Not bad for a start, huh?
So, comments? Concerns? Advice? Anyone want to join the team? I may need one to get this done right.
Time to get the coffee made. Thank you for reading.
Lee.
Share this:
So it looks like we’re going to need that camera equipment AND a new (giclee; ‘HD’ pigment ink) printer to reproduce limited series of both Dawn’s work and my abstracts, which, to be frank, don’t reproduce particularly well in any other medium. So, where Dawn wanted to run a low key crowdfunding campaign and eke together $2K to buy a high end DSLR camera and some special lenses, lighting equipment, and basic backdrop materials, I’m going to have to up the ante to something like $5K, so I can afford to buy what looks to be a printer that retails for between $1500 and $2500, depending on what sizes and materials (substrates) I want to be able to print to. I’ll need special archival-quality substrates and pigment inks, as well. And I may have to bite the bullet and start renting studio space, as I can only do so much of the work here in our little apartment. Why is is starting to sound more like $6-7K?
*sigh*
If I thought I was able to keep doing these things for years to come without losing the plot, I would just stick with painting, but really, my work in abstracts is deceptively exhausting. Not wanting to BS or get all hippy dippy, but it’s almost a shamanic process, and I come out of the process aching and wiped out. I can remember back when it used to be easier to do. It certain LOOKS easy; believe me. I use more basic techniques than my hero Jackson Pollock did, but the process is essentially the same.
So the thing is, $5K is a pretty princely sum. And it takes a strong campaign and a lot of fans to get together any sum of money these days… unless you have a freak hit with potato salad or something. Somehow, I don’t think I can count on that.
So my thinking is, I need to structure the campaign around a series, so that there is a measurable, achievable goal that people can use as a litmus test to determine if the work is getting done, so they can see that their money was well-invested. The problem is, the one series I have planned requires approximately seventy-eight (78) pieces, as it’s intended to be a fairly sophisticated Tarot set, even though I have absolutely no plans to go into the Tarot card business. So I need a new, shorter, less exhausting series to build the campaign around.
What I think I’m going to have to do is play to my strengths as a storyteller and come up with a sequential art solution. For that, I need a very short story I can illustrate using some of my abstract techniques, but also using my questionable illustration and cartooning chops. So, sort of a Dave McKean/Bill Sienkewicz/Scott Hampton/David Mack kind of thing. Painterly, but not in the Alex Ross/Steve Rude way. I love me some Leyendecker brothers techniques, but I don’t think I have those chops, and really, those other guys have got that style sewn up. But I think that the way I work in abstract expression has something that other comic artists haven’t really done, without going totally abstract like Andrei Molotiu or Henrik Rehr (actually, I’d better go look at their work to make sure I’m not pissing up rope here).
So (I’ve used that word a lot in this post), A simple twenty-four (24) page comic, four to eight panels per page, telling a story that I’ll have to write, and using my abstract style to convey both action and space, as well as detail and texture. I’ve dabbled a tiny bit in this formula before, but never for twenty four pages of panels. It just might be the career-building challenge I’ve been looking for.
The thing about crowdfunding campaigns is, you need to offer something extra special for each tier of backer. So what if I decided to film the process and offer up the original pieces after they’ve been scanned and added to the book? Prep sketches, too? Finally, I’ll have to offer the book itself. That requires hiring a printer to make the books. Now we’re looking at something like $10K, if I’m not grossly underestimating the expense of a limited edition comics print run. And if it balloons into a graphic novel or an Interactive OGN, well… this could get heavy.
And the story?
I’ve got this idea percolating in the back of my head involving our two late cats (Lucky and Charlie) being reunited in the hereafter to go on an adventure together. Probably a detective story, but I’d try to do it different, so it wouldn’t be like a Sterling Carcieri story, or like a Golem story (you’ll be forgiven for not knowing those characters; their books aren’t finished yet). Maybe a road trip. On trains, maybe.
So there you have it. I need money, I need fans to give me money, and I need to get a campaign together to do a new comic. All so I can buy photographic and printing equipment to reproduce our art with. And you just read me working out the whole concept, live. Not bad for a start, huh?
So, comments? Concerns? Advice? Anyone want to join the team? I may need one to get this done right.
Time to get the coffee made. Thank you for reading.
Lee.
Share this: