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Portland

ProFile: Lukas Ketner

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

Lukas-Ketner-ProFile

Lukas Ketner is the artist and co-creator of Witch Doctor, the hit launch title for Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint at Image Comics. He was a 2009 nominee for the Russ Manning Award for his Witch Doctor work, which has earned praise from fans and creators alike. Other work includes stories for Dark Horse Comics’ Creepy Comics and Supersized: Strange Tales From a Fast-Food Culture, along with covers for BOOM! Studios’ Hellraiser title. He has twice won entry into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual for his album artwork. He survived a successful full-body transplant from his hometown in Anchorage, AK to Portland, OR in 2000 where he currently resides. You can check out his work and drop him a line on Facebook.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

For me, it was the realization that I could tell stories as well, if not better than prose and film — both of which I tried my hand at, and NO you may not see the results, they’re awful 😉 For me, comics can tell a story as well (if not better) than any other medium, and all it requires is ink, paper, and time. Sure, money helps, but that’s an obstacle that’s easier to overcome in the digital age to reach an audience.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Well, challenging and frustrating aren’t always the same thing, although they do overlap quite a bit 😉 For me story flow and lining up shots is very challenging and non-intuitive for me, but very fun and rewarding, much like solving a puzzle. It’s frustrating when I’m inking that same page and I can’t do it fast enough because I’ve added detail to areas that don’t need as much attention as I’ve given them. Then, that elegant puzzle I solved previously turns into a 2-3 day grind that’s totally unnecessary— comics pages shouldn’t take that long for a monthly horror book. It’s a mistake that I’m slowly making less and less, but it still happens. I really admire artists whose styles are more economical, but still great to look at. My studio-mates Jonathan Case and Steve Leiber come to mind, along with Sean Murphy. Murphy does have a very detailed style, but you’ll notice it’s rarely more detail than necessary to make the image really sing.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

A rule I learned in design school, “Very Little, Very Well Done.” If you’re trying to get noticed, do a “done-in-one”, the comics equivalent of a short film. Make it one issue tops to start with, and NO cliffhangers. It’s got to be a full story, start to finish, no “prologues” or “to be continued”. That doesn’t mean it can’t take place in a world that you’d like to explore further in the future, but it needs a satisfying conclusion, and maybe a hint that there’s more story to tell (if that’s relevant). Print it up! Put it online for free. Put it everywhere that people can see it. You can sell it at shows to try to recoup some expenses, but don’t expect to make a profit. It’s proof that you can do the work and do it well; that’s what’s important. Get some interest behind you, and as much feedback as you can possibly get from editors and other successful creators. Maybe do another, again, done-in-one applying what you’ve learned. Why such small bites? Because you don’t want your first work to be a 12-issue epic, and then find out via feedback that you’re doing it wrong story-wise after you’ve put out two issues of hard work, and editors need to see that you can complete a story in a satisfying manner. I guess that’s a bit long for ‘one piece of advice’, but there it is 🙂

 

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: art, career, comics industry, Communication Arts Illustration Annual, creativity, Creepy Comics, Dark Horse Comics’ Creepy Comics, drawing, Image Comics, improving as an artist, Jonathan Case, learning, Lukas Ketner, making comics, Periscope Studio, Portland, pro tips, Russ Manning Award, Sean Murphy, Skybound, Steve Lieber, storytelling, studio, Witch Doctor, workflow

Money for nothing with Ben Dewey – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 25

by Palle Schmidt 2 Comments

“Think about things in terms of story. Anything else is just flourish and self-promotion”

I talk to artist Ben Dewey about art, music and the Faustian aspect of working crappy jobs while pursuing a carreer in comics creation. Besides being the artist and writer of his own Tragedy Series (http://www.tradegyseries.tumblr.com), he is the artist on Tooth and Claw with writer Kurt Busiek, released this week from Image Comics. Luckily Ben is not just incredibly talented but also very articulate about the craft and the life of a creative person. Really good advice in this episode!

For a preview of Tooth and Claw, go here.

Related podcast: Episode 25 – Periscope Studio with Steve Lieber

Filed Under: Podcast, Pro Tips Tagged With: art, Benjamin Dewey, career, comics industry, crappy jobs, creativity, criticism, Faust, Image Comics, Kurt Busiek, Mark Knopfler, music, Periscope Studio, podcast, Portland, storytelling, Tooth and Claw, Tragedy Series, Writing

Comics for Beginners podcast episode 25 – Periscope Studio with Steve Lieber

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment


“There’s a reason why they punish prisoners by putting them in solitary”. Steve Lieber, long time comics pro and the current artist on The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, speaks highly of the studio environment. And as a founding member of Periscope Studio in Portland, OR, he has the experience to back it up. I talked to Steve about the advantages and the pitfalls of joining or creating a studio. For more on Periscope, go to http://www.periscopestudio.com or follow them on Twitter @periscopestudio. Steve is @steve_lieber and on www.stevelieber.com. Other resources mentioned in this episode: http://www.workmadeforhire.net/blog/

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http://www.zanaducomics.com/

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Filed Under: Podcast, Pro Tips Tagged With: Periscope Stidio, Portland, Steve Lieber, studio

San Diego Comic Con 2014

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

Left to right; Palle Schmidt, Chris Miskiewicz, Bryce Carlson, Vanesa R. Del Rey. Image courtesy of Bleeding Cool.
Left to right; Palle Schmidt, Chris Miskiwicz, Bryce Carlson, Vanesa R. Del Rey. Image courtesy of Bleeding Cool.

SDCC is so much more fun, when you have a book on the shelves!

My partner Chris Miskiewicz and I pitched Thomas Alsop to several publishers at SDCC 2013, and now only a year later, BOOM! Studios has published the two first issues of the series. Crazy times.

I got invited on two panels this year, both the Breaking Into Comics Right Now panel hosted by BOOM! and the Uniting the Worldwide #makecomics Community panel, hosted by my friends over at Making Comics (In case you missed the podcast interview they did with me, click here) starring Mark Waid, Jim Zub, Christy Blanch, Rachel Beck and Andy Schmidt. The talk was recorded and will probably go online soon.

I could tell you stories… But most of them are unrelated to the process of making comics, which is what this site is about. So I’ll just share a few quick things I learned:

  • Publishers are not just the evil people who turn down your book proposals. They can be wonderfully supportive, generous people. Thanks to the people at BOOM! for a warm welcome. I have the greatest respect for your line of books, your work ethic and your mind set.
  • Monthly books beat graphic novels any day, in terms of audience and interest. Most people I met had either heard of Thomas Alsop or were already fans. I have a feeling this will continue to build.
  • Introductions by other creators is still the best way to meet people. If you’re with a trusted friend of a publisher, he’s much more likely to give you the time of day than if you go at it alone.
  • What goes around comes around. Helping friends make new connections is an even greater joy than being helped.
  • Never go out without your books, portfolio or business cards.
  • Always pack above items in your hand luggage. My bag was lost at LAX and I was left with very little to show for the first few days.

The next few weeks I’ll be working out of Periscope Studios in Portland, Oregon, making new contacts and slow progress on the next issue of Thomas Alsop. Stay tuned…

 

Filed Under: News, Pro Tips Tagged With: #SDCC, Bleeding Cool, BOOM! Studios, Bryce Carlson, career, Chris Miskiewicz, collaboration, Comic Con, Comics conventions, comics industry, Jim Zub, making comics, Mark Waid, Periscope Studios, Portland, San Diego, SDCC 2014, Thomas Alsop, Vanesa R. Del Rey, workflow

ProFile: Jeff Parker

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

ProFile-Jeff-Parker

Jeff Parker is a writer for comics currently on titles Batman ’66 and Aquaman for DC Comics, as well as Rovio’s Angry Birds. The past decade he worked mostly at Marvel, with acclaimed runs on Hulk, Thunderbolts, Agents of Atlas, and X-Men: First Class. Jeff drew comics for several years and worked in television animation (The Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot) and live storyboarding, ultimately returning to comics with his graphic novel adventure The Interman.  Among his other original creations are the cave thriller Underground with Steve Lieber, the supernatural Mysterius the Unfathomable, and the webcomic Bucko with Erika Moen. He is a member of Periscope Studio and lives in Portland, Oregon.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

I liked writing and drawing, and nothing else brings those disciplines together better for storytelling than comics. Ultimately it’s telling stories that I like to do, and comics lets me tell a lot of them where other media would limit that amount.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Good names or series titles are tougher than you’d think, at least for me. I’d rather build a whole story around a good name than start with the concept, it’s actually easier.

I don’t find much about building a story hard, it mainly requires enough time and I’ll get there. What’s much harder is raising awareness of a new project and bringing readers to that. Creating a book and selling it are two different things altogether.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

My advice would be, if you want to be employable on a number of projects and have longevity, adopt a very zen approach to your assignments. Curves will be thrown at you by the publishers, the readership, everyone involved; it’s unavoidable. You can either grouse about it and become known as difficult to work with, or you can ride the wave instead of fighting it. I usually take it as a challenge that I can make almost any editorial note or change work and still get a good story from it.

There have been cases when the requested changes seem arbitrary and start coming way too often to make the job profitable, and I’ve had to bow out, so it’s not like I can always zen my way through. But I give it my best try before I resort to that.

Can I only give one piece of advice? I would also say to do whatever you can to make your collaborators’ jobs easier. If they’re happy with the process, it will just reflect well on you and make the story work that much better. Like, don’t ask for crowd scenes repeatedly, for instance. Do a lot of the visual research for the artist already and save that creator some time by including reference. Don’t try to push them to be other artists that they aren’t, work with who they are. As the saying goes, you go into battle with the army you have.

More at parkerspace.com

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: Agents of Atlas, Angry Birds, Batman, Batman '66, Bucko, collaboration, comics, creativity, Hulk, Interman, Jeff Parker, Marvel, Mysterius the Unfathomable, Periscope Studio, Portland, Rusty The Boy Robot, Steve Lieber, The Big Guy, Thunderbolts, Underground, X-Men: First Class

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