May

12

Creating Comics #1: One Step at a Time, Drawing from Life

Filed Under Creating Comics, Philippine Comics | 3 Comments

When I had the opportunity to teach comics illustration at the College of St. Benilde last year, it gave me the chance to formalize my thoughts on the creation of comics. I thought I’d write these down here in my blog so other aspiring artists could possibly benefit from it. Bear in mind that all the things I will say here are simply one way of doing comics, and that’s my way of doing it. If you wish to learn from my experience, then please read on. It’s by no means the only way of doing it of course, and after reading all the things I’m going to say here, I think I’d be very happy if you improve on it and develop your own way.

My emphasis is more on developing a proper state of mind than teaching the basics of art. There are plenty of other sites online for that. What you will get here is the sum of the things I’ve learned in comics though the years, and this is the only place where you can get it.

One of the very important things to know is that learning comics is a “process”. It is a series of steps that one needs to take one step at a time. To jump several steps ahead puts you in danger of falling down or breaking your ankles. It can cause you to stunt your growth as an artist.

As with any educational process, you start at the very bottom. You start with Kindergarten, then as you grow older and learn more, you move to Grade School, and then equipped with what you learn there, you move on to High School, and that gives you the knowledge to tackle College.

The same is true with learning comics.

Tackling “styles” in comics like manga, and the various American and European styles at the very beginning is like tackling college without taking up kindergarten, grade school and high school. This is probably why going around sites like Deviant Art and other sites, I come across so many badly drawn artwork emulating the many styles that have influenced them. The artists are simply not equipped how to do it correctly. They have jumped too many steps in advance and now they’re in danger of stunting their growth as artists.

Styles in comics is a very advanced and specialized field in the process of creating comics. Before one even attempts it, one must rewind and go back to the basics.

I suggest that those who are willing to learn how to improve themselves as artists, set aside your comic books for the meantime, and concentrate on becoming good “artists” first and foremost.

One good exercise is Drawing from Life. This means copying things that you see around you, and copy them as accurately as you can. I suggest keeping a sketchbook, a small one that could fit in your back pocket would be advisable as a bigger one would be a hassle to bring. When you get stuck in traffic, or when you are hanging out at a cafe, lake side, sidewalk, or waiting for the next teacher to arrive, take out your sketch book and start sketching what you see around you.

Draw cars, trees, animals, bushes, houses, people, anything that you see passing in front of you. Take extra effort to draw these things as accurately as you can. If people are sitting in front of you, take careful note of how their clothing reacts to their body. Take careful note of the folds their clothing makes in the armpits, elbows, knees and so forth.

When drawing trees, take careful note of how the bigger trunk spreads on to smaller branches and the direction that they go. Take careful note of how the leaves are attached.

Do this with every object that you draw. Look at them with a very critical eye, studying every detail carefully.

This exercise accomplishes several things.

One, it sharpens your powers of observation. It is a power that is essential in any good artist’s arsenal. It trains you to interpret things correctly on paper thus imbueing your work with realism and credibility.

Two, it increases your cache of reference. As you continue to practice drawing certain things, like folds on a person’s shirt or pants, or details on barks of trees or texture of stone, these things get imprinted into your mind and you carry it with you in all your future artistic endeavors. Drawing those things become easier because you already know what they look like in your mind.

Three, it improves your draftsmanship. Any drawing exercise you do trains your hand and develops your drafting skill.

This is an exercise that I would advice that you continue doing even if you become successful comic book artists. An artist always continues to learn, always continues to grow, and what you learn, you need to nurture and maintain.

More to follow.

May

8

My First Website

Filed Under Internet | 3 Comments

This is a response to an old blog entry by Janette Toral on her Philippines Internet Review Blog, where she invited people to share their stories about their first website.

I got my very first e-mail address “timawa@laguna.net” (no longer valid) since November of 1996. I still had no computer at home, so I had to check my email at an Internet cafe in front of Ultimart here in San Pablo. I liked going there because it was airconditioned, and I spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games. I think my favorite back then was Duke Nukem.

When I returned from the San Diego Comics Convention in August of 1997, my brother gave me his computer. It was a 486 on a Windows 95 OS, 500MB disc space and 33 megahertz memory. I immediately applied for webspace with my email host server Laguna.net. I had a staggering 2MB webspace, which I immediately made use of. I didn’t know how to make websites so I just studied the HELP section of “What You See Is What You Get” type editor from Netscape Composer. I don’t remember the name of the program I used to edit graphics, but it churned out HUGE graphic files, which I didn’t realize would load so slowly on the Internet.

So my very first website, http://www.laguna.net/~timawa, came live on August 1997, with an incredibly slow loading page. Checking archive.org, they don’t have a record of that first website of mine, unfortunately. I did register my site with my favorite search engine at the time, Altavista.com. I also registered it with Infoseek.com (now go.com) and I was thrilled to see that my site came up in search results a few days later.

I learned to make images with smaller file sizes and I played around with navigation tricks and gags. Clicking on a link will bring you to a mock CIA page that “detects” illegal activity on your computer. I got a bit of vehement disagreement when I wrote in one page that I created Batman and not Bob Kane. I placed a button on one page that introduces a new touch screen technology on the Internet which people fell for.

I soon grew out of it and turned my website into a gallery of my work. The earliest record I can find of my presence online would be this page from June 1998, which I managed to retrieve from archive.org.

That’s not what the actual page looked like as I could no longer retrieve the images.

It’s just too bad because I was able to upload a considerable amount of material from August 1997 to June 1998, including my very first attempt at an online diary which includes many many entries, my San Diego Comicon 1997 report, reviews, drawings and so on.

May

6

Inquirer Video Interview

Filed Under Philippine Comics | 6 Comments


Gerry Alanguilan at Free Comic Book Day Event
http://www.inquirer.net/vdo/player.php?vid=739

Alex Villafania’s video interview with me during Free Comic Book Day is finally uploaded at the Inquirer.net VDO site. Thanks Alex!

May

6

Komikero Group, Elmer #4, BSG

Filed Under Elmer, Komikero Group, My Comics | 5 Comments

Jonas Diego writes an excellent post about the Komikero Artists Group here. We were just talking during FCBD about holding a Komikero meeting in Manila, and for some reason, I immediately recoiled from the idea without really expressing it until I wrote about it in my last blog entry. I really can’t find anything to disagree with in his post, and he pretty much articulated something that already knew but can’t express.

***************

People asked me during FCBD when Elmer #4 would be out. I said I’ll try to come out with it in time for Toycon, which was many many months from now in June 2008. I thought I’d make it by then. Of course, It completely escaped me that June is already NEXT MONTH. oh crap! Sorry Az! Looks like Elmer 4 at Toycon won’t be possible at all. I’ll still go and promote #3, which I haven’t had the chance to do so much lately.

Yeah, it’s the last issue, and I really don’t want to rush it just to finish it. I have to wrap up a lot of things in it, and make the series a good comprehensible whole.

Aside from the work I do for The Buzz and Sindak, I have something else going on that really takes up quite a bit of my time. I really can’t talk about it right now, but I just wanted to put it out there as an added explanation for me taking such a long time on this comic book. It’s my pet, my baby, and I really have to be careful with it. I still remember Lyndon Gregorio asking me during the 2004 Komikon what’s the next serious thing I’ll be doing after Wasted, and I said there was something I’m going to be working on and it’s going to involve chickens. The next serious thing. Chickens. And I meant it. Elmer #4… I really have to knock people’s feathers off with it or else why do it at all.

****************

Battlestar Galactica is blowing me away. I’ve been sneaking a peak at an episode here and there and wow, this stuff is terrific.

May

4

Free Comic Book Day 2008

Filed Under Comics Artists, Elmer, Filipino Artists, Komikero Group, My Comics, Philippine Comics, Timawa, Video Blogs | 24 Comments

It was my first time to participate actively in Free Comic Book Day. Last year when I was drawing “The Black Cat” for Graphic Classics, I didn’t realize it was for FCBD. For years the Graphic Classics gigs were things I did and greatly enjoyed, but it seems hardly anyone saw them locally. I’ve so far contributed to the volumes adapting short stories by HP Lovecraft, Jack London, O. Henry, Bram Stoker, Rafael Sabatini and this special edition where I adapted a story by Edgar Allan Poe. They were great to do and I’m forever thankful to publisher/editor Tom Pomplun for giving me the opportunity to be able to exert my creativity in this direction. I also want to thank him for his patience. He would know what I mean. He’s probably one of the best guys I’ve had the privilege to work for in the industry.

When I came to the Comic Odyssey yesterday to drop off the 50 giveaway copies of Elmer #3 at 11am, there was already a long line forming outside the store. Apparently the owner Sandy is giving away a LOT of comics, as in a LOT, and not just those with “Free Comic Book Day” stamped on it. Behind the counter were several big boxes of Graphic Classics FCBD which contained 250 copies. I was concerned if we could give them all away because it was really a lot.

I had lunch first with Budjette Tan, who kindly gave me a copy of his TRESE: Murder on Balete Drive, and Charles Tan (no relation to Budjette that I know of). We talked comics of course, and about the Iron Man movie. I haven’t seen it, but all the talk about it being a fantastic movie was driving me nuts. I want to see it, but I’m not sure when I can find the time.

I was back at the store at around 12:30. Edgar Tadeo was already there and we started signing. I had a lot of stuff to sign, not only the 250 copies of Graphic Classics, but anything else that people bring with my work on it. That was OK, but it left me little time to do sketching. In the end I was able to do only one sketch for a guy who asked for a drawing of a local superhero. Of course, I did TIMAWA.

Budjette was there in a kind of semi-launching of TRESE’s first volume. I can’t say enough how awesome I think this comic book is. For those of you in the Philippines, hang on as it should be available at National Book Stores all over the country. For those abroad, you can order a copy online here.

Mico Suayan (Marvel’s Moon Knight) also arrived, as did Leinil Francis Yu (Secret Invasion). Many other comic book creators arrived including Gilbert Monsanto, Jonas Diego, Randy Valiente, Bow Guerrero, Aris Lim, Dennis Crisostomo, Augy De Lara and many others.

The first couple of hours I was there, Azrael Colladila set up a webcam that streams the event live online. He told me that Tom Pomplun and Anne Timmons (frequent contributor to Graphic Classics) were watching. I immediately felt conscious but I waved them hello in case they were indeed watching. I forgot the camera was there, and when friends came like Jonas, Gilbert and Johnny Danganan, I went and told all kinds of stories and said a lot of things which I probably wouldn’t have said if I only remembered a camera was there. ha! ha!

The Philippine Daily Inquirer dropped by for a video interview and as soon as the guy started shooting, I immediately went into my You Tube character without even completely realizing it. It was really strange. Stranger still probably to the guy and other people who saw it. You might see the video interview at their site or at You Tube at some point.

At 5pm I was just completely wiped out. I admire Edgar and Mico for their endurance in drawing for several hours, but me, I was beat. Not only that, it’s really difficult for me to draw with any semblance of competence publicly. So I was able to only do that just one sketch and that was it. Someone asked why I wasn’t drawing, and I said why, and he said something like “But you’re just standing there!” Well, jeez man, you know who you are. I know you read this blog, but man, that wasn’t such a nice thing to say. Needless to say, I got quite pissed. But it passed soon enough and I hung on till around 6pm and there was still a line outside the store for the free comics. All the copies of Graphic Classics were pretty much given away, and I just signed the few remaining copies left.

I took the remaining 4 pre-reserved sketch requests and I’ll just do it at home and deliver it to the store when I finish them. Definitely before the month is out.

Jonas, Johnny, Gilbert and I hung out a bit. We invited Gilbert to join us in our Komikero meetings and he said he’ll try. Gilbert seems like a perfect fit. He’s crazy enough for us. Sorry guys, requests to have Komikero meetings in Manila… well, it’s not really possible. We can meet in Manila once in a while of course, just like we did last night, but the official Komikero meetings will still be in San Pablo. If we do it somewhere else, it just might lose something, I just can’t put my finger on it.

It was nice to catch up with old friends who came to visit like Ricky Olivares, Aris Lim, Bow Guerrero, and an old college buddy of mine who still loves comics.

Enormous gratitude goes to Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey for agreeing to do this event, and ordering astounding 250 copies of Graphics Classics, and definitely a lot more only to be given away. I hope it translates into more people reading comics, and of course, for better business for Sandy and other retailers. I did hear that Felix Cua was also doing an FCBD thing at his Druid’s Keep store in Magallanes, so it’s all great!

Commentary/Photo coverage: Azrael Colladila, Azrael Colladila 1/OJ, Azrael Colladila 2/Victor, Azrael Colladila 3/Mark Cerbo, RoninVampire, Ricky Olivares,

Video Coverage: RoninVampire, Popazrael 1, Popazrael 2, Popazrael 3, Popazrael 4, Popazrael 5

Commentary: Edgar Tadeo, Stompbox, James Barcelona,
(More Links To Follow)

May

2

“Impossible”

Filed Under Family, General, My Comics | 14 Comments

There was a time when I believed working in comics wouldn’t be possible. Superman and Batman and the X-Men were just things I read, created by god-like people in some fantasy land. Well, I was very young back then and my view of the world was still quite limited. Inspired by the comics I read, I tried to draw comics myself. I even sent samples to Marvel as early as 1986, all the while worrying about how would I finish my studies if Marvel accepted me. HA! HA! Dream on, of course!. I really didn’t think I would make it. I was just having fun. And the rejection letter I received a couple of months later seemed to bear that out. It wasn’t discouraging, but it just confirmed my belief that it just won’t happen. But I was ecstatic that someone at Marvel, Eliot Brown, actually knew I even existed. At that time it was enough for me.

I was dead set on a career as an architect in the “real world”. Before even graduating I was already working, supervising the renovation of a small function hall structure within the College of the Holy Spirit in Mendiola. Renovation of dormitories in the same college followed, then more and more projects came after, bringing me to all kinds of places all over Metro Manila, and at one time, Nasugbu, Batangas.

I was still reading comics. Bringing them along to projects and reading them in off periods actually calmed me down, specially on days that were extraordinarily stressful. And those days were often.

But then a time came when all that changed and my views on comics were dramatically altered, in a story I often tell where I met Whilce Portacio at Filbar’s in Robinson’s Galleria in 1991. I can’t even begin to explain how life altering that moment was, where all of a sudden my perspective changed, not only in terms of comics, but in terms of everything. All of a sudden, something I long thought impossible was now possible. Something I knew that can’t be done, suddenly had the possibility of actually being done. At that very moment I stopped being an architect and wanted desperately to become a comics artist.

In those days, I had very few people to turn to. There was no Internet, and my old friends who were my age were busy establishing themselves as businessmen, doctors, engineers, architects, busy forming their own families. Comic books were the furthest thing from their minds. I did meet younger people who became the first of my comic book friends like Oliver Pulumbarit and John Toledo. We’d be on the phone often and meet once in a while. The circle grew in time, and all of us just had one dream… and that was to draw comics, and if possible, break into comics abroad.

I was very enthusiastic about it all and I just wanted to share it with old friends and other people around me. I can still remember a couple of people snorting when I laid out my dream, like I told a joke or something. I still remember hearing a couple of them end their sentences with “…at your age?”

At a construction site in Escolta, my portfolio of art was neatly tucked away in the kitchen when the condo owner stumbled upon it, and asked me what it was. I told him that I was thinking of becoming a comic book artist. “But it’s for talented people!” I remember him saying.

My ex-girlfriend, apparently really proud that I was an architect (and she told me so), must have been very disappointed when I announced my career change because we no longer had a relationship soon after.

For too many times I’ve heard variations of, or implied statements of “You can’t do it.”, “It can’t be done.”, “It’s impossible.” “Dream on!”

Even my parents… my dad didn’t say much, but my mom, I hope she forgives me for saying it…. they were supportive, but she did admit to me at some point that I was just wasting my life with comics.

I have to admit, it got kind of discouraging. At that point in time, no other Filipino, based in the Philippines, was working regularly for US comics. Nick Manabat did soon became the first in our generation to do it, but I think he’s an exception because he’s a mutant. That he is insanely good on the level of genius is beyond doubt.

So for a while there life according to the decision I made was really difficult. If I listened to everyone and agreed that it was simply impossible, I would have gone back to being an architect and just cashed in the checks. It would have been a good life. Lord knows how tempted I was to just give up and be done with it.

The problem was, I didn’t believe it was impossible. I didn’t believe that it couldn’t be done. Why did I believe it? I really don’t know. There was really nothing I based this belief on other than the faith that this is the kind of life that I was supposed to have. I knew and believed fiercely that the day was coming that I would be in comics. To me it was beyond question.

That I did eventually work in comics and worked on some of the greatest and most popular characters in US comics for many years felt like a vindication and great relief. I wasn’t betrayed by the belief that I could do it.

A lot of Filipinos are working in comics now, both locally and abroad. A lot of these people have become my friends and I’m genuinely glad at all the success that everyone has found. I’m so glad that a lot of other people have achieved their dreams and I’m sure a lot more will.

I’m 40 now and it’s beginning to dawn on me that time is running out. I’ve got a lot of things I still want to do, a lot of different challenges to face and different dreams to pursue. Not surprisingly, I’m once again hearing discouraging things here and there, voices that tell me I can’t do it, that it can’t be done, that it’s impossible.

I’ve got nothing but an insanely hysterical laugh for a reply to all of that.

Slowly over the years, anyone who has told me that it can’t be done, that it’s impossible, get automatically put into my ignore and forget list. Of course, my parents would have to be the exception. They’re my parents for God’s sake and I love them. What I do is as much for them as it much as it’s for me. But everyone else can just take a hike.

There’s so very little time and I can’t afford to waste any of it with anyone who tell me that I can’t do what I want to do. What’s the use? If I had listened to all those naysayers from the beginning, I won’t be where I am now. So they’re all banished, sorry to say, from ever taking any more of my time and attention.

Whatever it is I want to do, I believe I can do it. That’s it. Bottom line. I can’t live my life always looking for someone else to do it before I even try to do it myself.

Who knows, at the end of my life there might be things that I’ve never accomplished, dreams I’ve never reached. But I will be glad because I know I tried, that I wasn’t daunted before I even tried it.

May

2

Inkwell Awards Roundtable Interview

Filed Under Comics Artists, Philippine Comics | Leave a Comment

The Pulse’s Jennifer Contino at Comicon.com interviews the people behind the Inkwell Awards who explain what it’s all about. I’m posting it here because the profession of inking in comics, although it’s something I no longer exclusively do, is something I still very much respect. I still feel a very strong solidarity with my fellow inkers and anything that sheds light on this oft misunderstood job in comics I would never hesitate to support.

People interviewed include Bill Nichols, Daniel Best, Tim Townsend, Jimmy Tournas and Mike Marts.

Excerpts:

TIM TOWNSEND: …We get plenty of recognition from the pencilers but we want the fans at large to really understand that there’s more to this than they might think. This is an art in and of itself.

BOB ALMOND: It’s an annual awards event targeting ink artists specifically. The impetus for this was a noticeable abatement of inker credits in traditional areas like collected works credits, solicitations, sample art credit, etc….I was noticing the attention to ink artists diminishing, combined with the use of Photoshop digital darkening (sometimes incorrectly called digital inking) becoming more common…

Read the Entire Roundtable Interview here.

May

1

My Week at Supermag.org

Filed Under Philippine Comics | 5 Comments

This is a particularly long interview, the longest one I’ve done yet. It’s a French site, but the interview has an English version somewhere in their Exclusives section. Thanks to Sébastien!

Supermag.org
http://www.supermag.org

May

1

Blog Update

Filed Under General | 1 Comment

My bro (who handles all this behind the scenes stuff in my blog such as updating Wordpress and all of that), has updated to the newest version of Wordpress just a short while ago. I’ve noticed that everytime an update is done, something weird happens. I’ve pretty much taken care of all the things I’ve noticed, but if anyone of you who visits this blog and notices something off or there’s some error, please let me know. Thanks!!

Apr

29

Who is Danny Federici and why am I writing a tribute?

Filed Under Music | 2 Comments

Danny who? There might be one or two visitors to my site who might know who he is, but I think most won’t. I’ve never talked about him before anywhere, and I’ve never really counted him as an influence in any way. Danny Federici died last April 17, 2008, and when I heard about it, it saddened me greatly, more than I expected it would.

Danny was a long time member of Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band who played the keyboards, organs, and occasionally, the accordion. He was diagnosed with melanoma three years ago and it finally claimed him more than a week ago.


(Video from BruceSpringsteen.net)

Favorites come and go and very often I would get tired of listening to an artist and move on to the next. The one artist, as in the only one artist I could never get tired of listening to was Bruce Springsteen. I discovered his music through “Dancing in the Dark” in 1984 during the summer break before the start of my freshman year in college. I was instantly hooked. I felt a connection to the music that I didn’t feel with any other. It just felt right. It felt good and it felt perfect. I eventually bought the album and it took my life completely over. Unbelievably, all the songs were terrific. It was quite a revelation. In an industry that bred bands with one hit single and a crap album, here was a guy that was writing nothing but good songs on the entire album. Later, I would hear that he wrote 80 songs for just that album, and he selected only the best to be included.

I began to buy his earlier albums and I bought every album he put out ever since. I eventually came to know every member of his E-Street Band and the role that each of them played. I eventually came to know Max Weinberg through his powerful drumming, Clarence Clemons for his heart breaking saxophone playing, Roy Bittan for his delicate piano playing, Garry Talent for his subtle and steady bass playing, Nils Lofgren for his deft guitar playing, Steve Van Zandt for his antics, get-up and his steady guitar playing, Patti Scialfa for her unusual vocals, Suzie Tyrell for her lilting violins… and then there was Danny. “Phantom Dan” as Bruce lovingly refers to him. Now you see him now you don’t. Quiet and unassuming and quite often would just disappear into the background as if he wasn’t there.

But the music he made was anything but invisible. There are moments where his organ or his keyboards would just come in at the right moment, with the right notes, in the right place in the song, and it’s enough to reduce me to tears. His music is an integral part of the sound of the E-Street Band, and integral to the music I grew up with through college, through much of my working life.

When I heard that Danny had died, I never expected to be hit so hard. The music he had helped create accompanied me through the ups and downs of my life like it was really and truly a part of me. I knew that Danny was sick, but it was still sad nevertheless. Bruce Springsteen wrote a really beautiful tribute for Danny during his funeral. If you feel like it, you can read it here:
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html