Previews of 30/30 Workshops!

As we enter the final week to sign up for 30 Classes in 30 Days, we're rolling out some video sneak peaks of what you'll experience over the course of this event.

First up, we have a preview of Krishna Sadasivam's Creating Crazy Characters! workshop. This four-part series will cover a variety of aspects you'll need to know in order to transform a simple drawing into a fully-realized character.

Next we have a sample from Kim Holm's Digitally Organic Art workshop, a fascinating look at how to incorporate traditional art into your digital piece in order to create an organic look with pixels.

There are still open seats for the live classes, but you can get discounted rates if you prefer to take your classes in a time-shifted manner–that is to say, download the recorded class at your convenience and participate in the forum assignments.

It's going to be an exciting month of workshops covering a broad spectrum of topics that will help you in your visual storytelling pursuits!

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LIA Cast 09 - Look at My Thumbs

An extra-visual episode comes your way this time as Rob and Jerzy explore thumbnailing strategies. Jerzy brings samples from throughout his comics career to share different methods he's used, from ultra-tight mock-ups sculpted from multiple iterations, to loose and playful sketches that leave more work to be done at the final stages of production.

Through this investigation we also talk about how an artist's approach to their process can change over time, based on one's pitfalls and triumphs. Is it more frightening to approach the blank page when you're a beginner, or after a few minor successes? How might one line up their process in order to ensure that they'll ship on the project? How much is too much organization?

You might be surprised with some of our answers, but you won't be surprised to hear that the answers are not final.

Links mentioned in this episode:

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LIA Cast 09 - Look at My Thumbs

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Polytechnicast - Manga Studio First Impressions

In this episode I reflect on my first few weeks of using of Manga Studio.

Adobe Photoshop
Manga Studio
Bizarro
Krishna Sadasivam of PC Weenies
Jonathan Rector
Bryon Wilkins
Web Comic Alliance - Getting Started With Manga Studio
Rob’s 10 Finished Pages on 24 Hour Comic Day, All in Manga Studio
Google Sketchup
Export Sketchup to Obj (normally a Pro feature, this is a Ruby script work-around)

Follow Rob on Twitter or his blog at Interactive-Storyteller.com

Polytechnicast_-_Manga_Studio_First_Impressions.mp3 Listen on Posterous

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LIA Cast 08 - Participatory Culture

We spend a good amount of time trying to get under the hood of why how we creative types are sometimes so eager to talk ourselves out of taking on challenges or pushing forward with projects. Is it waiting for the subject's authorities' approval? What's the danger in admiring other creators and the work they do?

As usual, we don't land on a definitive answer in our discussion, but we have an interesting walk around the topic.

Links mentioned in this episode:

And don't forget to check out the Random Unlock going on as the lead in to 30 Classes in 30 Days!

LIA Cast 08 - Participatory Culture

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The Random Unlock!

One of the commonly-asked questions we get when people discover our online art center is: "Will you be holding open office hours?" That is to say, a block of time where we (Rob and Jerzy) would make ourselves available to answer any questions or offer any input on your creative projects.

We thought about it a bit, and finally landed on why the heck not?

So in the final weeks leading up to the big 30 Classes in 30 Days event, we're adding a new feature. With every new student registration we're going to unlock 1 Open Office Hours session randomly assigned to Thursdays and Fridays during the month of November, and even December 1st and 2nd!

These sessions will be available to all 30 Classes participants, regardless of Bronze, Silver, or Gold registration status.

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Lean Into Art