LIA Cast 11 - Dare to Compare

It's an audio-only episode of the LIA Cast, but Rob and Jerzy make up for it with a thorough discussion on our topic for the week.

This episode starts out with a review of one of the labs from Lean Into Art's 30 Classes in 30 Days, where Jerzy led an improvisational story building activity using emotional anchors from our pasts as a point of inspiration.

The conversation then turns to the advantages and dangers of comparing one's career, art style, and accomplishments to those of others. In an age of rampant sharing and "self-cheerleading", one might feel a little beleagured by the exuberant exclamations made by others over their accomplishments. How does one avoid the inevitable feeling of coming up short? Jerzy and Rob take a stroll around the idea and try to pick at the psychology behind this trap, and offer some of their own experiences in dealing with it.

Links mentioned this episode:

• Axe Cop
• Dr. McNinja
• Derek Kirk Kim
• Blender 3d
• Ryan Estrada
• The Karate Kid
• Games Are Math, by Raph Koster
• 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

LIA Cast 11 - Dare to Compare

LIA Cast 10 - Stylin'

This time we take a walk around the notion of evolving styles, using Jerzy's recent experiences (and subsequent existential crisis) with re-designing his characters from The Front: Rebirth in a new art style.

If one's art style is destined to evolve, how does one approach it's evolution in the context of creative works? Should the pacing of the evolution be restricted on a project-by-project basis? How does a drastic shift in art style affect reader expectations? Does publishing on the web change the way we approach our artistic development?

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Thunder Punch Daily 143, where Jerzy shares his dilemma in an audio essay
• The Front: Rebirth
• Jerzy's Front character re-imaginings
• Jerzy's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe character re-imaginings
• My Little Pony: Frienship is Magic
• Craig McCracken
• Samurai Jack
• Powerpuff Girls
• Art Geek Zoo
• Ryan Estrada

And there's still time to sign up for 30 Classes in 30 Days!

LIA Cast 10 - Stylin'

Polytechnicast - Jonathan Rector on Exploring Manga Studio

In this episode of the Polytechnicast I’m joined by comic artist Jonathan Rector. We chat about his recent delving into Manga Studio, how he used it for his 24 Hour Comic, what it’s like when you’re coming from an Adobe Photoshop background, and about using only digital tools to make comics.

Links Mentioned

• Jonathan Rector on Twitter
• Scribbles With Jonathan - LIVE! and Scribbles With Jonathan On Youtube
• The Standard - Comic and ComixTribe Writeup on The Standard
• Interview with Jonathan about Drawing The Standard
• The Hero Code - Comic and The Hero Code’s Successful Kickstarter Project
• Free Manga Studio Custom Brushes
• Art and Story Podcast
• DC Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics
• Jonathan Rector’s 24 Hour Comic
• Jonathan Demos Perspective Rules in Manga Studio
• Krishna Sadasivam Blogs About Mac OSX Utilities and Krishna’s review of ForeverSave
• Lean Into Art and 30 Classes in 30 Days

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

Polytechnicast_-_Jonathan_Rector_on_Exploring_Manga_Studio.mp3 Listen on Posterous

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!

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:

• The Front: Rebirth
• Equalizers of the Divide
• Switch Runners
• Stranger Things
• PPV: Pay-Per-View
• Rob's experience with 24-Hour Comics Day
• The Random Unlock - only a few days left to unlock some Office Hours!

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LIA Cast 09 - Look at My Thumbs