WINC: Exploring the Forum & Format of Comics

WINC: Exploring the Forum & Format of Comics

Greetings Dieselfunkateers!

Lo and Behold.  Women In Comics Convention TODAY! at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.  I had to come up for air for a second from working hard on INFINITUM.  I was asked by Supah Sistah Supreme, Regine Sawyer, Founder of Women IN Comics, to moderate an AWESOME panel titled:

Exploring the Forum & Format of Comics

Comics are going through disruptive change with the ever present nature of more advanced technologies. This panel investigates the different forums of showcase, consumption, and distribution of the comicbook medium. Panelist will also cover how these elements can be covered in an educational context within the physical and virtual learning environments.

Participants are:

Micheline Hess (Artist: Malice In Ovenland)

Marguerite Dabaie (Artist/Writer: THE HOOKAH GIRL AND OTHER TRUE STORIES

Clairesa Clay (Scholar and Founder of Blerd City)

Mia Charlene White (Assistant Professor at The New School for Social Research

Greg Anderson Elysée (Writer: Is’nana The Were Spider)

Shawn Martinbrough (Artist: Luke Cage Noir, Thief of Thieves, Shadowman)

And of course moderated by Tim Fielder (Writer/Artist: Matty’s Rocket)

Brooklyn Public Library is an approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) in New York State. At the close of the workshop, attendees with be issued a certificate for 1 hour of CTLE credit.

TODAY: June 30 2018, 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM  Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA

SEE YOU THERE!

BLACK METROPOLIS RETURNS

BLACK METROPOLIS RETURNS

Greetings Dieselfunkateers!  BLACK METROPOLIS RETURNS!  It’s looks like its gonna be one of those days.  Back in 2016 I had the privilege of presenting a career retrospective of my work at Gallatin Galleries curated by Keith Miller.  This show has formed one of the pillars of my present efforts, which is to SHOW THE WORLD MY WORK!  

With that, I am proud to announce at the prestigious Hammonds House Museum

Black Metropolis:  30 Years of Afrofuturism, Comics, Music, Animation, Decapitated Chickens, Heroes, Villains, and Negroes.

The Hammonds House Museum is very clear:

Our mission, “to preserve, exhibit, interpret and increase public awareness about the contributions that visual artists of African descent have made to world culture” is the underpinning of the of the institution’s ongoing work. 

Presently, the Legendary Carrie Mae Weems is exhibiting with as well as amazing artists such as Felton Eaddy.  Also please note:  Hammonds House is presently celebrating their 30th year anniversary.  BLACK METROPOLIS will be the GRAND FINALE for this Celebration taking place during the final quarter of the year.  More NEWS to Come!  Check out the news link HERE  http://artsatl.com/tag/hammonds-house-museum/

For you folks who didn’t get around to it before now you’ve got another chance.  You’d best believe Daddy is gonna be putting on a show and drawing portraits.  You betta dressup and whatnot:-) 

SciFiPulse Radio Features Tim Fielder

SciFiPulse Radio Features Tim Fielder

Greetings Dieselfunkateers!  The Dieselfunk Crew was recently interviewed by

Dr. Julian Chambliss of Beyond Impossible Segment for SFP-NOW on SciFiPulse Radio.

We conversed on the subject of representation, comics, career, and Matty’s Rocket. I was delighted by the depth of insight and questioning.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

 

TODAY! BAM Black Comix Expo

TODAY! BAM Black Comix Expo

Greetings Dieselfunkateers! TODAY The Dieselfunk Crew is at The First Annual BLACK COMICS EXPO at The Brooklyn Academy of Music.   11AM-5PM  #blackcomixexpo 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
We’ll Sell Matty’s Rocket and Posters.  We’ll GLOGG!!

LOCATION:  BAM Rose Cinemas and BAMcafé

This event stands to introduce comics and cartoonists of Color to the Borough that is BROOKLYN.  Dieselfunk Studios and The Dieselfunk Show will be at table 15 from 11AM to 5PM.

Founded by the Magnificent Deirdre Hollman, (who also happens to be a Co-founder of The Schomburg Black Comic Book Day) has started up trouble again with:

The BLACK COMICS COLLECTIVETheir Motto: CREATORS + COMMUNITY = THE BLACK COMICS COLLECTIVE

 

Matty World Building 2

Matty World Building 2

Greetings Dieselfunkateers!  We are pushing so very hard to deliver the best of expansive narrative and content.  We recently covered the idea of how concept design is utilized in Matty’s Rocket.  One way to look at a Design Challenge is applying what can be called a Design ‘Solution.’  

This solution has to strike a balance or bridge the chasm between not just conveying informational content, but also the emotional arch of the narrative.  One might possibly think that ideas come in a chronological order.  Sometimes they do.  But sometimes, they absolutely don’t.  If anything, ideas and the action of creating ideas, are very much a ‘non-linear’ process.  For the average person, ideas come when and where they are ready to come, based almost purely on experience.  The DESIGNER, as craftsperson, has to call on ideas at will.  Their style, not to mention very often, their livelihood, is dependent upon it.

Thusly, I had to decide, what was it I wanted to convey about Matty’s Rocket?  I wanted the audience to take a feeling of nostalgia and sentimentality based in the American and African-American past.  But I also wanted to pay homage to the masters of cinematic movie and book posters.  It would be an homage to the Struzan style of movie poster. 

To be clear.  I’m a huge Drew Struzan…

James Bama, …

and Jim Steranko fan. 

So I wanted the book to feel like that.  Frankly, the sketches came very quickly.

I then moved on to color, which I felt good about compositionally.  The decision was made to not have the cover be fully painted.  Inked characters would be integrated within a painted environment in line with the graphic novel.  I felt the technical aspects were on point.  However, even after rendering, something didn’t feel right. The feedback from folks I trust ranged from “its great” to “one aspect of the painting was too dominant over another.”  I would spend days doing color correction and re-rendering to see if I could make it work.  But still…

It wasn’t until I expressed to my wife that I didn’t feel right about the cover.  What could possibly be wrong?  She looked at me and said…”It’s too Dark”.   That hit me like a ton of bricks in it’s clarity.  Despite the technical proficiency of the illustration, it was the wrong design solution I was applying.  All of the elements; the dominant klansmen on fire, the horrified family, Matty being overwhelmed.   I was selling Matty’s Rocket as HORROR.

MATTY’S ROCKET IS ALL ABOUT HOPE!

I pulled out my iPhone and quickly drew with my thumb in Autodesk Sketchbook.  The drawing was super rough.  Done in less than a minute.   But it provided the crystal clear color and composition.

Once a direction was in place…in MY HEART, everything went very quickly from there.

Solution applied.

Check out Matty’s Rocket:  Book One at www.dieselfunkstore.com