Greetings Dieselfunkateers, This will be a quick post. As stated before we are in constant reassessment of what needs to be done to make our initiatives work. We stated in our last journal entry that High John Conqueror would be folded into The Dieselfunk Show (TDFS). Why? from a perspective of BRANDING, VIEWS, CONTENT, and ATTENTION; the fact is, TDFS captures more mindshare than High John Conqueror. However, High John Conqueror provides added value for The Dieselfunk Show. So all of the experts we’ve consulted with have stated CONSOLIDATE.
But you know me. I then began to debate about whether or not it would be a gradual transition or just immediately begin airing High John from the next episode 8 on alternate days between TDFS. Our Decision: because High John is only a few episodes in we will start it over for all of TDFS subscribers who haven’t seen it. It’s gonna hurt but..
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! The last week was a MASSIVE WEEK for Dieselfunk Studios.High John Conqueror and The Dieselfunk Show have now premiered. We have now moved on to the intricate and long term work of building a brand, audience, and market for our content.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW THE BUTTON. VIEW AND SUBSCRIBE!
I’ve kept a Journal for decades and used to writing down the occasional thought towards processing events. It’s been a very useful exercise. To that end, I’ve decided to take some time to write down my ideas on comics, media, and the REALITY that is the INTERNET. We’ll call it say; THE DIESELFUNK JOURNAL. I’m sure there are far more knowledgable and experienced folks in this area than I. So if what I’m stating is old hat or irrelevant then simply ignore me.
In REAL NUMBERS, the mainstream comic book readership maxes out at 100-200 thousand readers give or take a few thousand. Spread proportionally over the level of strength and size of each publisher, access becomes a matter of life..and more often…Death.
So how does the one man/woman or independent shop, like DIESELFUNK STUDIOS, get in the game? Not just the comic game, but the game that goes beyond that. Well that’s what this journal series will be about. We will investigate a lot, learn a lot, make mistakes…A LOT, and hopefully have the occasional bout of SUCCESS, a LOT:-)
Lets begin with the Thesis: IF…YOUTUBE has over 1 Billion users, INSTAGRAM is at 7 Million users (pushing to reach 1 Billion by the end of the year), Facebook is virtually at 2 BILLION USERS!, and other networks are massive as well, would it not make more sense to GO ALL IN ON COMICS EXCLUSIVELY IN SOCIAL MEDIA. Completely different Paradigm Right?
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! COMATICS! The Juneteenth (June 19th 2017) Launch Date of HIGH JOHN CONQUEROR is fast coming upon us. Like any product that enters the market, a user manual is a must to effective engagement with any product. High John Conqueror is an experiment in Social Media Sequential content. Although in its heart the story is inspired by comics, it functions differently due to the nature of social networks.
So….
Take a Newspaper Strip (Cartoons that showcase short snippets of narrative on a daily or periodic basis with only a few frames). Bill Watterson’sCalvin and Hobbs
Add in a bit of Storyboard (Sequential images that showcase every shot composition and camera angle from a film script) Saul Bass boards for Hitchcock’s Psycho.
And mix it all in with an Animatics (Animated Storyboards with motion and/or sound) Motion Boards for the AVENGERS.
Then you have what I call…
COMATICS: Stories that bridge the legacy of traditional comics strips blended with film pacing and motion storytelling.
So…
For High John readers and viewers should expect a snippet that moves a story forward incrementally. We will endeavor to product a high quality product with strong visuals and compelling character development. Check out this example:
HIGH JOHN 1: Dixieland, The Old West & The Dirty Brush
Greetings Dieselfunkateers. As the Juneteenth launch date of HIGH JOHN CONQUEROR approaches we are feverishly working to get everything in place. Part of this process involves informing the public of the genesis of this project and what the intentions for the future will be.
Our first post is all about the Art. I fully concede my work will likely never be in the contemporary style or level of the crosshatching Image guys…sadly. Hey, we all want to be sexy. But I have to face facts; I yam what I yam. Thusly, I LOVE OLD COMICS. I love the pen and ink work of Harold Raymond, Frank Frazetta, Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth. Those cats had it down. So my every effort has been to seize control of my brush…albeit digital, and bring as much power and lushness to my work as possible…like those before me. But in my OWN WAY.
More specifically, High John Conqueror is a HOMAGE to my love of Western, Crime and Sci-fi comics.
Moebius and Charlier’s Blueberry
Corben’s ‘DEN’
Bernet’s ‘Torpedo 1936′
Steranko’s ‘Chandler’
and last, but absolutely NOT LEAST…David Mazzuchelli’s Rubber Blanket
Now I’m not going to even suggest I’ll be as good as those guys are. But for HIGH JOHN CONQUEROR…That’s the standard for the attempt.
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! Alex Simmons’ BLACKJACK is back in two upcoming side by side adventures, Blackjack: Trial by Ice & Blackjack: Trial by Fire. My long collaboration, this time in the form of cover art, continues with writers Alex Simmons (Creator of Blackjack) and Chris Ryan (Creator of City of Pain, City of Woe, City of Sin). Blackjack, aka’ man of action Arron Day, is featured in stories that defy the imagination, yet put him within a definable time and place.
This began as an over the phone description by Alex of the basic cover design. But in this case I took it further by wanting to do a double cover. So the sketch was literally done in five minutes.
From a personal point of view, I’ve taken to doing the character as a way of imprinting my take of classic pulp covers while hopefully adding something new. This can often appear in the form of a homage. I’ve always loved the Greg and Tim Hildebrandt cover of Blackjack. I decided this would be my inspirational starting point
I’m not the most accurate of artists. But after spending time with an illustration, I take a break and go back to an image with fresh eyes. This can be repeated over and over again until I end up with an acceptable design. In this case, while the initial idea was fine, the cross handling of Arron’s colt handguns obscured his face.
I tried different poses. Admittedly, this was a fun diversion but I knew the asymmetry would not work for a double cover.
Ultimately, the decision was made to go back to the original idea but have Arron hold the colts side to side allowing the emotion in his face to communicate properly. I preferred this as it took the spirit of the original homage and went in a slightly different direction. I collected reference for lighting and design. Each job is different. The deadline was tight because the stories were being written as I was working. Thusly, the basic composition of Arron dominating the double image yet being off to the side in the split images was the direction. I would fill in the background later. I began with a relatively tight pencil rendering.
Then work proceeded towards doing a tight rendering of Arron. Taking the fire and ice motif would suggest light and shadow. This was further aided by making sure I had ample reference.
At this point Alex and Chris had provided story elements so I could go into filling out the background space. One of the stories takes place at the Olympics with Russian elements. The other story takes place in the snowscapes in Europe. So a google search run was most definitely in the cards. Several hours, photo shoots, and layer blending later I had a finished image.
Standby for more information on these new stories. Very proud to have provided cover art.
Also, It’s been a good long while since I’ve posted an update. Please know that MAJOR CHANGES are afoot in the way and mode that Dieselfunk Studios does business. Standby for further news.
Recent Comments