Backgrounds

So production of the comic has started in earnest. Currently working on the backgrounds for episode one. Here're some samples.

Flash Comic Mockup Test

I've finally got a very very rough demo to show off in regards to my flash comic. Please forgive the crudeness, but it's meant to be a test for me to see how readable this format would be. I'm pretty happy with the results, although there are a few issues I'd like to iron out, such how how to time the panels popping and how many transitional panels I should throw in.

There's lots of things that are incomplete with this. First off, the panels should pop up onto the screen, instead of just instantly appearing. And of course, the drawings themselves are very rough and not complete. And there are supposed to be bits of animation in a few of the panels that are obviously missing. For now, though, you can see what I've been working on the past little while.

You might want to let it load for a bit before starting the demo. Just click on the flash screen and it'll start.

*EDIT
Ok, looks like the embedding of the flash file causes the blog layout to get screwed up, so you'll have to go to this link instead.

More updates as they come.

White Currents

So I figure I'll try to post more regular updates on what I'm working on. I wanted to keep updates regarding my digital comic series, White Currents, on a separate blog, but I figure it'll be easier to keep things in one location.

Right now I'm in the storyboarding/design phase. Because I'm working on this on my own, I won't be doing too much in terms of making polished boards or designs or anything. Just things which I'll be able to look at for my own reference. I really want to get some kind of demo out as soon as I can, so I'll be focusing on producing a short prologue or trailer first.

So I'll just leave it with scans of some of the storyboards I have, along with a sketch I did for one of the characters. You'll have to ignore the pieces of dialogue in the storyboard. Those are placeholders for now.

Work in Progress

New blog template is a work in progress. I'm trying to make it match my website in appearance, which recently got a overhaul.

I'm also working on my flash comic. Doing a test comic right now, to see how I'll be putting it together. I'll post progress as soon as I get something presentable done.

All in all, I feel pretty good. I feel like things are finally in motion now. There was a setback when I started playing EVE Online again, but I think I reigned my obsession in check.

Business Plan?!

The past 6 or so months, I've been working at March as a Flash animator. That tenure is coming to an end, thank the gods. I've been stuck in Sudbury this whole time, and been through quite a bit of drama. I'm so excited to be done here and going back to Toronto. I'll be moving in with my friends, the same guys who I was with during my 4th year in school. That'll be good, I can't wait.

Sad part is that I'll be out of a job. So now I have to worry about finding a source of income to pay for rent and other living expenses. The animation job market is pretty dry right now, sadly.

But I've been thinking lately. I know I just started out my career, and maybe I'm jumping the gun by saying this, but I'm really sick of animating, especially for someone else. The reason I got into art and animation was so that I could tell my stories. I'm also getting old (turning 27 in a couple of months... *snicker*), and I just feel I wasted a lot of my time in previous years. I could've spent that time really being productive with my own work.

Well, I'm looking at this employment lull as an opportunity. I've recently been seriously researching generating revenue through online advertising, especially for webcomics. Now, my goal is in producing White Currents content through my Etherwing webspace, with free online flash episodes of Saphiel short stories and trying to gain a readership so that I can get money off of advertising. I've been looking into what kind of money I can make off of advertising online. The most popular webcomic registered with Project Wonderful seems to be able to pull in roughly $30/day for their advertising space. That roughly equates to about $840/month for that adspace. And these sites usually have two or more adspaces available for purchase, meaning they can easily earn about $1600/month just on advertising (I'm assuming these are USD rates). I know it's not a lot of money, but I'm not looking to get rich off of this. I just want to make a comfortable living doing what I love. Hell, I'll be happy if I can make $600/month. I can survive off of that.

Now, I'm not in any way, shape or form deluded enough to think that I'll be able to gain that kind of readership right away. If anything, it'll probably take several years to get to a point where I might potentially be able to rely on this project to sustain myself, a year in a best case scenario. I will have to rely on another source of income in the meantime. I'm looking into part time jobs, mainly. Something that'll give me enough money to pay the bills, but also give me enough free time to work on my new project seriously.

In any case, though, I'm pretty excited about all this, and I'm sure I'll be able to make a show that's one of the better webshows out there. I don't even really know if there's a market or community for the kind of thing I'm planning on making. Best thing I can think of is flash animations you can find on newgrounds or something like that. A friend of mine mentioned Xombie, and that's about the only thing I can think of which would be akin to what I'm thinking of doing.

Basically, I'm thinking of doing a webcomic, but in a semi-animated form. It's hard labeling it as anything. It's not a comic, it's not an animated show; it's something in between. It's a storyreel, polished and presented with a sort of RPG sensibility. I really don't want to describe it too much right now. I think the best thing for me to do is just ... do it! And show what I have in mind.

So, the plan as it stands now is this: I'm too busy to work on anything with this right now. I've been doing a lot of writing, specifically backstory for the actual content. I've also been going through a lot of website design ideas. A big source of inspiration for me right now is the Final Fantasy XIII site. Very simple, but it conveys the mood they're going for in the game. And it's a similar mood to what I want conveyed in my storyworld too. And yes, the site will be designed primarily with flash. The whole show is flash produced, in any case, yes?

Next week, once I move into my new home and get settled, I'll begin the actual design process for the site. I hope to get that online within a couple of days after I start the project. Then I'll be working on 2 main content projects: The first episode of the Saphiel short stories, and a trailer, with priority being placed on the Saphiel episode. The trailer will be a collage trailer, meant to be presented as a showreel for what White Currents is all about. It's sort of like the FMV demo opening you'd see in a video game. It's supposed to convey the mood, the flow and the look of the show. The reason I'm doing this is because I feel the Saphiel stories will be very slow and as such, might not pick up readers as well. I need something that'll hook people. Something that'll show people that THAT is what I want to do with the series.

The trailer will be done in 3D. I've been studying Blender, and I hope I can get used to it enough that I'll be able to use it as a full production software. The interface is very different from what I'm used to, so I'm finding it hard to adjust. But I'm sure with practice it'll become better.

So yea... website first, then scripts/sketches and full production of the first episode of Saphiel's story next, then the trailer. And then... we'll see where we go from there. I'll continue doing Saphiel's shorts for a while. Great thing about those is that they're self contained short stories, so it'll give me good practice with getting the hang of the workflow, and also with keeping up with self-imposed deadlines. Eventually I want to tell longer serial stories. The meat of the story world, if you will. But that'll come much later, after I get the practice I need for now.

On a semi-related note, I used to listen to the 1UP network's podcasts and their video review show, but I learned today that 1UP was actually taken over by a new owner, and about 2/3rds of the entire staff was laid off. The review show was dropped, along with most of the podcasts. But I also learned that the ex-staff from that company got together and decided to launch a new, independent online review show called Area5, and trying to turn it into a business. They managed to get donations from sympathetic fans and raised over $11,000, which they're planning on using as starting capital to buy new equipment and such. Wow... that is such an inspiring tale. These guys are pretty much in the same position I'm in right now and they're making things happen because they love to do what they do. I hope I have as much will as these guys to get my stuff off the ground.

Well, that's about all I have to say. Wow, what a long rant. Good thing no one reads this thing. Haha.

Developments as they come.

Outlook

Well...

School's been done for a while now so I've been thinking on what I should be doing from now on. I got a job animating at a studio for a few months, which I'm happy about as it means I'll be getting paid. I hope that I can still squeeze in time to do my own thing along the way. Y'know, working on my graphic novel, a 3D portfolio, that kind of stuff, which is the really important thing for me.

Lately I've gotten to realize that animation really isn't the kind of job for me. At least, not the kind of animation I've been doing. What I've been really looking into is doing modelling and animation for games, specifically low to mid poly games. So I've been working on models for that, and hopefully I'll get around to animating them soon.



But of course, most of my focus is still on my graphic novel ambitions. I've really been trying to get my focus down on getting White Currents beyond the planning phase and into actual production. However, with a rather hectic schedule coming up what with me getting a job and all, I'm unsure if I can manage to get into the full swing of things. That, coupled with my indecision on a lot of aspects of the series (specifically which story to actually go with as my first foray into making comics) is making working on this very difficult. That being said, I'll definitely get something started soon. Expect updates in the White Currents blog soon.

Finally, to wrap up loose ends... well, the Etherwing website has been "under construction" for a while now. I really should get that all put together. It's not really high on my priorities right now, but definitely something that's been nagging at me for a while. I'll overhaul the actual website, and hopefully customize these blog pages too.

Oh yea, as for my film Blue Skies... I really wish I could work on that some more, but honestly, I have other priorities right now. I don't think it will get touched for a long while, if at all. Sadness...

Blue Skies

Well, the film is as done as it's going to get for now. I'll get back to it later (hopefully), but for now I have to focus on putting together a demo reel and portfolio for job hunting.

Of the parts that I did complete, it didn't really turn out the way I wanted to. My favorite is probably the flight montage sequence. Sadly the pilots are missing in those shots. Oh well. Hope you enjoy