the month that was...

Well, I'm glad that's over.

While I didn't have unusually high hopes for the month of march, I didn't exactly plan on the events that transpired. A rushed surgery and lengthy recovery of a dear loved one took a lot out of us, and took up a huge chuck of time. Some paperwork and business administrative type of blah blah blah, also took up some time. A constant barrage of inexplicable website and internet cable woes. Of course, this is not to mention the regular bout with creative inadequacy and second guessing that is part and parcel with being he who creates...

Anyway, I call 03/06 a write off. Sure, it wasn't all bad. That whole soul searching thing came in handy. And certain career/life plans had been set into full motion. So, yeah. Things are looking up.

I'll finally get to putting KC online. Get this blog going in earnest. Work on MD, and other shit. It's going to be fire.

stay tuned...


ADC


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something to think about...

Do you listen to, or can you appreciate the contemporary musical equivalent, to the music you listened to 10 years ago? I suppose, more accurately, when you were a teen? (Apologies to all the teens who can't answer this question. I'll have something for you next time.)

Do you listen to the current approximations of bands you listened to when you were younger?

While on the subject of music, I noticed on American Idol this week, not that I was watching it, oh no, I have far better things to do with my time, that for the most part, all the contestants sucked. This week the theme was songs from the 21st century, meaning they were limited to performing songs from the past 6 years. Could there be a coincidence, some sort of correlation to the fact that their worst performances to date, were with the most recently written songs? Does this say anything about the songs from days of old?


ADC



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post at Transmission-x

I posted this over at Transmission-x earlier today.


Subject: Oh my god, did you what Melrose Place last night?

It's the doodles you do in the margins of your notebooks at school. It's the monday morning water cooler discussions at work. It's talking on your cell phone or changing radio stations when you're hurtling down the freeway at 80 mph. The stuff we do, when we aren't doing the things we are supposed to be doing. In some ways, that's what Transmission-X is for me. Goofing off.

It was delayed freelance gigs, and sleepless nights spent brainstorming. It was hours spent developing the groundwork for a narrative that really had no ultimate goal, such as becoming a comic and ending up in print somewhere. It was a story that I was crafting, just for fun, free from any outside influence. A story for story's sake, I guess. Eventually the notion that this story would be a good comic crossed my mind.

Then along came Transmission-X, and the realization that I'm not alone in the need to create. Everyone involved in T-X seems to have been able to make some sort of living from working in art or comics, and yet we all still feel the urge to do more. This leads me to think that since the work is essentially pro bono, then what we produce for this project actually means something to us. It's not just another freelance gig. It's something more. Something that needs to be shared with the world.

That said, I suppose my involvement with this project is just away to validate my goofing off.

Like, most of the crew here, I'll be using this space to post what essentially amounts to a production diary, chronicling the creation of my story. This is all new to me. Until recently, I've only on the rarest of occasions shared my work with other people before it was near completion. So this will be a whole new experience for me. It'll be hard to let go, but it needs to be done.

I'll start next week. Maybe by revealing the title of my story.

Baby steps. ;)


ADC

ps- Yes, I'm aware of how dated I sound by referencing Melrose Place.



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deliberating

I'm debating on how to upload the KC:Overture.

Everything web-wise is a go. I just need to put up the pages. It's has become readily apparent that it takes me a long time to finish a page, and pages, I have many. There are several pages that have breached the pencil stage in their development, just aching for me to do the finishes with ink, or mixed media in photoshop. My schedule seems to be keeping me from getting to that stage. So I'm faced with the conundrum of decided to put up the pages as is. Just pencils, and of course lettering. Or, wait until I can get the finishing touches on them.

Both have advantages. If the pages go up now, I can move on, and move the story forward. The readers don't have to wait. But if I hold off until the pages are "complete", then the experience will be that much fuller.

le sigh...


ADC


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why?

What? Another project, you say? What about My Destroyer, or BFX, or damn Kissing Chaos? The question on everyone's lips. Why start something when other projects are still unfinished. I prefer the term ongoing.

Firstly, I know it's bad for business. I know it's not the proper thing to do, that is, working on new projects while others seemingly fall by the wayside. But I've learned over the past little while, that the business, and thinking in those terms was not helping me as a creator. Too many times I've been allowing hyper rational trains of thought control the things I do, and when I do them. I feel my art and writing has suffered due to this.

I know it seems like a lame excuse, as many other people can successfully juggle art and business and carve a career out of the remains. I was able to do that for a few years, and was ultimately unhappy and unsatisfied. That's why I've resolved my self to make change. I'm taking action. I'm sort of putting good business decisions on the back-burner, and doing what's best for the art and writing that I'm creating.

Up until now, I've felt alot of the work I've cared about has been less than par, because I've been rushing to hit deadlines, or made unrealistic goals for myself, all under the guise of calculated business moves. And most of those moves, when I look at the big picture, have short term results. I'm looking for longevity, not instant success. I want to create art/work/writing that will stand the test of time, not just be a flash in the pan. So it may take me a number of years to finish My Destroyer or Kissing Chaos. But when they are finished, you know for damn sure they will be the best I could make them. Hell, it took Salinger 10 years to write The Catcher in the Rye.

One of the things that has bubbled to the surface during this period of change, is the realization that I was trying to fit into the industry/business of art and writing, which may seem wise and career building, but was never part of my goals. I just wanted to create, sans business. I'm willing to become a "starving artist" to make it happen, rather than live a life I never wanted. So that's what I'll do, lest I become one of those guys who wakes up 30 one day, and realizes he wasted his life. I just wanted to create.

So I will create.




ADC


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T to the X

It's clearly evidence of my aforementioned creative ADD, but I have another project to pimp. It's a little premature to begin promoting this, but what the heck. It's called Transmission-X. It's an online comic site with a number of creators, including myself, who will each contribute an ongoing story, updated weekly. The comics themselves begin in January 2007, but from now until then we have a blog in place, which will feature behind the scenes artwork and story notes as the comics are produced. It's going to be fun.


ADC



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In my feigned attempt at survival under the onslaught of the suburban plight,I've found a number of things helpful in keeping my sanity. I haven't the time to review everything, so here's a sampling of products I've consumed recently!

MOVIES:
16 Blocks.
V for Vendetta.
Inside Man.

MUSIC:
Sufjan Stevens.
Protest the Hero.
Jenny Lewis.
Talib Kweli.
Morning Wood.

BOOKS:
I am no one you know.
Pattern Recognition.
On the Shortness of Life.

oh yeah, and the Ricky Gervais Podcasts.


ADC

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Don't you hate it when you can't think of a "title", or "subject" for a post. I hate trying to be clever, it's so obvious, and really, I know I'm not fooling anyone.

Anyway, I literally didn't do any drawing yesterday. Spent most of my time researching and working on web related design. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a line so I can put up the KC comic without anything else getting in the way.

Also, I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with my blogging software. There seems to be some success in writing shorter entries, so I'm just going to go with that. Rather than one big daily entry, I'll update a few times with short posts throughout the day. Maybe that'll work. The path of least resistance.

ADC



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never knew hope could be so beautiful

Woke up this morning to the sound of sirens. Continuous sirens, for about an hour or so, to be un-exact. All manner of public service vehicle's wailing pulled me from a nights slumber, and I'm almost afraid to see what kind of disaster might have warranted this. Let's hope it's just a cat stuck in a tree!

I saw Protest the Hero perform on the weekend. Awesome, for lack of a better word. The only thing unfortunate about the show was the shortness of their set, and the lack of fore site on the promoter's part, having Protest in a supporting role for The Bled. No offense to The Bled, who were good, and the other bands Since By Man, As cities Burn and Cancer Bats. They all did plenty of the rocking and grinding, but seriously, IMO Protest the Hero stole the show. IT was my first time seeing the band who, again IMO, put out one of the best CDs of last year, a CD I did not regret spending my half-assed earned money on! I just can't wait to see them headline a show!

And it's been a while since I've been to a hardcore/post hardcore show, or whatver the nom-du-jour/label for that scene is. And it was awesome, it really brought me back a few years.

Here's a doodle of Damien, I did during a sketching marathon I had on the weekend.




ADC



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free falling

Yesterday, the FedEx guy dropped off an envelope containing the payment for the last gig I did for money. Once this money has run it's course, I'll be running on fumes, at least in terms of money. And so begins my quest of working and creating art all on my own. Free falling, without the safety net of having a company feeding me cash for my efforts. Taking a step, out from underneath the umbrella of a publisher, fending entirely for myself. I've sort have been doing this for the past month, but receiving this last payment sort of signifies in some way, that the cord has been cut, and my quest begins in earnest.

Of course this melodrama is nothing new. It's the testimonies from friends, and other creators who have found success, taking this narrow path, that fuel me. The fact that other writers and artists have left the kung-fu grip of the "industry", and have been able to carve a niche for themselves in this world, well, they've paved a way of sorts. They've set the bar, and I aim to get there.

Excuses are excuses, and good or bad, I've felt that in a way that I can't clearly describe, the "industry", though it's been relatively good to me, is the very thing that is keeping me from achieving my goals. I figure I should put up or shut up, And make a go of it on my own. There are only two possible outcomes from this endeavor. Success, and failure.

We'll see what happens.

Lately, in my sketching time, I've been digging using a loose line, gestural style. I really want to capture that movement and ease in my comics and illustrations. I'm going to try and apply the technique in a future KC: Overture. Those will start appearing online, very soon!Check out another installment of my KC production journal, "the struggle" below!





ADC




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the struggle pt.3

The Struggle Pt.3

Kissing Chaos has had its fair share of "big" moments, melodrama and the like. But I always wanted to emphasis the moments in between the plot driving story devices and "action" sequences. This was in essence the very nature of Kissing Chaos, or at least what I'm intending for the series, to illustrate the balance between the quiet times, and the hectic lines of life.

With sweet nothings my goal was to create a story comprised solely of these in-between moments. With my inspired brainstormed scene as its nucleus, I planned to construct a complete narrative, from scenes with little or no connection at all.

Partially inspired by the concept that we read words as a whole, not as individual letters, (a theory put forth by researchers at Cambridge University) I wanted to experiment, and apply that theory to narrative. Do we read stones as a whole, slamming over the scenes to get a sense of the sum of the parts of any given story? Could this be why we find most fiction today utterly predictable? Are we speed reading/ watching our movies and books?

I wanted to see if I could construct a complete narrative, based on jumbled scenes that if read on their own, would not be considered a logical, linear story.

With the first completed draft of the sweet Nothings one shot, I felt I had accomplished that feat. But when l was about 80% complete with the art, I got struck with the nerves, and refused to release the book until I was Satisfied with the art. Yeah, I'm dumb.

Plus, I felt flat the renders deserved even more, so I orchestrated an online supplement, to be read simultaneously with the printed comic. As l kept adding to the story, I realized I had blown things way out of proportion, and was completely up the Creek, sans paddle.


ADC

the struggle pt. 1/the struggle pt. 2


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Back to some daily art. This pic is a retooled drawing of Raevyn for the first installment of the Kissing Chaos Overture. The previous version of the drawing ( which I posted somewhere on this blog) was just bugging me. Yes, I probably could have gotten by with the older drawing, and redrawing is costing me valuable time, but if I'm not feeling confident with the art, why unleash it unto the world?

This new version, I like better... for now!




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my creative ADD, or whatever...

That online comic section I've been working on is almost complete. Stay tuned for the updates, it should be an interesting ride through the insanity which is my mind and it's creative process.

I recently got the urge to adapt something. Yeah, adapt. I feel like taking a work, developed by another writer or artist, and construct my own derivative work from their creation. I know, I know, this something I've always despised seeing talented people do. I'm of the thought that, if you have the chops, why not add something new and exciting to the mass media. If you must reference older books, movies music in your own art, at the very least approach it from a new angle, a fresh perspective, build upon the groundwork laid down by the masters of the craft. I suppose in a way, I'm seeing the value of taking advantage of the public domain.

The simplest analogy I can give, is that of a cover song. If a band wants to cover a tune from another group that played a major role in influencing their particular style, why not honor that group? Plus, this gives the band an opportunity to enlighten the unschooled masses to music they may have never been otherwise exposed to.

Why not apply that same principle to comics, or novels or film?

So I've been doing research, an looking up old books and stories that have really inspired me in the past. Yeah, I know, this only prolongs the delays to works that I've begun. And if I was to really analyze my poor decision making, they would inevitably rate as bad business moves.

I blame my creative ADD. I need to keep moving. Like a shark. If I don't keep moving, I sink. I think.




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will it ever end?

Apparently, my aging apartment building is so ghetto-fab, that the cables that permeate behind the thin plaster walls aren't easily repaired. The cable guy came on time yesterday, and try as he did, he could not rectify my no cable/internet situation. The wires have been tampered with so many times, that they no longer work to the best of their ability.

Now, I don't have a problem with people stealing cable. You do what you gotta. But if that's your mandate, and you must buck the system by illegally procuring your media fix, then kick if Robin Hood style, and steal from the rich, not from the poor. Never cut someone else's cable, or hinder their access to the goods! C'mon!

So now the threat level assessment has been elevated. I need to get a brand new cable, wired into the building, as the current one festering in the veins of my building is beyond repair. It's up to the building to get that fixed, and who knows when this will happen.

I currently have a temporary remedy to my internet problem, and have limited ability to upload stuff, so I'll do my best till the situation is handled. I don't know what it is, but this March has been a magnet for bad luck, or whatever you want to call it. Is this karmic retribution for past sins? It seems everything that could possibly happen to slow me down from getting my work done is happening. Maybe it's a sign that I should pack it in? Give up because it's too hard to complete the task at hand. Or, maybe this should strengthen my resolve, the way the forces are aligning against me is a sign that what I'm about to produce is so kick ass, that the nature of the universe itself, is scared...
I know... I'm not sane.

Here's an ink sketch I managed to scan in and upload. It's not KC related, but in KC news, I've made some ground in the art department. Stay tuned! And I'm working away at BFX. Stay tuned for that too!





ADC



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from 11am to 2pm

So, I'm working away yesterday morning with the TV on in the background, which is usually my vain attempt at keeping up with World events.Then, the tv starts cuting out. I'm thinking, am I back in my old apartment with rabbit ears as my only means of acquiring a signal?

Then my internet slows to a crawl, and I know somethings rotten in Denmark. A call to the cable company revealed that all my neighbors have cable service, so we can rule out any major catastrophy involving a building wide cable outtage. The only logical explanation I can muster for this anamoly, is that someone below me is attempting to steal Cable and in the process, has knipped the wire that's feeding my apartment.

So here I am, waiting for the cable guy to check what the problem might be. Waiting from 11am to 2pm, no less. Plus I have to leave my home; just to
make this post, via a highjacked Internet signal in the mall next door.

Once this is all sorted out, I will resume with the regularly scheduled updates .


ADC

thanks for all the fiiiish

I finally saw The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the weekend. I really wanted to see this in the theater, but never got around to it. When I got over the shock of the fact that the title wasn't actually Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, I settled in and enjoyed the movie. Having just seen Mos Def in 16 Blocks, comparing the two roles really shows that guy has some range.

I have never read the book, or heard the radio plays, so I was able to experience the story from a totally unbiased viewpoint, which I think made the film easier to swallow. At the same token, I probably missed a lot of the subtleties and in jokes, but I was able to follow and have a good time with the story, and dialogue, which was pretty adequate. Truthfully, I felt the best part was the dolphin song at the top of the movie, now that, was hilarious. The DVD includes a bouncing ball sing along to the song, and that was even better than watching the dolphins do their thing. There were points where I felt the quirkiness may have held back Hitchhiker's accessibility to a mainstream audience, but I think over all there were some great moments captured on film. Not great enough to make me want to read the source material, or even listen to the radio play, mind you. But enough to say the movie is worth checking out when you've got a lazy day of lounging ahead of you.

So, I'm back to uploading some daily images. This one is yet another Raevyn sketch, that was actually going to be used as a cover to the first online comic. This is a raw drawing, with none of the after effects that I have planned for it, thus, it has an unfinished look. Alot of my work has to be completed on the computer, or with ink or paint, so rarely do I have a full finished pencilled piece of art.

I felt this drawing's line quality was too harsh, and I need to soften it up a bit. I'll finish it up today!




ADC


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first day of the rest of your...

So I got the new monitor over the weekend. Oh,excuse me, my new monitor. Yes, change is hard, but in this case it was a necessity. I'm currently typing into a shiny new 19" CRT monitor. Of course, a flat panel LCD screen would've been more en vogue, and I know they are all the rage with the kids, the hipsters, you know what I mean. But in defense of my un-coolness, a CRT screen is mad cheap! And that of course, was one of the criteria in my selection process.

Also, in most reviews, CRT's perform quicker and have better colour representation than an LCD. Something on screen is more accurately what will appear on the printed page, so I figure since I deal in the printed arts, CRT was the way to go!

Anyways, enough boring nonsense. I've been approached about doing some work for a company I've freelanced for in the past. The job kinda sounds interesting, but that's neither here nor there. If I was to accept this gig, that move would go directly in opposition of my goal for this spring, which was to avoid any paying gigs that would keep me from working on my own art. I had meant the next few months to be a time of growth for myself, and a return of Kissing Chaos!

But to play devil's advocate to myself, I have bills to pay, an doing KC online for free doesn't pay the bills! So now what? I feel like this is the first true test of my will. This is like the devil tempting me, keeping me from doing something that needs to be done. Even though, getting paid for a freelance job can help, if only in the short term...

what's a guy to do?


adc



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for the birds

Sniff sniff, my computer monitor, the screen that has been with me through thick and thin the past few years has gone the way of the dodo. No longer can I bask in its phosphor glow, or while away the wee hours of twilight, awash in its radiation as I burn the midnight oil.

Now, as I flick it's switch, the ViewSonic makes only the sound of a bird chirping. (Which is quite poetic, considering the ViewSonic mascots are a group of parrots)

Farewell my incandescent friend.

Ummm. Yeah. I'm in the process of acquiring a new monitor, I think I'll step it up a notch and splurge on a 19 incher. Though, I'll probably stay away from an flat panel LCD, since in my experience, and in my reading of reviews, (which is vicarious experience), they don't relay colour with any more accuracy than a CRT monitor. Of course, the LCDs are sleek and sexy (as far as monitors go), I need something that actually works, and of course, is MAD CHEAP!



ADC


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does not compute...

So l was working away on my computer last night, or this morning, or whatever, and my computer monitor started freaking out on me!

No joke, it started to flash on and off, making a bird like noise. It would just keep tweeting and flashing faster and faster until it switched off!

Now this morning I go to check if it was just one of those things, maybe I was hallucinating, you know, its the middle of the night! But, alas, as I pressed the on switch, I was met with the sound of a bird singing and a burnt out monitor.

Needless to say, this puts up a bit of a roadblock in terms of working and updating the blog. (at best, I can update text, via my pda, as I'm doing now)

I will keep you posted.


ADC



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is George Lucas crazy?

Did that grab some attention? (probably not)

Now, before I'm maligned by a swarm of StormTrooper costume clad SW fans, and ipmaled on their plastic light saber toys--I mean, "replicas", let me explain.

It's been reported that George Lucas has predicted the "death of the hollywood blockbuster". Here are some quotes:

"The market forces that exist today make it unrealistic to spend $200 million on a movie"
"Those movies can't make their money back anymore. Look at what happened with 'King Kong'"
"I think it's great that the major Oscar nominations have gone to independent films (...) Is that good for the business? No — it's bad for the business. But movie making isn't about business. It's about art!"

Ohhh, do I detect some sarcasm, Mr. Lucas? (This is me talking again, btw) The creator of Star Wars goes on to predict that "In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be indie movies (...) by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million". Is that sour grapes, Mr. Lucas? That you won't have the monopoly on making big movies? Hmmm?

And please tell me, what exactly "happened" to KING KONG? Domestically it grossed enough to make back it's cost, and internationally it doubled that. I think if you make at least 200% of your budget, you did pretty damned good. And it's not even on DVD yet. Clearly, if a blockbuster popcorn movie is done well, people will go to see it. And the success of lower budget "indie" movies, like all those that got best picture Oscar noms, means if "good" movies are done well, and get some good word of mouth, then people will go see it.

Sure, the odd film that has buzz, marketing, top directors and stars may flop. Can you say Cinderella Man? However, if we could predict what kind of movies for which the public would be willing to plop down their cold hard cash, then we'd all be billionaire movie moguls.

I think Lucas does have a point, in terms of budgeting. If movies aren't making as much in the theaters anymore, it'll be a lot harder for studio execs to part with their capital, if they don't think they will recoup the production costs. That said, all this talk of big budget, small budget, indie, block buster is really irrelevant. Everything truly boils down to the quality of the film. And the audience is getting pretty savvy, they know when they are being fed shit.

This past year is evidence that if a movie is well crafted, it stands a good chance of an finding an audience. And if a movie is all flash and no substance, people will pass. Look at ULTRAVIOLET. Though it didn't cost 100 million, it's not a cheap movie. It has cool action, a big star, sounds like a good formula for a hit. But it's only grossed a third of it's cost. Now, over time, it'll probably turn a profit, but the only time the word blockbuster will be synonymous with ULTRAVIOLET, is when it's available for rent at the video store.

So, while Mr. Lucas has made some interesting observations of the current state of the film industry, and stating the blockbuster is dead may have a ring of truth, I think the more accurate issue, is the blurring of the lines between A-movies and B-movies. Indie/art house and documentary movies are getting more respect, and are now given their fair stake at the movie going audience. No longer are they tools of the liberal elite artsy fartsy crowd, used only to feel superior to the sheep who flock to the latest hollywood crapfest starring the "it couple". And the brainless action flicks and TV remakes no longer have the market cornered. In the future, thanks to incredible desktop computers, the cost of movie making will drop so much, that anyone should be able to create a Star Wars. So, rich film makers will no longer have a monopoly on creating "big" movies. Is that bad for business? I don't think so.


ADC



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doodle

Again, I'm going through that self deprecating phase of my art process. In the past, since I was totally reliant on producing the art to make money, I let a lot of pages go to the printer, in a state that I knew wasn't fully complete. Yet, now that I'm creating the comic purely for myself, and the waiting, the fans, I want things to be perfect.

But I need to let go, or else I'll be tinkering forever! So I'm taking baby steps. Here's a raw image of Raevyn from the new KC comic that I will begin uploading in the next day or so. (best case scenario: a page a day. Worst case, a page every 2-3 days.) This pic is the straight pencils, with not CG effects. I did a loose sketch, which I liked, but when I "tightened" up the line art, I feel something was lost. Well, the little voice inside my head told me something was lost...


Just like love. Let it go, and if it comes back, then it's true love, or something to that effect.

Also, I posted a new shirt in the store. Well, it's actually an old shirt I was selling last summer at conventions, but never got around to adding it to the online store. Check it out, and order yours today!



ADC



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on the daily...

Just a quick update for the masses.

I've pretty much temporarily cut the ties that bind me to most freelance work. 360ep is putting the book I was working on on hold, in order to recalculate our plan of attack. I think this is a good thing, since it means Bill Jemas and the crew are willing to put immediate profit on hold in the hopes of creating the best product. Plus, it buys me some time to go ahead with my plan of focusing on my own creative endeavors for a the next few months. (see my plan of attack) It'll also leave me flat broke on my ass, but that's another story.

So yes, I actually have the time to get more Kissing Chaos done, as well as other projects that have been forced onto the back burner in my pursuit of making a living. One thing I realized, is this updating of an online comic in weekly chapters of 5-10 pages is becoming a distant dream. With the work load of which I'm currently staring down the barrel, updating a full chapter in one shot each week is a daunting task. Yes I'll admit, it's mostly a mental challenge, but in the interests of getting the KC comic out on a regular basis, I'm going to update a page as soon as I get it done. I've tried it the other way with BFX (my side project with Takeshi M.), and that clearly does not get completed on time. So for KC, I'm going to do multiple updates for the comic each week. I'm assuming on this schedule I'll still be able to upload what would approximate to a full monthly comic each month, in terms of quantity of pages. The only thing is I won't be updating, say every friday, like other web comics. I'll be busting a new page as soon as it's done. I kind of like the immediacy of that, even though I realize a tight update schedule is a wiser choice. What I'm planning to do is more grounded in reality, not probability and inevitable broken promises.

I'll admit it! Everyone else doing a webcomic is better than me!!

Okay, enough ranting for now. I'll be updating the KC online comic more often than sporadically from this date forth. Keep checking the site, because you never know when new pages will be uploaded. But fear not, I'll do my best to keep this blog entertaining between comic updates!

Here's my daily sketch thing. It's actually the first page of my next installment of BFX, in the raw. I'll keep you posted when that episode is up! Also check out my previous post for the second installment of THE STRUGGLE, my online production diary of Kissing Chaos: Sweet Nothings.




ADC



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the struggle pt.2

The Struggle Pt.2

Walking down Spadina Ave. in Toronto, I was struck with an idea. This idea grew into a scene, and it was this one scene that spawned the concept that would build steam and balloon into what I hoped Sweet Nothings will become when it is all said and done.

This scene featured Eric, Kim and Ashley from KC: NSB. This little short story also saw these characters walking down a cyber- punkish Chinatown street, just as I had been when I conceived the scene. The very moment I had finished jotting down the ideas into my sketch book, something about what I had written struck me. I felt that there was something more to this scene, that it was more brief moment in time for these characters. The sentiment that this one scene conveyed, echoed one of the themes that I had toiled through 2 KC mini-series to explore.

With this scene in hand, I set out the arduous task of writing a story that would center on this specific moment in time. But something, maybe a sort of writer's intuition, urged me to the belief that this scene had to exist on its own. This tiny glimpse of these character's lives, was meant to stand alone, in dependant of any further exposition, or even a set up (though KC NSB serves as set up aplenty). In previous KC Stories flashbacks played an important role as a storytelling device. However, I felt this one scene refused to be reduced to flashback status.

It didn't take me too long to figure out away to use this scene in away I felt kept its 'singularity', yet still tell a story in the traditional monthly comic format.
And don't think for a second that I'll reveal what scene this is, or where it will occur in KC: Sweet Nothings. I'm sure I've hyped it up to mythical proportions, that it in actuality will just be a letdown.

It'll be interesting to see it anyone will guess what scene it is when KC: SWEET NOTHINGS drops.



ADC


the struggle pt.1



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I'd like to thank the...

I'm also a sucker for the Academy Awards, or Oscars, or bald guy statues, or whatever they call them.

I guess this deplorable enjoyment I have of watching the Hollywood version of "the prom" stems from a deeply repressed longing, a hope that fades as surely as I get older,that someday I might be able to "suit up", and get asked "who am I wearing", and (still in my dreamworld) take home one of those coveted statuettes for my (yep, still dreaming) outstanding achievement in film.

Another thing, is of course, the fun of displaying my vast knowledge of what is good in movies, by either predicting the winners, or bashing the horrible choices made by this..."academy".

More often than not, just like many of the movies Hollywood produces, the recipients of their awards ((which is essentially the equivalent of your mom giving you a pat on the back) are very predictable. There is a formula that can with almost 90% accuracy spell out the winners of the major categories.

Anyway, there is no point to this rant. Other than how insane the best picture choice was, and we all know how I feel about CRASH. (my review here). But over the weekend, I was thinking about writing, and creating art and all that good stuff, and it occured to me, that at some point, during the creation of a comic, a book, a movie or song, someone believed in that piece of art they were making. Sure, there are products and creations masquerading as art, that have been totally created by a committee, a product whose ultimate goal is profit. However, generally speaking, at some stage, most genuine art, was just that, genuine. As much as I felt CRASH was contrived and elementary, I'm sure there was a spark of pure honesty, or sentiment, somewhere in that film.

Just as if someone read Kissing Chaos, and thought it was shit, I'd love for them to take a second look, and search, and hopefully find the element of the story that so many other people love, perhaps I should take a second look at CRASH? If all art does have some merit, somewhere, don't we owe it to ourselves to find it?


ADC




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another day, another doodle

Though I always aspired to be a writer and illustrator, and that was my ultimate goal as far as the comic industry, we all start from somewhere. My humble beginnings in this world of sequential art stem from being a colourist. I coloured and designed countless pages for various publications before I finally got a chance to do Kissing Chaos. And computer painting was something I haven't done in a long time, but lately I've been feeling that itch.

It's been a while, and this is a work in progress, so don't laugh. this is a mock up of my next cover BFX



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daily thing

As much as I love to hate geeks and nerds and the like, it's most obviously a form of self hate. And here is the proof. A couple of doodles I did today from my PDA. Yes, once again I admit to lameness. I own a PDA. But it's amazing what you can do with one of those things, and it definitely beats lugging around a laptop, which I would hate with a passion.

My first PDA doodles!


ADC




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the struggle

The Struggle pt. 1

Kissing Chaos: Sweet Nothings almost never was. In 2003 I was planning to take a break from KC and work on a brand new story, and my creative eyes were wandering in My Destroyer's direction. At that point in my (ahem) career, I had planned to allow my artistic juices flow in a different direction before heading back to my baby, my pet project that is Kissing Chaos. But as we all know, things don't always go as planned, and by late 2003 I found myself dreadfully behind schedule on My Destroyer. I just felt exhausted and burnt out on drawing comics day in and day out, so much so that I had to postpone production on MD indefinitely, and here we are 3 years later and that book has yet to be finished. Bit back then in the fall of 2003, with one book insanely behind (my entire fault!), Oni Press implored me to do another KC one-shot. It wasn't really in my grand design for KC to do another one-shot; I had already begun preparing the next mini- series. Oni's reasoning behind dropping another stand alone issue was sound. By doing one more 22 page story in the standard monthly comic format, the series of one-shots would add up to the nice round number of 3, and bring the page count to an easily collectable length, thus creating another KC TPB, and we all know that’s how publishers make their money.

So, there you have it. The seed of KC: Sweet Nothing’s was planted essentially for Oni Press. And why not? Without Oni to bring the first two KC volumes to the masses, I would be nowhere.

Faced with a task I hadn't planned to endeavor, I began the brainstorming process. This is usually the first step I take when formulating a story. This is never a chore; in fact I'm more often than not in a constant state of creation. Every experience, every piece of art or media I consume, every bit of conversation I have or over hear in some way or another spark ideas and get wheels turning in my head. Similar to people who scrapbook and keep photo's and news paper clippings of various events in their lines, I apply that same mentality to the notes I take. I am never without some writing implement by my side in any occasion. A fear of nine is to have a brilliant stroke of an idea or thought, and be without a means to record it. My brain is like a Pentium chip, working a mile a minute and I Know unless I write everything down, a lot will fall through the cracks. Of course some will say you'll always be able to come up with new ideas, but I guess I don’t trust myself. So, I'm a pack rat of ideas.

After doing one-shots that focused on characters from KC series one, I decided to let the series two cast shine for a little. It only took minutes of sifting through my small library of ideas to find the right concept from which I could build the Sweet Nothings One shot.


ADC


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uncle artie

My sister (who lives 6 hours away) made a surprise visit this weekend, and revealed to me that I'm going to be an uncle in 6 months! AWESOME!

It's funny, because I have friends who have kids and all that, but it's not quite the same emotional impact when your own sister is pregnant. Obviously that blood relation carries a bit more weight.

Now the question remains, will I be the boring old uncle who echoes what the parents are trying to teach the kid, or will I be the fun uncle who let's the kid do whatever they want?!


ADC


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I must be a sucker...

There are some TV shows I just can't stop watching. As much as I know I should be doing something else, anything else with my time, I just need my weekly fix! And I don't mean I can't quit them, as in having a nicotine induced fog over my head, hindering my judgment, where I fool myself into thinking these shows are great. To the best of my knowledge, the offending shows are, simply, okay, and I know it. Nevertheless, I tune in, download, and drop onto the sofa everytime a new episode is ready.

I suppose I'll name a few of the shows in question, though I'm sure I can apply this rant to almost everything on TV. Over the past few years, I can attribute spending countless hours (well, actually, I can count them), to watching 24. Also, though it's took me watching the show up to the third season to actually get into it, the L-WORD has me in it's grasp. And there are others. Many, others...

For the L-WORD, I wasn't a fan when the show started. There was no way that this show was truly the voice of a minority! It seemed too contrived, it's characters so archetypal to the point of obvious predictability, every aspect of the show precisely calculated to perform a specific way on the small screen. A ever so slightly faded xerox of other shows gunning for that niche market, that have proven to be successful. The L-WORD sported in my humble opinion some lame ass dialogue. And speaking as straight dude (who for reasons only known to the architects of the heterosexual male mind, normally enjoy viewing a little girl on girl action), seriously, even the ample scenes of nice looking women having at it wasn't worth the price of admission. That price, having to sit through the rest of the tripe.

That said, I enjoy my girl's company, so much so, that if she loves the L-WORD, to spend that time with her, I will "enjoy" the L-WORD. And "enjoy" I have, for 3 seasons. But now, for some reason, I'm hooked. I look forward to knowing what happens in this mystical world of lesbians, that is the L-WORD.

I can only theorize that after say, watching a show for at least 20 or so hours, you actually get engaged, and attached to the characters. You start, in a sense, caring for them, and regardless of the bad writing, contrived situations and predictable plots, you have to know what happens to them.

Take soap operas for example. Nothing really happens. Sure the odd person dies, a man becomes a woman, and some dude marries his cousin, but there is no real development, at least in terms of the characters. Yet, they rake in the audiences on a daily basis.

The same can be said of the half hour sitcom. The entire idea behind the sitcom, is that a situation that is problematic presents itself, and in 20 minutes, it's resolved, and the world keeps turning. But because we get into the characters, we care, and we have to know that they are all right. Look at FRIENDS, specifically. How can a show last for 10 years, even though next to nothing happens. You can count on one hand the major turning points of over 200 episodes. Each character had their role, and rarely did they deviate from this set path. But people had to watch, just in case. Imagine if a hardcore fan got tired, and stopped watching in season 9. The sad sack would have totally missed Ross and Rachel finally getting together!

So basically, despite the accepted fact that very little development occurs in most shows, we, the suckers stick around, just in case.

I mentioned 24. This show, while it does have it's characters take baby steps in development, the characters are pretty much hardwired with their specified traits and roles, all of which are designed to move the plot along, which is the real star of the show. Watching 2 over the years, it's plain that the plot sort of follows the same path, each player does what they normally do, with only a few variable changed. Bauer will always be captain America. CTU will always be split between those who support Bauer, and those who don't. I could go on.

And I keep going on, watching the show, though I could probably tell you what's going to happen before it happens. I need to make sure my favourite people make it through, or maybe someone who I though had met their demise last season could suddenly resurface. You never know.

Yes, I can admit it, I am a sucker for these, and other shows. But I admit it. That's good, right?



ADC



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on the daily

Some more ink doodles. Again, from my warm up period. I'm feeling a little more confident with my brush work (not that I think it's any good, but it's adequacy is passable as style!), so I think I'll start posting some of those.

All these sketches and what not are from my sketchbook, and I do them while I'm still waking up, or watching TV or drinking tea or something!





ADC
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new pic

Somedays, as part of my usual warm up regiment, I take a look at art by some of my favourite illustrators and comic artists. These are usually creators who I think have a distinctive style that I like, or people who just have it all together when it comes to drawing. What I do is do some really quick sketches looking at their art, much like I would do sketches looking at a model or an object. Though I'm not exactly tracing (and we all know how I feel about that!), by attempting to, in a way draw the way they do, I feel I'm learning a bit of what makes their art so tight. Much in a way drawing from life, whether it be objects, environments or people, you get a better sense of how things and people are constructed, I'm sort of getting a sense of how my fave artists build an image in their style.

Fortunately, either out of my own resilience as an artist, my personal skill or lack thereof, my work rarely looks like any of the artists I really like. I'm going to take that as a good thing!

Here's a page of my doodles based on other artists work:



ADC


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daily thing

Would've had this posted sooner, but just came back from the hospital. My lady just had a little day surgery, and is now recovering in the comfort of our apartment. I'll be making an attempt at taking care of her while she's on the mend. Luckily, I'm not alone, and with the aid of our two cats, it should be a breeze.

Here's a doodle of Raevyn, done for an upcoming KC joint. I was mainly trying to figure out some forced perspective issues in this, but mucked up her figure in the process. It's better to work out the kinks in test drawings before tackling the real deal!




ADC



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