January 2012
20 posts
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“Make good stuff, then make it easy for people to buy it. There’s your...”
– Jonathan Coulton is wise.
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2012/01/21/megaupload/
(via neil-gaiman)
I wish I had summed it up so smartly. But you know me: talk talk talk.
(via areasofmyexpertise)
Warmup Livestream @12:45pm EST! I have no idea... →
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"Exquisite Beast" Evolution Fanart
Earlier today I hosted a livestream inspired by Exquisite Beast, a great evolution-themed blog by my friends Evan Dahm and Yuko Ota. It’s an evolutionary progression where each week they further the development of this imaginary creature’s lineage over millions of years. In the stream I took two of the iterations, and from there drew evolutionary offshoots based on environments and...
Evolution Drawing Livestream TODAY @12:30pm EST!
http://www.livestream.com/dresdencodak
So the tumblr Exquisite Beast by my friends Evan and Yuko is my favorite thing right now. It’s an evolutionary progression where each week they further the development of this imaginary creature’s lineage over millions of years. As a tribute (and a fun exercise), what I’m going to do today is host a live streaming session where we take one...
Dresden Codak goes dark today in protest of... →
fuzzybumpkins asked: Will you ever post videos of your drawing process? I was wondering just 'cause suckers like me are always locked out of your Livestreams 'cause there are too many people watching :/
Twelve Things You Were Not Taught About Creative... →
ktshy:
Some inspiration to get y’all pumped up for the week!
An excellent breakdown. The most important, in my opinion, is “creativity is WORK.”
deucerific asked: Has your artwork ever gotten you into some sort of trouble? Legal, financial, etc. (Psychological doesn't count). If so, how did you resolve that situation?
societyofopus asked: How much difference in time is there between the interview we just saw in "Last Words" and Kusanagi's public address in "Candle in the Dark"?
great-kthulu asked: Since it seems we will not be seeing them for a while, could you tell us a bit more about the Tokamaks? Ever since you did your super-hero reboots I have hoped you would give us some more info on the powers/origins of your own super-hero(ish) characters. My other question is, seeing as you seem to be a big music fan (particularly of progressive rock, which I also love), have any of your...
hydromoronicacid asked: How much time has passed between the end of Hob and the beginning of Dark Science? Kaito seems to have aged quite a bit since "Hob #26 - Epilogue." Will this be explained in future plot or was it just convenient to the story for him to be older? (Totally fine if the latter's the case.)
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Dark Science #15 - Last Words
I could draw Kusanagi’s hair forever.
This comic was actually drawn in about 5 days this week. I’d been working on a different page, but halfway through I realized I’d ROYALLY SCREWED UP and had forgotten about important story things, so I scrapped it and put this one up instead! Comics!
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Every artist must eventually take one of two paths: the first promises long hours of hard, thankless work and no guarantee of recognition in your lifetime, much less any financial reward. Instead, you are guaranteed a life of purpose, where your work comes only from what you value, expressed in the most earnest form imaginable.
The second path is the same thing, but you have a ponytail.
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December 2011
34 posts
“Think about the marks you want to make on the paper in front of you… the ones...”
– Some great illustration advice and questions answered for students (and non-students) in Jillian Tamaki’s new FAQ (via drawnblog)
kalapani asked: I'm intrigued by your recent answers. I've seen so many great artists complain that they aren't making enough money from their webcomics that I assumed it must be nearly impossible to do so, and decided to eventually submit my work to publishers instead of posting my work on a website. Isn't it only the best of the best who make a living off of their webcomics? Is it really...
drivewayblues asked: would you still lose money and creative if you went to Image or Dark Horse, if they agreed to publish it? Or even if you went to Marvel and released your Dresden Codak on Icon?
super-smashed-bro asked: Have you ever considered applying for a job at an actual comic book publishing company? Do you feel like the publication that would come with a big-name publisher would be worth sacrificing the freedom that comes with doing Dresden Codak by yourself?
hoodie22 asked: I've wanted to start reading Dresden Codak, but I don't know where to, should I start from the beggining or I can start anywhere
oyieth asked: How old was Kusanagi when Kim was born? It's just that he seems reaally old.
angermancomix asked: I'm ashamed to say I've only really got round to reading DC today and WOW. Aesthetically, Dark Science is particularly fantastic, and I love your world-building in, well, everything. I dunno if this is a thing people do, but seriously, thank you for making fantastic comics!
gabyrippling asked: I love costuming, and I've noticed that since arriving in Nephilopolis, Kim's wardrobe has veered towards a more buttoned-up, even Edwardian/Victorian look (which mirrors the art-deco-ish architecture well). Is this Vonnie's influence, Kim's own predilections/desires to fit in, or just clothing she's had all along that we're only seeing now because of the change of...
knifefightsandwich asked: If you made poster versions of the posters in DS#14, I would buy them WITH EXTREME IMMEDIACY. I recognize that's not a question, but thought I'd throw it out there. <3 -KF
animalswithfancyhats asked: I've noticed the run down, almost abandoned atmosphere of the city. is the complicated bureaucracy just shutting everything down because you need to have 15 permits to do anything?
archaeologistforhire asked: I'm an archaeologist and I totally approve of this comic. I can't wait to see where the story goes! :D
wumposity asked: In Hob, one of the primary sources of inspiration was the philosophy of transhumanism. This served as my introduction to the work of Ray Kurzweil and others. The world of Dark Science is the same as in Hob, but as you have said before, we saw only a tiny slice of the world. In Dark Science, will we see more of this influence, or is there another philosophical framework at play in Nephilopolis that...
ourfaeriesaredifferent asked: It's not a question but - the zoom out on Balthazar and Radnar lecturing from a booth is terribly sad, and very well done. Also, I think artistically, this might just be my favourite page of Dresden Codak so far; every panel catches my eye as striking in its own right. Oh, I have thought of a question - the robots that gravitate towards Kim remind me of Kodama. Was this deliberate on your...
superlateforeverything asked: Do you ever worry that you're dumbing down your writing to make it more accessible to those not well versed in the ways of science fiction? If not, do you every worry that you should?
idieattheend asked: 2 things: 1) You update a week after my birthday and I still think it'll be my favorite birthday present. 2) I've noticed that while I read DC, I end up learning a lot. I remember a post in your blog that said this was deliberate, but as you've gone on have you taken more or less of an educational stance in regards to your audience?
operamatic asked: So is the Department of Instillment essentially a school? Or is there an education system in place on Nephilopolis and the DoI is just for personal edification?
Let's Open up the Floor to Questions →
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Dark Science #14 - The Department of Instillment →
An armorer's take on boobplate →
womenfighters:
This is pretty awesome, definitely worth a look if you’re interested in this particular issue of women’s armor. I especially appreciate the consideration that values context and internal consistency.
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SOPA is up for debate RIGHT NOW →
lexxercise:
When PIPA reared its ugly head, I, along with countless American denizens of the web, wrote an appeal to my representatives to reject it. If you value net neutrality, it’s time to write and call your representatives again.
Like PIPA (Protect IP Act), SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is a vaguely written bill that poses a much greater threat to individuals, artists, small businesses,...
Evan Dahm: Public Domain Monster →
evandahm:
Let’s try something! I made the above image and the intellectual property it represents: a weird turtle-monster thing. I, Evan Dahm, am putting this particular image and this monster thing into the PUBLIC DOMAIN. YOU are free to use it, copy it, claim it as your own, rework it, or do…
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concreteacorn asked: How did you build the foundation for your art? Is it just from years of drawing and painting or did you take a more technical approach and learn from the ground up with anatomy books and other reference material? I want to focus on what will give me the best results but I'm torn between sitting down and just drawing whatever comes out, or taking the less interesting route and going through...
voidfraction asked: Nephilopolis seems like a sort of incredibly formal anarchy. Each department has obligations, but they all are also implied to have an equal and opposing department. The different departments then stake their claim on some part of the bureaucracy, claiming the right to enforce laws against homicide or the ability to license citizens to perform science. And so you get this huge overbearing...
compendiumofdreams asked: Howdy! Love your work, take as long as you like! I was fortunate enough to see Metropolis recently, with the extra footage to boot. Shortly after, Melchior shows up in the comic and I couldn't help but see a resemblance to the Thin Man. Is he a purposeful homage?
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Craftsmanship Matters
Q: “Does it bother you to spend weeks on details that most readers won’t notice?”
I get questions like this a lot, probably since, among webcomics, my work tends to be more involved and protracted. The short of it is that just because you don’t consciously notice something, doesn’t mean it has no affect on you. In everyday life, our unconscious minds do a lot of...