| Saturday, July 18th, 2009 |
fenmere
|
5:34p |
Practice
I need to work on my sewing. I like dolls (I don't talk about this much). I like creepy dolls. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) padparadscha started a doll blog miastreehouse which isn't at all what I was expecting, but anyway, it got me thinking... I want to try making dolls again. With what I have (screw buying shit). So. I'm going to make dolls. Of the Taken.They will be mine, and they will help me to make my comics. They'll be four to six inches tall, each. Later, I will make dolls of One Eye and Goblin, who will be of a larger scale. It will make an amusing tableau. |
fenmere
|
1:52p |
B.S.ing
Oh, sorry! I didn't give anyone enough warning. I will be down at the B.S. of Comics today, working on my own submissions to the October show. I believe the Black Drop is closed on Monday, so there most likely won't be a B.S. then. |
| Friday, July 17th, 2009 |
fenmere
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11:25p |
|
fenmere
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11:07a |
Reasons to make, sell and/or buy this thing
Easy to wear. Easy to remove. Easy to sling across your back. Surprisingly stable. Perfect for sketches or full illustration on the go (or taking notes on the construction site). It's totally flabbergasting that the world hasn't seen it before. |
smarbaby
|
1:22p |
my most recent online comic for star wars: the clone wars is up on starwars.com! (hunting the hunters pt 2). i got to draw up some kit fisto craziness! so that's always awesome. the season might be over but there's still starwars.com content goin' on! so read on: http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/comic/ (i've also uploaded the pages, sans grant's lettering to katiecandraw.com in the "comics" section of my portfolio). |
fenmere
|
8:31a |
On Manufacturing
I've been crunching numbers, building, researching, recalculating and reevaluating the new numbers all week, and I'm beginning to realize why it is so damn tempting to turn to third world sweat shops to do all your manufacturing. I have an invention. I'm trying to make it so that my friends can buy it. I'm actually trying to make it so that anyone who's interested in drawing more could not possibly justify passing it by. But I'm also trying to figure out how to manufacture it within the bounds of my own conscience. It's a difficult proposition. At some point in the future, if the business is successful, I see myself looking into something similar to what The Black Drop Coffee House does for their coffee. They trade in what is called relationship coffee. There is no obviously good website to describe it, so I'll summarize the idea: You cut out as many of the middle men as you can, and make sure that you have a business relationship with the workers who are harvesting or manufacturing your goods. It's probably a lot of work, but it's the responsible thing to do and probably quite worth it. Already, my plans are sort of in line with that. Although my manufacturers won't be from abroad, they'll still be people who need the money, and they'll be people I know. And if we do things right, they'll get paid just a bit more than the regular manufacturing jobs found locally. (The biggest obstacle to this whole endeavor is that I'm not good enough to do the manufacturing myself -- some of it, but not the really intensive stuff) This makes the labor prohibitive. The upshot of this is that I do think I've got a way to make the numbers work for me. It'll be a little odd. And if buying habits remain stingy, I'll have a super tight profit margin. But what I think I'm going to do is this: Mark up the materials I use by 10% at most, and put the majority of the mark-up on labor. Without explaining why exactly, the result of this is that the main device, the part that's truly ingenious and revolutionary, will be for sale off my site for just under $10. And all the accessories, that are the true works of craftsmanship and will be sold on the basis of being very well constructed, will go for a premium price that's reflective of their quality and worth. I'm not going to gouge anyone, and I'm not going to discourage any do-it-yourselfer's. Anyone can get the materials I'm using and make this thing themselves, so it's kind of silly to try and do business on the materials. After all, if they're ordering from my company, it's the expertise and the bother of manufacturing it that they're paying us for. That, and the customer service. I'll need to hire someone to handle customer service. I'm spotty at that. edit: Holy Shit. If I had the right sewers handy, this could be a bespoke art supply company. I'm gonna have to go for a few more walks and meditate on this. |
fenmere
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8:04a |
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| Thursday, July 16th, 2009 |
fenmere
|
2:29p |
|
fenmere
|
12:27p |
|
fenmere
|
11:55a |
|
fenmere
|
10:08a |
For use with my invention...
Back in highschool I sewed my own longcoat. It was pretty shitty, but wearable. I'm not a fast sewer, nor professional. This thing took me half an hour. I'm hoping a professional can do it in 10 to 15 minutes (from cut to finish), or less. Otherwise the pouch alone will end up costing more than my invention itself! But a good pouch will be worth it... To give you a bit more of a teaser for what this is all about, this thing will hang from the back of the upper corner of your drawing board. Out of the way, but within easy reach, it will hold up to six pens and pencils and a fairly good sized eraser. The final version will be sewn in all black ballistics cloth with nylon binding. It will be tough as nails and look handsome. It will also be sewn by someone who knows what they're doing. |
fenmere
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8:20a |
|
| Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 |
smarbaby
|
3:55p |
Lucasfilm is doing an charity event at comic con! "the empire muggs back" is a project that i was thrilled to be asked to participate in. artists, celebrity fans and toy designers were asked to customize a blank hasbro mighty mugg into a something uniquely star wars. these are going to be on display at comic con each piece is then going to be auctioned off for the make-a-wish foundation. you can read the full starwars.com article here: http://starwars.com/vault/collecting/20090713.htmlpersonally, did a cute, fuzzy widdle wampa-kins! (with a custom luke in hoth gear felt patch!) i covered the entire piece in white fur and fleece accents. he's adorable. he also has a tag on hi but with a heart and my signature.  |
fenmere
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9:55a |
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| Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 |
fenmere
|
6:29p |
Almost inuendos
Spoken tonight: "I've been meaning to finish your handle off for months." "I'll clean your bones when you're done." "I could cut up a cucumber or steam some broccoli." "I cooked the chicken." It's really the first two that sound the best, but once you get going it's not hard to boil the rice if you know what I mean! |
fenmere
|
6:00p |
|
fenmere
|
10:45a |
Welcome John aboard!
Due to the economy and a choice made by his one publisher, John Kovalic's Dork Tower has now been forced to go webcomic.I wonder if it's easier to start a webcomic than to convert a print comic to web only. Dork Tower may be a special case, with a fandom that is more likely to be web savvy than your average newspaper reader. My [completely inexpert] advice to him is to get some Dork Tower exclusive merch up there as soon as possible, something with as big a profit margin as possible (i.e. independently produced), to commemorate his comic's transition. |
fenmere
|
10:04a |
|
fenmere
|
9:38a |
Coffee
So, yesterday, I got a full inch of beautifully soapy bubbles on top of my drip coffee. It was amazing! Costco Kona can actually taste good-ish if you manage to brew it right. And now that I know the secret to my housemates' coffee machine, I want some Maniac Roast stat. We need to earn some money. |
smarbaby
|
9:55a |
more san diego stuff! besides my 2 new sketchbooks... i'll also have prints, a portfolio full of original drawings and pages and mini paintings for sale :) AND..... i'll have 8 new 1" buttons designs available (2 for $1)  and these adorable, heavy duty 3.75" vinyl stickers ($1 each):  AND MAYBE.... there's a possibility my new shirts will be back from the screen printer BEFORE san diego! if they are, i'll be bringing them. if they aren't, then you'll have to wait for wizard world chicago :) ($20 each)  everything not sold at SDCC or WWC will be available online :) |
| Monday, July 13th, 2009 |
smarbaby
|
9:56p |
a few more ladies on 8x8 colored paper that will be for sale at SDCC:   ( 2 more ) |
fenmere
|
4:23p |
|
fenmere
|
3:12p |
And, done!
I've still got a lot of comicking and production to do. It's gonna be a long day. |
fenmere
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11:52a |
|
fenmere
|
9:09a |
Today's schedule is pretty basic
In not particular order: - Put ink down (on paper) on The Big Tattoo Design - Ink and color tomorrow's It's Easy- Illustrate the back of my favorite drawing board and broadcast it on Ustream At 10AM PT, today, I'm broadcasting my work. I'll be painting a dragon of some sort on the back of my favorite drawing board. I'll post a link to the show when it starts. And when I'm done I'll then take a nice photograph of it and post it here. ... And then, later this week, once I'm finished with my commissions (to prove that I can get work done), I'll start to take pre-orders on my invention. Start thinking about which of the following you'd like on the back of your custom illustrated drawing board (comes with the first five purchases of my invention): A dragon, a pin-up (male or female), or something coffee related. Those'll be the choices (I choose the specifics based on who you are -- it's a gift for helping me start my business). |
