J.M. Matthews: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

National Talk Like A Transylvanian Day! Oh Happy day.

So technically, my Webcomics Nation Site and my Photobucket and Artflakes.com sites are functioning as my current online de-facto original art galleries (ever since I closed my DeviantART count a year or two ago anyway). Just to let everyone know.

Ever wonder what inspired the Vision of Parallax/Mono/End Times?

I came up with the concept for my comic book back in 2004. I remember it specifically when I drew a Rugged Young Man in a trenchcoat in a then-simple character design sketch in a spiral notebook with all my other earlier drawings. I remember it was 2004 when I dated the page.

There are three titles in specific that were the driving inspirational force behind the Vision of Mono and Parallax, where all my martial arts action violent comics started.

The First and Foremost thing that inspired Mono was Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, Kill Bill Vol. 1. I never got around to watching Volume II I loved Volume I so much! I loved the anime sequence by production IG and the finale sword fighting wuxia sequence of the film the most. After that, I knew Kill Bill had established a new kind of Female Martial Art Ass-Kicker Archetype, and I didn't want to rip that element off". I know I wanted to create a male action-hero protagonist of some sort, a sort of Brad Pitt Fight Club with Kill Bill's The Bride's new-fangled "Woo-Ping Yuen choreography routine" But instead of make it a movie, make it a storyboard animation movie in comic book and-or manga format.

I remember seeing the film in the theatre with a friend when it first came out, and thinking "This film is as good as Ghost in the Shell was when I got that on VHS. It was so...Violent! And Action-y! And...Yellow! And Choreographed! And BLOODY! And I began sketching random things in my sketchbook, not having any idea how much Tarantino and Kill Bill Vol. I would ultimately end up influencing my own vision. I remember wanting to do something visually similar to many aspects of Kill Bill, except, instead of Bright Yellow, I wanted to take that Bright Yellow and ink it pitch black, so it eventuall evolved into a Blade of the Immortal type Frank Miller Noir Sin City thing as well, with guns and trenchcoats and all that. But "black trenchcoat films" like The Matrix, Versus, and A Better Tomorrow also ended up being some pretty heavy influences. I owe everything to those films/manga. If it weren't for those films, if they weren't made the way they were, I might not be writing and drawing comics today (www.webcomicsnation.com/jm), and if I was, I'd probably be drawing something else.

What's my next non-fiction book you ask....

That's easy:

"Fanboy Loudmouth Haxor Mafia: How Doujinshi Websites, Copyright Nazis, and College Aged Fanboys and Girls RUINED the enjoyment of ANIME for EVERYONE". by Otomo's Best Friend

HA HA HA HA HA!!! Suckas!!!! Die!!!!

Essay: Failing and Being Challenged

Failing and Being Challenged: An Essay

One of the best ways to get good at something, become an expert at it, or master it, is by failing, many times over, before you succeed. This can build stamina, conviction, and resilience which can all strengthen a person and make it seem to them as if all obstacles, difficulties, and setbacks seem absolutely insignificant when compared to the final and ultimate goal. Failure is an integral part of intellect, progress, and the creative process. There is no such thing as the perfect sketchbook. Sketchbooks actually seem more to me like books that chart creative and artistic progress or evolution, rather than a "gallery of masterpieces". If a person does create a masterpiece, there is usually no way to tell if the work-in-progress will end up that way or not. This is because you cannot observe the essence of the whole until the whole is finished, which is why it's important for an artist not to judge his own work too much, unless it's for constructive self-critique, which is often the source responsible for the artist's progress.

The Number 1 Advice I Can Think to Offer to A Beginning Comics Creator: Stalk the Bestseller List

That' right, check Amazon's manga and graphic novel and anime bestseller lists daily, if not hourly, to spot trends and what themes and titles and creators are selling. There is a lot of quality literary material on the Amazon manga and comics bestsellers lists. You don't study the bestseller lists to produce a knock-off (well, I suppose you can, but I highly don't recommend it), but instead to keep an ear to the ground and observe what people want, what people read, and what they are actually willing to (get this) pay money for.

Most polite ways to address a person you just met?

"Hey you little freak. I'm a skanko pornstar!"

"Hi, I'm a social disease"

Wow, what wise people you are...

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Harsh And Uncompromising Words: The Epic Novel (Based on a True Story)

Chapter 1: Adolescent Angst
Chapter/September 2: Do you Love America: Freedom Watch
Chapter 3: I Know Why You Hate Me: The Stalker and The Death That Followed
Chapter 4: The (p)Redator Squad
Chapter 5: The Best Revenge: The Rise of a Black President
Chapter 6: Penny Lane is in the (Middle) East. Tweeting Live From Everywhere
Chapter 7: Vanquish Thine Enemies With Divine Retribution
Afterword: Life After The Internet: See The Wiz.Pay No Attention To The Crotch-Rot Behind the Curtain!

Sorry, Them's The Breaks, Kid(s).

PRESS COVERAGE ON A LOSER NOBODY'S BOOK THAT SOLD ONE COPY, BOUGHT BY THE AUTHOR HIMSELF!

BIZ MAH-KEY SAYS: Dizz book is ah muthafucka!! It's the shiz-NITE! You Gon read it and you's not gon put it down! Yo.

A book by an author so good and amazing, you're not legally or contractually allowed to say his name on any of your companies shows! Aw yeah. Bend ova baby.

Excerpts From a Non-Fiction Book Written by Me: Manifesto, Vol. II, pg. 259

"I thought up an idea about a story: It could be about two people, probably coworkers, an atheist and a Catholic. The Catholic does make anywhere near half as much as the atheist, who makes millions of dollars a year. The Catholic keeps praying to The Lord and wondering "Why Father?" why is the Catholic, a person of Faith, not being blessed with as much money as a person who doesn't believe in God one bit" Why is God not providing him with enough money to live comfortably? Why he's struggling more than the atheist. The atheist believes that any type of a God does not have anything to do with it, that he (the atheist) simply works harder than the Catholic and had to work his way up to a financially powerful position, and that there's a logical humanistic explanation for the circumstances. The Catholic then realizes something. Hey may not have money, but he has love for people and his family loves him, and that's more important in the end and you can take that with you after you die, but not the money. The atheist is envious of the Catholic because he wants the same love, and he compliments the Catholic on his good human values, because he believes that even though he does believe he feels as much love, he clearly believes that the act of love goes beyond the dogma of good and evil. The Catholic forgives the atheist for not believing in God, and the atheist still feels sorry for the Catholic for buying into mythological principles. This would just be one of those theological and/or moral stories."

Never did novelize it though.

End

Friday, August 26, 2011

Moving Overseas vs. Working Locally

It's becoming a well known fact that animators in Japan do not earn much money. Most of the names in Japan making money are the one's most of us American fans are already familiar with.

From how it seems, at least in terms of salaries, original American animation doesn't always pay a ton (especially for the unglamorous positions) but it DOES pay better for westerners than working in Japanese animation.

I don't know the actual figures, but after reading a fair amount of articles on animation in Japan and the U.S., and interviews with voice actors, there does seem to be a partial consensus. Japanese anime doesn't pay all that well, and the amount of passion being put into anime is not proportionate to how much money the industry makes as a whole.

International Animation 101: Growth Industries

Three countries on the rise in the international original television and theatrical animation community:

France (Franime, Renaissance feature animated film)
China (The Storm Riders: Clash of the Evils)
Korea (Wonderful Days, Dead Space, Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Action Comics

So for those wondering, if End Times / Parallax is going to have much action...

I'll say this much...I love the action genre. I love fight choreography. I even own numerous books on martial arts and whatnot. However, there's a reason I haven't done comics that are entirely fighting comics yet. I'm pretty sure I will at one point. But as I found out when I first started practicing, fighting is one of the hardest elements of comics to draw. I've been developing a lot of fighting artwork in my sketchbooks over the last few years actually, but I've showcased very few of them. To be honest, I've been working on fight choreography for a while now, but to vastly simplify the matter of how I approach drawing it, it's still being developed. IT WILL make it's way into my published works at some point, when I feel a bit more comfortable with it...

Style to Spare

If there are three distinctive elements of my current style, thematically and visually, that seperates my visual stylization from a lot of regular stuff out there, I'd have to say, if there were certain key art and literary motifs in my literary stories, they would be:

Black and White Noir
Post-Apocalyse World
Martial Arts Anime / Hong-Kong Action Fighting
The Samurai

These elements of my current style...I've definitely noticed many other established auteurs and filmmakers picking up on them. I'm not the first person ever to use these elements, but I am one of the first to use them in the distinctive way that I do.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Not Exactly Simon Cowell Here...Good? Bad?

Honestly, I wish I could make this a more review centric anime-specific blog like so many pro critics have lately on their official press websites, but as much as I'd like to take a more journalistic approach with this blog, I tend to gravitate more towards the free spirit element of it, even though I know a lot of people discovered me specifically through my initial literary review status on the AnimeTV site back in the day. I do love hearing what people like Miley Yamamoto and Roy Pitts have to say on things. I'm actually a pretty big fan of what they do, which is act, host, and commentate.

Well, there's the Jack Kerouac approach, and then there is the whole "shortness of time / Doing a million things online at once thing" KIND OF eats into my "schedule".

Popularity Indicators

Google

YouTube

Twitter

Blogger

Adultswim.com

DeviantART

Goanimetv.com

Manga.com

[various lesser known others]

I didn’t realize before, but I’m actually pretty well known to the communities of some of the most popular websites in the world. My fans seem to resent “being called fans” though, for some reason.

Someone please email me and inform me how I became one of the most popular people in the world. I can't for the life of me figure out how I ended up in such a "prominent" spot.

-J.M.-

Architecture and Perspective Studies

Been practicing with some architectural perspective excercises lately...Just practicing really.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

MOAR COMICS ART, PLZ!!!!

I did in fact draw some new pages of artwork today, and I've been kind of on a roll with unpublished sketchbook practice art in the last 4 to 5 days, but I haven't published any of it to my Photobucket or Webcomics Nation account like I've tended to do. Primarily because I'm superstitious about my work. Uploading the first thing I create in a while always jinxes me, and never anyone else. It's like everytime I upload 1 good sketchbook study, suddenly, as soon as it's out there I get sketchbook and comic book panel block, and suddenly I'm blocked for (literally) weeks(!), and I'll produce nothing but crap for a while right after I publish that one or two really GOOD drawings(!). I always have better luck with my drawing process if I don't publish everything right away...Sorry, I really wish I knew how this art inspiration and energy level thing actually worked. wouldn't that be nice.

It's a vicious cycle I tell you.

Y'know, if I wasn't such a slacker, I'd be all over that.......dudes.

Seriously though, yeah, I should probably draw more of that sort of thing. It IS a good idea.

Monday, August 22, 2011

From the J.M. Theory Vault: Scientific Theory: Experiential Contextualization

History and the passage of time gives contextual and symbolic weight and meaning to people, places, things, and events as they travel through time and space. When something is first invented or discovered, it lacks the layered context of meaning. Only by passing through time does an event, personality, object, and data attain meaning.

Favorite French Art and Literature Related Things

Favorite French Things:

Favorite French Film:

Le Samorai

Favorite French TV Animation:

Marathon Animation

Oban Star-Racers

Code Lyoko

Favorite French Artists:

Moebius

Serge Pelle (Orbital)

Francois Schuiten

Juanjo Guarnido (Blacksad)

Enki Bilal (Beast Trilogy, etc.)

Favorite French Comics

Blacksad

Orbital

Metronom

Monday, August 15, 2011

Lack of 20-Something Professionals in The Adult Art and Literary World....

Is there a typical age when an artist or writer become a professional? Do any pro artist-writers reading this know of any consistent answer to this mystery?

How many 20-somethings out there actually find work as a writer and/or artists at such a young age? It kind of seems like, as far as animation and comics are concerned, age and experience go with success...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fame and Support

If there's one thing fame and success give you, that you don't ever achieve at, say, my level, it would definitely be re-assurance. Even when I'm most successful, due to the nature of the way I live with a family that doesn't actually support me, I never have the comfort and empowerment of re-assurance. Plenty of people look over my shoulder (often without my permission or consulting me), but hardly anyone ever gives me feedback in the form of re-assurance. No one ever directly comments on my art. Far as I know know one knows who I am and everyone hates what I do. Due to the fact that no one reassures any of my decisions (or decision making), whether from higher ups OR lower downs, far as I know no one gives a shit about anything I do. And people wonder why I make the decisions about my art that I do. YOU TRY not getting any direct fucking input from the public about what you do, and we'll see how happy you are....I work based on intuitive assumption, not input. I'm really the only one who approves ANYTHING I do...in general.

New To American Animation: Innovation in Animation

List of Production Elements That Seem to be On The Rise in Western TV Animation:

Fight Design; Fight Choreography
Production Design; Architectural Perspective (Fantasy; Science-Fiction)
Mecha; Machines
Costume Design
Lighting Concept Design
Conceptual Art
Screenwriting
Intense Action
Firearms; Weapons
Aspect-To-Aspect Transitions (Storyboards)

Some of these production aspects and fields orginated in anime, and have been adapted by Western Artists. But some seem to have caught on in the animation industry seemingly out of nowhere. That's right, we're on the cutting edge of innovation in animation here...

Lighting Design

Aside from returning to sketching, I've been exploring a hobby or two.

Current hobby of the moment:

Lighting Concept Design; Lighting Concept Art

I was looking at my "The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated Series" book, and I LOVE that book! I love lighting concepts that explore the lighting element of concept art.

The type of lighting concepts I design are often in the Notan / Neo-Noir Style, but Lighting Concepts nonetheless. The reason I love the Star Wars production art book is it made me realize I'm not alone in my design pursuits.

If I had to describe my lighting concept (art) style, in one word, I'd say it's both "Japanese" and "American" and East Meets West. Notan is a very Japanese thing. Neo-Noir is a very revivalist American thing. But I like how there's a rich heritage of design in both Asia/Japan AND Europe/America. Black and White artwork reflects this combination quite perfectly in my opinion, and on paper.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

"Pre-Production Hobbyist"

I produce pre-production artwork (storyboards, character design, concept design, lighting concept design, production design) and scripts as a hobby, not as a profession. It’s “doujin” or fan pre-production, in other words.

I draw art in the form of speculative animation pre-production artwork because it's fun, and I'm obsessed with the animation production process as an animation fan, artist, and would-be professional.

It's only natural I'd have a desire to draw and write my own rendition of it, regardless of whether it's "professional enough" or not. It's still a valid form of self-expression and recretational hobby, even when it's a lot of hard work that's never going to get seen. That's just how I roll. I like designing "imaginary TV shows in my head".

"Unpaid spec work" and "spec project" or "spec" is the key word here.

I used to wonder why I did "spec pre-production work" if all it was going to do was sit around on my desk, and never actually get used in TV. Now I know.

Actually, I've already got a decade's worth of experience prolifically developing and producing "spec work". I'm just really, REALLY good at working for free. 1,000s of pages worth, in terms of artwork.

Drawing: Mental, or Physical?

I did a web search on this topic, and didn't find much. Drawing requires both mental and physical energy, but it actually doesn't seem like either aspect of drawing is the universal majority for all artists. Some artists eat healthy. Some don't. Some artists are well groomed, some aren't. Some artists are attractive, others not so much. The thing is, drawing IS part mental and psychological, and part energetic and physical.

The only real reason I bring this up is that in the past I've found heavy amounts of drawing to be physically fatiguing, draining, and exhausting. When I was very young and had tons of energy to burn and was more in shape, I was less drained by my drawing process. But as I got older, and fatter, I found drawing was less easy with the more out of shape I got, to the point of me barely practicing at all, purely because of how much energy it drained from me whenever I attempted it. It was a stressful period of my life, and I did a LOT of stress eating, and got very little exercise.

Though it varies with the artist, drawing does take a certain amount of physical energy, particularly detail-heavy drawing where the whole page is filled up or drawn on an epic size and scale.

-J.M.-

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

This blog is overdue for some refreshment...as manifested by a new post

but what to talk about. There are a million things one COULD talk about, but is there an audience for all of those things? Are people really so selective? Just thinking in print here (i.e. aloud).

I suppose I should hurry. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is airing on Adult Swim, either now or so. I never miss an episode really. I know they're reruns, but ATHF is comforting. It really is. I can really relate to Frylock, in a supergenius kind of way I guess.

-JM-