1/12/11

And so begins a new year and a new decade…

It's expected to have a New Year's Resolution of sorts. You'll eventually get asked if you have one. You probably do, except you never see it through to fruition. Because, despite your best intentions, your heart's not in it or life happens, or more likely, both. I'm determined to change my procrastinating ways and follow through with my resolution: make more comics. Granted, I am not the most prolific cartoonist, but this doesn't mean I can't have a few projects in the pipeline, or preferably work on two simultaneously. Knowing myself, I have schemed ways to keep me in check and very much motivated.

• Firstly, I shall be taking another class with friends this semester: a silk-screening class that concentrates on turning printed sequential images into artists' books, themed portfolios and beloved comics. All things I need to work on. This will give me the much-needed hard nudge to wrap up my mini-comic, Alien Raver: Quilt, as well as start on a non-Alien Raver related mini-comic tentatively titled The Offering (More on that in a later post). I would also like to redo my previous Alien Raver screenprints, as I am not very happy with how they turned out. 

• Secondly, I think the best way to accomplish any goal is to surround yourself with people who have similar aspirations and create a support base. To this end, I have recruited good friends Shalimar Luis and Laz Marquez to reinvigorate our long-neglected Partners in Design collective. With monthly meetings at the very least, we'll come together and discuss our current and upcoming projects, provide constructive criticism and more importantly, give each other the encouragement to see these projects through to the end. Together we'll be unstoppable. 

• Parallel to my PID cohorts, I will be working on a comic collaboration with my cyberpunk-loving friend, writer Melissa Dominic (whose work you can read here and here).

Although my comics are in various stages of production (some still ideas cohabiting in my head), I want to share with you fine folks what I plan on working on this year. Most importantly, I want to go back and redo my original Alien Raver comic. Initially a project for an inking class I took two years ago, I've since expanded upon my nameless protagonist's character and the silly world he inhabits (which you can see here). I intended it to be a stream-of-consciousness sorta-comic with no end in sight. After considering what kind of stories I want to tell, I've found he's bettered suited to self-contained stories with little attention paid to continuity unless I deem so relevant (think Dexter's Laboratory or early Aeon Flux).

Alongside my Alien Raver love child, my other comic in the works is titled The Owl Maiden (which I had intended to contribute to the Sketchbook Project this year but couldn't due to prior freelance commitments). Without giving it away, it's the tale of a young cobbler lured by the titular owl maiden into a dancing orgy.

I'm MORE than excited going into 2011. After I finish my freelance gig (of which I will post the results of shortly), I'll be kicking it into high-gear and posting on a more-regular basis. See you later, space cowboy…