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Comic Art Terms – Flashforward

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 26, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms, Flashforward

Comic Art Terms – Flashforward
A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future. They may also reveal significant parts of the story that have not yet occurred, but soon will in greater detail.

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Comic Book Charities – Reading With Pictures

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 25, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Charities, Reading With Pictures

Comic Book Charities – Reading With Pictures
Reading With Pictures is a nonprofit organization that advocates the use of comics in the classroom to promote literacy and improve educational outcomes for all students. The organization works with academics to cultivate groundbreaking research into the proper role of comics in education. Reading With Pictures collaborate with cartoonists to produce exceptional graphic novel content for scholastic use. Most importantly, they partner with educators to develop a system of best practices for integrating comics into their curriculum. At Reading With Pictures, their goal is to get comics into schools and get schools into comics.

The Reading With Pictures Network is a group of friends, colleagues and supporters from backgrounds including: education, cartooning, writing, parenting and publishing among others. Their network provides access to moderated forum; allowing people to register for events, make contributions, apply for positions, share curriculum and other resources; and allows others to network with like-minded professionals.

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Comic Book Terms – Sun Shadow

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 24, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Grading, Comic Book Terms, Sun Shadow

Comic Book Terms – Sun Shadow

What is a Sun Shadow? A sun shadow is the Darker, usually linear area at the edge of some comics stored in stacks. Some portion of the cover was not covered by the comic immediately above it, and it suffered prolonged exposure to light. A serious defect, unlike a Dust Shadow, which can sometimes be removed.

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Comic Art Terms – Flashback

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 19, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms

Comic Art Terms – Flashback
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. This helps to conveys relevant information needed for the reader to understand the character and/or scene better. This flashback writing technique is often used to communicate information that can’t really be relayed through other means due to constraints imposed by the story itself.

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Comic Book Charities – Comix Relief

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 18, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Charities, Comix Relief

Comic Book Charities – Comix Relief
Comix Relief provides comic books to troops overseas and on the front lines. Many soldiers do not have the ability to purchase such items and it provides a much needed escape from their worries fighting for our country. Comix Relief is a small home based organization that was started by Chris Tarbassian, who wanted to send some comic books to his friend, an Air Force Flight Nurse. His endeavors have grown and now Chris has committed to sending comics to any soldier that is on the front line. Chris accepts comics and money to spread the cheer of comic books to those in the military all over the world.

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Comic Book Terms – Shared Universe

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 17, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Terms, Shared Universe

Comic Book Terms – Shared Universe

What is a shared universe? The concept of a shared universe is one in which a multitude of different characters co-exist and/or interact. Typically this concept confines itself to one publishing company’s output (although concepts such as the Wold Newton family extend the boundaries considerably), and it is most common in the main superhero universes of DC and Marvel. The benefit of having a shared universe is that characters can make (sales-boosting) guest appearances and allow for team-ups between different characters, as well as allowing the “team” concept (JLA, Avengers, etc.) to exist at all. Stan Lee’s initial Marvel Universe creations in the 1960s best exemplify the “shared universe” concept, whereby characters (and villains) would feature across multiple titles, sometimes in the foreground of the story, sometimes as cameos in passing, but always underlining the interlinkedness of the shared universe.

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Comic Art Terms – Crosshatching

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 12, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms, Crosshatching

Comic Art Terms – Crosshatching
Crosshatching is an extension of hatching, which uses is the use of fine parallel lines drawn closely together, to create the illusion of shade or texture in a drawing. Crosshatching is the drawing of two layers of hatching at right-angles to create a mesh-like pattern. Multiple layers in varying directions can be used to create textures. Crosshatching is often used to create tonal effects, by varying the spacing of lines or by adding additional layers of lines. Crosshatching is used in pencil drawing, but is particularly useful with pen and ink drawing, to create the impression of areas of tone, since the pen can only create a solid black line.

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Comic Book Charities – Critical Care Comics

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 11, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Charities, Critical Care Comics

Comic Book Charities – Critical Care Comics
Critical Care Comics is dedicated to bringing joy to the faces of kids in hospitals. Delivering comic books and helping kids escape the pain, trauma of the situation. If only for only 28 pages. Critical Care Comics is currently in the process of building up a stockpile for distribution, along with raising the necessary funds to get 501c(3).

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Comic Book Terms – Distributor Stripes

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 10, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Grading, Comic Book Terms, Defect, Distributor Stripes

Comic Book Terms – Distributor Stripes

What are Distributor Stripes? A distributor stripe is a color brushed or sprayed on the edges of comic book stacks by the distributor/wholesaler to code them for expedient exchange at the sales racks. Typical colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Distributor Stripes are not a defect.

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Comic Art Terms – Thumbnails

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 5, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms, Thumbnails

comic art terms thumbnails Comic Art Terms – ThumbnailsComic Art Terms – Thumbnails
When shooting a movie, a director creates a storyboard. A comic book artist must do the same thing for drawing a comic book. Thumbnails are small blocks that represent the pages in a comic book. There is no finished work, but sketches. When following the script, the artist needs to be aware how many words are in each frame. The publisher will not be shy about putting the words on top of the drawing, or yelling at the artist. The thumbnails allow the artist to pay close attention drawing varied frames. They Don’t worry about it looking pretty, but the layout is the biggest concern.

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Comic Book Charities – Wonder Woman Day

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 4, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Charities, Wonder Woman Day

comic book charities wonder woman day Comic Book Charities – Wonder Woman Day

Comic Book Charities – Wonder Woman Day
Wonder Woman Day is a charity event that is held in Portland and Flemington, NJ each year to raise money for domestic violence shelters. To date, the organization has raised over $69,000 for shelters that help battered women. This charity event has been put together by Andy Mangels, a comic writer and curator of the Wonder Woman Museum. The event sells one of a kind pieces of art and comic memorabilia that is contributed by comic book creators all over.

In October 2006-2012, the Wonder Woman Day I-V and Women Of Wonder Day events raised money for Domestic Violence programs in Portland, Oregon, Flemington, New Jersey, and San Antonio, Texas. The five-year combination of auctions of over 1,100 original art pieces, plus collectibles, autograph signings, and photo opportunities garnered spectacular turnouts and five Mayoral Proclamations. 100% of all monies raised during Wonder Woman Day goes to the designated 501(c)3 tax deductible charities.

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Comic Book Terms – Dust Shadow

By
Ralph Contreras
– February 3, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Grading, Comic Book Terms, Dust Shadow

comic book terms dust shadow Comic Book Terms – Dust Shadow

Comic Book Terms – Dust Shadow

What is a Dust Shadow? A Dust Shadow is the darker, usually linear area at the edge of some comics stored in stacks. Some portion of the cover was not covered by the comic immediately above it and was exposed to settling dust particles.

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Comic Art Terms – Colorist

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 29, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Colorist, Comic Art Terms

comic art terms colorist Comic Art Terms – ColoristComic Art Terms – Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is most often done using digital media, with printing separations produced electronically. Colorists may work directly for comics publishers (either as employees or freelancers), or they may work for coloring studios which offer their services to publishers. American Color, Olyoptics, and Digital Chameleon are companies notable in this field within the comic strip industry. Historically, the colorist (and the inker) would work directly on the original artwork, but modern advances mean that the coloring (and sometimes inking) is now done digitally on a computer, and hence can be refined and changed with comparative ease. The colorist will often make the ultimate decision over palette (color scheme), adding to the tone of the book. “Muted”, “Pastel” and “Technicolor” color schemes can change the whole tone and feel of a comic, and is a key part in comics production, despite being arguably the most overlooked artistic role.

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Comic Book Charities – The Comic Book Project

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 28, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Charities, The Comic Book Project

comic book charities the comic book project Comic Book Charities – The Comic Book Project

Comic Book Charities – The Comic Book Project
The Comic Book Project is a program that offers literacy development through and arts based learning initiative. It operates through schools and after school programs that help children create their own comic books about topics that range from bullying to conservation.

It also helps build community with the children as they have to work together to create their comics. The ones that get finished get their comics printed through an alliance with Dark Horse Comics. The Comic Book Project engages children in a creative process leading to literacy reinforcement, social awareness, and character development, then publishes and distributes their work for other children in the community to use as learning and motivational tools.

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Comic Book Terms – Ashcan

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 27, 2013Posted in: Ashcan, Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Terms

comic book terms ashcan Comic Book Terms – AshcanComic Book Terms – Ashcan

What is an ashcan comic? A publisher’s in-house facsimile of a proposed new title. Most ashcans have black and white covers stapled to an existing coverless comic on the inside; other ashcans are totally black and white. In modern parlance, it can also refer to promotional or sold comics, often smaller than standard comic size and usually in black and white, released by publishers to advertise the forthcoming arrival of a new title or story.

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Comic Art Terms – Inker

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 22, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms, Inker

comic art terms inker 300x253 Comic Art Terms – InkerComic Art Terms – Inker
The inker (also sometimes credited as the finisher, embellisher, or tracer) is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing (or copy of the pencilled drawing) is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink (usually India ink) to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines. The ink may be applied with a pen or a brush — many inkers use both — or even digitally, a process gaining in popularity. The inker is usually responsible for every black line on the page, except for letters, which are handled by a letterer. In many comic strips, as well as Japanese manga and European comics, a single artist takes responsibility for penciling, inking and sometimes even lettering, either doing it all (e.g., Charles M. Schulz) or hiring assistants. For comics printed in color, there is usually a separate colorist.

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Comic Book Charities – Collectibles With Causes

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 21, 2013Posted in: Collectibles With Causes, Comic Book Charities

donate comic books Comic Book Charities – Collectibles With Causes

Comic Book Charities – Collectibles With Causes
Collectibles With Causes is an organization is a part of the Works for Life Ministries that allows people to donate their collections and take a tax credit for the items. This allows you help out a charity and make some room in your house. It is reported that 80% of the money goes to help those in need through programs that help those with substance abuse issues and domestic violence situations.

Collectibles With Causes is just one part of the Works for Life Ministries work as they accept all sorts of items to help their charitable efforts. They also help support other organizations such as March of Dimes, Easter Seals, and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These kinds of organizations are great because you get a nice tax credit and you help out a worthy cause as well. Collectibles With Causes accepts comic books from the Platinum Age, Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, or Modern Age. The proceeds benefit families in need across the United States.

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Comic Book Terms – Direct Market

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 20, 2013Posted in: Comic Book Collecting, Comic Book Terms, Direct Market

comic book terms direct market Comic Book Terms – Direct MarketComic Book Terms – Direct Market

What is Direct Market? When comics were first launched, they could be purchased in many places, most particularly at the newsstand, alongside newspapers and magazines. In the 1980s, with comics sales on the wane, attempts were made to buy comics direct from the publisher, rather than through a traditional magazine distributor. This was the beginning of the comic book direct market. In addition, rather than returning unsold copies after a certain date, with a higher initial discount, buyers could keep unsold copies as back issue stock. This led to the formation of comic shops, with wide-ranging stock of older issues, as well as the creation of a number of tailored comic book distributors. Comics sold in comic shops were labeled “direct market” by the upc code.

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Comic Book Video Tutorials – How to Draw People Kissing

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 16, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Book Video Tutorials, Video, Video Tutorials

Comic Book Video Tutorials – How to Draw People Kissing
Video by artist Mark Crilley showing the steps to drawing people kissing.

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Comic Art Terms – Penciller

By
Ralph Contreras
– January 15, 2013Posted in: #makecomics, Comic Art Terms, Penciler, Penciller

Mechanical Pencil Drawing 300x224 Comic Art Terms – PencillerComic Art Terms – Penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms.

The penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout (positions and vantages on scenes) to showcase steps in the plot. In earlier generations it was more common for artists to use a loose pencilling approach, in which the penciller does not take much care to reduce the vagaries of the pencil art, leaving it to the inker to interpret the penciller’s intent and render the art in a more finished state.

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