Tips & tricks part 1

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a 'pro-tip', but hey I found a neat little trick that works for me.

Here it is. You ready for this?

Sometimes all the art work for a page isn't done on the same page...whoa man, that's crazy talk. 

Is it?

I first discovered this looking at Justin Randall's development blog for his award winning 'Changing Ways' series. I also noticed that dry brushing master Greg Ruth used a similar technique in his phenomenal art work on CONAN volume 0: Born on the Battlefield. (Buy it, read it. Easily one of the best Conan stories ever, and I have read A LOT of Conan stories.)

Get this - Justin only uses one whole page PER PANEL for his work.

The advantages are obvious when you think about it. Working large gives you the advantages of simultaneously having more detail and being less fussy about every little stroke.

It's a classic win-win.

Here's an example from a Spoiler free page from the upcoming 'A Brigand's Tale' #2.

As you can see from above, panels 2 and 5 are incomplete.
From memory, I wasn't happy with those panels for one reason or another.
But not having those panels on the page meant that I could make panel 3 & 4 slightly bigger and less cramped for the inking of it. 

So what about the other panels I hear you ask?

Well, there is a whole other blank side of the paper, so I just use that side to do the other panels...

As you can see, I have A LOT more real estate for only 2 panels. Trust me when I tell you that traditional inking is much more forgiving the bigger the size your working at. Quite simply because all the big (and little) mistakes are less obvious!

Using this method I actually feel that these 2 panel pages above are actually some of the best inking I've done in terms of realising what I was going for right from the beginning.

So what now?

With the magic of Photoshop, I scan the 2 pages, resize/scale the panels as required, chuck on some panel borders and lettering and boom, the final piece...

A possible downside is selling the original art may be a bit harder, but I'm not currently being swamped by offers at the moment, and the trade off is worth it for a better quality finished product.

Am I wrong?

Let me know in the comments below!

Follow me on twitter for more sneak peeks, or get all the info on facebook here.

A Brigand's Tale, Brigand, and all distinctive likenesses thereof are trademark and copyright Daniel Tribe 2015. All rights reserved.

Wrapping up ABT #2

Another week down, and another week closer to COMIC GONG.

Last year COMIC GONG was massive, this year it's looking to be even Bigger!

So the race is on for issue 2 of 'A Brigand's Tale' to get wrapped up for launch in my old home town of Wollongong!

At present I can confirm that we are about 85% complete. 

Issue 2 has been a bit of a mad science experiment. A nice way of saying a dogs breakfast.

Some pages have been completely digital. Some pages have been a bit of both. As usual many panels have been redrawn multiple times.

I have tried some different approaches to production, not all of them successful... production on this book has been shelved or stalled over the last year for a variety of reasons but I am finally on track to wrap this bad boy up.

The Good news is that from issue 2 you will start to see some of the pieces of the puzzle come together regarding the past, and is it possible that those we thought were friends are really enemies?

And who is this guy?

Or this guy for that matter?

So much adventure (and feels) crammed into this thing I can't wait for you all to get your hands on it!

Feel free to post your comments below!

Follow my tweets: twitter.com/TheDanTribe






A Brigand's Tale, Brigand, Shadowthief, Zippy and all distinctive likenesses thereof are trademark and copyright Daniel Tribe 2015. All rights reserved.

NOWCON wrap up

Hi again peeps.

I can confirm that at NOWCON-reborn a great day was had by all.

I got to meet some new friends and catch up with some old ones.

I also seen quite possibly the best homemade  Deathstroke cosplay ever built.

Always a fan of original art I got around to asking some of the other artists there to contribute to an 'A Brigand's Tale'  jam piece.

The brief was simple. Just draw your take on any character from  'A Brigand's Tale'.

The result is below:

On the left we have a Robotic version of Malice - by the talented and mysterious man known only as 'Judd'.

Then we have a high booted version of Cheeks by Tinman Johnson, creator of the madcap Harvey the 29th series.

Next up is a buffer version of Sneakthief by Nowra's very own Heroic Master of Pens.

And lastly, a balletic Brigand (in some kind of homage to Jo Jo's bizarre adventure) by the one and only John Hanna from Midnight Runners.

There is some space on the right hand side for me to add my own touch to the piece.

What are your thoughts?

Should I make it a 5 character piece or leave it as a very classy piece of fan-art?

Let me know in the comments below...!

Brigand, Sneakthief,Malice, Cheeks, and distinctive likenesses thereof are  TM and copyright 2015 Daniel Tribe. All rights reserved.

Competition Winner Announcement!

Hi Again,

It was a tough job, but after much deliberation I have arrived at a winner for the Brigand Pin Up competition!!!

Here's the winning piece:

This inspired depiction of everyone's favourite Hunter striking a pose (typical Brigand!) was penned by the uber talented Evan Newby!

Evan is a Wollongong based master of all things graphical. He runs drawing workshops if you are around his neck of the woods that would be well worth checking out. More info here: www.facebook.com/pages/e-for-animation-Drawing-Class/138116549614469

Congratulations Evan! Your pin up will feature in 'A Brigand's Tale #2' due to be launched at

Comic Gong in May this year.

Thanks to all the other entrants, the quality of the entries made for a tough contest!

If you would like to send us your Brigand fan art, feel free and we will post it up on the blog and facebook! 

Email a copy of your Bolt Comics fan art to info@boltcomics.net!

A Brigands Tale, Brigand and all distinctive likenesses thereof are copyright and Trademark Dan Tribe 2015. All rights Reserved.

A Brigand's Tale Pin up contest!

Hi Again,

I am in the process of finishing up the artwork for issue #2 of A Brigand's Tale and realised I have a spare page in my page count.

So I thought I would give my readers and Brigand fans alike the opportunity to have a pin-up printed in the book! 

Announcing the Brigand's Tale Pin up contest!!

Here's all the deets.

1. Artwork must only contain Bolt Comics characters. Please bear in mind this is an all ages book so keep it awesome and G rated.
2. Artwork submitted needs to be Black & White or greyscale.
3. Artwork size to be no larger than A4 in size, at a minimum of 300dpi if digital. Tiff files  preferred.
4. Any physical artwork supplied will not be returned. 
5. You grant Bolt Comics the right to reproduce the image in the book, and in the case of non wining submissions, the artwork may be posted on Bolt Comics (and its affiliates) website or social media platforms for promotional purposes.
6. The winning artist will receive  a copy of 'A Brigand's Tale' #2 signed by the artist and co-writer.As well as art credits in the credits section of the book.
7. Please email all entries to info@boltcomics.net with the subject line: 'ABT pinup contest'. If using mail, please post to:

BOLT COMICS, 

c/o 107 East St, NOWRA NSW, 2541. The closing date for entries is Sunday 22 February. Prize is not transferable for cash.

What, you haven't read it yet?

Remedy that grievous oversight immediately by getting a copy here:

http://boltcomics.bigcartel.com/product/a-brigand-s-tale

Or digitally here:

https://sellfy.com/p/KIe0/

Hopefully y'all know what the characters look like, but here's a sample if you don't.

Totally looking forward to see what you guys come up with!

Dan

Don't forget you can follow me on these as well:

twitter.com/TheDanTribe

www.facebook.com/BoltComics

Brigand, Sneakthief, Warper, Malice, Cheeks, Broadside and distinctive likenesses thereof are  TM and copyright 2015 Daniel Tribe. All rights reserved.

STOP PRESS: A Brigand's Tale goes international!

Hey all.

I've been super busy in my day job as it is tax time in Australia so apologies for the lack of posting.

But I finally figured out to get a reasonably sized PDF of everybody's favourite Hunter out into the whole wide world this morning while driving to work so I thought I would give it a try!

Yep, Brigand and the gang are now international.

For less than one lousy US dollar you can now get your Brigand fix of swash buckling anthropomorphic adventure from anywhere in the world DRM free (mostly because I can't figure out how to do any of that stuff!)

 Well, I'm not totally sure but let's give it a go...

You can follow this here link to access all the digital goodness: https://sellfy.com/p/KIe0/ 

Feel free to share the news because it's a fun filled book people of any age can enjoy!

So until next time, make mine Brigand!

 Tweet me!: twitter.com/TheDanTribe

All artwork on this post and A Brigand's Tale is copyright Dan Tribe 2014. All rights reserved. 

Practice makes perfect

hey folks,

For about a year now I have been subscribed to this great blog, written by the creator of Dinotopia, Mr James Gurney.

His blog covers all types of art and is riddled with inspiration.

You can view it here: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com

Also any guy who can sell a million copies of his book is a guy I want to be gleaning as much info as possible off!!

He regularly draws/paints out in the open, known as Plein-air painting, but the thing that rocked me was this - he is constantly drawing.

This really got me going, because I spend most of my free time trying to get something-anything done on 'A Brigand's Tale' that I don't spend as much time actually getting better at drawing things.

So I'm resolved to do more drawing to get my skills up, which should make 'A Brigand's Tale' an ever better product.

Won't you all join me in  doing a sketch a day?

I will post them to my twitter which is twitter.com/TheDanTribe

Til next time, find a way or find an excuse!

Dinotopia is Copyright James Gurney 2014. All rights Reserved.

Page process Step - by- step

Those who have been following my process blog for a while will no doubt be aware of the challenges in getting a smooth running workflow when making comics.

So I thought I would show you my current process. Like most things it is ever changing but this is basically how each page is done these days.

Thumbnails/layouts

I usually use Manga Studio to do my layouts, mostly because I tend to generate lots of little pieces of paper otherwise. In Manga Studio I can just add a new layer over the top and keep refining without wasting so much paper.

Pencilling

I usually start out with a blue pencil (after ruling the page) to flesh out the layouts from the computer screen.

Once I have most of the main information in place I then bust out the Bic-Matic pencil (which I still call a 'Pacer' even though they are made by a different brand). 

I use the ones with the 0.7 mm leads as the 0.5 pacers seem to etch the page too much and make it hard to rub out.

I like to get the lead to a blunter point and rough out the pencils from there. One again this makes it easier when erasing (which happens A LOT).

The end result is usually something like this:

As you can see above, there was going to be another character in the background, but it just wasn't working in the composition and their presence did not help or hinder the story, so like a good Alex Toth disciple, I cut it.

Because I ink myself, I can allow for a little more sloppiness at this stage. However, at present I am endeavouring to have as much of the page done in the pencils as possible to improve the overall composition of the page.

By this time the key elements of the panel/page are locked in and it may only be how I will treat the backgrounds that are still up in the air at this stage.

Inking

My personal favourite part of the whole thing, the most fun too (for me anyway).

In the first issue of 'A Brigand's Tale' I inked the whole thing with a brush.
(If you missed reading it somehow you can pick up a copy here: http://boltcomics.bigcartel.com/product/a-brigand-s-tale) 
The inking workhorse was a no.2 'Rigger' brush. From what I can gather they are relatively cheap ($6 or so and seem to last a good while, I am still using the same brush from ABT #1! Compared to using markers this is a very cost effective option...) but also give a nice amount of line variation. 
I use Japanese Sumi ink that costs around $10 per bottle. I'm still on my first ever bottle. I was using a much thicker ink but it kept clogging everything up and I couldn't get fine lines with it so if in doubt use a more flowing (but waterproof) ink when ever you can.
With ABT#2 I am using HUNT 102 dip pen nibs for the details just to be on the safe side..
For me the best part of inking with a brush is that the ink dries almost instantly, whereas using the dip pens there is still a drying off period where I inevitably smudge the ink somewhere!

Using a brush takes practice but the learning curve is short and you can make a variety of lines with the one tool depending on how much pressure you apply to the brush.

Some tips on brush inking:

* Do thicker lines first once you have freshly dipped the ink and work on smaller lines when the brush isn't as 'full'. This just makes common sense. You can also do a few strokes of spot blacking after a fresh dip to work off some excess ink on the brush to get some nice lines.

* Create a 'tip' after dipping in ink. Just turn the brush so the hairs form a tip at the end. I usually do this in an area of the page that will be a large black area so I don't need to have a separate sheet of paper to 'work the tip' as I ink sitting on the lounge with a lapboard.

* To maximise the variety of lines you want hold the brush directly over the page at a 90 degree angle which will give you better control of the line.

* Try as much as possible to just lightly touch the page as then you can better control the thickness

* Use good quality paper/bristol. If you are using standard cartridge paper the ink will bleed and the line work will not be as crisp. I used A3 Canson 220 GSM paper for this page.The smoother the paper the better (for me). Secondly as I intend to sell my original art work it only seems right to use nice thick Archival quality paper for a purchaser of my original works. It's also just much nicer to work with and can take a lot more rubbing out than thinner papers.

Please note I am by no means an expert but I am so addicted to brush inking its quite a drag to use any thing else and the above are points I keep in mind when inking.

Erasing  

I generally erase a bit at a time, like when a whole figure is complete, or a panel, or a big enough section. I need to seen the finished product to see whether I need to chuck on more black, thicken things up, add rendering (sparingly or not all is a good rule).

Lettering

My hand lettering is pretty bad, and I normally wait to do it on the computer, but I just wanted to have a go and have some fun so I added it in.

Panel Borders

I ink these at the end as it makes me feel  like it's the final step.

Then I do one more more huge erase and get rid of every trace of lead pencil on the page.

And voila it's done...

Scanning

I then scan it in on my A3 scanner. And that's all I'll say about scanning because that's a whole 'nother problem to deal with...


Thanks folks, feel free to comment below, or tweet me twitter.com/TheDanTribe  or email info@boltcomics.net about what else you may want to know anything about Comic process or A Brigand's Tale related stuff on the blog.

Til next week, find a way or find an excuse, but #makecomics!

All Artwork Trademark and copyright Dan Tribe 2014. All rights reserved. 

Another Supanova Wrap up..

Yes, its that time of year when we navel gaze about being in Artist's alley(hereafter referred to as 'the Alley' because it sounds edgy...) at Supanova...

...but everyone else has already been in raptures or in tears about how well or poorly they did. 

So I'll just talk about how Bolt Comics dealt with the highs and lows of 3 big days in 'the Alley'

Our Goal - Have fun. 

Mission Accomplished.

We figured the way to be attractive to passers by is to be having fun.

To our good fortune the folks on either side stall were super cool and we had a blast with them...

Art prodigy and anime man fan John Hanna from Midnight Runners rocked our world with this super cool A Brigand's Tale  pin up I commissioned!

I busted out the electronic crayons and coloured it in!

If you don't know who these characters are pick up a copy of A Brigand's Tale at our online store here: http://boltcomics.bigcartel.com/product/a-brigand-s-tale

I also got the chance to hang with some totally rad dudes and childhood (and manhood) heroes...

Rollin' with my Green peeps

Finally I also managed to test my true grit of a Street Fighter against not one but 2 of the Earths Mightiest Heroes, Cap & Hawkeye!

I bet the Cap and Hawkeye didn't even see me coming with at 'em with my patented 'Dance-fighting' style...


We also sold some comics and gave away a TON of free sketches to any one nice enough to give our work a try.

I even got to match real people's faces to Twitter handles!!

Wowsers, just as well I have a few more months to recover before doing it all again at OzComiccon in September!

All in all, I just wanted to get back to the board and start smashing out A Brigand's Tale #2 out there for people to enjoy...

Feel free to comment below or hit me up on the twitters: www.twitter.com/theDanTribe 

A Brigand's Tale, Brigand, Warper, SneakThief, Malice, Cheeks and Broadside are copyright Dan Tribe 2014. All rights reserved.

Readers thoughts on A Brigand's Tale Issue 1...

Hey peeps!

Even though A Brigand's Tale has only been out a few weeks now I have already received fan mail!

Additionally, other readers have taken the time to respond and give me their thoughts on Bolt Comics' latest title.

The most exciting one was from primary schooler Tia who told me: "It was great...I bet the next one will be way better and cooler than the first".

Exciting because:

1) I got a HAND WRITTEN letter from a fan!

2) If I had made the book darker, or mature readers content Tia may never have had the chance fro me to help her fall in love with Brigand and Co, and comics in general.

3) She liked it.

Below is sample of some other feedback I have received from other valued readers:

"Really dug the art in it"

"I thought it was bloody fantastic!"

"It was great. Nice done-in-one tale"

"So great, you left me hanging for the next issue"

If you have'nt had the chance to pick up your copy yet, fear not!

The Bolt Comics gang will be at Supanova Sydney all weekend from Friday June 13th to Sunday June 15!

Track us down in artist's alley we are at booth A092.

I have it on good authority we will be giving out FREE hi-fives all weekend long.

If you can't make it to Supanova we have now got all the Bolt Comics titles available over on our web store here:

http://boltcomics.bigcartel.com/

On a different note, I have found that creators appreciate getting feedback on their work, and I am now much more mindful of letting them know my thoughts on their stuff.

So tell me what you think is worth reading in the comments below:

or Tweet me: twitter.com/TheDanTribe

Refining the Comic making process

I'm currently working on the initial stages of A Brigand's Tale number 2. 

I have just released number 1 last weekend at ComicGong, if you did not pick up a copy there, fear not! We will be at Supanova in Sydney on June 13, 14 & 15!! 

If you just can't wait, email us on info@boltcomics.net and we can mail you a copy!!

Anyway, back to the process.

I thought I would go through some of the changes in my philosophy now that I have some more pages under my belt.

Goals for each issue

In issue one of A Brigand's Tale my 2 main goals were:

• Characters should look as "un-wooden" as possible in their movements
• Readers should be able to know exactly what is happening on the page with no ambiguity

for example:

 Broadside schooling some bandits!

To a large degree (in my opinion) it was a success under those guidelines. In the example above, its pretty clear what is going on, and the movements of the figures are fluid.

So for issue 2 I'm taking great pains to continue that trend but add some other requirements.

I'm not going to go through the 2nd issue goals, however here is an example of upholding the high  self imposed standards at Bolt Comics. 

Here's the first panel of Number 2 as initially inked.

As you can see I'm trying to establish the location and the characters, while leaving ample room for the dialogue balloons.

But I just wasn't happy with it.

So here we are with a newer version, that to me at least shows the 3 characters in the forest, and still leaving ample room for the dialogue.

 I then added some blacks to add some more shadows, shape etc.

I think it helps to tell the story a bit better.

What do you think? Did I make the wrong decision?

 

Leave a comment below or tweet me here: twitter.com/TheDanTribe 

As ever I welcome your thoughts and feedback!

A Brigands tale and all artwork shown copyright Daniel Tribe 2014. All rights reserved.

Comic Gong!!

Wow!

Last Saturday seen the Launch of A Brigands Tale #1. There was a tonne of folks there who seemed keen to try something new,and I got many chances to personalise the cover in a unique way for people who purchased a copy!

Sooooo many people!!!

There was also people on hand flocking to get the latest issue of Bolt Comics' flagship title The Adventurers (#3. Have I mentioned I drew the back up story in this issue?)

It was pretty much busy all the livelong day. Which was a bummer because I didn't get as much time as I would have liked catching up with creator friends old & new.

No rest for the wicked though, I'm busy working on A Brigands Tale #2 and awaiting feedback from readers to see what they think of the story so far!

Here's a sneak peek of some art work for #2...
Yep, the big guy has obviously been spending some time at the gym...

Oh yeh, he works out!

Until next time don't make excuses, make comics!!

As ever, any questions and comments are welcome. 

A Brigands Tale is copyright and Trademark Dan Tribe 2014. All rights Reserved.

A Brigand's Tale #1 launches this week at Comic Gong!

When you finally finish your book and get a big box like this:

the music swells and all of a sudden your singing something like this:

This is the moment... www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8JjVe8lMjI

But then you realise that you have got to get them into people's hands...

So if your around Wollongong this Saturday 17th May, well get yourselves to Comic Gong, say hi, and sample arguably the best work of my comic book career. Entry is FREE!

To top it all off I have secured permission from the mighty Jason Paulos to have the infamous and iconic Aussie comics legend Hairbutt the Hippo to guest star in A Brigands Tale #1!!!

You can see a preview of the book here: http://issuu.com/dantribe/docs/abt_preview 

If that's not enough the other more productive member of Bolt Comics will be launching issue 3 of his mega cool book, The Adventurers.

What makes it mega cool you ask? 

Well I draw a back up story in this one, and let me tell ya, it's the second best work of my entire comic book career!

If you cant make it but need some more swashbuckling adventure in your life, email us on info@boltcomics.net and we can post it to you!

Hoping to see you there!!!

Dan

As ever comments are welcome...


A Brigands Tale is copyright and Trademark Dan Tribe 2014. All rights Reserved.
Hairbutt the Hippo is copyright Jason Paulos 2014. All rights Reserved.

SPECIAL ISSUE 1 PREVIEW

A 4 page preview of issue 1 has just dropped...

http://issuu.com/dantribe/docs/abt_preview

Launching at Comicgong on Saturday May 17, for more details go here:

http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/activities/Pages/Comic-Gong.aspx