QUASI-COROLLARY SEROKS "CONTEST" (aka COMIC BOOK ARTIST SEARCH)

Greetings, Earthlings.

In case you stumbled here apropos of anything that came before, let me just say that if you’ve read my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man, then we’ve kicked off a contest involving character and costume design, and if you’d like to see the details of that, hit up the Visprint Facebook page or refer to the earlier post directly before this one.

If, however, you’re really just here for this particular post, then here it is:

If you happen to be an artist who may be interested in collaborating on a comic book with yours truly, then here’s what I’d like you to do.

Send in a 3 to 5 page comic book sequence based on any scene in any of the stories contained in SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man.

I’ll be looking at not just your art style, but also your storytelling technique, how you utilize the sequential panels and their layout to best execute the scene you’ve chosen.

If you’ve also decided to enter the “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest, then preferably, you should use the character design you’re also submitting, so I can see that costume design in action as well.

The completed pages should be fully inked. You have the option of submitting, heh, Xeroxes of the pages in their pencil form as well, so as to give me a better idea as to both your penciling and inking skills.

I’d also like to see, aside from any superhero action in your pages, some quiet moments as well if possible, so I can gauge not just your fight choreography capabilities, but your ability to capture the drama of the moment as well.

Also note, if you’ve decided to join this Artist Search as well as the “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest, that passing the Artist Search does not instantly constitute a win in the Character Design contest; I may think your art style would be perfect for a comic book while not necessarily being crazy about your costume design. Or, for that matter, vice versa.

So if you’re taking part in both, be prepared for that possibility: that you win in one, but not in the other.

It’s preferred that all entries be submitted in 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches size (regular bond paper size, folded in half, or 1650 X 2550 in Photoshop-speak), or any proportional size thereof.

The Artist Search opens up as soon as this announcement goes online and will run all the way through until shortly before SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime will be released. (Or until we say otherwise. We’ll be making further announcements as that date approaches; come right back to the Iguana for those. And yes, just to confirm, the Artist Search does not have the same deadline as the Character Design Contest, despite the notice at the Visprint Facebook page. Sorry about that.)

At the very least, you’ve got a whole bunch of months before then, so there’s ample time to send us your entries. Note though that I will also be taking into consideration the amount of time it took you to complete the pages; the rate at which you can pencil and ink a page is also a vital consideration should you decide to be the artist on a comic book.

Additionally, I stressed this in the previous Artist Search we conducted, and I’ll say it again here: if you do decide to join the Search, keep in mind that if we do end up collaborating on a comic book, there aren’t any upfront page rates involved for any of the creative team.

No one (including myself) gets paid for the work we’ll be putting into the comic. Any possible profit will come in only from royalties once the comic has been compiled and distributed by a publisher.

Other than that, you’ll be getting co-creator credit for any important characters you may end up designing.

So if you’re joining the Search, join because of your love for the comic medium, because you believe you can make a worthwhile contribution to it, because you feel you can do excellent work and you’d like to get that work out there for people to see.

Another thing that you need to be reasonably sure of before joining the Search is, should you be chosen, that you’ll be able to balance working on a comic book with all the rest of your usual responsibilities (family, work, etc.).

Having the talent and the urge to draw a comic book is well and good, but you also need to make sure you’ll have enough time to devote to the pages.

If you have any questions that I failed to address here, please hit up the Comments section of this blog post and I’ll do my best to answer them there.

While we will be accepting entries throughout the contest period via email (address appears below), we will also be accepting them at this year’s Summer Komikon (April 13 at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer St).

Just come up to me--you should find me at either the Visprint or Alamat tables--say “Hi,” and submit your entries to me.

If you can’t make it to Summer Kon (or would be too hard-pressed to complete your entries in the time left), then email your submissions to bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk (Subject Heading: ARTIST SEARCH) and you’ll get an email acknowledging receipt of your entry.

Afterwards, you’ll only receive another email should I have further questions regarding a possible comic book collaboration.

(And keep in mind, that’s dot-co-dot-uk, not dot-com, lest your entries end up in someone else’s bewildered and befuddled Inbox.)

Please include the following information: Name; Contact Number (Landline and Mobile); plus any links to online galleries of your art (like a deviantart page, if you’ve got one).

And that’s that.

Best of luck to all the entrants, and for those of you who’ll be dropping by, see you at the Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST

Greetings, Earthlings.

If you haven’t heard, my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores. (And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.)

If you haven’t picked it up, please do. It features story illustrations by the mighty fine Alan Navarra, so picking up the book will make him happy too.

And if you already have a copy, have a particularly vivid imagination, and are an artist (or happen to know one), then we’ve got a contest for you.

We’re now accepting entries for a “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest.

The rules are simple: send in your costume design of either--or both--of the Paladin characters featured in SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man (that would be Paladin/Roqué and Paladin Jr./Taylor), based on the descriptions given in the featured stories.

And what do you get out of it, you may ask.

Well, should you win, you’ll get bragging rights, for starters.

And, if the Queen of All Visprint is nice, she’ll also award you with an autographed copy of SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime, once it’s released.

You’ll be getting a personalized copy of Iteration 2 because, lo and behold, we’ll be running the winning character designs in its pages!

Think in color and submit your entry in color as well; it doesn’t have to be fancy coloring, I just need to know what the costume’s color scheme is. Remember, I’ll be taking a look at the overall design, and not how fancily you computer-colored it.

Sure, Roqué’s decked out in black leather, but Taylor’s uniform has a color scheme and that’s what I’m curious to see. I have an image in my head of what they look like, but I want to see these characters filtered through your artistic and creative sensibilities.

Take the descriptions in the text of Iteration 1, and go from there. Use them as a foundation and a jumping-off point and feel free to run wild.

Let’s see some awesome superhero spandex, people!

But also, and this is equally important, though you’re thinking in color, also execute that design as a black-and-white pin-up, which will be how your entry will appear in SEROKS Iteration 2, should it be chosen as the best.

And again, you can submit a costume design for only one, or if you prefer, both Paladins appearing in Iteration 1. (If you choose to submit designs for both, each design will be considered as a separate entry, so it’s possible that you may win for one, and not for both.)

That said, limit yourself to one costume design per character, so you really have to send in your best.

It’s preferred that all entries be submitted in 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches size (regular bond paper size, folded in half, or 1650 X 2550 in Photoshop-speak), or any proportional size thereof.

Note that there’s also a second, quasi-corollary contest, specifically for any artists out there who may be interested in collaborating on a comic book with yours truly.

If you’re interested in working on a comic book, then check the post right after this one for further details.

Now, the contest opens up as soon as this announcement goes online and will run all the way till April 27, 2013.

For further announcements as that date approaches; hit up the Visprint Facebook page or right back here.

Also, if you have any questions that I failed to address here, please hit up the Comments section of this blog post and I’ll do my best to answer them there.

While we will be accepting entries throughout the contest period via email (address appears below), we will also be accepting them at this year’s Summer Komikon (April 13 at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer St).

Just come up to me--you should find me at either the Visprint or Alamat tables--say “Hi,” and submit your entries to me.

If you can’t make it to Summer Kon (or would be too hard-pressed to complete your entries in the time left), then email your submissions to bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk (Subject Heading: SEROKS CONTEST) on or before April 27, 2013, and you’ll get an email acknowledging receipt of your entry.

Afterwards, you’ll only receive another email should your entry be chosen as the winner.

(And keep in mind, that’s dot-co-dot-uk, not dot-com, lest your entries end up in someone else’s bewildered and befuddled Inbox.)

Please include the following information: Name; Age; Address (Real World and Email); Contact Number (Landline and Mobile); plus, any links to online galleries of your art (if you have any, like a deviantart page).

Hurm. I think that should be all for now.

Again, if you’ve got a very specific and particular image in your head as to how Iteration 1’s Paladins look, then send that image in.

We’d love to see it.

Best of luck to all the entrants, and for those of you who’ll be dropping by, see you at the Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave