Mini-Comics Day at the Duderstadt Center

Fri, 02/24/2012 - 4:49pm by K.C.

2nd Annual Mini-Comics Day | 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Saturday, March 10, 2012

Duderstadt Center

If you like making comics and meeting other cartoonists, here's your chance to complete a mini-comic, photocopy it, and swap with fellow artists all in a day. You can work alone or with others. Your mini-comic may be any number of pages. If you've never made a mini-comic before, no problem, come and find out what it's all about. For more details check the Mini-Comics Day FAQ.

Registration is now open-- send email to minicomics-2012@umich.edu to sign up!

Comics Are Great! 46 – Manga Studio

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 2:55pm by andrewjmac

This episode is packed to the gills as I’m joined by a full house of great people who are all eager to talk about comics!

First up is a discussion on drawing digitally in Manga Studio with Stephen McCranie, who leads a demonstration of how he draws his comics in the program while Paul Storrie and I watch and comment with baited breath.

We’re then joined by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library and David Carter of the University of Michigan Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library for some great book recommendations and some talk on Mini-Comics Day in Ann Arbor, March 10.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• The Mal & Chad contest!
• Stephen’s Doodle Alley essays on sustainable creativity
• The Parable comics anthology
• Mike Maihack
• Dave Carter’s Ignite Ann Arbor Talk, Awesome Comics You Should Read
• More Ignite talks on comics
• The Watchmen prequels
• Jeff Smith
• Eric Orchard
• Dave Gibbons’s webinar on using Manga Studio
• Ghostopolis
• The Wacom Cintiq
• nemu*nemu
• Matt Feazell (check out his appearance on CAG 23)
• Suzanne Baumann
• Sean Beiri
• XKCD
• Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Lunch Lady Comics
• Cross Game
• Orange Road

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Meet the Creators of nemu*nemu at Comic Artists Forum

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 3:58pm by K.C.

Sunday, February 5 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown Library | Multipurpose Room | Gr. 6-Adults

Welcome cartoonists Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga from sunny Honolulu, Hawaii (via Skype), as they discuss how they work together to create comics and run their business.

Audra and Scott are the co-creators of nemu*nemu, an original, online comic that has been running since 2006. Not only are they inspired by anime and manga, but the duo also strives to bring a touch of Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday funnies with a good dose of “small kid time” nostalgia to everything they do.

Comics Are Great! 45 – Balancing Act

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 2:56pm by andrewjmac

Making comics is a time-consuming and challenging endeavor, especially when you try to balance your personal life, paying gigs, and passion projects. I’m joined by Skottie Young and Katie Cook for a discussion on the lifestyle of a working cartoonist and strategies to stay on top of one’s career, finding time for personal projects, all while still being present for friends and family.

We’re joined at the end by Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library for some final thoughts and book recommendations.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Scatterwood, a comic by Skottie Young and Scott Morse
• Skottie Young’s 2012 Manifesto
• Skottie’s FAQ
• Gronk, a weekly webcomic by Katie Cook
• The Traveling Wilburys
• Doug TenNapel
• Ramón Pérez
• Big Cartel
• Epic Win productivity app

Comics and book recommendations:

• Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand
• Shutterbug Follies
• Organizing from the Inside Out for Teenagers
• Breathing Space: Living and Working at a Comfortable Pace in a Sped-Up Society
• How to Be Organized in Spite of Yourself: Time and Space Management that Works with Your Personal Style
• reMIND
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Volume 1

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Comics Are Great! 44 – Great Comics

Wed, 01/11/2012 - 2:56pm by andrewjmac

We’re back with a new “season” of Comics Are Great! recorded live out of the Ann Arbor District Library Netcast Studio! And to kick it off, we’re starting with a discussion of the wild and varied landscape of comics by talking about some of our favorite books. Whatever your tastes, there’s a comic out there just waiting for you to fall in love with it.

I’m joined by Stephanie Mannheim, Gale Williams, and Eli Neiburger, who share some of their favorite comics and use music and movie metaphors to explain who these comics are made for.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Vault of Midnight
• Peter Bagge
• Robert Crumb
• Tex Avery
• Basil Wolverton
• Charles Burns
• The Ramones
• Kevin Smith
• The Future (film)
• Juno (film)
• Magical Girls
• T-Rex (band)
• Andrew Bird
• Garden State
• Memento
• Van Halen
• John Williams
• Michael Bay
• Smallville
• Superbad
• The new Ultimate Spider-Man

Comics Recommendations:

• Buddy Does Seattle
• The Bradleys
• Dr. Slump
• The Fate of the Artist
• From Hell
• Eddie Campbell’s Bacchus
• 20th Century Boys
• Little Things: A Memoir in Slices
• Incredible Change-Bots
• Crisis On Infinite Earths
• Superman: Secret Identity
• Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
• Troop 142
• Little Nothings
• Vlad the Impaler
• Morning Glories
• Blacksad
• Gingerbread Girl

Webcomic Recommendations:

• Ben Hutchings
• Gingerbread Girl
• Diesel Sweeties
• Octopus Pie

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Comic Artists Forum Follow-up: Photoshop Lab

Fri, 01/06/2012 - 9:31am by K.C.

Sunday, January 15 | 1:00-4:00 PM | Downtown 3rd Floor Computer Training Center | Gr. 6-Adult

Bring in your comics art and use Photoshop Elements to clean it up and to apply color and shading. Cartoonist and Photoshop expert Jerzy Drozd will be on hand to provide instruction and answer questions for those who need it.

You can bring your comics art scanned and saved on a USB drive or we can scan it here at the Library. Don’t miss this chance to use PhotoShop to make your finishing work a snap!

Comic Artists Forum With Rob Stenzinger via Skype

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 5:46am by K.C.

Sunday, January 8 | 1:00-3:00 PM | 4th Floor Meeting Room – Downtown Library

Guest artist Rob Stenzinger will show you how to publish your serial comic one page at a time, keep your readers interested, and have it all link together as one big story. In this interactive workshop via Skype, Rob will share comic storytelling techniques, the importance of the dramatic reveal, and why comics are the perfect home for your serial story. We'll even work as a group to chain together a few short comic strips into a serialized comic! Rob is the creator of Art Geek Zoo: The Way of Sound, a music fantasy adventure online, collected in print, and available as an eBook.

Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics or graphic novel creation. Drawing supplies will be provided, so drop in to draw, learn, share, and network with other cartoonists.

Comics Are Great! 42 – My Life in France

Wed, 12/21/2011 - 2:56pm by andrewjmac

As we close out the 2011 season of shows, I’m thrilled to have Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier on to talk about their recent experience at the Quai des Bulles Saint Malo Comics Festival. While watching some video and slideshows from their trip, Raina shares her reflections on how tabling at a French comics festival differs from ones in the United States, and Dave shares his observations about how the festival felt different for the person walking the aisles.

We close with an appearance by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library, who shares some more great book recommendations!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Delilah Dirk, by Tony Cliff (who appeared on Comics Are Great! 39)
• Scott McCloud and his famous presentations
• Saint-Malo
• TinTin
• The Smurfs
• Asterix
• the Small Press Expo
• The Elsewhere Chronicles
• Nicolas Bannister
• Angoulême
• Mamette
• Hôtel Étrange
• Tove Jansson
• Winters in Lavelle
• Beyond the Canopy
• Happyloo
• Picket Line
• nemu*nemu
• Sing Along with Mitch Miller
• Path, the latest social network we all have to deal with
• Dave and Raina’s video from Saint-Malo
• Dave and Raina’s photos from Saint-Malo
• Dave’s Christmas Mixes
• Give Teen Boat a shout-out on Goodreads!

Upcoming events:

• January comics events at AADL
• Jerzy’s Sound Design Online Workshop January 7, 11, & 14, 2012

This week’s book recommendations:

• Bakuman
• Unwritten Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity

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Comics Are Great! 41 – Digital Painting

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 2:56pm by andrewjmac

After a failed attempt at some digital painting, I enlisted the help of Brandon Dayton, celebrated cartoonist behind Green Monk and concept designer for EA Games, for a discussion and demonstration on how to paint with pixels. Lots of great material in the video this time as Brandon shares some terrific tips and tricks!

We’re later joined by Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library for a discussion on micropayment systems like BitCoin, Flattr, and YouTipIt, followed by another round of great comics recommendations!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Brandon’s portfolio
• Risk Factions (and on Facebook)
• Photoshop Clipping Masks
• Steve Gibson’s explanation of BitCoin
• The IMF
• BitCoin Evolution
• Star Trek Replicators
• The nemu*nemu Kickstarter campaign
• play.aadl.org
• Jerzy’s FTAM! Designing Sound Elements in Adobe Illustrator workshop

Book recommendations this week:

• Nobody Particular: One Woman’s Fight to Save the Bays
• Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age
• Dreamtoons
• Missed Connection Comics
• Grandville
• nemu*nemu

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Drink and Draw at Roos Roast this Thursday

Mon, 12/05/2011 - 8:34pm by K.C.

Hey Cartoonists! Drop in 5-8 p.m. this Thursday, December 8 for a Drink (coffee) & Draw (comics) event at Roos Roast, 1155 Rosewood Suite B in Ann Arbor. Rosewood is just off South Industrial. Enjoy some great coffee, conversation, and cartooning!