The 100 Artists Project

Changing

2009-05-29T09:59:00.003-05:00

It's likely things are going to stop here. With no art coming in and only a couple hits on the site per day despite the years long push at every art web site I could find, the 100AP just doesn't have it in it to win it. I've put more into the hosting and domain registration than the book has sold on Ka-Blam.

It's partly my fault. I tried being involved just a couple hours a day when clearly this is the work of several people doing 8 hours a day. I just can't keep picking it up.

So I'm going to drop the web site hosting but hold onto the domain and have it point to this blog. I'm going to drop all the other sites except maybe Facebook and figure out a way to have these posts update there. I'm not going to do any fancy sign up database as it's apparently pointless. I'll finish out the sketchbooks that are out there, but even they don't have enough artists to complete.

So things will be changing up a little around here. It's sad, but the 100AP just never got the momentum I'd hoped it would. It was just too hard to sustain for one guy part time.

Thanks to all those who have participated and hopefully other, bigger named charity projects will bring these people the funds they deserve.

Cheers.

Quick Update

2009-04-28T09:12:00.002-05:00

Still slow going here. The sketchbook from volume one and the moleskine are still traveling around. Going at a pretty good clip considering.

Still haven't received in artwork by mail in over six months. Received a digital piece a couple weeks ago. No new writing since last year and no youth art submissions period.

Couple hits a day on the site, which makes me wonder...is it worth continuing?

I'll finish out the sketchbooks that are out there, I'm just not sure the project ever developed enough momentum to see it through more than one run.

Carry on.

Donation Request - Hosting

2009-04-16T09:02:00.003-05:00

Greetings all.

A quick word on the administrative side of the 100AP; the hosting renewal has come up for the site and while we've got fingers in many social networking pies, having a stand alone site is important.

The hosting is $4.99 a month and I've been able to afford six months at a time at $24, a year would be roughly $54 (I know of a promo code.) This time however, my money is tight and I've no room for extra. So, if you're feeling saucy and need some place to spend some cash but would like it to mean something, consider donating $5-10 to support the continuing operation of the 100AP. The hosting expires April 21st and I should be able to chip in enough for a month, to keep it going but it would be nice to have to not worry about it for a while.

You can donate by clicking here.

News on the sketchbook travels; it's continuing at an admirable pace. The moleskine is also abroad still.

To you recent artists who've signed up to send in art work, don't let us down. Signing up means you really want to participate. It's not a sign up to receive updates.

Carry on.

Comics Monkey

2009-04-08T16:27:00.002-05:00

The 100AP Vol. one is going to be moved over to it's new listing at Comics Monkey. IndyPlanet is doing something with itself, but I'm not sure I want to read too much about it. When the new listing is available I'll update the sites.

In the mean time, I'll research the cost of getting it republished through Lulu and let everyone know.

An Explanation

2009-04-08T16:03:00.004-05:00

For those coming in late, I'm going to try to explain what's going on as efficiently as possible. It may be there are too many sites and too much cross over to really grasp the idea.

This is a volunteer project. People send in art. I in turn auction or sell it and turn over the proceeds to different charities that support artists or the arts. Depending on what project you contribute to, that's where the money will go. For instance, if you participate in the 100AP Youth, when the project is done, the money raised will go to the International Child Art Foundation. (The list of projects and organizations can be seen here.)

The project started off with people sending in artwork and when we got 100 pieces, I scanned them, put them together in a book with some interviews of the artists and sold them online. Then the originals went up for auction. The money from this went to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative.

Once those people sent in work, that got them on a list to have a sketchbook sent to them. That book is currently going around to those artists and we're about 30 people in so far. If you are reading this and you have either sent me something or drawn something in a sketchbook, you're good. If you haven't drawn in a sketchbook, it's coming to you, I promise. It may take a while though.

Back in August of 2008, I opened up the idea again for more projects supporting more funds. (See that link above again.) One of them is also a sketchbook that will be mailed around. BUT it may be that between the old and new lists, I have just enough people to fill it up so I may combine those. However, the mail in portion still has almost all 100 openings to fill before we can publish or auction again; that's a long way to go.

I'll admit to having a lot of sites available for information about what the project does, where to read about it, how to participate, etc. In all honesty it's the only way I know how to get enough eyes on the project. I've Twittered about it, set up Facebook and MySpace sites. There's a Flickr pool and at one point I made a Ning page. While confusing, these sites allow me to direct people back to the main page and at the same time, hopefully they'll tell other people as well.

Maybe one day we'll be big enough that we won't need a social networking site just to get visits.

Luckily a few people from the first run have come back to help. I've also had a friend jump aboard to drum up support locally and help keep things updated. There was a gap when nothing was being done, but frankly there wasn't any art being sent in either.

So, if you have ideas on how to improve, let us know. If you have suggestions on how to promote the project, let us know. I've emailed and called every fund, a lot of publishers and most every online art organization I can find. It's not that we need more people seeing the project, it's that we need more ARTISTS seeing the project and actually sending in work. Also, if you have any QUESTIONS or something is confusing, please tell us.

That way I can write blog posts about interesting things like interviews and art showings instead of talking about how little is going on.

Again, any help is appreciated. Thank you.

You out there artists?

2009-04-07T15:51:00.002-05:00

Award
Originally uploaded by xadrian

I'm wondering what happened to the 30+ people who signed up to do artwork for the project. It's been months, nearly half a year and only a couple have come in.

Plus the sign ups have dwindled to one a week and I'm fairly sure those people are signing up for a newsletter.

So, if you have signed up, please get that artwork in. The project lives and dies on the volunteerism of the artists. If there is no art, there are no auctions or books to make. No auctions or books, no sales. No sales, no money to the charities we're supporting. I realize each and every piece of work created is time, labor and love intensive. I also know that I can't do this alone. My partner and I can't draw 100 pictures, write 25 short stories and mail a sketchbook to ourselves 100 times in order to get the project done. It's up to you.

Even if you have already done the work, you can still help by telling people about it. And I don't mean putting a link on your blog (though that does help) but really telling people about it. Tell your Design 102 class, tell your art history professor, tell your parents or kids. I'm proud of this project and I would hope you all are too. Enough that you are more than happy to let other people know it's going on.

So we're still here waiting for those drawings. We can't do it without you.

100AP Artists posted on Neatorama

2009-04-03T08:36:00.002-05:00

Melissa Sue Stanley featured on Neatorama!

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/01/plush-toothy-monster-by-melissa-sue-stanley/

Melissa was one of the original 100 artists for the collected mail in pieces that were auctioned a year ago. Her drawing had the distinction of being the only one that had stitch work. Her skill seems to be crafting, sewing and creating cute and creepy critters.

Make sure to stop by her Etsy shop and check out all her clever creations.

Distance Traveled

2009-04-02T10:47:00.002-05:00

I just thought I'd share this with you guys.

This is how far the initial sketchbook has traveled. It's been to 32 different artists, so far two countries. It's been to 23 states and get this...

...it's traveled 29,657 miles!

Actually, it's likely traveled more than that. I've only added the direct line distance between points on the map. If you were to account for driving routes and the way flight plans bend or even land in different cities and then ship elsewhere, the number is likely to go up.

But, by way of comparison, the Earth at the equator is 24,902 miles. So our little sketchbook has traveled around the Earth once already and it's only a third complete. And we've just started sending to some international folks.

I'll start another map for the new sketchbook and maybe the moleskine as well. If someone has suggestions on better routing maps that fit what we need for this project, please let me know. Otherwise I'll keep manually making lines on a map.

Thanks, all. And keep up the good work.

Plug

2009-03-25T09:55:00.002-05:00

This is from a friend of a friend/100AP contributor.

I am calling out, looking for an artist who loves fantasy line art in the
late '70s, early '80s style. There is no money involved, but as a portfolio
builder for the artist, I am seeking to populate fantasy game modules I am
writing in a retro-clone fashion that delivers an appeal and inspiration
similar to that of the original TSR modules for the dungeons & dragons game
as written by E. Gary Gygax.

There is a new "old school" movement in gaming, and the OSRIC 2.0 system is
free for use. It clones the original game. As such, this year I will be
writing modules with an eye toward selling them. But adventure modules need
compelling art. Are you, or do you know any fantasy pen and ink/line artist
who might be interested in building their portfolio while helping me start
this business?

The art style can be found in the new retro-clone document, downloadable
here, entitled OSRIC 2.0. (sorry, I am unable to email a file that large
from work). Thanks for considering.

Thank you,
Tom Grzep

You can get in touch with tom here.

Clarification

2009-03-13T11:42:00.002-05:00

If you've stumbled onto the 100AP thanks to an email or a link from a web site or from seeing the various groups around the net, it may seem confusing. I admit that the whole endeavor is a bit loose and having 217 sites trying to drum up interest may not help. Different sites only allow for certain ways of disseminating information and sometimes the facts are overlooked.

Here's how it all started.

At first there was interest in doing the project, but only from a handful of people I knew from a message board. I couldn't decide on which cause to help (Hero or CBLDF) and thought it would be easy to split proceeds. It was and there wasn't a problem.

It was apparent I was limiting the project by only having people send in artwork. Quite a few people thought a traveling sketchbook was a great idea. But, I knew that would take forever and might get lost. So to ensure we did SOMETHING, I had everyone who wanted to participate, mail in a piece of art. This was the way to sign up: You send in something, you get on the list for the sketchbook.

We got 100 pieces and published them all and also auctioned off all the original art. But the sketchbook is still traveling (actually, I have it and will be mailing it this weekend.) Technically it's still going to all the original people who signed up by mailing something in.

The trouble is, it's been a few years now and a lot of these people have moved on and don't want to participate any more, have blocked my email address, are too popular and busy or aren't into art any more, so out of the 100 original artists maybe 50 will still get the sketchbook. This might mean that everyone who signed up on the "round two" push will be in line for that sketchbook as well which may take a LONG time in getting to them. It's either that or get a SECOND sketchbook and start mailing that right away.

So Round Two starts up and it gets a few people signing up but very little art sent in. The project dies off for a few months. Now it's back in business and I'm sure all the people who "signed up" have forgotten about it. Out of 25 people signed up, three have sent in art. The percentage is the same across the other projects. No Youth project art, 2 digital pieces, four stories. I'm worried whoever gets the moleskine or sketchbook will just never work on it. I recently emailed nearly 100 people who'd filled out the sign up form saying we're still working on it and to get your work in and we got two responses.

Is it because the project is confusing? I hope not. As of now we still need as many people actually contributing as possible. I'll be contacting people and asking if they still want to receive the sketchbook and get that rolling again, as well as the moleskine, but if you've signed up for something to mail in, please do so. And please tell people about the project.

But if it is confusing, please contact me. I've had a second pair of eyes looking at it and we'll make some changes. (For instance, the 100AP Youth project is for under 18, not 18 and under.) But if you're not sure what to do, what we're doing or where to find the information, please don't hesitate to ask by emailing, commenting here or on any of the networking sites we have set up.

100artists@gmail.com

Facebook

Remember, it's all volunteer so signing up doesn't mean you're legally required to do anything. But if you like the project, the only way it will succeed is if its volunteers are able to contribute. I'm doing my best with it, now it's your turn.

Thanks!

Writing Teaser

2009-03-06T11:19:00.002-06:00

Reader suggested we do some writing samples to get interest going. I'm also testing to see if our Facebook page picks this up or if I have to do more finagling.

Reminder, the 100AP does have a writing project.

100 Artists Writers - 20 writers. Up to 3,500 word short stories supporting The Office of Letters and Light. 2,500 words at roughly 250 a page would be 10 pages. Formatting may alter that. Please don't go over 2,500. Feel free, however to remain well under that. Any type of short story is ok but it'd be especially cool to have some good science fiction, horror, or mystery. Oh yes, please stick to fiction. I won't necessarily turned down quantum physics papers or poetry but I'd rather get some good speculative fiction.

So here's one of the first submissions. It's just a few paragraphs, for the rest you'll have to eventually buy a copy of the book. :) It's by Trey Wickwire, someone I should have more contact with. He's a fellow Texan and we've sadly spoken only a handful of times, but he seems like a good fellow.

DNR
By Trey Wickwire

Today. Would today be the day? The day that it all ended. The thoughts ran through the knight’s mind as they had everyday for as long as he could remember. The pale dawn light filtered through the trees and he pulled his dark cloak tighter around his shoulders. It did little to keep the chill from his bones. Sir Thomas suspected the fires of hell couldn’t warm his bones.

Standing, Sir Thomas reached out for the large rock he had sheltered behind during the night. Sitting in the lee of the stone had kept most of the wind off of him and the thick wool of his cloak had kept him, if not pleasant, then at least comfortable enough to sleep. Groaning, he stretched the kinks out of his joints. Sleeping sitting up next to a rock in full armor wasn’t the most relaxing of things, still, it was necessary.

The knight’s head whipped around at the sound of a twig snapping, instantly alert. The sound had come from the far side of the boulder. Quickly, Sir Thomas threw his cloak over his shoulder, revealing the gleaming silver armor underneath and freeing the sword at his side for easy retrieval. With a whisper the heavy blade was out of its sheath and ready in the knight’s strong hand.

Sir Thomas carefully examined the gleaming blade. In the dull light of dawn it still shined with the reflected light from the rising sun, but reflection was all it was. The tell tale glow that signaled danger was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, he peeked over the stone. A fox was peering back, unhappy with the human interruption of its morning foraging.

Another snap of a twig sent the fox bounding away. Sir Thomas dropped to one knee and swung the now brightly glowing sword. The bright metal sliced through the rotting flesh of the zombie creeping up behind the knight. Dry husks spilled out of the body cavity like the winter dead leaves of ancient oaks.

Taking the sword in two hands, Sir Thomas struck again, upward from on bended knee. The blade struck the long dead man in the arm pit and slide upward, meeting little resistance. The head and one shoulder fell off the creature, landing in the soft grass as quietly as the zombie had crept up on the knight.

Who Is It?

2009-03-03T19:57:00.002-06:00

So I'm trying to find who sent in a piece of work. All I have is the return address and the signature. The person's name on the envelope is...

B ! L L

...and the city and state is Weirton, WV. I'll put the piece up once it's scanned, but if you are this person, could you please contact us and let us know who you are and a good email to keep in contact with you? There was nothing in the recent emails that matched the address so someone must have just sent in the artwork.

Thank you.

Cause Page - Project Revving Up

2009-03-03T09:03:00.002-06:00

I've got some assistance for the 100AP and they'll be doing a lot of PR work. To start, we now have a Cause page on Facebook.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/235738?m=362bcdf2

I don't know how these Cause pages work, but make sure to check it out and if you have any information, let me know.

Cheers.

Who's Ready?

2009-02-10T09:27:00.004-06:00

It's time to kick this thing in the ass again.

Ok People

2008-10-29T12:25:00.003-05:00

Sending out sketchbooks this week. For all you guys who signed up for the Mail In for CBLDF, let's see some artwork already. In almost three months I've received one piece of artwork. We're not going to get it done that way.

Also of note, is anyone still out there?

What to do?

2008-10-17T12:25:00.003-05:00

Hey folks. Real quick, I know I've been lax on my end and haven't been pushing the project. I'm still here, I still plan on doing this so I'm just waiting for all those dozens of people who signed up to come through. The more work that comes in the more I can talk about it. I can update Flickr with images and start doing interviews with participants.

I'm also going to send a few sketchbooks out, keep those rolling. And since I've received a few stories, would you guys like to see snippets from those? Little bit of a preview or means to inspire?

That's all for now, not a lot going on but wanted to post anyway.

Cheers.

Tell People!

2008-10-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

I know I ask this a lot, and I'm making another push to find ways to promote the project, but in the end word of mouth is what's going to get it done. At some point that word will leave someone's mouth and hit someone's ear. And that ear will sit on the head of someone with a lot of clout. That clout will create a buzz and before you know it, the 100AP will have more people involved than can be handled and I'll have to hire a team of highly trained lemurs just to answer all the emails.

But until that happens, and before my permit to carry a lemur arrives in the mail, you should feel free to do anything in your power to let other artists know what's going on here. There's a store with shirts you can wear to parties, there are banners and buttons on the site you can use on your blogs, there's a pdf you can print and take to your local shops or art galleries or art meetups. AND if you have more ideas, please please PLEASE drop me a line. I appreciate any and all work you folks do, and to all those who have don their share of shameless promotion I offer my sincere gratitude.

Just want to keep the project going. Cheers.

Forums

2008-09-29T16:56:00.002-05:00

Check out the forums!

http://100artists.proboards.com

Stop by, sign up, network, ask questions, post artwork, have fun.

Cheers!

Testing Ping.fm

2008-09-23T15:45:00.001-05:00

Traffic for 100 Artists Project has been low so I thought I'd take some time to play a bit a find a way to update all the networks the 100AP is a part of. If this works it should update most of them. For the rest I'll be hiring lemurs.

Sign Up Update

2008-09-04T21:58:00.003-05:00

Hey folks, just a quick update to let you all know where the sign up tally stands for all the projects.

100 Mail in for CBLDF - 14/100

Sketchbook for HERO - 10/100

Digital art for CAPE - 8/50

Short stories for The OLL - 10/20

Moleskine for CCCSF - 3/200? (depending on the Moleskine I get.)

Youth art for CAF - 2/25

So, as you can see, there are plenty of spots left open. Surprisingly, the writing project filled up the fastest. I'd love to see some of this art start coming in. I've already received three stories so I know we're on the right path.

Thanks to everyone who has offered help with promotion and organization so far. Let's keep it rolling.

100 (Artists) Writers

2008-08-22T15:37:00.001-05:00

I know it's confusing, but someone mentioned I should post something for the wordsmiths.

The 100AP, hopefully you know by now, is running again and with a few new projects. One of those is the writing project. As of now I've set it up to be 20 writers and up to 10 pages maximum - all prose, no scripts. Time to get your sci-fi, horror, western, drama hats on and do some short stories.

Same as with the others, the book will be printed and sold through a POD, (likely Lulu or Blurb, I may do both.) The charity this time is the Office of Letters and Light. It's a small charity encouraging creative writing in children. I like that they're small because whatever we can do to help will mean a lot to them. They support larger groups as well.

Sign up page is ready to handle the new project, so feel free to get going and if you have any questions let me know. And yes you can submit something you've already written.
Also, if you know other writers either not here or on most comic boards, please let them know. May not take long to get 20 writers, but you never know.

www.100artistsproject.com

Cheers!

100 Writers?

2008-08-16T09:57:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, I had an idea about adding writing to the projects. Something like 100 total pages, 10 writers doing 10 page short stories (or there abouts.) It seems small, but if I did 100 writers and they did 5 pages, that's a very thick 500 pages. But I'm open to suggestion.

Also, I wasn't quickly able to find a good literary charity besides something to do with Walden.

Ideas?

Round Two Underway!

2008-08-13T13:32:00.002-05:00

After many months of promises and false starts, the second round of the 100AP is underway. Please visit the main site for all the details.

What's New?

I've broken up the original projects and have added a few more. The mail in 100 now ties in to the CBLDF and the sketchbook goes to Hero. The new ones are the 25 piece youth project supporting the International Child Art Foundation, the 50 piece digital art supporting the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education and the Moleskine book supporting the Center for Cartoon Studies.

The sign up page is active and I'll be sending out emails to the charities as well as some studios to drum up interest. If you're part of this community already, you've probably submitted work for volume one and all I ask is that you help talk up the relaunch anywhere you can.

Thanks for your continued support.

Relaunch

2008-07-04T18:14:00.001-05:00

So I saw this over on CBR and it made me simultaneously want to give up and keep going on the 100AP. In all honesty, I've got nothing else taking up my time, and this is at least worth while.

Here are some things needing to be done for the project to keep moving.

* Parental Waiver - In order for me to technically accept artwork from artists under 18, I need to create and publish a form that said artists will have to get their parents to look over, possibly sign and either mail, fax or email to me. There's no profit in what I'm doing and I don't plan on using anyone's artwork for anything but the project, but I also want to cover my butt in case something happens.

* TOS - I have a basic Terms of Service that I need to put on the web site.

* Form rework - The sign up form needs to have a new option to select which project you want to join. The site also needs the new projects' descriptions.

* Open up the projects - I need to make a list of places to announce that the second part of the project is now open for people to sign up.

* Vol. 1 reprint - Ka-Blam kinda dropped the ball for me. They took way too long, they messed up a percentage of orders that given a larger actual number would have been a death knell for the project. I need to put another print out through Lulu and let people know about it at the same time as the project "reignition."

* Sketchbook - I need to find out where the sketchbook is and keep it moving.

I think that's it.

Someone recommended going through Image comics for one of the projects, see if we could get a few artists who've done Image books to contribute and if Image got behind it, we could do Image characters. I think maybe volume 3 I'll do that. I want to see if this model is sustainable. I constantly feel I've maxed out my contacts and fewer and fewer artists will contribute. If we can do another couple smaller books the idea will be more marketable.

Also, if you've got this blog on your feed reader, please head over to the Ning site. I'm going to try and organize the project better and to that end I'll be eliminating a lot of the cross posting.

Carry on.

Hey, remember this?

2008-06-09T11:12:00.002-05:00

Greetings contributors, participants, onlookers.

I bet you're wondering what happened to this place? Where's the verve, the happy-haps, the je ne said qoui that used to permeate the very cables you use to connect to the internets when you'd read this page?

Is the project done? Did you give it up?

To be honest, almost. It's been about 15 months since it started, that's a long time for anything. I think I'm a bit burned out, truth be told. But that doesn't mean I've given up on it. It's just going to take more energy than I current am willing to give to get it moving again. I just got an email from a long time online acquaintance who said he didn't even know the book was in print. I was a little saddened by that thinking that not only were normal people, art lovers, charity seekers not involved, but it sounds as though even the original contributors may no longer be involved.

The book has capped at 26 units sold, and that's $108 after printing costs, so $54 for each charity. When it went up for sale I updated every message board, friend list, bulletin, social network site I could think of. I emailed both charities, industry professionals, even a few comic-friendly Hollywood types, just trying to get the word out. If a hundred bucks is the best I can do, I'm not sure I want to waste another year doing even that.

So, that's why I haven't started the thing back up. The big sketchbook is in Jeremy Dale's capable hands and hopefully he'll be taking it to at least one convention. If he's got a copy of the print book, it might spark some interest. Maybe by then I'll have the single mailers opened back up and more people can participate. I think all I need to do is switch my thinking from a huge project that is bound to bring it tons of cash for these charities to another obscure illustration project that are nice for people to join and be a part.

I'm going to again ask for input as the project is spread very thin across many different interfaces, yet I still don't know what's best. I'm leaning toward having the main site redirect to the Ning page, but I don't know how that will impact people signing up.

If you've got ideas about the project, please let me know.

Carry on.

DC Cancels Charity Auction

2008-05-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

For those that wondered why I wasn't allowing copyrighted characters to be drawn for the 100AP, this is why.

http://sayitbackwards.blogspot.com/2008/05/important-charity-auction-update.html

IMPORTANT - Orphan Works Act of 2008

2008-05-14T10:44:00.002-05:00

I felt this was important since we're all practicing artists on many levels and this impacts all of us.

http://drawn.ca/2008/05/13/oppose-the-orphan-works-act-of-2008

Currently, copyright is granted the moment a work is created. This new Orphan Works legislation proposes a change in U.S. copyright that would (indirectly) require artists, illustrators, photographers, and any creative individual to actively maintain and defend their copyright by registering each and every work with privatized registrars. Failure to do so would leave everything you’ve ever created as an artist up for grabs by anyone who wanted to copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, or flat out steal your work since the act defines an “orphan work” as any work where the author is unidentifiable or unlocatable, and applies to both published and unpublished works, U.S. and foreign, regardless of age.

More information in the post including ways to contact your reps, an interview with Brad Holland about the issue as well as some other links. Please visit the site and act now.

Big Sketchbook

2008-04-24T11:03:00.002-05:00

I haven't updated the map in a while. I've been hung up a bit on the first volume getting done. Rest assured the sketchbook is still moving along pretty well. I just got word today it's ready to move on to it's 30th recipient. I figured it take this long and so far we're pretty much on track.

The biggest issue I'm running into is people who go involved early are no longer responding to emails and I really have no good way to get in touch with them to see if they still want to participate. What this means is at the end of the run (in likely two years) there will probably be somewhere around 15-20 open spots that'll have to be filled.

Regardless, I think it's great - fucking fantastic if you'll allow me - that it's made it to 30 different places. I really hope when this run is done it'll be unique enough to get some publicity. The international shipping scares me still, but we've got a while till we have to do that.

I'm waiting to get some addresses from some buddies of an artist in Omaha and the map will be updated after that.

Carry on.

Gordon Lee Case Dismissed

2008-04-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

If you aren't already aware, one of the organizations the 100AP supports (CBLDF.org) has been in involved in a protracted legal battle with the state of Georgia vs. Mr. Gordon Lee for distributing adult content to a minor.

After several years, the case was dismissed.

You can see the posting about it on Newsarama.

With a price tag of $100,000 dollars, this is the biggest case the CBLDF has fought. It'd be a great time now to help replenish those funds by doing your part and purchasing volume one of the 100AP.

Congrats to Mr. Lee and the CBLDF.

Sales Help

2008-04-14T09:06:00.000-05:00

Ok guys. I'm stumped. After a year's worth of work and pimping the project on as many places as I could and a few that other people did, we've sold exactly 6 copies in two weeks.

6.

On Penciljack alone I had twice that many people say, "Yeah I can't wait to get a copy of this."

Well, what's keeping you? What's keeping anyone? I thought surely after a couple of pay periods a few more sales would come in. Not so much.

I'm discouraged right now, if you can't tell. I was going to spend the week setting up the next projects so people could sign up for them, but not if it's going to make me spend another year to earn $20.

I'm open to ideas.

Hoorah!

2008-04-03T18:32:00.001-05:00

Hoorah!
Originally uploaded by xadrian

Ok suckers, got my proof copy today. It's wonderful. You should go get one, and then tell your friends to go get one. It's 106 pages for $19 and $5.13 of every sale goes to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative.

Seriously, you're still here?

Volume one now for sale!

2008-03-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

Just got the email tonight. You can now support the charities by purchasing volume one of the 100AP. Since most of you supported by donating art, feel free to spread the link around to as many people as you can.

Thanks again for your support and input and look for more projects soon.

http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=901

Sidetracked: A Podcast

2008-03-29T13:53:00.002-05:00

100AP member Rian Miller has a twice-a-week podcast called Sidetracked. I just found out about it today so I'll be a new listener along with the rest of you. Give it a listen.

Volume one printing!

2008-03-27T16:55:00.001-05:00

Just got an email from Ka-Blam that the book is at the print stage. Hopefully that'll mean it'll be on Indy Planet's catalog and available for purchase very very soon. I'll keep you posted.

Also just a reminder, come join us on the 100AP Ning site!

100artists.ning.com

Print Status

2008-03-17T10:42:00.002-05:00

The status of the 100AP vol. 1 book is that Ka-Blam is verifying the files I've sent and I'll be sent an invoice soon and then printing will start.

Ka-Blam just posted about how a change in pricing structure had an unintended result and a lot of books were pushed back. This being the start of convention season, the orders are high but they're not at full capacity yet.

I'm still counting on the book being available by the end of this month. As more information comes available I'll let you all know.

To that end, if anyone has used another printer, I'd love to here your stories.

Community

2008-03-14T19:28:00.002-05:00

There's a 100AP Ning group already, but if anyone has ideas on a good way to socialize and network with other artists, let me know and we'll see if it's workable here.

Plus, a good group of members would be a great way to help promote the project.

I thought about putting a forum on the site somewhere, but I don't believe the level of viewers warrant that yet. But I could be proven wrong.

Carry on.

Happy Pi Day

2008-03-14T13:16:00.001-05:00

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #782
Originally uploaded by Ape Lad

Today is 3.14.

I don't know how the rest of the decimal spreads out over the day. 15 minutes? But then what, 92 seconds? 15.92 seconds? 15 hours, 92 minutes? But that'd be 16 hours 32 minutes.

1592 seconds?

Hmm.

For those who've not read Adam's Laugh-Out-Loud cats, 1) You've got 781 to go, 2) You've really missed out and 3) You've no excuse. Adam is going to be working at Disney Interactive doing cut scenes and designs for Pixar games. I'm 10 kinds of jealous, but if anyone deserves it, he does. He's an amazing talent.

Industry News

2008-03-13T19:45:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try something here. I want 100AP to be a neat place for everyone to visit and share ideas and such. I'm considering a forum as well as the Ning thing didn't really take off. This is going towards making the 100AP a more enduring place, not just a simple project.

To that end, if you've got Google account and use Reader, here's a link to some industry news feeds.

http://www.google.com/reader/shared/14034039800381245717

I'm trying to find a way to have those feeds just post as blog entries, but I haven't found that yet. If you have any ideas, let me know. There's a widget for it for the sidebar, but the sidebar already has a lot of stuff.

That's all for now.

Interview - Melissa Sue Stanley

2008-03-10T10:27:00.007-05:00

Melissa Sue Stanley is a painter, illustrator, and needlework artist living in a suburb outside of Chicago. She has the honor of being the only participant to send it a piece of work containing stitching.

So, you're a full time artist?

Right now i am a full-time artist. To keep my new car paid for i work 20 hours a week at a very Harvey Pekar type occupation - making copies and putzing around an old building.

I'm envious.

I think maybe I always have to have some sort of work - there's something about co-workers, that kinda spontaneous jabber that happens around a copy machine - I like it. Now, anyway. I am planning on ditching the part-time gig in about a year and half so i can work just on art.

So do you like being close to Chicago? Is it good for the artist in you?

It hasn't really affected me or my art, being close to Chicago. I like being close to the city because I appreciate certain aspects of it - but really my heart is in the burbs. And I dont mean, like, the white-fence huge house nonsense of the Chicago suburbs - of which there are a lot. I am very interested in the old main streets and the towns that grew off of rivers and railroad tracks and I think a lot of what I want to represent comes from that sort of environment.

And what is it that you want to represent, sort of a lost America?

I don’t know if it is lost, it's still there but it is being changed. That's the next series that I am working on, the way the old towns are being changed. I don’t know if I can describe it fully yet, I'm still bouncing the idea around. I drive through old towns and cornfields a lot though, so it's coming clearer to me. One thing at a time though, I gotta get through what I'm working on now.

And what are you working on now?

Right now I'm doing a mixed media series - portraits on muslin done in watercolor, pencil, and embroidery. It will potentially get me in a lot of trouble, which is exciting. I plan to start talking more about it and showing pieces from it at the end of the month. It's about privacy and violation. I really love it, I'm very happy with it. And I am also doing small scale embroidery and watercolor on muslin, like my icon, and a series of watercolors, 8x10's, of the men that I know. But today i am painting a dog for a commission.

"...the men that I know..." That sounds intriguing, little mysterious.

Haha - yes! They are all such characters, and they all have their own faces. Painting them is an experience for both of us involved. It's intimate you know? But again it's a little intrusive, because I don’t ask permission.

Well, we can skip it so I don't get you into more trouble. But, I will touch on the mixed media because you're the only one of the submitted pieces that had a bit of stitch work in it. How did you come to the idea that you wanted to combine that and paints and pencils?

I've been playing with 'fiber art' for a while, and wanted some way to bring it into my painting. that piece I sent in just came very naturally, just happened. I was embroidering in sketchbooks and things a little before that but that was the first painting I did with embroidery. It seemed the only way to convey the message/text - which is about my relationship with Joe Varisco (the bird.)

Is he a friend of yours?

He has been a friend of mine since we were young, and in the past few years he has also been a great collaborator and inspiration. I wouldn't say he's my muse, but he definitely keeps me going when I feel everything I'm painting or making is wrong. When I am working I sometimes feel like he is there, a little bird on my shoulder. The painting was pretty literal. We do canned culture together, which is on hiatus now but will be returning in July. It’s a sort of video blog thing where we babble about things we like and art and have parties and try to do salons and things like that.

Did I read correctly that you're self taught? Have you taken any formal art or design classes?

I will sometimes take the occasional class at the local community college. But, I wouldn't say that the teachers there actually teach you anything. They present the still life, or model, and that is where the lesson is. The only formal education that I’ve had is a few very hardcore semesters of art history, which was amazing - that teacher actually taught things and it was great. Right now for example I’m at the local college taking figure drawing classes - but that's only because the format is better than the local art leagues, and it's the same price.

Other than the projects you currently have going, is there anything you'd like to do with your art; more collaborations or projects?

I am always interested in certain types of collaborations - that's why the 100 artists project appealed to me, it was right up my alley. (btw, I am so happy/in awe that the single mailer project turned out so well - great job on that!). There are several people I’d like to work with, but it's got to be organic for me, I can't really plan these things. It’s hard for me to approach people on collaborations, I like rather when we stumble into each other. The COD (College of DuPage) Tattoo Project was like that. Me and this other artist, Patrick McGuan, decided one day to take photos at the community college we were both at - photos of tattoos on campus. About a year later we had over 1000 pictures and an art show. It was fantastic.

Are you involved in a lot of groups now, like Illustration Friday for instance? Things that inspire you to turn out work consistently?

Not so much. I get the illofriday emails, but I haven't done one in a while. I've got so many ideas bumping around my head that I don't have time for them, much less trying to find new things to get inspired about. I read a few blogs, but not many.... mainly I just try to sit down and do The Work as much as possible.

Like painting with wine?

Yes! Oh man, that was nasty! Haha! I need to revisit that - maybe with some better wine that doesn't smell like hell. I think there is something there though - I wanted to do some paintings about a certain type of art going on right now, the very aesthetic-image-tea and roses and Anthropologic girl in the city with a scarf and a dream sort of thing. But I didn’t get past testing the wine on paper, maybe next month.

Well, as a drawer of hoboes I was very inspired by the idea.

Yea! Go with it! My husband really complained about the smell, I left the wine open in my studio for a couple days – haha! By the way, the hoboes, and rabbits, and all that - I love that sort of thing and was very happy when I stumbled into it.

Glad you found it.

To that end, what media are you most comfortable with, assuming it's not a 97 Tempranillo?

I love graphite, and watercolor. I never thought I’d be doing watercolors, but here I am. Beyond that I love working with fabrics and yarn, and making weird sculptures and taking photos. I am pretty crafty with a crochet hook and have been able to create what I think is a pretty awesome series of soft-sculpture creatures - I sell them on Etsy.com. I’ll work in anything really. I paint murals in acrylics, and portraits in oils, but I really love drawing, which is why I think watercolor works best for me.

Now I see you've got an Etsy page as well. Is that where you make your money or do you do commissions for people? How do you make your living as an artist?

I do alright selling the yarn creatures and things on Etsy. Not the paintings, those don’t sell on Etsy (though I honestly haven’t *really* tried). I do commissions for people I know on my own, but I’m really picky about it. Honestly, where I am at right now is I decided a couple years back that I could not work in an office 40+ hours a week anymore, so I started saving and set a date to quit and then did it, and with the help of my part time gig, and my husband's health insurance, I’ve been able to really dig in on making my portfolio what I want it to be without worrying (YET!) about profits.

My website is a train wreck; it has none of my current work on it, so that's a big focus for me right now - getting a batch of work done and getting it out there. I’m giving myself about 2-3 years to make enough income to support myself fully with art. I’ll keep you posted on that little adventure - haha!

Oh, I watch all the contributors. That won't be a problem. But I'm sure a lot of people will be curious. Making the switch to living off your art is a big thing.

It’s all I want to do, so most days it's pretty easy. Hopefully people will respond to the work I am doing.

And how do you relate to other people. Do you think it's easier now to have fans and folks who would buy your work or do you feel there's too much out there now?

It’s been pretty easy for me, I’ve had some great "internet experiences". A few years back I painted a portrait of Claire Rabe, one of my favorite authors, just for fun you know, and posted a picture of the painting on my website. Well, the family of this author came across the painting and contacted me about it and wound up buying it from me.

That's pretty amazing.

It was a huge milestone for me as an artist. As far as there being too much out there, I don’t think about it so much. I have artists that I follow just because I’m a fan, but otherwise I just do my own thing.

That’s pretty much all I've got. Any parting words to your devoted fans or fellow artists?

Well, I am now accepting applications for Devoted Fans - send 'em in! For everyone else, just be Honest and Let Go. And, thanks for all your work for this project, and for your time today talking! It was fun.

Indeed. It was wonderful talking to you.

If you’d like to see more of Melissa’s work, you can visit her site at http://www.melissasuestanley.net/

Awesome Storm Justice 26

2008-03-08T18:23:00.004-06:00

Several 100AP artists are members of the webcomic Awesome Storm Justice 41. I've done a few episodes' penciling and some coloring and mostly lettering. I'm writing a script for an origin series for them that will probably show up in about 6 months.

Anyway, here's the latest episode.

Episode 26

www.awesomestormjustice.com

Writing: Amadarwin
Pencils: masked_ramen
Colors: Lawrence Basso
Letters: Ben Rollman
Editor: Richard Nelson

Please stop by and take a peak at what the ASJ guys are doing. It's a good project, another collaborative effort.

Also, I'll be trying to display some projects from contributing artists for a while. Aside from links on the side and interviews, I'll do write ups about individuals and their creative endeavors. If you'd like your comic or Etsy shop or commission artwork page highlighted, just let me know.

Interview - Chris Tinkler

2008-03-05T10:00:00.004-06:00

Chris Tinkler is a 28 year old webcomic creator, artist and award winning writer based in Peoria, AZ. He's been quite helpful to the project and lately has worked tirelessly on promotion.

Chris, thanks for taking the time to talk to me today.

Do you run the webcomics I saw in the Yahoo group or are you just a contributor?

Well, for awhile a friend of mine and I ran a Yahoo! group for a small-press community we attempted to put together called "Synergy Comics", which had a tiny bit of success. I haven't really revisited it in quite some time though.

Do you have any other projects?

My main project, since I was a little kid is "Ace of Spades Comics". Which to date has only seen about 6 pages published, hehe. I work on it every so often, but it's always "there".

Other than that, I've been contributing reviews and columns on several comic oriented sites and magazines. I guess the old saying of "Those who can... do, those who can't... review" holds a little bit of water with me, hehe

You're primarily an artists, but you've done reviews as well. Do you write the comic you work on?

Oh, yes... I enjoy writing a whole lot.

More than drawing?

Hehe, depends on the day.

Sometimes the words are there, sometimes they just ain't.

Tell me about Ace of Spades.

Ace of Spades Comics is a coming of age story for a group of friends, who somehow find themselves almost within reach of everything they could ever want. However, they may have to do some rather unsavory things first. It's a mishmash of stories I've been telling myself and friends for the past twenty years... and I actually feel there may be a decent story somewhere in there, if only I could get off my butt and draw the thing.

What's keeping you from working on it more?

Laziness and self-doubt, mostly. A lot of very un-artisty things.

So what made you decided to do a webcomic instead of trying for a job penciling another property or pitching your stuff to independent publishers?

Well, the web-comic was kind of an accident, actually. I was working for an independent publisher, who was publishing some anthologies and the like... and they began to fret about costs of printing... so, I formatted the pages so they could be posted online if necessary.

The book was finally printed (Ace of Spades was the back-up feature of Suddenly LandMark v.2 #1). I also drew the feature story "The Dancing Hand of Death" that the publisher - LandMark Comics - had written for the same issue.

Do you do any more work with them or the folks from the Synergy Comics group or is everything pretty solo for you now?

I'm thinking I'll try to go the solo route for a bit, as I'm afraid I'd become quite creatively codependent in the time I was part of the Groups. I'd definitely help out any groups that are trying to start up, as I think I might have a little experience to offer...

Speaking of, what kind of background as a writer or artist do you have? Any college or private training?

Unfortunately, I was a complete flake in my late teens and early twenties, so I didn't do the school thing (which I kick myself for hourly... stay in school kids!). Otherwise, just a few published articles to my name, and a spot on the literary journal in High School. I also wrote a novel for last year’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which was one of the Winners.

Congratulations. Is that a cash prize or publishing credits?

Just a certificate. But, it's hanging proudly on my wall. Writing 50,000 words in a month was quite an experience.

Wow, that is quite impressive. How does working in novel form help you with comics?

Ha! I actually had almost "forgotten" how to write in prose from writing in script form for much of the last decade (much to my editor’s frustration. I'm told a lot of my prose is "choppy prose", leading to many rewrites, and expansions.

If you could change something about your writing or art (choppy prose for example) and could do so without any effort, what would you change?

Oh, I'd tighten up my art for sure. It's a whole lot easier to "sell" art than it is words... for starters, everybody's got words... and it's hard to stand out from the crowd. When you see an awesome panel or cover... it's just there... in all it's, err... awesomeness.

Also, I feel if I drew better, I'd draw more often... which is probably a catch-22... if I drew more often, I'd probably GET better.

That's what I hear too, practice practice practice.

I know you've been working full time. What kind of time do you have to devote to your creative endeavors?

I've got a fiancée who's incredibly supportive (and patient) of all my endeavors, so pretty much any time outside of work is okay. Most of my evening is spent online talking to potential collaborators or writing articles. Admittedly, a lot more of that time should be spent at the drawing board.

When you ARE at the drawing board, what's your favorite media to use? Is it the same as the media you're most comfortable using?

I generally do layouts and pencils with a .05 pencil and inks generally with various sized Sharpies, with lettering done thru PhotoShop CS2.

You say you've written reviews for magazines. Anyone you work for regularly?

There's a magazine called Paper Dragon Ink that a couple of reviews on mine will be printed in their March issue. Also a new magazine called Splattered Ink Press will be running an article of mine... also in their March issue.

Do you mainly focus on comics or have you done movies or books too?

Comics are the primary focus... I've done a couple of movie reviews at my blog... but nothing too serious.

Are you an avid reader?

I try to be... read political books mostly (when not reading comics related stuff.)

Who's your favorite non-comic book author?

Probably David Foster Wallace... Infinite Jest, from what I recall, was a very good book. Franz Kafta is also a fun read... I've used some of his themes in my writing.

Back to the art, I know you mentioned earlier you're recently out of work. Are you going to take this time to push yourself artistically or do you see yourself doing something different?

This is kind of where I'm at a crossroads... I want to produce work... but at the same time, I want to produce quality work. I think my writing is pretty sound... but, without the artwork to support it... I don't see much success coming my way. I'm more than likely going to take advantage of some of the local schools and enroll in some art classes. I've probably spent several hundred dollars on "how to draw" books... which were a total waste, in my opinion... school's probably the way to go.

Speed and quality are hard to learn in comics. Have you thought of doing other types of art?

Nah. Comics have been my passion since I was a child. To me, it's almost the only type of art. There are a few exceptions, of course... but, comics are pretty much IT for me.
It seems artists today have more opportunities to get noticed, but do you think it's actually easier to BE an artist than, say, 20-30 years ago?

Oh, no. hehe, there's far too much competition now. I recall being one of "the best" artists in my High School, and with that came a lot of attention. Now, the field is just blown wide open... a lot harder to get noticed unless you've got "it."

Do you have anyone you'd like to work with artistically or otherwise?

I think I have several stories that would fit Terry Moore's art style.

That would be a big pitch to make. Have you sent him any correspondence?

Oh, no. hehe Just food for thought for me... for when I "make it."

Understood. Well that's all I have. Do you have any last words for your fans or fellow artists?

Just practice practice practice... As a borderline perfectionist, it's hard to see a panel or a page come out as anything but perfect... instead of practicing... I usually just give up. It's definitely the wrong way to be. You sometimes need to run laps before you can win a race... and maybe I'll start following my own advice.

Thanks for participating and for all the help you've given.

Thanks for the interview, Ben. It's been a lot of fun!

You can see more of Chris's art and writing at his blog, http://aceofspadescomics.blogspot.com/

New Site?

2008-03-02T07:53:00.003-06:00

Volume 1 of the 100AP Single Mailer is off to Ka-Blam. Barring any technical issues, the book should be printed by the end of March. I don't know if it'll be available on Indy Planet before then, but I'll make sure to link to the listing as soon as it's live.

So I spent the night fighting a sinus headache and usually when I can't sleep I think of something organizational; mental lists, deciding what project to do next, page layouts, promotional ideas, etc. Last night's mental exercises included how to rework the project's site and whether or not it needs it. With volume one out of my hands and the Big Mailer years from completion, it's time to get more projects going.

But I want to make it easier on my time and sanity. I want people to be able to sign up for different projects and their contact information be stored in an easily accessible file format. I think the main site as it is now is a decent start, but I also think it's a bit overdone. When people visit it for the first time, are they confused? Turned off? Bored?

I know from site stats that the blog and the main site combined pull in about 20-30 visits a day. It's not much, but I think once the book goes live, more people will come to the site and want to be a part of the project. I just want to give everyone the best experience possible.

To that end, if you're reading this, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think. Even if you're not a first time visitor, take a look at the main site and let me know what you think could improve it. I'm resigned to doing it myself, but I'll do what I can.

Thanks for your time.

Tid Bits

2008-02-29T10:18:00.000-06:00

It's a been a few days, so I thought I'd put up something to let everyone know I'm still here.

The print version of volume 1 is slowly coming together and I'd like to send it off for print today or tomorrow. I'm going to request a proof copy be sent back and since this is my first run with Ka-Blam I'm not sure how long the whole thing takes. If I need to fix things once they get it that could add time to it as well. Had I been more ambitious, I could have got books back to take to Staple, but it turns out I'm not going to that anyway.

However, that doesn't mean local shops can't buy a couple copies to sell at their stores. I'll try to get a few at cost and take them to local shops in Austin, but I can't afford more than maybe 5 or 6. We'll see.

Also, the interviews haven't stopped, I just haven't been taken up on my offer to interview people. I've got two that want to but we keep missing each other. Those will hopefully resume soon.

Also resuming, volume two! Actually, it'll be the 100AP Volume Two plus additional smaller runs. I've had offers to help set things up but when I take them up on it they stop answering. It shouldn't be much work to get it done the way I'd like and I'd like to get it rolling again to coincide with the print release.

That's all for now.

Donations Complete

2008-02-21T14:23:00.003-06:00

Dear CBLDF and HERO,

Hope this helps your causes. Keep up the fine work.

Yours,
The 100 Artists Project

AUCTION HAS SOLD!

2008-02-20T21:38:00.003-06:00

A last minute bidder has won the auction for the 100 Artists Project's 1st collection of work. I had honestly assumed the auction would lapse and I was going to relist it at a later time, probably for less, much to my chagrin. I'm really glad it sold and really happy I'll be able to turn $250 over to the two charities.

What this means is now I really have to get the print version done so everyone can see what great work was submitted and be able to support the causes themselves.

Good news today, good news for the causes.

Carry on!

Update 2/18/08

2008-02-18T15:10:00.005-06:00

Just a reminder that there are two days left for the auction. If no bids are made, I'll relist it at a reduced price and run it another 10 days. I believe ebay will give me one relisting without charge. After that I'll just pay for another run.

I did a quick examination on what promotional avenues were effective as well. First, a big thanks to Chris Tinkler for helping with this and getting a mention at CBR and other places. Adam Koford got it run again at Drawn! as well. Handful of other folks either wrote about it on their sites too. Thank you all.

A quick note on that. Chris may be emailing people to get testimonials or quotes about the project. I forwarded him a handful of emails, so if he asks you for a quote, don't feel obligated to be nice, just be honest. Good word of mouth is wonderful, but any press is good press, right?

Here's the last 30 days of visits to the site.

As you can see, the best views for the site came from an unsolicited link on StumbleUpon. It represents the biggest jump in traffic since the project was listed on Drawn! back in August of 2007. Unfortunately it was also a couple weeks before the auction. You'll notice the auction date is the same date as the ad on Fark. Now, the link on Fark was set to go to the auction, not this site, but there were links back. I was a bit shocked to see how little that $40 ad got me. In fact, according to the discussion, not only is $500 too much for the crappy art, but the funds we're supporting are also a joke.

I think Fark was a bad target audience.

And, since I can't get any love on Boing Boing or Newsarama or even the web sites for the funds we're supporting, I'll be trying other avenues. I think I might be able to fund some ads through Project Wonderful. We'll see how that goes. If you have other ideas, run with it. Let me know if I need to do anything to help but at this point I'm making it up as I go.

Of note, one of the contributing artists asked that their piece be removed. They had reasons, none of which a reflection on the project itself and they do want to be included on the next go 'round, so I'll be replacing their piece with one of my own. Notice I didn't have a piece in there, but since I don't have extras laying around I'll pony up a drawing to be a replacement.

The print version is about 50% assembled and I'll be sending it off for completion as soon as I can. If the estimates hold true, I'll be able to charge you fine folks less than $20 and still be able to make it worth the effort, so that's good news.

That's all for now.

Three Days

2008-02-17T09:12:00.002-06:00

Three days left on the auction. No bids and a lot of opinions.

Let me clear something up for people who may be coming late to the party and asking why I'm not listing 100 pieces of art individually.

1) This listing cost me $6. If I did 100 of these, it would cost me $600. That's more than the total initial bid of the whole project currently. I don't have that kind of money. I'd have to roll the winnings of one piece into the listings of the rest, which means I'd have to pick what I thought was the best piece first and hope it sold.

2) Some of the work is very good, some isn't as good. It would be unfair to the other artists if 4 or 5 pieces did really well, and the rest didn't. It's about the project, not each individual artist. What's important is that people participated to support a cause. If it's more important to bidders that they have a good piece of art and nothing else, well, there's plenty of art out there.

3) I also don't have the time to list 100 individual pieces of art. If I were to do that, I would have just asked people to do it on their own and then provide details on where to contribute.

So, with three days left, it's looking like $500 for 100 pieces of original art is just too much to even consider, which really upsets me. I'll reiterate the fact that if you wandered around a comic convention artists alley and got 100 sketches, it could very well run you $2,000. And those are just sketches. A lot of this work is well crafted, finished work.

But, the public has spoken and apparently the public doesn't approve of original artwork for charity. It speaks volumes.

So in four days look for the book to be listed at $5 and we'll see just how sad this whole thing becomes.

Call to links!

2008-02-13T11:21:00.000-06:00

Hey folks. So, in my promotion of the auction for the 100AP, I must have forgot to turn on the lights or lit the pilot light or put the car in drive. Page views to the site have dropped off dramatically and after a couple days the project has no bids. There are just over 7 days left so I'm not panicking, but I wonder if I did something wrong.

So, I'll ask this of you all, if you haven't yet, please write about the auction. Link to it from your blog, post a bulletin about it here. If you're a contributor to a bigger site, have the ears of large publishers or are otherwise knowledgeable about getting the word out, please do. I've done what I can but I don't think it's enough.

If you have any ideas or concerns also, please let me know. What input I got initially I incorporated so I'm not above making changes.

Thanks!
-ben

Auction Relist

2008-02-11T09:18:00.000-06:00

The auction was relisted to include a link back to a Flickr set with the entire 100 pieces of art.

Seen here.

Also, if you're trying to email me, when you send 500 emails, Google shuts down your account for a day. I can receive them but I can't reply. I'll get back to you all tomorrow.

Cheers.

The Auction Is Up!

2008-02-10T21:13:00.000-06:00

Hey folks, the official auction is up. Please help spread the word.

If the link doesn't work, it's item #320217069221.

Thanks for help bringing this to a reality. :D

Interviews for volume one

2008-02-08T13:45:00.000-06:00

Since roughly August of last year, I've done 11 interviews for the project. A suggestion was made saying one or two of those should be included in the print version of volume one. So I put up a poll, please take time to look it over and if you haven't read the interviews yet, here they are.

Michael Smith
Juan
Israel Turley
Phil Shaw
Steve Downer
Ben O'brien
Adam Koford
Mike Peterson
Jeremy Dale
Len Peralta
Nate Lovett

As always, if you are a contributor to the project, I'd love to spend an hour on chat interviewing you. I think it brings a level of humanity to the pieces of art people will soon be viewing and helps the project grow. You can contact me through the usual channels.

Carry on.

Site Help

2008-02-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

I know I've asked this before, but it's worth trying again.

The 100 Artists Project site could use a bit of work. I'm not a web designer and the site was put together by an online acquaintance S.A. Finch. He did a bang up job on the design and theme (the look) but there's functionality I don't have and information I've muddled.

The site runs on Go Daddy and I have access to 1 database. I'd like to use that combined with a form that would allow people to sign up and then that information is stored. Emails are saved and I'm able to send newsletters because honestly people don't read the blogs. I'd at least like to force them to delete an email.

I've been killing myself keeping several different documents in order to keep everyone's shipping address, website and email. I've made too much work for myself and the site has become too nebulous and hard to make out. Even with all the writing and blogging and maps and updates, I have people email me and ask how to get involved and how to participate. I don't mind answering emails and I'm super glad people want to be involved, I'm just sad they couldn't find what they needed.

So, if anyone is good with simple pages that use some kind of data store and can be dynamically updated, I'd love some help. You can either comment here, AIM me at "xadrian calim" or gmail at ben.lifeinaustin@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, carry on.

Print On Demand

2008-01-31T16:23:00.000-06:00

Ok guys, I was just checking with Lulu and Blurb about some Print-on-Demand stuff and here's what I've found.

Books will be $35 bucks if I don't raise the price in order to get anything to go to the charity. That's just the cost to get them done.

That's about $10-15 more than I wanted to offer it but when you get above 20 pages it just costs more. I'm looking at alternatives like a presentation perfect bound book, for some reason that's less, but I'm also considering doing two prints a page in landscape format to reduce page count.

I haven't checked Ka-Blam but I don't think this is something they'd do.

Amazon's Booksurge seems to have a lot of negative remarks about it, and also I don't think it's right for this. I don't want to have to order 1500 copies of anything myself (at something like $12,000) just to be able to get a good bulk rate so that I can then sell them on my own (on a site that has no e-commerce solution yet.)

So...just a word to all the folks here wanting to support the cause by buying a copy of the book, it looks like it'll end up being about $40. If I find a better way to do it, great, if not I hope you'll understand. Having not done this before I'm confident I'm not finding a loophole in the vanity print-on-demand world.

That's all for now.

Art Scanned

2008-01-29T19:37:00.000-06:00

David Ottati was awesome enough to get the art scanned for me. So all the art is in pdf and I'm now shopping for a nice portfolio case to put them in.

Here's my current dilemma. Cheap ones aren't expandable. Expandable ones aren't cheap. Since the art is all different sizes, binding was out of the question long ago but I wanted to keep them in a nice portfolio case. Most of us know of the Itoya portfolio binders for 11x17 boards, that's what their in now, but those only allow 96 spots over 2 cases. An expandable screwpost of the same size can be as much as $300. Of course I won't be getting that, but that's what's out there.

I might try something different and get a nice leather scrapbook display binder that's expandable. I saw a really nice one for $60 and the needed additional pages were about $12 a pack and I'd need 3 more packs.

I'm still shopping, I'm sure I can find a better deal. However, if you're new to the project and weren't able to get in for the first volume and would like to help, this would be a good time. There's a Paypal Donate button on the left side, you can use that to contribute any amount you'd like. And that's the last I'll say about it on this post.

But now that the art's back, if I get a display case soon, the auction should go up in days. I've decided to go with the full thing as one auction rather than break it up. It's the weight of the project, not the individual art that should be the impetus to bid.

That's all for now, carry on.

Auction Feedback

2008-01-24T20:25:00.000-06:00

Hey folks, gimme some feedback here. What would you think of me listing one piece of art to start, then using the proceeds from that to fund the listing fees for the remaining 99 pieces individually?

Site Redesign

2008-01-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

Hey all, I believe I've secured some scanning so that will begin soon. I'll also be planning out the next run of the project so people can continue to contribute if they'd like.

A list of projects will probably look like this.

100 Artists Single - 100 pieces supporting the CBLDF and Hero Initiative.
100 Artists Big - One sketchbook sent to 100 people, supporting Hero and CBLDF.
100 Artists Youth - 25 piece auction and book sales supporting the International Child Art Foundation. Must be 18 or under to qualify for this.
100 Artists Digital - 50 piece digital art only books supporting maybe the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Educaiton.
100 Artists Moleskine - One small moleskine book supporting the Center for Cartoon Studies Scholarship Fund.

Those are the ideas I have, not set in stone. However, what this will require of me other than more organizational chutzpah is a bit of a site revamp. So I'm going to ask again for help if anyone is good with site building. I have a few people I know who are good with this, but I've taxed them beyond the level a friend should when it comes to site design and creation, so I'm looking for new blood. I COULD do it myself, but it'd be messy and probably very poorly designed.

I'm using this blog more and more to disseminate news and updates and such. I'd like to integrate it into the site proper via an RSS script. That's easy. But I'd also like to develop ways for people to pick the project they'd like to do. I suppose a drop down with the lists would be the easiest way. I'd also like a way to track each project better, from current contributions to how much money has been raised when they go for auction/sale.

So if you have any expertise in that area please let me know and we can work something out.

I've also been asking around for sponsorships but I think I'm going to be out of luck until I file to become a 503 (c) non-profit and begin keeping budget records and have some kind of financial plan, which frankly would be a giant headache; I'm no good with my own finances. So I guess if you have any expertise in that kind of thing, I'd love some help there too.

Thanks all, carry on.

100!

2008-01-12T20:57:00.000-06:00

It came in the mail yesterday, the 100th piece of art.

For those who haven't read back, the 100 Artists Project started as a small idea about a message board collaborative art project. It's since blossomed into a major endeavor and after only 10 months, 100 different people have sent artwork in to support the project. Some have sent more than one, some have sent something twice.

In that time, a single sketchbook has traveled the country 16 times. Before it's done it will have traveled to most US states as well as a dozen countries.

But for now the first part is done.

I have some reading to do now about which online printer could do this for me, but the next step is to get good scans of all the work and then put it up for auction. I was never able to secure a decent scanner so I'll be going to FedEx/Kinkos to scan them all if they've got something that big. Once that's done, I'll post all 100 pieces on eBay. There will be a link back to this blog and the main site. Then I'll spring for the ad on Fark and maybe a few other places. Then I'll update every message board I can find with the link to the auction.

I'm going to wait a while before putting the art print book up for sale, probably have it go online as soon as the auction is over. I don't want to discourage folks from trying for the original art first. I'm going to list the auction at $500 to start. It sounds like a lot, but that's $5 a piece and I think that's REALLY low.

I'm also going to close the form mailing page for a while as well. I need to retool the project and offer people a choice of which project they'd like to join. I want to reword a lot of the site so it's less confusing and people actually only sign up if they're going to participate rather than signing up to sign up. I also need to research a few other charities. I have some ideas for matching projects so we'll see if it all works.

But the good news is, the first part is officially over. We made it. We're done! I'm very excited. Thanks everyone.

Done? Maybe?

2008-01-11T09:39:00.001-06:00

Member of Penciljack has sent his piece off. Once that gets here that will make 100 pieces and the first part of this project is done. Finito. In the can. Which means I'll be spending the next week or so assembling all the art, making sure it's scanned. Printing out some kind of credits page, what have you.

I've also got one person saying they've mailed theirs off as well, they live in Sweden (I think) so they'll be number 101 or #1 for volume 2.

I've also put an ad spot on the right for Project Wonderful. I'll be sure to recoup 10s of cents from the endeavor. Full disclosure, ad revenue will go toward site and project maintenance, not the funds. But I don't expect it to be much of anything.

That's all for now, more news about project wrap up soon.

Again, if you want to be interviewed, let me know. If you'd like to interview me about the project let me know. Word of mouth is our biggest ally right now.

Cheers.

Still Holding

2008-01-08T09:30:00.001-06:00

Eight days into 2008 and we're still holding at 99 pieces. The Big Mailer has stalled and I'm no longer getting any hits on the site (which means this won't be read by anyone) and no one is using the form mailer to "sign up."

I've had dozens of people over the past month tell me something is "in the mail" or "sitting on my desk" or "going to be done this weekend." I can appreciate life getting in the way of things, but I'm starting to get a bit down on the project, with only one piece to go no less.

What this doesn't also bode well for is a second run of this project. It took (is taking) 8 months to get the first one half done. The first lady took a month to draw the picture and send it to the next guy who sat on it for three weeks. The current artist was sick (which apparently limits your drawing ability) and the sketchbook hasn't moved in a month. Meanwhile it's been months since I've heard from people who've said they'd send in something, and they haven't.

I've sent out numerous emails asking for interviews and very few have been returned. Those that have been have already been put up. I think folks have just forgotten this is here.

I don't like making a stink about this, but this stinks.

I don't know what else I can do to keep this thing going other than tireless and annoying bumping of forum threads. I don't have the money to advertise and I'd hate to stick AdSense on the site as it wouldn't do any good, what with the 5 hits a day the site gets. (And that's five a day for both the main site AND this blog.)

There's been two donations to support the project, no merchandise sales. I can't get the dang thing listed on Fark or Boing Boing or any major listing sight. And other than the help getting the site designed, all offered help seems to have disappeared.

So consider the project done when and IF the 100th piece ever comes in. I'll still finish it all with the auction and make copies of the books for people to get, but that's probably all I'll do. It's obvious I was one of the few that thought this was a good idea. As for the Big Mailer sketchbook floating around out there, I might just post everyone's emails somewhere and just say, "You guys work it out. When it's done, send it to my grandkids."

I'm bummed on the whole thing, but it's a project of mine and those tend to come up to about 99% and then die.

Carry on.

99 and 16

2007-12-21T18:23:00.000-06:00

Hey folks. It's the weekend before the break and another piece has come in. (Came in last week, but I've been busy.) That means with one more piece, this project's run will be officially done and we can get it sent to eBay.

I've decided I'll just get portfolio binders and keep the art as is; no binding. It wasn't the idea I had originally, but I think cost wise and due to the fact that the paper is all different, it's just easier this way. I'm also going to spend the $40 to get an ad on Fark for when the auction goes up. It'll likely link to the actual auction listing, but then there will be information on where the project is so we can have people get the book as well. Maybe I'll do two ads.

I don't have any interviews in the can right now and the Big Mailer is probably going to hang out at the current artist's location until next week. This will also likely be the last post until some time in January. I hope you all have a festive and safe holiday and we'll see you in 2008.

Cheers!

Interview - M.J. Smith

2007-12-10T21:56:00.000-06:00

This interview was very inspirational and it was a real treat to hear some of these answers. Of note, M.J. Smith's family suffered a loss just a day after this interview, which makes a lot of what he says very emotional. I hope you enjoy this one.

Michael J. Smith (aka The Artist Smith) is a South Carolina based artist who comes from a long line of artists. When he's not painting or raising three kids, he's running gallery hosted art classes for children.

Michael, thank you for taking time to talk with me today.

No problem, thanks for your time, and for starting the project.

It has been a ride, for sure. So your bio says you teach, is that a full time thing or more private lessons or volunteer?

Private lessons and volunteer. I have taught classes on illustration and comic book art. The private lessons I do cover most styles of artwork. I have a lot of children that I teach and only two adults. The kids are great. They are open to any kind of art. The adults are both middle aged and they are only interested in water color beach scene painting.

Have you taught in schools or universities as well?

No, but I have taught classes that were given by art galleries and supply stores in Ohio and here on the beach. The gallery would advertise classes on whatever style of art and then a flat fee would be charged. I would get paid based on the enrollment. The last one I did was very well attended. I had over 20 students. I try not to do much of it anymore. It takes up a lot of time and family needs required me to be home more than I used to be. About 5 years ago my daughter became very ill. She was diagnosed with three diseases at once. I home schooled her through high school and now she is in college. I have more time now so I may get back into more of the teaching. There is an academy here on the beach that has students of the high school age range. They have shown interest in having me teach part time there. I am thinking about it.

Now, I don't want to ask about your arm, but I want to ask if you had to teach yourself how to draw/paint again and if that was as difficult as it sounds.

I don't mind talking about the arm. Several years ago I lost the use of my "drawing" arm. At first I freaked completely out. Anybody who is into art knows that losing that ability would hurt. I spent a short time feeling sorry for myself and then I took a trip. I got to shake hands with Frank Frazetta. He is my all time favorite artist. During that trip I discovered that he had recently suffered a stroke and he had taught himself to draw with his left hand. Getting back home I started to experiment. I found out that I can draw with my left hand, but my stuff looks different then it used to. I have limited use of my right arm now. I cannot do marathon painting like I used to (12-18 hours at a time). I can do 5 to 6 hours and I am done for the day. My right arm shakes when I hit the cut off point. Now I am getting to the point that I feel more at ease with the concept that my old style of art is in the past.

As if that were not enough, just over a year ago I had a series of small strokes myself (called TIA's). They caused me to lose the ability to remember numbers and other basic facts. My wife told me to stop acting like Frazetta on get on with it. I decided after that to get into digital artwork. I have to admit I do not like the feeling of it though.

I can't imagine what that's like, worst I've had is a jammed finger. Did it at all reduce your ability or even desire to teach?

Not really. Lately I have thought about getting a teachers certification here in South Carolina to become an art teacher for the local school board. It may sound all happy and fluffy when I write this but here goes... Children have the ability to learn art a lot faster than adults. The greatest feeling for me is when it "clicks" and a child sees what they have created. Their expressions are priceless. Having children yourself I am sure you know that feeling. I actually had a student from over twenty years ago looked me up a couple of years ago. He is working in the movie business now doing pre-production artwork. He told me that the time I spent with him made him decide to go to college and do what he wanted to with his art. That day was filled with MAJOR pride. My head swelled three times it's size for awhile, until my wife put me back into my place. The funniest part of that story is that I only spent three or four weekends teaching him to draw RPG artwork. He was a D&D player and he wanted to illustrate his characters. That little amount of time led him down a full time career in art. That is a fantastic feeling. He was just a kid who I forgot about (for the most part).

So, other than Frazetta, would you consider children - not necessarily yours - a big influence on your work or just your love of teaching?

Just my love of teaching. My influences run wide. My two Grandfathers were both artists. One did native American artwork, the other did Irish (Celtic) art. My father is an artist as well. Other artists that I have known along the way inspired me. Even some younger ones like Dave Dorman. Other influences were the Brothers Hildebrandt, Bernie Wrightson and the guys from TSR in the early 80's. They were cranking out an amazing amount of art in a very short time and most of it stands up to the test of time. Easley was always my favorite of that group. Today there are so many inspirations. I have spent a lot of time on the CG Network checking out the guys doing digital stuff. They are a bunch of very talented people. There is a lot more access today to other artists thanks to the internet. I look at what some guys are doing right out of school today and it amazes me. Back in the late 70's and early 80's there were not nearly as many fantasy illustrators as there are today.

So aside from teaching, do you have any projects that are on going or any signature works that you like to do or are asked to do time and again?

I know it sounds cliché, but I am working on two children's books presently. I co-wrote them several years ago and started to illustrate them I was about half way done with both books when our storage unit was robbed and over 116 painting were taken (as well as a bunch of other art and supplies). I am asked to do my biomechanical lightning storms often. I have probably done about 100 of them, if not more. I think one is on my site named "Mindstorm". I also do a monochrome style of portrait that I have been asked to do a lot of in recent years. I am working on one tonight. Out of everything I have done I would say that tattoo designs in general would be the one thing I am asked to do most often. Black and whites most of the time. I have done thousands of them over the years and I could not begin to ink someone myself. I just do the designs. My family is very happy when I get them as assignments. They are fast and easy to do and they pay well for the time involved. The thing is, if you are going to be a working artist you have to be willing to do anything you can (within limits) to meet the bills. Most of us (freelance artists) don't have insurance, etc. We have to do out own thing. It can make life very interesting at times. My daughters situation cost a very large amount of money. I had to make it. So I will do most any kind of artwork. The only limits are pornographic and sadistic artwork. They are not for me. Any young artist who thinks they are going to be able to thrive at only what they want to do are fooling themselves, for the most part. Most artists don't have that capability. We do what the client wants.

Adding to that, and acknowledging keeping some level of morality in your work, aside from that, what's the oddest request or job a client has asked of you?

What a loaded question. I have done some very strange murals and tattoo designs. By far the most uncomfortable was a oil painting. I was hired by an older man to paint his much younger wife in the nude. It was a classic pose. She was a very attractive young lady but what really got me was that this man sat there while she posed for several days and he asked constant questions. "Why do you mix that oil stuff int there?" etc. He kept saying sexual things about her and I finally had to ask him to stop. After days of this I about lost my mind. That painting bought my wifes first car. I did a mural that was sort of bizarre. A group of "skater boys" hired me to do a tribute to Charles Manson. It has been a strange three decades.

You win for weirdest commission story. That's just amazingly uncomfortable.

Is paint your preferred medium?

Acrylics are my favorite for color, but I like the sketch book and pencil for relaxing. Oils are so difficult if you have a deadline. I also love sculpting. I use polymer clays.

Other than being inspirational, did you learn from your father and grandfathers more than you did from any classical, traditional schooling?

Oh yeah. I got kicked out of more than one art class. My family taught me that all art has meaning, even if it may be hard to see. They taught me that lines are important but the feeling of the work is more important. For instance, while doing artwork many artists will describe a sort of trance that they go into. I do the same thing. I lose track of time. There is something almost spiritual to creating art (at least for me). I just like the feeling of entering a world you create yourself. Often times I will have a huge back story to a little painting or drawing I have done. That is because my mind has created it during the process.

Eventually, maybe improbably, one of your students may read this. You'd said earlier about art being work, harder work than most people realize. What other advice could you give your students or anyone reading this?

Never take for granted the art that you do, or the people that you meet along the way. The smallest piece of art or the littlest contact with a person can lead to great things. Create, create, create. Draw and paint all you can. Practice is everything. I had to re-learn a bunch of stuff over the last several years. I don;t take anything for granted now. If you get a commission , do it. Don't wait till the last minute. Clients often want changes and don"t ever take it bad when they do. You may think you have the greatest painting in the world in front of you. The client has their own vision and they pay the bills. Learn as many styles and materials as you can, that way you are more valuable as an all around asset. Most of all though, enjoy what you are doing. If you are not having fun you are doing the wrong thing. I have been doing artwork since the dinosaurs were on earth and it has always been fun, even during hard times.

Well that's all I have. It's been a great pleasure talking to you. The art you sent in was wonderful and I'm glad you're a part of the project.

No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to start the project. It is amazing how one person can make the biggest contribution. People often overlook comic artists, thinking somehow they are less than real artists. Any one who has ever done comic art knows the truth, it is hard work. Good luck in the future project. I will be here if needed.

If you'd like to see more of Michael's work, you can visit his site.

http://www.theartistsmith.com/

CBLDF Member Party

2007-12-07T09:19:00.000-06:00

For you CBLDF members, clear your calendar for December 10th. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will be hosting a member party at the Village Pourhouse in Manhattan. The evening will be filled with appearances by music and art guests, gifts and door prizes. The event is the first of many in December so if you're not a member and would like to attend, sign up now.

Interview - Me

2007-12-07T08:05:00.000-06:00

Chris Tinkler, contributing artist to the project and staff writer at ComicNews.Info was very kind in setting up an interview.

You can read it here.

98 and 15

2007-12-04T08:59:00.000-06:00

If all falls into place, this run of the project will be complete by next week. One person has said they've mailed theirs, three more have said it's sitting on their desk just waiting to be...I don't know, signed, inked, colored, stamped. So I'm sure there will be more than 100 yet I'm not decided on whether or not to include everything I get till the end of the year or cap it at 100. I'm leaning toward the later. I'd like the first run of the book to match the name of the project, then after that we can freewheel a bit more.

To that end there are still some things needing to be done.

I need an A3 size scanner. I can scan on the 8.5x11 scanner I have, but I don't want to clip artwork and reassembling would be a pain. Mustek offers them for $150 so if you feel like donating to the cause but are unable to draw, this would be a great way to show your appreciation for the endeavor.
Still not sure about how to deliver the actual artwork. The poll showed more people in favor of the portfolio display binders, but again, those will only hold 96. If you have info on a better display binder that would hold 100 pieces, please contact me.
Once all the art is scanned (see the first bullet) I'll need to set up a store front to sell the books as well. I don't know what type of books are available or what should be charged for them. I know people have offered information about some seriously top notch print-on-demand services, but I'm looking for easy.

Now on to some other items.

With the near completion of the first run, I'm already turning my thoughts to round two. The Big Mailer will be floating around for a long time, but that shouldn't stop additional projects from running. But this time it'll be wide open. I'll find small page count books, I'll have it open for digital artists (don't know how I'd do that yet) and different types of books would go to different charity funds. For example, for all past artists who have kids or who teach kids, we'll have an under 18 run and all proceeds would go toward an organization dedicated to children's health or housing or education. We could have a women artists run and proceeds go to Safe Place. A digital only art run could go toward the One Laptop per Child Foundation.

I like all these ideas, but the trick is to be able to get the word out and make sure the right amount of money is raised and more artists can participate. I don't doubt that we'll ever run out of artists, but I may run out of ways to find them, so I need your help. If you haven't already, print off the PDF and take it to your schools and coffee shops and places of business. Send submissions to major blogs and aggregation sites. Chat the idea up in forums. I've been doing this on my own for 9 months now and this is about as far as I can take it. A few folks have posted art or an entry on their sites about it and that's wonderful. If you haven't yet, it would sure help get the project some recognition.

Enough pleading.

I still need people to interview. If you're interested in doing an instant message interview that takes about 45-60 minutes, please email me and we'll set something up.

Thanks all, more to come soon.

Mike in Poland

2007-11-21T13:25:00.000-06:00

Hey folks. I've been out of town for a few days so I apologize for the lack of updates.

Two more pieces came in and they're both wonderful. I only have one problem, I got one from Mike Bilowicki in Poland, but I don't have an email for him to tell him the piece made it. Mike, if you're reading this, email me so I can have your contact info.

I'm gonna have to redo the tally, but I think this pushes us up to 95. So so close.

More info and updates coming. The holidays will shortly be upon us, hopefully it won't detract from the project too much.

Thanks to everyone who has participated thus far. Carry on.

Interview - Juan2.0

2007-11-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

Juan2.0 (aka Juan Falk) is a sequential comic artist living in Moweaqua, IL. He has a project he's working on called "Allison" and he's one of the more prolific commission artists I know. Juan was one of the first people to sign up for the project and had ideas instrumental to how it's run today.

Juan thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.

No problem, glad to have a chance to share some insight about my work with you and everyone else viewing the site.

Tell me about Allison.

Allison is my baby...she's my creator-owned project that I've been working on for quite awhile now. I like to describe her book as going to be sort of like Alice in Wonderland on crack...but not really. It is in the way that you have a beautiful young lady trapped in a unique world who is trying to the best of her abilities to find her way home, but Allison's story really goes a lot deeper than that in that everything you ever experience when it comes to the artwork will always have double or triple meanings to it...so that what you see on her journey will not always really be as it appears. It'll definitely be a new kind of experience for readers.

If you can recall, describe the moment or event that you realized you
wanted to be an artist.

Age 5...Eagles grocery store. My dad bought me an issue of Spectactular Spider-man and Merc issue number 5...between those two comic books and the little ones that came with the He-man action figures back in the day, I was hooked. Art and the goal of becoming a professional artist has been coursing through my blood, sweat and tears ever since.

Would you describe yourself as a classically trained or self taught
artist? If you studied, where and was it a good experience?

Completely self taught. I'm like a stubborn old mule, I won't give up until I figure out how to do something. I'll just keep trying over and over again until things start working right. So everything I do / have done is completely self-taught through trial and error.

As for studies, I took all of the art classes I could in high school and then went to college for two years to try and get a degree in arts, but at the end of the second year, the teacher kept me after class to tell me that I would never be able to do this for a living. That I just didn't have the talent or the skill for it. That really pissed me off, so I dropped out of school that very day and never went back. From that day forward, I have set out to prove her and everyone else that says my art is garbage wrong. One way or another, I will succeed in this...I don't care how long it takes, I will become a professional illustrator one way or another.

What would you like to accomplish with your art?

Right now, my main goal is to get Allison finished up and have her be the absolute best possible artwork that I have ever done to date. At first she was just going to be your typical comic book...one where I do the pencils, someone else inks, someone else colors, letters, etc...but as the years have went by, I realized that I want to do everything myself and that I no longer wanted her book to be done in the traditional manner. Now her book will be a blend of traditional and digital styles to create something unique for the readers to experience.

Who were your biggest influences when you were starting out and has
that changed?

When I first started trying to draw professionally, hands down, my two biggest influences were Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane. Anything those guys would draw, I had to have it. I couldn't get enough of them. Especially McFarlane...I bought everything of his I could get my hands on. Amazing Spider-man 318 and 319 just blew my mind on what comic books could be. They were no longer the cheesy six boring panels to a page layouts. These things were now exciting to look at and I couldn't get enough. I would spent countless hours studying how they drew the lines and trying to draw exactly like them. Over time I eventually picked up Todd's habits / style...but Liefeld's has always eluded me for some reason (which honestly is probably a good thing).

Today my influences are spread over a great many people and I'm always adding new things to my artwork to push myself to keep growing. I don't ever want to get stagnant with my style and become a one-trick pony. I always want to bring people something new and unique from now on. Before it was just me trying to be like McFarlane / Liefeld / Turner / Finch / Whoever and now my art has sort of taken on a life of it's own. I just do whatever I think will look best for whatever I'm working on at the moment.

My current favorite above everyone else is Ashley Wood. You'll see a lot of his influence in the Allison books...but it won't be just me trying to ape him...it'll be me taking some of his ways of doing artwork and throwing it into my own pot of ideas and past influences to create something different. As far as other influences at the moment: Yu (for his page layouts and use of blacks) and Templesmith (for his coloring ideas) come to mind...I'd really like to get a lot more Bisley into my stuff as well...especially with the way that guy can pencil render his images...he does some really incredible stuff and gives his pieces a lot of life and energy to each one.

Do you make a living with your art, how hard do you work at it?

At one time I did solely make a living off my artwork...but I had a lot of hungry days and nights during that time of my life and I literally hated the way I was living...so now I work three jobs 24/7 whenever I'm not sleeping.

If you could change something you do while creating, a habit or
crutch, without any effort, what would it be?

I have a bad habit or trying to be a perfectionist with my artwork. It's my biggest flaw as an artist. For the longest time, I tried extremely hard to make everything all clean, neat and perfect...and it didn't work. Art is life and life is not perfect...the Allison stuff is 100 times better than any of my old artwork solely because I realized that nothing can nor ever will be perfect, so why even try to make it look that way? Just do the work the best you can and get as much done a day as you possibly can. Now I actually enjoy doing my artwork and look forward to each new challenge...whereas before I was so close to giving up...because what I was doing just didn't feel like me. It felt like me trying to imitate someone else...and it just wasn't working, so things had to change. It was pretty much do or die at that point in my life.

Are you a hard set solo artist or would you like to collaborate more
with other artists?

I'm very independent. I've always been that way and I doubt things will change now. I like having the creative freedom to do my artwork how I would like to see it done without anyone else influencing or changing anything with it. My art is a reflection of me and I'd really like it to stay that way.

Artists are generally not happy with what they've done or how
accomplished they are, but if you had to label it, what would have to
happen for you to consider yourself successful?

I don't consider myself an accomplished artist at all yet. I truly feel I have a long way to go before I can call myself a professional, but I think that thinking comes from not being able to support myself financially solely off of my artwork yet. My goal in this life is to get a full time career going doing nothing but artwork and to be able to support not only myself, but my family as well off of it. If Todd McFarlane, Ashley Wood, Jim Lee or any other pro artist out there today can do it, then I can do it too. It can be done...you just have to find the way.

What media are you most comfortable using and why?

I used to have this extremely narrow-minded approach to my artwork for the past ten years that all I ever wanted to do was be a comic book penciler...because they make the most money for their efforts and they are most know for the work (even though others help them with it)...but I threw that garbage out the window. Now I do everything myself. You'll see everything from pencils, to inks, to painting (oil, acrylic, and watercolors), to digital art in the Allison books and the one thing I regret doing is not trying to learn how to do more of these other ways of doing artwork earlier on in my life. I would've been a lot farther now if I had...but like I said in the beginning, I'm stubborn as hell when it comes to things so it took over ten years for me to finally realize that art isn't just about pencil and paper...there is so much more to it than just that and as an artist you should try everything. Don't limit yourself to just one thing. Be well rounded and always do the best that you possibly can with what you have available to you.

I know sequential art requires a lot of focus and stamina, do you ever
find yourself not wanting to tell stories and just paint or do pinups?

For many years, all I did was pinups...now I really can't stand doing them. I like the challenge of figuring out how to do a sequential page...that is what keeps me moving forward because with each new page, it's a new challenge to figure out just how exactly I'd like to do it. And with me incorporating painting and other media into my artwork now, I'm actually enjoying myself with things at the moment. It really keeps things interesting...unlike the pencil only thing I used to do which was very tedious and extremely stressful on me.

When you look back on the choices you made as an artist or becoming an
artist, what - if anything - would you do differently?

Honestly, if I had all this to do over again (and I hate saying this because I really do love art with a passion), I wouldn't of ever decided to try and become an artist in the first place. I have gained so much in my life from being an artist, but I have also lost a lot to it as well. You sacrifice a lot to do art and what you give up, you can't get it back again no matter how much you wish you could undo things. I really wish I had finished college and chose a different profession instead.

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or
thirty years ago?

Yeah, in my opinion, with the internet and the way it can reach people worldwide, I think an artist has an easier time of exposing their work to a wider range of audience now than they did back then. Twenty or thirty years ago, you wouldn't of had that. Back then you had to go to the cons and show around your portfolio to try and get a job...nowadays all you have to do is post your work on your site, pimp the hell out of it, and miracles can happen overnight. I hear about it all the time about how so and so got a job with DC or Marvel or whoever just from one of their editors checking out the artist's website or Deviantart account. So yeah, I'd say today's artists have it a lot easier.

I know you have done a lot of commissions, what's the oddest request
you've drawn?

A lot is an understatement...I'd hate to think how many commissions I have done in the past five years alone. I'm always getting commission requests on a regular basis and sometimes I have to turn the stuff down just because there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done anymore. My oddest request is two fold. One time I had someone who had me draw Mary Marvel all twisted up in a lamp post looking like she just got the living crap beaten out of her...the other is all of the extremely hardcore sex commissions I've drawn over the years. I'm not proud of those at all, but the money that people will pay you to draw that stuff is ridiculous. It makes drawing comics for an average page rate chump change.

Do you get most of your interaction with other artists online or do
you have a studio you belong to? Which do you prefer?

I rarely interact with other artists anymore. I'm just too busy with things. I cut out a lot of the internet sites I used to waste time at on a regular basis and I really try to focus my time and effort solely on getting more artwork done on a regular basis now. I'm still not to where I want to be 100% but things are a lot better now than, let's say, they were 6 months ago. I'm really trying to change my life right now and so far, so good. I still have good days and bad days just like anyone...but even on the bad days, I still try to accomplish something with the art.

You post work on some studio message boards, is there a dream book
you'd like to work on or a publisher you'd like to work for?

I only post to pique people's interest in Allison. Allison is my dream book, but if I could have any publisher that I would like to see publish her, it would be either IDW or Vertigo. IDW, because I love the way they publish their comics...good quality paper and they really let their artists be creative with their work and Vertigo, because with Allison's tale being extremely off the wall, it'd fit right in with their other titles.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

To the fans: Thanks for everything. You guys are the energy that keeps me pushing forward. Even when I'm broken and bloodied at the end of the day from working myself to death, you guys make it worthwhile. I promise you I will keep moving forward and succeed in my dreams of making Allison a reality and attaining my art career goal. You have my word on that. I owe you guys at least that much for all you have given me.

To my fellow artists: Never give up...NEVER...no matter what anyone says. If someone says you can't do something, you get out there and you prove them wrong. Only you can change your life and only you have the power to make your life what you want it to be. It's never going to be easy, but it'll always be worth it.

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your work!

Thanks for having me. It's been a pleasure. - JUAN -

To see more of Juan's work, you can check out his site: http://www.juansoriginalart.com or http://juansart.blogspot.com. Art on his site is of a mature nature, not safe for work.

Early Poll Results

2007-11-06T08:56:00.000-06:00

I'm actually a bit shocked by the early results in the poll. I'd all along assumed the best way for the project to fetch a meaningful price at auction was to have all the artwork physically bound together, as if it were its own book and not a loose collection of drawings and paintings.

Turns out I could be wrong and a bit enlightened. I think if I'd have gone through the trouble of forcing the art into a bound book, it may have ruined it.

The art already lives in two of these presentation folders. They work well to keep them organized as well as fairly safe. Having as many as we do, they're both almost full and there's a caveat; they each only have 24 pages. Double loaded I'm going to be four pages short. However I think that's a small issue and I could probably find similar folders with enough room.

These also have the added bonus of allowing my to include the postage from outside the U.S. that I clipped off the international envelopes.

I don't know how I'd do a full credits page or even if one is needed now. Right now each page just has a sticker on it with the artists name. I have hundreds of emails with folks' websites and a master document with all their info, I could just print their names and websites and add it to the folders.

It would work, but it wouldn't be as unique. I really liked the idea of having them all sort of tied together like a coffee table book of original art. Having them sit in sleeves like that makes it seem more like you bought 100 pieces of art at a convention. (And by the way, you know what that would cost? Keep that in mind. Imagine you paid only $20 for each piece.) But the people have spoken and it's given me pause as to how to handle the final product. It may take a bit of time to sort it out. I'll probably still go to the binders and get a quote and that more than anything may determine how it will all be delivered.

Cheers!

Interview - Israel Turley

2007-11-05T08:08:00.000-06:00

Today's 100 Artist Interview is with Israel Turley (aka bindlestitch.) Israel is a sales rep at a lumberyard in Missouri and in his spare time he creates comic style art. He's got an upcoming project, "Hillbilly" and is a regular poster on Penciljack. Israel, thanks for talking to me to today.

Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure.

Right off the bat, you work in lumber sales. Is that something you fell into or is a career choice?

I fell into it. I never really thought I had the talent to make it at what I wanted to do (comics) So I had to pay the bills somehow. I've been doing it about ten years now. But hopefully with enough practice I can make it in comics one day.

A lot of people are in the same boat, doing what they have to to do what they want. Do you want to make your own books or work on, say, Spiderman?

Both. If I ever get to that level where I can work fast and with decent results, I'll start submitting some stuff to the big two. For now it's focusing on my own thing because no one can say, "No, you're not good enough" when I'm doing my own stuff. So, now is my own thing to get better, and later I'm taking on Spidey, heh.

Do you have any formal art training or are you self taught?

Self taught. And that's an ongoing process. It was just in the last year that I got serious about actually working in comics someday. So lately, I've been actually looking at how pros do what they do. Trying to figure out their process and apply it to what I do. I've grown leaps and bounds but have a long way to go yet.

Who are some of the pros you look at to help you?

Wow. It's really all over the board. Lately I've been looking at a lot of Ryan Ottley's stuff. That guy just blows me away. Also Frank Cho. You hear a lot about his ability to draw women but that guy can draw anything. And then of course I look at the people I "hang" out with on Pencil Jack .com. There are not only great artists on the site but people who go out of their way to help fellow artists. Which is amazing considering they are training their competitors. I think that show incredible character.

Besides PJ and other comic artists, do you have any other artistic or creative influences?

Not really. I'm just kind of a straight comic book geek. I know a lot of people tell you to look at other stuff to help you learn but I'm in love with the comic medium. I listen to music for inspiration when I write and I guess there are some films that inspire me but nothing like comic art.

So you haven't put much thought into doing other forms of art?

No. I don't really consider myself an artist. I never had a lot of design sense, which is why I struggle so much with layout. I was never really interested in "real" art. I can admire it and respect the ability it takes but it's nothing I want to pursue.

Tell me about Hillbilly.

Heh. It's the usual fare really. It's about a guy from Missouri (surprise) who's been screwed over by the government and he's going to set things right. Later in the series, if it makes it that far, I want to get into a lot of the Ozark folk tales and explore some of that. I'd say it will have a hard time gaining readers because it's pretty much opposite of everything that's mainstream today. I mean it's not a religious or political comic but it has both religion and politics sprinkled through out it. It's probably to "secular" for the religious crowd and to "offensive" for the non religious crowd. So, yeah, it's probably an amazing waste of time.

That actually sounds pretty interesting. You don't hear of many stories from the Ozarks. I could see it being like a Hellboy type book, exploring myths and legends. Would you draw and write it?

Yeah. I have no money to pay a good artist to draw it so that leaves me by default. Same with a writer.

What's it been like working with the Awesome Storm Justice 41 folks?

Absolutely a great experience. I can't recommend it enough to creative types out there. Working with you and all the other staff people there has just made my first real experience working in comics a great one. I had done a few pages for another comic right before the ASJ41 stuff but it wasn't as challenging. It was fun but ASJ41 was a real learning exercise. It probably spoiled me on working with editors in the business.

If you could change something about how you work, a crutch or cut-corner, what would it be?

My heavy use of reference material. I want to get where I can slam out a page a day and only use ref on odd stuff or for the details. Right now I have to use it so much to get my people and anatomy correct. I envy guys who can just sit down and draw. I have a huge time seeing a scene in my head. I have to really concentrate about what it should look like and that's when I break out the evil reference. heh.

There's good referencing and then sort of photo manipulation. What are your thoughts about artists like Greg Land or Tim Bradstreet who use so much photo realism in their work?

I know Land is looked down on for his use of whatever it is he uses. And then guys like Bradstreet. It's not something I want to do , getting heavy into the realism. It used to be but now I want to be able to meet deadlines and be that guy who editors call up and give work because I'm fast and good. Like Ottley for example. I know I've mentioned him already but he's really someone I respect for his ability and his speed. On a side note, on the Bradstreet/Land thing. I don't have a problem with those guys personally. I mean they're getting paid to do a job and I respect that as long as they don't cross any ethical boundaries, I'm cool with what they do.

What medium are you most comfortable using?

Pencil. Without a doubt. I am terrible when it comes to color, although I've been trying to teach myself some painting in Illustrator. I used to ink a lot with Staedtler tech pens but I've moved from that and I'm learning how to do it digitally in illustrator. I'm technologically about six years behind the rest of the free world.

You've quoted Romans in a few places I've seen your work. Is religion a big influence in your life and your work?

It's a huge influence on both. A lot of people can separate themselves from their spiritual beliefs but I've never been able to do that. I am in no way a saint, though, I just try to do what I think Christ would have me to do. Most of the time, and this is no joke, I end up failing miserably. I try not to talk a lot about it in conversations unless someone brings it up. I've found beating someone over the head with it gets you nowhere. People don't want to hear your sermon. So that's how I try to approach my work also.

Any parting words for your fellow artists?

Yeah, I want to say thank you to all the guys and gals on PencilJack and Uggabugga.net, including you. You guys have helped me (and are helping me) to reach a goal in life and I can't thank you enough Also I want to say to anyone out there considering the 100 artists projcet to give it a try. Ben is great to work with, if he tells you he'll do something, he will. Have no fear. Sharpen that pencil and get to it. God bless.

Awesome, thanks for taking the time today.

Thanks for having me man. I enjoyed talking with you.

You can see more of Israel's work on his Comic Space site: http://www.comicspace.com/bindlestitch

10 To Go!

2007-11-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

Due to a miscount on my part, we're not on 88 or 89 but 90 images! I promised someone to keep a spot open for them, plus mine makes it 92, or 8 left!

I think there are 8 pieces coming in soon so we should be VERY close.

Jeff Bigler

2007-11-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

Jeff,

I received your art today. It's wonderful, great pencils. It made it in one piece, thanks again for participating.

This officially puts you in the queue for the Big Mailer so I'll be contacting you when it's your turn. Keep in mind it may be a VERY long time as it has to go through roughly 70 other people first.

Only one problem, I don't have your email. I went through all my form mailers and couldn't find anything with your name or address or email. If you'd be so kind as to email me with your contact info, I'll make sure to add it to my file so I can get back to you.

Thanks so much,
-ben

PS There's a new poll up. Cheers.

Grass Roots Promotions

2007-10-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the relentless input by soon to be contributor Chris Tinkler, I've thrown together a promotional flier people can print off and take to their local comic shops.

http://www.100artistsproject.com/promo.pdf

(The artwork on the flier is care of Rodrigo Laiz, Eric Schock and David Montoro, chosen at random.)

Please, print a few out. Take them to book stores, comic shops, record stores, coffee shops, any place the would support art.

I'll also be blitzing a few more sites today to spread the word. I expect we'll be done soon with the Single Mailer so I want to make sure folks know about the artwork soon to be available and the cause.

Carry on.

Final days.

2007-10-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

As we get close to the end of the first run of the 100 Artists Project: Single Mailer, I'd like to textualize some points, maybe get some feedback.

To start, there's a new poll up, please take the time to vote.

The site and the blog get on average less than 100 hits a day. Most of those come from people blogging about it and people clicking on my signatures in message boards. There have been a couple huge bumps when larger sites have written about it, but generally it hovers between the low to pathetically low end of the viewing scale.

What this means is that there is a concern I have for when the first book actually goes to auction and on sale. I want to make sure it gets a lot of views and a lot of support, otherwise it's going to be a lot of work for very little reward. (Reward of course being how much money we can raise.) I've tried submitting stories to Boing Boing and Fark, two of the bigger "blogs" to no avail. I also tried to submit the story to NPR, my local NPR station, several local news stations and papers and so far no one has responded. A contributing artist was kind enough to list us on Linkswarm and Metafilter, that raised awareness. I'm no media darling and I don't have a lot of contacts in the field or anything like that, I don't know if anyone does.

When this thing goes to auction, I'm worried we won't be able to get what it's worth. If you look at straight commission prices, if each artists charged me $100 for their art, that's $10,000, which seems kind of ludicrous. The idea that it's all original, has come in from all over the world and is assembled into a single book should add a few hundred to that price, like any DVD box set or leather bound graphic novel adds to those values. Then add that it's going to charity and surely a philanthropic soul would pay nicely for it...if they knew about it. If I started bidding for this at $1000, do you think anyone would bid on it? I'm torn between starting low to get people interested but would devaluate the art and starting too high which would be a good exchange for the work done but would scare off average bidders. There's no way I could start the auction at $10k, no one would EVER go with that, but that's what the art is worth. Even $5k sounds high, though technically that's only $50 per drawing, which is around 25% of what I know some people would charge for the art they've sent in.

There may be a silver lining in the print-on-demand part of this, where the digitized versions of the art are sold online. I'm hoping at least the artists who participated would get a copy, I know I will be, but I can't count on that. They've already contributed art, why also buy the book later? At what kind of numbers are we talking about; 20, 50 people? What would you pay for something like that, a book of basically 100 prints? $20? $50?

I'm kind of making this up as I go, honestly. I'm terrified of the upcoming binding process because I know the varied sizes of art are going to make the job expensive. I don't have a reliable scanner and I don't know if I'll be able to cover the listing and POD costs either. When all 100 pieces come in, it may actually be another couple months before anything happens, so I don't want folks to be disparaged, it's just a logistics thing. I'm sure even if I had the business acumen to file as a non-profit and receive some kind of funding that would take time to sort out.

And in the mean time, is there enough interest to start future projects? I feel I've bled the artistic world dry with this and doing more books after the first ones may be a decades long endeavor just trying to get participation.

Ok, enough doom and gloom. I'm still excited about it all and we're so very close to being done that it's just wonderful. I'm so glad so many people want to be involved. Thanks to everyone.

Carry on.

Hey Hal!

2007-10-24T18:22:00.000-05:00

I got an email from a "Hal" today asking this question.

Are the 49 drawings on the gallery part of the first 100?

Yes they are. I haven't got around to scanning the rest yet (on my list) but they will be. I don't know if I'll add all of them yet.

Also, Hal? If you see this, the email address you provided bounced on me. So, welcome aboard, if you have any questions drop me a line.

Carry on.

14 To Go!

2007-10-21T14:33:00.001-05:00

Two more pieces came in this weekend. I've added mine in as well which brings us up to 86. That's insanely close to being done with this first part. I'm quite excited about it and it makes me feel really pleased that so many people wanted to be involved.

Let's push this over the top and get this thing done!

Carry on.

Welcome Metafilter and Linkswarm Viewers

2007-10-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

If you've come by via the Metafilter or Linkswarm link, I'd like to welcome you to the project. We're very close to completing the first part of the project, under 20 pieces of art needed, so if you want to get in on the first go around, best to do so soon.

The project is meant to be on going. As soon as we get 100 on the Single Mailer bit, I'll open up opportunities for more people to contribute more regularly; smaller sketchbooks, smaller mailers, digital work, etc. Some of it might take some figuring but I'm confident it can be done.

If you'd like to participate and have questions about anything, don't hesitate to contact me.

Cheers!

80 Artists!

2007-10-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

Folks, we've only got 20 spots left for the 100 Artists Project Single Mailer phase. To date I've received 80 pieces of art, I'm very excited.

However, we still have 20 to go so if you want to get your piece in the first book, you'll have to do it soon. Don't wait, visit the site, get the info and send in some work. If you've been siting on the fence or putting it off thinking you have time, now's the time to do it.

Big thanks to all those people who've sent work in, you've shown real moxy getting involved in a project like this and I applaud you.

Carry on.

Break From Interviews

2007-10-15T08:40:00.000-05:00

Apologies if you were looking for another interview today. I've done two straight months of interviews with contributing artists and I need a break. That's not to say they won't continue, but along with working on other things, I also need time to find people to interview. Most folks don't answer emails and I've near exhausted my list of people I "know."

To that end, if you'd like to be interviewed, feel free to drop me a line. More than likely I'll pick these up again in November some time. Hopefully by then we'll be close to completion of the Single Mailer.

That, by the way, is up to 80. Very excited to see the final 20 come in.

Carry on.

77 and 13

2007-10-10T08:52:00.000-05:00

I got three more pieces in yesterday bringing the total to 77 the number of single pieces mailed in.

The Big mailer is also moving swiftly and will be at its 14th artist by next week. I applaud and appreciate the recent group who've acted quickly to make sure the project moves forward.

With only 23 more pieces to complete, I'm wondering if we'll be able to finish by the end of the year. With a few more pushes to art sites I think it's completely doable. I'm worried about fall semester finals at the end of November and vacations for the holidays. Traditionally these have alway been slow times for collaborative projects. Again, if you have a way to make this project publicly known it would be helpful.

Good work people, carry on.

Live Journal

2007-10-08T13:42:00.001-05:00

You know what, if you saw this off your RSS reader, I apologize. I didn't want to make a new LJ user, I wanted to make a group for users to join.

http://community.livejournal.com/100_artists/

So if you are an LJ user, please consider joining the group and telling friends about it.

Interview - Phil Shaw

2007-10-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

I'm talking today to Phil Shaw, aka sacredbob from the Sacred Pie comic. Phil is a K-4 art teacher in New York where he and his wife both work. Phil thanks for taking time to talk with me today.

No problem- it's a pleasure.

You mentioned you've also done mural work for the city, what was that like both working on a large scale and working for the city?

I was the "team leader" for a group of six artists who worked on the murals under the direction of the principal artist, Jan Marie Spanard. (all of the work can been seen at www.albanymural.com ). It was a really great experience. Besides getting to make a living painting and do a lot of the work from a cherry picker(!), the murals were SO large that I worked 50+ hours a week just to finish it before Winter really set in.

It was cool working for the city itself- we met Mayor Jennings a half a dozen times. It's really a different world working at that scale and (to be honest) budget.

Were you doing this work while you were working on Sacred Pie?

Yeah- actually, I started illustrating and posting Sacred Pie within a few months of getting the mural painting gig. That was just about 8 years ago.

Did the mural painting, and later the teaching, have an effect on the comic?

Definitely. The teaching more than the mural painting even.

When I was doing the mural work, a lot of the focus was on light and shadow. trompe L'ioeil is French for "fool the eye", so the style needs to be able to look deceptively real. Comics (though they CAN be very naturalistically drawn/painted) are traditionally more stylized. Though the painting experience solidified my drawing and coloring abilities at a very formal level, it didn't help my comic-ing progress the way I wished it had.

After 2 1/2-3 years of mural painting, I started teaching art (I went to Grad. school, worked nights, blah, blah...). Once I started teaching concepts like contrast, emphasis, and movement, I started incorporating them into my comic work. I started noticing improvements.

Then, I started a comic-book club after school. To make sure I knew I what I was talking about, I started researching and (for the first time) came across Scott McCloud's books. Those changed the way I did everything. I won't get into how much I learned by trying to teach, because it would take me all day.

I'm sure your students would appreciate that.

Speaking of comics, where did you get the idea for Sacred Pie? I know the official background is about God and Lucifer and power. Is that how it started out?

Actually, no.

Sacred Pie started out as a "three mooks" comedy-esque comic (just set in a pseudo-religious-sci-fi universe). The three main characters (Roonas, Sid, and Bob) are based on myself and two of my pals from college (Roonas is still the official co-writer and comes up with, like, 65% of the really, really cool stuff.)

As the comic started to progress, though, we started to see the potential for bigger storylines and better ways to tell them. The aforementioned teaching experience and exposure to Scott McCloud being near the top of the list of influences (though Lucas's "The Power of Myth" essay, Asimov's "Foundation" series and Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" books helped with the writing aspects as well.

If you look at the earliest chapters of Sacred Pie and compare them to the most recent, you'll see a lot more elements that expand the world the characters live in- specifically the "religious" good and bad guys (respectively) Angels, Demons, God, Lucifer, etc.

Do you have a religious background that influences your work?

Yeah, I guess.

I was raised Catholic and still attend church. I'd like to feel that the ideas for Sacred Pie come more from the science-fiction realm than from the religious. I think that a lot of things that exist in religion can also exist in science. (Maybe the universe being created in "seven days" is possible, if you consider that a "day" to an immortal omniscient being is, literally, billions of years).

I like using the loose religious framework for the story, but I don't want to get caught up in the semantics involved with specifically quoting scripture, et al. I try to focus on the characters and the events in the story; the battle between God and Lucifer is too big for most of us to comprehend. Sacred Pie just focuses on some of the pawns in the game.

You mentioned your friend Roonas writes a lot of the comic, what's it been like working with someone for so long?

It's awesome. Roonas and I were friends before we started Sacred Pie, and it's definitely something that gives us an excuse to get together(despite our work/life schedules).

As far as the comic goes, though, having him as a co-writer is an invaluable resource. I can't tell you how many times he's saved the comic from a ridiculous idea or a staggering conflict in plotlines. I think anybody who creates a comic should have a co-writer or a collaborator of some sort; it's important to have someone who can look at it from a different angle. I don't think Sacred Pie would be what it is without Roonas's constant input.

Artistically, who has been an influence on you and has that changed over the years?

I think my biggest influences, artistically, have been fairly constant throughout the years. I learned the most early on (and still have traces in my artwork) from Captain Mark (Kistler), Ed Emberly, Jack Kirby (especially old Fantastic Four), and Bill Waterson (I loved how he could ride the line between cartoony figures and highly representational backgrounds(as well as the style of Calvin's daydreams).

Later on, I picked up influence by Drew Hayes (of Poison Elves), Jeff Smith, and Doug Tennapel, as well as online comic "peers" James Mason (Mase of Urban Shogun fame) and Amy Kim Ganter.

There's a lot of Waterson influence in others I've talked to. Was there ever a time you wanted to be a traditional comic strip artist?

Yeah. Like, all of seventh grade. I did a bunch of "Far Side" rip-off comics for the school newspaper and realized (after the first twenty or so ideas ran out) that I couldn't do "punchline" comics. I needed a narrative.

Sacred Pie is purely an online work and I know you guys want it that way. Do you think because of choices like that it's easier to be a successful artists today than say 20-30 years ago?

That's a "yes AND no" kind of answer.

I think it's much easier to get your work published (both online and in print) than it was even ten years ago. Because of the possibility of online comics, it's also much easier to expose your comic to a potential audience. There are only three places to get comics within a reasonable driving distance from my house- but every house on the block has internet access. And, you can pander to an international audience (many of my readers, for some reason, hail from Sweden and Denmark)

The downside, of course, is the flooding of the market If anyone CAN have an online comic- or in print- they will. And they do.

Well put.

I think this is an excellent idea, but the problem is you won't make any money from it. Not unless you're in that 95th percentile. As long as you go into it knowing that you won't get rich, and you're just doing it because you love it (or because 500 people reading your comic really IS enough for you), then you'll be fine.

I don't make a dime for Sacred Pie and I don't intend to. (Unless, of course, someone offered me tons of cash for an animated series or video game, but I'm not holding my breath.) I do it because I love it; and I want to see it through to the end of the story. If some people want to go along for the ride, more power to 'em.

Have you ever found that even though you're doing this because you love it that there are times when you feel you could be doing better?

Aye, that's the rub.

For the past 7 1/2 years, I've put pages up on every Sunday. It's anywhere from 1-5 pages (depending on schedule, work, vacation, etc.), but something ALWAYS goes up. If I could go back and fix all of the pages that I think I rushed through, or even (which is the case for too many pages) wish I could remove or replace, I would never get any further in the stroy. I try to do the best I can while still keeping my self-imposed deadline.

The death of so many online comics has been lack of updating. I've seen some really well written, beautifully drawn comics go under because they stopped making new material.

The pressures of work, real life, marriage, and kids (which I'll learn about soon enough) can bring a self-published comic down. My overall tendency is to get better as I go along, so I just keep going and updating (no matter what) and trust that the quality improves as I go.

Speaking of kids, are your students fans of your work?

Yes. The eldest of my students are (I won't mention the comic to the younger ones due to the violent content). A lot of them have even sent in fan art (or handed it to me in the hallways.)

I also (for the last 3 years) have done library lectures on comic creation for jr. high and high school students, as well as a weeklong class at a local college each summer. (Some of them I had hinted at submitting a piece for the 100 Artists Project, but I think they all chickened out).

I always end up picking up a new reader or three at these events (plus it helps me sharpen my own thinking about my comic work.)

That has to be heart warming to receive fan art from students.

It's awesome. Plus, they think I'm super-cool because I can talk (at length) about the X-Men, Spiderman, Venom, etc. They don't expect that kind of connection with a "grown up" most of the time.

You mentioned your wife also teaches, is she an artist as well? What does she think of your work?

No, she's a first grade teacher.

She loves Sacred Pie, though. She thinks it's neat that she gets to see the process from the planning stages (she's often about when Roonas and I plan), to the sketches, the drawings, coloring, etc.

Her whole family reads the comic now, too. (I even think a couple of them like it besides the fact that I did it, too)

I've kept you a while, do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

To the fans, I'd say- keep reading! Roonas and I have years and years of stuff we need to get to, and it'll keep getting better and better as we go along.

To my fellow artists, I say keep drawing! The more you do it the better you get. If you love it, keep going. Set a deadline for yourself and keep it; your fans will come if you're consistent.

Oh, and, uh, feel free to link to Sacred Pie (heh).

Thanks!

To see more of Phil’s work and to read a great comic go to http://www.sacredpie.com

Comic Store Gives to Charity

2007-10-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

Seen on Boing Boing, comic book store gives 20% of sales to charity.

That's just one of the reasons I'm proud to announce that ComicBookShelf.com will donate 5% of every online sale to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund which supports comics-related first amendment cases.
We're also donating an additional 5% to the Hero Initiative which helps get financial help to golden age comic artists who never made any royalties from their priceless creations.

Looks like good ideas get around. If you frequenPublish Postt the shop in San Jose, CA, stop buy and buy something extra.

Interview - Steve Downer

2007-10-01T12:41:00.000-05:00

I'm talking today with Steven Downer, comic book artist, cartoonist and illustrator. He's based in southwest Montana where he works on secret projects with Canadians.

Steve, thanks for taking some time to talk today.

Sure thing, Ben

Are you a full time comic artist or do you have another job as well?

I have a full-time job as a T-shirt art designer. Comics is just on an as- I- have-time freelance basis right now.

You're also quite young compared to a lot of your contemporaries, are you planning on any schooling or does the t-shirt company have your time all locked up?

I'd love to get some formal training, but yeah- I can't afford the time, or the tuition, unfortunately. But I intend to take some classes when time permits.

You recent art is very cartoony and stylistic, but you've done some very impressive realistic illustrations. Which is your favorite to work on.

I really love the fun energy of the cartoony style, and I think that's where my real niche is, but I love the way a more straight, realistic style allows a cartoonist to broach more serious topics with less difficulty. So a mix of both, but I think I do prefer a cartoony style.

Have you thought of, or have you yet, done straight up cartooning?

You mean a comic strip?

Not really.

I passionately love comics and superheroes, and I confess to being somewhat disillusioned with newspaper comics and cartoons on the whole.

While I grew up on Calvin and Hobbes, I love almost everything about comic books, and I relish the opportunity to use color on a regular basis.

You're currently working with the Awesome Storm Justice 41 group, what's that been like working with them?

Man, I have nothing but great things to say about everybody over at ASJ41.

The writers, pencillers and especially editors- a better group of creators would be hard to come by, and I love the way they're all so eager to just have fun with the characters.

Other than ASJ, do you have a signature project, something that someone would associate with Steve Downer?

Not at the moment. Until a year ago, I published James Blond, a webcomic, on the Transplant Comics webring, and I have an upcoming print comic book, but at the moment I'm afraid not.

I guess I'm just spending too much time on those t-shirts... maybe I ought to slack more.

I'm sure those of us with full time jobs would love to slack more as well.

Who were your biggest influences when you were starting out and has that changed?

Funny, I was just thinking about this.

Growing up, most comics were disallowed in my home- apparently comics in the '90s were too "extreme"?

But the exception to that was Hergé's Tintin works, and I devoured those.

I also grew up on Calvin and Hobbes, and I think that Bill Watterson has had the biggest influence on me overall.

I really see Hergé's influence in backgrounds and composition, while Watterson shows through in body language and panel layout.

Bruce Timm's Animated Batman was something I obsessively copied growing up, and his streamlined work has really taught me a lot over the years.

Right now, I'd say one of my biggest influences is Sean Galloway- his minimalist, extremely stylize work always blows my mind. I'm also a huge fan of Darwyn Cooke.

The list goes on for miles, but I'd say those dudes' work will always get a few bucks out of me.

Are you excited about the Tintin movie?

I have somewhat mixed feelings about it, though- Hergé WAS Tintin, and without his guiding presence my expectations are kinda low. I'm honestly more interested in tracking down the old live-action movies he was directly involved with- they look really fantastic.

Artists are generally not happy with what they've done or how accomplished they are, but if you had to label it, what would have to happen for you to consider yourself successful?

I guess I'd consider myself materially successful if I make enough from my art to live comfortably on. But I don't think I'd really be a successful artist until I make something that really leaves an impact on people, y'know? I think it can be done with comics, and I want to have a hand in something that makes people stop and seriously consider something that they've never thought about before.

I'm sure that's the dream of every artist, but I also believe that it's honestly achievable. I guess I'd consider myself successful if I do something that makes a lasting impact.

If you could change something you do while creating, a habit or crutch, without any effort, what would it be?

Hmm... There are quite a few things, but I'd really like to get better about winging it on perspective. I get pretty lazy on that sometimes.

Is that something you think formal training would help or is it more patience and attention?

Both, I think. I have the technical knowledge to do it, but when I'm pressed for time it's very easy to just "guess" where vanishing points should be and fake it. I think having someone around to call me on it would be a big help, though.

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or thirty years ago?

I think it's easier to make money at it, mostly due to the global opportunities the Internet has blown open, but actually BEING an artist- the act of creating... I don't think it's any easier.

If you can recall, describe the moment or event that you realized you wanted to be an artist.

Hmm... I can remember drawing all my childhood... but the exact moment I defined what I wanted to be?

I was probably ten... At a friend’s house, sitting in the yard after watching Batman: The Animated series, we were tracing out of a Superman coloring book and I said, "Know what? I'm going to do this for the rest of my life".

So probably about then, I suppose.

Well now I feel really old.

I've seen the work you've done for ASJ, it's a really solid mix of medium. Which medium is your favorite or most comfortable?

I'm probably most proficient with a pencil and Bristol Board, as far as drawing goes. I'm also not half-bad with that "Photoshop" thing, too.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

I'm gonna take a line from Strong Bad here:

Ladies to the left for make-outs!

Dudes, to the right for high-fives!

and Artists.... I love ya all. Keep on creating.

Brilliant, well thanks for taking the time to talk today. Good luck with everything.

Thank you, and let me know if I need to break any Single Mailer stragglers' kneecaps.

You can see more of Steve's artwork on his website, http://www.downerillustration.com/

Merchandizing Update

2007-10-01T11:53:00.001-05:00

There's a link to a shirt on the right, from there you should be able to get to the entire 100 Artists merchandise line.

Here's a flash badge if you were looking to snaz up a blog or site.

Here's the code for it.

<embed src="http://www.zazzle.com/assets/swf/zp/zp.swf?st=POPULARITY&tl=xadrian%27s+Gallery+at+Zazzle&ch=xadrian" FlashVars="path=http://www.zazzle.com/assets/swf/zp/skins" width="450" height="300" wmode="transparent" TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

This now also appears on the main site's shop page.

Six Months

2007-10-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

Unofficially, the 100 Artist Project started on March 30th. In six months we've assembled 72 pieces of art and mailed one sketchbook to 12 people who have contributed to it.

Since hit tracking was enabled in May for this blog and the main site, we've had over 3,600 vists and 4,800 page views; 2000 of those in September alone. All of this has come from word of mouth and people linking back to the site. For that I thank you. I'd also like to ask those that haven't yet to link back to either the main site or this blog. More links raise our Technorati score and increase search engine visiblity which hopefully translates to more artists seeing the site and eventually more people knowing about the auctions and the sales when they start happening. It's a small thing now, but considering it's all been ad-less referrals, I think it's a success.

We should have 2-3 more pieces of art coming in this week. I'm doing my best to find new art sites to alert to the project, if you have any suggestions let me know.

There should be an interview here today, and I've got one, but it's on a different computer and I may not get it posted until tonight. I apologize for the delay.

I'll be making up some shirts, buttons and bags to start with. The voting on the merchandise type is still open, but it's easy enough to make a bunch of things and let people choose. I'll be mixing in some phrases with the main logo, things like, "I drew for the 100 Artists Project" and some with the tag line "Standing Apart, Drawing Togheter" included. What I thought might be a cool idea is if you've already submitted a drawing, I've got a list of when your art was received and it has a number. I could make jersey type shirts with the logo on the front and your number on the back. If you are interested in that let me know and I'll do something up special for those people.

Thanks again for everyone who's participated. If you are reading this and aren't and artist but have a knack for organizational drudgery, I could use some PR assistance. One of the early contributors, Annje Jensen, has offered to help keep up the MySpace page, although lately all I've been doing on it is marking all the webcam-stripper invites as spam.

So happy half-birthday to the project and thanks again for your interest and help.

Cheers.

Merchandise

2007-09-29T13:08:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd put up a quick note about 100 Artists merchandise. It would be more for novelty and word of mouth than actual profit for the funds or project upkeep. At first it would just be the logo on various products, but there could be more.

I've put up a poll to find out what type of product interests people the most. I'd be using Zazzle and they have a set number of products, but anyone shopping there can customize it before buying. This way I'll also have something to put on the Shop page until the books are actually ready to auction and later print for sale.

A friend also recommended contacting the Drink and Draw or Pub Sketch type groups and see if they'd be interested in participating. The Illustration Friday site has linked to us and I'd like to welcome those folks who are stopping by.

Stay tuned for more. Another interview up Monday. Cheers.

71 and 12

2007-09-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

With two days left on the poll and a whopping nine votes, I'll be spending some time scanning the remaining art so all 70 current pieces are in the gallery.

And to add, yes there is a gallery. It's on the main site. I may have to tweak the Flash interface but I think it's possible. I STILL don't have a decent scanner (which is going to be integral to this project eventually) so if you'd like to help, you can either donate to that fund, or you can help out by visiting my Robot Portraits site and get a commissioned piece, that would help keep things running AND you'd get a little something back.

Also, I've received the 71st piece for the Single Mailer AND the Big Mailer is off to its 12th stop. So, the project is moving along. I didn't get much of a bump from the reposting of all the message boards, but I've started up over on Deviant Art and hopefully there'll be some interest there. I'd also like to apologize to those 250 people I emailed a couple days ago. If I didn't think the project was in trouble of stalling out I wouldn't have done it. As it is I got about 5 emails back saying, "Oh shoot, I forgot." Again, all word of mouth help would be great and if you have ideas on promotion PLEASE get with me and we'll work on something.

Thanks! Keep that art coming in!

Interview - Ben O'Brien

2007-09-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

Ben O’Brien (aka Ben The Illustrator) is a graphic artist and illustrator based in Dorset, UK, but they’ll be relocating to Cornwall soon. You may have seen his work in Smart Cars and Vice Magazines as well as The Guardian. He and his wife Fi are a self contained design agency.

First off, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

How did you hear about the 100 Artist Project?

I saw it on the Little Chimps Society website, it sounded awesome to be honest. I love illustration projects that bring different people together so I was desperate to be involved.

Are you self employed or do you work for an agency or studio?

Self-employed. I used to be creative director of a small design agency in London, I enjoyed it but spent most of my time wanting to just focus on my own illustration work...

I now work with my wife, Fi, who manages our print sales and plenty of creative projects.

So you've done a lot of magazine covers and ads and such, yes?

Quite a bit yes, although I've always still got a lot to aim for though!

Was it a choice to work in the style you do now, the fanciful, colorful scenes, or was that more a need to adapt to the market?

It just came naturally to be honest, I've always drawn landscapes and I'm a bit of a nature freak so I'm always looking at trees and views. I find I create the best illustrations when I just do what I want to do, I'm not really a fan of adapting creativity to suit the markets, it takes the spark out.

That said, where did you pick up the desire to do landscapes?

Mostly from travelling I guess, when I was a kid we'd drive around France and see the mountains in Alps and the beaches on the South Coast, I just love places! Landscapes have always had quite an effect on me, so I try and get those feelings into my illustrations. If I can create a place that makes someone feel something, then my job is done!

Did you study art or are you self taught?

The basics of drawing I learnt myself just from copying comic books. I studied animation at college, which gave me a good grounding in visual arts I guess. Throughout school, right from childhood, art was the only lesson I ever enjoyed, I had one very inspiring teacher, and plenty who I just set out to rebel against.

Who were your biggest influences starting out, that teacher maybe?

Yeah, Mr.Dutfield, he taught me from the age of 13 - 16, taught me to try new things and not to feel the need to use traditional methods. He was great. At the same time I was discovering pop art, Lichtenstein, Warhol and all, plus early New York graffiti artists like the Wild Style guys and Keith Haring. All these people had such an incredible use of colour, I loved anything with colour.

There’s also an old book-cover illustrator called Brian Cook, my folks gave me a book of his work for Christmas and it blew me away, he painted all the British landscapes using really fresh colours, they looked brand new, but they were done between the 1930's and the 1950s. All these people using colour have to be the base influence for what I do now.

In doing what you do now, is there anything - a habit or crutch - that you'd change?

Thats a tricky one! Creatively I don't think there's anything, and generally, considering my job, there's nothing, I love what I do, and I love working together with my wife so that's all good, nothing to change... however! I do wish I was more confident, like more able to sell myself, better people skills! I've always shied away from people too much.

That actually answered my next, question about promotion, so thanks.

No worries!

Without naming names, what was the hardest or most improbable thing a client has asked you to create?

Hmmmmm, I had this one job last year, working alongside a design company for a massive client (no names named!) and we did they presentation, got the job, signed contracts, but then at the last minute the client decided they wanted a completely different style! However I could create the style they wanted (a 1950s cartoon style) so I just got my head down and produced what they wanted it's weird working in a different style, for the first time in my life I felt like I had a tedious uncreative job, not doing what came naturally to me! In the end it did look pretty cool, but no-one will ever know I did it!

Well to give you some credit and right the score (and feel free to name names here) who's been your best client?

I have a few that I enjoy working with, but my favourite is probably Smart Cars. I've been working with them for a couple of years on their 'alternative' ad campaign in Europe. They give me free-reign on what I illustrate pretty much, just Smart Cars zipping around fresh landscapes. The last thing I did for them was a landscapes which has been printed around a new Smart Car for a car show in San Jose next month, I can't wait to see it all together!

Where did Speaker Dog come from?

He started off as a doodle, just me coming up with new characters, he was actually connected to another character by a wire. I painted a few canvasses with him on, then it just rolled on from there.

Do you have plans for him?

Plenty! We have the paper toys which are set to get bigger and bigger. Fi manages the Speakerdog Paper Toys, and she's got designs from some really great designers for the next series, including Shin Tanaka who rules the paper toy world! We've also got our first Speakerdog exhibition in the UK in November which is going to be awesome. We've also just started talks to get a vinyl toy going!

Plus I'll always keep illustrating him, we have a lot of dreams with Speakerdog, just keep on taking him to different projects!

I know freelancers and self employed creators have to set daily routines like folks working office jobs, but have you found, especially working closely with your wife, that you seem to be working all the time? What's down time like?

Yeah, whenever we're at home, it seems like we're working. Although recently we've been house-hunting so we get enforced breaks. Down time usually involves cooking, walking or watching comedy on tv. It is hard since even when you're doing these things, trying to rest, you end up talking about Speakerdog or something!

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or thirty years ago?

Yeah, with the internet it is incredibly easy to get your work out there, and collaborate with people, and run great projects online. However! nowadays there are a lot of people being artists so there may well be more competition than there was 20 years ago.

Are you better at collaborating or working alone?

Working alone, but collaborating is like an exciting little break, it's different and interesting, but when it comes to generally making pictures, I'd rather work alone most of the time.

When you look back on the choices you made as an artist or becoming an artist, what - if anything - would you do differently?

I'm not sure, because I'm quite happy where I am now. I spent a few years working in animation, maybe I could have skipped that and gone straight for the illustration? I also wish I travelled further afield when I was younger, seen more of the world in my early 20s. I'm trying to make up for it and experience more places now.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

Enjoy what you do. I have kind of 'found myself' in settling into illustration, and I think once you find your calling, your creative style, whatever, you should enjoy doing it.

... and use your powers for good. Like superheroes do.

Ha! Excellent.

Ben, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much for talking with me today.

Ah, that’s it? It’s been grand, thanks Ben! A real pleasure. Fi and I really admire the 100 Artists project, it's ace to be part of it.

I appreciate that, it's been fun working on it and seeing everyone's work.

Cool.

You can see more of Ben's work at his site, bentheillustrator.com.

Saturation Part II

2007-09-21T08:55:00.001-05:00

Here's a list of places the project has been mentioned. If you have suggestions, please either let me know or feel free to post about it.

Penciljack - Original home, big thread, usually updated by me.
Ugga Bugga - Second home, stickied message board thread.
Digital Webbing - Thread started (and locked) in the Pimp it here! section.
Comic Book Resources - Forum thread, there was also an article in the Comics Should Be Good site mentioning the project.
Dimestore - Thread started
Eat Poo - New board, new thread.
Concept Art - Older updated thread (I feel like a hack even posting in CA.)
Flickr - Group and I've invited everyone in my contact list, which isn't many people.
Silver Bullet Comics - Interview (board is being re done)
Drawing Board - Old thread
ComicSpace - I've set up a site on ComicSpace and recently sent a bulletin to my "friends"
MySpace - Simple page, no blog, just links to the main site.
Boing Boing - I've submitted the site to Boing Boing a couple times and it hasn't been listed, but the ApeLad interview was and it generated some hits. A couple people also linked back to that interview and it continues to drive traffic, sites like John Hodgman's blog and FinkBuilt.
Fark - redlit submission, of course I can't get anything posted there. However I might do an ad eventually.
Gutterzombie - An artist posted their work and I updated the thread with all the info.
Comic Art Fans - There's both a message board post by me about the project and a contributing artist has posted their work with a link back.
Tenton Studios - A contributing artist has posted their work with a link back.
Aspen Comics - ditto
Spawn Forum - ditto
Drawn! - Blog post about a month ago
iSpot - Has an art talk section, I've registered to post a topic but the traffic seems light there.
Jawbone Radio - blog post a while back
Hobotopia - blog post
There's also been various blog posts from contributing artists linking back.
Maximum Fun (Sound of Young America) - A member linked back to ApeLad's interview so I joined (which I wanted to do anyway) and gave some additional info.
Outcast Studios - Forum post
craigslist - I submitted a post a couple days ago. I might make that a weekly thing.
Illustration Friday - Joined up today and started a new thread.
nonozine - site link
Deviant Art - I have something started at Deviant Art, but I haven't spent enough time there to know exactly how the site works. If someone is better at DA than me, I'd love some help.
Comic Craft/Balloontales - Forum post
Blambot - Forum post

While I hate joining message boards just to pimp the project, there's no other way for me to do it. I've asked the blogs and sites I frequent if they could include a link back to the site, but most of the places rely on ads and most of my requests have gone unheeded.

Also, the MySpace page is probably in need of attention. I will absolutely turn over control of that to someone who is good with MySpace networking. I personally don't have the desire to mess around in there, it skeeves me out, but it's a good tool. If you'd like to be in control of that let me know. Or if you'd like to set up something on Facebook or another similar site, just let me know.

If you are a member of another board, please give this project a shout. Here are some places I think it would do well but I'm not a member or founder or contributor and it wouldn't look as good coming from a brand new person.

Image Comics forum
Dark Horse forum
Penny-Arcade forum
If you're a Total Farker, submit it so it gets greenlighted
MySpace (more networking)
Deviant Art (more activity)
Maybe HyperComics
Yahoo! or Google group
Anything else you can think of, water color art groups, cartoonist groups, graphic arts, illustration, whatever.

A word on Digg and StumbleUpon and the like. I think as the project organizer it's going to be in bad form if I submit the stories. And for Digg, it's not really even a story, it's just a project. But surely the first couple posts in the blog here could qualify. Again, if you are versed in this kind of thing, please help.

Thanks for your time. New interview coming up Monday.

Saturation

2007-09-20T09:57:00.001-05:00

Hiya folks.

A word on publicity. I know a lot of artists who've contributed belong to message boards and such and have posted their art in conjunction with the project. I want to make sure we've got as many people looking at this as possible.

To that end, here's where I know 100 Artists have been mentioned.

Conceptart.org, EatPoo, Deviantart, ComicArtFans, Tentonstudios, Aspencomics, Digitalwebbing, Drawing Board, Penciljack, UggaBugga.net, ComicBookResources, Dimestore Productions (both a message board post and an interview.) It got hit on Drawn! and a bit on Boing Boing over ApeLad's interview and there's a MySpace and ComicSpace page.

I may be missing some things, but I think that's a decent start. Most of these are comic book centered sites, but it doesn't have to be that way. If you've posted on a community blog or message board or have someone you know that works for a decent sized news site, please let me and them know.

I'm hoping Freelance Switch might run a bit about it and I'll be spending some time making sure as many art sites as possible at least know about it.

Also, if anyone has a Total Fark account, a hit on there would be great.

Thanks all.

Big Mailer Etiquette

2007-09-19T11:51:00.001-05:00

Hey folks. As more and more people get a hold of the Big Mailer, I thought I'd remind everyone of a few things. A friend and fellow artist has given me a heads up on the status of the book on its 10th stop along the way and it's time for a Come-To-Jesus about it.

I had originally sent the book with a laminate sheet detailing a few simple guidelines for being a participant in this. It's not because I'm a control freak, but I understand that one book seeing 100 different hands, brushes and pencils will tend to get beat up and it just behooves all of us to treat it kindly.

That said, here was what should have been sent along with the book. I don't know who ditched the backing sheet so I'll try to resend it.

> Only draw on one side of the page, but feel free to use the back of your
drawing to list any emails or websites you wish. There will be a credits page
at the end also.

> You can draw anything you want and use any media. The only restriction
is that you don’t use any copyrighted material, or anything too violent or
sexually explicit.

> If you’re going to use heavy wet media, please be considerate and use
a backing sheet behind your drawing to avoid bleeding onto the next page.
This sheet was laminated to provide you with a backing, but feel free to use
whatever you want.

> Please make sure to package the sketchbook and this sheet together when
sending it to the next artist.

> When you are finished with your piece, email me at 100artists@gmail.com
and I’ll give you the address of the next artist.

> If you want to scan your work, that’s ok. Try not to show the work to
too many people as the contents will be a surprise to the eventual owner.
Also keep in mind this is a perfect-bind book and scanning may compromise
the spine. If you want to scan it to help the project, scan it in at 300dpi, and
save it as a tiff with LWZ compression, then you can email it in.

That's it. It's not rocket science. There was even someone who just added a drawing to the book that they took out of another book. I don't know who it was, but I doubt I'll be using it. The point is to draw in the book, not use the sketchbook as an envelop for a drawing.

So, going forward, please treat the book nice. It has to go to 99 other people than you and if you treat it poorly, chances are other people will too. This is a serious endeavor for me and the others involved. Let's be professional and courteous.

Carry on.

Email and Participation

2007-09-18T17:42:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd throw this out there and see what you fine folks think.

The first group of sign ups that came in via the main site were slow and steady. The original group of interested people were on a message board I visit every day. After the initial group from Penciljack signed up (about 50 people) and a few folks from the tubes signed up (about 50 people) the site was linked to Drawn! and since then 250+ people have "signed up."

At first I tried to email everyone back, but I was worried about information overload. The site has a lot of rules and information but that was mostly in an effort to stave off repetitive questions and make sure a lot of unusable art wasn't sent in. (To this day I haven't received any Spider Man drawings, so something's working.) I stopped emailing everyone who filled out the form and instead created a nice "Thank you for signing up, hope to see your art soon" message for after they hit "submit." Since then I only sent emails to those who asked questions in the comment field.

Now I'm new to the whole deal about running a project or website that's popular enough to garner 300 peoples' interest, so I may not know of a standard sign up to participate ratio. So I'll ask the readers: Does the project seem like it's a newsletter? Is there something ambiguous in its intent that results a 4:1 ratio of people who are interested but can't or won't draw?

I had a friend help with the language on the front page to try and trim it down. Keep it simple, keep the facts in there but don't tarry on nuance. It's easy for me to be witty when I write, not as easy to be clean and concise, apparently. I'm just worried that there's an assumption people make when they see this project that when they sign up they're going to receive a copy of the sketchbook or be notified when shirts go on sale or something. I'm worried because I'm making an assumption that it's artists that are filling out the forms, not just regular viewers, but if that's the case, why are they doing it? And if it's not the case, why have there only been 70 pieces sent in?

Don't get me wrong, 70 pieces of artwork is amazing, especially from 70 different people. The fact that a single sketchbook has been mailed to 10 different people is as well nothing to sneeze at. The link on Boing Boing hasn't yielded but one person signing up, which is fine, Boing Boing is tech friendly, not necessarily art focused. And yet the comment in the mail I received was "sign me up." Would it have made a difference if I had emailed all the people individually and said, if not a bit redundantly, "Welcome aboard?"

So to all the prospective artists out there, I officially sign all of you up. I can't publish a book of emails or intentions, so let's put pencil to paper and get this thing done.

Carry on.

Boinged

2007-09-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

Greetings to the folks coming in from Boing Boing. There were a handful of artists involved in the project that I knew would help give it some gravitas and Apelad was one of those.

If you are an artist and would like to contribute, please check out the main site and if you have any questions, let me know.

If you aren't an artist, please do me a favor and tell your friends about it. At some point we will be selling all this artwork and the more people know about it, the more money we can raise.

Thanks!

Interview - Adam Koford

2007-09-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

Adam Koford is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist who gained internet fame with his contributions to the 700 Hoboes Project and more recently his Laugh-Out-Loud Cats. He's done work for American Greetings, Recycled Paper Greetings and King Features Syndicate. He's married with children and currently lives and works in "Cloud City" Florida.

Adam, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.

First off, as many people know already, your net handle is "Apelad." How did you get that name?

Mark Frauenfelder first suggested cartoonists should draw Hodgman's hoboes and then post them to flickr. I signed up, but needed a handle. I'd been living in Florida for a few years and I would tell friends my phone number was 407-APE-LAD1 (which it really was) sort of as a gag and so they could remember it easier. I decided to go with that since it coincidentally happened to be a relatively accurate description of me. The phone number preceded the nickname. We've since moved and our new phone number is complete nonsense.

If you can recall, describe the moment or event that you realized you wanted to be an artist.

I was never really the class clown in school, but I remember being able to make my close friends laugh. At some point when I was very young, maybe 4th grade, a friend told me I should either become a stand up comedian or a cartoonist. I remember that moment like it was yesterday and haven't looked back. Besides, I was way to young for the Improv's open mic night back then.

Would you describe yourself as a classically trained or self taught artist? If you studied, where and was it a good experience?

I am a mixture of both. I have a degree in illustration, but I was learning to draw from comics and golden age illustrators long before that.

What would you like to accomplish with your art?

My aims are pretty simple: I want to give people a bit of joy and a smile, if only for a second. And hopefully support myself and my family for the next thirty or so years doing it.

Who were your biggest influences when you were starting out and has that changed?

The first library book I ever laid my hands on was a Rube Goldberg collection. From a very young age I tried to immerse myself in as many different influences as possible--from comic strips to comic books to art history in general. My mother went back to college when I was in high school, and I would go with her and hang out in the library for a few hours discovering N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle, as well as whoever was in the Society of Illustrators annuals like Brad Holland and Bernie Fuchs. Since then, I don't really follow what the SI is doing, the illustrators I look at are in comics and online.

I know you make a living with your art, how hard do you work at it?

I can always work harder at it, but the trick is making the work amount to something. There's an interview with Orson Welles where, at the end of his life, he talks about movie making being one big hustle: always trying to make money and work on another project. I feel the same way about what I do. Many are the months when the prospects dry up and all of a sudden the civil service test looks like the best option.

If you could change something you do while creating, a habit or crutch, without any effort, what would it be?

I could be better at thinking things through as I do them. I often look back at my work and wonder what I was thinking, technique-wise.

Are you a hard set solo artist or would you like to collaborate more with other artists?

Collaboration can be fun, and on lots of projects it's the rule. Whether it's an art director or client, there aren't too many opportunities to create in a vacuum.

Artists are generally not happy with what they've done or how accomplished they are, but if you had to label it, what would have to happen for you to consider yourself successful?

A steady reliable income creating something I love working on forever till I die an old man at the drawing board. Is that so much to ask?

What media are you most comfortable using and why?

I'm pretty comfortable with most anything as far as traditional media goes. I don't have as much of an opportunity to paint as much as I'd like and I miss it sometimes. I also really enjoy experimenting and discovering things in photoshop. Illustrator not so much. Vectors leave me cold for some reason.

Would you rather push yourself to get a lot of work done or push yourself to perfect one piece at a time over a long period?

I've never been very good at staying interested in one physical piece of work for a long time. I tend to work quick and dirty at times, but I'm trying to find a balance.

When you look back on the choices you made as an artist or becoming an artist, what - if anything - would you do differently?

I would have done a lot more life drawing from a live model a lot earlier. One summer I went to weekly life drawing sessions at the University of Utah and it improved my work in very noticeable ways.

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or thirty years ago?

It always has been, and probably always will be, difficult to make a living as an artist.

What's a typical day like for you?

It all depends on what I'm working on and when it's due. Some assignments have a quick turnaround and some are drawn out. Missing a deadline is the number one cardinal sin for a freelancer.

In the meantime I work on writing and drawing things that are ordered through my blog, or devising other ways to generate interest in my work.

Your recent work on the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats has a satirical tidbit about your grandfather Aloysius "Gorilla" Koford being the original creator before becoming a seaman. In reality, are you a product of an artistic family?

Reality is entirely relative. But yeah, my father went to art school and would draw for us quite a bit when I was a kid. I have a son who has an almost visible need to draw, especially if he's around comic books.

You're relatively close to Disney World. Has that been an influence on you as a cartoonist? Have you ever tried to work for Disney?

The themeparks are extremely inspiring artistically. The amount of detail and artistry that goes into most of them is often what keeps me upright if I'm there in the Summer or on a busy day.

I lived in Burbank in 95-96 when apparently everyone was getting a job in animation simply by asking, and I applied to Disney and several studios then, to no avail.

I dropped off my portfolio with the Disney animation studio here in Orlando as they were wrapping up production on Brother Bear. Shortly after that they closed their doors.

John Hodgman's book, "Areas of My Expertise," seems to have had an enormous impact on your work. Why do you think that is?

I've always had a soft spot for absurdity I guess.

Have you thought of trying to work on something with him, a collaboration?

At this point I'm resigned to the fact that I'll never actually meet him (let along collaborate with him on anything), even though several other hobo artists have seen him at readings and such. Did you know Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott met only once in their entire lives? Two men who defined the look and flavor of comics for the next several decades only met once at a convention, had a few words, and went along their ways. I'm no Joe Sinnott, but maybe I'll meet Hodgman when we're very old men, at the annual Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa.

You and two other 700 Alums (myself and Jawbone Radio's Len Peralta) have set up sort of a cottage industry of small, quick, cheap and customizable art. It seems to have done quite well for you, but do you feel it's taken away from other things you'd like to be doing?

No. I like drawing, and it allows me to draw.

You've been involved in more than a few online groups, Neatorama, the 700 Hoboes, Illustration Fridays to name a few. Which has been or is still your favorite?

The 700 Hoboes project was a very fun time for me. I never had to wonder what to draw next, and I was always on the lookout for weird and new things to incorporate. I look forward to the 700 Molemen, and really should do more about the other 700 Things projects going on.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

Only this: thank you.

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your work!

And thank you, too.

You can see more of Adam's work on his blog, Hobotopia.

Interview - Mike Peterson

2007-09-10T09:28:00.000-05:00

Mike Peterson, a.k.a Halcyonsnow, is an illustrator, copywriter, novelist and photographer. Mike is one of the founding contributors to the 700 Hoboes Project. He lives in Cincinnati, OH where he takes pictures of people at airports and cons friends into wearing lucha libre masks.

You'd be surprised at how eager people are to don the mask of the Luchadore. Putting on the mask is like a little Halloween, a license to be outside of yourself for a few minutes. Then you get all sweaty and hot. If you ever get to Cincinnati, you should try it. Although I imagine you can probably find a bigger selection of masks in Texas.

Probably. Thanks for taking the time today. These questions are general and open ended. Be as long winded or curt as you like.

General Long-winded Curt, "As-you-like" would have been a good Hobo name.

If you can recall, describe the moment or event that you realized you wanted to be an artist.

I'm still waiting for that moment. To put it another way, I don't think it was ever a question of "want." I just do stuff. I have an insatiable urge to create things, which is unfortunate, since it really cuts into my video-game-playing time. Art is an act of creation that is enjoyable, accessible and scale-able. If I had the opportunity to design and build a space station, I would do that.

Would you describe yourself as a classically trained or self taught artist? If you studied, where and was it a good experience?

Definitely self-taught. It's the only way to go. I've had friends who were brilliant, born artists, and they went to art school and came out graphic design machines that hated art. It takes a person years to undo the damage and start creating again. I think that's why so many art-school grads are into primitivist art. They like it because it doesn't remind them of school; they've been classically conditioned to associate quality with lack-of-originality.

The thing I missed by skipping art school is a strong understanding of materials. I would like to use oils, for example, but since I skipped the formal training, all of my oil experiments have been disastrous. Getting tutored on oils is pretty high on my very long to-do list.

What would you like to accomplish with your art?

The same as any artist, I guess: to be acknowledged as the greatest artistic genius ever to have lived.
Realistically, my life-goal has always been to be an eccentric, independent, recluse. I guess that makes Crumb my role-model.

Who were your biggest influences when you were starting out and has that changed?

Probably the artists (and writers) of Mad Magazine. I was particularly fond of Sergio Aragones, but I'm sure Mort Drucker and Jack Davis were just as important. I probably learned the most from "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way," which I now know should have been titled "How to Ape the Kirby Style." Either way, it was a huge help. Thanks, Stan Lee!

Now I'm a lot more catholic in my style-biting. I look at as many good artists as I can, try to see what they're doing well, where they're weak.

My two favorite illustrators right now are Ralph Steadman and Drew Friedman. What does that tell you?

Is art a hobby or serious business to you?

I try to treat everything I do as a hobby. If you don't enjoy it, what's the point?

If you could change something you do while creating, a habit or crutch, without any effort, what would it be?

Can I change two?

1) I would get rid of my tendency to over-fiddle when finishing the art, especially when coloring in photoshop. I start with confidence and finish with disgust. It's a classic 80/20 thing.

2) I would learn to love backgrounds. One of my many failings is a laziness when it comes to drawing around the subject, to the ruin of many otherwise good pieces. One of the things I admire most about Koford is the love he puts into the scene. You see that a lot in his Laugh-out-Loud Cats.

Are you a hard set solo artist or would you like to collaborate more with other artists?

Oh no, I love collaboration. That's one thing I picked up in advertising. Assuming that you trust your partner, the work you create as a team is exponentially better, easier, and more fun. It's the difference between good and great. My favorite work of fiction (the novella, Dedicat Ed, available at Amazon ) was co-written with a buddy (Eric Fleming); he blended subtleness and humanity into my bitter, heavy-handed satire. The result was greater than the sum of the parts. Plus, we wrote the damn thing in three days which is about 365 times faster than any other book I've written.

Artists are generally not happy with what they've done or how accomplished they are, but if you had to label it, what would have to happen for you to consider yourself successful?

I'd like to be able to do my own thing full time and not have to answer to anyone. I'm probably a year or two away from that.

What media are you most comfortable using and why?

Pencil, pen and ink. Pencil is great for working out the ideas and I just love the richness of real ink. I use nib pens (crow quill- Hunt 108 is my fave) unless I'm in a hurry. They really the character of my inking. I also use rapidographs a lot, especially when I'm going for nineteenth-century line work. I'm such an experimenter, though, I basically use everything but oils.

Would you rather push yourself to get a lot of work done or push yourself to perfect one piece at a time over a long period?

I'd rather do thirty drawings in a day but it just doesn't work that way for me. I need thinking time.

When you look back on the choices you made as an artist or becoming an artist, what - if anything - would you do differently?

I wish I'd kept track of all the stuff I've done so I could look back. I could be like, "oh yes, 1999, I was very into stencils that year."
Also I would have gone ahead and changed my name to something unique. You have no idea how bad it is, career-wise, to have a generic name.

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or thirty years ago?

Easier to make a living at it, entirely because of the internet. Ten years ago, you had to buy into the gallery system, advertising industry or magazine publishing if you wanted to have even a sliver of a chance of being successful enough to live on your art. So a handful of people were making all the who-lives-and-who-dies decisions about art.

Ten years ago, you had to live in a big city to find enough potential clients to support you; and you had to live at a big-city cost-of-living. Now you can live someplace cheap and have all the benefits of living in a city of 100 million. Kids today have it so easy!

All that said, it's just as difficult to master "art" itself, maybe moreso. And now you really get a sense of how you stack up against other artists.
It's humbling to get online and realize that some 12-year old in Finland has better line-work than you. Luckily you have a much better sense of physiognomy. That's at least some consolation.

Do you still work as a copywriter?

Oh yeah. All things considered, it's a great day-job. It keeps you sharp; you're writing constantly, coming up with ideas, solving problems, it's actually the best workout for the creative mind, better than working on your own stuff, because it forcibly exposes you to things you would never seek out on your own. And it pays good. And you work with fun people. Advertising creatives (that's copywriters and art directors for you laymen) are funny and amiable, much more so than serious artists. Plus they're almost universally humble.

Advertising, for all its flaws, is honest work. Good creatives never try to hide the fact that we're selling something... we always try to give the audience a little something-something (funny, thought-provoking, whatever) to balance that out.

That being said, I hate having a day-job. I can usually only tolerate it for about a year at a stretch. Then I take six months off, to work on personal stuff, before I go back.

Your blog says you are an award winning copywriter. What award did you win?

This question makes me feel like Les Nessman with his coveted Silver Sows. Ad awards are meaningless to the world at-large. They come in handy when you need another advertising job, though, and they can definitely speed up your career. The only ad awards worth anything at all to the public are the Clios, because they're featured on TV as "The World's Funniest Commercials." Or a Cannes Gold Lion, if you want the respect of film nerds. I haven't won either of those yet. If you're really interested, here's my ad portfolio with the awards listed (http://mpcopywriter.blogspot.com/).

It also says you're a "failed novelist." Is this a failure by motivation or failure from rejection?

More of a generalized failure. Writing novels is hard. Getting someone else to publish them is next-to-impossible. The big-publishing industry is in its death throes and basically has been since I started writing. There's only a few genres that are still successful and the stuff I write is what they call in the industry "not marketable." What they mean is, the industry is very conservative and will not support work that doesn't entirely sell itself either by virtue of its being by an established author or a knock-off of some other successful book. I got my scorecard full of rejection before I worked that out. The industry is so top-heavy and stodgy that they can't profit off a book that sells less than half-a-million copies. They've killed the mid-list.

My long-term plan is to start printing them myself; there's a capital outlay involved but the payback is much better. I've written (depending on how you count it) five books, one was co-written, two are completely done and ready to be reprinted at any time, two are ready to be edited by someone else, and the one that I'm currently working on is probably three drafts or so from being done. Five (-ish) books in ten (-ish) years. That's pretty good, motivation-wise. But I haven't even tried to talk to an agent or a publisher since 2001. I'd rather be creating something than trying to sell it.

Your Flickr site has a lot of varied work; graphic design, illustration, cartooning, photography, and you're also a bit of a writer. Which of these do you find the most rewarding?

They're all rewarding, and they're all frustrating. I'm pretty-good at everything I put my hand to, given enough practice. Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, polymath, whatever you want to call it. I pick up skills as I need them. I started shooting photographs just to use as reference for drawing. Now I can shoot a decent photo one-in-ten tries. That's okay, I can live with that.

Drawing is the skill I value most; it's the last thing on the list I would give up. I could quit writing, I could quit shooting, but I could never quit doodling. It's soothing. It keeps me sane. Near-sane.

You're the third person I've interviewed from Ohio. The first from Columbus and Lakewood. Is Ohio a mecca for creative people? Would you say there's a good art scene in Cincinnati?

There's a lot of young artists here in the Nati because we've got good art schools and because Cincinnati is very progressive for the midwest. My feeling is that artists have a pretty good deal here in Ohio. The cost-of-living is low, which means you worry less about paying rent and think more about art. I think you'll see more art (and writing) coming out of the middle-of-the-country over the next decade for this very reason. Call it the Scalzi effect.

Have you considered working as a freelancer photographer for a local paper or being more commercial with your photography?

I've considered it. Commercial photography is a pretty good racket, dollar-per-joule. And the flexible schedule is appealing. But I'm not interested in it enough to get into the process of learning all the technical details that separates a pro from a guy like me. Lighting, for instance. Bo-ring!

Being involved in so many creative outlets, what's a typical day like for you?

Long and tiring. It's difficult to balance work with art and writing and a personal life. I have to stay disciplined. When things get hairy at work, the writing suffers first, then the sleep, then the personal life, then the art. Cruel but true.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

Dear Fans:
Hello! I had no idea I had fans. Can I sign your boobies?

Dear Fellow Artists:
Thank you. You make the world interesting.

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your work!

You can see some of Mike’s work here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/halcyonsnow/

And his copywriting portfolio.

http://mpcopywriter.blogspot.com/

30 To Go

2007-09-08T14:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received the 70th piece of art for the Single Mailer. Looking back on it, receiving that many in four months is pretty nifty. It's not 100, but if people are still thinking the project may not make it or are waiting to see if it takes off, believe me, it has taken off. It's official. More people have sent in artwork for this project than there are in most governmentally registered non-profit organizations.

So don't wait, if you aren't one of the next 30 people to send in art, you won't be in the first ever 100 Artists Project book. That should mean something, right?

Carry on.

Technorati

2007-09-06T18:03:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, if you appreciate the project and are contributing artist or just curious viewer, click on the Technorati favorite thingie over on the side. Also if anyone Diggs the blog or otherwise subscribes to it, let me know. If you can believe it, I'm both inexperienced and slow to adapt to how blogs gain popularity. Any tips would be great as the more people know about it, the more money we can ultimately raise.

Cheers.

Definition of Quick Draw

2007-09-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

I'd like to officially dedicate this post to Robin Moore. Robin received the Big Mailer sketchbook on September 5th, took the evening to draw something and today, the 6th of September, got the book back into the mail.

I know we all have lives. I know we all have things come up that draw our attention. But thanks to Robin, the project is moving forward and if we all took this as an example, it'd be done by this time next year. We are only as fast as our slowest artist, don't let that one be you.

Thanks Robin!

Socialize!

2007-09-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

If you don't know already, there's a 100 Artists MySpace page, as loathed as I am to admit it. So, if you have a MySpace account and want to...I don't know, friend up or whatever, feel free. All I've done with it so far is deny stripper accounts so anything's better than that.

If you truly want to interact with people, however, I'd also suggest the 100 Artists Ning group. It's a bit more interactive, a little cleaner and isn't going to blow your eyes out with insane amounts of poorly thought out banners and background images.

And as always, there's the Flickr group, though the only thing I have that for is to display images for the preview gallery. Still, if you're a Flickrnista, feel free to join the group.

There are a lot of people that have signed up to be a part of the project. Only a percentage have contributed, but over all I'd say roughly 400 people have expressed interest. If you are one of these people, sign up on Ning and talk with others about the project, art, or general interest. There are a lot of us out there, it'd be a good way to meet other people, maybe maybe find others to collaborate with, learn from or find work.

Carry on.

Sketchbook keeps on movin'

2007-09-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

The map on the main site is updated again. Sketchbook is in Washington and will hopefully be on to Kentucky soon.

Only 92 more stops to go.

Interview - Jeremy Dale

2007-09-04T09:47:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Dale is a rising star in the world of comic art. You can see his work in the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary comics, Wildguard: Fools Gold, Miserable Dastards, Space Doubles and his own book Absolute Zeroes. Jeremy lives and works in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife Kelly.

Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.

Hey, no problem at all-- this 100 artists project is fun to watch come together, by the way.

If you can recall, describe the moment or event that you realized you wanted to be an artist.

Wow, that's a broad one. Honestly, it was probably when I was around 10 years old. A local cartoonist came to my library and gave a seminar to a large room of children on how to draw their favorite cartoon and comic book characters. I remember looking at my paper and what he had on his at the front of the room and realizing, "Hey-- that's not too bad! I did pretty well with this." That'd be the first time I noticed I had any talent at it, anyway.

Would you describe yourself as a classically trained or self taught artist? If you studied, where and was it a good experience?

A little of both, really. Mostly, though, I taught myself from every resource I could get my hands on-- pre-internet, it was extremely hard figuring it all out. I didn't major in art at all in college, though-- I decided that I needed a back-up career in case comics didn't work out... so I majored in Mass Communication and got some nice experience as a deejay on WONU in Chicagoland radio.

What would you like to accomplish with your art?

I want to be a storyteller. Pinups and single images don't interest me much-- I'd rather tell a story visually. If I can somehow inspire someone along the way, I'd love that.

Who were your biggest influences when you were starting out and has that changed?

Will Eisner beyond a doubt. That's never changed. His work has been an incredible inspiration. More recently there's Mike Wieringo, Darwyn Cooke, Art Adams, and Ryan Ottley-- all artists that know a lot about telling a great story that springs right off the page with crackling energy and passion.

I know you make a living with your art, how hard do you work at it?
Probably harder than I should, actually. I'm having so much fun doing what I love for a living that I sometimes don't realize how the long hours at the drawing board affect me in a negative way. Honestly, I've been doing 3-4 pages a day without weekends for so long now that I don't remember what it's like to NOT be in the studio every day.

If you could change something you do while creating, a habit or crutch, without any effort, what would it be?

Be more patient with it-- I tend to get too frustrated and antsy if I've been drawing a page for too long, rushing a bit much along the way just to move on.

Are you a hard set solo artist or would you like to collaborate more with other artists?

I'd LOVE to collaborate more. Just hanging out with other creators at conventions is incredibly inspiring-- I'd love to work in a studio environment or see others ink or color my work more often. I love the creative dynamic.

Artists are generally not happy with what they've done or how accomplished they are, but if you had to label it, what would have to happen for you to consider yourself successful?

That's a great question-- and honestly, it's hard to define, but I'll try... I would honestly just like to be respected for the work I do and make enough while doing it to keep my family taken care of. Every thing else (notoriety, being an inspiration, making loads of cash, being a comics superstar) is just gravy-- it'd be nice to have, but in the end would probably just spoil me if I had too much of it.

What media are you most comfortable using and why?

Pencils-- I like the looseness of the pencilled line, although seeing my stuff inked well is the ultimate treat... as long as I'm not the inker.

Would you rather push yourself to get a lot of work done or push yourself to perfect one piece at a time over a long period?

The former, as I think anyone that knows me would agree. I'm far too impatient and driven to allow one piece to sit on my drawing board for too long. I want that thing done as well as I can on the deadline I have or earlier.

When you look back on the choices you made as an artist or becoming an artist, what - if anything - would you do differently?

Research what I needed to know or learn earlier-- who knows how much better I'd be if I'd applied myself to learning it all sooner?

Do you think it's easier to be an artist today than say twenty or thirty years ago?

Mostly, yeah-- we get paid better now and are treated better with more notoriety, but on the other hand no one allows ANYTHING to be brilliant anymore... every book is broken down critically so nothing will ever be legendary in the current market. That's disheartening, when the overall quality of comics at the moment are SO much better written and produced than they have ever been. Here's hoping we remember how to just have fun in stories again sometime soon.

You're originally from Indiana, you live in South Carolina now. Would you consider either of the places you've lived a hotbed for comic book art, or art in general?

Columbia, South Carolina is pretty active in the comics scene-- about a dozen or more active professionals, which is a shock to me, coming from a town where I was the only guy really serious about it. I wasn't used to seeing other creative types interested in comics before moving here. However, the South Bend-area of Indiana is GREAT for comic creators. I really enjoyed being an adopted local there before the move down south. I may not dig the city in general, but this area is great for creators.

Your recent big commission came with the G.I. Joe licensed book. It paid well, it'll get a good distribution and I know for a lot of us Children of the 80's it had to have been a delight to work on. How did it compare with doing your own book, Aboslute Zeroes?

It has been a thrill working on the G.I. Joe characters for these comics, especially given that I get to draw them in their original form from the 80s. I'm such a geek-- I still get excited every time I get to draw guys like Cobra Commander, Destro, or Snake Eyes on a page. It obviously has its negatives, like the absolute control over the page like I would with Absolute Zeroes-- but the overall pleasure of doing work on a high profile property so early in my career is exhilarating.

With that said, I miss drawing my book-- I look forward to being able to sit down and revisit the characters again.

What's a typical day like for you?

Well, I have been in a night work mode lately-- it makes it easier to work nights and still have time to spend with my wife, Kelly. I tend to start work in the afternoon and take a break when she gets home to have dinner and hang out for a bit-- then head back to work until the work is done... anywhere from midnight to 9am, typically. Rinse, repeat. hehehe

I know your wife, Kel is very supportive of you. She even does a bit of art herself and helps you with some of your work. There are a lot of husband wife teams in comics. Do you find that it's helpful to have someone that close be involved in your work or are you worried it'll cause creative problems?

Yeah, she just started inking at the behest of friend and fellow illustrator Loston Wallace. She's really taken up the brush well-- it's stunning to see her improvement in such a short time. Considering she's never really dabbled in art at all, I can't understate how amazing it is to watch her grow artistically. We don't have any problems working together-- we really enjoy it, actually. It gives us something we can do together if I have to work weird hours... and comics and weird hours go hand in hand.

You know a lot of people in the industry, and a lot about the industry and its history. If you were in charge of one of the big two or even a larger independent publisher, how would you use that knowledge to make a difference? What would you do to make the world of comics better?

Ideally, I'd bring in some artists under a studio and treat them right while still instilling a great work ethic. CrossGen tried something similar, but I think they expanded too fast and didn't have a solid enough base to make it work. There are plenty of artists that can do great work on a deadline-- don't let anyone tell you they don't exist anymore. I've met them, seen them work... it's really inspiring.

It really comes down to that whole "remember the mistakes of the past" thing-- seeing what didn't work before and figuring out why is the first step in creating a successful plan of attack in this or any other matter.

You're one of the hardest working artists I know but you're also an almost shameless and tireless self promoter. Aside from the benefits of having great artistic skill, have you found your promoting yourself to be tough to do? Have you ever received any flak for it?

Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words. Promoting myself has been a real task to undertake, but it's taught me a lot about targeting my market effectively. What flies on, say-- newsarama won't necessarily do the same on the Bendisboards or even an artist community like penciljack or uggabugga.net. I've taken flak for it, sure-- anytime anyone thinks you're only around to sell them something (whether that's a comic or even an idea), they immediately get defensive. Just know your audience and cater to them without sacrificing who you are and you'll be alright, I think.

Out of all your online niches and publishers you've been involved with over the last 5 or 6 years, which has been the best help to your career? Which has been the biggest disappointment?

Artistically, Penciljack.com-- I wouldn't be the artist I am today without the in-depth critiques and feedback I got there... not as much now, but a few years ago that was my classroom. Creatively, getting to know and work with the guys at Heroforge (a group of artists that include Loston Wallace, Dash Martin, Nate Lovett, Shane Peters, Ben Rollman, Jamie Snell and myself) has been AMAZING. I've learned tons from them.
Professionally, the G.I. Joe book has really opened doors for me at the big 2 and beyond. People that wouldn't even give me a glance before are at least recognizing I exist now, and that's all I ask.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to your fans and fellow artists?

Oh, like a parting shot or a word of divine wisdom? Remember what made you love comics when you first got in? Celebrate that. The next generation want to get excited about it, too.

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your work!

It's been a real pleasure! I love comics, and talking about them is pretty cool, too.

You can see More of Jeremy's work at http://www.jeremy-dale.com and http://thincage.deviantart.com .