It's Monday morning. After a relaxing Mother's Day yesterday at the folks', I'm sitting here drinking a cup of brown thunder, chewing on my Carman's muesli bar, and reflecting on the grueling Doujicon-4 convention that I (and other locals) exhibited at on Saturday.

Ok...

THE GOOD
On the whole, I had a LOT of fun with my fellow creators on Saturday. We chatted across tables and talked comics and made a good time of it. The Monash University venue is very nice. Clean and big and open. Top notch. Really.

Here are some photos I took at the start of the day:


All set up and ready for the crowd.


Brendan was manning Jason Franks' BLACK GLASS table.


Everyone was in good spirits that morning.


The List table manned by Paul Bedford.


Philip Bentley & Bruce Mutard's table.


Some other great local creators...


Matt's comics are killer. Really funny. Buy em.


Sitting next to my brother in arms, Paul Bedford, was a blast. Lots of laughs and fun.


One of the highlights of the day. A passer-by with a bright camera.


One major 'plus' for the day, was being able to ink the pinup that I'd promised Tom Bonin for his upcoming DICKS comic. (By the way, 'DICKS' stands for 'Detectives'... but that didn't stop me being juvenile, now did it).

And now...

THE BAD
After spending the last few months pushing to finish my comic for the event (that I used as my deadline, by the way)...

...and paying to get my banner designed & delivered...


... and working with my publisher Gestalt Publishing to make sure the book/s were created, printed, and delivered on time for Doujicon. (Thank you to them!)...

I now, feel somewhat suckered... Doujicon-4 was a let down.

Oh, I'm still as pig-headedly determined about creating my stories. That's solid. But man... Doujicon-4 sure did it's best to kick me in the nuts. I can really, really (and honestly) see how a more fragile person might (having been defeated on the day) just say, "Oh, fuck this comics thing. I give up... what the hell am I doing here?!", after such an experience. You question yourself, your work, and your passion for comics in the face of sitting behind a table... as you hear a cricket leg chirp in the distance.

And that's not what comics need.

It needs people creating work in confidence. Days like Saturday won't do it. Comics have only just started to grow in the last few years, and days like Saturday discourage comics publishers from attending, and possibly, producing work in the future.

Look, I've always championed this convention as my favorite in the past. Ask anyone in the local comics scene that knows me. When I first exhibited there a few years ago (Doujicon-2), I was blown away and officially named it my absolute favorite convention. Period. It even out classed the bigger cons like Armageddon and Supanova (in my estimation), as a wonderful pure comics/self-publisher event. But that was then... Now, Doujicon seems to have slid downhill. Fast. From my point-of-view, it was tepid on Saturday.

Basically, THE problem, was that there was almost NO traffic going through to buy our work.


This was the scene about half an hour after the doors opened...


... and this was as good as it got later in the afternoon. Most people packed up an hour before they needed to, just because they had better things to do than sit and yawn behind their tables. There were moments that loud crowds did roll past in hordes, but they were only the cosplayers that we attached to a co-event on this day. They were just passing through, and weren't really there to buy comics and stuff. They had their own agendas to take care of in the form of sword fighting, talking loudly, posing, and flashing a lot of body fat.

A saving grace was the table arrangements and University facility itself. It was damn good. The organiser did his best to situate us with fellow creators upon request, which was great.

But in the end, it fell very short of expectations. Most who secured the $100 tables (like I did), told me that they were disappointed with the convention, and didn't make a profit... or made way, way less than they had expected to. And yes, I know it's a monumental task in organising a convention. It's huge. I know Doujicon makes a loss most every time. I know almost no-one volunteers help or money. I can see the frustrations of the organiser. I feel for the organiser as he struggles and appologises for this and that every year. I know. I know... but as it's the 4th convention, a few of us had hoped some of the creases would have been ironed out by now. They haven't. It seems that more wrinkles are appearing each time Doujicon is held. As the convention experiments with format, venue, etc each year, it doesn't seem like a 'thing' that is being refined... but rather, it seems like a different dice is rolled each time and there are a lot of fingers crossed.

I say all this not to incite anger from the organiser or those that thought differently of the event. I admire what the convention is trying to do. I will still attend every time I can, just to support the event's intent and to get my book into another reader's hands... at the very least. We need more good conventions. We do. I really adore what the event was. I miss it. I want it to have it's strength back.

I know a few might say, "Why not help the organisers with the event instead of complaining?", to which I say, "I am. I'm spending every spare moment of my time producing comics and books to SELL at these conventions." I'm not creating a product that's quick to make. It takes a lot of time and effort. I'm not selling things I've just acquired (like pens, or trinkets) and have some time to offer. No, It sucks up all my time to squeeze each issue out before the fixed deadlines. You see, the way I see it, the better books and professionally driven authors we have 'booking' $100 or $200+ tables at conventions (because it's worth it for their time and effort behind the drawing board) - the better said conventions will 'reciprocally' do. It's a win-win situation.

Let me use an analogy closer to myself, in the hopes of conveying why I don't think I'm being too unreasonable;

Say I advertised to readers to pre-order my upcoming comic book for $50 (in good faith). I tell them that it should be about 400 pages long, in full glossy colour, and be about something (roughly) literary, like the human condition... but then, when the book is finally delivered to them - they end up holding a 16-page B&W children's book about bunnies and rainbows.

Shouldn't I (objectively) understand the readers' agitation?

You see, I can't (realistically) expect to charge people, upfront, $50 for a book in one context, and then hand them the value of a $5 book in another (and do it frequently), and then get perplexed at why the buyers don't understand the obstacles I faced in getting the book out. (ie: "That was all I could give you for $50... but thanks for your $50 dollars anyway.")

That's all I'm saying.

And yes, I know. Life's gotten in the way for me too when producing my books. I've missed the mark a few times, but that's not my readers' problem... it's mine. I know that if I've committed to something, and if I fall short, then it's ultimately on my shoulders. I do try to give people value for money each time they buy my books, and I know that if I don't... they have a valid reason not to buy my work in the future. I think that's reasonable.

If the organiser/s are content and found this weekend a success under their model, then fine. I'm glad for them. But for me, if Doujicon is on again next year I won't be paying for a table unless there seems to be an improvement in the organisation and advertising toward making a crowd-busy event (so I can at least make my table money back)... like it used to be.

Here's hoping.

-Bobby.N
www.bobbyn.com

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• -

I just finished a stint as a guest lecturer at NMIT here in Melbourne. Not many people know, but aside from my day job as a graphic designer, I also have qualifications as a teacher. A feather I put in my cap after I got my Bachelor of Industrial Design (many moons ago), but after doing it I realised I didn't want to spend my working life teaching high school kids to draw perspective and shapes. I still wanted to climb mountains myself, and I couldn't do that at sea level.

Anyway... NMIT emailed me earlier in the year, and I said yes to a three week gig every Wednesday morning. It was to talk/show their final year illustration students about drawing comics. I jumped at it, and my day job was reasonable enough to allow me the mornings off to indulge the undertaking.

The students were good. Since I didn't have to teach them to 'draw' (thank God), I could jump right into showing them the basics of how comics function and putting a page together themselves. The idea was to come up with a basic one page comic. So to take off the pressure, I approached it as coming up with a simple scene. It could be as basic as a person sitting down in a chair, or watching a bird fly by, or glancing out a window over a few frames. You get the idea. This wasn't about 'writing' or 'drawing'... this was about getting them to do as basic a comic as they could in the hopes of showing them how simple the medium can function. Paring it down to this excercise might actually bring some of them closer to this wonderful artform and, hopefully, have them hooked enough to do more ambitious stuff on their own.


FIRST SESSION-1 (3 hours)
21- April 2010

I began by introducing myself and running through some slides showing 'what' comics were and how they worked. After an hour of this, my aim was to get the students to come up with a simple scene for a comic page. The students were really switched on and came up with the kind of ideas I'd hoped they would. Simple images, one after the other, leading the reader along. It was great to teach students who were interested in what they were doing, instead of high school kids just wanting the class to be over so they could go outside and play.

I got them to then thumbnail the panels very small (and rough), just to 'plan' the page out before they began to pencil the actual page. Planning it out before you get to the page is the most important thing in the page's construction (in my thinking). It takes the pressure and stress out of rubbing out hundreds of lines over-&-over on the finished board because you're 'winging it'. I'd end up hating comics if I did it that way... but that's just me.

I worked along with the students. I wanted to show by example how easy the story can be.


The above scribbling was my quick outline and thumbnails. Unlike the students (whom I didn't really expect to use words... after all, it was an illustration class), I wanted to do a real-time comic about the Wednesday classes I was teaching them. A sort of 'a comic can just be me showing you what we are doing right now' - kind of thing.


SECOND SESSION-2 (3 hours)
28- April 2010

The second session was them finishing their thumbnailing of the scene, and then it was onto the penciling of the page. They could either pencil straight onto their final artboard, or (like me) pencil onto a rough piece of paper (1-1 size), and use it for the underlay for my final artboard.


The above was my penciled page (from my thumbnails above).


FINAL SESSION-3 (3 hours)
5- May 2010

This last session started with me running through a slideshow of my process for scanning inked pages into the computer and simple clean-ups to the artwork to get it ready for print.

Following this, we inked out pages. Here's mine:


Not sure if I'll add the text boxes, or leave the captions 'floating'. But the page is pretty much done save some cleaning up or a 1-colour tone.

So anyway, this weekend (tomorrow actually) is the annual DOUJICON comics extravaganza!


I'll be releasing DIGESTED.03 there this weekend!!... yes, you heard right. It's out. I have the beautiful thing in my hand. If you can't make it down tomorrow to get a SIGNED copy from me (and a sketch), you can buy it straight from my wonderful publisher Gelstalt Publishing, or my own website.

-Bobby.N
www.bobbyn.com

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• -

It's 1.24am on a Friday night (ok, Saturday morning), and my brain is mash potatoe. Anyway, before I forget, here's a few pics from last weekend's wonderful comics extravaganza that was held at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne's CBD.



I wore my new 'Cerebus in Chains' t-shirt to the event.


No one could keep their hands off it!

So, off to the Wheeler Centre I went. The Saturday's event, originally $20, became complimentary due to publisher 'Allen & Unwin's' generosity. There were four talks on the day. It was a mouth-watering comics smorgasboard.


Tim McEwan was there.


Along with a packed house.



Bernard Caleo chaired one of the talks discussing comics.


Most notable highlight for me was listening to the words of wisdom from Shaun Tan & Bruce Mutard regarding creating their books. Another interesting guest/speaker was Dylan Horrocks. His talks and experiences in the U.S comics industry were a treat to listen to .

Anyhow, Bernard Caleo wrote in more detail about the weekend. Read about it HERE.

-Bobby.N
www.bobbyn.com

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• -

Just stumbled on some of the thumbnails I'd used in creating the pages of OXYGEN in the current DIGESTED.03 issue.

Through this free brainstorming, I get the camera angles and compositions right before I begin to pencil in the page for inking. (Notice the thumbnails I've outlines in black. These are the ones that I chose for the final panels in the story). I find this prior thumbnailing step is invaluable, rather than trying to compose blindly onto the finished board and then rubbing & re-rubbing until you ruin your paper in a hundred smudges and smears. Basically, I find I can't 'work it out' on the finished art board. It's too constrained for me. The designer in me would much rather 'compose' the page and get it right before I get to the final art board.

-Bobby.N
www.bobbyn.com

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• -

Worked on cover a little more this evening. Decided to see how adding depth by putting in shadows from the sunrise would effect the composition.

After adding shade to the foreground images, I tried continuing the effect by adding shadows to the upper section of clouds and to the figures in the background (to follow realism of light/shade), but the picture started to look too segmented and messy. What I mean is, it just started to take away the crispness and 'punch' by all the shadowy complexities.

So instead of adding a shadow above each cloud, I simply faded the outline of each cloud to give the suggestion that the top of the cloud is darker than the bottoms. And instead of adding small complicated shadows to each background person, I simply increased the opacity of the grey on them as a flat colour.

Getting the right effect to convey doesn't always mean being literal.

-Bobby.N

• -

It's 12.20am on a Wednesday night and I've just wrapped up DIGESTED.03! Happy, but spent. Just a 'once-over' to be done by Gestalt & myself (a typo fixed here or there) and it's off to the printers and delivered in time for the upcoming Doujicon convention.

Anyway...which cover do you think works best?

Version-A or...


Version-B

So while you ponder the covers, I'm going to bed. Oh yeah... I may drop in to Supanova this weekend at the Showgrounds to support my buddies. Fingers crossed, eh?

Goodnight all.

-Bobby.N

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• -

The next issue of DIGESTED is almost done. It'll be the same size as DIGESTED.01 (ie: ~24 pages)... followed closely by the fourth issue (due out by year's end).

This is the 3rd issue's cover that I just inked during my lunch break (Monday-12th-April). The page is fresh without any 'clean-up' done to it yet. Now it's time to spit, polish and colour the thing.

I'm aiming for DIGESTED.03 to be available for you all by Doujicon (May-8th)!

-Bobby.N

• -

I'm in the home-stretch of finishing the next issue (DIGESTED.03). I have about 7 pages left to ink in 2 weeks... as well as the cover. Tight, but do-able.

A page from DIGESTED.03

Ok... back to the drawing board... Literally!


-Bobby.N

• -

Long-time friend, comic book author, & garlic farmer Tom Bonin came down to Melbourne for a few days. A few of us decided to get together in the spur of the moment and say hello to the man we haven't seen in over a year on a warm Monday evening.


We didn't strictly talk 'shop'... but a few of us brought along some of our current projects.


Jason brought in some photocopied samples of a short-story that Bruce Mutard is illustrating for him. It looks fantastic, I have to tell you. It's a real step up from Bruce's previous work, which already puts us all to shame anyway! Stay tuned.


The writers.


Even though Tom Taylor states that he's a 'writer'... don't think he can't create exciting visuals too. Tom took the above pic with my camera. Shhwaaar!



The man of the hour (Tom Bonin) brought along his folio too...



My favorite. A Moebius-style illustration. Grade-A stuff Tom.



Great chats and nice pub food were enjoyed by all. Hopefully Tom can make it to Melbourne more often so I can get to look more regularly at his great finished pages... though he's just bought a house some 100 leagues away, so it doesn't look likely.

Anyway... see the rest of you at the next meet-up, which should be on 3rd-April... though that's also Easter Saturday, so I'm not sure what's going to happen there?

-Bobby.N

• -

The regular monthly meetup came up on my calendar again, and as I drove down toward the city in an absolutely beautiful sunny & warm Melbourne afternoon at about 12.30, I decided to duck into Minotaur bookshop (as I ritualistically do), to see what's new. There I bumped into a few of the regulars (Greg Gates & Jason Franks).


I picked up Lewis Trondheim's LITTLE NOTHINGS-3.

Then we all headed off to the comics meetup. Jason & I drove, and Greg grabbed a lift with me. I remember Greg commenting on dark storm clouds to the west, to which I replied, "Yeah, depends on whether in comes this way."

We got to the meet just a little after 2pm. It was a nice little turnout.



Greg 'hoofing' down a sandwich.

Then we commented on how at 2.45pm, it looked like it was 9pm in the evening. It looked like the sun had just set outside... and then this happened...

It began to hail ice the size of golf balls.


It was relentless.



We were amused at how (out of nowhere) rediculously heavy and big the storm was.

Then it started to flood, as the earlier volume of ice started to melt... all the while STILL hailing. By the time I left (which was earlier than usual from a meet) it was manic on the roads. I was stuck in the city for almost 3 hours trying to find a way out! (Usually it takes 5 minutes.) Cars' windshields were riddled with holes & looked like a drive-by killing, and people's house roofs looked like Swiss Cheese. The event was all over the news, and broadcast worldwide. It was freaky.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS:

• The HAIL STORM... (duh)
• Picking up Lewis Tronheim's new book
• The (always good) comic talk at the meetup
  
• Finally getting out of the city after 3 hrs
  

I commented to the guys how the meets we've had at the begining of each year recently have been cursed. Last year at this time we had the aweful bushfires. This year it was floods. Next year (I joked) we'd be sitting at our meetup and see zombies walking the streets. Bloody weird I tell ya.

Anyway... come down to our meetups y'all... they're great!
Really :)

-Bobby.N