Black Snow Comics

All the webcomic news that’s fit to discuss.

Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum page 2

Ta dah! Page 2. Anyone can make a nice page 1, (well, anyone with talent and time), but now we’ll start to get a better idea of how things will be proceeding for the long haul. I think the answer is “well.”

I think this a nice follow up, establishing a definite tone, pace and setting. I think it continues to show some nice storytelling and attention to detail.

It’s not as technically complex as page 1, but it took almost as long to make and was more complex than I thought it would be. I still have some streamlining and refining to do when it comes to producing this new style.

I really like Black Snow’s intro, and like to think of fans who will be experiencing him for the first time here.

Mild spoiler here, so skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid. I’ll wait. Wimps gone? Ok. That’s Mary Summerhall who walked in, and I spent some time on her redesign at Alex’s behest. He was not a fan of the original look (she was my thinly veiled “tribute” to April O’Neil from the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon). He never felt she was attractive enough, and requested I make her look more like a certain actress whom he is attracted too. Kind of weird, eh? Guess who… You won’t get it, she isn’t that famous. Anyway, I like the way she turned out. Alex also always felt we really dropped the ball with her and her role in the comic books, so you can expect to see that corrected her.

It’s been quite awhile since I drew eyeballs. I rarely draw them in Famous, usually just using circles and eye slits. I mostly stopped attempting them around issue 5. Eyes can be really tricky. I’m still perfecting how I’ll do them in this style, but I think they look pretty good here. It’s a markedly different look for Black Snow. I think he looks like more of a “normal” man now, instead of a fantastical character. I think it also makes him more expressive (and possibly more crazy). I love his annoyed look up at the intruder, then sad look down at the broken bottle.

You’ve probably picked up on this already, but lighting and shading are going to play a much more important role in my new style. I’ve already received many compliments on my new “coloring.” I’m going for that dramatic, seedy, noir look. BTW, this is probably the most classic noir intro possible.

And on another note, this book’s cover and first two pages have really began to blur the line for me as to what is actually drawing. It is a weird thing, as I get deeper into the digital age of art making, and something I will continue to explore.

The cover for Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum

I really like the way this cover came out. Alex always tries to persuade me to hold off on making covers as to not rush them so I can get a good idea of everything that will be included inside (to more let the content dictate the cover), but I always have a burning drive to bust them out as soon as possible. They inspire me, and I think they end up inspiring him as well. They also get fans excited, give everyone a nice opening image, and give me something I can use for linking and advertising.

While I like most every cover I’ve made for different reasons, especially the cover for I’m Famous!, I think this one blows them all away and kicks things up to a new level, which is fitting for the new art style. First off, vigilant readers will notice that they’ve seen variations of most of this artwork before in my recent desktop backgrounds and my character redesign. The bottom right was actually an alternate image I worked on but didn’t use for a desktop background.

So this was relatively quick and easy to make, since I had already created the bulk of the artwork. Mostly this required me to reformat and re-purpose these previously created elements. The toughest part was coming up with an image concept. Alex really wanted something that featured Detroit pretty heavily, and we both felt it should have Black Snow on the cover. I also really wanted to work drinking and possibly smoking into it. I also wanted it to be black and white, whereas I think Alex was leaning towards color. I had a few different conceptual ideas, and Alex had some others, and it was looking like this would actually be a somewhat drawn out process where I was going to draft up a few different proposals.

Then I started focusing on the Detroit element and looking at all kinds of imagery on the web. I was looking at icons, at what other people had already created as tributes, at all sorts of photos, reading more about the city and even took a Google street view tour. I was struck by some classic postcards that I ended up theming the cover after. Then I realized I already had already created this imagery I really loved that could fit well into this theme.

And after trying it out I thought it was really striking and grabbed your attention, while giving you a good idea of what to expect inside. I actually did not have Black Snow on it at first, but Alex thought it was important and actually helped me pick where he’d be positioned. Then I just thought I’d try the Black Snow image I recently made, just as a filler until I could draw one for the cover, but when I saw it on there I felt like it was perfect.

I considered making him black and white, but I agreed with Alex when he thought it looked better with only that element in color. Honestly, I think it is better than a lot of graphic novel cover I see at the comic book store, and I’m very proud of what I’ve created.

So here it is, the very first page of the new graphic novel relaunch of Black Snow.

Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum page 1

So, what do you think? I love it. Very happy with it. For those of you who know Photoshop, this page contains at least 94 layers. It’s pretty damn complex. I think it captures the mood very well and sets the new tone we are going for. Obviously a more overt noir theme this time around.

So there you have it. Will every page look just like this? I doubt it. There are several different styles contained in the different panels on this very page. I plan to keep the quality just as high, but will keep experimenting and tweaking as I see fit. Alex thought things were fine the way they were (as of issue 6), but I think this is a necessary step towards taking us to the next level. You’ll see the writing, while still keeping in line with the comic books, is much better as well. Hopefully everything you liked about the comic books will be amplified, and everything you didn’t like will be gone.

Does this mean the last ten years of drawing Black Snow were a waste? I don’t see it that way. I see them as preparation and a learning experience. Was this reboot really necessary? I think so. Sure, we could have just kept going on with our plans to kick up the quality with our graphic novel follow up to issue 6, Last Call, but it would have meant continuing to build on what Alex and I agreed was a faulty foundation.

For one, the starting point was issue 1, which Alex and I both agree is a terrible introduction for any new fan. It looks terrible, the writing is awful, and we just didn’t know what we were doing. We were a couple of teens fooling around with an idea and we executed it poorly. In the past we talked about making an issue 0 to be the new introduction, but then you’d still be going from that to issue 1.

In comparison to the page above this was the first page of issue 1.

Black Snow Issue 1 page 1

There is no comparison. And while I won’t apologize for sucking in the beginning, and I’m not embarrassed of where I started, I don’t want that to be anyone’s introduction to the comic.

Beyond that, everything after issue 1 was based on what we did in issue 1. The characters, the story, the backstory, the character designs, all based on something we were no longer proud of. Honestly, I’m pretty Alex doesn’t really like anything before issue 4 at this point, and that is not good. I think we improved dramatically with each one, but why continue to build off of something that wasn’t what we wanted.

We didn’t know what the long term story was going to be when we started, and our original story plans weren’t that good. We thought of so many better ideas on where to take things, but now we can start taking them there from the beginning. This is a blessing really. It’s hard work and taking a step backward, but it will pay off infinitely in the long run.

There aren’t many times in life when you get a second chance at making a first impression, so we are going to make the most of it and do things right this time.

If you have more questions check out our new FAQ.

While trying to work out our publishing deal for Black Snow we considered letting another artist take over the project. It was an eye opening experience to see just how artists treat each other. Mostly selfishly. These freelance artists for hire on websites are nothing more than mercenaries, wanting to be paid up front and not really caring about what project they take on. There is no passion, just a rush to get the cash and move on to the next one. And a significant portion of these people are not as talented as you’d expect (at least by what they show in their portfolios), so I think there is some ego involved. To them it’s just business, not art.

Other artists who I’ve met and become friendly with through webcomic sites were approached, and the majority of them didn’t even consider the offer because they just wanted to focus on their own projects, and couldn’t spare the time to even consider working with us on a deal with us that was guaranteed to get published and had potential for great long term success. I’m not talking highly tauted published artists or anything, just amateur webcomic hobbyists whom I would think should jump at the chance to get their work published. It seems like most people in the webcomic community really seem like they could care less about you when it all comes down to it. They just want to do their own stuff. But they have no problem asking you to help promote them or work on their stuff, especially if they think you’re successful.

Like most of the internet, these people are quick to talk trash about you to others, but back down immediately when confronted “man to man.” There is a severe lack of integrity and people seem to think there are no repercussions for their actions. As regular readers well know, I have no problem seeking out and confronting this kind of person. I also don’t have a problem manning up if someone confronts me about what I say, though I usually try to approach people in a private manner to begin with if I’ve got an issue. But I try to keep most of my comments to other webcomic creators positive and encouraging, as I know how hard it can be, and I think we can all help each other.

Even our “real life” artist friends were hesitant to help, and wanted us to really sell them on the project.

So to those of you that flat out refused to even consider us or respond, thanks for nothing. I’ve always lamented even being part of the webcomic community, though I’ve tried to embrace it in recent months and enjoyed it, but overall this recent experience has soured me.

One shining exception to this is my friend Mark “Rawr” Egan. I’ve only known him a few months, and only from communicating in online messages (he is Irish born and currently lives in Oslo), but it was immediately obvious to me that he is a man of integrity and passion. Probably the nicest person I’ve met in the webcomic community, as he always has positive things to say about everyone. He always has helpful advice to give and tries to turn look on the bright side. He also really gets our comics.

When he heard about the publishing situation he jumped at the chance to help and rushed out this piece of art for us.

Rawr Black Snow Group 1

He put thought and effort into redesigning the characters and really making them his own. He then took the time to refine his drawing and work a bit longer on it, completing it even when I let him know we were having cold feet about our publishing deal and it would probably not be submitted.

Rawr Black Snow Group 2

I think Mark draws for the same reason I do, the fun of it. Because he genuinely enjoys drawing. I’ve always been vocal about my personal distaste for the ever popular anime/manga style, but I can respect it when it’s done well, and Mark does it well. Check out his site at http://rawrtacular.com/

So Mark, this Bud’s for you!

And I greatly look forward to our collaborative projects in the near future.

———- An Update———–

As usual I feel I was too negative after finishing writing something, and there were of course many other people who were helpful during our attempt at publishing, and though I didn’t name you I thank you all.

Also, while I do legitimately think the webcomic community its indeed selfish overall when it comes to focusing on their own work, they can also be very supportive and encouraging when when helping promote each other or giving advice, so it is not as bad as I made it sound.

Mostly I’m just feeling a bit burnt out (and sick) and had some negative experiences lately, so that has made me come off as more bitter than I really meant to.

Oh, and Rawr, you are the man. I could learn from from your positivity.