Ever wonder how the really good books suck readers in and hold their attention page after page? It's not the characters, nor the plot of the book. It is the way in which the author writes that separates his or her story from the pack. Award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake will use current examples to help you gain insight into how to put your story together in a compelling way that will keep your readers turning the pages to see what happens next.
Thursday July 24, 2014 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 2
With so many terms and styles, diving into the mechanics of the craft of writing can be scary. And Point of View (POV) can be one of the toughest to tackle. Yet, if used correctly, POV is a wonderful and powerful tool that is the backbone of your story. Award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake helps break this piece of the writing puzzle down into something you can use to enhance your writing style.
Thursday July 24, 2014 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Room 2
Learn how to digitally ink and take all your black-and-white artwork to the next level. Comics artist Brian Haberlin will delve into Photoshop's treasure trove of features old and new-as well as features in other programs-that not only enhance comic applications, but make possible countless creative pen and ink opportunities rarely seen before. If you're serious about your black-and-white artwork, this session is a must. Comic book creator, editor, writer, penciler, inker, and colorist Brian Haberlin is the co-creator of Witchblade, Anomaly, and many other comic books and graphic novels.
Thursday July 24, 2014 12:15pm - 1:30pm PDT
Room 2
Adam Hughes will use the warm and cool gray Copic markers to render the tones on a drawing. Fellow artist Allison Sohn will narrate the process while Adam draws. Hughes has been working in comics for over 25 years. Some of his work from the past year includes a story in Batman Black and White as well as the covers to the Vertigo series Fairest and the Dark Horse series Rebel Heist.
Join game artist MatthewDoyle for a trip through the process of designing and building a character for games, from 2D concept to 3D modeling, painting, and animating, and finally into a game engine. The tools used in the workflow will include Sketchbook Pro, Maya LT, Mudbox, and the Unity game engine!
Matt Hawkins and John Nee present a discussion on how to pitch. They will talk about pitching your ideas and provide some mock pitches where they will alternate being the person pitching and person being pitched to. Writer, physicist, and social media maven Matt Hawkins has published over 1,000 comic books in his 21-year career at Image Comics and Top Cow and has created and/or written many, including Think Tank, Aphrodite IX, The Test, Alibi, Lady Pendragon, and Tales of Honor. Despite producing TV series, feature films, and video games, Matt still considers himself to be a comic book dude. John Nee was senior VP of business development for DC Comics, where his responsibilities included operational oversight of two publishing imprints (WildStorm and CMX Manga), global licensed publishing, international rights, interactive entertainment, book trade sales, and circulation and subscriptions for MAD magazine and DC Comics.
From Batman to My Little Pony, Madefire and DeviantArt have revolutionized the comic book online. Learn how to publish your comic to DeviantArt in less than 5 minutes using Madefire's unique cloud-based tool! Panelists for this session include Dave Gibbons, Bill Sienkiewicz, Liam Sharp, Yuumei, and Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau.
Stories are about conflict. And there is no purer form of conflict than a good ol' fisticuffs-style brawl. (Or sword fight, laser battle, western shootout...) Yet, how to put that much action down on paper and not only make it believable, but enjoyable and exciting to read? Award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake brings you deep inside the violence, breaking it down piece by piece, and giving you some tricks you can use to create more realistic and exciting fights.
Understanding when and how to use physical conflict in your story is all well and good. But how do you write it? How do authors paint such a vivid, action-packed fight scene that readers can "see" in their mind using only the written word? Award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake peels back the mystery and looks at using words to craft action that your readers will not simply read, but experience.
Learn how to take your idea and make a graphic novel using Brian Haberlin's graphic novels Shifter and Anomaly as test cases. Subjects discussed include idea to script, page format, panel layout, art style, distribution, printing, and more. Comic book creator, editor, writer, penciler, inker, and colorist Brian Haberlin is the co-creator of Witchblade, Anomaly, and many other comic books and graphic novels.
Allison Sohn will take a drawing from penciled line-art through to completed colors using Copic Markers. She'll answer questions and share tips and tricks with panel attendees. Allison has been illustrating sketch and trading cards for licenses like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, and DC.
Host Angelo Sotira (DeviantArt's co-founder) interviews some of the community's leading members to get guidance on building your audience and your rep, as well as tips for expanding your experience as an artist. Hear Stanley Lau (Artgerm), Wenqing Yan (Yummei), Brian Kesinger, Stjepan Sejic (Nebezial), and some mystery guests. Ron Martino (editor-in-chief of DepthRadius, DeviantArt's editorial arm) will also join Angelo.
This program is not just a great opportunity for those interested in opening their own comic book specialty store, it’s also a chance to get a peek into the comics retail profession. Bring your best questions for this panel of veteran comic book specialty retailers. Hosted by Joe Field (Flying Colors Comics, CA). (This panel is open to all Comic-Con attendees.)
Friday July 25, 2014 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 28DE
This is a continuation from the popular panel from last year. You will learn about presentation, body language, elevator pitches, standing out, interview skills, and how to make an opportunity when there isn't one. This year's lecture has more time to explore and demonstrate the proper way to pitch and promote yourself and your product. Bryan Tillman is currently the academic director for game art and design, visual effects and motion graphics, media arts and animation and visual game programming at the Art Institute of Washington DC. He is also the owner and CEO of Kaiser Studio Productions, a production studio for comics, toys, animation, and games.
This presentation will involve the study and use of environments in design, treating them not as chores or equations but rather as full characters, equal participants in the practice of visual narratives. Elvin Hernandez is an illustrator, sequential artist, and author of Set the Action! (Focal Press), a book on background design for comics and animation. He has worked for companies such as Toys R' Us, Upper Deck, and Cryptozoic and is currently a faculty member of the Media Arts and Animation Department at the Art Institute of Washington.
Saturday July 26, 2014 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 2
Brian Haberlin demonstrates advanced 3D and computer graphics comic art techniques that will speed up and improve your storytelling. He will show you how to use a wide range of programs, from Zbrush to Poser to Sketchup and many more. Learn all the tricks no other pro will show you! Comic book creator, editor, writer, penciler, inker, and colorist Brian Haberlin is the co-creator of Witchblade, Anomaly, and many other comic books and graphic novels.
Saturday July 26, 2014 12:15pm - 1:30pm PDT
Room 2
Take this amazing chance to learn how to draw your imagination on white paper with a black pen. You will realize that you do not need fancy equipment to draw your heart out after seeing Kim Jung Gi's outrageous live drawing! You will get a chance to see an empty canvas transform into a completed scene with human anatomy and perspective in just 90 minutes. Kim Jung Gi is an established artist from South Korea whose artwork has attracted international attention over the last few years.
Fan art, fanfic, and fan video are delightful passions, and like all such things, if they go too far, someone might get angry. DeviantArt and the Organization for Transformative Works, together holding the largest collection of fanworks in the universe based on any intellectual property within any media, will bring out their lawyers to explain how you can go to sleep at night, dream the dream of fans, and never have to hide under the bed.
Nationally renowned artist and owner of Watts Atelier of the Arts Jeffrey R. Watts demonstrates an alla prima oil portrait painting from the live model. Jeff will also introduce an exciting new opportunity to train in the Watts Method online.
The Shiflett Brothers walk you through their process for creating figurative sculptures for the comic book and fantasy statue industry. They will discuss armature building, bulking out the form, detailing, and finishing. Brandon and Jarrod Shiflett are 20-year veterans of the comic book statue industry. They have sculpted pieces for Sideshow Collectibles, Bowen Designs, Moore Creations, Toy Biz, and many more.
Let's discuss relationships and fandom. Bring your OTPs, gather your Armada, and cross over into an expert presentation by two DeviantArt masters, with Kay Purcell (damphyr) and Aun-Juli Riddle (aunjuli), as they help you navigate more ships than have ever crossed the worlds of fandom.
Long time Disney creators Patrick and Shelly Block discuss how they went about designing their new epic fantasy world set on Luminas. They will provide tips on crafting interesting characters, and thoughts on the art of being original. Patrick and Shelly Block are creating the graphic novel, Frostlings; Shelly writes the dialogue and provides ideas for characters, and Patrick hand paints the pages using brushed ink and watercolors.
DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee (Superman Unchained, Justice League, Batman) talks about his 25+ years in the comics industry and sketches your favorite characters live on the big screen in this engaging panel. This is a great opportunity to watch the creative process first-hand and learn the tips of the trade that bring DC Entertainment's characters to life.
