Amy Kim Kibuishi's blog

2011-11-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Sara Wilson Etienne has a book debuting this Winter (Feb.2012) entitled Harbinger. She's invited a dozen or so artists to bring Harbinger's vibrant visuals to life, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. She sent out an ARC to each artist, and I read through my copy in a couple days. It was soooo great! You guys are in for a real treat. I can't wait until it hits the shelves!

She has a great mysterious male lead named Kel, so I just had to paint him (in gouache, of course!). It was so much fun.

Afterwards Sara interviewed me. It was kind of nice to reminisce about old work. I also talk a bit about my current project, which I am so excited for. ;)

Click here to read it, and make sure to check out the other great artwork, too!

Sara's website

Holbrook Academy website

Harbinger on Amazon

Harry Potter Tribute Show

2011-06-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

From July 9th - August 1, 2011, you can visit the above painting for the Harry Potter Tribute Show at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA.

I haven't done gallery work in a long, long time. Years, in fact, but I love the Harry Potter books and I had to participate. Doing this piece prompted me to give gouache a try for the first time, and this is my first completed gouache painting. I love the medium so much, it's hard for me to imagine painting with anything else from here on out.

Anyway, I hope to see some of you on July 9th! If you haven't seen the other pieces being submitted, check out the exhibit blog and be inspired. There's some beauties in there that I can't wait to see in person.

2011-02-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

To continue the recipe comics, here is my mom's spinach ban-chan. It's always been a favorite of mine. Whenever I saw kids on TV gagging at the thought of eating spinach, it totally confused me. Spinach is delicious! And this dish is what I think of when I think of spinach.

The blanching and shocking process sounds a little confusing, but when you actually do it, it's very simple. Give it a try!

Cooking With Mom

2011-02-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

I spent last Sunday going to my mom's unofficial Korean cooking class where she taught me several of her homemade recipes for ban-chan and fish.

To the left is a sort of instructional recipe comic I made so I could remember exactly what to do, as she is sort of self-taught. Her way of teaching is to simply make the thing and I watch. I took rigorous notes, so hopefully I'll be able to make instructional comics out of the rest of the recipes because making this was a lot of fun.

I hope it gives you the courage to try frying up a fish yourself! Pike Mackerel are especially high in omega-3's. Good luck. :)

Happy (Rainy) Holidays

2010-12-20T17:49:00.001-08:00

Just fooling around with the Cintiq. It's raining cats and dogs here in LA, and I'm loving it. Hey, at least it's precipitation!

The long road...

2010-11-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the publishers I've shown my book project to have both passed on it. I had a strange sense of relief when I got the news. At least it was progress! But now it means I'm back to the writing desk to improve my manuscript and my delivery.

Kazu and I had a long story meeting several nights ago, and I decided to completely change the beginning of the story. It makes the rest of the story much more satisfying, but it will be a lot of work. The character's voice has changed, which is big since the story is told in first person. This means the entire book will have to be re-written.

So far the chapters I've written have been deceptively easy and full of mystery, which I think is good. I just have a mountain of pages ahead of me, but I'm really looking forward to it. It's been exciting to see the pieces I set up in the previous versions snap together so nicely with the new material. I feel very very lucky to have this opportunity to write and rewrite my story without any deadline. I have so many people to be grateful to (hubby! mom! bro!). I have to make this book as good as possible.

New Blog, New Projects

2010-10-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

The old felaxx.com blog has become an impenetrable layer-cake of confusion, so I've ported all of the archives here to blogger. It's something I've been meaning to do for months, but it wasn't a priority. The book series I've been trying to get started has finally reached a stage where I can send it to some publishers, but it is still a long shot, and a long process. I have no idea when or if my little middle grade fiction series will ever get off the ground, but in the mean time I'm having a blast working on it.

Above is my favorite illustration from the book so far. Drawing these characters has been so much fun, and I love writing them. With book 1 at a presentable stage, I've already starting outlining book 2 while it gets passed around. I can't wait to get writing on it! The Reman Novel is still on hold, even though I still want to work on it. My mind is currently filled with magical girl adventure, however.

Speaking of which, it was interesting going through my old blog archives. I got to relive some painful memories -- staying up 'til sunrise inking Sorcerers & Secretaries, for example. It also made me feel really bad for never having finished Reman Mythology and giving people's hopes up. Everyone has been so patient with my work over the years, and I'm so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much support. Sometimes I feel like I've invited a bunch of people to my house promising a delicious pot roast, only to have the pot roast get burned and I had to feed them old crackers.

Needless to say, anyone who's ever supported me and my work in the past, you have my gratitude. I'm working on another pot roast, but I'll be honest with you this time... I have no idea if you'll ever get to eat it.

For now, I must go pack. Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Providence with Kazu and our little boy. It'll be his first airplane trip, and I'm super excited! Also, some crisp autumnal air will do our bodies good. :)

Strange.

2010-04-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Two -- count 'em -- TWO art posts in a row! ... Don't worry. I won't make this a habit.

This is straight up 2B pencil on smooth bristol. Chapter one sample illustration for the book I'm working on:

Also, a photo of me and my l'il bumpkin from a day ago:

2010-04-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sure is dusty in here. Phew! Hi, whoever is poking their heads in here. I am still alive, actively updating my twitter account (of course!). Don't worry, you haven't missed much. I only started tweeting a couple weeks ago.

I have finally gotten around to uploading a drawing, and here it is! It is a china marker study for a larger piece I plan on doing. I really enjoyed using the china marker, it is very forgiving. :)

Those are all characters in my latest book project (except the demons are kind of random). Yes, the dolphin is included! I really love drawing them and they're so much fun to write. I'm still tweaking and perfecting my manuscript before sending it anywhere, so don't hold your breath! It'll still be a long while before it sees the light of day.

In other news, our son Juni is doing great. He is now 4.5 months old, and his personality is really starting to show. He's curious, very observant, and likes to be with people. Maybe all babies are like that, but this is what I've noticed about him! You can see recent pictures of him on the flickr account I share with Kazu, if you'd like.

Obviously, I won't be updating this website all too often. I still want to give the whole thing an overhaul. I even have a design set up! But finding the time between writing my book project and taking care of Juni in order to update my website is unrealistic.

For now, please add me if you use twitter (username: @Merofi), and I will continue to post sketches when available. See you there!

My life for the last two weeks...

2009-11-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

And all is well. More pics of our new son if anyone needs to see it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/studioamzu/sets/72157622715273185/detail/

Books and Babies

2009-05-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Above is a watercolor of Tabby waking up in her bedroom (again). Thinking about doing another one of Philip in his own room waking up, just to show how similar they are. I'm not sure how helpful doing these drawings are, however. They certainly aren't helping my writing! :/

Speaking of which, I'm back in outline mode, taking summaries of draft 2 and 3, highlighting which parts I liked and which parts I thought were boring. On Khang's recommendation, I've been using a website called bubbl.us, and it's been pretty indispensable so far. If you're struggling with outlines, I highly recommend it. It's better than using the old notecard-on-a-corkboard method. It's easy to rearrange your ideas, you can color code everything, very flexible way of organizing your thoughts.

I'm also 3.5 months pregnant. This is our first child and my first time dealing with pregnancy. It's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, and I feel more healthy + happy than ever. Really! I haven't had much morning sickness or anything (yet). The baby is progressing well so far, and I feel very lucky to be a woman and be able to experience this. I've never felt so close to Life before.

It makes focusing on my book difficult however, because all I can think about is being a mom. If I don't finish this book by the time Little Amzu is here (temporary name) I'll probably move onto a shorter, simpler project and put Rema on the backburner. I feel really close to a decent final product, but it's been taking me way longer than I ever could've guessed it would, and momma's gotta make some kind of income eventually.

Last Cannon

2009-05-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hello blog! Long time no post.. isn't that how almost all my posts start? I've been distracted by life these days (who isn't?). I'm just popping my head in to mention that my friend Shadi has just got his first iphone game approved as an iphone app! If you have an iphone, you should definitely check it out in the app store. It's called Last Cannon, has great gameplay, great sound, and awesome graphics. Check it out: http://www.shadiradio.com/toys/lastcannon

You can also read his entry on the subject here. It still amazes me he was able to make this game so quickly with such a miniscule "staff". Shadi's also the one responsible for coding my blogging program. He's a programming machine!

Back to my desk

2009-04-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've been sick with a cold for the last couple days, and haven't stepped outside my front door at all during that time. Having difficulty even getting up to get a glass of water, I let myself splurge on some more media. I watched all of season one of Veronica Mars (great ending!!), I'm almost done with Final Fantasy 4 for the DS, and I started reading John Grisham's The Firm. I became frustrated with not being able to write or draw, so even though I'm still congested I'm ready for more and am back at the studio.

After much deliberation with my agent, my friends, and some family, it's unanimously agreed upon that my book definitely needs more work! I'm ready for the challenge though, and have already begun another draft. Writing is rewriting, as they say, and here I go rewriting it again for a fourth time. It'll get there. Eventually. Wish me luck. ;)

Reman Novel finished... I think.

2009-04-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two years (slightly over a year and a half), and after several false alarms, the book is now really done and sent out to my agent. There's more work -- editorial notes for when (and if?) the book gets picked up, along with creating the proposal package, but for now I'm basking in the sweet, sweet relief of this huge benchmark.

I was having fun posting all the sketches of Tabby and her friends when a whirlwind of stuff happened, some of which I'm not ready to blog about. But amongst it all, I'm still discovering fun stuff offline to keep my mind active and happy. Some things I've been enjoying:

Tiger Moon
A super wonderful book with really delicious prose. Translated from German, this is a story-within-a-story, kind of like Arabian Nights but with only one long fairy tale told over several consecutive days. I'm about 2/3 the way through finishing this, but I'm loving every single word. It's undoubtedly one of the best new books I've read of late, and I'm wondering why more people aren't talking about it. Maybe it'll just take some time...

The Sookie Stackhouse Series
A fun romp of a series, and the basis for the HBO tv show "True Blood". I haven't seen the show, but from clips I think the books are way better! They're a bunch of mysteries and romances revolving around the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic barmaid from small-town Louisiana. There's shape-shifters, vampires, witches, and all kinds of supernatural creatures. Very fun!

Royksopp's new album "Junior"
This doesn't come out for a few days still (March 23), but you can listen to it all online here. Man oh man, I can't wait to own this thing! Every song is so good. I'm a huge Royksopp fan and wasn't expecting them to come out with a new album, but here they are. Couldn't be happier. Check out the magical music video for "Happy Up Here"

It's been nice relaxing for the past few days and catching up on my reading (Still on my list: Wicked, Hunger Games, Kite Runner, and 1776). I'm really amped for getting back to Rema, though, and have started brainstorming scenes for book 2. Can't wait to get there!

Kazu teaches comics

2009-04-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to promote my husband's upcoming Graphic Narrative Workshop at Gallery Nucleus. This is a serious, in-depth $500 course of five classes every Saturday, 9am-12pm, from April 18th - May 16th. He'll be doling out all his secrets -- everything he knows about storytelling, digital painting, and publishing (which is a lot!). If you're looking for a place to take your work to the next level and get some honest feedback on what you need to do to complete a comic ready for publication, this should be right up your alley.

Check out the registration link here.

Moody Philip

2009-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

This particular moment is mentioned in the book, but not seen directly. There's a lot of scenes that had to be cut because Tabby wasn't there to see it. Following different characters in the narrative is a lot more acceptable in comics, I think, since it is more visual, like film. But switching character perspective in prose can be a little jarring. At least, with my limited writing skills, it was pretty jarring!

But it wasn't wasted time. Every written paragraph is a lesson learned, and goodness knows I need a lot of those little lessons!

Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. Tonight, Kazu is taking me to dinner. I hope you all have something nice planned too, and if you're single do something nice for yourself! Who says love is reserved to those who are coupled? It's important to show yourself some love too! :)

Raed with his hair down

2009-02-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Click to see larger version:

One of Tabby's many outfits in the first book, and a snippet of a scene where Tabby finds Raed praying by the tree at the top of the spire (featured two posts down). Sometimes I wish Rema could be a 2D animated film, but then it almost immediately gets eclipsed by the far-away dream that it could be live action. In which case, I would want someone like this to play Philip! Song Seung Heon is too old now, but he was the original model for Philip's face in high school. Philip's character design has morphed a bit since then.

But before I start daydreaming, I should probably finish the actual book. I'm on the last chapter now, and feeling a little nervous. It's difficult to figure out how to end it. After going through so much with the characters, I want there to be some feeling of conclusion, but I want to leave it open for the next two books without a cliffhanger. It's tough!!!

A bunch of Reman heads

2009-02-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

Tabby has insomnia

2009-02-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Another drawing. This is Tabby in a robe in her pj's, stepping out at night and thinking about Philip's future. She is standing in front of Philip and Raed's house, which sits at the top of a tall rock spire. The tree is where Raed worships his goddess, Rema. Click to see the rest:

Here's a really bad diagram of where she's standing: diagram. About two chapters left before grammar checks and final edits...

P.S. Go see Coraline in 3D for some really beautiful puppetry. :)

More Reman Novel sketches

2009-02-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

Some more sketches. It's been really helpful to do these before writing. It gets my head into the habit of dreaming. I'm on the climactic scene at the end now, with about 3.5 chapters to go before I go through it all again for grammar, spelling, and final touches. There's about 3-4 chapters I might have to rewrite completely, but I'll find out when I get there.

Here's a drawing of Hiida walking. She's one of my favorite characters to write because she's so messed up haha! Click the thumbnail to see the rest:

Tabby and a new character named Islen (she's one of my favorites too), getting ready for a fight. Click to see the rest:

Quick Philip sketch. Age: 14.

2009-01-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick sketch I did for someone. I ended up liking it, so it got some color treatment. Click the thumbnail to see the full version:

I'm on chapter 24. Drawing this helped me get into character a bit, I think...

More watercolors and some sketches

2009-01-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, Kazu wrapped up his epic graphic novel, Amulet 2. I simply cannot wait until it hits the shelves! I did a really awesome fan art, but I have to wait to post it until the book comes out to avoid spoilage. :P

I've been spending my full time writing the third and (hopefully?) final draft of Rema (tentative title). I'm about halfway through, and having a blast. I heard back from my cousin and friend, so here are the other two watercolors I did as gifts.

The first is a portrait of Nicole in friend's favorite color, orange:

The second is a Peter Rabbit fan art for my cousin's baby room:

It was really interesting trying to get into a Beatrix Potter-esque headspace. She has a really endearing way of drawing wrinkles that was difficult to replicate! It was a strange feeling doing this painting, like I had an afternoon with Potter herself and got to have a conversation with her or something. It was fun.

Also, here's a bunch of sketches of Rema characters I've done recently, some new ones that have unfortunately been cut. These were done after the second draft during our trip to Italy. Click the thumbnail to see the rest:

Holiday Watercolors

2008-12-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Happy New Years, in case I forget, and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

This year I decided to make some watercolors for presents. It was more fun than I expected. I also printed out family photos and framed them for my mother, and she loved it. Doing this, I learned that making presents feels a heck of a lot more appropriate for Christmas than buying them.

This painting was for Kazu's mom, my mother-in-law (sweetest one out there!), who loves dance:

This one was for my brother, who's the first person to read Rema in its final draft version so far (I'm only up to chapter 10):

For dinner, we went to Tan Cang and had a delicious meal of crab, french style beef cubes, sauteed pea sprouts, and fried tofu. Man, it was so good! If you live in LA be sure to try Tan Cang, and get there early because the wait is pretty long.

After dinner we played Settlers of Catan (Tim won), and Halo (I played Phantom Hourglass on the DS). Things I got for Christmas: a coat, a scarf, some stockings, Final Fantasy 4 on DS, and the Sleeping Beauty dvd. My mom knit my brother and husband a sweater, and it reminded me of Mrs. Weasley giving Ron and Harry her home made sweaters. It was hilarious and wonderful, and they had their own special magic. Kazu and Tim proudly wore them, and will continue to do so.

I think this was my favorite Christmas in a long while, maybe because it felt so great to have a day off, and maybe because I didn't have to worry about my Mom and brother having to fly back to Hawaii a few days later. It was fantastic. :)

I feel refreshed and ready for more work, both on Rema and Amulet. There are two more watercolors, but I can't post them yet because I'm not sure if my friends recieved their packages yet. Once I know they did, I'll post them up.

Abandonned illustration

2008-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

This used to be a scene in chapter 1, but it got cut. I was playing around with the idea of frames, but I think I went overboard with the eels. It was fun to draw, though.

Things are going well here. The next few weeks will be swamped, as we're coming down to the wire on Amulet 2 (not to mention the holi-daze). I've made significant progress on the Rema novel. I won't say too much because I don't want to jinx it... but it's lookin' good and I'm super amped!!

Hope everyone else is doing well too! I'll pop back in later with some scans of my sloppy, sloppy sketches.

Back home

2008-11-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's so good to be home. A lot has happened since Kazu and I left for our trip, most notably we elected a new president. All I'll say is, Thank You.

Italy was wonderful. It's a beautiful place, rich with history. There's so much to see and think about, our biggest mistake was trying to pack too much into the time we were there. We didn't get to see Florence, but it just gives me more reason to want to go back.

We took so many pictures (too many pictures?) that it took me a whole week to post them all up on flickr in between coloring Amulet pages. I finally finished last night, and here's our photostream:

Week One - Milan, Rome, Lucca, Pisa
Week Two - Milan, Lake Como, Cinque Terra, Venice

*PHEW*

It was pretty crazy! But worth it. I feel both Kazu and I learned a lot, and we walk away from this trip more excited than ever about what we do.

Thank you to Renoir Comics' Michele Foschini for his tireless guidance throughout the trip, Giovanni and Rosanna Ferrario for their gracious hosting and for inviting us to come along with them to Lucca in the first place, and to our fellow travelling artist Tracy Butler for sharing her creative spirit with us. I hope this won't be the last time we all see each other!

Happy Election and off to Italy

2008-10-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Guess what I did the other day? That's right:

And so should you! Don't forget to research your local candidates and propositions. All it takes is some time and google. It'll probably impact you just as much if not more than your presidential vote, and it will give you a good idea on the importance of your voice in politics. You can do it, I believe in you!

So if you've been reading my blog, you'd know that I'm 1000% for Barack Obama. This election season has been an amazing journey, one that I'll remember for the rest of my life because this is the first candidate that I've found genuinely inspiring. So, to celebrate this, I thought I'd link to some of my favorite Obama videos because they're extremely well done. By the time Kazu and I return from our trip to Italy, the election will all be over. This is my way of getting some closure on what has been a fascinating, entertaining, and all-around dramatic presidential campaign. I chose these four videos, because when I think about why I support Obama, they tend to pop up in my memory:

Guy with purple shirt
Super Tuesday speech
Obama speaks to headquarters after primaries
DNC behind the scenes

What can I say? I'm a fan!

Aside from politics, things have been pretty busy around here. Kazu and I have been painting Amulet pages non-stop with lots of generous help from friends and assistants (see Kazu's blog for updates!). Amulet 2 is turning out to be quite a beast with tons of locations, a broad cast of new and awesome characters (my hands are itching to do some fan art!), and a storyline that spans generations. It is a lot of work! But it's been a pleasure doing it, and it's worth it, even if it means running hours from 1pm - 6am!

With the new skills I learned, I tried painting some stuff from the Reman book, and well... let's just say the doodles made me giggle. Because I'm not so stressed about making things look right anymore, everything's turning out extremely cheesy and lazy-looking, which is probably a bad thing. But I'm more interested in just having fun and enjoying the act of drawing, because that's its primary function now, which is probably a good thing.

But as for writing, oh how I miss it! It's been so hectic here with Amulet, there's barely time to read let alone write, but with its absence there's an increased longing to get back into it and knock the book out of the park. Plus, helping Kazu with his book gives me the perspective I need to approach mine with an objective eye. Having read it again, it's ever more clear what needs to be done to make sure I send out the book I'm happy with. I refuse to settle for anything merely good enough when it comes to this story, I've been obsessed with it for far too long to let that happen! I intend to do a lot of outlining and brainstorming during travels.

Speaking of travels, as some of you may know, Kazu and I leave for Italy on Monday. We've been really looking forward to this trip for so many reasons, and we're so grateful to the kind folks at Renoir for inviting us to attend the Lucca Comics Festival! Our editor, Michele, has told us our itinerary and man... it sounds pretty intense and amazing. I can't wait to meet everyone!

I've been listening to an Italian podcast over at mydailyphrase.com, and it's been incredibly useful. They make podcasts for learning all kinds of languages, and space out the learning to one phrase per day. It's very effective! When we come back, I want to listen to the podcasts for Japanese and French, too.

Well, I have a few more Amulet pages to paint and some packing to do before we hop on that plane. I'll return with photos. Hope you all have a great two weeks, and have fun voting! I shall leave you with the corniest of my digidoodles: a kiss that doesn't happen in the book. ...Or does it?!

D'awwww....

working on Amulet book 2

2008-09-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't updated my website in a while. Boy, does this place need a major overhaul...

Well, I've finished another full draft of my book. It's around 400 pages (if each page had 250 words on it), and 30 chapters. Kazu is reading through it right now. My friend Jen (she's open for commission, folks!) has also read through and seemed to like it, but I know there's a lot of edits that need to be made before I feel comfortable handing it off to seek publication. Kazu's been giving me some awesome story notes, but I'm taking some time away from it to work on Amulet, which, by the way, has been a blast. We have a few people helping us, and doing team comics is just... well, it's just a lot of fun. Way more fun than solo comics, in my opinion. :P It's been nice to be a part of a team again after a year and a half swimming around in the not-so-dark recesses of my imagination.

Not much else is going on besides that. We're trying to wrap up as much of the book as we can before heading off to Italy for the Lucca Comics Festival October 27th. We'll be there for two weeks, thanks to the kind folks at Renoir Comics. The first week will be a five city tour to promote the Italian edition of Sorcerers & Secretaries, and the Italian edition of Daisy Kutter, both published by Renoir. You can be sure there'll be a nice flickr report when we get back, like the one we did from Japan.

In the mean time, it's gonna be pretty busy around here. I'm hoping to squeeze in some personal art time between painting pages to keep my visualization skills sharp. That's something else I realized while writing, drawing so much has really helped me visualize landscapes and such in prose. I used to struggle with that when I was writing intensely in high school, but now it comes quite easily. Don't want to lose that.

The above picture was a drawing I've had in my head for a while and had to get down on paper. It's just the beginning of chapter one, Tabby waking up on her last day on Earth.

Tabby and the Ghost Woman

2008-08-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

I'm writing the last scene in the book, which comprises of five chapters (out of twenty-six). Now that I can see the finish line, I'm more comfortable with the idea of drawing some spot illustrations to head the chapters. After looking through a copy of the Breath of Fire Official Complete Works that I got from Comic Con, I thought it was time to teach myself how to draw nostrils. So, the above drawing was born! I used an oil pencil for the whole thing, foolishly thinking it was a normal pencil. But it turns out, I really prefer the oil pencil because it doesn't smudge quite as much as a regular one, so I was very happy.

I'll try some more illustrations in that style to see if it'll fit with the tone of the book, but I'm liking it so far. I still have to go through the whole thing (roughly 300 pages) one more time for grammar and word usage, so it's not over yet!

Speaking of Comic Con, it was awesome! If you haven't seen yet, my brother Tim has been uploading our home videos of the event on his website. He makes my terrible camera work palpable with his excellent editting! So, if you want to see what it was like behind the Flight booth, give his site a visit.

Coffee Creamer

2008-07-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today I did the laundry with my Mom. It's very hot in Alhambra these days, but it's always fun to spend time with her. Earlier during lunch, my brother and I were telling Kazu about how we used to eat cereal with water, orange juice, and coffee creamer mixed with water. We thought it was normal because my brother was allergic to milk when he was little (along with eggs and peanuts).

We had a good laugh about that. Then my Mom set down her glass of water with a nostalgic smile.

"Whenever I hear about coffee creamer I always think about when I was little..."

She then told us about the time when American soldiers were handing out 5lb bags of coffee-mate creamer in post-war South Korea (the era she grew up in). As her and her friend walked home with their bag, they would put handfuls in their mouths and poof it out so clouds of it would fall on their faces, making them look like ghosts. Their neighbor, a lady who couldn't speak, would just watch them do this and laugh, laugh, laugh.

Apparently, the locals didn't know what the powdery stuff was used for, especially since they didn't really drink any dairy.

So she told me that her neighbors would mix the creamer with sugar and steam it in a rice cooker, making a hard milky-tasting candy that the neighbors would then distribute to the kids.

She also told us a story about how there used to be two chimneys that heated the floor of her home. Outside, the chimneys rose up the side of the house, and the space between them was very warm and cozy. She used to hide stacks of comics there and read them. One night, she was so engrossed in the comics, she wound up staying there reading far into the night. Her whole family was out looking for her. When her mother finally found her, she was so mad she BURNED all of my Mom's comics! OMG. I'm glad my Mom never burned any of my comics.

I love my Mom's stories. She has soooo many of them! One day I'll write them all down and illustrate them.

As for the current book, I made it past the big road block and it's awesome. I just tried to block everything out in my life and focus on a sort of free-flow feeling, like what did that character really want to say at that moment. I had to remind myself that no one will be seeing this until I want them to, so reminding myself of that helped to loosen my inhibitions, and it turned out great with some pleasant surprises. It's really surprising to me how closely the symbolism ended up reflecting things I went through in childhood via this fantasy story. Can't wait until I'm done. I'm on page 100/300 now.

By the way... Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Still writing, still inspired

2008-06-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have been very interesting for me in terms of inspirational material.

Firstly, everyone should watch/listen to/read J.K. Rowlings commencement speech at Harvard on "The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination" (link via Laurie Halse Anderson's blog):

J.K.Rowling's commencement speech

"One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing."

It is so true. She will forever be one of my heroes.

Another one of my new heroes is the Wachowski brothers. If anyone has been reading my livejournal or Kazu's blog, you know how inexplicably obsessed Kazu and I are with the new Speed Racer movie. When I think of the film, I think of extremely satisfying movie-going experiences like Forest Gump, Star Wars, Shawshank Redemption, Pride & Prejudice, movies that exist in their own perfect circle which I can watch over and over again without ever losing their impact.

Just when I thought it was impossible to come up with something new, something fresh, and something emotionally honest, the Wachowskis come along and blow my expectations out of the water. This movie has completely schooled me, humbled me, and gave me something to strive for again. There is not one moment in the whole thing that doesn't feel deliberate, they had complete control and it shows. Watching Speed Racer is like being served a masterfully crafted gourmet meal. It may not be to everyone's taste, but man... did they ever make something with all their hearts, whether anyone likes it or not. It is the real deal!

I have seen this movie six times in the theater and counting, I just cannot get enough of it! The storytelling is impeccable, the synergy between visuals, music, and emotion is spot on. If you haven't seen the movie yet, give this gift to yourself and see it while it's on the big screen before it's goes to the small screen.

Watching and studying this movie has helped me immensely in my own storytelling, and for that I'm forever grateful to the people that worked on Speed Racer. I cannot tell you how helpful it's been for me with figuring out the crux of Tabby's story, and keeping it confident and clear. I just hope I have the focus to hold onto it through to the end of the trilogy.

Also, I'm out of my mind ecstatic that Barack Obama is the democratic nominee! The general election is going to be very interesting indeed.

Anyway, these are things that have made my life richer recently, so I thought I'd share it all with you. Writing goes well on Rema now that I got a good wake-up call from Speed Racer. All I need to do is hunker down and do the work, work, work... and that's the fun part, isn't it?

(added later) By the way, I forgot to mention... aside from Speed Racer you should all check out Kung Fu Panda, which opens this weekend. A few friends of mine (also fellow Flight artists) worked on it, including our studio mate, the ever-enigmatic Phil Craven. Kazu and I are probably seeing it tonight, I can't wait! The Art of book is simply beautiful! The Character Design blog has a good video preview of the interior art, mostly sketches by the mind-blowingly talented Nicolas Marlet.

New York trip and lessons learned

2008-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Long time no blog. Recently, Kazu and I got back from a trip to NYC. It was great to see old friends and say hello to colleagues. I only wish we had more time to stay and see more people!

Check out my flickr stream if you're interested in how it all went down...

I'm still trudging my way through the book, but I'm very excited about it. I lost track of how many drafts I've done, but with each one I get closer to something I can be proud of. That's the thing about writing, there really isn't much to show until the whole thing is done. Aw, heck. Here's a paragraph I just wrote a couple hours ago:

"Tabby faced the quivering blackness in front of her, her heart pounding in her ears. Terrible fear gripped her, and she tried to focus on what lay on the other side. Her home, her friends, her school, her mother. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. She closed her eyes, then extended her fingertips, and reached through the darkness."

Looks kind of silly out of context. Quivering blackness, what? Will it be in the final draft? Probably not. It's funny, because it isn't the craft of writing that's been so hard for me, it's the storytelling. The storytelling is the hard part. Rema has become such a huge world in my imagination with so many parts of it I want to tell, it continually pushes in unexpected directions. It's been difficult choosing one direction to stick to and go all the way to the finish line with.

Well, needless to say, writing has been and still is an adventure. I also recently quit my retail job, and I've learned (or re-learned) several things from it.

1) The value of money. Seriously, I don't know how anyone can get by on minimum wage. I don't want to waste my money on things I won't use.

2) The value of time. Time is precious, more precious than money. It shouldn't be wasted.

3) The value of kindness. If you give people a little love, you can change their day.

4) the value of my own talent. I am so incredibly lucky to be able to do what I do, and to be able to do it well enough to get published. Most people cannot do what I do, and being surrounded by nothing but artists, I completely forgot that. I need to be grateful for my talents, and not let them go to waste. If you're someone out there who is talented, show your gratitude for your ability and make something with it!

5) A reconnection with my love for books. I love books. I love all kinds of books. I love how in the book world, variety is embraced and encouraged. I love how in the book world, there's room for everyone. I love how books make you feel included, encourage opinion no matter how controversial or marginalized, and foster the imagination. I love how anyone who can read is welcome to a good book, that the imagery within the pages is at the whim of the imagination that reads it. I love books.

I learned a lot working at the bookstore, but it's time to wrap up this novel. It's been almost a year now...

Fun with watercolors

2008-03-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Did the above watercolor here and there over the past week (click image for full version). It's a character from the book who's new, and not in the webcomic version.

I got a job working retail part time, and having a blast. It really makes me value my time more, plus meeting all the customers and co-workers has been a great exercise in character study. I've also been really obsessed with the democratic nomination race, which has been just fascinating.

My dearest Kazu gave me an awesome 4' tall Orion Skyquest xt8 telescope for my birthday. Boy, does he know me, or what?! I've been looking through it on almost every clear night. It's been a big source of inspiration for me these days. I just love looking at the stars and daydreaming about them! Of the objects I've managed to locate (Saturn, Venus, the Pleiades...) the Orion Nebula is without a doubt my favorite. You can actually make out the features of the nebula, which just takes my breath away. Seeing the rings and moons of Saturn is also pretty inspiring, and a crowd-pleaser (when strangers walk by asking what I'm doing, I like letting them look through and share the wonder!). And of course, seeing the moons craters is always a trip. I can't wait to use the telescope in a really dark sky though, because the skies of Alhambra have a lot of light pollution.

Also, for those interested, I updated my flickr page with some photos of Kazu's Amulet signing at Nucleus, the Warner Bros. Studio tour with my family, and more.

Speaking of Kazu, he just wrapped up the lineup for Flight 5 last night. Man... all I can say is that you're all in for a real treat!

Working on chapter 16 of Rema now, and everything's going well. I love writing, and with each page written, I love it even more. It's really freed my imagination in unexpected ways. Life has been awesome these days. Hope everyone else is doing just as well, if not better!

First Kiss, Then Tell and a drawing

2008-01-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

Just out, this anthology features a number of popular YA authors spilling the beans about their first kiss. It ranges from sweet, to romantic, to downright disgusting (and judging by author Justine Larbalestier's blog, she'd know I'm talking about her story!). It's a fun read to share with friends, a great gift for Valentine's Day, and for a good cause as a portion of the proceeds go to NPR's Youth Radio.

As for my contribution to the book, I made a comic documenting my precarious path to true love. If you ever wondered what went on in my brain when Kazu and I first met/decided to get married, this comic is for you. OR... if you've lost faith in the idea that true love can exist, this comic is for you too. OR... who am I kidding? I made this comic for anyone willing to listen. I hope you like it!

So check it out, First Kiss, Then Tell edited by Cylin Busby. Be prepared for warm fuzzies!

Things on Rema are progressing slowly. I was stuck on chapter 7 for a good two months. That's right. Two months on one chapter. When I save versions of my chapters, I label them version A, version B, etc. The version that worked is chapter 7, version Vb. Don't laugh... I'm just happy to be off that merry-go-round!

Since then, things have been running smoothly (knock knock), and I approach each page with an eager heart. I'm up to chapter 11, and realizing this book is taking me way longer than Kazu or I could've predicted. Remember back when I was hoping to finish by December? Ha ha ~

I think it might be time to go hunting for a part time job. Ironically, the prospect of getting away from the studio and working on set, non-creative tasks sounds like a vacation. Writing sure requires a lot of mental gymnastics...

Speaking of Rema, I drew this picture of Philip last week, and I wasn't going to share it with anyone because I'm so used to keeping my work to myself now that I'm writing. I shared it with the Flight folks, I might as well post it here too. It's so much fun drawing this character now that I've been through so much story with him! Anyway, click if you want to see the bigger version. And I mean big.

Sketches from Japan

2007-12-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

Did everyone have a good Christmas? I got a big ol' pink scarf from my Mom. I'd never where pink on my own, but now that I have it I think it's pretty awesome. :)

While in Japan, I started a new sketchbook. These are all done straight with the hi-tec C 03mm pen. I love that pen. There's more, but these are the best ones. I need to draw more! It clarifies my writing and helps me visualize things more easily. I noticed that there's an economy of storytelling in comics that I love, and want to carry over into my writing too, if I can. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, click the thumbnails to see the full image:

Have a great New Year's, everyone!!!!

Amulet is in stores!

2007-12-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

One month before the official release in Jan. '08, Kazu's all-ages graphic novel Amulet is out in bookstores and on amazon.com. Two years of writing, drawing, and painting bound together in beautiful full color, it makes a wonderful and affordable gift.

Hardcover
Paperback

Someone started a thread over at the Flight Forums about the book. It's a good place to go if you want to discuss it and see some reader reviews.

I helped paint some of the pages, and was Kazu's sounding board for story ideas etc. I'm so so sooooo proud of him and the book! It turned out beautifully, and best of all -- the story is awesome! There's magic, monsters, robots, strong characters, and a touching story of the heart for the whole family.

Miskit's my favorite character in Amulet, but they're all awesome. I love the villain too, he looks so cool. I want to do a fan art...

Back from Japan

2007-12-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Wow. What an awesome, life-changing trip! I can't even begin to express how awesome a trip it was. I miss the place already, but it's good to be back. All I have are my photos, and little commentaries contained within:

tons of photos from our trip to Japan

If you don't know how to use flickr, here are more direct links to the "detail view":

week one
week two part 1
week two part 2

It's a beautiful country, the peak of modern living, and full of some of the kindest, least cynical, hard-working people I've ever met. It was a breath of fresh air. There was so much visual stimulus, I ended up drawing again. I'll scan in my sketch book soon, it's actually pretty small. But it's the most I've drawn in a while, and it felt great! Comics are deeply ingrained in their culture, and they're everywhere. I urge every cartoonist to visit Japan at least once in their lives, just to see what it's like.

Countless thanks to Ray Goto and Savannah College of Art and Design for inviting my husband to go there to teach, and for allowing me to tag along. It was the best trip ever!

Going on an adventure...

2007-11-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

Kazu and I are off to Japan with a bunch of studio mates for two weeks. Will be back in December with pictures!

Odds and Ends

2007-11-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

Writing continues on Rema.

I've finished a complete draft of the whole manuscript (about 300pp), each chapter having gone through several drafts already. Now I'm trudging my way carefully through the second draft, and have just started chapter 8.

The second draft is COMPLETELY different than the first. Characters get dropped, scenes get cut, some characters even have a gender change (don't worry -- all the main ones are the same). It feels awesome!

I was stuck, sitting on the rough draft, since I was 15. I didn't have the guts to cut and mangle the story until I was able to wade through it completely, first. Only then could I step back and see what it was that I was really trying to talk about all these years. And in the end, the story is much simpler than I ever thought.

I've been sharing the first five chapters with select friends that are around, and people seem to like it, which is a huge relief. Now that I'm confident, I'm going to hold off on showing it to anyone else until it's completed. I can't wait to share it with everyone, though! But it will definitely be a while.

Kazu and I will be in Japan for two weeks in December, then the holidays are here. Things will be hectic, but I'm hoping to finish a readable draft by the end of December. If I can't make it, though, so be it. I'm taking my time on this one and perfecting it to the best of my ability. I don't mind it, though. I've discovered that I love everything about writing, and it is definitely "my medium", so the process of rewriting is fun, if not something of an emotional roller coaster (a good one).

Anyway, just thought I'd leave an update and say hello. My website is getting dusty. All I can think about these days is Rema...

Sorcerers & Secretaries Italian Edition

2007-10-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the kind and generous folks at Renoir Comics, especially to Michele, my Sorcerers & Secretaries dream has come true. For the Italian edition, it's being published with both books in one volume with a cover illustration that I felt embraced the atmosphere of the books better than any other. I seriously feel like I haven't seen the final product of the last two years of my working life until now. I just hope it can get published like this in English someday!

The book debuts at the Lucca Comics Fair in Tuscany, Italy, November 1st, then released November 10th.

I never thought I'd have anything published in another language, let alone Italian. It's pretty neat! Can't thank Renoir Comics enough~ They're a fairly young company, but they seriously care about their books and their authors! I wish them a long and happy life. A huge thanks has to go to Kazu, too. I believe it's because the Renoir guys read our wishes for a one volume edition on his blog that they went ahead to do the book this way, and it was Kazu's great editorial eye that helped me make the cover look as good as it does. I love you, sweetie! :D

I'm planning a site redesign soon. With all my writing work going on, I feel that this current site doesn't quite make the cut. In the mean time, enjoy listening to a playlist of music I put together. :P

from chapter 24 of the Reman Novel

2007-10-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

A nameless background character from the book that I just felt like drawing:

Hmm...

2007-09-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

The first thing I've drawn in about 1.5 months:

A new character. He's borrowing Ellon's jacket until I can give him one of his own...

Reman's about 2/3 done. I'm about to write a *kissing* scene, so feelin' a little nervous!!!

Avatar: The Last Airbender Magazine and an interview

2007-09-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, it's been a while. I've been spending my days writing and reading, still, and spending quality time with friends. Most recently I read "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones. It is now *officially* one of my all-time favorite books. Romantic without being sensual, quirky without being pretentious, and charming without being coy, it's heartwarming and delightful. Highly recommended book.

If you haven't noticed, I had to turn off the comment box on my site because I was getting too much spam. I'm planning a site redesign anyway, but if anyone really needs to contact me there's always email.

There is a new interview up over at comicbookresources.com as a kind of year-in-review for my work in 2007, as if you didn't get enough of me already! I had a great time answering these questions, thanks to Alex. I got to talk a bit about writing in the end too!

Here is the interview.

Also, if you haven't picked up your copy of the all-Avatar edition of Nickelodeon magazine yet (I illustrated the above "Going Home Again" story), please do at your nearest bookstore. Magazine sales are definitely looked at, so showing your support with the $5 purchase actually makes a difference. The editor, Dave Roman, made an excellent case against scanning images from the magazine by discussing a little bit on the state of the magazine industry in his journal, so go give it a read.

I found my copy of the mag in the family section of Barnes & Nobles, myself. Just look for this spiffy cover drawn by Lauren Montgomery:

As far as things go on the Reman front, I'm still writing every day, and I'm about two-thirds done with the book's second draft. A lot of changes have been made, and as I write I discover new things about the story. Kazu and I go through these plot points together, and it's been helping me shape and reshape the story arch. My goal at this point is to finish a readable draft to present to publishers by December. We'll see how it goes.

And finally to any head hunters out there, I'm interested in doing some short freelance comics/illustration work. If there are any companies out there who think I'd be appropriate for their projects, please feel free to email me: whibbage at gmail.com.

Okay. Back to writing I go...

Reading and Writing

2007-08-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time for a bit of blogging...

Thank you to everyone that left comments, you guys are really too generous and patient with my stories. I've been working hard, writing every day. So far I've written over a hundred pages by hand, and about fifty on the computer. My plan of hand writing the entire draft before typing was derailed when I realized that I had to go back and change a major plot point, which effected everything after it. Ironically, the "change" is actually closer to the original comic. I should trust my original instincts about story sometimes. I also took some time to think harder about the story and write an outline. Now I'm trying to work on it a chapter at a time, jumping around to write the scenes that most excite me, using the outline as a guide. It's similar to how I wrote the script for Sorcerers & Secretaries, except less linear in execution. I find it difficult to write from beginning to end in prose because I like to spend more time delving into the character's thoughts and emotions, leaving me more time to make realizations about the plot. This means more time to realize I need to make changes.

This past week I've been walking around, concerned that my writing is too terrible and that this won't work out at all. Then I had a good discussion with my husband while we folded laundry, leading me to a spurt of inspiration about a particular part of the story that had been vexing me since college. I rushed to the computer and re-wrote a scene with a new perspective, and that was all it took for me to feel all happy and excited about the book again. I have a feeling it will be like this for the rest of the process, a dizzying up and down of confidence and despair as I try to figure out the story. Writing sure is exciting! I wish I could be more specific about my realizations but I don't want to spoil anything, especially this early in the writing.

I also read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse this past week. I kept seeing the cover to Eclipse everywhere, and I thought the image was really striking. When I heard about the storyline, a high school vampire romance, I was expecting something terribly cheesy. And in a way, it kind of is. BUT... I really loved it and flew through all three books in a matter of days. They're incredibly juicy and unabashed in its portrayal of angsty emotion and humor. The further into the story the author gets, the deeper and more enjoyable the story becomes, as well. I highly recommend them to everyone, especially if you like beautiful male characters! And for those that have already read the books, be sure to check out chapter one of Midnight Sun on Meyer's website. It's chapter one of Twilight written from Edward's point of view, I think it's one of the better parts she's written.

In her thank you page, Meyer mentioned her love for the band Muse, and so I've been obsessed with these two songs lately:

Unintended, Time is Running Out, and Starlight

I also finished reading Harry Potter book 7. Quite the appropriate ending, the last chapter was amazing. And that's all I'll say about that... I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who's as late in reading it as I was.

Also, avatarspirit.net posted a nice preview of the all-Avatar edition of Nick Magazine, hitting stands around September 18th. I still can't believe I got to participate in something so many people enjoy (Thanks, Dave!). Especially because I love Zuko! Sheesh... I really lucked out to get the script for his story in particular. Anyway, enough gloating! Be sure to check out the magazine when it comes out. There's beautiful comics from a lot of fantastic artists! Cover by Lauren Montgomery whose work I just found out because of the magazine, the ever-amazing Rufftoon, the imaginitive Reagan Lodge, and more~

This is a really long post.

2007-07-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

In short: I'm back from San Diego which was awesome, and I'm announcing my decision that Reman will be a prose novel which makes me so so so happy.

I'm back from Comic-Con '07, and have spent the day chillin' at the studio with Kazu, Becky, Vasilis, and their buddy Ilias who is visiting from Greece. We rewatched Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 version), had some boba, had dinner with Chris and Shadi, and flipped through my collection of books that I got from San Diego.

The convention was the best I've been to in a long time. It was nice going there without any deadlines looming over me, so I could relax and socialize. Thank you to everyone that came out to say hello to me, and especially to those that showed their support by purchasing a copy of Flight or S&S. I had a great time chatting with all of you, and I wish I could spend more time getting to know everyone! The Flight booth was pretty crowded for the duration of the con, partially because of sales but also because we had a good turnout of Flight artists manning the booth and we all took turns signing readers’ copies.

I got to catch up with my old editors, meet new ones, and chit-chat with various professionals. I got to see old friends, got treated to some lovely dinners, and had a great time discussing industry matters with colleagues and readers alike. I also got a chance to nerd-out. Some highlights were checking out the Golden Compass movie booth where Johane and I got our picture taken with Iorek Byrneson (It's hanging on my wall now!), as well as attending the Avatar panel where they played the preview to season 3 on a huge screen TWICE! I was in heaven. Shortly after the panel one of the co-creators of the show, Bryan Konietzko, stopped by the Flight booth and talked to Kazu. I wanted to say hello and introduce myself, but I could barely get my voice out, and my face was red I'm sure, so my husband had to give him my book for me. It was pretty embarrassing, but refreshing at the same time because having met so many artists I look up to, it was nice to know that I still had the energy to be a fangirl about some things. So, my apologies to Mr. Konietzko for being so geeky about his show!

Of the books that I procured from the convention, the free advance reader copy of Shaun Tan's "The Arrival" from Scholastic was my favorite by far. A wonderful story chronicling the emotional journey of an immigrant, it is beautifully told without words. Instead, each moment is lovingly dwelt upon with carefully rendered pencil illustrations. It reminded me of "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs. The book comes out in October, and I highly recommend it! It's a book you can really savor.

Since I talked about it with a few readers that stopped by the Flight booth, I thought I should post about it here so I could start blogging my progress.

I decided to write Reman Mythology as a series of prose novels instead of a series of graphic novels. I feel like it's a decision that has been many years in the making, and I know some of you were looking forward to seeing a good comic version of the story, but trust me when I say this is for the best.

Reman is a very long tale that would've taken me my entire life to draw had it been a comic series. It started as a novella that I wrote when I was 15-16 years old which I pitched to publishers with the help of the English department head at my high school. It got rejected by everyone, so I put it on the side until I went to college and met other cartoonists like myself. I was encouraged to turn my novella into a comic by some friends, and I did. The webcomic you see online is the result.

While I learned much from doing that, I always felt like I was holding back with the story. It was difficult for me to fully delve into the psychosis of my characters without sounding corny, I struggled desperately with drawing the landscapes and buildings knowing that I had no interest in learning proper perspective or conceptual rendering, and I had a terrible time battling between my desire to tell a good story, and artistic /professional pressures to make things look "awesome" despite not caring about that kind of thing.

I always had a sneaking suspicion in the back of my head that Reman was meant to be written in prose, I just never had faith in my abilities to write it. There was also a sort of guilty feeling of loyalty to the comics medium that was difficult to get over. It actually wasn't until I heard the dialogue to the 2005 Pride & Prejudice that my love for language and books was reawakened, ironically since it was a film. After watching it, I began spending more and more time at my local library revisiting some of my favorite classics like White Fang, various Jane Austin books, and Les Miserables. Following Laurie Halse Anderson's blog helped a lot too, since she was keeping a production diary for her latest book "Twisted" at the same time that I was for "Sorcerers & Secretaries". We were separately blogging about the same struggles with character developement , rewrites, and pacing. It dawned on me that we were essentially talking about the same thing: storytelling. It wasn't long after that when I realized there wasn't much difference between writing for comics and writing for prose, and that I could probably turn out to be a pretty good writer.

This doesn't mean that I'm going to stop drawing comics, in fact I have a great idea for another series that I want to do some time in the near future. However, as far as Reman is concerned, it will be a prose book, just like it started. I've been working on it for a few weeks now, writing three pages a day by hand in a small 9 x 10 college ruled notebook and ball point pen. I'm up to chapter three in the first draft (around 60 pages). Once the first draft is finished, I plan on typing up the whole thing and working on subsequent drafts, however many it will take until it's finished. Until it's ready, I won't be showing it to anyone or looking for a publisher, but I can tell you the story is better than it ever was. Working on comics has taught me so much about basic storytelling, so much that I feel like I don't have to ask for second opinions all the time anymore. I'm confident in its execution to this point. It's probably the best thing I've ever written, and anyone that enjoyed the webcomic will surely enjoy it in its new skin.

In any case, I wanted to get that off my chest. I'll be blogging about its progress here and there, since documenting the progress of Sorcerers & Secretaries was incredibly helpful for pacing myself. I hope you'll enjoy the journey along with me, and hopefully you'll still be around to read the saga of Tabby, Philip, Raed, and Paeter when it's finally printed.

Flight 4 and Comic-Con

2007-07-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

The preview to Flight Volume 4 is up, and there's reports of the book hittings shelves at Borders and Barnes & Nobles across the country. Volume 4 features stories by myself (my fable called "Food From the Sea"), but also has excellent works from Kazu Kibuishi, Graham Annable, Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, Michel Gagne, Sarah Mensinga, Andrea Offerman, Neil Babra, and many many more. It's my personal favorite volume so far, but then again ... every new volume tends to be my favorite! Anyway, check out the preview and order yourself a copy.

OR...

Come and buy one at the Flight booth in San Diego Comic-Con 2007! The booth number is 1128, and will be right across from Random House books. I'll also be doing a couple designated signings at the following times:

Scholastic Book Fair booth -- Saturday, from 2pm-3pm
Flight booth 1128 -- Saturday, from 4pm - 6pm

But as usual, I'm calling the Flight booth my home for the duration of the convention, so if you're there and are looking for me I'll most likely be with them.

added 7/18 --
Also, I'll be participating in this panel on Sunday:

11:30-12:30 -- Kids’ Day Drawing Workshop: Kids’ Cartoon Studio—Watch as six fantastic kid-friendly cartoonists draw their hearts out, right in front of you! Scott Morse (Magic Pickle), George O’Connor (Journey into Mohawk Country), David Nakayama (Marvel Adventures Hulk), Amy Kim Ganter (Sorcerers and Secretaries), Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin), and Nick Bertozzi (Houdini: The Handcuff King) will be showcasing a diversity of styles from manga to superheroes and everything in between. They’ll talk about their backgrounsd and then hit the drawing boards. Moderated by Janna Morishima, Diamond Kids Group. Room 30CDE

Yesterday I wrapped up work on a 10 page short story for the all-Avatar edition of Nickelodeon Magazine. It was a lot of work (so many references!) but it was so much fun. Anytime I see Avatar I'm always reminded of how much I love cartoons and cartooning. Thanks for letting me participate, Nick Mag! The fan girl in me is all giggly. :) I think the magazine comes out in the Fall sometime, but I'm not sure when exactly. When I hear it's on the streets I'll make an announcement.

That's all the news from me for now. See y'all at Comic-Con!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 46

2007-06-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ah~ I always liked the way this chapter ends. Yes... it is the last page of Chapter Two! I sort of miscalculated the page numbers (I thought there was 47 not 46! Oops!), but there it is.

In case you missed out, here are the amazon links to books 1 and 2:

Sorcerers & Secretaries book 2 on amazon
Sorcerers & Secretaries book 1 on amazon

Leave a review! Tell your friends the book is out! You definitely should be able to find it in any well-stocked comics store and chain bookstore by now. When you find it, I hope you enjoy it. =)

Now that the updating is over and the second book is off to do as it will, I have no plans for the website beyond updating it sporadically with sketches and occasional news. Check in occasionally if it fancies you. If not... thank you for being an attentive viewer and I'll email you (if you're on the mailing list) the next time there's eventful news involving my work.

I had a great time sharing these pages with you ladies (and guys), and a huge thank you to anyone that left comments on my blog. I'd check it at least three times a day! It was exciting to get reader feedback again, so thank you so much. =)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 45

2007-06-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Only three more pages until the chapters 1 and 2 marathon comes to a close, so yes I will finish off the chapter (to answer May's question from yesterday's comment box). Things at the studio are good, painted some Amulet today. Tomorrow's for freelance, hopefully I can squeeze in a bit of time for Reman. I got up to page 50 in the script last night, so thankfully I'm past the first thirty pages! Woo hoo~ XD

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 44

2007-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

And it continues... beyond the release date! But it seems people are starting to get their books in. I have to admit I'm a bit nervous! However, I suppose as long as I'm happy with how it turned out, I can handle any negative criticism gracefully.

I spent my day doing laundry (including a minor disaster because I failed to check the jean pockets!), and painted a page of Amulet. I should be working on a freelance project I have, but I'd rather write Reman Mythology before heading to sleep (I'm up to page 33 in the script).

Speaking of page 33... I kind of freaked out the other day and almost scrapped the script to start over yet again. Kazu asked me what page I was on, and I told him. Then he talked about screenwriters, and how getting past page 30 is usually a huge hurdle because it's the end of the first act and the last two are unknown, while the first one is far from perfect. "Just finish the whole thing," he said, "THEN go back and reread it to see what needs to be fixed, because you won't know until it's all laid out in front of you." It's so true.

So there you have it guys... if any of you graphic novelists out there are frozen at the end of act 1, just push forward and get past that dreaded "page 30"! There are greener pastures on the other side. I hope.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 43

2007-06-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

When I wrote the script I was dying to get to this page, simply because I haven't really drawn real romantic tension before. It made my friend blush, so mission accomplished.

This reminds me, I listened to this song a lot while drawing this book: another youtube music video link.

I also realize that I miscalculated how many pages are left for the June 12th release date (ha! obviously!)... oops. =P

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 42

2007-06-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Warm and tender conversation leads to warm and tender moments.

Speaking of... everyone should watch this clip and remember how beautiful the world is. Thanks, Kermit! =)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 41

2007-06-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Warm and tender conversation. I like drawing that last panel hehe~

I appologize for the late update, Kazu and I decided to take the day off yesterday after the Otis presentation. The lecture was awesome, I especially loved hearing Coop and Camille speak, and it was so fun hearing Esther and Mark discuss their different adventures being illustrators in New York too. Since everyone, besides myself, was either gallery artists or editorial illustrators (two areas that I'm pretty unfamiliar with) I learned a lot. A big thanks to Michael Dooley for organizing it! And thank you to everyone that came out to see it. One person in particular actually read Reman Myth, and that always surprises me (I just feel like no one in the offline world reads that thing! haha~). So thank you for stopping by to say hello, Raika!

I'll try to update on time tonight. Kazu and I are at the studio once again, hopefully I can paint two pages of Amulet tonight...

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 40

2007-06-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Somehow I always read the two word balloons in panel three in the wrong order when it's online, but it reads fine in print. If I had more time, it's one of the things I would've changed for clarity's sake.

Speaking of honing one's craft, the first review that I know of for Sorcerers & Secretaries 2 is up at popcultureshock.com! It got a B+ which is good news. It means there's plenty space to improve and opportunities to surpass myself! I guess the reviewer wasn't too interested in Susan and Riley's relationship, and in retrospect maybe it was a little self-serving since it was the most fun part for me to write. I didn't really think too much about whether or not anyone else would be into it... oops. >_<>

In other news, today one of our assistants is leaving us for a covetted internship with Pixar Animation up in Emeryville, CA. She left us with a whole mess of One Piece episodes. Ever since she started helping us out with Amulet, she couldn't stop talking about One Piece. It is her ultimate television show, and I was touched by her gift. Can't wait to watch the whole series!!! Best of luck to you, Katy. Knock 'em dead at Pixar!

Tomorrow is the Otis presentation. I am a little nervous! It's been quite a while since I did any public speaking, and some people are paying money to see this. I hope the other artists and I will give them their money's worth. Wish me luck!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 39

2007-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Josh is in heaven here. Hehehe...

Well I think I have enough romantic comedy recommendations to last me for a few years! It proved my theory that everyone loves romance deep down inside (how can you resist?). I remember when I was thirteen and obsessively reading any book I could get my hands on, if the story had no romance it was really uninteresting to me. Maybe it was because I was thirteen... but every story has to have a wee bit o romance, right??

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 38

2007-06-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

Throughout the course of writing this book, I indulged in many romantic comedy movies. Some I had watched so often as a youngster, I didn't need to watch them again (Sleepless In Seattle, Pretty Woman, Princess Bride, Ghost, Groundhog Day, She's All That, and one of my all time favorites, French Kiss).

Some that I watched were simply terrible. The couples had no chemistry, their character development lacked emotional logic, and if anything, I was hoping that they didn't get together because it was a divorce waiting to happen. A couple examples of this are Alex & Emma, Kate & Leopold, Stranger Than Fiction, and I even found the couple in Breakfast At Tiffany's to be a bad match. It made me realize how delicate good chemistry is. All of this movie-watching has given me a taste for the romantic that I think will leak into my stories from now on.

So I'm curious about you guys. What romantic comedies did you like or dislike?

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 37

2007-06-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

I always thought Nicole looked particularly fetching in panel 1.

It is Wednesday, June 6th, and Sorcerers & Secretaries book 2 officially ships in one week (June 13th) to a finer comic shop/book store near you! I, for one, am quite excited. A colleague at the studio just read both books for the first time in one sitting, and said that it flowed well. I was worried that the books would be awkward to read together since so much time passed between volumes, but I guess it's a-ok. Hopefully someday Tokyopop can afford to print a one-volume edition. I already have a super spiffy cover in mind~ We'll see I guess!

For any Otis students out there, on June 9th I'll be participating in a lecture/roundtable seminar pondering the meaning of being an artist in the business-driven environment of today's popular culture industry. I hear from the grapevine that Otis students get in for free/with a hefty discount, otherwise the lecture is $35. More information can be found here.

On the way to the studio today I spent a few minutes browsing the local library. I've been writing the script for book 1 of Reman Mythology this past week, and writing innevitably gets me in the mood for reading. In high school I spent most of my days writing prose, so whenever I get into my writing headspace I'm always awash with nostalgia. Particularly, nostalgia for countless hours spent browsing bookstores and library shelves throughout high school and middle school.

It was nice to just wander around and pick up whatever caught my eye. The rentals this week are a translation of the Upanishads, a book on Norse gods and heroes, The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (which I started reading immediately as I walked to work, and it's awesome!), and Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Let's see if I can get through at least half of these!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 36

2007-06-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's funny, the sentences he's reading out loud are things I made up according to views I have on the action of writing/storytelling. They aren't the only views, of course, but I do think the best stuff has an essance of expressing something that is so emotionally powerful to the creator, that the only way it can be "spoken" is through symbols and stories.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 35

2007-06-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ah~ back to the main characters. I loved drawing the last two panels...

Today was interesting. There was a big food festival outside our studio back door with live music and a $50 entrance fee (we snuck around to our door through Nucleus' back entrance), plus Kazu installed our brand new 4' x 6' magnetic wipe board. OooOOooh~ fancy! It feels like a real office in here now, and we wrote benchmarks, due dates, and minimal daily goals all over that thing. Getting organized feels so good!!

In other news, check out the blog of Man Arenas and BE INSPIRED.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 34

2007-06-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

Updating a little early today because Kazu and I are pretty much taking the rest of the night off for a friend's birthday. If you're in the LA area, you should DEFINITELY make it out to Nucleus tonight for Edwin Ushiro's show opening starting at 7pm. Kazu and I got a sneak peak last night, and I have to say it's one of Nucleus' best shows of late. It's beautiful, and some of the pieces are one-of-a-kind (meaning no prints are being made) so you might as while see them while you still can. For example, my favorite piece in the show, a large painting (about 30" x 40").

Well, I'll see you guys on Sunday!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 33

2007-06-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

This page reads much better in book form. =P

No new links today. Painted a page from Amulet, but we need to get faster! Man... color comics sure are intense. My painting skills are improving though, something I thought would never happen...

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 32

2007-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Was it planned? Was it accidental? Some relationships are like car wrecks, and happen in the most haphazard way. This is why Susan and Riley's relationship was one of the most fun parts of writing the second book, and their story was the easiest part to write.

My friend Dawn showed me this super cute popular site called cuteoverload.com. It'll take up a few minutes of your day at the office/school. Also, experiments with water in zero gravity! (from Indigo's blog)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 30

2007-05-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

All I have to say about this page is: poor Susan. Katy showed me some great street fashion blogs that I wish I knew about back when I was doing research for various outfits for S&S characters. Check them out:

Style Bubble and The Sartorialist.

I especially like the second link!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 29

2007-05-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ah... Sorry for the late update! Kazu and I went to see Pirates 3 last night around nine with my pals Phil and Johane. We didn't get back to the studio until midnight, so we went straight home and played Zelda: Twilight Princess to clear our minds of the mess that was Pirates3. It felt like someone's brainstorming session fully realized onto the big screen -- story elements were just slapped on seemingly on the fly without any set up or foreshadowing. It was ridiculous. Beautiful to look at however, and everyone was in character, but the story was a mess. The scene where the ships were swirling around in a vortex shooting each other was the ultimated visual metaphor of the story's plot.

Ah well. It was nice to get out of the studio and experience something with friends. Plus the highlight was seeing the Transformers trailer on the big screen -- I got chills! Can't wait for that one. =)

I couldn't help but feel bad for the screenwriters for pirates, though. Kazu and I have experienced similar struggles with deadline pressures and the pressure to perform, but on a much much smaller scale of the graphic novel. This is the problem I suppose with trying to write in a commercial format. You're under the whim of the publisher/producers to do the best job you can in limited time and with the expectation that it will be loved by the public and make them lots of money. That's a lot of pressure.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 28

2007-05-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Hope you're having a restful weekend with your family, and not at school like Nicole. =P

Things at Studio Amzu are pretty crazy these days. I'm having loads of fun painting Amulet and learning so much! I was always intimidated by the idea of painting but I'm trying to be more open to the option of color comics these days. When done right they can be extremely engaging.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 27

2007-05-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

This chapter is very *romantic* and was one of the most fun for me to work on. Well, what am I saying... each chapter in book 2 was a joy. Book 1 was me trying to figure stuff out, book 2 was me having fun with the characters lives in the little petri dish of 200 pages of comics. =)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 26

2007-05-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late update! Felt kind of sick yesterday so I spent the night watching Avatar episodes. >_<>

I feel all better now, though, so no worries. Tomorrow's page will be a chapter cover image...!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 25

2007-05-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Josh is so happy. So, so happy! =)

Thank you everyone for leaving all the nice comments about Reman and the watercolors. I haven't started drawing the comic and there aren't any publishers for it or anything like that, I'm just trying to refamiliarize myself with the characters and world, that's all. When I have interesting development art to show you, though, I'll be sure to share it. Thanks for all the encouragement guys! Knowing that you still are interested in seeing RM makes me happy. So, so happy! =) hehe~

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 24 plus watercolors

2007-05-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Riley and Susan became my favorite characters in the second book, and they served as a great contrasting example to different ways couples can get together (or not).

Today I spent some time doing 4 x 6 watercolors of Reman characters and had tons of fun. Watercolors are so cool! Their faces kind of altered, but the more I draw them the more familiar they'll get again. They're all signed because they're gifts for some friends. These are in chronological order of completion:

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 23

2007-05-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if like three years from now when/if the term "awesome!!" isn't used anymore, would it be like reading comics now that say "totally rad!!"... and make S&S seem completely dated? =P

Just got back from seeing 28 Weeks Later. I enjoyed it for what it was, a raging zombie movie with lots of shaking cameras, blood, and tension related to biohazards. I do feel that the character build up of the father was lost too soon in the movie though. He had interesting conflict that was worthy of a whole movie in and of itself.

Part of me kinda misses the old slow moving hordes and wishes there were more movies about those kinds of zombies. When will they get popular again? I thought they were really effective in Shawn of the Dead! Plus in Dead Rising for Xbox 360. I love that game.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 22

2007-05-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Another page~

Spent the day watching Planet Earth. It's so so beautiful.......... Maybe I should update earlier in the day. When I update these things it's usually at the end of the day when I'm low on energy so my posts get all random, like this one. >_<;;

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 21

2007-05-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

It always felt like the inking in the last panel stood out, for some reason. Maybe thinner lines.......

Not much happened today, it was pretty chill. Except for the guy playing scales on his trumpet outside our building. And the neighboring bar playing clubbing music that was loud enough to set off some car alarms in the parking structure next door, around 6:30pm. Other than that, pretty chill... ;)

Also, a big thank you to whoever bought my power in numbers piece! It makes me feel like a real artist. =)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 20

2007-05-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

I get this reaction a lot. >_<>

By the way, this guy is so awesome.

lots of pictures today...

2007-05-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Photo reference is always helpful, and you can always tell when someone uses it. I usually don't use photo reference, but I had to for the first panel because I just couldn't remember what the bridge looked like, exactly.

In other news I got early copies of book 2 today:

Mmmm... FRESH GRAPHIC NOVELS!!! =D When I got book 1 my reaction was relief. When I got these books, my reaction was pure joy! Finally a completed, full story in print! The printing is a little dark in some spots, but I don't know if anyone will care but me. It looks awesome and I can't wait to share it with the world! It still isn't released until June 12th though...

It's also interesting for me to read it all bound together like this. Certain layouts that worked in single page format doesn't work as well when they're bound together in a book. With each book I hope to get better at using the page-turn and book layouts to improve at my panel arrangements and word balloon placement, which is a part of comics that has always fascinated me.

And also, I didn't think I'd be able to get to it at first, but I managed to squeeze in a watercolor piece for Nucleus' "Power In Numbers" show:

The show's tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 7pm, and part of the sales are donated Susan G. Komen for the cure. Come to Nucleus and see the 200+ art pieces all priced at 50-100 dollars. It's quite a sight!

I painted this because I want amateur astronomy to be my hobby outside of comics. I just have to go buy some good binoculars and a sweet planisphere! While this was happening, Kazu spent all day doing the linework for Amulet. This has been his position for the past few weeks:

Sigh... I can totally relate. But the book is a magical read, I think people will be blown away not only by the beautifully painted pages, but by the breathtaking action and heartfelt story. Ach! Can't wait til it comes out! =D After it does, we're definitely taking a vacation though. Until then we're having fun working together with a group of five or six interns. That's right, folks. Team comics to the rescue!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 18

2007-05-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

I love this page. Susan and Riley's interactions are one of the best things about this book, and definitely the most fun for me to write! :D

For your listening pleasure: pachelbel's "loose" canon

I almost forgot about Power In Numbers! Come out to Gallery Nucleus on Saturday (tomorrow) starting at 7pm and buy some art. A portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer research! Not only do you get some sweet art to decorate your walls, but you also get to support a good cause. =)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 17

2007-05-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of an in-between page...

Today Kazu, Ben, and Dawn geeked out over Captain Eo at lunch. Being from NY state my whole life, I only got to go to Disneyland last year for the first time and missed out on Captain Eo. After watching the youtube video with my honey and friends, I feel like I really missed out on something totally awesome.

Captain Eo - part 1 on youtube, Captain Eo - part 2 on youtube

Co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, produced by George Lucas, with musical score by James Horner and starring Anjelica Huston and of course Michael Jackson. AND ALL IN 3-D!! Oh, how I hope it comes back to Disneyland....!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 16

2007-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Panels 2 and 6 are some of my favorites in the whole book! Interesting theories in the page 15 comment box about Susan. She'll be coming back in a couple pages so we'll see what happens... =)

I won today's round of Settlers of Catan at the studio. Katy Wu, I'm comin' to get you! XD (click her name to see her lovely sketchblog full of her great work. She's helping Kazu paint Amulet and is very talented and sweet!)

Also I discovered a new musician that plays primarily chillout/ambient compositions. I love his positive melodies and celestial sounds, and it makes great background music for writing and drawing. Check out Jon Hopkins of London! Scroll down and listen to "Private Universe" from the Opalescent album, you won't reget it.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 15

2007-05-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there's such a magazine as Phantastic Adventure? I know there's fantasy literature magazines out there, but I never read one. Maybe I should've done more research...

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 14

2007-05-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ah~ I forgot to update last night!! Sorry about that. We went home early from the studio (meaning before midnight!) and chilled at home for the first time in a couple weeks.

There's a couple questions about RSS in the last update's comment box. RSS feeds are like signing up for email updates. Except instead of email programs, you'd use something like google reader (this is what I use and they have a good explanation on there). So if you follow ten separate blogs for example, you can add them to your reader so you only have to go to one place to check all your favorite blogs, instead of going to all ten sites.

I dunno if that helped, but here's wikipedia's entry for RSS.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 13

2007-05-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Good news! There's finally an RSS feed so you can keep up with the site's updates with your blog reader. Thanks to Shadi Muklashy's awesome skills for setting it up! And thanks to Elayne Riggs for the reminder. =)

Ellon gets a costume change above. Well more than a costume change -- a BODY change! I love drawing him in his half-aged state. In other news, I finally saw the second disk to Avatar Book 2. Johane and Phil came over for a visit to check out Nucleus' God of War 2 show, so we watched it together and geeked out over Toph. I love Toph!! I think the earth-bending moves are some of the coolest looking ones on the show. Man... this show is making me so nerdy!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 12

2007-05-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

I love drawing Syra's profile. Haha~ all these updates are gonna me talking about how much I love drawing these characters. >_<;;

I've been doing Reman pages for the fun of it. I'm trying not to get too bogged down by worry, and just dive in knowing that no one will see these pages. It's funny, they're some of the best drawings I've done of Philip and Tabby, and it reassures me that I'm capable of tackling this story. It hasn't closed it's doors to me, I had to take the initiative and open them myself. No amount of advice or reassurance could lift my fears, only my own actions. I guess in the end if you believe in yourself, you can do anything, just like they say.

That didn't really have anything to do with the above page but it's what occupied my mind for most of the day.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 11

2007-05-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

I had lots of fun drawing the shadow creatures. =)

There's a reall loud cricket in the studio... so loud it's drowning out the fountain outside! That cricket must be a real stud! haha~ :: ahem ::

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 10

2007-05-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Not much to say about the above page other than that I had a great time drawing it. Something about Josh looking so intense about the dreamlog hehehe~

So I'll leave you guys with some youtube links of music I enjoyed today:

Ben Folds Five - Uncle Walter , They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul , Dave Brubeck - Take Five.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 9

2007-05-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

This page marks the end of the first scene. When I drew the last panel, I was thinking about Korean dramas, such as "Star In My Heart", and "Full House".

When I was younger, I'd always think about my characters as if they were real people. And sometimes, by thinking about them and their choices, they'd guide me in life through the stories they'd tell on paper. That's how I see Nicole's relationship with Ellon when he appears in her life. To me, he symbolizes the potential of her imaginative powers.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 8

2007-05-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I finished up watching Avatar Book 1, thanks to Dave Roman who sent it to me and Kazu as a little wedding present. I was adverse to watching it at first because ever since I saw the first promo images for Avatar, I was nervous. Something about it reminded me so much of Reman that it made my skin itch. I'm so grateful that Dave encouraged me to watch it, though. My fears were unwarranted, they are completely different entities that were influenced by similar things. I guess sometimes when you see the same images over and over, like I did with Reman Myth, and you see anything remotely similar it can feel disturbingly familiar even if they're really completely different.

I can happily say that my fears have been purged, and I think Avatar is an awesome show. I can't wait to see Books 2 and 3! There's cool concepts, great character archs, and superb TV animation. The only thing that could probably use some work is the voice acting, but what can you do, eh? I can't wait to get together with my friend Johanne and geek out over the series. She's a story artist on the show, and makes the best Avatar fan art on the net! Check 'em out! =)

(p.s. Zuko is my favorite character since he has such a dramatic story arch! And you know... I like the drama...)

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 7

2007-05-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Gosh, we're already on page seven. As I get older it feels like time moves quicker...

I wanted it to be apparant that Josh was a naturally good reader. There's some people I know that are terrible writers, but are really astute readers. Having those types around to give you feedback can be a great help if you're a struggling writer, as Nicole will find out.

I still stick by the philosophy that art is like an energy capsule that captures the emotion that the artist was feeling at the moment of creation. The success and failure of various works to me depends on whether or not it feels like the person behind the piece was really into what they were doing, and especially whether or not the piece is coming from an honest place. I think some people have an innate sense of this and can tell when something's good or not, or can immediately understand the poetry behind a piece of work. I wanted to write Josh with this hidden talent. I hope it worked!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 6

2007-05-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, there are pages even on Sundays!

I don't necessarily feel like Nicole does when I work on my stories, as she is above. In fact, the last time I felt like that was in middle school when I was just discovering the joys of writing. I figure since she's relatively new to the activity, her attitudes towards it would be similarly romantic.

I've gotten the critique a couple times that the characters in S&S act like high schoolers rather than college-age kids. This might be one of the reasons why they do... or maybe it's because I'm still a teen deep down inside. >_<

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 5

2007-05-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

Another day, another page. I don't know why, but I always liked this one. I think it's the hatching in the last panel...

I'm super excited for the Golden Compass movie, and a teaser poster has been released. Isn't it beautiful~?

So beautiful it makes me want to look at pictures of the aurora all night long. Well, have a great weekend everyone!

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 4

2007-05-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Just got back from watching Spiderman 3. Verdict: A hilarious bit of comedic fan-fiction. I recommend either watching it with a super open mind and don't take it too seriously, or bringing a bunch of good-humored friends so you can chuckle.

Sorcerers & Secretaries Countdown

2007-05-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's boredom or idle hands, but I noticed there are about 43 days left until June 12th (the Sorcerers & Secretaries 2 release date) and there's 43 pages in chapters one and two. Maybe it's my webcomicker side wishing I had more content to update with. Maybe it's the full moon.

Whatever it is, I've decided to update one page a day from the first two chapters for book 2 until June 12th gets here. To keep things interesting I'll also try to add links to things that inspire me.

For example, I recently came across this 9-minute online preview of Pixar's upcoming film, Ratatouille. Not only does it look visually stunning (the designs feel like something that you'd see in 2D), but I get "this story's gonna be awesome" vibes from seeing the preview. I love cooking so the subject matter's right up my alley, and Lou Romano does the voice of one of the main characters, so I hear (the kitchen boy that wants to be the chef). Mr. Romano's an amazing artist, but now it's evident that he's a great voice actor too! (taken from Clio's LJ)

And surprisingly, I'm really excited about the Transformers movie. All it needed to do was show me those iconic colors for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, and I'm there!

Well, I'll update again tomorrow. In the least, it'll give me something to do while I work on odds and ends between projects.

Sorcerers & Secretaries vol. 2, page 3

2007-05-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

I came across this on either Drawn or Cartoon Brew, but it instantly became one of my favorite animated shorts ever: Osamu Tezuka's Jumping.

Speaking of Tezuka, I was reading Dark Horse's edition of Astroboy volume 1 yesterday. In the back there's a one-page biography with this excellent quote:

"'Comics are an international language,' Tezuka said. 'They can cross boundaries and generations. Comics are a bridge between cultures.'"

It is so true. See you tomorrow for another page~

APE 2007

2007-04-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year again !

If you're in San Fransisco or planning on attending APE, come visit Kazu and I at the Flight/Nucleus booths 517-518. Kazu will have copies of Flight 1, 2, and 3 on hand along with Daisy Kutter and a plethora of Copper prints. I will be bringing some copies of Sorcerers & Secretaries 1, Goosebumps: Terror Trips, and there will be prints of the following available: Under the Influences, Waiting for the Bus, and Wash-away Mermaid care of Gallery Nucleus. We'll be there on both Saturday and Sunday, but we intend on taking it easy for most of the convention, browsing the exhibitor's floor and maybe even attending a couple panels. Maybe!

I've been doing some sketching and lots of writing with my free time. Will post some drawings when I got something interesting to show. Until then, hope to see you guys at APE! =)

Book 2 update

2007-04-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

Don't worry. This image doesn't give anything important away. But a sad image indeed! I'm in the middle of inking the final fairy tale sequence, with 21 pages to go for inks before the whole book is inked.

Wedding plans have taken over my life at the moment, and I keep my work with me while I'm on the go meeting up with caters etc., inking where ever I can. The toning help I'm getting from Dee, Olga, Laura, and Nicole has been a humungous stress relief. I can't thank you ladies enough!

Everything else is good. Now that I'm a better artist and storyteller, I feel like I have more options with my next project and what I'm going to do with it, whatever it may be. I still really want to do Reman, and I can feel it building up inside of me now that I'm nearing the end of S&S. I'm just not sure how to approach it now that I've been so distant from that world. I hope it's not because I've outgrown it. I'm hoping it's because I'm still in full production of S&S, and that when the book is done I'll have a clearer mind to decide where to go next. It's a bit scary of an idea to be so enthralled with something, but not being able to do much about it, worried that it might just float away never to be seen again if I don't grasp it tightly enough while I take care of things that need immediate attention. I guess only time will tell.

In the mean time, it's back to inks and wedding planning for me. I'll just put Reman back in the drawer for now and hope it doesn't crawl out and run away.

And oh yes... my friend Shadi has added the ability to comment on my blog entries to this website. I'm going to keep all my blogging here on felaxx.com from now on, so I don't have to post the same thing three times. No time for that now! =P

Systema Naturae

2007-04-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

There're some awesome shows coming up at Nucleus. Since Kazu and I share a studio with Ben (the owner) and a few of his employees, we get to see the shows put together. It's quite exciting! Tomorrow night (Saturday the 14th) Nucleus will be showing the work of Andrea Offermann, Jaime Zollars, Frieda Gossett, and Michael V. Brown in their group show entitled "Systema Naturae". Kazu and I peeked in the gallery to see Jaime and Andrea setting up the pieces, and it looks amazing! If you're in the LA area definitely go check out this classy show. It starts at 7pm.

Also mark your calanders for the Art of God of War 2 book signing/gallery show. If you've read Kazu's blog you'd know we're obsessed with GOW2, it really is one of the best games for the ps2. Getting a chance to see the concept art hanging on the wall and meeting the concept artists behind it makes me psyched!!!

Thank you also for leaving me and Kazu so many well wishes and congratulations. It was overwhelming! I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many supporting people. What have I done to deserve all this awesomeness?? And yes, I am still glowing...! =)

Things have calmed down a bit since then, so now I'm helping to paint Amulet pages. It's really fun to work on someone else's pages that you admire. It's funny that if these were my own pages to paint it'd be a total chore, but since it's someone else's work I get to just make it as pretty as I can and not worry about anything else. It's totally relaxing!

2007-04-11T01:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone that has sent me or Kazu messages of congratulations and well wishes. A lot has happened since my last post. The wedding came and went at breakneck speed. It was without hesitation the happiest day of my life, including all of the stress and busy-ness that comes with wedding preparations (four hours of sleep a night!). I got a chance to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and express to everyone important to me how much Kazu and I are in love with each other.

I'm still in awe of how perfectly everything came together pretty much at the last minute. Everyone involved from family to friends put so much effort and fun into making it a heavenly day. Even though I never dreamed of getting married when I was little, let alone spend time daydreaming about a perfect wedding, if I had it would've turned out exactly as it did. I feel like it's the beginning of the rest of my life, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

A lot of photos from guests of the party have been uploaded, but I picked a couple favorites that you can see here. (Above photos courtesy of photographer extraordinaire, Eric Wu.)

Two days after the wedding, I got a call from my editor telling me that book 2 of Sorcerers & Secretaries was due for printing the following Monday. In a massive last minute effort, Kazu and I toned about 100 pages of comics in a week. We had great help from pretty much anyone that would give it to us, including the online toning team of Dee, Olga, Nicole, and Laura, as well as our friends Ben and Alan.

After toning everything, there was a discrepancy with the lettering of the book. With Kazu's help, I managed to double-check and re-letter almost the whole book just last night, with the book being sent to printers today. Hopefully it'll turn out okay!

It was interesting having so much help while finishing up S&S, especially from Kazu. We're always discussing the problems with the process of making comics, how draining and lonely it can be. Working with Kazu and having so many people helping out, though, finishing up the book was a total blast (especially working with Kazu! We make an awesome comics team). It made me realize the importance of working with a group of people, and that it is possible to do so without chopping up the roles so clearly into a factory-type process like in traditional superhero comics (one person's an inker, one's a colorist, one's a penciller, etc.). The sort of organic process of many multi-talented hands pushing for a single book is something I'd like to try again with my next project.

Whether comics are published in book format, in serialized floppies, or on the web, I'm beginning to realize that it's not about the format the comics come in that makes it so difficult. From my side, it's more about what goes on behind the scenes and the energy put into the quality of a project. I think when you see book 2, you'll be able to tell the difference it makes when you work with a group of people. It seems so obvious that two heads are better than one, but in graphic novels usually everything is done by one person. I wasn't used to the idea of sharing comics duty with others at all. My comics were my babies! But if I'm going to take this seriously as a career, I think I need to learn how to build a strong group for making these things. Now that Kazu and I have a studio space we share with other artists, collaboration springs up naturally and it's so much better than working alone. I can't even express what a world of difference it makes.

My goals for the next book are to push myself to make the most quality material possible, and to learn how to delegate better, something I learned from watching Ben conduct business at Nucleus.

It's been a crazy, maddening, hectic, but ultimately wonderful two weeks. I got married, completed my first published work, and moved into a studio space all within the same month. I've only barely caught up on sleep today (stayed up for 72 hours straight finishing up S&S), so forgive me if this blog post is kind of tired-sounding! My plans now are to help Kazu paint Amulet, rest up a bit, and start planning my next project, whatever it may be. I can't wait!

Thanks everyone!

2007-04-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you sooooo much to everyone who volunteered for toning help. The response was way more than I expected, and I have yet to get back to a number of you (I will definitely write back to everyone eventually!). I feel so grateful and humbled. I selected a few people for the help and a couple more for back up in case things get crazy, so I'm good for now. But I feel very very lucky to have such supportive people reading this blog and my work. I can't thank you all enough! Gotta make this book triple awesome...!!

Man... after all that it seems kinda innappropriate to say this but I feel obligated. Goosebumps Graphix: Terror Trips comes out today with my adaptation of "Deep Trouble". So if you want to see what I spent a good three months doing at the beginning of the year check it out: a page from deep trouble posted a while back and of course, the innevitable amazon link:

The Goosebumps books are perfect for comics adaptation because of their brevity and visual nature. My story aside, this is a fun series and I was super impressed with the first volume. Great art, fun stories, and a wonderful package (I especially loved Greg Ruth's adaptation of "The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight").

Well, off I go to scan 78 pages of pencils then it's on to inks. The clock is ticking!

Chapter 6 needs help

2007-02-27T01:07:00.000-08:00

13 pages to pencil before inks.

A small part of me is elated because it's the completion of the writing/staging phase of my first series of graphic novels ever, and the story worked out nicely. A bigger part of me is about to collapse from stress because of the amount of time I have left and number of pages I have yet to ink and tone.

Basically I need to ink 78 pages and tone 109 pages in 22 days without any breaks, not to mention continuing wedding preparations. This is humanly impossible.

If anyone out there is willing to help me with toning pages, please e-mail me: whibbage at gmail.com

In the mean time it's back to the drawing board. See ya...

Chapter 6, first 23 pages

2007-02-21T01:06:00.000-08:00

Eight more pages. Boy. Blogging's getting kinda tiring. Anyone ever get tired of bloggin'?

Anyway, this scene I'm drawing right now is sad, so to put me in a meloncholy mood I've been listening to a lot of Les Miserables. I especially love this song when it's sung by the original Valjean. Speaking of youtube and musicals, last night Kazu and I discovered a fun clip of a porsche chase scene from one of his favorite childhood movies, "Condor Man". It turns out, also, that Condor Man is played by none other than the original phantom, Michael Crawford. Wow. And by watching the opening, the soundtrack was written by Henry Mancini. Double wow. And apparently, Condor Man is a cartoonist that wants to make his comic character a reality by pretending to be him, only to be hired by the CIA. Ha. So Condor Man has three things I love: Cartoonists, Henry Mancini, and Michael Crawford. I have to see this movie. Unfortunately it costs a ridiculous amount of money to buy. Maybe blockbuster has a copy...

Chapter 6, first 15 pages

2007-02-20T01:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. With the last minute wedding planning and my book 2 due date just around the corner, it's comin' down the wire. Business first... My "Under the influeces" framed piece is available to buy on Gallery Nucleus' site along with unframed prints, if you're interested!

First fifteen pages of chapter six are pencilled... out of 52! 37 pp. to go! Chapter six is intense. Despite promising my editor (so patient!) that I was done rewriting, as I drew chapter five I had my solutions laid out in front of me by the way the characters were reacting to each other. I took a day off from drawing to type the last chapter's script one final time. When I was done, I literally jumped around the living room with a big smile on my face. >_<

In the end I realized the story's all about honesty. And in a romantic comedy, the moment the characters say what they really want to say is the story's climax, be it "I love you" or "I hate you!". I feel like it was a long journey to this point, but I had to get to know the characters well enough before I was able to wring out what was going on.

It's funny, I was feeling not so hot about the first book of S&S. But now that I have an ending that I'm happy with, it makes me feel very proud of the first book since it all ties together. It's like I was waiting all this time for the characters to tell me what they were really thinking, too. Funny how telling stories can be like that sometimes. It's like getting to know new friends (who all live in my head! Does that make storytelling like a form of controlled insanity?).

Speaking of friends... For those interested in seeing more process stuff from other artists, Indigo Kelleigh has started a livejournal group called Panel600 made especially with a focus on producing graphic novels. It just started so get in on it early whether you want to watch or contribute your own graphic novel making-of-special. =)

In other news I woke up this morning at six am. If you've been following my blog, you know what a big deal this is! It was rainy last night and I enjoyed the cloudy, excited atmosphere of all the birds and freshness that LA has after a good rain. I even walked out to the local parking structure to take a panoramic photo (click the image to see it)... =P

And now I get to play a round of cooking mamma before heading to bed, just to get up for more comics in the morning. See ya!

Chapter 5 pencils done

2007-02-15T01:04:00.000-08:00

Chapter five pencils done (it's only 22 pages total), time to move on to chapter six. Chapter five is full of dramatic dialogue-driven events that are highly emotional. I realize when things get really emotional in a comic, it's really difficult to keep it "scripted". Normally, I script my comics in a fairly detailed manner, like a screenplay. I treat the comic page as a stage of sorts, with my actors trying to express properly what's being said and the panel layouts/compositions acting as a supporting soundtrack for rhythm and atmosphere.

However, in chapter five the emotions are really delicate since it's all about the subtext of what they're saying. I kept rewriting the last two chapters over and over in script form, getting stuck in the script stage until I found something at least mildly satisfactory, but there were still problems. Now that I'm pencilling, I can play off the visuals and the characters are guiding me through any kinks that are in the script, and the solutions tend to be so simple. In other words, I'm learning not to get too stuck in one stage of production. I'm learning the importance of allowing yourself room to figure things out and grow as you create a final product.

By the way, so you know how late/early I'm writing this:

That's outside my window. Some of you might be like "how can you stay up so late!", but if I sleep without meeting my quota for the day I wake up with a huge ball of stress in my stomach. I'm trying to avoid ulcers. Do they ever talk about that in "how-to draw comics/manga" books? Tomorrow I get to tag along with Kazu at the Animation Show opening. Hope I can squeeze some work in before that... Until then, I'm going to enjoy a nice, long, stress-free sleep. :}

Happy Valentine

2007-02-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope you have a day of love, whether it be with your family, friends, or partner.

This day is especially significant for Kazu and I. It was on Valentine's day that I confessed my crush to him, setting me down a path that changed my life forever. We got engaged, moved in together, sending me across country to start a new, wonderful life. And in a month, we'll finally be happily married! So if you ever have a crush on someone and you feel it's a good match, be brave and confess! You never know what could come of it.

I love you, Kazu. And I still have a crush on you! =)

Chapter 5 -- first 14 pages

2007-02-12T01:02:00.000-08:00

First fourteen pages of chapter 5/6. I decided to just go and pencil the last couple chapters before heading into inks. Hopefully it'll save me some time in the end. After watching Kazu use yellow printouts of his layouts and penciling over them in blue, I decided to try doing something similar. I layout the compositions for several pages now using blue pencils (rough figure and balloon placement), then go back and pencil in regular lead. I don't know if it's actually saving me any time, but it definitely saves me on the stress. It takes some of the thinking away from the process, like soaping up all the dishes before going in to rinse. Silly metaphor, but it's the only one I could think of right now. >_<

I've been meaning to do a picture of Ellon, too, so click the thumbnail to see a little pic I did on the Cintiq last night (yes, I was thinking of Howl!):