Episode 248: The Value of a Creative Retreat

This week, we talk about productive page work (4:05), unpacking a visual style (8:30), the right time to send a story off to readers (11:20), the benefits of adding new skills to your skillset (20:45), the initial stages of setting up a Kickstarter (30:40), tabling at a one-day show (35:30), and finding what you like in a story that aged nine months (46:15).

This week, we welcome Cory Kerr (Rage of Enlightenment) to discuss a bunch of things, including a new Bay Area convention (6:00), being a comic vendor at a non-comic show (18:00), a rollercoaster "fan at the show" story (22:00), bringing themes to your work (40:30), studying comics to make comics (45:40), and the ideas that created Rage of Enlightenment (56:40).

This week, we talk about a fun side project (4:25), inhabiting a character's point of view (9:20), further PDF assembly hijinks (16:45), and convention prep (29:00) before our main topic: endings (37:40).

This week, we talk about the genesis of a new artistic journey (3:20), constructing a final PDF of a trade paperback (21:50), when fellow creators spot your story flaws (31:30), and making good on a (personally) important art page (42:00).

It's a seven person, live-in-the-studio roundtable! This week, we welcome creators Scott Serkland (Young and the Dead), Cory Kerr (Rage of Enlightenment), Gary Hodges (Dinosaurs vs Marsbots), Jim Lujan (The Unicornians) and Josh Kemble (Jacob's Apartment, Two Stories) to recap a creative retreat and discuss an inspirational 'proof of concept' piece (3:40), the nonlinear work in forming a story (13:30), how chaos can increase focus (24:00), picking the right work for a retreat (34:20), the value of a retreat in its creative time (51:20), and much more!

This week, we discuss re-lettering (3:40), the road to improvement in your work (21:00), client work and business branding (35:00), exploring a new technology for productivity (39:10), and rethinking your story's framework (49:20).

This week, we recap our San Diego Comic Con weekends, starting with commission work and how the process streamlined (3:15), when your SDCC is meetings and panels (14:30), and selling at a table for a few hours (21:30) before we discuss the nuances of starred out profanity (31:00) and the value of thinking differently (43:00).

This week, we recap the G-Fest convention (4:00), benchmarking your Kickstarter against previous ones (16:30), getting clarity on a future project (30:20), finalizing a new cover design (42:40), and this week's main topic: staying in love with a long-term project (46:40).

This week, we talk about a new cover and changes needed for a new cover (4:35), the importance of tension in your story (25:50), going past "just okay" with every aspect of your work (35:45), undoing the profanity in a book to make it more YA-accessible (47:50), seizing the opportunity to make changes for a new printing (54:35), and careful packing strategies for conventions (59:00).

This week, we talk about thinking through and working through interesting add-ons and promo ideas for a Kickstarter (2:30), working on an animation (14:00), a recap of ALA (21:40), prepping for a campaign (29:15), thinking hard about profanity's role in your comic (33:00), and artist's block (42:15).