Straub Comics

Emerald City Comicon!

So WonderCon has come and gone. Loads of fun, as usual, especially thanks to my tiny fan-base. I’m always floored at how many people tell me, show me, or send me photos of my art framed on their walls. Seriously, you guys always make my day! <3

One fan in particular, who had purchased many of my works as gifts for his family and friends the previous year, gifted me with a Jayne-hat (from “Firefly”) to further show his appreciation (as if spending money on my art wasn’t more than enough). It warmed my heart, as well as my ears in the strangely bitter Southern Californian cold.

As for new visitors to my table, it is always such a pleasure geeking out with the lot of you! Meeting you is always the highlight of my con-experience. I’d like to add that I was also quite touched when I ran into my friend, Mark of Monstark Studios, whereupon he applauded the honestly and personal nature of one of my previous posts concerning the future of my graphic novel Blind Follies. He told me he was quite intrigued by my mention of the “self-imposed deadline” and inspired to take the time on his own comic in the works to make it what he truly envisions, while enjoying the process every step of the way. Admitting failure or setbacks is always a tough choice for me, as I often worry it will come across as “whiny”, which is never my intention. To hear that I may be helping others cope with their own creative processes and allowing their projects to come to true fruition is a wonderful thing indeed.

…So what’s next?

Emerald City Comicon, Seattle WA, March 30-April 1st — Artist Alley #I-11

I’ll be selling…

• 34 different prints to choose from! $5 ea.
• Copies of The Tale of Narcissus. $5 ea.
• Some Geeks in Love buttons. $1 ea.
• Sketch commissions. Prices vary.

Busy-ness

I’ve been super busy tying up some loose ends and being horribly social this month.

Informative and artsy updates should commence as soon as I figure out some stuff I’ve been putting off for far too long.  Come November things should be back into full swing with sketches and concepts galore!

In the meantime, please have a safe and happy All Hallow’s Eve.

What happened to the Blind Follies (Eros & Psyche) comics?

As many of you are aware, I have been working on a comic series based on the Greek tale of Eros & Psyche for some time.  What you didn’t know is how much time and work is going into this project to make it truly what it deserves to be.  (Don’t feel bad.  I didn’t know this either.)

As a sort of whacky experiment, I recently self published a short comic entitled Blind Follies: The Tale of Narcissus, which premiered at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego.  It was my way of trying some things out and playing around with an art style and a color palette.  And though I am quite proud of the final result (it was a lot of hard work), it did not go over as well as I hoped.  But that was a good thing!  What I mean by that is that I was able to show it to some really big names in the business that I greatly admire and by doing so received some extremely helpful and insightful criticism / advice.

This criticism / advice was a double-edged sword, however.  While I am now empowered by a desire to produce my very best, given a compass in which to navigate the treacherous waters by starlight, I first had to suffer and survive the harsh blows of reality.  Fact is, as my first sequential venture, I had no idea what I was doing.  Considering that, the comic isn’t that bad.  But when it came down to it, I rushed the project, cut corners, abbreviated the script, allowed myself to be bullied by a made-up deadline, and then waited to the last minute to make that deadline.

So what did I not do that I need to do to make Eros & Psyche something I can be proud of?  (And what can you also learn from my mistakes?)

-Character sketches.  Lots of ‘em.  Character designs take a while to flesh out and finalize so that they are something that’s as visually aesthetic as it is habitual in terms of drawing.  Also, being able to recreate your characters facial likeness over and over again is a skill in itself.

-Page thumbnails.  Anything visual has to have a thumbnail or storyboard.  These usually take several revisions.  And when it comes to first time comicking, panel layout is a difficult thing to master for maximum storytelling efficiency.

-Flush out the script.  My original script for both Narcissus and Eros & Psyche was one that was mostly based on narrative.  While this works in terms of furthering the plot, I didn’t realize I was closing the reader off from character development and sympathy.  It also made for comic panels that were more akin to movie stills than sequential images.  Because of this, I will be reworking my current Eros & Psyche script into a 4-part comic series that will later be compiled into a graphic novel.  That also means lots more pages, lots more writing, lots more work, and lots more time.

-Take the time I need.  If I truly want to make something great, I need to treat it with love and give it the time it needs to mature.  To quote Ray Bradbury, “…if you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer.  It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear peeled for the avant-garde coterie, that you are not being yourself.”

And so my dear friends and precious watchers, I ask that you give me time.  In the meantime you will still see me at conventions, instead with some art books and sketch compilations for sale.  The comic will come, and I will try my damnedest to make it worth the wait. _—Sarah