Comix commentary p25 Cloud Town.
aug28cttPT22ytedit
[00:00:00] How did Batman become Batman? He started out rich. That's how most artists become artists. Well, okay, so how did Green Arrow become Green Arrow? I don't know. He's exactly, exactly the same as Batman. But he crashed on an island and figured out how to make a bow and arrow. Welcome to Cloudtown Tuesday, the day where I share a page from my graphic novel, Cloudtown, and um, tell you about the process of making it.
It's like a editor's commentary on a DVD. Here it is. Let's go. Let's do it. Let's do it. If you want to be a famous artist, starting out rich seems helpful. But what's the point? Talk to your parents about that. Yeah. You know, ask them, why are you poor? You know, what is this? This is the reason I can't draw.
Yeah, this is the reason I can't have an art career. Dad! I know, I do think I want to have a series where I just take some time and Um, I think about what I would like to have known earlier. One thing I would like to have known earlier is [00:01:00] just like a lot of the, the concepts of how to move toward getting a book deal and getting a following and getting, um, you know, a career.
closer to a career or a really nice robust hobby if that's where your heart lies like honestly both are fine part of that is just Not as bombastic and crazy as it sounds part of it is really just like having a schedule being Consistent making goals for improvement doing small projects showing up places Letting people see you some cartoonists that have new book deals out that I have met and talked with Went to cons regularly, had a new product every con, sometimes they were just illustrations or a little zine, and kept doing that until people wanted their stuff.
And once people want your stuff, editors, agents, all those people notice, because they want people to want their stuff. It's all about persistency. It's, it's partially about [00:02:00] it. Persistence is important. Persistence is real important, I think. We talk about it. Quality is important. It's unclear what qualities.
Because different qualities are important to different people. Probably like, you said it depends on your style and what you're aiming for. Yeah. With the different qualities. And what the fickle fans in the world would be interested in. Yeah, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.
They are the water you're swimming in. If you want to be read, it's about the feelings of other people. It should be like some of what you want in your work and what other people want. Like a mix of both if you're trying to publish. I always have a problem writing with the concept of a target audience.
Um, but, you know, you just write, you just write for me now. You just write to make me happy, right? Yeah, that's pretty much Well, I don't know. No, you don't. That might be actually the opposite. Yeah, poop emoji. I like the, um, black hair contrast shading. Thank you. You're welcome. Sometimes I like these pages before I shade them because they're just easier to read.
Um, [00:03:00] and that's something that like they talk about in Bakuman when people add too much gray tones. Yeah It becomes a mush, you know, the the creator of One Piece doesn't use tones like at all. Wow That's like that's amazing. He's such a good cartoonist. So good just black and white and occasionally He'll use a tone for like a night scene, but it looks real out of place He's just like, you know with deadlines once you start putting gray down its all over You need a team to, like, He has a team and he's still, you know, like, If you don't, if you can cut that out, cut it out.
But, He's all detailed, too, actually. So you can pull off, um, detail in comics. So, in those studio setups, it's usually, like, the main artist just draws the characters and the layouts, and then they have, uh, assistants do the backgrounds? It really depends, but I certainly am interested in, we've talked about this, exploring doing that.
Um, partially because that's just the [00:04:00] way I'd like to live. I'd like to be drawing with people more. And when you make me happier, I think, uh, for the most part. I do like this technique I started doing where I just had the background characters and stuff just be in the blue tones. Yeah, I like that. Oh, yeah.
Cause it, it It creates that atmospheric Yeah, I don't know what I started doing there. Or just the beat didn't feel right. Because the no talking came after and I wanted it to come before, so I had them go to behind them in the classroom. Oh, did you switch it? Yeah, here, I'll go back a little bit. Oh, I see it.
So it starts over here. Because Oh yeah, that works a lot better. Yeah, it just got confusing, like, I wanted you to understand that they were typing in their goggles. They were like shutting up after that. Well, I wanted you to know that Penn and Olive were typing in their goggles and this was like the lesson they were working on.
Oh. But if you went from them typing to this to that, it was just like a little less clear. A weird skit. I guess I think you're doing good.
Robert Crumb episode: Apple's plan to be a pro artist and meet her hero. How did this work?!
aug28cttPT22ytedit
[00:00:00] How did Batman become Batman? He started out rich. That's how most artists become artists. Well, okay, so how did Green Arrow become Green Arrow? I don't know. He's exactly, exactly the same as Batman. But he crashed on an island and figured out how to make a bow and arrow. Welcome to Cloudtown Tuesday, the day where I share a page from my graphic novel, Cloudtown, and um, tell you about the process of making it.
It's like a editor's commentary on a DVD. Here it is. Let's go. Let's do it. Let's do it. If you want to be a famous artist, starting out rich seems helpful. But what's the point? Talk to your parents about that. Yeah. You know, ask them, why are you poor? You know, what is this? This is the reason I can't draw.
Yeah, this is the reason I can't have an art career. Dad! I know, I do think I want to have a series where I just take some time and Um, I think about what I would like to have known earlier. One thing I would like to have known earlier is [00:01:00] just like a lot of the, the concepts of how to move toward getting a book deal and getting a following and getting, um, you know, a career.
closer to a career or a really nice robust hobby if that's where your heart lies like honestly both are fine part of that is just Not as bombastic and crazy as it sounds part of it is really just like having a schedule being Consistent making goals for improvement doing small projects showing up places Letting people see you some cartoonists that have new book deals out that I have met and talked with Went to cons regularly, had a new product every con, sometimes they were just illustrations or a little zine, and kept doing that until people wanted their stuff.
And once people want your stuff, editors, agents, all those people notice, because they want people to want their stuff. It's all about persistency. It's, it's partially about [00:02:00] it. Persistence is important. Persistence is real important, I think. We talk about it. Quality is important. It's unclear what qualities.
Because different qualities are important to different people. Probably like, you said it depends on your style and what you're aiming for. Yeah. With the different qualities. And what the fickle fans in the world would be interested in. Yeah, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.
They are the water you're swimming in. If you want to be read, it's about the feelings of other people. It should be like some of what you want in your work and what other people want. Like a mix of both if you're trying to publish. I always have a problem writing with the concept of a target audience.
Um, but, you know, you just write, you just write for me now. You just write to make me happy, right? Yeah, that's pretty much Well, I don't know. No, you don't. That might be actually the opposite. Yeah, poop emoji. I like the, um, black hair contrast shading. Thank you. You're welcome. Sometimes I like these pages before I shade them because they're just easier to read.
Um, [00:03:00] and that's something that like they talk about in Bakuman when people add too much gray tones. Yeah It becomes a mush, you know, the the creator of One Piece doesn't use tones like at all. Wow That's like that's amazing. He's such a good cartoonist. So good just black and white and occasionally He'll use a tone for like a night scene, but it looks real out of place He's just like, you know with deadlines once you start putting gray down its all over You need a team to, like, He has a team and he's still, you know, like, If you don't, if you can cut that out, cut it out.
But, He's all detailed, too, actually. So you can pull off, um, detail in comics. So, in those studio setups, it's usually, like, the main artist just draws the characters and the layouts, and then they have, uh, assistants do the backgrounds? It really depends, but I certainly am interested in, we've talked about this, exploring doing that.
Um, partially because that's just the [00:04:00] way I'd like to live. I'd like to be drawing with people more. And when you make me happier, I think, uh, for the most part. I do like this technique I started doing where I just had the background characters and stuff just be in the blue tones. Yeah, I like that. Oh, yeah.
Cause it, it It creates that atmospheric Yeah, I don't know what I started doing there. Or just the beat didn't feel right. Because the no talking came after and I wanted it to come before, so I had them go to behind them in the classroom. Oh, did you switch it? Yeah, here, I'll go back a little bit. Oh, I see it.
So it starts over here. Because Oh yeah, that works a lot better. Yeah, it just got confusing, like, I wanted you to understand that they were typing in their goggles. They were like shutting up after that. Well, I wanted you to know that Penn and Olive were typing in their goggles and this was like the lesson they were working on.
Oh. But if you went from them typing to this to that, it was just like a little less clear. A weird skit. I guess I think you're doing good.
Manga artists on grey tone use and how to make a small fortune in comics!
aug28cttPT22ytedit
[00:00:00] How did Batman become Batman? He started out rich. That's how most artists become artists. Well, okay, so how did Green Arrow become Green Arrow? I don't know. He's exactly, exactly the same as Batman. But he crashed on an island and figured out how to make a bow and arrow. Welcome to Cloudtown Tuesday, the day where I share a page from my graphic novel, Cloudtown, and um, tell you about the process of making it.
It's like a editor's commentary on a DVD. Here it is. Let's go. Let's do it. Let's do it. If you want to be a famous artist, starting out rich seems helpful. But what's the point? Talk to your parents about that. Yeah. You know, ask them, why are you poor? You know, what is this? This is the reason I can't draw.
Yeah, this is the reason I can't have an art career. Dad! I know, I do think I want to have a series where I just take some time and Um, I think about what I would like to have known earlier. One thing I would like to have known earlier is [00:01:00] just like a lot of the, the concepts of how to move toward getting a book deal and getting a following and getting, um, you know, a career.
closer to a career or a really nice robust hobby if that's where your heart lies like honestly both are fine part of that is just Not as bombastic and crazy as it sounds part of it is really just like having a schedule being Consistent making goals for improvement doing small projects showing up places Letting people see you some cartoonists that have new book deals out that I have met and talked with Went to cons regularly, had a new product every con, sometimes they were just illustrations or a little zine, and kept doing that until people wanted their stuff.
And once people want your stuff, editors, agents, all those people notice, because they want people to want their stuff. It's all about persistency. It's, it's partially about [00:02:00] it. Persistence is important. Persistence is real important, I think. We talk about it. Quality is important. It's unclear what qualities.
Because different qualities are important to different people. Probably like, you said it depends on your style and what you're aiming for. Yeah. With the different qualities. And what the fickle fans in the world would be interested in. Yeah, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.
They are the water you're swimming in. If you want to be read, it's about the feelings of other people. It should be like some of what you want in your work and what other people want. Like a mix of both if you're trying to publish. I always have a problem writing with the concept of a target audience.
Um, but, you know, you just write, you just write for me now. You just write to make me happy, right? Yeah, that's pretty much Well, I don't know. No, you don't. That might be actually the opposite. Yeah, poop emoji. I like the, um, black hair contrast shading. Thank you. You're welcome. Sometimes I like these pages before I shade them because they're just easier to read.
Um, [00:03:00] and that's something that like they talk about in Bakuman when people add too much gray tones. Yeah It becomes a mush, you know, the the creator of One Piece doesn't use tones like at all. Wow That's like that's amazing. He's such a good cartoonist. So good just black and white and occasionally He'll use a tone for like a night scene, but it looks real out of place He's just like, you know with deadlines once you start putting gray down its all over You need a team to, like, He has a team and he's still, you know, like, If you don't, if you can cut that out, cut it out.
But, He's all detailed, too, actually. So you can pull off, um, detail in comics. So, in those studio setups, it's usually, like, the main artist just draws the characters and the layouts, and then they have, uh, assistants do the backgrounds? It really depends, but I certainly am interested in, we've talked about this, exploring doing that.
Um, partially because that's just the [00:04:00] way I'd like to live. I'd like to be drawing with people more. And when you make me happier, I think, uh, for the most part. I do like this technique I started doing where I just had the background characters and stuff just be in the blue tones. Yeah, I like that. Oh, yeah.
Cause it, it It creates that atmospheric Yeah, I don't know what I started doing there. Or just the beat didn't feel right. Because the no talking came after and I wanted it to come before, so I had them go to behind them in the classroom. Oh, did you switch it? Yeah, here, I'll go back a little bit. Oh, I see it.
So it starts over here. Because Oh yeah, that works a lot better. Yeah, it just got confusing, like, I wanted you to understand that they were typing in their goggles. They were like shutting up after that. Well, I wanted you to know that Penn and Olive were typing in their goggles and this was like the lesson they were working on.
Oh. But if you went from them typing to this to that, it was just like a little less clear. A weird skit. I guess I think you're doing good.
Less Wierd=More Sellable? Discussing the middle-grade graphic novel CLOUD TOWN
I was in an elementary school last week and there was a sign that said, No playing inside the freezer. That's a good, that's a good plan. Was it a walk-in freezer? No. Oh, geez. Welcome to Cloudtown Tuesday, the day where I share a page from my graphic novel, Cloudtown, and um, tell you about the process of making it.
It's like a, um, editor's commentary on a DVD. Here it is. Let's go. Let's do it. This is my big sister Zoe. She has much more formal art training than I do. And as you met last week, this is my dad Kevin. Uh, children's book author and illustration professor. Also more art training than me. He's wearing the same shirt.
Father and Son Cartoonists talk comix: Cloud Town Tuesday part 12
All right, this is Cloudtown Tuesday with special guest Kevin McCloskey, uh, my dad, and creator of the Giggle and Learn, uh, children's book series. He's got a new one out about caterpillars. What will I be when I get to be me? And we're gonna look at, uh, some of this time loss footage. Welcome to Cloudtown Tuesday.
I Sold A Book To A Major Publisher While Living In A Van: Cloud Town Tuesday p. 3
How I recommend working toward your first graphic novel book deal.
How I Recommend Working Toward Your First Graphic Novel Book Deal
Cloud Town Tuesday part 10 comic book author commentary
[00:00:00] Time lapse. Welcome to Cloud Town Tuesday. The day where I share a page from my graphic novel, Cloud Town, and, um, tell you about the process of making it. It's like a, um, editor's commentary on a DVD. Here it is. Let's go. Let's do it. So, this one is going to show you very little because I drew this This was part of the zine, this page.
Oh, cool. So I just go back and try to draw it cleaner. The first version was the version where my editor was like, Oh yeah, this is good, but can you send me finished pages? And so this is me trying to make it look more professional. Cloud Town was in a zine first? Yeah, I made two different Cloud Town zines.
Oh, really? Nice. And the second zine was my pitch. So like, the advice I was giving you about making like zine length things that could be pitches is like the advice I took and eventually got me a book deal. Cool. Yeah, I think that's a good idea. That's what I'm trying to do, put like one series inside of all of my zines that have a bunch of one pagers.
And then there's one that has like a few [00:01:00] pages that's an ongoing story. And then I could use that as like a pilot. Yeah. Like, uh, this one was 60 pages, which is too long. But I wanted to get to the point where they were in the robot. Um, because my previous pitches, I was having trouble --or the editors We're having trouble imagining where the story would go.
So I had to keep it simple enough that they could predict it, but not so simple that they would be bored by it. And like, oddly, that's a weird balance. I find it really frustrating that I have to make things less interesting. Well, to me, in order to, um, have an editor's faith that they can be good or can be sold.
Do you think the limitations have made you more creative with the project at any point? Sure, yeah. I think limitations can be good. And for me, I over imagine stuff. So, I would've, I could remake the same thing infinity times. [00:02:00] You could've been stuck on something for a while. Yeah, yeah. So, like, I, like, the way I'm redoing the Macho Valentine pitch now as a shonen manga, like, I could do the first chapter of Macho Valentine infinity different ways.
Yep. Um. So the moment someone gives me money and was like, no, do it this way, that's actually really helpful for me. Yeah, for sure. It gives you like one thing to focus on and then you can play with that one idea and external pressure to get it done. Yeah. Yeah. That. Alright, so that does help. This is the first page that shows up that's like actually story we're of the zines was any pages in the zine and the final book.
Yeah, that's one of 'em.

