Archive for ‘September, 2008’

24 results.

Super Tuesday No. 11

by Scott Story on September 16, 2008 at 12:04 am

I liken “Super guy: Behind the Cape” the 2000 movie starring Mark Teague, as Superman meets Spinal Tap, but not as funny.  This is a mockumentary, long on irony, great characterization, and dry absurdities, but short on traditional laughs.  Indeed, while listed on the Internet Movie Database as a comedy, the movie actually comes off more as a serious thought experiment on what a superhero’s real life would be like in our corporate-backed world of excessive laws and regulations.  You soon realize that the power fantasy of super heroic freedom is simply impossible to maintain in our super-litigious world.

 

If all this sounds a little negative, I don’t mean it to.  This was a small budget movie that was beautifully written.  If you expect dull-minded diversion and entertainment for entertainment’s sake alone, you won’t like this movie.  If you are thoughtful, aware of subtext, and don’t want your entertainment spoon fed to you, then chances are you will really enjoy this production.  I don’t want to make it seem that like this is a movie for elitist thinkers, but it’s certainly not geared for the low-brow/funny pratfall crowd.

 

As a low budget movie, don’t expect too much from the special effects or action.  I have no doubt they produced the best they could afford.  There is some basic green screen and wire-work action in this, but it’s somewhat obvious and clearly not big budget stuff.  I’m completely cool with that, and I liked this movie for many of the same reasons I enjoyed the Specials. 

 

I give “Superguy: Behind the Cape” a solid B.

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Book Seven Page 40

by Scott Story on September 17, 2008 at 12:00 am
Book Seven Page 40
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Wednesday

by Scott Story on September 17, 2008 at 12:03 am

Hi, Folks:

 

All kinds of cool stuff going on here.

 

Today I’ve got a cover job I’m working on for a noted indie publisher, Nifty Comics.  That should be a lot of fun, and I plan to do a kick-ass job.

 

Yesterday, I began a doctor guided weight-loss program—I don’t need it, right?  I’m just big boned!  It’s all genetic, right!  Well, I do need it.  Here’s my before picture, courtesy of photog-extraordinaire Benita:

 

I’m also simultaneously working on an anthology book cover.  While I can’t show it yet (because I haven’t asked for the publisher’s permission to do so), I can show you some of the nifty 3D machinery from the illustration’s background.  (This is raw 3D, not yet subjected to a paint-over, but you can get the idea.)

 

Just for fun, here’s my attempt at rendering the Oppression Wave, as recently seen in Johnny Saturn, in Sketchup.

 

 

 

Sketchup rocks, by the way.  I’ve modded my version of the program out with Perl scripts, and it’s all free!  It honestly does not get cooler than that.  It’s still easier to use than Bryce, and that program is a breeze!

 

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Downloads Now Available!

by Scott Story on September 18, 2008 at 11:40 am

Hi, Folks!

It is absolutely gorgeous out—I would love it to be like this all year around! I live in the Midwest, of course, so it’s rarely like this; usually it’s a humidity fest, or freakin’ cold. Still, when we get a beautiful day like this one, it’s time to make the most of it!

Well, later I will take a walk or bike ride. Right now, I’m making the most of the day by sitting in my drawing nook and penciling. I’m not complaining, not in the least. This is one of my favorite places in the world, doing one of my favorite things!

Let me draw your attention to our store: We now have 99 cent downloads of our first six books and our pinup gallery available there. Why, you ask? There are several reasons.

  1. First, each book is presented with the individual episodes arranged pack into their full pages, so reading the full e-book is a different experience from reading the webcomic.
  2. Second, the books are scanned in 150 dpi, and you can readily zoom in an out on panels you like, unlike the web experience.
  3. Third, you can save the comics on your hard drive and read them anyplace you choose to drag your laptop. It’s not as portable as a paper comic, but it’s still darn convenient!

This harkens back to Benita’s and my fundamental goals with doing this strip: Sharing it with the world! We are storytellers, and stories need to be seen/read/heard to thrive! Storytellers have a deep-seated need to make up stories and tell them, and we are no different.

Thanks! Enjoy the day, whatever it’s like where you live! Scott.

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Book Seven Page 41

by Scott Story on September 22, 2008 at 12:00 am
Book Seven Page 41
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Random Thoughts Monday

by Scott Story on September 22, 2008 at 12:53 am

Hi, Folks!

 

Welcome to the new week!

 

Benita and I just appeared on TGT, aka “Two Guys Talking Webcomics” on Frumph’s Webcomic site, and we had a great time!  I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to the show yet, but I feel confident that it was a good episode.  We were entertained, at any rate.

 

This week heralds the return of Tech Thursday, which has been on a short hiatus, and I’ll pick up where I left off on Photoshop Lettering.  I was unsure about this columns fate, but readers have let me know that they want it back, so back it comes!

 

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve rearranged the site a bit over the weekend.  I haven’t quite gotten it the way I want it, but I’m an obsessive perfectionist, so that goal may just be out of reach.  Still, I get it a little closer to what I want all the time!  I just downloaded Firefox because I want to see how well the site performs on other platforms, and for the most part I’m pleased.

 

Speaking of platforms, why are new browsers not supporting Windows 2000?  Internet Explorer 7 and 8 both require Vista!  Chrome requires Vista!  My old internet computer seems quite happy chugging along with Windows 2000 … So, why discriminate against it?  I don’t particularly want to change internet computers!

 

Have a great day!  Scott

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Random Thoughts Tuesday

by Scott Story on September 23, 2008 at 12:03 am

Hi, Folks!

Today would typically be Super Tuesday around here, my weekly column on superheroes in other media. I’m doing that tomorrow this week, in part because I have other stuff I want to talk about today, and in part because running Super Tuesday on Wednesday seems a little ironic and post-modern. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, but the idea amuses me.

So, check back tomorrow for Super Tuesday.

First up, here is the interview Benita and I did on TGT, aka Two Guys Talking Webcomics, found over at Frumph’s Webcomic List. We had such a good time, and I think of these guys as friends now. For best results, right click on the icon and choose “Save Target As,” letting you save this rather sizeable MP3 to your hard drive. The show went over an hour, so it’s pretty big.

[audio:TS-147537.mp3]

Next up, here is one of the covers I just finished for Mat Nastos, publisher of Nifty Comic’s “Cadre.” I just did the pencils and inks, and colors will be handled by someone else. I’m really happy with how this turned out, because the White Dwarf has such a distinctive look. Click on the picture for a full-sized look. 

Cover to Nifty Comic's "Cadre"

Finally, here’s a picture of me that local cartoonist and caricaturist Bob East. He did a great job, but I think he missed the imposing, authoritative aspect of my character—You know, sort of like Captain America with a paint brush? ;)   Click on the image for a larger view.

Scott, drawn by Bob East

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Book Seven Page 42

by Scott Story on September 24, 2008 at 12:00 am
Book Seven Page 42
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Super Tuesday No 12

by Scott Story on September 24, 2008 at 12:03 am

When I recently watched “The Punisher,” I have to admit that I didn’t have high expectations for it.  I burned out on Gonzo-, over-the-top action flicks with terrible plots and unbelievable action years ago, so I just didn’t think the Punisher would be all that interesting.

 

One should never just assume anything, though.  As it turned out, the Punisher wasn’t a bad action movie in the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Steven Seagal vein.  Indeed, Punisher had a solid plot, some able actors, and it was set in a somewhat believable world.

 

Thomas Jane played the Punisher, and he was eye-opening.  This guy is handsome, and his internalized emotions fairly writhe on screen behind his stony exterior.  Sound corny?  Watch the move.  This guy should be a big star.  Travolta was really good, but why expect anything else out this guy—he’s got off-the-scale screen charisma.  May I also add that Will Patton was fantastic, and his every appearance was electric.  I had seen him in the Mothman Prophecies and Armageddon, but it was his role in Punisher that really made me notice him.

 

The plot was fairly straightforward and effective, and the action was more on the believable side than the goofy, blockbuster-action-movie side.  I don’t enjoy violence, but the fight between Frank Castle and the Russian was downright funny.  There is humor to be found in this movie, but it is mostly a grim, mirthless kind of humor.  I will also say that there is a sadistic undercurrent to the movie, but, considering the subject matter, that shouldn’t be a surprise.  It is a revenge movie, pure and simple.

 

I give Punisher a B+, but don’t watch it if you don’t like dark revenge flicks.

 

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Tech Thursday No 8

by Scott Story on September 25, 2008 at 12:03 am

Hello, All!

Tech Thursday is back after its short hiatus. If you will remember the golden days of yore, we were last discussing the use of Photoshop to letter comics, and I explained how to create custom shapes to create all your balloons. Now it’s time to continue, and examine the tool presets that may be used to make Photoshop into a lean, mean, lettering machine!

First up, you’ll want to set up your font and the Lettering tool. I chose Mighty Zeo Caps, a free font from the incomparable Blambot, as our choice for Johnny Saturn. Choosing what point size to use can be tricky, because fonts aren’t uniform at different dimensions. We chose 7pts, because we letter Johnny Saturn at actual print size, and Mighty Zeo Caps at 7pts is about an eighth-of-an inch tall when printed, which is a more-or-less standard size.

We set all our options (under Windows, Options), as seen in the Options Bar near the top of the Photoshop screen, for the following settings: Mighty Zeo Caps, Regular, 7Pt, Crisp, Center Justified, and we set the font color at pure black.

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Having established our lettering parameters, it’s time to make this into a Tool Preset. If the preset window is not already open, go to Windows, and then check Tool Presets. In the Tool Presets menu, click the Save Preset icon, which is left of the Trash icon, and a dialogue box will appear. Name your preset something memorable, such as Comic Lettering, and select the OK button. Now, whenever you select the Text tool, and you want to letter a comic, go to the Tool Presets menu and pick Comics Lettering and you are good to go. If you change your comic parameters around, no problem-your lettering preset will return everything to your standard setup!

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You need to follow a similar process for all the custom lettering shapes you made. Select your custom shape menu with your balloons, and then fill out your Options Bar with the following: There are three box-shaped icons showing your choices for vector art, and you need to select the first of the three. There are five box icons that represent vector fill options, and you need to choose the first one. Under Style, choose the first option in the popup menu that appears, indicating no style. For color, choose pure white on the color picker that pops up.

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You are not done yet! On the Layer Menu, choose Layer Style, and then Stroke. In the Stroke menu, you want to set up the line to be 6 pixels wide, Outside position, Normal blend mode, 100% opacity, Color fill type, and choose pure black from the color picker.

Now it’s time to make this into a Tool Preset! Once you’ve brought up the Tool Presets dialogue, select Save Preset, Give it a name (I called mine Lettering Layer Style), and select OK. From now on, whenever it’s time to start laying out balloons and pointers, you are instantly ready to get to work!

You’ve got your font set up, your balloons ready to go, and it’s time to start laying in the text! You’ve taken the laborious task of making Photoshop into a good lettering application, and now it’s ready to letter when you are! Next time, bringing all this together!

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