Spring break has just ended for me (it was not long enough!!)
I am finally forcing myself to get back into classes mode... My schedule is simply getting really hectic and I have no idea how I will juggle college with restaurant work, the comics I'm trying to get out, portfolio work, all in addition to finding a place to rent, etc. I'm a slight(?) control freak so I hate being delegated about when I have to move out. Also since everything I own moves with me it's nice to have my own place.
I'm getting slightly sick of starting new classes. As my school has a trimester system, every course is basically only ten weeks long. For one thing I am still taking my foundation curriculum, which means its likely work that I'm not too interested in. Besides from making it really hard to care about any of your work, this all generously contributes to making college feel like a really big waste of your time and money... I can only hope my majors curriculum it will be much better.

So setting that depressive musing aside, St. Pattys day was spectacular as always here in Savannah, Georgia. The most entertaining event by far was a three-county power outage induced by a tornado that occurred right on a party weekend night, a blackout that lasted a good three hours and forced the portion of our police force that wasn't out getting drunk to completely barricade off the downtown area. Of course with the computers out and only our cellphone lights to walk by we all had preciously little to entertain ourselves with.

Thank you to everybody who gave me feedback on my last journal post... wow.
I'm sorry if i never replied to your advice, but trust me I read everything. Thanks for the positive-ness in general and all the pointers. I will definitely be checking out all the manga/comic publishers and websites. My storyboarding professor also recently told me to get off my ass and start doing some serious comic work, so he gave me a few pointers as well. I guess how everything is published can be sweated after the actual work is done.


I thought I'd mention that I've finally finished my first short comic that I started several years ago. Its been a project I've constantly been working on and I'm really glad it's completed. No it's not getting published, its a very simple 30 page comic and I did it purely for fun and to force myself to get productive.
Check out the cover page/archives here if you want a look- [link]

I'm seriously considering moving my dA account... purely for the reason that I really hate my current screename (I was not expecting to be on this account for so many years)

Seeeeeing that dA doesn't allow screename changes, and boy do I wish now that they allowed it, I'm planning on getting a brand new account, moving some of my deviations over, and re-watching everybody I can. I'll also probably do it very soon before I change my mind so I wont be posting here for much longer.
Just to make myself feel better I guess it is always a good thing to start over again

Happy Easters even though I just learned like this morning it was Easters Day!
(I still dont know what it's about)


Thanks to +ipholio for this journal CSS

I've been wondering about how someone could get published in the comics industry for awhile, so I've asked around some friends who do sequential art.
The answers have been pretty depressing. I wonder if there is still any chance for a new sequential artist to get published without getting their work stolen. I've just heard too many horror stories of beginning artists having their stories, characters, or even the copyright of their comic work taken by publishing companies. Sometimes publishing companies simply cut off a new artsts series after the first few issues and will give it to their own writers and artists to continue.

Webcomics are always an answer, but with the amount of ripoffs on the internet right now, I'm pretty reluctant to post my comic work online. Images of artwork being stolen from artist's websites has become an everyday occurence already, but in comparison written work, storylines, and concepts are almost effortless to steal.

When you're a new artist publishing for the first time, especially if you are still a student without much financial freedom, and especially if you are doing manga, it feels like anyone can manipulate you. It's ironic that from what I've heard since I've moved to the States is that going to the biggest comics companies is the most dangerous. Prehaps I just didn't do as much research when I was in Taiwan, but it's true that I seldom heard of copyright issues and comic artists having difficulty getting published when I lived there (it was also a lot easier to self-publish).

I'm not sure whether I should try publishing in the States or publish in Taiwan (although for now I ceartainly hope to find a US publisher, for various reasons...)

Being a freelance artist means being business-smart as well. Problems exist, and we just have to deal with it. Why put so much effort into creating a comic, when there is nowhere safe to release it? How does an artist find a publisher that will give them their money's worth for their work?


Thanks to +ipholio for this journal CSS

<sub>So, I just typed a really long and awesome review about new years, then IE killed itself on me; therefore as I am just too pissed off to rewrite everything I will keep this short.



So me and some friends got the insane notion to do the ball drop countdown at Times Square for new years. We ended up standing out in the cold for a good 10 hours; it was FREEZING, DIRTY, NOISY, PAINFUL, and overall just AWESOME

We arived at the square shortly after lunch, when either side of Broadway was already crammed with street vendors (selling those outrgeously annoying 2008 glasses and party horns); we had to get our bags checked, then the cops began fencing teh crowd in.
After awhile we discovered that if we left the fenced in areas we were not allowed back in, and it also never occured to them that they should provide portypotties and trash bags within the baricades, which sucked (they were, however, kind enough to toss out these cute red Pontiac hats and New Years balloons to everyone). We ended up ordering McDonalds and coffee from the cops (which was hilarious).

The performing artist lineup wasnt too bad; we had Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, Velvet Revolver (and a few others I dont remember). We wasted time by watching the shows and TV boadcasts (I spent so much time staring at that jumbo Coca-Cola ad screen I think I'll dream Coke nightmares from now on).

In the end? I still don't quite get the point of standing out in the street garbage and ice, eating confetti for 10 hours just to watch a big ball with lights on it being chucked off a roof; but what the hell. After all, what would new years in NY be without doing something crazy?
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Happy new years guys...



...And merry late Christmas!</sub>



Thanks to =ipholio for this journal CSS