The purpose of fan art

I've noticed a lot of people complaining about fanart at comic conventions. What is fan art? Fan art is taking a popular character that you've drawn, and reprinting it several times in order to sell it.

Most fan art is in poster format, so that people can purchase it, and hang it on their wall. It's usually done in a semi-professional manner, so people get the opportunity to get a unique take on their favorite characters. So if you dig Batman, you can come to a convention and purchase unique posters featuring Batman. The image above is an example of a fan art of Batman that I did years ago that I still sell today. The image is printed on  glossy 11x17 poster board, and is absolutely beautiful to look at. People love it, and I've sold over a hundred of these posters since I started selling it in 2011. Its netted me a pretty nice amount of money over the years, and is a vital part of my table product.

Fan art serves several purposes for the inspiring artist;

1.It drives people to your table.
2.It shows that you can draw popular characters.
3.It makes you look like a more serious/legitimate comic artist.

That last part is a point that a lot of people miss. The bizarre thing about the comic industry is that people don't really think you're a "real artist" unless you can show that you can draw popular characters. I've been at shows where people have the most beautiful original character artwork imaginable, yet get completely passed by as a kid runs over to buy a poorly drawn image of Dragon Ball Z. People have actually asked me if I draw for Marvel of DC because of the fan art at my table. Being able to draw popular characters well, and even to the point of rivaling the professionals, adds an air of legitimacy to my work. Through that legitimacy, people commission you to draw original artworks featuring more popular characters that can in turn net you even more money.

However, it should be noted that there is always a place for your original stuff at your table. There was a period where I wouldn't have any Psychic Soldier Kai work at my table, simply because I was doing nothing but fan art (and its a big reason why there's been a 3 year gap between PSK 3 and PSK 4). I'm proud to say that when I return to conventions either later this year or next year, you will always find PSK material at my table. Why? Because while people want to see and purchase fan art, they also want to see your original work as well.

So my suggestion would be to do both; Do great fan art to draw people in, and do great original work so that people will purchase your property. As fan art grows in popularity at comic conventions, your original work will help you stand out from a crowd. With that said, if you're going to a comic convention, make sure you're armed with great fan art in order to earn as much money as possible. Those convention tables are NOT cheap.

First pages of issue #4

I'm nearing the end of issue #4 finally (it only took about 4 years!), so it should be available very soon. In the meantime, check out this preview pages and tell me what you think! See you soon.

Back in the saddle again.

Kai isn't dead.... yet!

Its been a long time.... What? 2 years now? Time certainly goes very fast.

A lot of things have changed since I started this comic way back in 2008. I personally can't believe it took me so long to complete this series. 4 years later, and I still haven't completed it yet. I've been busy of course. I changed jobs twice, got married, traveled, did conventions, performed numerous amounts of freelance worked, and just got better as an artist. Sadly in all of that, I neglected my comic.

But no more. I'm back to work on this series, and I plan to finish it.

I deleted the site over at Webcomicsnation, but I will put something up there to take its place real soon. I'm unfortunately only about halfway through issue 4, but I will complete it asap. In the meantime, I will provide updates as much as possible, and try my best to keep this blog going with art, news, etc.
So please stay tuned, and thanks for being patient.

Above is from the card series I did with Comicrelated. I'll be back real soon.

Cover for Issue 3

This is the cover for the 3rd issue of PSK. Wanted something a bit warmer than the previous two covers. I also felt that it was time to showcase a female character (or two if you understand the background element).

Issue 3 complete!

Wow, can't believe it took over a year to get the third issue done. Gotta say, I'm a bit embarrassed by my laziness. I really hope I can get the fourth issue done a lot faster. I should have the new cover done soon, then its off to the printers! Wheeee!

Iron Man 2

It really is amazing how powerful the comic movie has become. Iron Man 2 is now a box-office beast like Batman and Spiderman before it. Let's face it, these movies are making stars out of previously B-level actors. Not to knock Mr. Downey Jr., but before Iron Man, he wasn't exactly a household name (though he's always been an incredible actor). To the point; Iron Man 2 was a great movie, and I can't wait to add it to my DVD collection later this year. I also heard that it beat Riddley Scott/Russel Crowe's Robin Hood film. That's crazy, and a testament to the force of nature comic book films have become.

New Cover for PSK #1!

So I finally got around to doing a new cover for the first issue of PSK. Very happy with how this came out. I want all my books to have a color cover. I think it adds a lot, even though the interiors will remain b/w for the time being.

Self Publishing; Print vs web

It still amazes me that after all this time, people still don't know the power of the web when it comes to personal business and commerce. Recently, I got into a small debate with someone about the benefits of publishing your work on the web vs. going the traditional route of the direct market. For me, the web is an obvious choice simply because of cost. I pay roughly $10 a month for a host service, and about $30 a month on advertising. When I go into full advertising mode, I can usually generate about 4k a day. Meanwhile, trying to pierce the direct market can cost you thousands of dollars.

I just don't understand why people are so against putting their work on the web. Are people afraid of giving away their work for free? Putting my comic on the web hasn't diminished my sales in any way.

My constant hiatuses on the other hand....

A new focus

Well, its time for me to buckle down and get the first PSK story arc finished. I've been working on this comic for over 2 years, and I've only done 70 pages. Obviously this isn't my full-time job, and I'm not making a living off of it, but still, I should be way ahead of where I'm at now. So my new focus will be to get issue 3 done by the spring, and try to get the last 2 issues done by the mid-Ohio con in October.

Wish me luck, I got a long way to go!

Redesign kai!

These guys really did a great take on our hero Kai. Here's there websites if you want to check out more of their work;

Doomsmith (Artist on the left);
http://www.doomsmith.deviantart.com/

Carlos J.R. Garcia (Artist on the right);
http://www.loswrx.com/

Truth and consequences

Well its been almost six months and the new site still isn't complete yet, so I'll be sticking with WCN for the time being. With school and everything else coming at me all at once, WCN is simply the easier solution. I definitely want to move to my own site, but I just can't do it right now.

In the meantime, its good to be back on track with PSK. I want to get done with Act 5. Its been sitting around all summer, and I know readers are getting tired of looking at the same old pages. Hope you guys liked page 62, and I'm sure you're going to dig page 63 as well.

See you soon.

Moving on up!

Well, after being with WCN for over a year, its time to move to a better site. So I scrounged up some dough and purchased my own space! The new site will be "Psychicsoldierkai.com" (long I know!), and will include forums, an integrated blog, and be run by Comicpress and Wordpress. I'm very excited, and I think its timed perfectly with the beginning of act 5.

To everyone that's been reading thus far, thanks for the support. Its only going to get better from here!

Channeling my inner Joe Mad

As we glide towards the end of the 4th act of Psychic Soldier Kai, I've decided to add some "action pages" to the story. Not that I hadn't planned to have a little action in the end of this act, but the idea went from a couple of panels to a couple of pages.

Where does Joe Madueria come into this discussion? Well I've been reading a lot of his stuff lately to give me ideas about how I want do these last few pages. Let's face it, no comic artist can produce energy the way Joe Mad does, so I'm really using him as inspiration.

Finally, I want to say thanks to everyone who reads my comic and commenting in my little box on the bottom. Its so nice to see that something you created means something to someone else. Thanks again, and keep reading Psychic Soldier Kai!

P.S. Enjoy Spring! Its the best season period.

Watchman

So I finally saw this movie last night. Never read the comic, but given its legendary status among comic heads, I was really excited to see the film adaptation.

I loved it.

Definitely not your typical super hero movie, and that's a wonderful thing. However, I can already hear the groans from people who think that super hero movies have to be this or that. I thought that the Dark Knight did a lot to shatter that bias, but a lot of work still needs to be done. Hopefully Watchmen will do even more to show that "super hero" stories aren't one-dimensional parodies of the human experience, but are more often than not a mirror on our society and ourselves. They're the ultimate thesis on what flawed individuals do when given the powers of a god.

Anyway, enough of my babble. Go see the movie!!

First review for Psychic Soldier Kai!

The good folks over at The Heraldry of Webcomics gave us a pretty good review. I was pretty pleased with the whole thing, and I'm glad that someone besides myself understands my writing style!

I'm hoping for more web reviews in the future as PSK continues to grow and more characters and revelations are revealed about our hero and his unique and strange heritage.

Back into the swing of things...

Well after almost a month of not posting anything on my comic, I'm finally able to post a new page.

Its been a crazy month of incredible highs and abysmal lows. However it feels great to be able to do my comic again. I'm going to shoot for 3 times a week, but I got a feeling that I'll probably be back to one time a week before I know it...

Anyway, I want to thank all my reader who continually check my work even when I'm on a hiatus. You guys are awesome, and always keep me inspired.

Monday, Monday, Monday!!!

Well, I regret to inform everyone that due to my recent acceptance of a second job, my webcomic can only update once a week. It really sucks, but I have to do what's best for both me, my family, and the quality of the strip itself.

I never wanted to go down to an update a week, but for the time being, it makes the most sense. I'm currently working 9-10 hour days, and I simply can't keep up that oppressive work schedule, and maintain the quality of the strip.

I'm really hoping my primary job picks back up, but it doesn't seem likely.

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you continue to enjoy the strip.

Gotta love your day job!

Well when I first started PSK, it was three times a week. When I relaunched in early June, it was twice a week. Recently you guys may have noticed that its gone down to once a week. So here comes my excuse, and I apologize in advance for sounding like a whining idiot...

Recently my job lost some people, so they increased hours for all the full time employees. Thus, I went from an 40 hour work week, to a 50 hour work week.

Did I mention that I get no overtime?

I'd definitely consider getting a new job, but honestly the company I work for is awesome, and I get paid enough to live comfortably. Unfortunately the more hours I work means less hours I get to devote to PSK.

In any case, I'm not going to give up! My goal is to get back to 3 updates a week. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but you don't get anything if you don't try.

Oh man, this sucks!

Well, WCN, the main hosting site for PSK has been down since Saturday! This is extremely disappointing, and considering how long its taken Manley to update things in the past, this could take awhile to fix. Thus, I'm going to have to find a new hosting site for PSK. Stay tuned.

Finally an update!

After a crazy week, the next installment of Psychic Soldier Kai will hit tomorrow. Hopefully I won't miss a Monday update again.

I will say that if it does occur, you can count on me to update the site at LEAST once a week.

Take care, and enjoy PSK!