The Fourth Session

March 25, 2014

This week, I assisted Mr. Chan in creating the flyers that Image will be distributing during the Emerald City Comic Convention this upcoming weekend (March 28 - March 30). The flyer was created by using the program InDesign. Because this program is so often used during my sessions, I feel that I am getting a better and better understanding of what the program consists of and what it is capable of doing. We began to work on the flyer by putting in the signing schedule. I read Mr. Chan the times and table for each creator for all three days so that he was able to type them into the document.  I was constantly paying close attention reading out all the names and times correctly because I knew that the details were important. Once the signing was "completed," the next task was the creators and tables listing. I helped out by making sure the names of the creators and the table already listed on a separate document were correct. As Mr. Chan and I were going through all these names, I had the urge to look up all of these creators myself to see the work they have done. After that part was done for the moment, the panels were the next thing to be taken care of. Mr. Chan took the information that was already provided and placed it on the flyer to edit it and make it more appealing and easier for the eye to see. The last part of the flyer that I helped Mr. Chan put together was the "grid view" of the signing schedule on the other side of the flyer. This was provided as a visual supplement to the signing schedule already given on the other side. He used Excel to make the actual grid that was later placed on the actual flyer document. This project took a great amount of pre-planning and experimenting, just as all other projects do. We both became so focused on the work, we didn't realize how fast time was going. I feel that I am getting the gist of the work my mentor does and the skills and qualities needed to successfully complete that work. Next week, I hope to continue to learn about and recognize the different programs that are frequently used in the production of comic books.

Time logged for this session: 3 hours

Total time logged: 12 hours

The Third Session

March 17, 2014

I was able to visit the Image building again this Monday. This time, I felt a lot less nervous and a lot more comfortable with the staff. Mr. Chan started off the session by telling me about international printers that Image Comics have to distribute works. It made me wonder how popular certain issues are in those other countries and curious to know which comics are popular in different places but not so popular here and which are popular here but not so popular overseas. He also mentioned how creators can be picky on which paper to have their comics printed on. He said the most common types of paper used today are glossy and matte. As he was showing me examples of both types, I fell in favor of the matte paper. I felt that it looked better for the type of comics I like to read because it made it look darker and gave it a more serious tone to it. This type of paper, however, can hid some of the coloring detail the colorist and/or artist put into the art (as Mr. Chan pointed out), so I understood why a good amount of creators use glossy paper for their comics. After he showed me the different textures and thicknesses of paper used to print comics on, Mr. Chan began to work on an advertisement for an upcoming comic series called Outcast. He used the artwork that will appear on the cover of the first issue for the advertisement. The logo and a quick description of what the series was about was placed on top of the artwork. The last few things added were the company logos, the legal stuff at the bottom, and a space for the bar code to be placed. Going through the process with my mentor really helped me think differently as an artist as well as a consumer by interpreting what the company is trying to make viewers take away from the ad. Initially placing the artwork on the ad required the ability to interpret what the artist may want to emphasize in his/her art and to planning ahead a bit into how the rest of the ad will be placed. Mr. Chan mentioned at this point how comic book artists use emphasis to make the readers know what is important in the story and what is not. When placing the description of the series, he experimented on how the letter would appear. Font, leading (the space between the lines of a paragraph), kerning (the space between the letters), thickness, and color were all considered when deciding on how the words were to appear visually. Helping in making a few decisions and experiencing the thought process that goes into creating an advertisement was fun. I really enjoyed experimenting with different aspects of the ad and trying to figure out how all the necessary information will fit without taking away from the point or feeling the artist might want the audience to come across.

I was able to get a good understanding on everything that is considered in creating an advertisement for a comic and a comic book itself. Next Tuesday, I hope continue to learn more about the process while focusing on its technical requirements.

Time logged for this session: 3 hours

Total time logged: 9 hours

The Second Session

March 11, 2014

Tuesday was my second visit to the Image Comics building. This time, I was a lot less nervous about what to expect during my visit. Once I got there, we pretty much got right to work. Mr. Chan asked me to help him in putting together the issue Invisible Universe #12. The program he used to layout the entire book was InDesign. He placed all the finished pages the artists and writers sent to him on the layout. As I saw all the pages being put together, it made me imagine how much time it must have taken for the artists, writers, letterers, and colorists to complete the entire issue. I also enjoyed looking at the different characters and imagining new characters based off them in my head. After he placed the pages, he began to work on the logo on the front cover and walked me through the process. He used a clipping mask to have characters be brought in front of the logo along with Photoshop to edit the picture. Because he had changed the color of the logo, he had to change the color of the logo in the inside cover to match. In order to do this, he went to Photoshop to look at the CMYK color plate. The program Illustrator was used for the lettering. I helped Mr. Chan a little bit on making some decisions for the page in which the creators of the issue responded to actual messages from fans. After this, he informed me on how the resolutions on the comic book differ on the computer screen from when they are actually printed. One of the last few things he went over was how the barcode is assigned and can be read to identify a specific issue of a series. I really enjoyed working on building an actual comic book issue with my mentor. It made me appreciate even more how much work and effort is put in to make a single issue. Even when the comic was pretty much put together, there was still a lot to do before it was to be put into stores. Although a lot of the work that was done was very technical and detail-oriented, I loved helping out with the process. I can be a perfectionist at times, especially with drawings and other art-based projects, which is the reason why I think I really enjoy learning the procedure and being a part of making comic books. Next Monday, I hope to further my knowledge of the making of comic books and the problems that may come up when laying out the pages of the issues and how they can be solved.

Time logged for this session: 3 hours

Total time logged: 6 hours

The First Session

March 4, 2014

Tuesday was my first visit to the Image Comics building. I had been looking forward to visiting since the idea to do so had come up. The idea of actually being able to not only visit, but be mentored by the company who created my favorite superhero, Spawn, made me more excited than one could imagine. When I finally arrived, I felt very nervous and was very much shy. I didn't really know what to expect. My mentor, Jonathan Chan, greeted my father and I very warmly into the office. He gave me a tour around to introduce me to all the staff members. The office felt like a very warm and happy environment. I was surprised to find how many women working in the office read and enjoy comic books as much as I do. I felt a sense that I was the only girl that is a big fan of comics, which was uplifting. After meeting all the staff, Mr. Chan guided me to his office to begin showing me what he does and going over the steps on how a comic book issue is actually produced. For the part of the assignment he had me assist him with, Mr. Chan introduced me to the programs Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, which are all part of the Adobe Suite. I was very much interested in learning to use these programs because I have always wanted to do computer work like this. Also, I had taken a web design class in previous years, so I was somewhat familiar (but rusty) with Photoshop to begin with. We successfully finished a project in good time. During the time working on the assignment, I still couldn't believe that I was actually working on something like this and helping the production manager of a comic book company. This first visit was even more amazing than I anticipated. In my next visit on Tuesday, I hope to learn more on how to use the programs for projects while simultaneously learning more in-depth about the steps in making a comic book.

Time logged for this session: 3 hours

Total time logged: 3 hours