tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31275573683942489622024-02-07T22:06:21.623-07:00Rude reMarksThe adventures of a writer and artist trying to break out and become more famous than Oprah.Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-38358158398649490462012-02-27T06:04:00.003-07:002012-02-27T06:12:21.363-07:00Why Wait When You Can Procrastinate?OK, that only took 5 months.<br />
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My <u><a href="http://www.markrude.net/" target="_blank">website </a></u>is finally up and running after I stalled, hemmed and hawed over the holidays and beyond. I feel like I've given birth to a preemie, noticing how my little slice of the internet is kinda small, lacking in much content, and generally under-developed. Still, I am proud that I got around to popping it out before my end-of-February, self-imposed deadline.<br />
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I made that deadline while sitting at a bar after losing my job in early January 2012 due to down-sizing. I scribbled on a notepad while waiting to meet friends at our favorite lunch spot, endeavoring to make the best of my sudden abundance of free time. I made a list of half a dozen things that urgently needed doing, then promptly put them off. I <i>did </i>print off my second book and begin the editing process, but that doesn't count because that is fun and easy compared to making important, informed decisions and tackling IT issues.<br />
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It wasn't until <a href="http://www.swtor.com/" target="_blank">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a> fried my $350 video card that I suddenly had the desire to focus on my website. As I write this, I am sitting at my desk with my desktop and monitor askew, the guts of my PC hanging out over the keyboard. My replacement video card arrived defective, tacking on another week to my forced productivity. I swear, I am going to start climbing the walls if I have to go for much longer without video games. I don't know how I ever managed without them.<br />
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Oh yeah, I <i>DIDN'T.</i><br />
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I've had some form of video game entertainment on hand for the <i>past 30 years</i>. I mark certain eras in my life by what I was playing at the time. Currently, it's Lord of the Rings Online, Star Trek Online, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. No, wait. Currently, it's <i>NOTHING</i>.<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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What I am trying to say is that the death of my high-end graphics capability helped me get on track, much like losing my job helped me to focus on my upcoming projects. I don't know if I can find gainful employment soon, but in the meantime I can throw myself back into the writing/publishing biz. I like to take lemons and make lemon-juice, so to speak. Anyway, I am sure I will have more interesting things to blog about as the projects progress. I hope people are still paying attention :)<br />
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Later, all!Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-51867348114002087782011-10-31T20:33:00.000-07:002011-10-31T20:33:15.678-07:00Mark Rude Is Happy To Announce...The<i> Hollows Insider</i> and <i>The Gold Cat's Daughter</i> have been released and are now available for purchase! You can read about my involvement in Kim Harrison's <i>Hollows Insider</i> in this post: <a href="http://markrudeauthorartist.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html">The Coolest Thing EVAR!</a> Several of my pencil drawings are featured among the loads of other cool stuff that takes the reader under the skin of the Hollows, home of Cincinnati's supernatural Inderlanders. I have been a huge fan of the Rachel Morgan series from the beginning and it was a dream to work with my favorite author on this project.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvY-eZpNO24yqkEA5xp75XWsOHXoBM-WERKir_saHDYkzcXQ_56VXtG5AouLpo7olUOt_uAvJxsUP16mKXF7g2dpHzp2_AdTw36CnhJlvNVcYkde2fLYvBfwgVjQ_r1uo3XTXcOs8cU1LS/s1600/HIUSCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvY-eZpNO24yqkEA5xp75XWsOHXoBM-WERKir_saHDYkzcXQ_56VXtG5AouLpo7olUOt_uAvJxsUP16mKXF7g2dpHzp2_AdTw36CnhJlvNVcYkde2fLYvBfwgVjQ_r1uo3XTXcOs8cU1LS/s320/HIUSCover.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Buy it at your favorite bookseller!</div><br />
And finally, my own project that has been many years in the making (in fact the bulk of this blog is devoted to it): <i>The Gold Cat's Daughter!</i> This is the first novel in the Cindra Corrina series, the story of a brave young girl who must chose between her duty and her desires, with the fate of the kingdom at stake. Dark forces and hidden conspiracies are moving against her, hoping to lead the land to war and ultimate doom...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2jhuuf0O7YYym0_2fjLhqOWB3v5r7MYQUKkERsDmJus2mT6wB2bV4oE5PR4NAIdQS76FMujf8V-epkDuR4n4eVQuX8vFqqOePCm61Td4Y1xTIj0iYauyzl6AJlCnVGTzgiBT0W6vCgjW/s1600/Cover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2jhuuf0O7YYym0_2fjLhqOWB3v5r7MYQUKkERsDmJus2mT6wB2bV4oE5PR4NAIdQS76FMujf8V-epkDuR4n4eVQuX8vFqqOePCm61Td4Y1xTIj0iYauyzl6AJlCnVGTzgiBT0W6vCgjW/s400/Cover1.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine online vendors!<br />
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</div>And if that's not enough, the <i>next </i>book in the series, <i>The Gallant Riders</i>, is due to come out this time next year! It's been a very busy couple of years for me and I'm sure it will only get more hectic. If writing and publishing my books was my only job, I'd be one happy camper.<br />
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Visit <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gold-Cats-Daughter/262756697090505">The Gold Cat's Daughter</a> on Facebook and "Like" if you like it :)<br />
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Hooray!Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-52226280881549389632011-10-15T17:15:00.000-07:002011-10-15T17:15:29.126-07:00How a Toy Changed My LifeMy bear is a Horcrux.<br />
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Let me explain.<br />
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When I was 12, my family went on a vacation to Sequoia National Park. Stopping at a gift shop, our parents bought my brother and I these little stuffed toy black bears with tan muzzles called "Sierra Bears" on the label. I don't know if they only existed in that gift shop or not, but I've never seen their like since. I named mine B.J. McBear and he named his Rex. For the rest of the trip they were our main form of entertainment as we created little squeaky voices for them, gave them personalities, and generally drove our parents crazy.<br />
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When we got home, the fun didn't stop. I believe it started when my brother made a little<i> Dukes of Hazard </i>car out of a Kleenex box for Rex. I made one too and soon we were racing them along the linoleum floor and leaping them over the steps. One thing led to another and soon they had a small fleet of cardboard cars and a small selection of clothing. Then things got really cool.<br />
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I went through mom's bag of fabric and made costumes. Batbear and Robin were born and needed a Batmobile, so more cardboard was consumed. Superbear needed no car, nor did Spiderbear, but they did need enemies. We only had the two stuffed animals so we recruited from my sister's large selection to round out the cast.<br />
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Rex had a Lamborghini, so B.J. had to have one too. <i>Tron </i>came out so I built them light cycles, costumes and even a tank. Then came the helicopters. I made a gunship out of cardboard with a yard stick for the propeller. When that one crashed and broke, I made another. I made two versions of <i>Airwolf </i>from the TV series of the same name. Did the bears have flight suits and helmets? Oh, yes they did.<br />
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The stuffed animals and their friends appeared in the first comic book I ever did; an animal version of Disney's <i>Condorman</i>. Just like the hero of the movie, I built all the stuff depicted in the comic book. Then there was the <i>Return of the Jedi</i> animal comic that I started on, but it was far more fun to play light saber duels with B.J. as Luke and my sister's polar bear as Darth Vader. He was dressed all in black, complete with the mask and helmet, but he was pasty-white when you removed it, just like in the movie.<br />
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My bear was, among other things Indiana Jones, James Bond, Dracula, Rambo, the Mighty Thor, a ninja, Zorro, Doctor Who (#4 with scarf), Perseus from Clash of the Titans (and a Pegasus stuffed animal was added to the family), an astronaut, and of course, James T. Kirk. Every costume came with little props and whatever vehicles I needed for his adventures. The <i>Star Trek</i> crew had uniforms and an Enterprise bridge playset made of cardboard, complete with a revolving captain's chair and interchangeable view screen. I even made Rex little pin-on felt pointed ears.<br />
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One of the last big projects I worked on was for <i>Ghostbusters</i>. B.J., Rex, and Pegasus (Peg) were the three main characters and they had costumes, proton packs and gadgets for catching ghosts. I sewed a stuffed "Slimer" ghost to chase around and made an Ecto-mobile with a sliding rack in the rear for the backpacks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHwiSUIpebS8j6om_moISthwR-jpsil-hlzh-94COVO-RVWMkBYSlEFVZUcEjbw1efYGRqiUxpI02nrPjcIT-OzHs2d4Y8_Gkkhc5OdtWmjoP8LPjzxLx2Q6cvZ2bMsxmpXdQlXmnK7OW/s1600/BJ-ghostbuster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHwiSUIpebS8j6om_moISthwR-jpsil-hlzh-94COVO-RVWMkBYSlEFVZUcEjbw1efYGRqiUxpI02nrPjcIT-OzHs2d4Y8_Gkkhc5OdtWmjoP8LPjzxLx2Q6cvZ2bMsxmpXdQlXmnK7OW/s400/BJ-ghostbuster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">B.J. modeling one of the last costumes.</span></div><br />
Only a few costumes remain, and none of the vehicles or playsets. The bear has traveled with me everywhere, sharing many adventures. I lived my life vicariously through him, even becoming good at animating him through puppetry. I can make almost any stuffed animal seem alive now. I instilled in B.J. McBear a little piece of my soul and childhood, and it remains there to this day. He and his friends sit on a shelf gathering dust, overlooking my bedroom, but every once in a while I will take them down, dust them off, and remember all the fun times we had. As long as B.J. is around, a part of me won't die.<br />
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Just like Voldemort.Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-15633869249382062452011-09-20T22:25:00.000-07:002011-11-01T07:06:53.864-07:00Adventures in Voice WorkI am a highly qualified Dungeon Master.<br />
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That's where I developed most of my voice work talents, running role playing games and doing different characters, from mayors to monsters. I also practice impersonations in the car on the way to work, just in case my employer wants to hear a celebrity voice reading the company mission statement.<br />
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You never know.<br />
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So I decided to record my own audio book, partly because I thought it would be fun, and partly because Patrick Stewart is so damned expensive. I've already blogged about <a href="http://markrudeauthorartist.blogspot.com/2011/06/recording-audio-book.html">Recording an Audio Book</a> so I won't go over the same ground again, but I will share some of the things I've learned and tips that I think are helpful if you want to try it yourself.<br />
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Tip 1: Get a good microphone.<br />
Using one of those headset mics is a bad idea. It may be fine for raiding with your guild (gamer reference) but not for doing quality work. I learned this when trying to redo some spots in the original recordings. Sound is a fickle thing, and working with a cheap mic is like starting a road trip under the wheels of your car. I use a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/?v=b">Blue Snowball USB condenser microphone</a></span>, a good low cost alternative for non-professionals.<br />
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Tip 2: Find a quiet spot.<br />
This is one of the most important tips I can give. If you don't have a professional studio with soundproofing, you will have to put up with background noises. My sound guy Todd did a great job of soundproofing the space we used, but it was done over time so the first several chapters went from bad to better. Traffic was a real problem because of the location, and we had no control over people coming and going.<br />
My solution to this was to redo the first few chapters at home, making a little sound studio of my own. While it is not as dampened as the original site, my house is off the main streets a bit and traffic noise is minimal by comparison (as I type this a firetruck is going by... *sigh*). I record on weekends around 1am after most of the world has gone to bed. The house is quiet, the kitties are sleeping and only the air conditioning makes noise as the vents pop. This is mitigated by my other precautions...<br />
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Tip 3: Dampen the sound in your studio.<br />
Seems obvious, but the amount of work you must put into it depends entirely on what you have to work with in the first place. My desk is in a room next to a window (facing the street), I have wood floors and blinds instead of drapes. Not ideal, but at least I don't raise chickens.<br />
To combat these problems, I've done some modifications that work to my satisfaction. The first thing I did was buy some sound foam from the local Guitar Center music store. That helped me to muffle the sounds of the already-quiet computer in my desk. I also got some foam board and made a sound dampening filter to house the mic.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTO-cDlfMxEuOzoL70yi2Wnv9IqPntGFROccVC8XGkmVMbC3fxHditctdK0usnReTloCLxoGl2oNa8Q1IwMKgu2euNLWfcqcGeF0Ce9zTLsnAuYUQ5MZnkr_6vo1atuPSnsgM3ZwAB85l/s1600/booth1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTO-cDlfMxEuOzoL70yi2Wnv9IqPntGFROccVC8XGkmVMbC3fxHditctdK0usnReTloCLxoGl2oNa8Q1IwMKgu2euNLWfcqcGeF0Ce9zTLsnAuYUQ5MZnkr_6vo1atuPSnsgM3ZwAB85l/s320/booth1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
You can see the round white mic in the little booth. The wire goes out a hole in the back and into the computer under the monitor; also shielded with sound foam over top and in the back. This isolates the hum of the cooling fans and most of the noise bouncing off the walls and coming from the window. Not perfect but it works for me.<br />
The next thing I did was to sink a bit more money into blocking off the rest of the room. About $200 bought a nice six-sectioned woven room screen, which I then draped with thick blankets to act as a sound shield behind me. It also adds an extra layer of privacy when looking at porn. Not that <i>I do that</i>, but just FYI.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZmdsRE8WXVo-WgvASWWbgFkgJJfrkreEuxKaWMe3eZamTdYdnC_EMyb1c0HXRQG6BmSgjGbk-3iGlwn7WIO0NjW1ePe4bfKvXOsYvfvdjvD2n0Z7VskVnkfm8Rxw7VxKdYQWQ2i85ONJ/s1600/booth2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZmdsRE8WXVo-WgvASWWbgFkgJJfrkreEuxKaWMe3eZamTdYdnC_EMyb1c0HXRQG6BmSgjGbk-3iGlwn7WIO0NjW1ePe4bfKvXOsYvfvdjvD2n0Z7VskVnkfm8Rxw7VxKdYQWQ2i85ONJ/s320/booth2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, those are tiger patterns. I have tigers watching me on the other side.</div><br />
Dropping towels on the floor might compensate for the wood flooring a bit, but I don't go crazy with it.<br />
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Tip 4: Hydrate and keep your mouth moist.<br />
Neophytes will completely overlook this. Talking really dries out your mouth and vocal chords, and drinking water is very important. Bottled or filtered water is best, and avoid drinks with excess acid or sugar. Also, avoid eating foods that can cause congestion, like dairy. There are other sites that go into this stuff in more detail, but the best tip I learned was to have an atomizer full of filtered water handy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KPSq_zxLpNy7250oCbBYLX7FRUDMbXBEaAiIJu9H37E4Kb_Ck2xG4QSoK4QYRMRJ0ywU8dvQKBPRyvrNxh8WUnPsom60NqlDYveerXb4iiiiBDK0zQ2sugql5bz2IzC31LQCufhLsjTp/s1600/atomizer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KPSq_zxLpNy7250oCbBYLX7FRUDMbXBEaAiIJu9H37E4Kb_Ck2xG4QSoK4QYRMRJ0ywU8dvQKBPRyvrNxh8WUnPsom60NqlDYveerXb4iiiiBDK0zQ2sugql5bz2IzC31LQCufhLsjTp/s320/atomizer.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Why? It's called Pop/Click, and it's the bane of sound editing. When your mouth dries out and loses saliva to lubricate it, you get these popping, clicking noises all over your vocals. This is especially bad with audio books where you don't have music or loud singing to mask it. Some of my early recordings were so bad I thought I had one of those aliens from the movie <i>Signs</i> behind me, talking in their clicky insect language.<br />
Some people recommend having green apple slices handy, not to eat but to bite and suck on because the tartness encourages saliva. Well, this involves having apples around. Pshh. Yeah right.<br />
An atomizer will mist your mouth and coat your inner cheeks, teeth and tongue with additional moisture, instead of washing all the saliva away like a drink of water will do. Priceless. Because I'm recording a minute of dialogue and listening to it immediately after, it gives me a chance to redo things on the spot if they get too clicky. This is a lifesaver when editing for timing and content later on.<br />
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Remember, you can't polish a turd.<br />
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Well, you can, but all you wind up with is a polished turd. Try for the best recording quality first, don't rely on "fixing it in post."<br />
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Here endeth the lesson.Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-61557129168291940412011-09-20T21:09:00.000-07:002011-09-20T21:09:54.061-07:00Fantasy Book Cover in 2,843 Easy StepsI have a really nice paint program that I barely know how to use.<br />
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I mean there's like 25% of the total features that I am familiar with, and most of what I do is through trial and error. I can do the basics and learned to play with some of the features, but I'm self-taught and never read a manual. The internet helped me with some important features like Layers, but I used that for my comic book covers and promptly forgot everything years later. Also, Paint Shop Pro X is not the industry standard, so all those Dummies Guides in the bookstore are kind of hit-and-miss. It was easier to find parts for my Mitsubishi than to find a book on PSP.<br />
Anyway, this is about my first fantasy book cover. I wanted it to be dramatic but simple, the kind of thing you could describe in a sentence. This was not only a marketing decision but I wanted something I could learn on without making too much of a mess; kind of like George Lucas putting that big lizard in the background of Star Wars. Nothing too crazy or ambitious. Just learning the basics so I can really screw it up later.<br />
It started with a rough pencil sketch. I had two ideas: one being a sweeping vista with the city in the background and the two romantically involved characters in front; the other was the main character with a young boy she saves, fending off a monster with a knife. I was informed by an author friend that I needed a glowy magic knife for it to be a real fantasy cover, whether there was one in the story or not. Luckily, there was.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55EpLqUnRU1h3pIxQ98O4_Md2_dbXGxMi0Ibs8BWpytaihLU8s9okkxr2sl7Rb2zMOSs1dj-dFtoFlHz9Az7YUlg2LzZx0ie0sp9p6E5q9iGSJtDgaIRUkAHCqcvijydSD8wm329xA15q/s1600/CoverSketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55EpLqUnRU1h3pIxQ98O4_Md2_dbXGxMi0Ibs8BWpytaihLU8s9okkxr2sl7Rb2zMOSs1dj-dFtoFlHz9Az7YUlg2LzZx0ie0sp9p6E5q9iGSJtDgaIRUkAHCqcvijydSD8wm329xA15q/s320/CoverSketch.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Looks good!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So that was the beginning. later I gave it a bit more detail...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyp4T2__IG9xgxSssUYvYKZBlO3rSjLIIQV0tMjAmhcKXv6w3CMecebi97tHKdW6qK11phXd3bTSswmSB7g_c7mrzG4SY2KVyN1BzVrQxlKLhN3MyzTxV-_zzosgEhUBBA0K_q-V95pf2/s1600/CoverImage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyp4T2__IG9xgxSssUYvYKZBlO3rSjLIIQV0tMjAmhcKXv6w3CMecebi97tHKdW6qK11phXd3bTSswmSB7g_c7mrzG4SY2KVyN1BzVrQxlKLhN3MyzTxV-_zzosgEhUBBA0K_q-V95pf2/s320/CoverImage1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Very comic-booky. I wasn't too concerned about the details because I was only going to use this as a guide. I scanned it in at 600 dps so I'd have lots of pixels to play with. With my old comic book covers, I'd scanned ink drawings and used a layer to color behind the artwork, resulting in a "stay-within-the-lines" look. This would be different as I needed to paint "over" the pencil work. I began with a process called<i> flatting</i>, which is laying down flat base colors to work up from.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVi-XNjw0X5MH9ynuIEMiOxL0yGyiTZIV0dlrLh4cU-Nh20YB52fgWCr7Msxih_0Hr9YuG_yaXVIzK2OugaNMhnqtwGD-HjV8YXcaSnCPLyfEnIARDvuAGlJlRk05nAWdr3-R6y1n2vweC/s1600/CoverImage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVi-XNjw0X5MH9ynuIEMiOxL0yGyiTZIV0dlrLh4cU-Nh20YB52fgWCr7Msxih_0Hr9YuG_yaXVIzK2OugaNMhnqtwGD-HjV8YXcaSnCPLyfEnIARDvuAGlJlRk05nAWdr3-R6y1n2vweC/s320/CoverImage1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This was done on a layer under the pencil work. From there I was able to start painting the details of Cindra's face. I should mention that I use a Wacom tablet and stylus, which is a huge advantage over drawing with a mouse. Who knew?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZsxEiwJBK5kZvMp9293MxrK2_iXZvgs0_KPXrlxy2GOCMYG_5wsSuh-sqXyffqRVUeCZsG094jvw3gbjeTwEqPuA_wsjfchkE6pgiXo-qKB0rZHqG-ZSSkFRy_UM0_rf82UBmRHCBe9M/s1600/subject+flat+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZsxEiwJBK5kZvMp9293MxrK2_iXZvgs0_KPXrlxy2GOCMYG_5wsSuh-sqXyffqRVUeCZsG094jvw3gbjeTwEqPuA_wsjfchkE6pgiXo-qKB0rZHqG-ZSSkFRy_UM0_rf82UBmRHCBe9M/s320/subject+flat+01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The pencil layer is removed and the face work begins. I figured if I couldn't pull off a good looking face, there was no point in doing the rest of it in digital art. Modeling (getting the light and contours right) was done using a Paintbrush tool with an opacity of about 25%, allowing me to build up the colors like a real oil painting.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkYNmOii6mEec1bgNOs7NB9IdYkIu5IrLwCgcHjg3BQdFYpq3GVUsRptALyOO4TaUGKT-ldwhwbUxDfI6WJfQRoeD8v1I2dPKXAQkklk9yauvN6nHD-W2o8HGAxZZz77zU4AmrBOPCr9T/s1600/Image1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkYNmOii6mEec1bgNOs7NB9IdYkIu5IrLwCgcHjg3BQdFYpq3GVUsRptALyOO4TaUGKT-ldwhwbUxDfI6WJfQRoeD8v1I2dPKXAQkklk9yauvN6nHD-W2o8HGAxZZz77zU4AmrBOPCr9T/s320/Image1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It's rough at this stage, but I'm starting to be encouraged. I have no photo references so I can't really go for photo-realism without them, but this ain't too bad. It's already lost the cartoony look. After more modeling and playing around with Smudge and Push tools, I decide she looks good enough to go on to the boy Nixy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoP_MahONXSCIf3RuGFXsxPteJNANj50AEpkTLBf4M2MIHll3Zh0-IP6fea-EVVbPFlp-8G3Q7BYrBwLKunv1mmRfWHe8BMacsWi7pMzTqRZZgWqgpOeSP3jv4ZmmX63kB9amXQS_OkwKB/s1600/Image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoP_MahONXSCIf3RuGFXsxPteJNANj50AEpkTLBf4M2MIHll3Zh0-IP6fea-EVVbPFlp-8G3Q7BYrBwLKunv1mmRfWHe8BMacsWi7pMzTqRZZgWqgpOeSP3jv4ZmmX63kB9amXQS_OkwKB/s320/Image2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
For him I'm lucky enough to find stock photos online of terrified children. It helps to get the eyes and mouth right. One of the tricks with painting/drawing young kids is to pull back on the detail. Artists like me tend to get too much into the things we know are there, like lines around the eyes and mouth, but this makes the subject 'read' as older. Young kids are smooth faced, even when pulling an exaggerated expression. I also found a picture of a female fashion model to base his hairstyle and texture on.<br />
Here's another advantage of digital media: resizing. Eyes too small? Resize. Mouth too small? Resize. Hands too small and feet too big? Resize. By making subtle changes to the proportions or details you can enhance the image in a way that is impossible in traditional media without a whole lot of work. Cheating at its best.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7k34fkbK4pYaoels8coBay0g7_SXw-GKP9SfJdXvSJlgnAkihsKTMQHbIePBPe4cOGORHLztE5IaudSySAlsN7B6FwF6vQTG941HSEoc3DHLufQqqzS2IkqeaKy5SSkPvB5Fd1oVu43V/s1600/subject+flat+09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7k34fkbK4pYaoels8coBay0g7_SXw-GKP9SfJdXvSJlgnAkihsKTMQHbIePBPe4cOGORHLztE5IaudSySAlsN7B6FwF6vQTG941HSEoc3DHLufQqqzS2IkqeaKy5SSkPvB5Fd1oVu43V/s320/subject+flat+09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Next came the fabric. While I have a grasp of the basics of drapery on the human figure, there's always room for improvement. I did a lot of hunting online for photo references of dresses like hers. Needless to say it's not in current fashion so I ended up on a lot of Medieval Garb sites. While the results may not be perfect for the fabric it's supposed to represent, I think it is more dynamic and interesting to look at without being too crazy. After all, authenticity isn't everything.<br />
The ultra-green background was for the matting process; since I planned to do the foreground separate from the rest of the picture, I wanted to pick a color that I would not be using in the painting, telling the program to make that green transparent when needed. This did not entirely work as planned. There was a thin line of green around the figures after placing them on the background and I have to paint over it. Not sure if it was such a bright idea.<br />
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Next came the background, a cracked wall at night with an evil shadow on it. The color choice was the biggest issue and I tried a few variations. Falling back on my art training, I went with complimentary colors. Purple and yellow worked out best, so I played around with that, using separate layers for the base colors, the wall and ground details, tinting, and shadows. Being able to manage them all separately is a real life saver. I'll have to remember that for next time.<br />
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The final step was adding the text and giving it a golden metallic sheen. Once again, I used a layer for it so I could make any changes I wanted to the typesetting without disturbing the artwork.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha304sSJnn40aTbLi9ntwXVRgu5hOm8NiAoz0AoVVimweMOGXq4Qc_szhfUeTvXOqtimOKZ25D-DiIbysM6ZjQxnsn8o0GJs5YMzpzm4ZjuXI5m19tyw1lPVc2t1ONlXCpcW5pEPbi3sP/s1600/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha304sSJnn40aTbLi9ntwXVRgu5hOm8NiAoz0AoVVimweMOGXq4Qc_szhfUeTvXOqtimOKZ25D-DiIbysM6ZjQxnsn8o0GJs5YMzpzm4ZjuXI5m19tyw1lPVc2t1ONlXCpcW5pEPbi3sP/s640/Cover.jpg" width="419" /></a></div><br />
And it only took six months.<br />
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I'm counting this as a big learning experience and now that I have the basics down, the next one should go a lot more smoothly...<br />
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Unless I go all "Lucas" on it.Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-4395250589399062662011-08-07T13:15:00.000-07:002011-08-07T19:47:10.185-07:00Juggling Monkeys...<div class="MsoNormal">I hate it when they scream.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I recently asked some readers if there were any questions they wanted me to blog about regarding my work. I took some time sorting through the two responses I received and finally picked one: “How do you balance fitting your projects with everything else in your life?”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That’s a darn good question. I wonder that myself sometimes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The answer really depends on the project. The longest so far was the “Passage” comic book project which went on from about 2001 to 2006. It was also the most difficult because it involved drawing page after page of artwork, which requires a minimum set of tools and paper. During this time, I was most often seen carrying a 9” x 14” clipboard with a few pieces of Bristol board (some to draw on and one for a cover sheet to avoid smudges) and a zip-up pencil holder bag with a few weights of pencils, a kneaded eraser, a blending stick, twisty-sharpener and some extra lead for my mechanical pencil. The nice thing about that is that you look quite innocuous going into any job with a clipboard; no one looks twice.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, I’d draw at work. Most of my jobs during that time were answering phones, so between (and often during) calls, I would draw. Oh, and during training? Draw. Lunch? Draw after eating. I like to say that I’ve been paid to draw for years, but my employers just didn’t realize it. I didn’t let my work suffer for it; in fact I was never fired for drawing at work. They fired me for other reasons. But we won’t get into that right now.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After work I’d often go to my favorite Border’s Books café and draw, but sadly, they are now closed. I can’t work at home due to the distractions that are all around me. If I have the house to myself it’s a bit easier, but I still do better if I’m not in the same building with my bed, a couch, TV, or a computer with games on it. The only exception is the stuff I can’t do elsewhere, like digital painting or editing sound files for my audio book (which I’ve been doing for the past week).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My novels have been easier mostly because my productivity is so much higher. I can churn out half a chapter in a few hours, compared to one page of drawing. I write on a second-hand laptop (a Toshiba Portege M400) which I usually brought to the café after work or sometimes on my lunch breaks. The key ingredient here was lots of caffeine, both to stay awake and to blunt the headaches I’d invariably get from typing on a computer all day. Migraine pain pills were a must. I also channel creative energy through my Burning Bunny pin on the front of my laptop bag.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8XjadhD2zc_rKZ0UhxtP8hQh8R-oqQhVfDjkdfVH4Uh0fNMguyJ-VEDyTcw7vE07T4aB6ZMXaRPN3fjIn94kku8he-UYRWqjOMzfGOAbOHOwCCN-rAvi4gOeOLdnL_V6pTQlKaITer2T/s1600/Burning_Bunny_Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8XjadhD2zc_rKZ0UhxtP8hQh8R-oqQhVfDjkdfVH4Uh0fNMguyJ-VEDyTcw7vE07T4aB6ZMXaRPN3fjIn94kku8he-UYRWqjOMzfGOAbOHOwCCN-rAvi4gOeOLdnL_V6pTQlKaITer2T/s200/Burning_Bunny_Pin.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">There was a point when I had enough in the bank to take most of a year off work and just write, and that was a dream-come-true. If I can make a living like that, I’d be happy. It was also during that year that Devon the Demon Duck was born from my surplus of free time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now I have a job where I work the night shift from 10pm to 6am. That gets a little more challenging. Daylight is now accursed and burns my eyes, so I only stay up for a few hours at most before or after work. My job also takes all my attention so I can’t write or draw, but I <i>can </i>listen to audio on the internet. I’ve found that lots of research material on self publishing is available on YouTube to pipe into my ears while I do my real job. If I learn something vital, I e-mail myself a note with the website address and check it out at home.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Recording my audio book was done almost every Saturday evening from 10pm to 12am or so, over a period of several months. Saturday was my only social-life day so I’d have to cut that a bit short to do the recordings, but that’s over for now. My work load has increased as my publishing goal approaches, and I’m finding it harder to balance it all. One week off work was not enough to finish editing the audio book and I still need to complete the cover. Suffice to say, I’ll have to cut back on my “fun time” even more, so all those orcs, Klingons and rift beasties can breathe a little easier for a while.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">BTW, if you can't tell by now, I also don't have a girlfriend.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So the short answer is “However I can get away with it.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanks! </div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-67958557348357139152011-07-10T00:13:00.000-07:002011-07-10T00:13:40.108-07:00A Difficult Decision<div class="MsoNormal">I suck at this.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am at that stage where I need to put a business name on things. Copyright by (blank), published by (blank), "visit (blank.com) for more details..." I need to come up with something catchy, memorable and unique that goes with my business image. I think. Maybe it just needs to be short.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My first business name was "Jayde World Productions" which was named for the world of my comic book (Jayde). Not obvious. It also sounded like some kind of Asian arts and crafts company. Looking it up on Manta.com, I found this entry:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Jayde World Productions in Phoenix, AZ is a private company categorized under Motion Picture Producers and Studios. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of less than $500,000 and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4. Companies like Jayde World Productions usually offer: Creative Video Productions, Film Production Rentals, Indie Film Production, Documentary Film Production and Venus Film Production."<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is all bullshit. I don't know how they determined I was a motion picture company that offered any of that crap. But that's the internet for you. The annual revenue is correct at least; I make far less than 500 grand annually. I don't even know what 500 grand looks like.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyhow, I need to make up a new publishing name that sounds cool and captures the spirit of what I'm up to. I want to incorporate my fantasy book series starting with <i>The Gold Cat's Daughter</i> with my <i>Devon the Demon Duck From Hell</i> series. Current ideas are:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Gold Cat Publishing<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Gilded Mallard<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Golden Pekin Publishing<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Quackery Press<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Duck Walk Press<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">...and variations thereof. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I hope I come up with something soon; opinions and ideas are appreciated. There might also be a shiny nickel in it for the best idea, so don't be shy! Vote early and often!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-48781001888091799012011-06-06T17:14:00.000-07:002011-06-06T17:14:50.251-07:00Recording an Audio BookI've never talked so much in my life.<br />
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I'm planning to release an audio version of "The Gold Cat's Daughter" to coincide with the print and e-release, and let me tell you, it's a lot of work. I have a new respect for anyone who has to read lines before a microphone or camera. I've flubbed at least two lines per page, and it's my <i>own </i>words I'm reading. You'd think <i>I'd</i> get it right.<br />
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I had the good fortune to meet a guy at work who had lots of audio equipment and experience using it. He offered to record my book, but I don't think either of us knew what we were getting in to. He doesn't have a professional studio and I'm not a professional voice actor, so we can only go as long as the ambient noise is at a minimum and my voice holds up. It's a challenge for us both to make this work but he has the harder job by far: that of sound-proofing the room and dealing with all the technical aspects. I just have to show up with my bag of voices and healthy throat.<br />
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Each chapter takes an average of 1 1/2 hours to read through, retakes and all. I was delighted to learn after taking a few weeks off that we were on chapter nine, three more than I remembered. There are fourteen total in this book, so it is almost done. That's a good thing too because the summer months are coming and that little room will get warmer and warmer.<br />
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Todd, my sound guy, once remarked that I have a lot of "shit" in my book. This is because after each mistake I mutter "shit" into the mic. It's his cue to pause. It's a system we developed naturally with no forethought and it seems to work out fine. Any curse words not in the book will of course be edited out. We do a technique called 'punching in' which means recording over the mistakes, so the editing process should mostly be all about timing.<br />
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The real unknown quantity is my voice. I don't know if it's the kind of voice someone would want to listen to for hours on end. I've been told it's low-key and monotonous; maybe my book will be recommended for insomniacs? I hope not. Anyway, I plan to have a portion of the audio book available for free on my eventual website so buyers can make up their own minds.<br />
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I really wanted to read it all with a British accent, but I felt that would be dishonest somehow...Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-21166632396891953952011-05-28T16:56:00.000-07:002011-05-28T17:04:51.039-07:00The Coolest Thing Evar!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Yeah OK, it was the hot chick on the cover.<br />
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That's why I agreed to read "Dead Witch Walking" with my book group back in 2004. Little did I know it would lead to the Coolest Thing EVAR. (That's how you spell 'ever' on the internet, btw). I loved the book so much I was inspired to do some fan art, which I originally posted on the Yahoo "Hollows" site and which I've reposted <a href="http://markrudeauthorartist.blogspot.com/p/dead-witch-project.html">here</a>.<br />
I got lots of positive feedback from other fans, but the really gratifying thing was the author herself was quite pleased. Kim Harrison (later revealed to be Dawn Cook in disguise) told me that the pictures brought a big smile to her face.<br />
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Then it gets weird. And cool.<br />
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In 2007, I had a dream. I was wandering in a cluttered book store or library and I climbed up a ladder to some secluded little room full of books and there, seated amongst them, was Kim Harrison. "Kim Harrison?" I asked, and she looked up. Then I awoke. Weird.<br />
The next day I got an e-mail out of the blue from the author. She said she couldn't stop thinking about my artwork and wanted to know if she could let her agent show it to the people at Tokyo Pop. My jaw dropped. Really, it did. *Thunk* I told her of course, by all means! Cool!.<br />
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I got to correspond with her agent Richard Curtis, a very nice and courteous fellow. This was a while before the Hollows graphic novel was in the works, so nothing really came of it. Ah well. I thanked Kim for the opportunity and went on my way, happy for the notice and validation. We artists thrive on validation.<br />
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Now for the Coolest Thing Evar. About a year ago in May, I got a Facebook message from Kim asking if I had the time/inclination to do some character drawings for the Hollows world book she was working on. Excuse me;<br />
<br />
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!<br />
<br />
Okay, sorry. Reliving the moment.<br />
Slavering in fanboy delirium, I told her I'd love to and threw myself into it with abandon. Wooohoo! And I was getting paid for it too! My first real paying illustration job and it was for my favorite author doing some of my favorite characters! I was happy-dancing for weeks. At first she asked for about a dozen, but the number kept growing and by the September 2010 deadline I turned in 31 pieces, most of which I believe will be published. It has been a great collaboration and I had lots of fun. Did I mention "Squeeee?" I think I did.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I got permission to post a few images from the upcoming "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollows-Insider-fiction-murders-Rachel/dp/0061974331">Hollows Insider</a>", which is scheduled for release October 25th, 2011. Without further adieu...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EJhFAJtkBB97GhkTUAcAWM9e97gQQfwqrzQQADKLydA7OiNHcTK8GBje_3gUutoNwQoNH9fGZu65LYiaAWE7_FkfvT-xDbG3THNlA8qczgcnNKDuEZUhHY9BOvs3YOMWCuSJ4CoDH9hg/s1600/R-J-Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EJhFAJtkBB97GhkTUAcAWM9e97gQQfwqrzQQADKLydA7OiNHcTK8GBje_3gUutoNwQoNH9fGZu65LYiaAWE7_FkfvT-xDbG3THNlA8qczgcnNKDuEZUhHY9BOvs3YOMWCuSJ4CoDH9hg/s400/R-J-Bridge.jpg" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel and Jenks (turned big) after an adventure.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivy looking suspiciously over her shoulder...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPogTx4qH9ImVzdTT0-D8L4En_GNu4-WYu20cV1lrsz1hSRTYEzW1Wru_S-UJK7Gz8OcEC4S-DIqDjl7WXFUR_2miXSeTQdOIZiIlnGVyn0HSRaV2hQmrHdPdDpuTCmdOxbBIaKFzn_m4/s1600/Kisten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPogTx4qH9ImVzdTT0-D8L4En_GNu4-WYu20cV1lrsz1hSRTYEzW1Wru_S-UJK7Gz8OcEC4S-DIqDjl7WXFUR_2miXSeTQdOIZiIlnGVyn0HSRaV2hQmrHdPdDpuTCmdOxbBIaKFzn_m4/s400/Kisten.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kisten and the Cincinnati skyline. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KYhRTbQAA9BIf_7u-d7Lb9HhDt_7DBp_C0CccHhOX-w8CBpfFtiMRLE5FSE37peVRFFEtw_QxtD-7UtOgsJIuzC9bHaftvrM4Reu5j-ZASV8c5QBWN8VYGkAMJfppjh7_tALJrw6ugyM/s1600/KimAndMark.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KYhRTbQAA9BIf_7u-d7Lb9HhDt_7DBp_C0CccHhOX-w8CBpfFtiMRLE5FSE37peVRFFEtw_QxtD-7UtOgsJIuzC9bHaftvrM4Reu5j-ZASV8c5QBWN8VYGkAMJfppjh7_tALJrw6ugyM/s400/KimAndMark.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim and me (squatting a bit) at the Tuscon Book Festival.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-67027057677624772852011-03-02T19:23:00.000-07:002011-03-02T19:23:53.763-07:00The Work Continues...<div class="MsoNormal">This is a status update, the first of what will hopefully be a regular series. I find it much easier to blog about past efforts, mistakes I've made and things I've learned than to tell about the things I’m doing today. I guess I figure it would be more interesting to read about if there’s some kind of conclusion. Well, misgivings aside, here goes:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am making my way through the internal illustrations for my first novel, doing little pictures for the beginning of each chapter like the <i>Harry Potter</i> books. It’s challenging trying to pull an image from the text that resonates and encompasses the spirit of the writing without giving too much away. I also want to avoid too many character drawings because I want the reader to develop their own images (which is hard for a former comic book artist). So far I have drawn six new pictures and pirated one image from one of my unpublished comic issues. I also did a big city map that will be opposite the Chapter One page, so the reader gets a gander at the setting of the book. It was done more loosely than the ones in the comic book, so it should not be relied upon as a street atlas for the casual tourist.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have finally cajoled Microsoft Word into formatting the book to my liking, coming in at 356 story pages. Headers and footers gave me the most trouble, making me cry and pound my head on the desk throughout the night. Eventually I overcame the odds and figured it out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The biggest thing looming in the future is the cover. It will have to be dazzling yet simple, something that is easy to describe yet hard to forget. I want it to be a real piece of fantasy art too; the kind of thing that can be used as a poster, banner or computer wallpaper. It’s going to be a challenge to be sure.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Because the text is locked down and no more content edits will be made, I will be ready to do the audio book recording in the next month. I am really looking forward to that since I haven’t performed as a voice actor since my ‘dungeon master’ days.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh, and I will soon be taking a road trip to meet one of my favorite (living) authors Kim Harrison on her <i>Pale Demon</i> release tour! We’ve had a correspondence for a few years and collaborated on a project together but this will be the first time I meet her in person. Happy dance for that! I will post photos after the event.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That’s all for now...</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-66050253328973729852011-02-10T18:43:00.000-07:002011-02-10T18:43:22.823-07:00Why I Haven’t Blogged in a Few Weeks<div class="MsoNormal">Short answer: I been busy, damn it!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Long answer: I’ve been sleeping, playing video games, working, puzzling over issues with my book, and generally avoiding the big plunge.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In late December I decided to eschew the old ways of begging for representation and waiting for approval from the publishing gods. Instead I’m jumping on the rickety little boat for internet print-on-demand and self publishing. To prove to myself that I’m serious, I’ve been reading other blogs on the topic, gathering all the little tidbits of data and inspiration that I can. I did a final edit on my first novel, formatted it for its eventual print size, made inroads on doing an audio book as well as e-book; all good first steps.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The details of marketing are still eluding me but I figured that like most things you need a finished product to present to reviewers and convention goers. So it’s on to the artwork for the chapter breaks and the cover. My goal is to have a product to show sometime in mid-summer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Impossible? Maybe. I am a big procrastinator when I have to do everything myself. I will probably need to re-establish a business presence and a website again; not sure the old comic book image will work best anymore. I’ll need to set up a relationship with Amazon and one of the POD publishers. I must wear many hats and I only have one head, large though it may be.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are a few details I can share at this point: </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->I’m going back to the original title “The Gold Cat’s Daughter” at 330+ pages.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It will be 5.25x8 inches with a map or two and interior graphics (might as well employ all my strengths).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It will have a digitally painted cover in full color that will have to be the best piece I’ve ever done in any medium.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It will be released with Print-On-Demand, audio, and e-book formats.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->I will use my own name.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This last bit is an interesting one for those not in the business. “Why not use your own name?” Well, look at my name. I’ve heard the same stupid jokes since my kindergarten teacher tried her wit on the first day of class. I have a chance to pick something cool and flowing, like ‘Arthur Knight’, ‘Richard Ritter’ or ‘Earl Chevalier’. But I want to make people use the Rude name with a bit less levity and maybe a little respect someday.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If Arnold Schwarzenegger can do it, why can’t I?</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-28335710645362877042011-01-12T07:57:00.000-07:002011-01-12T07:57:22.107-07:00Journey to the Bottom of the Bottomless Cup<div class="MsoNormal">I started drinking coffee early in life, since it was served with donuts after church. I wanted to seem more adult, so I added some fresh brew to my creamer and sugar. It got me hooked, what can I say.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Anyway, I remember the first time I ordered it in a restaurant. We went to a Denny’s or comparable family eatery after church one Sunday (this was in the late 70’s so it wasn’t as bad as you’d think) and I took it upon myself to order coffee. My parents looked at me as if I had just asked for bourbon but kept silent, not wanting to embarrass me. The waitress brought the drinks and food and I sat there in victory, sipping my coffee and feeling all big and stuff.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Then she came for a refill. She didn’t even ask, she just snuck up and poured us adults our coffee. I looked up from my French toast in time to see my cup filled to the brim again. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fine</i>, I thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I could use another cup anyway</i>. I added my mix of heavy sugar and cream and sipped away. Oh how my siblings were impressed, or so I believed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Then she came back again.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
And again.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
And again.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Every time I emptied the damn cup it was refilled. I was raised to always try and finish my food because there were kids starving in China, so I downed cup after cup. At one point I heard my dad snickering at me. I was getting jittery, my bladder was getting full, and I was trapped in the booth between my parents and siblings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
”Why are you drinking so much coffee?” asked mom.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Dad said, “She keeps filling it and he doesn’t know what to do.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
”Well, what am I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed</i> to do?” I squeaked. Obviously some vital piece of adult information had eluded me. Was there a secret hand sign? A code word? My brain was firing at a ridiculous rate, going through all the possibilities. Finally I put my spoon over the top of the mug. I figured she’d either get the message or make a mess. My parents just grinned, mocking me silently.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
When the waitress came back, she almost poured me another cup but stopped just in time, staring at the spoon like it was a tiny big-eyed kitten that she had just avoided scalding to death. She looked at me and asked, “No more?” in a curiously annoyed tone. I just shook my head and continued sweating.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Finally it was revealed that all I had to do was tell her what I wanted or didn’t want. Imagine that. All it took was five cups of coffee to learn that little life lesson.</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-43271957667128718442010-12-29T01:31:00.001-07:002010-12-29T01:31:26.848-07:00Thoughts on turning 40Well shit.Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-83523778239458469802010-12-25T19:00:00.000-07:002010-12-25T19:00:46.397-07:00The Little Idea That Should Probably Die, But Likely Won’t.<div class="MsoNormal">I blame Kim Harrison.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The nom-de-plume of author Dawn Cook, Kim Harrison writes the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rachel Morgan</i> series of urban fantasy novels about witches, demons and vampires. We’ve had a correspondence for a few years and I was on her Facebook page one day looking at her status. I recall the conversation went something like this:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Kim: I had a nice bubble bath today and came up with lots of great ideas!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Me: Anything involving rubber duckies?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Kim: You got me. Demon ducks are the next big thing. You heard it here first.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Me: Devon the Demon Duck vs. the Burning Bunnies from Hell! Hehe.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
And that was it. That little joke got me thinking about an idea that wouldn’t go away. What if there was a duck possessed by a demon? There’s nothing funnier than a duck. Ducks are funny by design. Don’t believe me? Just look at that bill and those feet. Hilarious!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3SPPqjqvpqD_FbntLPuCpDhyphenhyphen3HhBiZCs6jg46TIHQ0wLBJRbC750K74qfjBP1pOlVQkxlKE40ES40swo73dG7R6DRCfdfetPJy_lFgZhO_9fySJhexs1-SR8v6OCr89DEd7YXZg-eXfO/s1600/duck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3SPPqjqvpqD_FbntLPuCpDhyphenhyphen3HhBiZCs6jg46TIHQ0wLBJRbC750K74qfjBP1pOlVQkxlKE40ES40swo73dG7R6DRCfdfetPJy_lFgZhO_9fySJhexs1-SR8v6OCr89DEd7YXZg-eXfO/s1600/duck.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I began thinking of a short story set around Halloween. I was cat-sitting for my sister in October of 2009 during her trip to Hawaii. I had the whole house to myself and nothing to do but write. I was planning to work on my fantasy series but the damn duck idea wouldn’t go away. I had to get it out and bring it to life. I figured it also might help me get the attention of an agent; I could use the story like a honey trap and spring my other book series once I had them snared. Muhahaha!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Now, I had never done a comedy book before. I’ve always been told I am funny, but I never thought of myself as a particularly entertaining person when it came to funny stories. Nevertheless, I ploughed ahead as usual. I made sure Kim wasn’t actually going to use a demon duck, and I got her permission to include burning bunnies in my story (she uses a burning bunny image as a kind of trademark). I kept it to five pages per chapter and knocked out about 25,000 words in a month. Devon was a demon trapped in the body of a duck by a spell gone wrong, and Annie was the only person who could understand his ominous quacking. Together they would battle other possessed animals in their adventures. I thought it was cute.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
My test readers only had one question: “What happens next?” It seems I had a hit on my hands. Devon wouldn’t die. He had charmed his way into peoples’ hearts like only a talking duck could, and now I was stuck with him. I had the sinking feeling that my serious fantasy story would never become big and I’d be known as the guy who writes the funny duck books. Well, there are worse things to be known for I guess. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Like nothing.</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-46634152064247225502010-12-20T17:52:00.000-07:002010-12-21T06:39:34.380-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Seven<div class="MsoNormal">80,000 to 100,000 words. That’s what most agents define as the good average size of a fantasy novel for a first-time author. Too few words and you risk leaving the reader behind without enough explanation; too many words and it might be daunting for a reader to even start since they don’t know what to expect. My first novel was completed at around 192,000 words. That’s twice as long as the first two “Harry Potter” books combined. Oops. If I wanted it to be considered, I’d have to cut it in half. Not easy, btw.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
And that’s not all. Much of the terminology I used was accurate; that is to say it was inaccessible to the average reader who didn’t delve into medieval studies and heavy fantasy. Do you know what a ‘wimple’ is, or a ‘pelice’? If not, I would have lost you in at page 2. (They are medieval articles of clothing; a wimple is fabric draped under the chin and a pelice is a long over-garment lined with fur. Neat, huh?) I always assumed that if the reader ran into a word they didn’t recognize, they would look it up and be educated. Maybe I’d put a glossary in the back. Well, that doesn’t fly; none of my test readers wanted to do research to read my damn book so I had to make more changes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Pelice and wimple in action!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiuGLQ6z8MaExrz6FgxP8WwZzDj4GRUE9IA-akoJikiT_plZ5uxnQ2vleGfqwRnnIP2xMDZcGw2Yuhv9iwqnxKd6cfra6hY7c5SjSP4RCPCGovVyX2ND0Hn6tmD34GuQhMUC0k8xckwL5/s1600/wimple-pelice.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiuGLQ6z8MaExrz6FgxP8WwZzDj4GRUE9IA-akoJikiT_plZ5uxnQ2vleGfqwRnnIP2xMDZcGw2Yuhv9iwqnxKd6cfra6hY7c5SjSP4RCPCGovVyX2ND0Hn6tmD34GuQhMUC0k8xckwL5/s1600/wimple-pelice.gif" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another problem I noticed was my attention to detail. I realized that for much of the early book I was using my artwork as a guide, wanting to write about all the neat stuff I had taken so much time and effort to draw. I was describing things to death, forcing the reader to create images in their minds that were specific and elaborate. What I failed to realize is that most readers (me included) hate being overburdened with descriptions. So what if they pictured it differently in their minds? Did they enjoy the story? That’s the important thing. This allowed me to cut out huge swaths of text, lightening the word-burden considerably.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Also, do you realize how easy it is to type “heroes” and get “herpes”? Think about it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I’m not going to go into too much detail about Agent Queries because there are far better places online to get advice, plus I figure if I haven’t been excepted than I’m not a reliable source. Let me just say that this is perhaps the hardest part of writing a book. Most people cannot describe their story in one paragraph in a way that grabs the attention and piques interest. If you ask me on a bad day, I’m likely to say my book is about “Knights, wizards, and fairy-dragon bullshit.” What I actually wrote in my agent queries was a bit better, but it went through several drafts before it was even close to being useful. If I ever get accepted by an agent, I’ll post the letter that worked.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Once I cut the book in half and changed the title from “The Gold Cat’s Daughter” to "Cindra and the Rose Knight”, I was able to get more hits from prospective agents. I have received nothing but form letters saying “no thank you” but that is to be expected. We can’t all be Stephenie Flippin’ Meyer. Read her lucky story of how her enormous first book got accepted if you are a struggling writer and really want to be annoyed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More later....</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-84979538812520456282010-12-12T10:40:00.000-07:002010-12-12T10:40:52.225-07:00The weirdest thing I've seen at my job so far.I have an interesting job. I work for a video transfer company that takes people's home movies and transfers them to DVD. My job is to go through the raw footage and make neat little chapters for the customers to choose from online. I've only been there for a few months but I've already seen homemade porn, several full-frontal childbirths, a dozen trips to Disney World, stupid kids doing illegal things, and all manner of strangeness.<br />
<br />
So far the weirdest thing has to be this poor child's baptism. I say 'poor child' not because anything bad befell him, but the record of this memorable day will forever be marred by the moron shooting the footage.<br />
<br />
The camera focuses on the loving parents holding the baby; the minister saying prayers over the baptismal font, the kid crying as the water runs over his forehead... then the camera operator gets distracted. It seems a big <b>cockroach </b>has intruded on the scene by crawling up the edge of the fountain while the parents and the pastor are off to the side. The ADD person with the camera loses interest in the ceremony and <i>focuses on the bug </i>as it crawls along the edge of the fountain, even zooming in for an <i><b>extreme closeup</b></i> while the poor parents are thinking this wonderful moment in their child's life will be forever caught on tape.<br />
<br />
Some people.....Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-8484120290156326752010-12-12T10:26:00.000-07:002010-12-12T10:26:17.902-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Six<div class="MsoNormal">The comic book thing died in about 2007. I was out of money, between jobs, and generally depressed about my lack of success. As I wrote before, I did some math and realized that it would be fifty-some-odd years before I was done telling my story at my present pace. Cut that in half and it’s still a lot of time. While time didn't seem like an issue in my younger days, it now seemed very pressing indeed. Life was about to teach me another hard lesson.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
In November of 2007, my father died of cancer. He had been diagnosed years before and had been through his treatments and remissions; now his time was running out and we all knew it, though none of us wanted to face it. As his health deteriorated I started thinking of my own mortality and the things I might leave undone. I realized that the comic book idea was too much to handle, but I wanted to tell my story. I hated the idea of letting go of my dream; I hated it even more that my parents had never liked the career path I’d chosen and they might have been right to be concerned. There is nothing worse than admitting your parents were right.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Anyway, I remember sitting in the hospital waiting room during a visit when it hit me. Novel writing. I could write novels! Could I write novels? Sure I could. How hard could it be? I began working on a story of the ancient history of my comic book world and events that would lead to the present storyline, kind of like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Silmarillion</i> is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i>. It involved the first children of the gods (elves) and the introduction of the new children (humans) and how everything got knackered after that. I got the chance to use the elven language I’d made, writing in a formal and almost biblical style that seemed to suit the subject matter. It was kind of dry and detail-oriented and not very accessible. I shelved it after four chapters but managed to learn a bit about writing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I think I was just beginning my first Cindra Corrina novel when dad died. It soon became a form of therapy to keep my mind occupied during that period, getting out of the house and writing in the bookstore’s café. In a few months I had written further in the story than I had drawn in several years. Remember what I said about doing your best work when in the midst of personal tragedy? That’s the curse. Well, I don’t know if it was my best work but there sure was a lot of it and it came pouring out in a way I didn’t know was possible. It took nearly a year but I soon had a completed novel.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now what do I do?</i> I thought. Here’s a hint: I should have thought of that before I started. Like most things I tend to leap in and learn along the way, but that’s not always (ever) the best idea. I knew my target audience was young, like maybe early teens, but I knew nothing about the Young Adult market. I knew I needed to find an agent, but what do they look for in a manuscript?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Maybe I should have done a little research.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More later....</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-15343595299295969142010-12-06T17:22:00.000-07:002010-12-06T17:22:23.227-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Five<div class="MsoNormal">Let me say a few things on comic book creation. I like equating drawing a comic book to making a little movie, but you are in charge of the writing, direction, lighting, costume design, set design, casting, acting, and special effects.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
If you are going to do a comic set in a certain time period and you want it to look and feel authentic, then you will have to do a lot of research. I found one of the best resources for an artist is the kids section at the bookstore, because everything has illustrations. A 400-page dissertation on medieval fashion is great for the academic, but it doesn’t help the artist much. Another great resource is movies; that is if you’re willing to let Hollywood be your guide to realism. But hey, it’s your book. Make it look like “First Knight” if you really want.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
One challenge in designing the city and the fashions is deciding where in the world they are and what the climate is like. I settled on a warmer region so the clothing would not be too layered, and the buildings would look more Mediterranean. I really like the aesthetics of Tuscany and I wanted Portshia to have that feel; lots of cracked plaster with bricks underneath and creeping ivy, tiled roofs and little balconies. Beautiful, functional and easy to draw.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The next thing to decide was the city’s age. A medieval town starts with a castle and spreads out from there, but over time the older buildings tend to get replaced and upgraded, especially if there are wars and destruction near the castle. Portshia is nearly a thousand years old and was designed in the style of the “old empire” so the streets are broad and everything is well ordered. The castle, which started as a tall imposing affair, has been rebuilt several times and now lies low behind its thick outer walls because powder cannons have been invented and tall castles are not so popular anymore. The area just below the castle has been renovated over the years to be a posh area for rich people. There is also a Winter Palace which is a much newer addition, and positioned to impress the city folk rather than defend them. The churches of multiple gods are clustered in the center of the city with a grand polytheistic cathedral right in the middle. The wealth and status of a town or city is often directly tied to the number of churches it can support.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Yes, I made a map too.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vffmtF0Xcol1iND7V2PFNedm56agrUUJkTX-A_F3nr6GK0YfHvECybWhY59v1LWLvSYkTjjE_iZyP1G_5sGICDbXpvRyQv4RS7rofs6nfE2EsEO1sDgTNc1_A2YZcEK8eoTDA1SKmxfI/s1600/Portshia.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vffmtF0Xcol1iND7V2PFNedm56agrUUJkTX-A_F3nr6GK0YfHvECybWhY59v1LWLvSYkTjjE_iZyP1G_5sGICDbXpvRyQv4RS7rofs6nfE2EsEO1sDgTNc1_A2YZcEK8eoTDA1SKmxfI/s400/Portshia.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I’m not saying everyone should approach world building like this, but that map led to some really nice cityscapes and detailed scenes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Costume design is something often overlooked in illustration. Many people just look at the face and what the character is doing, but the costumes they are wearing don’t always get that much attention. Superheroes have not helped this, since most of their costumes are skintight with little designs on them, making them more a study in anatomy than style.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Speaking of anatomy, one big influence in men’s fashions was that I didn’t want to draw codpieces. Certain historically accurate clothing is not really fit for modern eyes, and the medieval banana hammock is one of them. Luckily I found a few styles of lower garb that worked out better. Sometimes it’s all about not wanting to spend too much time on the crotch.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Insightful, huh?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More later....</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-79876593438651077912010-11-28T21:44:00.000-07:002010-11-28T21:47:07.728-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Four<div class="MsoNormal">Comics are a business. That’s the one thing I overlooked as I started out on my creative journey. During college, I always looked down on marketing majors as people who exploited the ‘real’ art of others. What I didn’t learn until much later on was that marketing is 80% of a product’s success. Just look at the last three <i>Star Wars</i> movies.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLXIc4APEs4W2OoOAeyjgbboHDcs6LN4lYaJv5VsXO3aWQctFn70j1BjkBCPhL_bTM_HNPfSm5-jGAsB9yJiR4citGk3dnfHOF35f4Lnprb8EITFmWWEsT_8plX2On80ORbiv8Nt7ZEN9/s1600/RotS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLXIc4APEs4W2OoOAeyjgbboHDcs6LN4lYaJv5VsXO3aWQctFn70j1BjkBCPhL_bTM_HNPfSm5-jGAsB9yJiR4citGk3dnfHOF35f4Lnprb8EITFmWWEsT_8plX2On80ORbiv8Nt7ZEN9/s400/RotS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p>(By the way, did you notice that the last movie could be abbreviated as SW: ROTS? Telling, ain’t it?)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
One key element in this saturated market is that the book has to stand out in the first issue. Some of the more successful books are what are called ‘one-offs’ or ‘stand-alone’ books. These are small story arcs taking up one to three issues that tell a good, short story. If the reader gets hooked, then you have a ready-made audience for an expanded story. My book, while distinctive, was going to take a loooong time. By the third issue, I had a reader at a convention tell me “I don’t know where you’re going with this, but I like it so far.” I thought the story was a thing to sit back and enjoy. This is true of a novel or even a movie, but not a comic book. People only have about five minutes to devote to a comic book story; fifteen if it’s written by Kevin Smith, who tends to ramble. I figured my story would start taking off by oh, say, the tenth issue. This was not good business sense.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Each print run was over $1,000 bucks for 1,000 books. One thousand books that didn’t move, didn’t sell well, didn’t grab interest immediately. It had lots of talking, no real action, great scenery but no ‘hook’. In retrospect, it reads more like a movie storyboard with about the same pacing. Diamond Distribution wasn’t interested in it, so I had no way to get it out any farther than I could drive. I drew six issues, but by the third book I was out nearly four grand and made back less than $150. Those boxes are in storage now, slowly being eaten by crickets, I imagine.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I suppose I could have done ten or more issues and printed them as one big book, hoping that someone would like it, but that seemed like a long way off. I averaged about an issue every six months, so I estimated that to finish the story to my satisfaction it would take nearly fifty years. Not good. If I had approached it like a one-off, I might have hooked an audience willing to hang on for several years while I cranked out more books. Instead I drew a movie that was unfolding in my head, expecting others to be as excited to see it as I was. Never mind that the first fifteen minutes were a little slow and they took a year and a half to make.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
But enough about my failures as a human being. Next time I’ll delve into the creative process and talk about what went into making the graphic story of <i>Passage</i>.</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-3754382307953774242010-11-26T11:47:00.000-07:002010-11-26T11:47:43.377-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Three<div class="MsoNormal">Doing a comic book, as it turns out, is hard. Nowadays there are a lot of resources for the burgeoning artist, but when I was starting out there were like, three books. One of them was ‘How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way,’ which I avoided because of the style. Most of what I learned was from pulling together scraps of info from the Internet, which can be suspect at times (keep that in mind as you read on!).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I started out by getting a packet of 11x17 Bristol board paper, a vial of black ink, some drawing nibs for my quill, and a blue non-photocopy pencil. I had a sketchbook for layouts and a bottle of artist’s white for corrections. Yay. Now I needed to figure out what to draw. My story was set in ‘medieval times’ but I had no real firm grasp on the time period. In a fantasy setting there can be many things in the same story that wouldn’t have existed together at the same time, like King Arthur wearing a suit of plate armor and living in a great stone castle. Those are called anachronisms and they bug me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I decided to set the story in an earlier part of my fantasy world’s medieval time, simply for reasons of being lazy. I didn’t want to draw complex architecture, clothing or settings. I also set it ‘on the road’ in the countryside so I didn’t have to draw cities and people. My character was wandering the land like David Carradine’s Caine in ‘Kung Fu’ running into trouble and helping people with her hidden skills, but I planned to have flashbacks to the really interesting parts of her life that would explain who she had been and how she became this bad-ass warrior.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I slogged through one and a half issues before getting bored. I hated penciling a picture, then inking over it, essentially drawing it twice. I was using what would today be considered very old school techniques like cutting out the word bubbles and rubber cementing them to the artwork before photocopying. After I bought a scanner things became easier, but something was still wrong. I wasn’t telling the part of the story that initially interested me. I always wanted the ‘Kung Fu’ TV show to spend more time in the Shaolin monastery and less time in the flea-bitten Old West.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Life was happening too and that has its own challenges. I got married, raised several furry and/or scaly children, and was trying to figure out how to make that all work out. Remember that depression thing? It was still untreated. It’s hard to be steady if you fall into a dark pit for no reason at all. Creative things ground to a halt as I reconsidered every aspect of my comic book. I hated doing the artwork. The story bored me. This wasn’t what I wanted to make. Hrrmm.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Well, that was all fixed by the divorce. I didn’t care anymore about the book, because the rug had been pulled out from under me. I put all my artwork and supplies away for two years and didn’t think about them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Then one day, like a bolt from the blue, I got my inspiration back. I would write the story I wanted to read, I would do all the artwork as finished pencil drawings, something only a few comics had tried. I began to write about the grand city of Portshia and envisioned a sweeping cityscape that I could create, filled with complex architecture and people wearing complex fashions. I brought the time period forward to include all the cool stuff about the Middle Ages like huge castles and siege weapons and early gunpowder cannons and large sailing ships. I wrote certain bits in iambic pentameter and poetry, I wrote about the homes of the gods and the world at large, and put little details into every page that had meaning to me. I soon found myself creating a sweeping epic story arc that would take the reader from Cindra Corrina’s early beginnings along her warrior path and finally to face her destiny.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU2vtxQWoCx-0pNDsMMcBjBvkHQykd1ZgHt_E5lGdKqJgXichbJHUWCI1l0cwR8owfTyOXJ0U8uKh7bug9_zyHkbYWXxaeHqDSrAF4RVTto1L7v2b5-JaiEaeKu57_zK3j7KhcBRf4UnF/s1600/PSG001-pg04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU2vtxQWoCx-0pNDsMMcBjBvkHQykd1ZgHt_E5lGdKqJgXichbJHUWCI1l0cwR8owfTyOXJ0U8uKh7bug9_zyHkbYWXxaeHqDSrAF4RVTto1L7v2b5-JaiEaeKu57_zK3j7KhcBRf4UnF/s640/PSG001-pg04.jpg" width="417" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That was my first big mistake.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More later…</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-89964537254006457322010-11-22T03:50:00.000-07:002010-11-22T03:50:28.906-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part Two<div class="MsoNormal">Here’s where the real fun of being an artist comes in; your best work is done in the midst of personal tragedy. When painful things happen, you get really good ideas. What a crappy deal. So I had a personal tragedy in my first year at NAU; my girlfriend dumped me and it sent my life into a downward spiral. Little did I know that my larger problem was medical, not personal; I had undiagnosed clinical depression from the age of 11 that would go untreated until I was nearly 30. While this means I had a naturally sucky life, it made for great creative surges.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Anyway, that very night I threw myself into creating a new world. Like an intern god with a cranky boss and a six-day deadline, I slaved away on my personal computer to make what would become the world of Jayde and the city of Portshia as a game setting for Dungeons and Dragons. Because I am so anal and fixated on details, I also began a private study on ancient cultures, medieval life, architecture and various other disciplines. Unfortunately I was at college trying to learn Graphic Illustration. It’s so hard to attend classes when you have so many other interests.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The desire to make a serious graphic novel was kindled a few years earlier when I worked for the Phoenix Public Library, where I discovered ElfQuest. The artist and writer was a woman, which alone made it a stand-out book, but the artwork and emotional story were simply beautiful. I thought, why not combine these interests? I had drawn comic books from an early age, and story telling was rather fun. Why not make a comic book out of this world? It seemed like a good idea at the time. I even had an idea for a dramatic storyline; a girl becomes a warrior with the help of her lover, whom she then dumps. Why? Who the Hell knows? That’s what I was trying to figure out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I was inspired to write a heartbreaking, exciting and heroic tale. Yay. Now I just needed to come up with an approach. How does one start a story? How do you introduce a character for the first time? How do you even make a comic book in the first place?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Man, this was gonna be a lot of work.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More to come….</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-11968413225089389622010-11-21T11:08:00.000-07:002010-11-21T11:08:03.431-07:00Call of the Letter People<div class="MsoNormal">It was in my fifth year when I made the most horrifying of discoveries, a time of which I can barely speak even in the full light of day. I was attending Moon Mountain Elementary when my studies were disrupted by a dark pall of dread that crept over me; twenty-six denizens of the Abyss had entered the classroom and would endeavor to devour the innocent minds of the student body, though I alone would hold out to the last and give my report of those terrifying events so that others might take heed and be forearmed, though little hope of victory might be had.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The teachers, slaves already to the foul beasts, would herd the unwary moppets into a room in the middle of the day, shortly after nap-time. We had encountered dark rumors of the ones called the ‘Letter People’, if 'people' indeed could take such hideous form and tainted manner of speech and action. The trusting children went willingly to their doom, each session breaking down their defenses against the next onslaught. I alone remained, unconvinced of the reassurances given by the wheedling professors, listening to the shouting, singing and possibly screaming of the entrapped minds rotting in their fetid juices just the other side of the door.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
To my horror, I learned more from those mind-slaves as they drooled upon themselves, touting the praises of their new gods. Effigies there were that would be hoisted above their heads to lord over them, and they would sing their praises to the mangled forms, worshipping the twisted abominations as the corrupted adults goaded them on. They called out names that played at my sanity, threatening to tear it from its tender roots and hurl it over the brink; Mister M and his Mouth of Madness, Mister T and his Terrible Teeth, Mister H and his Horrible Hair, Miss I and her Infectious Itching. I steeled my resolve, bearing the jeers and torment of the converted, vowing never to enter that unholy place whilst I lived and breathed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
It is only now, writing from the safety of my padded cell, that I can recall these events without disturbing the calm illusions of the general public; without my nervous laughter and shaking limbs belying my differences. Take from it what you can and protect your children! They are after the children! Flee if you are able, even if it be to those godless foreign lands where the letters are strange and senseless. Better senselessness than the fate that awaits you!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Y, oh heaven, do you abandon us to the Yawning mouth of Mister Y?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizV-Y76d-hPKbzj2MRZDYZxfv9lbWWOp-b2jnjcOrlVTWB3C5AohD0kWhfnXSc5oUG8hPLLLB_1rJl0g2_J9_SwOoeSX-iC2vHvxSREJArndnUPBQwH-67IbSwpPuRZlZa1Vx9Q9RYvq2h/s1600/letterpeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizV-Y76d-hPKbzj2MRZDYZxfv9lbWWOp-b2jnjcOrlVTWB3C5AohD0kWhfnXSc5oUG8hPLLLB_1rJl0g2_J9_SwOoeSX-iC2vHvxSREJArndnUPBQwH-67IbSwpPuRZlZa1Vx9Q9RYvq2h/s1600/letterpeople.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3127557368394248962.post-41420604797531276822010-11-14T01:27:00.000-07:002010-11-14T01:27:06.422-07:00The Little Idea That Wouldn’t Die: Part One<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I tell people I’ve been working on the same story for twenty years or so, I sometimes get the impression that they think I’m the biggest procrastinator in the world, or I just don’t know when to quit. Both might be true I suppose.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
For those unfamiliar with the premise of my work (most of you, I imagine), I’ve been developing the story of the life of a female warrior in a fantasy world. Female heroes have always fascinated me, not only because they have such interesting fashion choices, but because the role of action hero has always been one reserved for men, while the woman is the one who always needs rescuing, marrying, or whatever. I love role reversals and I wanted to explore something different.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The Little Idea started sometime in college when I began playing D&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition to be specific). I was flipping through the Player’s Handbook, making sure I knew all the rules so I could argue effectively against my conniving dungeon master (is there another kind?), when I came across a painting by Jeff Easley that stuck with me. It portrayed a female fighter, powerful and confident, pulling the nose ring of an ogre she had beaten, having whittled his club down into little chunks. She was muscular, which was rare for a woman in fantasy illustration at the time. She had these neat boots, a fur loincloth (fleas!), a headband and wrist wraps, and a revealing vest. Not terribly practical, but it wasn’t a plate mail bikini for once.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuInZ8VoJu6PrrkQq1Il0dQ2R3n323VIFcoxXAlLyANxzVFek_g8Hsh_WjdTAGHcwqEP79aVBIGNUgo2fBLEmrKh82pyy5NYGWXVjJxKZnENOrRs6PtyMSQSbgwzQ0Zmyjfef34BpCNwyR/s1600/cutting_things_down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuInZ8VoJu6PrrkQq1Il0dQ2R3n323VIFcoxXAlLyANxzVFek_g8Hsh_WjdTAGHcwqEP79aVBIGNUgo2fBLEmrKh82pyy5NYGWXVjJxKZnENOrRs6PtyMSQSbgwzQ0Zmyjfef34BpCNwyR/s400/cutting_things_down.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">To get a little perspective, this was about five years before ‘Xena: Warrior Princess,’ and the Girl Power movement, when Princess Leia and Ellen Ripley were the standard bearers of the female sci-fi hero. ‘Red Sonja’ came out in 1985, but didn’t have nearly the impact. The successful Buffy TV series was years away. Women could be accepted if they had a big gun, but not a sword. Many female fantasy heroes were victims at first, going on to a life of fighting to avenge some crime, often rape. They were also likely to have some special power that explained how they were such great butt-kickers. The idea of a woman who looked like she could handle herself was something quite new.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Anyhoo, that one painting started The Little Idea. What kind of woman would choose that life and why? What if she had no special power, nothing or no one to avenge, she just wanted to be more than what was allowed? This was reflected in the real world when I created my first D&D character: a female fighter named Cindra Corrina. I was told by the dungeon master that I was being ‘anti-social’ for doing so. I knew I was on to something.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
More later….</div>Mark Rudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827194364966974607noreply@blogger.com1