The art for The Becoming is actually fairly well done, but it seems to concentrate more on costumes and background elements than selecting the best shots or giving the characters natural movement and emotions, but it seems to be improving with time.

The story starts off with a big bang and a very exciting death. Unfortunately, while there have been many interesting plot lines started, none of them have really been developed enough to make me bond with the characters. This is a problem that a lot of complex stories end up encountering, actually, but I’m sure that it will end up resolving itself in the end. Right now, we’re more than a chapter into the story and very little of the background has actually been explained; it’s a little difficult to decipher the story without having any context to place it and its’ characters in. This is a good thing for writers to keep in mind – even though you know what’s going to happen in your story and the details of its world, the readers do not. And if you don’t provide enough for them to latch onto at a timely enough pace, then the readers will become disenchanted.

That’s not to say that The Becoming won’t ultimately deliver on its’ promises. It’s certainly heading in that direction, and those promises and mysteries are interesting enough (and the art is cool enough) to keep this web-comic fan reading. So, if you have the time to read 30 some-odd pages of comic, then give The Becoming a look-see!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.

Goodbye Chains of the odd couple of crime partners known as Collin Lord and Banquo White. The story has a strong western feel, and begins when Banquo discovers Colin hanging upside down from a tree, apparently left for dead. From there, the story only gets better.

The art of Goodbye Chains is simple, stark black and white with textured shadings. The difference in style from the first artist to the second is actually fairly well blended together, and makes it easy to read through. The art may at times be simple, and wanting for detail, but there are other times when the art becomes too busy – which detracts from the action of the pages. The best part about the art is the way the artist uses black and white to set the tone of certain scenes.

Anyhow, I don’t want to reveal too much about the story! Goodbye Chains is on summer hiatus at the moment, but it will be returning in October – so now is the perfect time to catch up! Happy reading!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.

Lavender Legend follows the story of Princess Lavender, one of the many hostages daughters of the King who inexplicably banned any and all men in his kingdom from coming into contact with his them. In spite of this strange law, a cross dressing man named Felicia ends up in the employ of Princess Lavender, and that’s where the real fun really begins.

The story has about 100 pages under its belt, but it seems like the plot is only now taking off. Details are starting to be fleshed out, and we’re starting to see the adventure aspect of the tale developing more clearly. Lavender Legend does a good job of weaving together world-building elements into the story without leading us too far from the path of the main plot, but because it runs in a weekly format that does mean that things can end up feeling like they take a whole lot longer than they really do. That is, of course, a very common problem that most long-running story based comics face, so that shouldn’t really come as a surprise or detriment to anyone who is a fan of story-based comics (such as yours truly).

The art of Lavender Legend certainly isn’t anything to sneeze at either – it’s fairly well rounded and tries to incorporate some decent backgrounds and establishing shots. But, that’s not to say it’s the paragon of art. I would say that the art is fairly good, but could use some work – especially in regards to detail, shot choice, and consistency of characters and proportions. I would also like to point out an over abundance of sand gradient – I love me some gradient, and also some sand gradient, but perhaps a little less gradient and a little more drawn background details would do the comic some good.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of quirky adventure-romance stories with lofty pink princesses and cross dressing maids, then give Lavender Legend a look-see – you won’t be disappointed!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.

Getting to and from conventions is rough enough without adding in the complication that bringing along all kinds of business gear adds in. Not only do you want to make sure that all of your products arrive to the convention unscathed, but you also need to make sure that when you get there it’s easy to get from the care to the alley. Another thing you should take into consideration is organization. Conventions can be very hectic and stressful so the easier you can make it on yourself to get your gear into the alley and on your table, the better.

Personally, I use a variety of tupperwares, flat art bins, and rolling suitcases. However, there are plenty of other options out there. I even know of someone who uses their old radio flyer to get things from point A to point B, and a few people who organize their goods into a series of plastic shelves with tons of tiny drawers – each item comes in its own drawer. The drawers face the artists, and on the back sides of the shelving units they hang signs with their products and prices all neatly arranged.

In the end, you’ll develop your own system. What works for some people may not be the best option for you. This is just something good to think about before you head off to the con. Trust me, it can save you time and har pulling later on!

Thanks for checking out this week’s Workshop Wednesday article, I hope to see you back again on Friday for this week’s Fresh Finds Friday!

Things have been really busy with work, and I’ll be honest, I’ve been pretty lazy about writing articles for Seed Press. But, hopefully I’ll getting back into the groove of writing soon. Thank you all for sticking with me this long, and I really hope that you continue to check back. Maybe updates won’t be as often from now on, but I can promise that when I do post I’ll do my very post to continue providing quality content!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to shoot me an email or write a comment on the blog. I do my best to answer everyone! And if you want to see what I’ve been up to in Japan, you can check out my personal blog site: Apple Dainty!

Being a fan of steam punk, I was slightly disappointed that the opening pages of Red Moon Rising contained very little in the way of steam punk. Luckily, the artwork was enticing enough to keep me reading.

The comic is painted in full color, but in the early pages the character designs seem a bit flat, and the emotion and movement of the characters is quite stiff. The detailed and well-painted backgrounds are what really keep the pages fresh and interesting to look at.

The artwork only becomes better as the story moves along, with the artist developing and refining her texture and paint techniques in each page. Unfortunately, the story is a bit slow moving for me. After getting forty pages in a few plot strings have been started, but very little headway has been made in fleshing those plot lines out. I suppose that for me, comics need to have something exciting happen within the first twenty pages in order to be an effective opener that keeps me wanting to read more (rather than just look at the pretty pictures).

That’s not to say that Red Moon Rising isn’t a good read – it’s got over 100 pages in the archive, an updates regularly with fantastic quality artwork. The story, despite a slow start, promises to deliver on the political intrigue and steam punk fantasy it hinted at from the start. So, if you’re into steam punk fantasy comics with a dash of mystery and political intrigue, I recommend giving Red Moon Rising a look-see!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.

So, why don’t we get started? Welcome to this week’s edition of the Workshop Wednesday series The Set-Up. This week’s article is all about Promotions. Most of the articles leading up to this point have touched on promotion in one way or another, but this article is more specifically about the kinds of promotional items that you give away at conventions.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re going to the convention in order to make money, so why would you give your hard work away? Well, honestly the best answer to that is your first convention is actually not about making money – it’s about getting your name out and people interested in your art. Think about it this way: you’re strolling around the convention hall. Some artist you’ve never heard of offers you a flyer. The other no-name artist next to them offers you a tote bag. Which of these two artists are you going to remember? Both of these items are free, but which one is actually useful to you, and something that you might actually hold on to after the convention?

There are plenty of times when, at a convention, I pick up a flyer and never actually look at it again. I’m sure that many people who pick up my flyers do the same thing. We aren’t trying to be dishonest, even if we say “yeah sure, I’ll check it out,” it’s just easy to forget something like a flyer after getting home from a long convention weekend and realizing that you have about a billion other things to do now that you’re home again. But if you get something more substantial, and more useful to you, you might end up using it over again and therefore remember to view the work of the person who gave you the neat little freebie.

Promotions don’t have to be anything big or fancy, they just need to be memorable or useful. If they’re also clever, then that’s a bonus. My two personal favorite promotions are buttons and bags, but there are plenty of other promotions out there for the creative mind. One thing that many convention artists forget to bring with them is bags, and they are not just useful for carrying purchases people make from your booth – they can also be used to hold other purchases that your client makes. People will naturally want to combine their purchases into one bag to make them easier to carry, and hopefully that bag will be yours. When people see someone else carrying your bag, it will make them interested in your work.

Bags don’t have to be expensive. You can buy a few totebags, a pack of iron on transfers, and just give a few bags away to the first few customers who make big enough purchases to warrant that size of bag. Buttons, however, are both cheap and plentiful – and plenty of people actually collect the darn things!

My buttons are always given away at random and tucked into my Seed Packet business cards, that way each one is a surprise. I usually display them with a cute sign that says “Take me!” that way people know they are free. There are so many options out there for all you creative types, so I’m sure that with a little thought and some work you’ll be able to think up your own grand promotion to try. From bookmarks and bags to buttons and cellphone charms, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Workshop Wednesday article, I hope to see you back again on Friday for this week’s Fresh Finds Friday! And check back next Wednesday for the next edition of Workshop Wednesday: The Set-Up!

If you’ve ever gotten stuck trying to figure out a color scheme for a drawing you’ve been working on, then unstick yourself the easy way with the help of this nifty little program: Color Schemer! You can download a nicer version of color schemer or use it straight from the web. It doesn’t get too much easier than that!

I’ve used a couple of different programs for picking palettes, but color schemer is by far the easiest to use, so I highly recommend that you at least give it a look-see.

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.

Midnight Tea Party is the brainchild of long-time web-comics writer, HABE. If you’ve ever watched Are You Afraid of the Dark, you’ll immediately notice a similarity when you start reading. However, instead of being gathered around a camp fire out in the dark and spooky woods, this incarnation of the midnight society is full of gothic lolitas and aristocrats. After a short introduction, one of the characters begins telling a short horror story.

So far, there are two completed stories, and a third one that – I assume – is being worked on. Each story is drawn by a separate artist, but the introduction sections are all handled by Ashley Cope. HABE is great at working with artists who can both draw very well, and draw in styles that complement the kinds of stories he’s telling. The pages can come in color, black and white, or tones.

The stories’ presenters are – as one would suspect with this format – underdeveloped, and I feel like some of the introductions to these host characters could be extended. Or perhaps, they could be introduced more slowly. But, that’s basically my only criticism for this, and it’s really a bit of a nitpick. The meat of the series is in the short stories, not so much the presenters, and at least the presenters have interesting character designs.

Anyhow, if you like creepy campfire-style tales, and appreciate both good black and white, toned, and color artwork, then I suggest giving this spooky little corner of the web out. Midnight Tea Party is best viewed at night, in a dark room, all by yourself.

That’s all for this week’s edition of Fresh Finds Friday. Thanks for dropping by!

If you would like to suggest a comic for Fresh Finds Friday, please feel free to send me an email at info(@)seedpress.net (remove the parentheses!). The only thing I ask is that you don’t suggest your own comic, and that the comic you are suggesting has at least 10 pages up for viewing.