Blame it on the JUICE!

Welcome to the conclusion of our 2-part Penciltown special on how to build better scenes! 

Last week we discussed strategies on how to build a scene from scratch, from initial concept to visual story. Now that we have taken a first crack at creating scenes that tell a confident story, we will focus on techniques that can help us to juice up our scenes for maximum impact; how to add interest, immerse the reader, heighten the emotion, and have the story unfold in a way that is unique to you.

We are once again joined by special guest host Jillian Fleck in what is easily our best episode yet. Perhaps because of our fancy new "carousel" format? Or maybe because we've been warmed up by Part 1? Or perhaps it's because of our passionate DS9 discussion? 

Tune in and see, dear listener!

And then get back to making some comics!

Creators and Works Mentioned: 

• A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

• Slum Wolf by Tadao Tsuge 

• Lake Jehovah by Jillian Fleck

• Maus by Art Speigelman

• City of Glass by Paul Auster, Paul Karasik, David Mazzuchelli

• Christopher McQuarrie

• Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono

• Twins 1988 film

• Crisis Zone Graphic Novel

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

• DS9: The Ascent Season 5 Episode 9

• The Odd Couple

• Hellboy by MIke Mignola

• The Monkey’s Paw

• Esker Foundation

• Change Agents by Nick Johnson

• The Remedy by Nick Johnson

Spotlights

• DC’s The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke

• Star Wars Lost Stars

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

• Hawkeye by Matt Fraction & David Aja

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

process blog: nicksoup.com

website: nickj.ca

Jillian Fleck

instagram: @jillian.fleck

website: http://jillianfleck.com

Sho Uehara

twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

website: shouehara.com

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson

Let's Not Make a SCENE...wait, LET'S!

This will be the first of two episodes in which we discuss strategies on how to build better scenes. When taking a scene from idea and script to page, from the textual/conceptual to the visual, it may seem like we have more questions than answers: what angle should we use (AKA where do we put the camera?) How close should we get to the character? Where do we even start!? 

Part One will focus on the basics of putting it all together by considering the effect that angles, staging, blocking, emotion and mood, can have on a scene, in addition to sharing the simple yet effective "TV method". 

PLUS! we are excited to announce our first guest host on the podcast, JILLIAN FLECK, who we interviewed on an earlier Bump-In episode of the show and who comes out swinging with some incredibly insightful advice on the comic making process. There's so much to discuss and learn in this episode and somehow we also managed to have a hell of a lot of fun!

Enjoy!

Creators and Works Mentioned: 

Lake Jehovah by Jillian Fleck

Change Agents by Nick Johnson & James Davidge

The Remedy by Nick Johnson

Wishless: A Graphic Anthology 

University of Dundee

I Killed Hitler by Jason

Moebius

Jeff Smith’s Bone

Chad Colpitts

Ping Pong by Taiyo Matsumoto

Chernobyl Miniseries

On Directing Film by David Mamet

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

process blog: nicksoup.com

website: nickj.ca

Jillian Fleck

instagram: @jillian.fleck

website: http://jillianfleck.com

Sho Uehara

twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

website: shouehara.com

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson

WRAP IT UP in a Pretty Little Bow

While we chip away at the second season of PENCILTOWN, we thought it would be fun to wrap up our first season by rifling through our mailbag, sharing a few storytelling lessons we learned over the past year, and most importantly, by opening up the floor to hear from fellow artists in the comic community, in an episode segment we like to call Pencil-TOWN HALL!

Tune in to hear sage wisdom on comic storytelling, the production process, and ways to relieve the pressure we sometimes place on ourselves when making work. We put a call out to some of our favourite creators in the indie comic scene in Alberta and the enthusiastic response had us brimming with gratitude. There's so much here to teach and inspire and we thank our contributors oh-so-much for making this such a special episode!

The creators featured on the episode are:

Gord Cummings

Cam Hayden

Jillian Dolan

Chad Colpitts

Jarret Hartnell

Kelly Porteous

Aaron Navrady

Zack Schuster

Creators and Works Mentioned: 

C.H.A.N.G.E. Agents by James Davidge, Bryan Sing and Nick Johnson

The Comics of Chris Ware: Drawing is a Way of Thinking by David M. Ball

Jean Giraud (Moebius)

Bone by Jeff Smith

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzuchelli

Hard Boiled by Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow

Shaolin Cowboy by Geoff Darrow

Dear Scarlet by Teresa Wong

Entropy by Aaron Costain

Westworld - TV series

Ghost in the Shell by Mamoru Oshii and Masamune Shirow

Tenet 

Chris Ware

Fletcher Hanks

Basil Wolverton

Michael Kupperman

Mike Mignola

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

Bot-9 by Derek Laufman

She-Ra and the Princess of Power

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

website: nickj.ca

process blog: nicksoup.com

Jason Mehmel

twitter/instagram: @typewriterjason

website: jasonmehemel.com

Sho Uehara

website: shouehara.com
twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson

They Say It Builds CHARACTER...

Finishing off their first season with a bang, the PENCILTOWN crew discuss strategies for creating compelling characters that propel a story forward. How can we create characters that the audience can relate to, care about, and are compelled to follow through to the end of the journey? How do we create characters who aren't stereotypes and cliches?

After discussing strategies for writing characters, they delve into the artistic process to see how artists can bring them to life through shape, performance, and more. They share examples of how they have created characters in their own works, as well as characters and creative teams throughout pop culture that have resonated with them.

What does it all have to do with an impending Matter Eater Lad film? And will the fellas get drawn into yet another Star Wars debate? Tune in to find out!

Creators and Works Mentioned: 

Thomas King

Michael Crichton

Grant Morrison

Cory Doctorow

Doctorow's Rules for Writers

Maria Stoian

Maggy Garrison

The Usual Suspects

Star Wars - The Last Jedi

The Office (US)

Rian Johnson

Knives Out

Batman EGO by Darwyn Cooke

Frank MIller

Watchmen

Chuck Jones

Fiona Staples

Rob Liefeld

Richard III (Ian McKellen)

A History of Violence - Comic

A History of Violence - Movie

Road to Perdition - Comic

Road to Perdition - Movie

Hayao Miyazaki

Daredevil by Brian Bendis & Alex Maleev

Emily Carroll

Bone by Jeff Smith

Old Souls by Brian McDonald

Concrete by Paul Chadwick

Alan Moore

Lazarus by Greg Rucka

Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro

Hellboy by Mike Mignola

Robert Owen

John James Audubon

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Ed Asner

Bob Hoskins

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

website: nickj.ca

process blog: nicksoup.com

Jason Mehmel

twitter/instagram: @typewriterjason

website: jasonmehemel.com

Sho Uehara

website: shouehara.com
twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson

It's All Part of the PROCESS

The PENCILTOWN crew dives into the comic-making process from beginning to end! They tackle idea generation, scripting, visual thumbnails, colours and more, revealing not just HOW they make comics but WHY they do it this way! Is there one tried and true method?

 

Nick kicks it all off by asking what is purported to be the silliest of all questions: "Where do your ideas come from?" But will it prove to be the most important question? As they embark on their discussion, are these gentleman entering an enormous sandbox, or an endless kitty litter box? Is lightning any use without the bottle that captures it? What are the most challenging, fun and important parts of the process?

 

Creators and Works Mentioned: 

Greta Thunberg

 

Carl Jung: Man and His Symbols

 

Jung and Feminism: Liberating Archetypes

 

Death of the Author by Roland Barthes

 

Script Notes Podcast

 

Alan Moore: Writing for Comics

 

Soma FM

 

Atticus Ross (Musician)

 

Bernard Herman (Composer)

 

Trent Reznor

 

Nick discusses his ideal comic-making experience, and you can find the finished comic here: WE FEED ON CRUMBS OF SHADOW

Art Supplies/Tools:

 

Faber-Castell Sepia Pens

 

Clip Studio Paint

 

Procreate

 

Penciltown Spotlight:

 

Nick - Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling

Sho - Invisible Ink

You Are a Storyteller Podcast

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

website: nickj.ca

process blog: nicksoup.com

Jason Mehmel

twitter/instagram: @typewriterjason

website: jasonmehemel.com

Sho Uehara

website: shouehara.com
twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson

The Penciltown Bump-In: JILLIAN FLECK

On today’s mini-episode, Nick will be “bumping into” JILLIAN FLECK who was kind enough to share some hobbies, obsessions and recommendations, as well as some insight on how to prevent burnout, overcome creative roadblocks, and strategies for maintaining an artist’s mental health. They both share many laughs while admiring the many dogs that roam the PENCILTOWN streets and reveal where to gain inspiration from outside of comics. The fun and inspiring episode ran a little longer than intended, but it is so damn good, we couldn’t imagine trimming anything. Not even the part where Nick talks about burying himself up to his neck! Enjoy!

A multidisciplinary artist and storyteller, JILLIAN FLECK specializes in comics. Their graphic novel Lake Jehovah, an epic tale of love, loss, and hooking up during the apocalypse, was published by Conundrum Press in 2016. Jillian's comics have been included in anthologies such as Dirty Diamonds and Dirty Rotten Comics, featured by the online comic magazine Comics Workbook, and they recently published an academic article in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. Their work can be found online at jillianfleck.com and on Instagram @jillian.fleck

Jillian's Recommendations:

Yoshiharu Tsuge, translated by Ryan Holmberg - THE MAN WITHOUT TALENT

Kai Cheng Thom - FIERCE FEMMES AND NOTORIOUS LIARS

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on Twitter @penciltownpod – or via email: the penciltownpodcast@gmail.com. Show notes are available at www.thepenciltownpodcast@blogspot.com.

THEME - Part Two: The Reckoning

In the sequel to their smash first episode on THEME, the Penciltown crew continue their discussion, focusing on how a Theme can be used throughout the creative process to guide us through a story. They explore how it can be used to develop, setting, characters and endings, and Jason takes us down a Hotel Calfornia-esque cul-de-sac to discuss idea factories. And what does this all have to do with an ice-cold fish slap in the face? Tune in to find out!

Penciltown Spotlight:

Nick - THREE SHADOWS by Cyril Pedrosa

Jason - THE MURDERBOT DIARIES by Martha Wells

Sho - OLD SOULS by Brian McDonald and Les McClaine

Other Works and Creators Mentioned:

• Craig Mazin, John August - SCRIPTNOTES podcast
• John Truby - THE ANATOMY OF STORY
• K.M. Weiland
• Brian McDonald
• STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE (Disney) - streaming on DISNEY+
• J.J. Abrams
• WONDER WOMAN (Warner Bros.) - streaming on NETFLIX

Contributor Socials:

Nick Johnson

twitter/instagram: @illustratednick

website: nickj.ca

process blog: nicksoup.com

Jason Mehmel

twitter/instagram: @typewriterjason

website: jasonmehemel.com

Sho Uehara

website: shouehara.com
twitter: @ShoKeepsDrawing
instagram: @shouehara

For comments and episode suggestions, you can contact the pod on twitter: @penciltownpod - or via email: thepenciltownpodcast@gmail.com.

Music and editing for the podcast provided by Nick Johnson