In my last post I talked about remastering/relettering the Makeshift Miracle pages to get them ready for printing as a book. Let me explain in a bit more detail what that means.

When I first did Makeshift I was still learning about HTML, Photoshop and everything web-related. I’m still learning a ton, but I’ve gained quite a bit more skill, especially with Photoshop.

Each page of Makeshift Miracle was hand drawn and then scanned in at 300dpi (dots per inch). That’s a standard print resolution. For lettering and coloring those pages though, I’d downsize the line art to 72dpi (standard computer monitor resolution). It made the process way faster on my slow computer back in the day and meant I didn’t have to fiddle with details, but it also meant that the pages were less than 1/3 as sharp as they needed to be in order to be cleanly printed as a book.

Using those original files now, even with Photoshop trickery, it would still print quite fuzzy.

The good news is that I saved almost all the high-resolution line work scans. Since the coloring and lettering is on separate layers in Photoshop, I can upsize the layered PSD files and swap out the low resolution line art.

At the same time, I’m also using the lettering knowledge I’ve gained while at Udon to improve the readability and give the whole thing more consistency. Fixing a few typos, awkward sentences and grammatical errors doesn’t hurt either.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

Sorry I haven’t posted much since I got back. The post-vacation/pre-San Diego Comic Con time here has been a tornado of things to do, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The print proofs for this summer’s convention-exclusive Udon Sketchbook look amazing. The 48 page full color booklet is jammed with the best personal works or rough material we gathered from the crew. You will not be disappointed. Last year I had 2 pages inside with a mix of old and current work. This year it contains 4 pages of my artwork, all current stuff culled from the sketch paintings and work I’ve been posting here since mid-May. The sketchbook is a great cross section of our gang and a bit of a time capsule as far as who was involved with the company and what kind of work they’re capable of producing.

And then there’s the book.

I debated about whether or not to post this announcement so soon. I’ve been working my butt off on it since I got back, but haven’t posted anything, so I was worried that people would think my personal artwork kick had died down or that I’d gotten post-Cuba lazy; Quite the opposite actually.

Ever since Makeshift Miracle wrapped up in mid 2003 I’ve had people ask me about when I was going to get it published. I’ve talked with a couple small publishers about releasing it, gotten some print quotes here and there, but never been able to move forward with it. Life got in the way – work commitments, moving back to Toronto, relationship stuff… the further away I got from it the more I wondered if it was worth putting in print at all. People would bring it up every so often after that, but I’d mentally back burnered the whole thing indefinitely.

Some of my friends in Toronto, most notably Chris, Mike and Eric, really hammered me about it.

“Stop wallowing in whether you should do it and just do it.”
“You’ve got a complete graphic novel that had a solid readership. Are you an idiot?”
“You’re part owner of a fucking publisher! Why isn’t Udon publishing your book?”
“If you don’t get Makeshift Miracle out by SPX, I will kill you.”

You have to understand that my boss Erik doesn’t read indy books. His mainstream access and contacts are unbelievable, but he’s not a web comic guy or involved with small press. Me asking the company to print my surreal coming-of-age story just felt wrong for the longest time. Publishing with another company would mean less control, less royalties and more headaches, but I didn’t even consider Udon an option. It didn’t matter how many readers I had or how much praise I’d gotten for it, I never asked because I didn’t want it to feel like vanity publishing.

The conversation ended up going something like this:

Jim: “Um, Erik. I was wondering… You know my web comic thingee, right?”
Erik: ”Makeshift Man or something… yeah. What about it?”
Jim: “Do you think it would be possible for Udon to publish it? I’ll take care of all the pre-press stuff on it and make sure it doesn’t lose a dime for the company, I just need to know if you’re interested at all.”
Erik: “You mean it’s done?”
Jim:“Uh, yeah. It was done before I even met you.”
Erik: “Oh yeah? All I saw were those preview pages on your site. How big is it?”
Jim: “172 pages.”
Erik: “Holy shit, dude. Why didn’t you tell me?”

The conversation rolled from there. Last week I wrote the solicitation text for the 2007 book market catalogues and Diamond Previews solicitation that will come out in a couple months. I’ve gotten printer templates and started laying the book out, as well as remastering and relettering the pages. I’ll go over the joys and nightmares of that in my next post.

The important thing is that it’s actually going to come out.

There’s a lot to do before it’s ready and you may get sick of my posts about it, but right now I’m pretty damn happy.

Thanks, as always, for your love and support.

Sketches done one morning at the beach bar in Cuba:

I’m still kind of in shock at how good the resort was and how well the vacation went for such a low price. We had one day that was overcast with about 20 minutes of rain. The other days were all shimmering sunshine and unbelievable heat. The resort was about half full, making it even easier to get a seat for dinner, maximize beach space or take a dip in the pool without interference.

The buffet area we ate at most of the time had good food, though not crazy gourmet or anything. Each night had a different theme – the Mexican night was particularily good, with hand made taco shells and lots of fixin’s.

There was also an Italian and Cuban sit down restaurant you could book at in advance to enjoy a higher class meal. I ate there twice and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The drinks were plentiful. It was fun trying new cocktails or shots and not worrying about a “drink budget” or how to get home if we drank too much. There wasn’t a rushed sense of “needing to get drunk” or maximising every drink.

The staff was very friendly and helpful, with most of them speaking some degree of english. They were happy to get tips, but didn’t expect them (in fact the resort has a sign clearly stating that tips are not required). I heard from other people that some of the resorts in Veradaro are staffed a lot by students who tend to be exhausted (school all day, working all night) and desperate for tips. The Jibacoa resort was staffed by adults and almost all of them seemed quite happy with their jobs.

Even though the resort is only for people aged 14+ it wasn’t a major party spot. There’s a little dance club at the resort and the bar and pool is open 24 hours, but this wasn’t a wild of vacation place. The atmosphere is laid back, which was exactly what I needed.

The trip wasn’t perfect. I accidentally slammed my pinkie toe into a door frame mid-week and woke up to find it black and blue the next morning, so I was limping around the resort for a couple days afterwards. The tour into Havana that we took on the Friday was blisteringly hot and our tour group was swarmed by beggars, which was depressing and hard to deal with. Even still, those two things were pretty minor compared to the quality of the resort and the amazing time that encompassed the rest of the trip.

If you want any specific info about where we stayed or recommendations on what to bring to Cuba, let me know. I’m pretty serious about going again at some point and it would be kind of cool to get a gaggle of people all going at once some day.

Some cool work news and other things coming in my next post.

How good was my vacation in Cuba?

Click here to find out…

Samantha wrote a fantastic guest article for the One Step column… check it out!

One Step 13: Talking With a Submissions Editor

Tough schedule today… relaxing is hard work! 😉

The flight and arrival in Cuba went just fine. We got into the actual hotel at around 10pm, so the sky was already dark and we couldn’t tell exactly what our surroundings looked like. Waking up this morning to grab breakfast, it felt like we’d stepped out into some kind of tropical paradise. Unbelievable sights here.

I think it’s going to take me a day or two to fully realize that I don’t have to be doing anything in particular… that there’s nothing pressing I have to work on or schedule I have to keep this week. Once that really sinks in… oh man, I don’t even know how that’ll feel.

The internet is unfortunately a bit slow and on the limited side, so I’ll have to keep this brief for now. I’ll have a swack of photos and a full run through when I get back, possibly puntuated by a tiny post or two this coming week.

I just wanted everyone to know that I’m in Cuba, safe and having a blast so far. Many more drinks await… in fact I think one’s calling to me now… 🙂

Looks like I’m not the only one updating things, heh.

After a few months of organizing and making tweaks, the Udon company website has finally woken up again. It’s a portfolio site showing samples of the studio’s artwork as well as our extensive client list.

Exalted #4 is in stores next Wednesday, but it’s available now as an official PDF at Drive Thru RPG. Now that Drive Thru has D&D products available as PDFs they’ve truly become the site for electronic RPG releases.

It’s been just over a month since I made a commitment to generate more art for myself and get back in touch with my own creativity.

I’ve done digital mini paintings about every other day and attended one life drawing session per week.

Looking at it now, it was absolutely the right decision.

I feel better and am more excited about my art than I have been in years. I can see improvement in my work and the enthusiasm from it is spilling over into other parts of my life, both personal and professional.

Tying it all together, last night I updated my personal art site for the first time since November 2004:
Zubkavision

I have some other artwork to still add to the site this week. Even still, I’m much more happy with the work there and the new material that’s been generated in the past month.

I’ve had long stretches where I felt like I could only administrate, manage or schmooze; that my artwork was worthless compared to other working professionals I know and that I wasn’t cut out for doing the actual art end of things. The latest stretch of creative doubt was probably the worst I’ve ever had since I first decided to become an artist for a living. Breaking free of that drought this past month has been absolutely amazing.

There will always be stronger artists and people with talent that blows me away. I know that. But for the first time in a long time I feel like I can hit a new plateau and do the kind of creative work that makes me happy. The critic and the creator inside me are actually working together instead of cancelling each other out.

Tonight’s another figure drawing session. More paintings are coming this week and development on my stories continues. I’m determined to have a kick ass creative summer.

Thank you all for your enthusiasm and feedback. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.