<![CDATA[Artificial Sunrise - A Space Opera - Blog]]>Sat, 25 May 2013 16:46:45 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Remember, remember, the 5th of November]]>Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:43:24 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/11/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november.htmlPicture
Greetings again, folks, and welcome back to the blog. We've got some big updates to throw your way, so without further ado, here they come.

First off, last weekend was the annual Artificial Sunrise gathering in sunny LA. We're a smaller bunch now than we once were, but we're cranking out gold like never before! During four hazy days holed up in R.D.'s apartment in Beverly Hills, we were able to cover some long overdue ground towards working out the format conundrum that has been crippling our forward momentum. We brewed up some killer new ideas on how to deliver this monster, and we're really excited to start releasing chapters into the wild soon. Speaking of, we've also managed to develop a feasible schedule to work from, which is entirely new ground for us! We're still working on polishing it up, but you can expect to see some published release dates sometime very soon, which we're going to pull out all the stops in order to hit. And if that's not enough awesomeness for you, you'll soon be able to see the first 8 pages of the book! Even though it seems like we've been going in circles for a good long while now, we can finally see a tiny speck of light at the end of this tunnel, and damn it feels good!

Also, for those of you that didn't make it out, The Projects was a hit two weekends ago at the IPRC. They had some amazing talent offering up their time for panel discussions, a killer poster gallery, and some really cool interactive booths that had everyone involved and having a good time. Many thanks to Lisa Magnum and Dunya Jankovic for taking the reigns of the show, and for everyone who worked with them to make it awesome. Here are some pics if you care to see 'em!
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Finally, for any of you who might actually read this in the next 22 hours, the IPRC is also hosting a film night tomorrow night, November 5, for a special screening of Cartoon College, about the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. If you've got a couple of free hours from 8-10 pm, come on out! It's only 5 bonesaws, and Alec Longstreth will be in attendance for a little Q&A after the show. And who who doesn't love a little Q&A now and again, eh?! 

PS - My friend Barry Deutsch just released his second Hereville book this week, How Mirka Met a Meteorite. What I've seen of it so far has been stellar, so pop onto his website for a little preview!

Thanks for reading, and we'll (hopefully) see you sooner rather than later!
]]><![CDATA[New Comics course at PNCA]]>Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:05:38 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/10/new-comics-course-at-pnca.htmlPicture
Our Trio caught by the puppet master, Torque!
Here we are again, friends. Another month has come and gone with no word from the Artificial Sunrise crew. But it's not for lack of effort. After putting out our promo and getting some solid feedback from the public, we've gone back to the drawing board to refine our approach and really nail down our style. We've got loads of new concept art to share, and we're hoping that our format conundrum is finally working itself out. Now that the pop-up project has wound down, over the next several months I'll be doing my best to upload content as it comes, so that you all can share in the delights of watching this beast grow. And thanks to a new course at PNCA that just started last week, I think we'll finally be in a position to stay true to that goal! The course is an 8-week Careers in Comics course, with Brett Warnock from Top Shelf. Brett's a great guy with a wealth of comics knowledge from over 15 years in the business, who also happens to be a pleasure to go drinking with. As a final project for the class, we'll be working on media kits for our respective projects, so I'm stoked to get that underway! (If you're not familiar with Top Shelf, or it's been awhile since you've seen their new releases, pop over to their website and check them out.\ I just read through Wizzywig recently, which was superb as well as informative. Who knew computer hacking started out as phone phreaking? I sure didn't!)

As an added bonus, I just moved into a new house off of Foster and Holgate, conveniently located near the Shared Space studio where we hold our workgroup meetings. So not only will I finally have a garage to set up a proper Artifical Sunrise workspace in, I'm also only a 5-minute walk away from instant feedback and critique! Things really are coming up Roses in the City of!

For now, whet your AS appetites (which I'm sure are insatiable) with this new sketch from R.D.'s drawing table. There's loads more where this came from, so stay tuned till next week, and I promise we won't disappoint!

-J
]]><![CDATA[IPRC Reading!]]>Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:47:03 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/07/iprc-reading.htmlWe've wrapped up the final round of classes for the IPRC certificate program, and we're heading into graduation next week! Finally! We're following that the next night with a reading at Reading Frenzy, so if you're interested in checking out what my classmates and I have been up to this last year, stop on by next Thursday, August 9, from 7-9 pm. We'll be serving refreshments as well, so come and see the unveiling of the pop-up book if you care!

-J]]><![CDATA[Top Five list for June 2012]]>Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:24:33 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/07/top-five-list-for-june-2012.htmlThis post is entirely unrelated to comics, but it may interest you to hear some of the weird shit that goes down in my life. Just for kicks, I’ve decided to put together a Top Five list of things I was a part of last month, as a way of documenting how bizarre my life has become in recent years. I hope to compile one of these every month from here on out, and maybe someday I'll do something retro-actively for months past. There’s been some undocumented gold in the last several years…

In June 2012, I:

1) Managed to get stranded on Puff (the Vespa) 5 miles from home without a spare clutch cable, forcing me to drive home entirely in 1st gear, weaving and winding through the back road stop signs and sprinting through stop lights in neutral.

2) Went skating underneath a giant Wurlitzer organ at Oaks Park, the longest-running amusement park in the states.

3) Locked myself out of my apartment at 11:00 pm with a dead phone and an out of town super, leaving me with no options but to hop on a bus and ride till I could find either an all night strip club or diner in which to pass the night. I first found some strip clubs, but I held out for the diner for economic reasons, wherein I proceeded to doze in a booth by the window over endless cups of coffee and a collection of Bloom County strips until 5:00 am.   

4) Failed miserably at making a batch of tortillas at my friend Jason’s house (which I swear I’ve done successfully several times in the past) after having the worst work day on record at my current place of employment. Luckily, someone else showed up with some tortillas for the taco bar.

5) Sat next to a 60-year-old Elvis on the bus, met a guy who is planning on launching a professional wrestling business based in Portland, bought a new pair of boots that gave me blisters in a record-breaking 15 minutes, and stood 2 feet away as a woman walked past muttering, “Excuse me, excuse me, gotta let it go, gotta let it go,” before relieving herself in the street just outside my apartment (fortunately the curb served as a buffer between any errant splashing and said new boots), all in the same day.  

All in all, I managed to survive a seemingly more down month than up, but now we’re finally on to July 2012 and my 29th year of existence, for which I’ve planned many great things. So here’s to making them happen, starting yesterday!

- J]]><![CDATA[Joe Sacco and Press Gang]]>Sun, 01 Jul 2012 06:16:24 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/06/joe-sacco-and-press-gang.html This week was another one full of guest speakers at the IPRC, so in case you're interested, here's a little on that.

On Monday, Joe Sacco and Chris Hedges gave a talk at Powell's about their newest collaboration, Days of Destruction Days of Revolt. It's a beast of a book documenting their travels through the roughest patches of our country's heartland, dubbed “sacrifice zones.” It details the destruction wrought by corporate greed on tiny towns all across America, from cities in Florida overrun with immigrant exploitation, to ghost towns in North Dakota faced with constant flooding from over-mining, to Appalachian villages destroyed by mountain blasting. The talk was far from uplifting, but they did their best to keep the faith alive. The Days of Revolt chapters detail the struggles of recent movements to combat the root of most of these problems, like the Occupy movement and its offshoots. I can't say that I left the presentation in a better mood than I went in, but at least it was informative, and hopefully their work will be instrumental in somewhat slowing the cannibalization of our country. 

On Wednesday, and on a much lighter note, Zack Soto and Francois Vigneault came to offer us a panel discussion on their recently formed collective, Press Gang. Zack and Francois are both indie publishers (of Study Group Comics and Family Style, respectively), and, along with Floating World Comics owner Jason Leivian, decided it would be a good idea to join forces to help promote one another’s work. Aside from the mutual benefits of knowledge sharing and camaraderie that come from being part of a collective (Francois and Zack share a studio), one of the biggest benefits they’ve experienced is their increased coverage of shows and conventions. Rather than each of them needing to be present to rep their stuff at every con, if just one or two of them can make it, all three of them will have their wares out on display. So far, the union seems to be working quite nicely for them, and they hinted at having some tricks up their sleeves for the near future. So keep an eye on them if you like cool shit!

And that’s about enough of my blather for now, so I’ll bid you all a fond adieu until next time.

-J  

]]><![CDATA[All Hail Olympia!]]>Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:28:45 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/06/all-hail-olympia.htmlYesterday was the 11th annual Olympia Comics Fest, the first convention we've had a table at to call our own! Or at least, mostly our own. I went up with classmates from the IPRC program, and we split a few tables so we could each have a section to peddle/distribute our wares. I had a hell of a time chatting with all the other exhibitors and the fine folk that came out to peruse our stuff, and I managed to come away from the show with some stellar trades. Of note: a Swamp Thing print from Nathan of vaudevillecomic.com, a Platyclaus X-mas card from Abe and Angela of Flying Dodo Publications, and a sweet issue of Elfworld put out by Family Style. The guests of honor were great to listen to, and I've got interactive comics on my mind now thanks to Jason Shiga. I checked out his iPad app for Meanwhile, and it's lodged something in my brain that I don't anticipate will be coming loose anytime soon. As opposed to all the other stuff that's lodged up there, which seems to be rattling its way out more rapidly than ever! ]]><![CDATA[Trailer posted.]]>Mon, 14 May 2012 05:07:42 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/05/trailer-posted.htmlFinally. We've made it through the Prologue, for better or for worse. Check it out on the trailer tab. You (hopefully) won't be disappointed. ]]><![CDATA[It's about bloody time...]]>Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:43:18 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2012/02/its-about-bloody-time.htmlWelcome to 2012, everyone! It's been awhile since the site has gotten an update, but it's finally arrived. Despite evidence to the contrary, we've been hard at work behind the scenes the last couple of months, and fantastical things await us in the days ahead. If you don't believe me, check out the updated Concepts page, where you'll witness R.D. quickly becoming a master of his craft. The site has also undergone some long-overdue maintenance, so it should operate a little more smoothly from here on out. 


I hope you all enjoy the new content, because I sure as hell do. We're about to crack this bitch wide open, so get ready for the ride. The year of the beast is upon us.

-KG ]]><![CDATA[Why do I always have to title these things?]]>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:40:31 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2011/12/why-do-i-always-have-to-title-these-things.htmlGot a few more concepts up for your viewing pleasures. Their presentation is a bit crude at this point, but I'll get them cropped and balanced sooner or later. For now I just wanted to get something new up and move on. 

This last week was a good one. Thanksgiving break was a great time to relax and crush some long-overdue library books, and meeting up with my mentor earlier in the week was as promising as I'd hoped for. His current project is mind-bendingly awesome, and I discovered that there's a sequel to E.T., but only as a novel. When I finally get my hands on a copy, you can expect a full report. 

More to come when it comes.

-George ]]><![CDATA[Behind the times]]>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:29:46 GMThttp://artificialsunrise.com/1/post/2011/11/behind-the-times.htmlWell, looks like I've already failed on my promise to keep this updated every week, but I'll continue to do the best I can. Things have been brewing lately, but most of it has been plotting and planning, so there's not a lot to show for it yet. The latest draft of the story is well underway, with some major breakthroughs wrapping up most of the remaining loose ends, and Project LN is proceeding nicely. More updates should be coming from that front shortly after the first of the year. An Occurrence, the first short we filmed for PMP's upcoming, "Dire Digest," is finally nearing a complete cut, which means it will soon be off to lighting and sound correction. And lastly, our final comics project is right around the corner, which promises to keep me busy for the next couple of weeks. Luckily, I've gotten ahold of my mentor for the rest of the program, and I anticipate some quality stuff coming out of our camp once we get a chance to meet up next week. Check him out at awesomebuttrue.com.

That's all the updates for now, but until the next, keep it real, friends. I swear to you one day your time spent coming back to this site will all be made worthwhile.

Happy holidays, everybody!

-KG  ]]>