We have some exciting news! CCAS has moved to a new and improved version of our platform. Not only is it more powerful and better organized, it is completely responsive (looks great on all devices).
ATTN: MEMBERS WHO JOINED AFTER AUGUST 22, 2019
The only issue we are experiencing with this move:
Members who joined after August 22, 2019 WILL NEED TO RE-ENTER THEIR PROFILE QUESTION, ANSWERS. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience.
ALL MEMBERS:
We have added a new Profile Question: "Which Category best describes you?"
Categories: Amateur Artist, Professional Artist, Amateur Writer, Professional Writer, Independent Self-Publisher, Traditional Publisher, and Fan.
Please edit your Profile, and select your chosen category. By choosing the category that best describes you, will enable you to add content to the appropriate new modules:
1. Artists: Add photos to the new Arts & Prints Photo Module.
2. Writers: Add your bio information to the new Writers List Module.
3. Publishers: Add your bio information to the new Publishers List Module.
4. Publishers & Writers: Add books to the new Comic Books & Graphic Novels Module.
Comments
when i draw a picture i can imagine a story to go along with it... i think about it while i draw. so a drawing for me is like a single still frame from an epic event... not always, but most of the time. sometimes i draw things that are inspired from something i read in the bible, or something God is teaching me personally- and those are often single images with several layers. i put a lot of thought into my drawings. there is meaning in the symbols i use, the colors i choose etc. they mean things to me.
i imagine stories a lot. i like to make movies, so i also write a lot of scripts... and sometimes those script ideas, or the characters from them come into comic ideas.
not all of my ideas make it to a sketch pad. most of them are jotted down in notebooks, or journals... and sometimes if i'm inspired enough, i'll sit down and sketch some things out. i imagine what it might look like if it were a movie... and then i pick images and draw them, and i let my drawings fill up a page. there is not a lot of structure, i don't suppose, i just scribble until i like the way it looks. i try to keep it from being boring. i don't try to make it look like everyone else's comics... i just do what i like to look at. i want to draw comics that i would want to read... and look at... over and over.
i draw things i think are cool. and i put in messages that God is teaching me during the season that i am drawing those things. i try to think of creative stories that will propel those characters and have those messages come out in the process.
i'm always learning and trying different things. i do independent stuff because i don't want people dictating what i am going to draw and telling me what i have to say- i want God to guide my creative processes- art always has something to say
i believe we like some things, like styles of art, and flavors of ice cream, because God made us that way. so part of it is learning what you like... and then spending some time with that. and at least with art, the more artists you like and study, the more it shapes your personal style. i used to copy jim lee, and j. scott campbell, and some other artists - but then i started to find my own style from what i liked about their different styles.
what's hard about this is- that these guys, like so many guys and girls, are great artists. but they don't use their art for the glory of God... instead, their art is used by the ruler of the kingdom of the air- the evil one- for his glory. and so it's hard, as a christian to just pick up any comic or any series because yes, it may be full of good art, but its also probably full of not so good stuff. so we have to be careful, or we will be tempted to follow down that path and copy aspects of their art that need not be copied.
i think another important part of comics is story telling. you need to read stories, and write stories. personally, i like kids books the best- every now and then i'll get crazy and pick up something from the teen section. rarely do i get an adult story book. i read adult books about christianity and jesus but not when i want an imaginative story.
probably the biggest part of comics for me is the jesus part. i can't do it without him. we spend time together talking about ideas for stories, or characters. usually inspiration comes when i depend on him and just worship.
There are 3 levels of martial arts. The first level is to stop fighting with fighting... that is the lowest level. the second level is to stop fighting with imagination, with strength, and character, with your mind... with whatever tools you have inside. the third and highest level is to make your enemy your friend so that you don't have to fight at all.
As the story progresses you learn about Kellen's ideas and beliefs and you see how they affect his choices and affect the people he is around.
Book three is the final part of this particular story series, and in that, much of His faith, and mine, is expressed.
i started with only a few colors, because they are expensive- like $4 a marker. i wouldn't go crazy with buying markers until you know what you need. so plan your characters and your wardrobe colors in advance. keep it simple so you don't spend years coloring one page. remember that if you make color choices for one page, you will most likely have to repeat it over and over--- unless of course you change locations and or wardrobe with every page.
i would recommend getting some of the faber castle pitt manga markers... all black, with different size tips (get a set of 4 black pens- usually they are under $10), and a really good gum eraser.
that way after you pencil, you ink the lines you want to keep (having different size black artist pens helps keep your lines easy to see) then you erase the pencil with a really good gum eraser (you want to keep you pencil lines light, not too dark, or they won't erase all the way) - and then color. make sure you put something behind the paper when you color- otherwise it may bleed through.
thats pretty much it. pencils, black ink pens, an eraser, a few markers, some story ideas, some characters, and you are ready for a graphic novel.
i can't wait to see yours!
peace
what about you? do you have any stories you've been working on? i'll put some more of the knife heart road story up on my page so you can kind of see where it's going.
thanks again for taking the time to write on my page. joy in Christ
Patrick Davis
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