Weekly Update: 5-1-13

Hi everyone! Welcome to a new journal series of mine I like to call, my Weekly Update!

What this is about is that I write about mostly what's been happening so far in the time of each entry, but aside from that, I actually give out plans, hopes, and thoughts for the future, my current events happening in the time of each entry, and give thanks and shout outs. I also give invaluable advice on learning and creating comics, TV animation, video games, and movies (though only in terms of 2D art and writing). I will also be giving demonstrations, not how-to-do drawings, for drawing popular characters from the massive pop culture roster I have in my gallery.

Now, I know my drawings are not too professional at this point, but it's something I'm doing for fun and to act on the one big piece of advice I was given to get noticed on deviantArt: comment on others' drawings before they comment on yours. I have already been commenting on other's drawings, but I would also want to let you know that I am able to give basic advice only for the absolute beginner at this time; like for those who don't have ANY knowledge of how to draw comic book/animation style. This will be updated weekly, but I will have no set schedule, so please be patient.

Now, shall we get started.

Personal Situation:

. I am getting close to finishing my second semester at college. YAY! This means a few things for me, all of them special. For one thing, I am leaving my current college this summer for my dreams and goals in the comics and pop culture world. Second, I am going to go to the schools necessary for to achieve these dreams and goals: Comics Experience (the online comic creation academy), Academy of Art University Online, The Animation Academy, and the Los Angeles Film School. Hopefully I'll get internships, or better yet,, jobs at the following companies:

1. Marvel
2. DC Comics
3. Nickelodeon
4. Disney
5. Cartoon Network
6. Warner Bros. Animation
7. Activision
8. Paramount Pictures
9. Universal Pictures
10. Hasbro
11. Mattel

A lot of work, huh?

. My grandmother who lives with me is getting discharged from the hospital tomorrow after some time there following an incident where she fell, but she'll need physical therapy to move again. She basically could not move too well for a few days until she fell, and she felt pretty bad physically. She's doing better comparatively, but she will need physical therapy to move again. Please leave your prayers that she gets better soon. I want her to move well again since she is a nice grandmother who loves me so much. I love her back.

. I am waiting anxiously for the Avengers Assemble cartoon on Disney XD. I know The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes was phenomenal, but I am waiting for the Avengers Assemble show because I'm trying to catch a new show this decade that is expected to be a success. I missed a lot of shows like that which premiered in 2010-2011, but I am hoping to catch more superhero shows and cartoon reboots that I haven't missed. I missed The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Young Justice, GI Joe: Renegades, Transformers: Prime, T.U.F.F. Puppy, Sym-Bionic Titan, Voltron Force, Thundercats 2011, Power Rangers: Samurai, The Looney Tunes Show, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and so many others (though I did catch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 and Max Steel on iTunes). Most of these were great superhero shows and cartoon reboots, and I can't afford to miss more. As a bonus, I am hoping for a lot of new superhero shows and cartoon reboots which is more that I will catch than what I've missed. I have a list based on confirmed cartoons on various internet sources, opinions of what I think would be great, and personal ideas I have for each show, but I'll post them later today. I think you'll like them.

. Last but not least, here's some advice for aspiring creators that I believe as helped a lot an hopefully will help you as much:

1. When you are an artist/writer for comics, be sure to write the scripts first for your comics. You will have an idea of what will happen in the story that you will be drawing.

2. When you write your stories, be sure the characters you write, whether they are preexisting or original, have to be true to what they were created to be. This applies especially for when you are writing stories for preexisting characters. In this case, you have to do your research on the characters and be able to understand at least their basic information and histories. You should even know the character's development and how they have changed during the course of their history. You may also need to know that research skills are essential for this.

3. When you are an artist, you need to know that everything you see is made of shapes. Circle, squares, triangles, and even imaginary shapes are used by artists to create form. This includes simple things like a TV monitor being a square, a cup being a cylinder (indeed), and more complicated things like a human form done with boxes, cylinders, and imaginary shapes (the circular skull and the square jaw).

4. If you are to create new intellectual properties for comic books, TV animation, video games, and movies, try to make sure your work is perfectly original. You can't compare yourself to others but you can be inspired by their works. If you are inspired, try to add a lot of new stuff to whatever it is they're working on, and you will have an original work. For example, if you like superhero movies and are inspired by them to make something similar, you need to put themes (the morals of the story), original stories, and original characters completely unique from the rest.

5. You can make characters for any genre based on particular guidelines according to the genre. For example, if you're working on a superhero comic, you need to make the character's powers, stories, personalities, appearances, and unique traits, well, unique to every other character you believe your audience knows from before. A good example of this is a character that has the ability to generate a powerful energy that can use to create anything in the universe who was betrayed by his evil brother who wanted to take his energy who is kind, humorous, and perseverant with a wide variety of vehicles and weapons that generate his energy to make them work. Most of this applies to action cartoons as well, but if you're creating a comedy character, your imagination is quite boundless; you can give the character any kind of situation and put him anywhere you want him to since comedy cartoons are more varied than superheroes and action cartoons. A good example of this is a teenage astronaut who goes on various adventures in space assigned to him by NASA and Area 51 to find aliens and find their technologies only for the technology to go wrong and thus resulting in chaotic and humorous adventures.

6. If you're making a story or premise or character or any concept for a blockbuster franchise, give the most unique thing you can think of for everything in the franchise. Be particularly original and imaginative. Look for ideas everywhere and anywhere you go. I recommend the toy store, your DVD collection's behind-the-scenes features, and even other media like comic books, TV cartoons, video games, and movies. See their behind the scenes features and find out how they were made. What was used to make them and see the thought process behind conceiving the concepts. This is also helpful if you are looking to see what techniques are used to create the media you're hoping to make. Also, read about the high profile franchises (Marvel, DC Comics, GI Joe, He Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, Transformers, Voltron, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gears of War, God of War, Halo, Robocop, Rambo, Star Wars, Power Rangers, Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network, etc.). See what unique things made them special and read enough about it to see what you could do yourself. This applies to any kind of story, premise, character, and concept you hope to make.

So anyhow, there's my weekly update. More journal posts and follow ups to come later today. See you soon!