Independent Propaganda

TOMORROW’S STUDIOS TODAY

Chris Tinkler, Independent Propaganda – aceofspadescomics@gmail.com

http://www.independentpropaganda.com http://aceofspadescomics.blogspot.com

Column #1

The Writers of Apocalypse

Creators of Akashik

http://www.akashikonline.com

Tomorrow’s Studios Today is a semi-regular feature exclusively for Independent Propaganda. The intent of this column is to both educate and entertain, hopefully giving other SP/SP (Small-Press/Self-Publishers) ideas on how to set-up their own studios (without breaking the bank, or buying/renting space). Also, the creators featured in this column will let us into their creative process, in as far as the materials they use… passing on any tips they can.

The Writers of the Apocalypse are an all-woman creative team based out of several locations throughout the country. Their primary “home”, however, is Jacksonville, Florida. Writer/Artist, Katrina Joyner was kind enough to allow us into the home studio where all the magic happens.

First, a little background on the ladies’ work… the Web-Comic, Akashik.

Taus is a women with a past haunted by her future. She does what any woman given a mission she doesn’t want does: steals the closest ship, trades it in for a more ’upgraded’ module, suffers from ship malfunctions that just might kill her one day; questions the days she lets a flighty jabbering mechanic live and lives to drink another day. Her world is filled with people both living and non-living, real and some not so real in a vast universe filled with mythological and advanced civilizations. With a mechanic that might take off at any moment to a corrupt Empire that will soon start hunting her, Taus has her hands full.

Now, on to the Studio:

First we enter the Kitchen:

As you probably can tell, the main office isn’t exactly geared for artwork on a flat surface. So suddenly the adjoining dining room to the kitchen becomes - KITCHEN OFFICE, which means I (or Miss Pinder, depending on what’s getting done) basically lay out my papers and pens like a grade school kid doing their homework and get busy. When I’m done for the day I pack everything up neatly and file them in their proper places back in the main office.

Here’s my personal desk that houses two of the four computers used to make Akashik. It’s the first view you get when you walk through the office door. It hosts the Wacom tablet and two of the computers used to make Akashik. Well, I suppose it hosts three if you count Rebecca’s computer sitting beside the printer.

I, and thus the team by default, am very fortunate that I have a geek family and very good friends. For example, the computer underneath my desk (named Soka) was a gift from my brother when he was getting rid of surplus from the college where he works. More than that, he insisted I have it although I didn’t want it at the time. LOL… The Wacom tablet - a gift from a friend when her boyfriend bought her a larger one - is hooked to Soka. Thanks to it I am able to color the pages to Akashik, although the line art is done entirely by hand. I guess you could say that Soka is the main art computer, but this is a recent development.

The computer inside my desk (named Charlie) is my baby that I upgrade, shift and toy with when I get extra money. Somewhere inside of him is a part that I’ve had from a former computer, and if I ever upgrade in a major way the tradition will continue. He’s the main computer where most of the communication, photos, web-work, and overall business stuff from my end happen. Sometimes I’ll use him for the artwork, too. *pats her baby*

The third computer on my desk I believe is simply called “slave” or something - It’s Rebecca’s so I’ve never memorized the name. That is what the scanner is hooked to, and without that Akashik wouldn’t look as good as it does. When the time comes, Rebecca takes the paper and scans it in for me to play with. That wire dangling out of it is from where my older brother and his friends repaired a broken off switch that was preventing her from getting anything done. Viva geek family.

Well, we’re girls so that means we care a little bit for our figures and not staring at the same space all of the time. Borrowing some of the philosophy used in the creative offices of Neopets and other professional organizations, we try to move around and add color to our work environment. We have a policy of taking walks, driving or just outright being active while discussing plot development. (Someday we’ll be able to have an entire gym for this purpose.) This is important because without that activity, a lot of the flavor in Akashik might not be there.

As a result the laptop is our scriptwriting device. It, Pretty Sammy, is a Frankenstein made from scraps courtesy of my father and comes from a time when I was working as an archeologist in the field. Her battery lasts all of 1 hour, but it’s enough considering she usually gets plugged in the kitchen office. That way our eyes are given a break from Charlie’s, Slave’s and Soka’s evil gamma rays. However, if the scriptwriting session requires a trip to Borders or the park Sammy comes along.

When I first started doing Web-Comics, I had an older version of Charlie, pen, paper, watercolors, and a scanner. (Good Lord was the artwork horrible back then!!!) I didn’t even have a private space to put things, but rather shoved it all into a corner of my mother’s dining room. I organized it and kept to the practices in use today: organization and encouraging the creative juices. Avenia was a hit, and I still have some of the fan art. So long as you know how to use the tools you have, your comic can be well-done and professional. It’s all in your attitude.

Independent Propaganda would like to thank Katrina Joyner and all the ladies of the Writers of the Apocalypse for their assistance in putting this column together. We encourage you to check out their work at www.akashikonline.com. Katrina can be reached at, pigibraid@yahoo.com or via their website at battle-of-angels@lycos.com.

Chris Tinkler is a wannabe comicbook creator from Brooklyn, New York now living outside Phoenix,

Chris Tinkler
http://aceofspadescomics.blogspot.com
AIM: aceofspadescomix