Hi, guys. I felt like making this blog post was important. This is because I want you guys to see how dedicated I am to getting this project done. I wouldn’t want you to guys to follow this blog wondering if I’m just some lazy butt that hasn’t gotten anything done. I don’t ever wanna be “all talk, no walk.” So, I’m gonna give ya a brief log of what I’ve done since starting this comic. (Warning: this may not look very brief due to a bunch of images I included to show my progress)
Firstly
I will confess that I wanted to make a comic book since January of 2019. I started working on a digital version of a sketchbook comic I made back in February 2018. However, I stopped working on it on May 3rd, 2019 (with only seven pages accomplished, smh).
By the time I paused on making the digital comic (which was actually the story “Just A Little Longer”), I was getting my very first apartment. I started a job at Amazon, which was the first time I ever had a full-time job. I had bills to pay and adult errands for the first time. I also met a notable Hollywood producer the year before. When we met in-person for a second time, I asked if he would give me tips on how to move forward with Space Grind. This man actually offered to read TWO OF MY SCRIPTS and look over FULL-BLOWN TV SHOW OUTLINES for Space Grind!! I spent most of 2020 working on the TV outlines, so I didn’t have the time to work on my optional comic book project. I got them done in the Summer, and got good feedback.
In October of 2020, I decided to quit my job at a grocery store. I don’t have a driver’s license, and kept having to use Lyft to get to work. When I was living at my apartment, it was literally just a four-minute walk from my home to my job. After my lease was up, I moved back in with my parents. It was a 15-minute drive to get to work. The Lyft rides were a lot of money. I was basically paying the same amount of money that I was making. I was lucky to leave on good terms, thankfully. I had good managers that understood.
Now that I didn’t have a job anymore, I had a bunch of time on my hands. I remembered the comic book I wanted to make back in 2019. I decided to work on the project. This time, I had the intention of actually getting it finished. Back when I first started, I had other commitments. I wasn’t as determined to get the comic book done. It was just for fun. In October, I decided to actually commit to getting the entire comic book done in a timely manner. So.. what have I been doing since then? Lemme tell ya:
October 2020
I started working on my comic book again. I completely finished my 10-page comic on the 14th. By the 19th, I completely finished a 3-page comic. After those got done, I had the desire to make a full-blown, 25-page story. It was around that time that I got the idea for “Corona is a Cabrona.” On October 24th, I started writing the script for it. It’s basically just a bunch of jokes about COVID-19. Pretty much a parody of all the ridiculous things that went down in 2020 (not the serious stuff, but the super dumb stuff like the TP crisis). I literally finished the script within 3 days! (with the exception of editing here and there as I was drawing the panels) It was so fun and everything went so smoothly! I sent it to some friends, and they all got a kick out of reading it! I was super excited to make all the drawings 😀
Here is the first page of the “Corona is a Cabrona” script. I wrote it out as a TV script. The look of the script is a lot like how it looks for the screenplay Get Out by Jordan Peele. To be honest, that is the only Hollywood script I’ve ever fully read. Scripts for animation don’t always look like this. In the Invader Zim comics, the writers actually type out the scripts like actual TV episodes. That’s the method I decided to use.Here is how the first page of the script looks in comic book form 🙂
November 2020
November was super stressful. The “Corona is a Cabrona” script was a breeze. However, the look for Trax’s home wasn’t finalized. I had no solid vision for what the interior nor exterior looked like. You’ll even notice in the other comics that Trax’s house looks different each time. For “Corona is a Cabrona,” I decided it was time to make an official design for Trax’s home.
I looked at countless references, drew up several amateur blueprints, and even spent money on a Steam game called Home Design 3D to try to get ideas. Guys.. I literally spent SEVEN HOURS trying to figure out what the damn house should look like!! And that’s just the time I spent in Home Design 3D. I don’t even know how many hours I spent doing other things to get the final look decided upon! Research, drawings, references, etc. Usually coming up with these type of things is fun for me, but this was actually quite stressful. I wasn’t even able to move forward with “Corona is a Cabrona” until the look was finalized. I only got one page done. Artist Block hit me pretty hard, too. That’s how I spent the majority of November. It was painful..
A drawing I made of Trax’s living room. I was not satisfied with it at all. It looked too much like a real-life living room as opposed to a sci-fi looking one. This was before I settled on making Trax’s house a retro alien saucer.Here is the super crappy look of Trax’s home using Home Design 3D. It was not the most fun experience I’ve had with world building.A “blueprint” of a possible layout of Trax’s home.This was actually a pretty cool thing to learn about. As I was doing research for Trax’s alien saucer neighborhood, I learned that there is an IRL one in FRICKIN’ TAIWAN!! I definitely looked at images of the actual houses. Sadly, the neighborhood is abandoned 😦This drawing was made around the time Trax’s home was finally looking somewhat decent. Trax’s home used to belong to a group of aliens that would do classic alien tropes like abducting people & animals, and then ass probing them. I decided this retro style should contrast with the most “sophisticated” look of Zeyrion City. I actually have plans in place to make a future comic book that focuses on Zeyrion City.Here’s another screenshot of me using Home Design 3D. As you can see, I did not have much to work with. This is supposed to be Trax’s office.This was made on May 24th, but just another example of how long it took to make Trax’s home feel right.
Here’s how the men’s bedroom looks in “Just A Little Longer” vs. “Corona is a Cabrona.”
December 2020
December is where the real action is. Even though the work I did in November was necessary, this is when most of the pages got made. I got EIGHT pages completed during this month. I got so much done! 😀 I can’t really show you any of the pages I made during this time (ya know.. spoilers n such). But take my word for it that a lot got done during this month. I also got eight pages printed using Ka-Blam.
I use Clip Studio Paint as my main drawing program. That’s what I’m using to make this comic. In the program, I’m able to use a 3D posing tool. I’ve used it several times, and it works wonders! 😀 I also use a Wacom Cintiq as my main drawing tablet.The screenshot of the file info for the last page I got done in December. I think 9 out of 25 pages is not too shabby for a first-time comic book artist 😛By this time, I had enough pages finished to print some of them.One of the printed pages in the Ka-Blam preview comic.
January 2021 (This Month)
I will give you guys a progress report for this month on February 1st.
So, that’s how hard my dedication has been for this comic book so far.
I hope I convinced you that I will get this comic book done in a timely manner. I’m pretty sure I convinced myself of this (even though I’ve never done it before). Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I know I post a lot of images for you, so I’m glad you bared with me. I feel that each one is important to give you an idea of how much I’ve worked hard on this book. I know that for some people, it’s kinda frustrating to read a blog post with a bunch of images. Particularly if your internet is slow. Then the images take forever to load. If you did like seeing the images and reading the captions, please let me know 🙂
Final Notes: Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t begin truly working on the comic book until October 2020. I got a whole year to work on my idea and flesh out the story and characters more 🙂 I also made TV show outlines for an actual Hollywood mentor! I will write a blog post about him in the future. The outlines really helped me figure out my own show. Plus, without 2020, “Corona is a Cabrona” probably wouldn’t be a story for my first comic book (even though the pandemic is unfortunate and horrible). At least I can say humor gets us through hard times. It did for me. Looks like it all worked out 🙂
The second preview comic came in the mail. It looks FANTASTIC! The quality is great! The only noticeable error I’ve noticed is that some of the speech bubbles are hard to read. They’re easier to read on my big Cintiq, but not so much on a comic book page. I’m going to use my Futurama Adventures comic book to help decide how I wanna enlarge the speech bubbles. The other comics are very easy to read. However, because I wanna be able to fit my Corona story into a 25-page issue, it’s tricky to make the dialogue readable for some panels. Obviously, I can’t have readers squint or put there face so close to the page to read (which I actually did a few times). I circled some examples of what I’m talking about. Other than that, I’m pleased with how it turned out! 🙂
The front cover! The feel of it is great! I chose a glossy print. Perfect choice 🙂I circled the speech bubbles that were hard to read. It’s more readable in this photo since it’s close-up. However, reading it in person is harder.
This is how I enlarged the text for page 3 of “Corona is a Cabrona.” I hope this makes the final comic much easier to read.The speech bubbles for the older comics are perfectly readable. This is a comic I made with a GIANT sketchbook my Nona (grandma) got for me. Because of how big my sketchbook was, the drawings I made were big, too.This is how HUGE my sketchbook was for “Just A Little Longer.” Unlike “Corona is. a Cabrona,” I didn’t make a script for this story. There are some obvious differences here, like Trax’s outfit and Dimwit being as a teenager with braces.It’s so hard to read these circled speech bubbles!! I enlarged them almost right away, because it bugged me too much.I did a little experimentation with the speech bubbles. This time, I gave them a rectangle shape. I really do not want to go back and change all the speech bubbles. However, if you guys think it’s better that way, please lemme know.I often look at this comic to help me figure out how to do certain things when it comes to making comic books. Incase you couldn’t already tell I really like Futurama 🙂
I hope you liked seeing all these sneak peeks at Space Grind: House Havoc 😀
I would say that there are a lot of things that inspired Space Grind. Many of those things come from TV shows that I enjoy. I thought it would be fun to write a blog post about what inspired various aspects of Space Grind. I also hope it gives you a clearer idea of what you can expect from following along with the story. I’m ordering this list from the smallest to biggest source of inspiration. This actually may not be the perfect list, but I’m writing it anyway 😛
TV Shows That Inspired Space Grind
8.The PowerPuff Girls(Art Style)
A GIF from the website GIPHY. I loved this show!
Ok, I know this show doesn’t seem that similar to Space Grind (which is why it’s #8). The reason I chose this one is because the art style is very big source of inspiration. In fact, it is this cartoon that made me want to do cartoons in the first place. I remember where I was, too. I believe I was 11 years old at the time. My awe became a vivid memory of mine. Ever since then, I still want to make cartoons! It all started here 🙂
The PowerPuff Girls also influenced another cartoon that is made for young adults. It’s an animated music band called Gorillaz. Yep! There is even a character that the band borrowed from PPG for their album “The Now Now.” The same band that made the songs “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc” had Ace temporarily replace Murdoc — 13 years later! 😀 Gorillaz also inspired Space Grind in little ways.
Gorillaz version of the character Ace vs. the original version.
I don’t say all this just to kinda show how my own art style was birthed. A lot of it was inspired by this show. Of course, the artwork for SG has evolved over the past 11 years, but this is where it all started. This show also showed me what kind of jokes make me laugh. I will always appreciate the funny name choices this show makes (example: The City of Townsville is where the characters live). Holy Heck! That’s probably why I gave all my SG characters ridiculous names XD
In “Corona is a Cabrona,” RSL wears a mask that references PPG. Do you know what cartoon Dimwit’s mask is referencing?
One last fun fact (I swear): my friend Maddie and I joked about the three PowerPuff Girls being just like the SG trio – Neuro, Dimwit, and Onion. Neuro reminded us of Blossom; Dimwit reminded us of Bubbles; Onion reminded us of Buttercup. We laughed a lot after making that connection. For Trax and RSL, we compared them to Mojo Jojo and Ms. Bellum.
7. Danny Phantom (Art Style)
This is another show I like very much. The art in this show really added to my own art style. I started watching this show two years after watching The PowerPuff Girls.
A Danny Phantom TV poster.
I think Danny Phantom has really inspired a good chunk of things that you see in Space Grind. Actually, I think all of Butch Hartman’s shows have influenced the way I draw (particularly female eyes and Kitty Katswell’s mouth). I distinctly remember adopting those small details into how I draw some of my characters. I don’t know why, but I remember that for some reason. I just name Danny Phantom because its aesthetic is most comparable to Space Grind‘s.
The way I did Selena’s eyes is inspired by Kitty Katswell’s eyes. I know Kitty isn’t from Danny Phantom, but it’s from the same artist. The girl on the left is a young teen named Selena, who is the protagonist of a different story of mine. It’s called Gate City.
6. Persona 5 (Various Alien Design Ideas)
This is the video game cover for Persona 5 Royal, which is an enhanced version of the original game. I got this image from Amazon.com.
This is actually a video game. It is my FAVORITE video game so far 😀 One of the things I really like about this game is all the personas you can fuse. All the designs are so AWESOME! Sure, there are some weird-looking personas (*cough* Belphegor *cough*). But for the most part, I am in love with how the Persona 5 makers designed them 😀 I actually came up with a lot of ideas for Space Grind when I listen to the soundtrack. There is one persona in particular that inspired a significant character that will be in SG.
This is a persona you can capture or fuse in Persona 5. This character is Amenite. She is an evil queen on a planet called Planet Sparkk (short for “sparkle”). She rules the planet along with her two sisters: Emerdot and Jasperine. The sisters were born as triplets. They killed their parents and brother. The brother was supposed to inherit the throne as the first-born son (formerly Planet Spark’s tradition). Amenite’s name is a combination of the words “amethyst” and “tanzanite,” which are two purple gems. Emerdot (emerald and peridot) is basically a green version of Amenite. Jasperine (jasper and citrine) is the yellow sister. I might change my mind on their names later. I will do a blog post later about the three ruling sisters.
I would say that the biggest way Persona 5 contributed ideas for Space Grind is whenever I’d listen to the soundtrack. For certain P5 songs, I think of certain SG scenes. For example, when I listen to “Life Will Change (Instrumental),” I think of a rescue mission the SG protagonists must do. They have to save a certain character that’s important to the story. I won’t tell you who the character is, but I will tell you who they must save the character from. They have to rescue this person from the three Sparkk sisters, who kidnapped them. “Life Will Change (Instrumental)” has the exact energy, intensity, and sick beat that I imagine for the rescue scene. Will they be able to save the victim? Stay tuned!
5. Key & Peele (humor)
I watch mostly animated stuff, but Key & Peele is a live-action comedy show that I enjoy so much, I would say it’s one of my top favorite shows! The show is a sketch comedy television series. Have you seen that hilarious video of the substitute teacher mispronouncing students’ names in class? That skit is from the show Key & Peele. As of January 30th, 2021, that video has over 195 million views. If you somehow haven’t seen it, go check it out!
A TV show poster for the amazing comedy series.
The jokes, punchlines, and hilarious situations are fantastic! When I brainstorm ideas for Space Grind, I sometimes find myself thinking of this show. I often find myself trying to imitate the humor that makes me laugh so hard. I wouldn’t say Space Grind‘s humor is a ton like Key & Peele‘s. However, I gotta give them credit for giving me some big ideas.
Key & Peele has several skits about stereotypical gangs. One of them is called “Don’t Ask This Guy to Sit Down.” I absolutely love the absurdity of it! This show led me to making one of the very first Space Grind episodes. I remember wanting to make a story super badly about gangsters. Then one day, I thought it’d be funny if Dimwit (of all people) joined a gang by accident. I still get excited about this idea!
A slide from a Keynote presentation I made for Space Grind. Butch Hartman made the suggestion to me. It was so worth making!
Key & Peele also did one other thing that you don’t see often in media. It’s actually something Space Grind does a lot. Key & Peele have made jokes about slavery. Yep. They turned that uncomfortable topic into a source of comedic inspiration. An example of them doing this is in their skit “Auction Block.” Space Grind was created before I watched that skit, but it did remind me of SG’s sense of humor. The only difference is that Space Grind isn’t about slavery in America. It’s about slavery in a fictional setting, where the aliens are in control and every human is in thrall. However, I think “Auction Block” is a good, specific example of how Key & Peele has been a source of inspiration. In my series, there’s a scene where a group of characters go shopping and find some alien slaves on “clearance.” That was a joke that I just thought was goofy and quirky.
Key & Peele also inspired an entire episode for my other TV show idea Gate City. However, because this is a blog about Space Grind (and not that idea), I won’t write details about that episode. Just thought I’d mention it to emphasize K&P’s influence.
One of Key & Peele‘s most popular skits. I didn’t include the links to the other skits I mentioned because I don’t wanna take up too much space for this blog post.
4.Invader Zim (humor)
There are a ton of hilarious TV shows that I enjoy. Some of them are: The Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron, and SpongeBob Squarepants. I love these shows! Obviously, since Space Grind is a comedy series, I need to love other comedy shows. There’s one funny show in particular that I would say had a really big impact on Space Grind. It’s a Nickelodeon show called Invader Zim. It’s a cartoon about an alien named Zim, who attempts to invade Earth and rule it. However, he’s pretty stupid… His plans keep failing, and it’s all for such dumb reasons (like accidentally being turned into bologna)!
A TV poster for the show.
Although it’s a show on a kids channel, the humor is pretty dark. The jokes are hilarious, though! I remember (at age 14) wanting to make an alien show with the same kind of twisted humor! However, I didn’t have an idea at the time (not until 4 years later). And I obviously didn’t want it to remind people too much of IZ. I wanted it to be unique and mine.
Space Grind‘s conception started out as a desire to make a funny show about something that usually isn’t considered funny. I looked at a list of taboos online, and slavery was on the list. I tried to think up of ways that topic could potentially be funny. At first, I couldn’t think of anything. Then I remembered wanting to make a show about aliens. I thought, ‘What if the aliens were the slave owners and all the humans were their slaves? I could make jokes about aliens not understanding the humans, and vice versa. That could work.’ Then I remembered Invader Zim. The idea for Space Grind is basically the same as the idea for Invader Zim, except it’s in reverse. SG is about the alien invaders winning. IZ is about the alien invaders losing. After that, I could easily envision the comedy potential! That’s the moment Space Grind became an idea that I was really excited about!
I think Invader Zim really helped with the brainstorming process during its conception (more than any other show). Of course, as Space Grind evolved, more TV shows influenced it and molded its tone. Which brings me to our next show on this list:
3. Avatar: the Last Airbender (Plot Structure)
Okay, I know this show is wayyyyyy different from the ones I’ve listed so far. I did not put it here just because it’sone of my favorite shows. However, I think the show’s plot structure is something I’ve used quite a bit for reference. Although Space Grind is a comedy, it is also a comedy-drama. I wanted my story to have an over-arching plot of some kind. Since Avatar is a show I’ve watched that has the type of structure I was going for, I often use it as my source of inspiration.
The title logo for the TV show.
All my stories tend to be comedy-dramas for some reason. Whenever I make a story that’s meant to be just a comedy, I always give it serious elements somehow. Likewise, when I try to create a serious story, I end up making it too goofy to be considered “just serious.” Because that’s the genre I generally lean towards, I just decided to make Space Grind a mix of the two. My comic books will focus more on the comedy aspects. I don’t really want to reveal the over-arching plot aspects just yet.
I think Avatar: the Last Airbender is the perfect example of a comedy-drama for me to mimic. It’s cute, endearing, thoughtful, interesting, and funny. All of those things are things I want Space Grind to have. I’ve had people come up to me and describe my idea as these things, so I think I’m doing something right at least.
I guess you could compare Aang to Dimwit, Sokka to Neuro, and RSL being a mix between Katara and Toph (she’s got Katara’s kindness and Toph’s sassiness). Avatar: the Last Airbender is also a show about freedom. The main characters have to fight against the Fire Nation to save the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. In my story, the humans have to fight against Zeyrion to liberate themselves.
One time, I was asked to compare SG to three TV shows that already exist. The ones I chose were Avatar, and the next two shows on this list. I decided to include Avatar because I wanted an example of how Space Grind is dramatically structured in terms of story.
Although most of I’ve shown you for SG is the comedy side, please also anticipate seeing a more serious side to it in the future.
The main characters of Avatar: the Last Airbender in season 1.
2. Regular Show (Various Ideas)
Regular Show isn’t one of my favorite comedies (even though I do like it). I think it just so happened to be a good comparison between it and Space Grind. Both of the shows are about protagonists who aren’t good at their jobs, get into absurd situations, and have to work for an angry boss.
Regular Show is about two characters, Mordecai and Rigby, who work at a park. They always do the bare minimum. They also work for a guy named Benson, who is always yelling at them and threatening to fire them. There are also a few other people who work at the park: Pops, Skips, Muscle Man, and High-Five Ghost. All of them are weird and fun to watch. Most episodes are about ridiculous situations.
The premise of Space Grind just feels like a sci-fi version of Regular Show‘s premise (to me).
The TV show poster for Regular Show.
1. Futurama (Humor, Aesthetic, and Ideas)
Futurama has inspired Space Grind in all sorts of ways. I would say that out of all these shows, you can compare SG the most to this show (I think). One notable example of this show influencing my idea is the retro alien saucer home of Trax. I actually plan on Trax’s planet having a mostly post-cyberpunk feel. His alien saucer (or “mobile home”) has a very retro sci-fi feel. Much of the aesthetic of the home was inspired by the way Planet Express looks.
A Futurama TV poster. I got this image from the IMDb website.This is a table from Futurama that helped me make the meeting table in Trax’s living room. His home used to belong to a different alien species. The aliens would do typical, classic sci-fi tropes like abductions and anal probings.This is the meeting table in Trax’s living room. See the similarities?
A lot of the humor of Space Grind is similar to the humor in Futurama. I love how the show used all sorts of comedy. They used a lot of wordplay, dark humor, parody, satire, sitcom styles, and others. SG does all of these, too.
Various ideas have been influenced by this show, too. For example, I remember wanting to make a character like Philip J. Fry. I didn’t have a character like him before SG. That’s what led me to creating Dimwit.
That’s it, y’all!
I hope you enjoyed reading this list. It was fun to write. I like looking back at the creative process of my stories 🙂
For the month of January, I got a lot of things done. Including making this website. Here is a list of stuff that got accomplished for Space Grind: House Havoc —
Created this Word Press blog
Created a YouTube channel (with an uploaded Time-lapse Drawing video)
Created an Instagram account
Created a Facebook page
Ordered a preview of my comic book using Barnes & Noble Press
Learned how to format a book using B&N Press
Did research on copyright, getting an ISBN code, formatting a book, potential self-publishing platforms (like Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu, and others), becoming a verified vendor, and other important things
Finished all the introductory pages for each comic story (except for “The Thoughts of RSL – Robot Sexy Lady”)
Finished the back cover, back interior, and front interior of book
Made an account for Amazon KDP
Finished the YouTube trailer for the blog
Finished every introductory page for each of the stories in House Havoc (a brief description of the comic before the person reads the comic). The only exception for this is “The Thoughts of RSL – Robot Sexy Lady.” The script still needs to be finished.
Finished page 10 of “Corona is a Cabrona”
Resized speech bubbles that were too small, after reading the Preview comic
Almost done with the first draft of “The Thoughts of RSL” comic
I didn’t get very many pages done for the month of January. I only got page 10 of “Corona is a Cabrona” (Story Five) finished. That’s because most of my time was spent focusing on the marketing aspect of getting a comic book done. This isn’t something I’ve done very much since October 2020 (when I began working on Space Grind: House Havoc).
Because I didn’t want to spend so much money on getting a copy for everyone who asked, I just decided it would be easier if I just put it up for sale. Since I always wanted Space Grind to be public anyway, why not announce it to the world? It was a secret project for so long because I wanted it to be on TV one day. Only a handful of people knew about my idea. I thought it would be best to keep it private until its eventual TV premiere. However, a Hollywood producer told me that I should build up a following for my art. This is what convinced me to make this website.
For self-publishing, I looked into the website Ka-Blam for a bit, as well as print a preview using that, but that’s about it for research before January. Everything else until January has been drawing, drawing, drawing, drawing, and more drawing.
However, I aim to focus much more on completing pages of the comic for the month of February. Social media posts will still happen, but I plan to spend most of my time on getting drawings done.
I am also looking for jobs as a source of income. I’ve been jobless since mid-October of last year. I don’t know how this will affect my comic book goals for February. I will have to wait and see. I’ll update you guys as I get a feel for my new job schedule.
Here are my primary goals for February:
Complete (at minimum) five pages for “Corona is a Cabrona”
Finish the script for “The Thoughts of RSL: Robot Sexy Lady”
February Stretch Goals:
Make more than five pages
Draw at least one page for “The Thoughts of RSL: Robot Sexy Lady”
Finish some pages for the bonus comic
On March 1st, I will report to you guys everything I accomplished for the month of February. Just like I did in this blog post for January.
One More Announcement: I have officially decided that I will be using Amazon KDP for self-publishing the comic book. When it comes out, you can purchase it easily on Amazon 🙂 Fun fact: I used to work at Amazon as a packer. It’s interesting to think that Amazon packers may soon pack what I’m selling! Wow 😮 I wonder if my former coworkers would recognize my name lol
Some Pictures of my Progress + SG-related Links:
The introductory page for “Corona is a Cabrona.” Curious to know who this character is. You’ll find out after the book is published 🙂The second printed preview comic. It was made using Barnes & Noble Press, as it says in the list earlier.
Yesterday, I discovered a new whole set of tools for me to help with the comic 😀 I downloaded all sorts of 3D assets to help me draw characters and objects! I knew this was something I could do in Clip Studio Paint, but I honestly didn’t know how to access the assets. I didn’t realize I had to update CSP. I even thought it costed money to do that. Once I realized it was free, I updated it right away. Next thing I knew, I was downloading a whole BUNCH of assets for my story. Both useful to the comic and both useful for the future. In this post, I wanna share with you some of the ways it has been working for me 🙂
Types of Assets
Locations
A downloadable, 3D model of a bar.My work-in-progress for a drawing of some characters at a bar. As you can see, poor Dimwit is experiencing Asian Flush 😦
I absolutely LOVE the option to download 3D models of places. CSP allows you to download things like classrooms, buildings, etc. In the above pictures, I was able to use a 3D asset of a bar. I got inspired to make some of the characters at a bar scene. Perspective has never really been my forte, no matter how many tutorials and tools I use. Heck, I even watched Mark Crilley’s YouTube tutorials about drawing perspective more than once! I don’t intend to use these assets as a crutch, but I do think they will help me learn 🙂
Character Size Chart
The body shapes for each of the Space Grind ensemble cast 🙂
I have made character charts in the past, but it felt like I always needed to adjust their sizes to make them look accurate. When I used the 3D models in the updated version of CSP, this process was MUCH FASTER 😀 I wasn’t able to make the characters look “cartoony” with the old version of CSP. But with the latest update, I could easily adjust the shapes of certain body parts.
This is the old version of the 3D model. Yes, I could technically adjust the size, but it was limited. I couldn’t make the characters look like cartoons. They would look more like real people.From this menu, I can easily reuse. one of my characters’ 3D models 😀This is RSL’s saved 3D model. I’m able to pose her without having to remake her body over and over again.This is a pose for Trax. Observe: his shoulders are broader in this image vs. the character size chart. That’s because I’m able to adjust their appearances, even afterwards. All I gotta do is save the adjusted version 🙂
3D objects & Making the Art
And finally: an example of how I can make full-blown art using the 3D models. I decided to dynamically pose RSL pole dancing 🙂 This would’ve been hard for me to do without the 3D model. It’s tough to admit, but right now it’s the truth.
I am also able to download 3D assets for CSP 🙂 Here is an example of me using them.
Here is RSL pole dancing in 3D. The pole is also a downloaded asset.The drawing after using the 3D model.
3D vs. 2D
Those are the ways I’ve used the assets so far 🙂 I am so excited to do more with these new resources. I thought it’d be interesting to show you guys this. Have a good day 😀
Hi, everyone. This list will look differently from the list I made for January. I’m changing it in 2 different ways. (1): I will categorize the type of progress I made for the comic. & (2): I will list the dates that each comic book page got completed.
Miscellaneous Progress
Installed the Macbook Pro app Opus Domini for organization and time management (Feb. 1st) NOTE: The app stopped working on Feb. 9, so I had to uninstall it 😦
Signed up for SketchUp to make 3D references for Space Grind (Feb. 3rd)
Updated Clip Studio Paint to the latest version. I haven’t done this before because I thought it costed money. Good news: it doesn’t!
Downloaded a 3D hat model to help me draw Dimwit’s hat correctly. Hats are hard for me to draw I’ve never downloaded 3D models before for CSP. I didn’t realize it was because I didn’t download the latest version. Oops.
Downloaded A BUNCH of other assets for Clip Studio Paint
Made a body size comparison chart for the main characters. I mentioned this in my blog post that I posted on February 10th.
Comic Book Pages That Got Done
Finished making page 11 (2-7-2021)
Finished making page 12 (2-26-2021)
Got started on page 13 (2-26-2021)
Oof. Over a 2-week gap. I am not very happy with my progress for this month. I did not reach my goal of getting 5 pages done. As you can see, only two got done. I also did not finish the last script for the comic book. I am not happy with this progress. I wish I had a solid reason for why this month has been so unproductive. Last month, only one page got done because lots of my time was dedicated to research. This month doesn’t have an excuse like that. I’m sorry.
I’ve always struggled with time management. This is an area in my life that I want to improve. However, I’m learning more and more about the importance of celebrating progress. This is something I’ve learned from listening to Joyce Meyer. I bring that up only to stay positive. I will probably do this by rereading some of my blog posts later. I will also do some other stuff as well.
Instead of beating myself up for the lack of progress, I would like to list some solutions that I will do from now on with my time. Just like it says in Habakkuk 2:2b (a Bible verse), I’m going to “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” I am going to write down a list of things I will do differently starting in March. Space Grind: House Havoc will be my first self-published book I’ve ever written, so I’m still learning how to work on a comic effectively.
List of Solutions for Lack of Progress
Listen to podcasts or do research on time management
Make a list of due dates for when each comic book page should be done (monthly)
Make a list of due dates for other things that need to be accomplished. Examples: writing a script, research, etc.
Spend a minimum of one hour making the pages. I will aim for 2 hours or more. I will do this 5-6 times per week.
Keep in mind that this list is subject to change as I learn to manage my time. I most likely will add ways to manage my time as the days go by. My goal is to have this comic book done by April or May. June at the latest. My first few months of making this comic have been very productive. February has been sort of a lazy month for me. I will be more intentional about my productivity.
This progress report was hard for me to write. It wasn’t an exciting month of progress (unlike the other months). However, I want to be honest with you guys with how much I get done. I don’t want to make it seem like I got more done than I really did. Thank you guys for following the blogs posts. I hope you are still looking forward to the comic’s release.
If you have experience as a comic book writer/artist, please feel free to give me some advice on how to improve my time management. I would love to hear from you! 🙂 You can contact me by email: (spacegrindercreator1@gmail.com). Or type a comment down below. If you’re just starting out like me, I ask you refrain from giving me advice. After all, the Dunning–Kruger effect exists. I’ve been guilty of it before, so I want to gain more experience as a writer and artist.
Here is a little sneak peek at one of the pages that got done this month. What could Dimwit be looking up at? Hmmmm
I decided to make a random, fast blog post for y’all! Sooo… you may have noticed that I’ve posted some memes lately to Space Grind’s social media. If you know me personally, you’ve seen my memes on my personal social media. The reason for that is…
It’s fun!
Just kidding! Although it is a lot of fun to make my own memes, there is a reason I decided to do this. One day, I was doing research on how to grow this blog’s audience. I went on this website:
It is a list of ways to grow your Instagram following. At #12, it actually suggests sharing memes as a way of growing your audience. This inspired me to make memes for Space Grind, and memes for fun. I’ll show you some of both!
This is my very first meme that I made. I made it on February 19th, 2021. There is actually going to be a 3-page comic in my book that’s about Trax’s punching bag.Of course, the daily grind done in space is wayyyyyy cooler than the daily grind on BORING Earth. Duh! Actually, the phrase “daily grind” is what inspired Space Grind‘s title.I’m not a big fan of this one, but I still made it to get the creative juices flowing.Not exactly a meme, but I still used a meme creating app for it (mematic). It’s just Dimwit’s catchphrase. What is he looking at? Hmmmmm
And for fun, I’ll share some other memes I’ve made (not for Space Grind).
This is a meme I made for my friend Jessica. She has little son named Theo. He is SUPER adorable ❤ I made this meme for her after I met her and her husband Nick. By the way, she also has a blog on WordPress called ‘The Red Lighthouse.’ She interviews businesses in the Kenosha area and writes about them. Be sure to check it out! 🙂 Also follow her blog’s Instagram account: @theredlighthousekenoshaThis meme is one I made for my best friend Maisie Merlock. She is an actress. You may be wondering why I put a question mark on the last panel. It’s because she’s working on an upcoming acting project that is in the works right now! 😉 Be sure to follow her on Instagram: @maisie_merlockAlso a meme I made for Maisie. This meme will make more sense if you watch her Fast N Loud parody here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_GJ2rKwLBY (btw, this video caught the attention of the cast members, and she got to guest star on the show as the host himself LOL)This meme made me laugh out loud as I wrote it. I consider it the first meme I made that I am actually proud of.A meme I made for my sister. She LOVES the video game Subnautica.I made this meme for my friend right after she got a strike at a bowling alley called the Guttormsen Recreation Center (GRC).
These memes were fun to make (well… most of them). I hope you guys enjoyed this quickie. Back to work!
Hi, guys! I posted these pics on Instagram and Facebook, and thought I’d share them on the blog, too 😀
For the “Corona is a Cabrona” story, I have 5 references so far. I thought I’d share them all with you as sneak peeks 😀 Here they are:
This is the first reference you’ll see in the story. It parodies the name Gas Monkey Garage. My best friend Maisie Merlock actually guest starred in this show. I couldn’t help but make it a reference lolA little joke for all the Spanish-speakers out there! XD I used Google Translate to translate the title: “Down with the Sickness,” a song made by Disturbed. This song actually used to be my phone’s ringtone.One of my favorite cartoons as a kid 😀 I don’t know about you, but I think it’s still funny 🙂 Seems like a show Dimwit would enjoy, too.I used to be OBSESSED with this show as a kid. It’s the cartoon that made me want to make cartoons. How could I not make it a reference?A parody of The Simpsons. It gave me a good giggle, so I decided to include it.
I hope these references made you smile. Have a good day 🙂
Woot! This is the first “Mid-Month Bio” Blog Post on this website!! For the first “Mid-Month Bio” character, I would like you all to meet: Ozuha.
Ozuha is Trax’s rival. Like Trax, Ozuha is an employee at WepCo who is well known for his inventions. He is also muscular, tall, and gets mad easily. Unlike Trax, he is rambunctious, charismatic, and a complete show-off.
In Space Grind stories, you’ll often see him bragging about how superior he thinks he is to Trax. He even does this in “Corona is a Cabrona.” He has a robot servant named RPL. She is also RSL’s rival. Ozuha used to have slaves, but he doesn’t anymore because he kept killing them all. Unlike Trax, Ozuha accepts that he can’t have anymore and is content with just his robot. This serves as motivation for Trax to keep Neuro, Dimwit, and Onion alive.
Ozuha is kind of just a comic relief character at the moment, but I do plan on having him be more incorporated into Space Grind‘s overarching plot. I plan on him being in a lot of episodes, especially ones that take place in WepCo. I love coming up with storylines and dialogue for him. He’s totally obnoxious and kind of stupid, but that’s what I love about him. I hope you will, too 😀
I’ve never downloaded 3D models before for CSP. I didn’t realize it was because I didn’t download the latest version. Oops.
