1069 replies to this topic

[MidgitLD]

Ah, Lynne. XD You're a one woman engine of brain 'splosions.

[JUPiTERMAREN]

oh coolies!! im gunna buy this too i love aniimie!

[TRiPPY]

Nah XD though it IS pretty similar now i think about it o_O (although it makes me lol to imagine Ando being anything like Kano) I was inspired by the movie Love Actualy, you know that guy who moves to France and meets that lady and neither of them can speak eachothers language, ah man i thought that was awesome. Speaking of Heroes though, I've still not seen any of season 2 D: Any links i find have subtitles ontop of subtitles so when foreign ppl talk i can't read what the hell theyre saying *grumble* have to wait for the boxset! Its showing on TV here just now but our TV ariel is broken (inside and out) so TV is a no go unfortunately.

Back oooon topic however I've found a way to make my comics for cheaper, with incover printing (so thats 2 extra pages) which doesn't involve Lulu. Love Lulu and all but their color printing is too expensive (especialy if im buying bulk to sell eventualy). So i will probably be using this other printing company instead. Plus it will be easier for people to pay if they dont have a credit card or whatever.

Got some nice pencilwork done yesterday... made me glee

As for a preview, hell yass, but not too much, each issue is 32 pages and the first one jumps straight into spoilers, sooo, it will be a short preview. Issue 0 is a limited edition run that will only be available in collection graphic novel format after it sells out. Branch 0 is like a recap/intro that doesnt effect the beggining of the next issue. Its sort of like a sexy bonus issue i guess.

*gets back to scrawling on paper like a monkey*

[Wolf]

How many are you planning to print? XD You have me frightened that I'm going to be one of the unfortunate ones who doesn't get there in time to get one. Can we pre-order?

[DiGi Valentine]

Lol, i highly doubt it'll sell out that fast, Wolf. You're in the forums everyday anyway so you'll most certainly see a post from either me or TRiP when it's going up for sale. Currently, we're look to make only 50 copies and then push it to 100 if the first 50 sell out too quickly and people missed their chance. After that, you'll only be able to find Branch 0 in the graphic novels.

Things are moving nicely right now. Progress is being made on a daily basis. At this rate, we may even be able to start Branch 1 before Auchinawa convention in November. Though, that being said, whether Branch 1 would be ready also for Auchi is a different matter.
But we won't get ahead of ourselves just yet, lol. First things first - Branch 0. the promooo issue. XD

[Wrenreele]

Lynne, can you tell us what printing company you'd be using. I'm very interested.
And a idea on preview pages, you can always just show some of the art and leave the writing out?

[TRiPPY]

Sure Wren ^^ I'm going to use:
http://www.ka-blam.com

I've heard nothing but good stuff about them and i was INSTANTLY WON OVER by the fact HOLY CRAP WE PROVIDE .PSD PAGE SIZE TEMPLATES :| I mean jeeze, Lulu is it THAT hard to do?
The fact they dont do blank pages on the inside of the cover is also awesome as it means i can add the readers letter/art page and a editor ramble thing. So i get 2 extra pages FOR CHEAPER. Wah, i love this place!

Got tons of work done today, I've been relearning how to use my pen and inks, my maru and G nibs are heavenly to use. Oddly my pen works better on cheapy printer paper than it does on actual proper manga gloss paper... i got a sample sheet and its nasty to draw on. Got a page fully inked, got the next page fully colored. Getting slowly hyper by the fact since i found that other print company things seem so much easier to understand.
Woke up at 9am and sat inking all day until 11pm, my eyes burrrrrnnnn. I'm really enjoying the routine

Now to bed with immense back pain! whooosh

[Murasaki Doku]

Does this mean it'll end up being cheaper for both you and your soon-to-be loyal readers? If that's the case, then...

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! <3

[Maki Izumii]

'eyyy, *bookmarks that ka-blam site for when she needs a place to print KV Story*

[MidgitLD]

Saaaa......

Do be sure to let those of us unable to go to Auchinawa know when you have it for sale so we can get a copy, hobean. D:

*adds Branch 0 to her MUST GET list*

[infractus]

You've got me all sorts of tingly and excited with hearing that your progress is going so well!

More merchy photos for ya.. I managed to not eat the Cupcake badge, though the temptation was there. A bunch of friends of mine and I went out on a bar-crawl last week, and my one friend, Stoo, - who's pretty big into the anime and collecting odds and ends - really took a liking to the badges on my bag. I think it started with my boyfriend overhearing Stoo going "ooooo... what's that? What're those from?" and my boy sighing, pointing over to me, "Ask her."

He really liked the Cupcake badge, too... so I gave it to him. *means I have to re-order another one for myself XD



And then he points out that he really liked the Priya badge, too... so I let him have that one.



here's an action shot of him pinning it to his shirt:



They're not the best photos, since they're from my crappy phone that I like to use as a football more than anything. Buuuut, you might be getting another follower (as he really liked the dream diary too!).

[wyldflowa]

A friend of mine was going to get an artbook printed via Ka-blam but they completely suck at keeping to deadlines - he was held up in a queue and the book still isn't printed at this time (the deadline is the May Expo on the 24th - but obviously it's needed before then and added time is needed for shipping and customs). So if you are printing with them make sure you give plenty of time and make it absolutely clear on which date you want them done by.

I'll scope out the quality of the other printer he's using at the Expo and get back to you with what I feel - I think they're a bit more expensive than Kablam but are better at taking priority orders. I guess it depends what you want off them. X3

Ahaa, I can't use nib pens for toff so I'm looking forward to seeing your magic witht hem~ I'm looking forward to it all really~! ^.^ Roll on Auchi~! \^o^/



And Infractus... I have that exact same chameleon toy. O_O

[infractus]

wyldflowa - lol, it was a spontaneous b-day present from a friend.
We kept putting the chameleon on whomever happened to be doing something that ended up being in a photo XD


Otherwise.... yessssss... sign me up for ANY promos, rare, etc-etc thingers. I'm so terribly eager to see your work in print, and am willing to pay what moneys I have to obtain 'em and keep you fueled with inspiration. *that's supposed to be said with as much love and support as possible*

Feeling hung over and tired from a loooooong work day.

[TRiPPY]

*huggles* thanks for the support guys it makes me smile
I feel really tired and drained today, i'll be doing more comic work later on today but first I've got stacks of stuff i have to do first. So consider this a short few hour pause, lol.

I'm starting to have completely 100% finished pages now, it's exciting.


2 second stress relief-
URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHCAACK.

catch you later!

[Wrenreele]

Is Bruce the last to go on the splash page, or will there be more?

[Maki Izumii]

If there's the same amount of colours as last time, then we're really only waiting on one more spectrum dreamer, which I think is Aqua (May be mistaken here) Oh, and Violet, though I dunno if Violet has a dreamer or not in this new version..

[Nightingale]

I think Trippy said after she uploaded Priya that there would be 6 more dreamers and 2 more "people..." and we haven't seen Black*, Red, Aqua, or Violet yet. I think. o.o *swears she's not obsessive*


* (I know "black" isn't technically in the spectrum anymore since the Numerati came along, but it's there for the sake of argument.)

[DiGi Valentine]

There's one more person to go on this set and then after this set is complete there will be another set featuring 4 more characters. After that, all the main characters will have appeared on the front of the website.
The only reason we have not uploaded a new character since Bruce is because TRiP's been actually working on the comic itself, lol. XD

[TRiPPY]

And chasing after stupid printers! NEWS AHOY! Sapphire diary has been dispatched (FINALY) should get it either today or tommorow. So if it turns out ok and doesnt print like a dyslexic dog then I'll put it up for sale.

*waits by letterbox with mouth open*



.. In other news doing more color comic work today, but will probably get sidetracked coloring next dreamer since you guys asked GAH EVIL INSPIRATION!

[MidgitLD]

*chomps onto the Lynne Brainmeats* But we luuuuuuuuv yoooouuuuuuuu. :3 *bats lashes*

[TRiPPY]

I should mention something rather exciting that might happen regarding iMAGNi promotion but I'll leave that to DiGi when he comes home as he was the person who kicked it into motion.

[DiGi Valentine]

Ah, you're talking about what happened last night on MySpace? Lol, yeah. I may tell 'em about it...then again i may not. Do you think it would interest these guys? XD

[TRiPPY]

Of course it would.... BUT OMG I CAME HERE TO SAY


SAPPHIRE DIARY. GOTS.

It printed better than the Orange one @____o WTF i spent all that time worrying i'd screwed it up and it printed awesomely! HOSHIT GLOSSY BLUE LOVELIENESS.
DiGI GET YOUR ARSE HOME >XO you must worship the new book!

Though i have to say, I'm learning which colors the Lulu print machine hates. It print dark blues REALLY DARK (and oddly streaky when used in large amounts) then it makes pale blues too pale :/ It doesn't effect the quality THAT much, I'm just being nitpicky. I think my screen might be too dark or something. AT one point i used orange but it came out looking more yellow. BLargh. Oh well, still looks badass.

UP FOR SALE YOU GO!
*hammers on Lulu store buttons*

[KiloTango]

Silly question but are you working in CYMK or RGB? And have you calibrated your monitor? If you work for print in RGB or on an uncalibrated monitor you risk the colours not looking the same on your screen as on a print.

[TRiPPY]

All the print places I've check out so far only use RBG for printing (i think it makes their life easier lol) So i work in RGB. As for my montor i don't know what button to press >_>; It has a habit of lying to me about colors. Though it's not like my brothers one, he uses the vibrance mode on his so NiD.com is screaming neon blue, lol.


http://stores.lulu.c...fAcctID=1097558

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

[Feniiku]

*goes to nose at the sapphire diary*

D:

As soon as I have money woman, I'm gonna be broke again, because I'll have to catch up a lot with your stuff Curse youuuuuu! D:

edit- Psst. Almost forgot. Rather important question. In my original story, there's a character I made for you, you know that much. (One for DiGi too). But what I was wondering, is would you mind if Astrima were to wear a necklace with the iMAGNi logo on it? (advert lol) I mean, you wouldn't come sueing my arse off if I were to do that would you? XD

[KiloTango]

Use CMYK if you can. Seriously. It takes a while getting used to but that way you know your print work will look like it does on your screen. That's even more important than calibrating a lot of the time, unless you're just using dull colours (and this is you so like THAT is gonna happen! XD)

Actual printers themselves generally work in CMYK, which physically can't print certain colours you can get with RGB (like neon green and magenta) due to the laws of physics. (RGB is made of mixing levels of red, green and blue light and his how monitors work. CMYK refers to the mix of cyan, magenta, yellow and 'key'/black pigments, which is how normal printing works.) So if you work in CMYK you can be sure you use the most vibrant colours that can definitely be printed, and you can just convert to RGB afterwards without losing that (make sure you flatten first though). You can't do it the other way around so well, as CMYK has fewer colours and will muddy up RGB work. RGB can most of the colours CYMK does, but not the other way around. (I think CMYK might have more really dark colours but generally it IS more limited than RGB)

You CAN just convert from RGB to CYMK but often it won't be half as vibrant as if you work in it from the start because photoshop will just pick the closest shade and it often won't really be as nice as it could be.

Okay that was very technical but I think you get the idea. TL;DR version- Most of the time you should use CMYK for art for print, especially if it's brightly coloured, to make sure you get the most vibrant colours you can and make sure the print will look like it does on your screen. And just converting RGB to CMYK after you've made the art tends to look much more dull than if you work in it from the start.

[infractus]

It's scary how easy it is to buy things anymore. *click, click, DONE.* The previews are cuuute!

It'll be fun getting this one in the mail

[Icachan]

As for calibrating monitors, this is veeeeryyy handy. Stole it from a photographer on DevART who provided it so people could view the photos in the best way possible.



The top row should be divided into black and gray squares, while the bottom row is a clearly defined gradient. If you can see that, then your monitor should be ok.

[Meggiemaccat]

Huh, you've just notified me to something; all of that top row's showing up black on my computer. O-o; *makes note to self to ask father to fix that, if it is a fixable thing and not just some permanent quirk of the monitor*

Anyway, even though I can't buy any of this (yet), I'm excited for you guys! Branch 0 ahoy! 8D

[Wrenreele]

I want the sapphire diary more than the orange, because I like the stars on the front cover.

Digi, tell us the news! *Whine*

[TRiPPY]

Fenii- Of course you can ^^; I don't mind at all.

Katy- 'you can just convert to RGB afterwards without losing that'. HOSHIT! I did not realise this! I thought it would lose the colors : D Gahh thankyou, now i can do more colors!

Infractus- THANKYOU! I hope you like the insane doodles... it has a couple of cameos in there from new characters >.>

Ica- ARGH the top bar is all black! But my monitor is currently on full brightness Don't know how to make the screen any brighter.

I was working on the comic again lastnight and I'm nearly finished with one of the pages and OHGOD i want to see this printed.

[KiloTango]

There are some colours that CMYK that RGB can't do so well, but not so many as CMYK can't do that RGB can. I've done a lot of CMYK work recently and it looks fine when I convert to RBG to show people on screen. You're always going to lose some things and change some things when you convert from one colour gamut to another so if you can avoid converting, you should. Looking at things on the Lulu site (just google for Lulu and CMYK) it seems they will let you submit CMYK files, and the forum topic I found says you should just stay in the mode you worked up the image in.

[TRiPPY]

http://search.ebay.c...assZinfranights

Selling lots of my old art on Ebay, most of which was on DeviantArt at some point. Clear outtttttt. Large scary gas bill to pay.

[Murasaki Doku]

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrpp...assZinfranights

Selling lots of my old art on Ebay, most of which was on DeviantArt at some point. Clear outtttttt. Large scary gas bill to pay.

bidbidbidbidbid *foams at mouth* <- mild eBay addict

How much will shipping be to the US?

[TRiPPY]

same as anywhere in the uk, i dont mind paying a couple of extra pence to send something. Theres no way i can fairly calculate the EXACT shipping amount to every country anyway, itd be a pain in the ass XD; it usualy costs like £2 or 3 to post a large envelope to Japan so for one piece of art to american itd be about a quid (£1) i think. I'll grab a bulk lot of padded envelopes.

[Murasaki Doku]

Okey dokey. I won't be able to spend much, because I'm a little low on cash myself...but, anything helps, right? n_n

[Maki Izumii]

...PUDDLEPIDEGON =o

[Meggiemaccat]

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrpp...assZinfranights

Selling lots of my old art on Ebay, most of which was on DeviantArt at some point. Clear outtttttt. Large scary gas bill to pay.

*lawlgasms @ Reala-teacher to far left of first picture up there* XDDDD

I also cannot do what NiGHTS is doing with his fingers in the second-to-last picture. XDDDD

I really like just seeing this stuff, since I never got to see any of your deviantART stuff. ^-^ *gleehappy*

[TRiPPY]

Adding more stuff today! have to be less sentimental and just get rid of stuff already XD; I would have probably thrown some of it in the bin, but if i can help a situation then damn I'll try flogging it.

so much art to go through @_@ nurrrrr