15 comments:

Jed Alexander said...

Am I to understand that this is the first page of "Crazy Boss"? Is this to be a fully painted book? Yowza! I didn't know you were starting this so soon. Looks great so far. I like that you're injecting some of that energy from the Everything's into this new project. A very fun, lively image.

If this isn't crazy boss just yet, it's still a pretty picture. Context! Context!

Mark Martin said...

It's Crazy Boss. But I don't want splain it. I think it will be more fun if it is allowed to just unfold. But yeah, it's definitely a sequential page from the new Crazy Boss. I'll say that much. The posts will be sequential.

Jed Alexander said...

As a staunch advocate of full bleeds, I hope you're go'in for the bleed here. Let the image breathe! Glad to watch it unfold. I think it's exciting that you're doing comics for the pure fun of making comics without a preordained venue.

Did you do a dummy of the whole book, or are you building this page by page? You said something at one point about a beginning, middle and end, which doesn't necessarily mean it has to be totally pre-scripted. I'm all for the screw the overwrought and over considered process, and dive right in school of doing comics. Thumbnails, sure, but aside from that, it's good to get out of your own way and start drawring. Yay Pumpy!

Mark Martin said...

Well hell - I'm kinda scared of bleeds because I don't want to discover that I can print-on-demand for 75% less if it does not bleed. It sux not really knowing exactly what the production parameters are. To be safe, I'm going to shay away from bleeds for now. But if a page really screams for it, I'll design so they can be utilized if possible, and shitcanned if necessary. IMPROVISE!

I have a notebook full of scribbles and notes. I dove right in.

Mark Martin said...

That should say I'm gonna SHY away...

Jed Alexander said...

You should e-mail Ka-blam or someone else and see what they're specs are for bleeds. There should be no reason to charge more for a bleed. The covers are full bleed, and it would be the same trim all the way through and wouldn't require any extra effort on their part. There is no difference in the trim phase of printing between digital and offset.

Like any bleed, you just have to be aware of the trim size and make sure you don't draw anything important on the outside edge, but I'm sure you already know that. I usually overcompensate just in case.

Most of these other outfits are used to publishing stuff like homemade children's books and that's almost always full bleed, so fear not!

And if you self-publish this, I'd encourage all interested Jabberees to pre-order to help lower your initial cost. I'll be the first in line!

Mark Martin said...

Yeah, I gotta check out KaBlam. I looked at Lulu last night, but only because I was there for another reason, looking at somebody's book they're selling there. BUT! THEN! What if some OTHER POD publisher WILL print it cheaper if it DON'T bleed! What if that publisher does not even exist yet? AARRGGHH!!!

Thanks for your boundless encouragement. I obviously need all the DARES you can throw at me! OK, Jed! I'll be brave! Damn the torpedoes!

I WILL! DAMN DAMN DAMN!

James Robert Smith said...

I don't know what y'all are talking about.

Mark Martin said...

That means it's working!

Jed Alexander said...

And don't forget to Winge your ends before you ply out the board when you're at the end of the foot bar. Every time you make an illo spot, as you probably know, there's always double fins, and fins are going to cost you a whole lot more than winge ends.

And don't be afraid to flange! A drum roller train fool cup will always leave you with rubber corners, so flanging under the right temp is really going to loosen up the saddle stitch when you winge your ends.

It's just like you told me: The quant always stays the same when you're exposing the plates under the cottle light, so it's not that big a deal.

And that's why you should you have full bleeds.

Anonymous said...

A literal splash page, bee-yoo-tiful!
And I love the sepia clouds.

eeTeeD said...

use ka-blam if you want to use rgb color.

most other services use pdf.

i'm having trouble w/ my computer, so i can't give you sizes i use for ka-blam.

go here for a template to use to judge proper sizes of work...

http://ka-blam.com/printing/index.php?page=Specs_comics

Mark Martin said...

ACK! RGB? I definitely DON'T want to use RGB. I want to use CMYK. Definitely. No kidding.

Dang, RGB? I gotta look into this POD crap. Not that it will change anything about finishing Crazy Boss. But if I gotta use RGB to publish it... surely I don't have to.

Jed Alexander said...

Most digital printers want you to send them your files in RGB. I have no idea why this is, because obviously they use the same CMYK inks. We had a digital copier where I used to work, and we used RGB. Every time I go to Kinkos they want RGB. When converting files to RGB, I don't notice much difference in the printed image from the image on the screen in CMYK mode, so I wouldn't worry about it that much. You can still do it in CMYK for the future possibility of traditional printing if you want to.

Anonymous said...

A lot of high-end inkjet printers (which I'm guessing is what these POD printers use) only want to receive RGB input, and then perform its own internal conversion to some variation of CMYK (many have 6, 7 or more inks).

So, of course, the POD printers want you to spend your time, rather than theirs, converting your files to something they can send to their machines.

My advice is to start very small with whoever you use, to see if they can deliver the color the way you want it.