Kevin's Watch

Loremaster wrote:OH.MY.GOD. Stunned silence. Jwaneeta, your artwork is incredible.

Thanks so much. I actually felt very geeky about posting this stuff.

As for the graphic novel. Perhaps KW could make it happen? I mean, what if some of us work on a comic script, some others (including yourself) on design, and you can do the art? Perhaps we all get the money together to make it happen.

Well, here's the thing. Way back in the day (late 80s? Early 90s?), the word I got from the editor/from the SRD agent was that SRD wouldn't sign off. He didn't (said the editor quoting the agent) want to draw the readership back to the Land; he wanted people to give his other works a chance.

And this was not a proposal that would have required SRD to do much of anything: the adaptation would've been written by someone else, and he'd have had final approval. Little work, much money. He turned it down, which was a principled gesture one can only admire.

I don't think there's much chance that he'd change his mind, if the version of that old conversation is true.

If he did change his mind, I really couldn't do it. I have a ton of work that's making my hair fall out - a great job with a company I love dearly and to whom I owe my best energy. And this would be an all-consuming project, to be done well, if at all.

Buuuuut: if SRD were at all amenable to a graphic novel series based on, say, the First Chrons for starters, there are plenty of hungry, awesomely talented young artists out there. You have no idea. And colorists? An embarrassment of riches. Except the front money would be staggering, just to keep the artist alive.

However if SRD were to sign off on a compendium, that would be free money for him, and very little initial outlay. That is something KW could do, over time, with care and brutal editorial devotion. It only needs a good proposal, a few pages of exemplary text and stunning illustration, and a friendly ear at a publishing house.

Sorry. I've been thinking this over lately. I want SRD to get some effortless money. He's given an awful lot of people an awful lot of enjoyment, and he's due.

jwaneeta, your Chronicles artwork is breathtaking. WOW.

I don't have the energy to dream of graphic-novelling SRD's work these days, but you know what I'd really like to see? A compendium, an illustrated encyclopedia of his universe, the Land. Spot illustrations accompanying text about the Land's specie, castes, and clothing. Brimfull of different artists and styles, lavish and vibrant, just like his prose. I'd certainly buy it.

I was thinking the same thing when I was going through Characters From Tolkien (or alternately called The Tolkien Bestiary) a few years ago. That beautifully illustrated reference book was as enjoyable as Peter Jackson's LOTR. The same kind of book done for the Land, with the same quality, would be seriously awesome (especially if it were to include your art, jwaneeta).

As for SRD's unwilling stance...some days I have to shake my head at him as well.

A TC graphic novel produced by KW would be marvelous...but my oh my it sounds daunting.

Incredible artwork Jwaneeta. As somebody who can't draw a straight line with a ruler, all you guys leave me amazed.

(Oh, Recluce works in comics too...her company is doing comics of OSC's Red Prophet at the moment. You can find a link in her posts in the "Enders game" thread in Gen Sci-Fi.)

--A

The TCTC art work is immense.

I put the pictures of Revelstone in the TC forum:

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9909

jwaneeta, what can I say? Your stuff is amazing!

i'm with the guys on this one jwaneeta!!!!!! fabulous work!!!

i think you should give SRD another shot at it...time has passed...he may be of a different mindset now...can't hurt to try.

Matrixman wrote: I was thinking the same thing when I was going through Characters From Tolkien (or alternately called The Tolkien Bestiary) a few years ago. That beautifully illustrated reference book was as enjoyable as Peter Jackson's LOTR. .

Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean. I think it would such a cool thing -- I don't know why nobody's done it. The 1st and 2nd Chrons certainly sold widely enough.

Avatar wrote:Incredible artwork Jwaneeta. As somebody who can't draw a straight line with a ruler, all you guys leave me amazed.

(Oh, Recluce works in comics too...her company is doing comics of OSC's Red Prophet at the moment. You can find a link in her posts in the "Enders game" thread in Gen Sci-Fi.)

--A

Cool! I'll look for it!

Well, thank you everybody! I'm happy you liked it.

Lucimay wrote: i think you should give SRD another shot at it...time has passed...he may be of a different mindset now...can't hurt to try.

Hm... you know what, when I go to San Diego Con I'll see if I can't put a bug in somebody's ear. Worth a shot, certainly. Does anybody know how many copies the 1st and 2nd Chrons sold?

jwaneeta wrote:I don't have the energy to dream of graphic-novelling SRD's work these days, but you know what I'd really like to see? A compendium, an illustrated encyclopedia of his universe, the Land. Spot illustrations accompanying text about the Land's specie, castes, and clothing. Brimfull of different artists and styles, lavish and vibrant, just like his prose. I'd certainly buy it.

There was a book that covers some of this:

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2149&highlight=

I have a copy at home, maybe I can scan a page or five of it.....

Ooh, ooh! can you? That would be awesome.

I wonder if I can get my hands on this thing...

Aww, crap. I totally forgot to do that! I'll try to remember tonight; in the meantime, I'll post some more of my tripe.





Hmm...kinda blurry. I'll try to get a better scan of those tonight, too.

NICE, dAN!

That's lovely work, dAn: totally spiff. I like the poetic lighting.

I'm back, finally, from San Diego Con and the publisher's picnic that followed immediately after. I'm thrashed -- I haven't shut up for a week and a day, literally. It's so good to be home.

I spent the best part of the con days reviewing portfolios, which is quite possibly the hardest work I've ever done. However I kept my eye peeled for the main chance and did manage to pitch the living fudge out of the Donaldson Bestiary Project (working title). In the end it was my own publisher who responded best, and although it's absolutely not their market, my boss of all bosses was intrigued enough to make a couple of phone calls to her contacts in Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Weirdly, there's some shyness on this end. They want to know if Donaldson would be amenable. I told them that the first step is an interested publisher, and then we contact his agent. That's how we did it before but... maybe things have changed? Eh. Anyway, this is a long, long way from happening, but SRD's agent's contact info would be appreciated. I'm really tired and it would be a kindness if someone could PM with that info.

In addition to being a corporate portfolio reviewing shill, I had a few fan moments of my own, and took a couple of pictures. I'll try to upload them tomorrow when my studio isn't so damned hot.

I missed Samuel L Jackson, though. I had an exhibitor's badge, and he only walked the floor before it opened to the public, and what was I doing? I slept in. Isn't that the story of the world.

sorry you missed Mr. Jackson. read that he was a hoot. glad you had a productive time. good luck on the beastiary!

jwaneeta wrote:That's lovely work, dAN: totally spiff. I like the poetic lighting.

Poetic lighting? Heh, you give me waaaaaaay too much credit. I just took digital pics of the drawigs as they were hanging on the wall because I was too lazy to take them out of their frames and scan them. Anyway, I got them out and scanned them last night. I had to merge the scans, so there's a line in the middle of them. This first one is a pic of a Boeing Model 299 I did in '92, which later became the B-17. I think that's Kilimanjaro in the background....can't remember.




The second one is a pair of B-17G's flying kinda low over some sandy place in Africa; I did this in '91.



I'm kind of upset over the deterioration happening to these drawings; when we moved into our house in 2002, my (now ex) wife refused to let me hang them in the house, so rather than store them in a closet, I put them in the garage, where they stayed for two and a half years. I also taped them to the matte using masking tape, which yellowed the edges, and it's possible I sprayed too much fixatif (or even worse, accidentally used crysal clear) on the B-17 one, because it looks stained all over the place. Fortunately, a black & white scan hides all that....

I also scanned the Land pics I promised a while back:

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9909&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

jwaneeta wrote:Well, here's the thing. Way back in the day (late 80s? Early 90s?), the word I got from the editor/from the SRD agent was that SRD wouldn't sign off. He didn't (said the editor quoting the agent) want to draw the readership back to the Land; he wanted people to give his other works a chance.

With the last chronicles underway, I'd imagine SRD might well be interested in drawing his readership back to the Land (his publishers, I'm sure, would be delighted). Might be worth another shot.

I also found a webpage that's compiled some of your Star Wars work, jwaneeta. It's very complimentary: members.aol.com/jaxxon1138/page2.html

Nav wrote: With the last chronicles underway, I'd imagine SRD might well be interested in drawing his readership back to the Land (his publishers, I'm sure, would be delighted). Might be worth another shot.

I'm going to talk to an editor in charge of licenced products this week. It may not be their cup of tea, but I think he might have some useful information. I don't know much about the business end of fantasy/sci-fi, so this is all new to me.

Those pics dAn posted, the "realms of fantasy" jpegs, are exactly what I was thinking of. Only more, more!

Oh, and thanks for the link! I think I saw this a few years ago... I had no idea it was still up.

Sorry for the double post, but here's an update with the Donaldson Companion effort.

I'm throwing in the towel. I've talked to all my eensy contacts in the industry and a Companion-type thing just isn't something they do. I was referred by my editor to a pal at Major Comics Monolith, a group editor for licensed properties, and I couldn't even get a nibble. The best he could say was to contact the author's own publisher. And then he told me - kindly, gah! - to pick up a copy of Publishers Journal or WTFever at the local bookstore.

Approaching a completely different set of people without any contacts to back me up isn't something I can do. So sorry.

I still think we could make much beauty with this idea on the fanmag circuit, though. Ah well, I tried: I really tried.