Komikon Aftermath . Petshap Inc's out there! . After thoughts

Today is monday, Nov.21st, the day after the two day rush of adrenaline local comics convention (sigh of relief) and to this day I have never felt as well satisfied as the first time I've attended an event to sell my stuff back at my first Ozine indie table.

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This is the first convention that I didn't create and sell a new title of any kind, one-shot or any of the series I have or currently want to create. Instead we, my friend and I, pushed and promoted our semi-business art group Petshap Inc's. Despite my demeanor through out the event for being sick, the first two days of my budding sniffles and coughs that eventually turned full fledge phlegm war, I had the opportunity to work out some sweat and suck up my guts into focusing semi-full in marketing and trying our best being sellers. I didn't get to sell much, as a sales person, according to my opinion and of course comparing it to some of the people who I saw. But seeing our merchandise get attention and well enough recognition says quite a lot. Not to mention the appreciation for our artworks that were on the items we sold.

Yes, the prices we're not that satisfyingly good to even consider getting all the capital we had to give, but the exposure was well worth (although, we honestly sold a lot in the first day and a few for the second). Now just a little bit more push to our aim, and knowledge of what the people actually do want, we can move forward on events and occasions where we will have the opportunity to plan and sell our items and talents again.

This is a laughing matter, considering that I'm almost half way into giving up on fully making an effort again yet here I see our hard worn efforts into making these items becomes something uplifting, even if it was just a little. Truly a rewarding moment for me, and any negative thoughts may come, it still would no dampen that small feeling of letting our efforts be appreciated by any means.

To my comics making, it won't go away, it won't leave my heart. And even if I am able to say that somehow I am more eager to give attention and support to Petshap Inc's, my side as a comics creator felt effectively fueled. After seeing our table mates Pop Shop's comics creators for the title of Tanod and Mang Jose, which sad to say I never got to truly browse and give praise cause I was to shy and other stuff (thanks hesitant last minute self), there was that admiration I had that won't go away still for awesome comics makers out in the field. Indie and unpicked by any specific publishers or well on their way to publish-dom.

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The same goes for Petshap Inc's that is either on it's path to being a design for commission group or design group for items that can be given as gift that are awful fancy and cute, pretty long interpretation of the path but oh-well, there is never going to be a good day for me but if I choose to be happy even for the simplest of these moments, then I thank providence for all these fortunate things however small.

Soon Petshap Inc's will be having it's tiny process of refurbishing aims again, while my new comics title will be done and on it's way to a good hope and future.

Age and time may hinder me, yet the efforts of these two days are truly a blessing even if I was sick and I couldn't successfully make any rounds around.

Also first time experiencing so many, at least around five, people asking for a commission from me, such tiring interactions to humans that I guess I am alright with. Work stress to develop my skills are always welcome.

Spread them Wings . Bound in Blood first Review

Today I received word that the comics I drew "Bound In Blood" got it's first review by Outright Geekery.

Link to Review

Review wise, it's my first to ever see one, my old webcomics had a review of it's own but I had to stop working on it because I lost my own motivation to do so, still it's not that bad. Having people review your work is the best thing, whether it's to criticize it or not.

Honestly was hoping there would be reviews that are critique heavy in terms of developing the comics, but reviews to help spread the word is good as well. Also, critique heavy ones might not even be that reasonable cause it's only the first issue, having positive ones will always be an expected one.

On the side note, we are finally spreading out on announcing Petshap Inc's attendance in November Komikon 2016. And finally getting myself to finish prepping things. (printing final sets of ad's, photo-cards to sell, tags for the coin purses, etc.)

Also had a fuck up with this file. I saved it and over wrote on the psd file converting it into a jpg. I don't know how it happened, seriously do not. For the better I just didn't want to think anymore and am glad that I finished the layout without that much problem. Still, good bye editable file, if I wanted to use you again I might never. The end.

Komikon 2016 . Petshap Incs

Here we go again. November is coming and Komikon, the premiere comics convention in the Philippines (I don't really know if it's premiere or anything, but it's one of the well known), is just around the corner!

Me and a few friends of mine formed a group that focuses on Line and Doodle art works. The groups name is Petshap Inc's, sort of a word play for Ink's since majority of our works will be black and white emphasizing our skills to create from pen and ink, and our "pet" name for our group of friends that we just kind of tagged on ourselves out of fondness. Six years has passed since our college days, or the year we kind of just stuck with each other yet we're still growing strong, or any kind of metaphor strong could apply in our bond as friends.

This year end, we're going on an epic journey to introducing ourselves into the realm of business. (insert party poppers and dab-jamming here)

Check it!

Featured in this group as artist contributors are Briks (frozenpillows on IG) and yours truly typing away (pansikoser on IG). We've been actively uploading on our redbubble site, but have limited social marketing for it, still it ain't that bad to consider as we are still both struggling and it's only the first few months of our own plights. Still, trying to make a mark in this industry (that feels quite somewhere there but not) we've opted to sell merchandise designed by us.

Petshap Inc's IG

Coin purses. Yes, our designs, printed on canvas cloth and sewn to perfection. The designs on it were specifically intended to be laid out as pattern designs. It was quite fascinating to do such designs, although having no idea on what to put on them is a bummer. But there's nothing better than seeing your project come into fruition.

And this coming Komikon will be our setting stone!

Last year I didn't get to sell much of my self drawn comics, although this year I'm doing a different project I'm still going to sell some of my titles. Originally I had intended to create a new comics series to sell in the indie section of Komikon, Indieket, but I had been going through some mishaps in producing pages for the story and the story itself. Being unsatisfied with a story has always been a mishap for me, but I'm honest enough to say I'm more eager to start and completely finish this future project.

Anyway we still don't have the details for where we will be placed in the convention but I hope it's going to be good, probably get the details this coming saturday.

Watch Me: movie lising: Donnie Darko (2001)

There is nothing wrong with the concept of just clearly messing up time and space. Time travel, cross examination of existence between time lines, I guess making an effort to live life like so, discovering the definition of life changing and life ruining.

These days I find myself not enjoying any much content in any media for various 'I'm tired' reason. This prompted me to just embrace that too sensible or serious side and watch tons of physics and life questioning related movies. Psychological thrillers or just plain existentialism in movie platform are nice to watch, they pull strings that I couldn't feel sometimes. Or I feel it too much I've gone numb?

Last night I skipped working, just a bit, to finally watch Donnie Darko (2001) and a bit of Source Code (2011), since I was too sleepy the hour I watched the latter. Both are movies with Science-fiction concepts, Source Code with the stronger Scifi vibes, and both starred Jake Gyllenhaal, which I just realized when I started to watch Source Code. It wasn't intentional when I looked them up and went on and got a copy of the movies.

Donnie Darko has been in the list of my 'I'm highly curious' but 'I just couldn't get to you due to priorities are different' reasons of not watching it the moment I saw a tidbit info about it. There aren't much of a reaction for me on the movie since everything in it felt dream like, which they are. Fun was one word for the story, where in a sense the ending clearly concluded a good ending for the plights of Donnie who was clearly disturbed mayhaps for a semi-realistic or purely science fiction reasons.

Everyone in the world should try and watch Donnie with a sense and purpose of trying to look for easter eggs everywhere in the movie, at least still relating to the story, and never forgetting to set their empathy to a neutral level. Feelings flushed to me when I watched every part of it, shifting every relative sympathy and empathy for Donnie and the characters situation or flow of the story, wherever it lead. On the type of time and space fuck up it used was something I point out as sense of prediction, where everything was a linear end to a means but the ultimate decider still ended with Donnie.

At first you would get a bit confused why the story focused on several lives of characters that seemed insignificant during the course and even the moment they show up in the story, they are however significant in a sense that they formed what kind of Donnie would be by the end of the movie. This story clearly showed a good example of utilizing the characters around the main character, and the setting plot, to evolve them into what they can be. Almost all of them are praise worthy no matter how good or bad, a clear line of grey, their actions were. Except for Frank, who I didn't appreciate how strongly he was present in the whole of the movie, only to be truly introduced to be an almost third tier character related to Darko. His significance was the greatest yet he was the most irrelevant in terms of relation.

That itself makes me think that the person who wrote this story is that awesome, kudos Kelly.

The heaviness of the movie, due to all the psychological elements in it, tends to steer you completely away from the ending that was evident, a clear and obvious sign of Donnie's death or might be the end of his known world. The end can be interpreted in any way possible, but one thing was sure, it was the end for Donnie and him alone. Imagine being flooded by such thoughts at a young age clearly says something about the mentality of his character.

By the time you watch the climax of the movie you will be filled by assurance and hope that maybe Donnie could find a way to fight the inevitable. The end that he so feared, that, the fear he clearly felt drove him to almost endanger every single person important in his life. You can guess by this time that the end that was meant in the movie was his end, yet you question yourself whether he did choose to travel back in time or was it all truly in his head. Evident to the waking dreams of each character that made a grave distinction in his story, to the memorable up to the unpleasant ones.

Questioning the end, like the unconfirmed ending for Inception, is also another sign for me that the movie has truly caught your attention. Whether you get to have an answer for that won't matter, since the movie itself has already finished its purpose.

Telling a tale and making the viewer think for themselves of what is happening, to me, is a very captivating but taxing movie. You'd have to be a mental freak, or curious high mind; or a brain masochist, to enjoy one. Mind you, there is nothing wrong about that, it just means you'd rather have a high end mental entertainment in a level of which you'd rather not want to loose your mind in the course of enjoying everything. On the other, it's nice to get almost mindless and ignorantly stupid, site Angry Birds movie characters, which can also happen during the course in Donnie Darko.

There are that many elements emphasized to make you aware and even shallowly depressed, but it doesn't mean it won't pull you up. Life ups and downs are strongly evident in this story, and nothing short of the term roller coaster will truly miss a beat.

I feel like a child that missed out after watching this movie, now my inner child isn't missing out anymore, except I just need a different kind of outlet to make myself happier than the normal happy. The ignorant happy kind.

Tha's 'Nother Story . fairy tale with a cliff hanger

Source; Story: The Golden Key; Art: pansikoser

I've never encountered the best cliff hanger of a fairy tale in my known time to spend reading one.

Good day. After spending some good breakfast and spent finishing some touches on a project, I thought I could put up some time to look into translated fairy tales online.

Childhood without stories that were aimed to tell a lesson; amuse them, spark a good imagination in their head or just simply pass the time, will make any person from their child days miss out on a lot of things. Fortunately, I grew up enjoying the world of reading; fascinating me enough to be excited and involve myself, even have it as my work. Although I'm a struggling artist and growing slowly towards my goal, I couldn't agree more to go back to different types of genre and scope.

This includes reading fairy tale like stories, the origin of true fantasy and fiction for me.

Children stories have a variety of versions, there are ones from the era of the Grimm brothers and Anderson that based of the child's version of cautionary tales. Generations before them that were passed down from word of mouth that formed legends and mythology, to this age where the realistic the story is that stirs an emotion or scenario the better. Unto ones that were completely bizarre and simply amused you with current trendy and catchy cute concepts of fables or monsters that delved independently to the pursuit of creative essence.

Golden Key

Tells a tale of a boy in the middle of a winter night, or any time of the day maybe unlike the little match girl who spent her time in a snowy night. This boy was poor who intended to never go home due to the state of his life. Freezing, almost no food to eat (maybe?), and no other chances of making things better, he finds himself scraping through the soil to warm himself only to find a tiny gold key, and upon digging deeper, finds a large chest.

Eventually the translation from my source doesn't have any version with the ending. In fact, it just hinted a form of anticipation for the contents, even though it might just end up like Schrodinger's cat. To me, it is either the best cliff hanger or a grand opportunity for a writer to try and end the story themselves. The beginning of the story isn't that much different to whatever style the Grimm brothers wrote in. Yet, the unfortunate lack of ending feels satisfying and not at the same time.

I couldn't even analyze the story's very essence or possible cautionary tale for anyone, just that it's all going to end like Schrodingers cat. The possibility of only bad things coming out from the chest, or may be good things, no one will be sure of. So, maybe, in the end, I could just subjectively make this story a seemingly inspirational one. The positive kind, where one person begins with a sort of reminder that how hard life is don't give up on a pursuit you believe in that will grow into something better in the end, or maybe that the chest will always be a symbol of life's mysteries and surprises.

Either way, looking at the way it was written is enriching enough, I must say. Let it's simplicity just baffle you into it's incompleteness. 

Unpopular Opinion 2-oh-something

Listening to Ruth B's "Lost Boys".

Depicting a story about someone finding their way to a figure like Peter Pan and all the Lost Boys, plus the world of Neverland. I refuse to categorize the gender of her main character in the composition, if she was the one who composed the song, should've looked it up. Either way, resounding songs of juvenile and explorative lines rings through the song like a lovely string of quartet kids laughing around posies and in share spreading giggly life into the gardens of the lost eden.

Yet, this song sang differently for me, as all listeners of any modern released singles and budding musicians in the industry. The song will obviously be subjective and even have an obviously selective crowd, probably the ones who will be enticed by the tune like me (evidently not underrated due to the obvious 34M+ views and 432k likes by youtube statistics).

Stories are pretty song in poem format, sometimes I don't get it in one go and makes me want to listen to them multiple instances whenever I felt like. Maybe in lonely times or in occasions when I feel like drowning myself with a new found song and just let the gush of emotions run through. Like Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons", but this song didn't just ring me up something romanticized.

Through my minds television, I saw my characters from Tamtam, the story playing forthrightly like it never left me. Scenarios string between broken verses that originally did not fit each other. One scene was something from an arch of the story yet to be written, while one connected to the unwritten in the currently written one, maybe will be the consequence of their actions in the future. Like a prediction to what should, but soon it would fade and another scenario would fill it's gap as the song continues to flow.

Until the end, and when I play repeat again, there it is Tamtam, running in my minds TV like a never ending movie.

I've always loved it when my mind feels fueled by music, as if an auto-MV would suddenly direct itself without any supervision from me but the subconscious imagination I've previously done, either repeating or being revised. This kind of thing happens to me tons of times in my younger days. But when I got into the world of "being too tired to even bother for this shit" (work life, normal employee life), I've begun to loose the energy to write or even draw.

That moment of my life was the saddest I've been, besides my indulging to my jealousy, that's a completely different story right there.

There isn't much of an unpopular opinion here, just, that I've forgotten to mention. That if I'd give a gender to the character in the song, I would stick to the original characters from the book the song and the origin of the term "Lost Boys". Wendy, maybe, or just a random girl trying to find her way into a lonely world. A lonely world she just probably couldn't form into a less lonely one due to the lack of motivation. Quote-and-quote.

Sort of completely indulging it like a romantic song, or a coming of age song for the girl. Where she finds someone like a Peter Pan, dragging her away from the lonesome reality and covered her in the magic Peter always brought with him in his pocket, or Tinker Bell even though she wasn't even mentioned in the song. Rude now that I thought of it. (at least it was mentioned as pixie dust)

Think like that, comparing the girl and finding her self in the story, as if all she needed was companionship all along. But, what if it came the time that she realized she couldn't be with her Peter Pan anymore. Like Wendy.

I may dub this an unpopular opinion, but I guess it's an unpopular opinion only to me, you see. There might be just a time right now, currently in my life, that I've just realized that I have woken up from a sort of Neverland. That soon I feel like Wendy leaving Peter Pan and onto a reality. Just a feeling.

There isn't much, just, the change feels painful. I've begun to slowly loose the patience and ability to easily accept things. Mayhaps it's a great change that it feels difficult compared to the other changes in my life. Still, it feels painful, but good just like the song.  

Tamtam and the Update

These days I've stopped creating for my planned webcomics "Tamtam: Peaceful Days", and stopped editing the script for the first arc of the story. But I've come back to edit the story and soon plan on creating the drafts, by pencil, and just post it like that through my webcomics. Mayhaps it would make me successfully practice being a clean pencil artist for my art, and future projects. I could ink them at the same time, but I take ten years to ink, especially in projects that I have to leave them off for the while.

Being slow in the industry of creating my own story and comics is a bit dragging. I won't be sugar coating my sin by saying I'm not jealous of the people who've gone and succeeded in this line of life, but I'm not lying when I say that I get the same heights of inspiration even sometimes greater than my warped jealous self. Either way, the script is in an over haul of almost everything. From the dialogue to terms used, I'm decided as well to incorporate the irony of 'Baybayin' into my story as a language used by mythos like creatures more than modern society.

In the Philippines, there is a local language and alphabet called 'Alibata' or 'Baybayin' that has been used by our natives until the Spaniards came, as I recall or think...or remember. The alphabet isn't exactly dead, but majority of the citizens aren't even versed in it anymore, me included. My father is awesome with tagalog words, that makes me evidently proud about that skill of his. Considering if it IS a skill to completely know more tagalog than english.

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Me incorporating 'Baybayin' as an ironic dead language in the universe of "Tamtam" is iconic, in a sense that I want to explore how I could string the world I've concocted and the reality I'm partially basing it from. Along with the fact that I'm introducing furry characters AND mythological representatives, completely based from original Pinoy mythology will be a big thing. Not that I'm following the trend in our comics industry, but I've always wondered how I can explore the stories I create with local fiction and mythological lore.

Filipino mythology is really fascinating, but in my growth as an adult, I've lost some of my fascination with the context like I'm already tired and not even happy to support local product, or information historically for that matter. History, especially the lore and legends, has always fascinated me like a moth into a candles light in my childhood days.

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Yet, my memory as good as the misconceptions that of the goldfish (if it IS a misconception that goldfish's memories are short), is completely warped into just retaining only the ones that I need for my current life. See Sherlock BBC, and that episode about him forgetting that Science and the Sun being the center of our known living universe.

This desire must not leave me, that's why I'm writing it here and possibly making a chronicle of my progress, albeit planned only yet and slowly progressing in it. Me, seeing myself researching about how to use 'Baybayin' will be a big thing for me. Putting up an ambition and a goal set helps me a lot.