For sale!

The time has finally come, I have uploaded (after a few minor adjustments) the final print document to the printer last Sunday and changed the status of the project to “Direct Access” which means you can now order your very own copy of Semmie the Forest Gnome! (Click here to order it through Lulu.com)

Let’s put all the facts in order:
Title: Semmie the Forest Gnome
Language: English
Binding: Hardcover
Interior: Full-color
Number of pages: 36
Price: € 15,-

And since I have not been updating for the last two weeks I have made an illustration of one of the most important characters from Semmie’s second story, just to make it up to you (click for full-size).

Finally!

Here it is, finally it arrived all the way from France. The very first copy of the very first book of Semmie the Forest Gnome!
Last Thursday I received a message from my printer that my book was sent by mail that very day and from that moment on I have grown more nervous by the day. I eventually came to a point I had little faith it would ever arrive at all and I would have to order a new copy. But today (thank god!) it arrived and it is truly amazing!

Now I can hear you think: “What is it going to cost? And where can I order one?”.
Well I should ask you all for a little more patience, I am printing this book through the “Print on Demand” principle which quite an expensive way to make books. However it is my goal to offer this book at a price you would pay for a normal comic at a bookstore.
When I have all information, I will make the book available for order trough this website.

Oh yeah and with a beautiful hardcover!
(Click for full-size)

I have uploaded the printing file of Semmie the Forest Gnome to the printer last Sunday evening and ordered my first advance copy. I can’t believe it is done, that in a few days, after all this time, after it consumed every spare hour I had I can really hold it in my hands.

Preliminary work on Semmie 2 is also progressing, below is a study of the Grey Heron a bird very common to the Netherlands and found along many canals and water filled ditches, that is the reason it is going to play a very big part in the next story.

Click on the image for the full version, have fun!

Preliminary work for Semmie 2

Work on Semmie 2 is moving along with a steady pass, one of the most important locations in the story is by the waterside near a mill. That’s why this week I visited some polder mills in the region to make a few photos. The illustration above is the direct result of this visit, for those of you who aren’t quite familiar with the workings of a polder mill, the hatch you see here blocks the entrance of a tunnel that transports the water to the mill’s paddle wheel. This paddle wheel will then lift the water for 1 or 1,5 meters.

In the mean time the work on the printing document for Semmie 1 is still going on, my Graphic Designer still has to take a critical look at it all before it can be send to the printer, so I will keep you posted!

It has been a while since I posted anything about Semmie the Forest gnome, but now that all side-projects are done I am finally able to dot the final i’s. I am currently coloring a newly drawn page 5 and after that I will make one big document that will be send to the printer.
I expect to have the first samples done by next month so after some tweaking left and right I should be able to have the book available for everyone by the end of May or begin June.

For anybody that forgot what Semmie the Forest gnome is all about or for everybody that doesn’t know yet just click here.

For now have fun and I will keep you posted!

It is time for the second and final part of Revision Time. Page 5 was the only page that truly needed some serious revising, the revisions on the other pages were mostly due to colors and/or texture. For all of you who can’t wait to see the altered pages, I will not be uploading any of them, sorry. But they will only be available in the printed version.

The old page 5 only had 2 panels showing the other dolls laughing and making fun of Semmie. On the new double paged page 5 I have used an entire page just to have that feeling of humiliation get a cross a little better. The only thing you have to do is imagine the big sound effects (Hahahaha, Hihihihi, Hohohoho), because they are put in during coloring.

Have fun!

I have always had a bad feeling about page 5. It had too few colors, there were some unclear panels and I just tried to tell too much in just 1 page which made it all even more unclear.

During the revision round I saved this page for last and then eventually made a decision: current page has to go and 2 new ones should replace it. So this week the new page 5 part 1, without colors but with inks! Next week page 5 part 2 also without colors.

If you want to see these 2 new pages in color you unfortunately have to wait until the printed version of Semmie the Forest gnome.

Have fun!

Finishing up the First story of Semmie the Forest Gnome is steadily proceeding, the cover is done as you can see below and the revision round is running its course. If everything goes well then I should be able to have my first copy of Semmie somewhere in January and not long after that you should be able to order a copy yourselves. Imagine, your own copy of Semmie the Forest Gnome at the shelf of your own bookcase!

Several people have told me my last post sounded quite final, like there will not be a next story of Semmie the Forest Gnome after this one. It was certainly not my intention to send out such a signal since there will definitely be a sequel! At this very moment I am sketching the pages for Semmie the Forest Gnome 2 featuring Semmie and Bear of course, but also a pilot and some very typical Dutch locations. So keep an eye on StudioJoost.nl because when I have enough pages prepared I’m going to start uploading new full-color pages every week.

And now the image for this week: the cover! It is probably not very reputable to say this about your own work, but isn’t it cooooooooooooooool!

Have fun and click on the image for full-size!

Right in the middle of all the attention, with everybody’s eyes and ears pointed at him, Sem is clearly enjoying it all. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but it looks like his adventure made him grow taller than the other dolls. Enjoy the attention Sem, you have earned it!

When I, I am almost embarrassed to say this. When I started this project 3 years ago I had absolutely no idea that, 1. It would take this long for me to finish 32 pages and 2. That I actually had no idea what it would take to make a good comic. It is up to you to decide if I succeeded in accomplishing that last point, at least I believe I did.
I have learned so much about writing a story or making a good composition or choosing the right colors etc. That now, when I look back at the beginning there are quite a few things I would do different if I would do it again. And I have to restrain myself so I don’t redo the first pages completely during the revision round. All these new skills are better put to use on a brand new story.

I better stop beating around the bush, here it is, the final page of Semmie the Forest gnome!

Sem never expected this since he was terribly laughed at when he announced he would go off and look for the forest. Basically the Puppet room is just like anywhere else in the world. When you tell you are about to do something nobody has ever done before people will cal you crazy and laugh at you. But when you have actually done it you will be called a hero and people are hanging on your lips to hear about your experience.
Sem deserves all this attention off course, because he has an amazing story to tell them.

Now that I reached the end of this story (only 1 ore page and the cover to go) I realize I have not put enough time and effort in the development of the next story. At this moment I have only 4 pages sketched out and that is not nearly enough to start on full pages in ink and color. I’m thinking of posting sketches and preliminary work on different project every Tuesday until I have enough work done to start posting pages of Sem’s second story. If you have any other idea of what I should put up, please let me know!

To make thing even more hectic I started a little project on the side that need to be finished by the end of February 2011. This will be a picture book that will accompany a d.i.y. puppet kit of one of the new releases of AtelierLuus.nl. I can’t tell you any more about this project at the moment, but soon I will dedicate an entire post to this subject.

For now have fun with page 31!