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!

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!

Nice and snug tucked away in a soft towel is Sem carefully carried back up the same stairs he so thrillingly went down. He probably never thought he would be returned to the puppet room in this manner. I’m sure he’s secretly very happy with it all.

What can I say, I just really like drawing stairs and this one I had to do one more time. It turned out soooo good! Nice exaggerated number of treads, the wallpaper stripes are drawn in a little bent somewhat of a “curved lens” effect what makes the stairs look like it’s inside a tunnel. I know this stairs looks different that the ones on pages 7 and 9 even when it is actually the same, but it just felt good to depict it in a totally different way than before. I guess that’s a little bit of artistic liberty I give myself.

I finished the last 2 pages of this story last week and work on the cover is in progress. All I need to do after that is a correction round and look for a good printer. So keep checking back because before you know it you will be able to order your copy of Semmie the Forest gnome.

Have fun with page 30!

You have to admit, there goes nothing above a good bath after an exciting adventure.  First to wash off the mud and then to chill a little in the hot water before you go to bed. You will appreciate life much better then, I know Sem will.

I really pulled out everything on this page, running water, inside of the sink and not to forget the soap dispenser. All different materials that all need a different approach and technique. The only thing I’m going to work on a little more next time is the water, it is looking a bit to glassy for my taste. Make no mistake I am really happy with the way it turned out, but you got to have something to improve right?

Have fun with page 29!

Sem has given up , it is raining cats and dogs, he has a splitting headache and to top it off the door is shut. But things are happening on the other side of this door. It is difficult to make out what is actually said but one thing is for sure, somebody clearly has forgotten something. And then, then Semmie and Bear are saved.

One of the hardest things I encountered while coloring this page was adjusting the colors on the top and bottom half of the page so they would look right together. This page is roughly divided in 3 parts, the first 4 panels are fairly dark with a prominent light source. Panel 5 and 6 are more or less normally exposed to light and the final panel is heavily over exposed. I can tell you that during the flatting of this page I wasn’t sure if I could pull this one off.
But in the end it is all a matter of perseverance, if you’re not happy with a page you just keep adjusting until you are. That’s what I did and I think the end result is actually quite good!

Have fun!