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Boxes and More Boxes

A couple big packages were delivered to the office today — one that was scheduled for today, the other wasn’t expected for another week (card boxes). I grabbed my phone, box cutter and started cracking these open.

I’m going to need tuck boxes when I start selling the first trading card box set on the shop, so I checked in with TheCustomBoxes and before I could begin browsing their website the little chat box in the corner dinged and I started chatting with a rep. The rep was very courteous and helpful — even more impressive was the fact that they were able to accommodate my custom specs for the dimensions of the box without any issues.

It was just over $300 for an order of 300 boxes, wrap around custom art (1C), which was designed in-house by myself, with an aqueous matte coating. The boxes came pre-glued and flat… but there were some issues.

Some of the card boxes were damaged straight outta the box. The package came from Pakistan and took a bit of beating… I once worked as a dock worker for DHL, which is the carrier that handled this package and lemme tell you, there’s a reason I’m obsessive about quality packaging! Luckily not too many of them were ruined but another thing I was worried about was the quality of the print and the trim of the boxes.

The boxes are naturally off-white and I opted for a 1C (K) custom art printing, so the white edges are very obvious. Luckily, when the box is folded up it looks decent aside from the glued edge protruding ever so slighty. The print came out just okay, with the finer text and logos a bit distorted and blurry, but at least the trim was preserved and everything seems to be uniformly aligned throughout the entire job. The saving grace for these boxes is the aqueous matte coating, which is by far my favorite finish across all paper and card stocks.

Overall, I’m still just okay with this vendor. I would use them again, but mostly to test out their consistency. I have one more card to design before I send the next batch of trading cards off the printer. Once I receive them, TCS (Trading Card Set) 2019-2020 will be available on the Etsy shop (ETA, a couple weeks from now).

As for the other package, I was really happy with these.

Very similar to BCW boxes, these budget mailers came from Packola. Unlike TheCustomBoxes that has a damn broken website, Packola has a wonderful website with a great user interface and awesome 3D view of the products they offer, complete with animations and custom options. I ordered 100 of the 7 x 5 x 1.5 inch budget mailers, which came up to about $80 plus shipping which totaled up to $106. Took over a week to get here, but I’m really happy with the way these came packaged - none of them were damaged, so that’s already a big plus in my book.

Very easy to work with, quick to assemble, they look good and will protect the contents in transit. What more can you ask for in a mailer?

I put together a mock-up order with a trading card set and acrylic standee. That’s just regular red packaging tissue keeping the items nestled comfortably in the box, but I’ll probably order some newsprint packaging paper to better secure the contents and use a layer of tissue on top for that nice presentation. Hey, packaging aesthetics matter!

Slapped on the new Murakumo Comics logo stickers I got from Sticker Giant and the package is pretty much good to go! Anyway, that just about wraps it up for this report!

Acrylic Standee Review

Yesterday the acrylic standees came in! The most surprising thing is that FedEx delivered on-time — absolutely unprecedented! It’s a good thing they were on the ball, as air mail express comes at a premium. Ouch.

So I’ll start off talking about what was on my mind, the product itself and then go over the vendor and the ordering process. I wanted to purchase 100 count to start off with. This normally isn’t a good idea if you’re sampling a vendor but I was feeling ballsy. Luckily for me it worked out, but there are a couple of issues that could have been prevented had I done a smaller sampling. I’ll get into that later, for now, let’s inspect the product.

I ordered double panel acrylic standees. There are a number of options for creating these standees. You can do a single panel with the image printed on one side without a finish, but the chances of the art scratching off are extremely high and it’s not recommended. Getting a clear epoxy coating will protect the graphic print on the panel, but I opted for double panel which prints the graphic on two separate panels. This way the graphic is sandwiched between them, giving the optimal amount of protection and durability.

They came packaged in a box — 5 large zip seal bags containing 25 units a piece. Each individual unit came packaged within a flap seal bag.

They were haphazardly tossed together, so my main concern was scuffing and scratching. None of them were cracked or snapped as the double panel acrylic is sturdy AF. Upon opening the first unit I noticed the base and standee were really frosty… I was immediately concerned.

Upon closer inspection I noticed visible scuffs and scratches as well as bubbling and some fluting along the surface. For a second I thought I was going to have to ship the order back, but then realized it was just the protective film. Similar to the panels on computer chassis, these were coated with protective film and fed through the laser cutter, leaving a perfectly fitted layer of protection on both sides of the panels.

Removing the film on these units is a royal pain in the ass!! Once you’ve got it lifted you get a nice, satisfying peel, but finding that entry point is a hassle. I gotta find my heat gun, I figure that’ll make removal a lot easier. If it wasn’t so good at protecting the acrylic surface, I would’ve repackaged every unit myself. But even standees that have deep scratches on the film are perfect once that layer is peeled off, so I feel good about shipping them as they are.

The acrylic is very clear, and the print job is perfect — as it damn well better be, I supplied them with the raw 600 DPI source file. Some of the units have harsh edges that aren’t visually noticeable, but could really use a good deburring. I wonder if there’s a way to get chamfered edges on these… but then they’d have to reseal each unit with a new layer of film. And it’s questions like these you want to bring up with the manufacturer, to see what options are available. Speaking of which…

The partner I used to create these is Firebird Gifts in Dongguan. They’re a Gold Supplier on Alibaba and I chose them based on the samples displayed. They were very easy to work with and had excellent communication, but I’m going to place a small order with a Verified Supplier next week and see what they can produce. Unfortunately, when it comes to producing these type of goods, we don’t have too many choices domestically and the ones that we do have are usually brokers that outsource to China anyway.

It took less than a day to get in contact with Firebird Gifts, provide the specs, the files and process the payment to get the order started. The next day I was provided with a proof, and then a revision with a thicker insertion point at the base (it was too thin with the first proof, following the outline of her legwarmers, so they fanned it out towards the base to provide better stability). One week later I got the notice that the order had shipped. Two days after that the package arrived at my doorstep.

The only thing I need to change in regards to the design are the colors. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, you want a small sample size to see how the product comes out. In this case, I want to brighten up the colors just a bit, and also get the copyright and Murakumo Comics logo stamped on the base. But now that I’ve got a hot press machine, I could order a custom head with the Murakumo Comics logo and copyright on it and emboss it myself!

Anyway, that just about wraps it up for this report!

The Daily Grind

Right outta bed, I go do the thing (hygiene) and go straight to the computer and start answering emails. A really exciting reply showed up in my inbox this morning - we’ve secured our first featured guest artist for the BMKB2 campaign! Not going to say who just yet, but this person is one of the top 3 artists on the list of candidates I wanted to reach out to. I’ve admired their work for a long time, I’m honored and elated to have them onboard.

The acrylic standees just shipped out. They should be in the studio in a couple of days according to the estimated delivery date… but it’s FedEx, which is a guarantee that it will not be delivered on-time. Maybe one day I’ll chronicle all the shipping mishaps and delays that were caused by that accursed carrier…

Y’know, a lot of us romanticize about how cool it is to make comics, but then there’s this side of production that’s not really talked about. It’s not nearly as glamorous but it’s just as important. It includes all the tasks that corporate would cover with their various departments and teams, but for us, the small indie creators, we gotta wear all the hats.

I just responded to a dozen emails and inquiries from customers regarding order status, available goods, suggestions and requests. I also got through a handful of correspondences with print partners, vendors and freelancers. All the while I’ve been waiting for a couple of phone calls to come in this morning and afternoon from new potential print partners and manufacturers.

Every 2-3 days, I process the bulk orders on Etsy and get them shipped out. And, of course, I have to find time to actually write and draw the comic, each and every day! If you’re not a one-man show like myself, you’d also have to coordinate with your production team and make sure everyone else is pulling their weight. It’s a lot of work, but I can’t even begin to describe how great it feels when the project comes together, you produce the comic and get it into the backer’s hands. It’s the best, and I love being to able to do what I do!

Now, I gotta go make a phone call, because one of those calls I was waiting for should have came in an hour ago… XD

Hot Foil Press, Acrylic Standees and Trading Card Box Set

Time for my annual blog post!

I finally got around to giving the site a much needed update, though I still need to upload some new entries for the portfolio… not really as important as it was before, seeing as how I’m no longer a freelancer seeking work. A lot has happened since my last post but I’m not about to reminisce - that’d take forever and I don’t have that kinda time!

But, I figured I could put this blog to use and start posting up some production reports. So here we go!

Unfortunately, it turns out not too many printers outside of China want to do, or are even capable of doing, the sequential hot foil numbering for the books… and by not too many I actually mean none! Some of them, straight up, said it was impossible… Seriously!? It’s not like it’s a particularly difficult task! You take the cover parent sheets over to an automated hot foil press machine prior to binding, that’s it.

The Japanese printers I’m talking to are able to do a 4c (CMYK) sequential numbering job, but that doesn’t give the same impression of quality and exclusivity that the stamped foil does. So I figured, fuck it, I’ll do the foil stamping manually, in-house!

So today the hot foil press machine came in. I originally placed an order on Alibaba but then found another brand of the exact same machine being sold on Amazon for much cheaper and comes with the top line model, all the bells and whistles included. One of the flimsy mounting bracket guides snapped because the packaging was atrocious but luckily some Gorilla Glue fixed that up, no problem.

The press came with no instructions, but there wasn’t too much assembly required. I still have some loose components and I have no clue what the hell they’re for. But it works, and the stamping comes out even cleaner than the job PrintNinja was able to produce. Now I just gotta wait for the automated numbering head to be delivered - the dial number head that automatically marks up with each press.

For anyone interested, here’s the Amazon link to the press I bought.

I’ve also got some acrylic standees for BMKB in the works. I’ve already approved the proof and the factory is manufacturing an initial 100 count order. I opted for the double acrylic panel option, as I feel it’s the best bet in terms of quality and sturdiness. I won a couple Macross standees from an Ichiban Kuji a few years ago - they were double panel acrylic, and so I’m hoping mine turn out to be just as good.

Then there’s also the trading card box set. I’m taking the MC2019 A and B sets, combining them and adding a couple new cards to create a boxed set that I’ll be selling up on the shop. I’ll also be inserting the left over rainbow foil cards from the 1S campaign into the boxes randomly, so they ended up becoming a chase card after all!

That just about wraps it up for this progress report!

Reflection

It’s been a good long time since I did any kind of writing here. I just made all the necessary changes to the Battle Maiden Knuckle Bomb Fan Art Contest webpage and figured, since I’m here, I might as well type out my thoughts. A lot has happened since October of last year…

I’m about to wrap up production on the first issue of BMKB, and I’m so excited about it. I never dreamt I would achieve the amount of success I’ve had thus far with Murakumo Comics, and I will forever be grateful for the support and of the opportunity that I’ve received. I’m thankful for all the new friends that I’ve made too, and am looking forward to future projects that we’ve planned together.

Towards the tail end of 2019 it’s going to get very busy in the studio. There are several announcements that I would like to shout out to the world but can’t… At least, not just yet. Good things come to those who wait, right? I will say that this year has already been my most creatively prosperous and artistically satisfying in my short professional career.

I’m very much looking forward to expanding my business, improving upon my craft, producing comics and contributing to the blossoming independent scene. Seeing so many creators collaborate and go for it, throwing their hats into the ring, has been the best kind of inspiration and motivation. And I don’t see it stopping anytime soon!

BMKB Mid Campaign Update!

We’ve just passed 14K and the campaign is still going strong! Thank you all so much for your support! I’ve been working nonstop on both pages for the book and content for the campaign. I’m proud to announce a brand new perk for the campaign, as well as the second run of sketch cover variants!

The new Giclee Perk comes with a signed comic as well as two signed 6x9 inch glicee prints featuring the virgin art of the book’s chapter title cards printed on archival matte paper stock.

Along with the new perk comes a second offering for those who missed out on the sketch cover variant perk that sold out after the first day — 50 more will be opening up for Backers to claim on Monday, 10/22!

BATTLE MAIDEN KNUCKLE BOMB APPAREL

Now Available on Redbubble!

BMKB - Usagi T-Shirts, Bag, Notebook and Tapestry

BMKB IGG Day One - Funding Achieved

DAY ONE FUNDING ACHIEVED!!!

I’ve spent more time on Twitter and social media within the past 48 hours than I did all of last year… This is all new and exciting, but man am I tired right now, lol. I was up all night prior to the 8:30AM PST launch, slept for a few hours, pushed the comic campaign across multiple outlets, did a 2 hour live stream with Jon Malin, sketched out that thank you drawing of Saaya that’s posted above and started fleshing out the draft work on the next couple of pages for the upcoming, now completely funded, first issue of Battle Maiden Knuckle Bomb!

Monday, 10/08, was a very fulfilling day for me. How do I even begin to describe the overwhelming and amazing response from comic and manga fans over the launch of BMKB? I can tell you what I am going to do — I’m going to put all my effort into producing the best fucking debut issue I can! You guys have taken the chance and backed my passion project, now I have to show you that it’s well worth your backing and give you a reason to look forward to more issues!

Truly, sincerely, thank you!

Battle Maiden Knuckle Bomb

Forced to create genetically modified bioweapons for an archaic occult organization, Dr. Albert Vogel inadvertently succeeds at discovering the means to unlock the limits of human potential. He attempts to conceal his revelation, but the cultists grow suspicious and believe the doctor is withholding that which they desperately desire.

Saaya Volkova, Vogel’s niece, is forcefully abducted and used as leverage. She is critically injured and Vogel is forced to inject his niece with the perfected formula to save her life. The mutagen transforms Saaya’s body, increasing her muscular density and grants her incredible strength and resilience. She also gains the ability to fly and a unique skill to absorb and manipulate biokinetic concussive force!

While struggling and learning to control her newly acquired power, Saaya attempts to fight back and to escape with her uncle. But even if they manage to survive, they will surely be pursued, and just how far does this organization’s influence extend?

My comic, Battle Maiden Knuckle Bomb, will be going up on Indiegogo in October, 2018. Below are some sample pages, as well as a cover design I’m currently working on.

(Edit 09/29: Added some new images)

Tranquilo

Tranquilo, あっせん な よ -- words to live by from Tetsuya Naito, one of my favorite wrestlers from Japan. Because, seriously, people need to relax and chill out. I personally haven't been posting much of anything lately because I've had my nose to the grindstone working on getting my comic finished. I'll have a reveal for you guys sometime in September, but for now I'm so absorbed in creating sequential art it's all I can think about!

I bring up tranquilo, though, because I've noticed a handful of artists I follow on Twitter have been dealing with a lot of heat and might not be coping with it in a healthy way. To those affected by online toxicity, please remember that it's very easy for people to be malicious and spout mindless drivel through social media. And that's exactly what it is -- mindless drivel. In most cases I've seen, the mindless hatred is steeped in speculation and stem from baseless rumors or simply opinions.

It's very easy for anyone to make a snap judgement and comment with an uninformed opinion. Most people aren't willing to do the homework involved to formulate a meaningful opinion and hence we get social media being bloated with [enter expletive].

As an artist, criticism is valuable and if someone doesn't like your work it's worth listening to the reasons why, but don't obsess over the negativity. If you can distinguish them, take any valid points your critics have and see if you can benefit from the knowledge, but debating your detractors and trying to convince them of the merits of your work doesn't usually pan out well. It's very rare that a person will turn a corner sincerely through interactions on social media.

Also, remember, there are block and mute functions. I've never had to use them, thankfully, but they're there for anyone who could benefit from them. Logout is a good one too. There are also those sleep and power buttons that log you back into the IRL app known as reality. Not to say that social media can't impact your reality but it's really up to you to decide just how much control you're willing to give it over your day-to-day.

So yeah, tranquilo.

Constant Motion

This year's con season was particularly satisfying for me and I'm still slightly reeling from the aftereffects. Mostly because I'm trying to get rid of this nasty flu that hit me from outta nowhere! But as I'm now able to sit up and simultaneously remain conscious I can actually get back to work, and with even more zeal than before!

Well, the zeal will come later, once I'm rid of this damn fever and cough, ugh...

Anime Expo, quite frankly, sucked! They sorely need to cap attendance for that con as it is ridiculously bloated and ill-organized. Despite purchasing the 4-day pass, I did not return after the first day. I won't be returning as an attendee, but I am seriously considering renting a table at the artists alley next year, as that was one of the only parts of the con I did enjoy a lot. It was also one of the only areas you could move around in without having to carve a path through the tumultuous sea of bodies.

Comic Con was the real game changer for me. It was my first time attending Comic Con and the opportunity presented itself to me on the weekend of the event, thanks to my cousin who is a professional in the entertainment industry. I was able to see and meet so many illustrators who have influenced my artistic life, it was the most fulfilling experience I've ever had at a convention. And this was just walking around the artists alley, I didn't attend a single panel.

Being able to meet these men and women and talk shop was an invaluable and inspiring experience. I've been hard at work on the Ehrgeiz Trading Cards, but there's another project I've been working on simultaneously that will be revealed later this fall. One particularly famous, and or infamous, comic artist gave a speech that really motivated me and that drive has already produced something that I can't wait to complete and share with you all!

There are also a couple other really exciting developments that I have to keep to myself due to NDAs, but this all came at me in the span of a single month! I wouldn't say it's been overwhelming, but it's definitely been a hell of a ride, full momentum in constant motion! Until next time!

June Midterm Status

Man, June is already almost over!? This summer is going to fly by, I just know it.

I've sketched out about 45 cards for the first Ehrgeiz series of trading cards. I haven't settled on the number for the base set just yet, but at the rate I'm going I think 72 will be enough. I've already got a printer ready for the project, I've just got to work on the art and the visual design of the cards. The plan is to launch with a Kickstarter, but there are still a couple of details I need to work out beforehand. As usual, I'll keep you guys posted!

For now, here’s a jungle girl-themed cover I finished up recently!

That's a wrap for now, just wanted to post a quick update. Until next time!

Current State of Ehrgeiz

Something I'm constantly asked about is what happened to Ehrgeiz?

Ehrgeiz was a webcomic that I had created three years ago that evolved around the world of joshi puro, the Japanese style and discipline of women's professional wrestling. Though the comic only ran for a few months with one or two pages being uploaded a week, it garnered a small fandom that continues to inquire about the comic to this day.

I'm currently throwing around some ideas for a one shot Ehrgeiz comic, but a lot has changed since the comic's inception. One big change is the time frame of the comic, which originally took place in the '80s. The release of GLOW on Netflix pretty much filled the void I had intended for Ehrgeiz, and the show did a damn good job. So while I stew on what type of story I want to tell with these characters, I figured I'd just focus on the characters themselves for now.

I've finalized the designs of the initial Ehrgeiz roster and am currently working on a set of trading cards that will introduce them and their abilities in the ring. The idea is to present the entire project as a work; All wrestlers will commit to being in-character, a handful of which would fit right in with the zany gimmicky caricatures of the '80s and '90s!

I'll keep you guys posted on the progress of the trading cards. The base set will feature 72 cards, composed of character and wrestling cards. With this being my first outing, I'm going to keep it simple. The base set will be available to purchase in full and will come with a box topper. Later on, I’d like to introduce some chase cards to the set. If it's well received, I might consider bringing in some freelancers for some bonus cards for the next set.

The back of the cards will feature art, profiles, demographics, stats and history. You'll be able to learn quite a bit about each character, and their relationships with the others, through the information presented on the back of the cards.

So that's the status of Ehrgeiz at the moment. Thanks so much for those of you who continued to express interest in my characters! Until next time!!

Stage One

I've had my domain for over a couple years and never got around to actually building my art site because I was so busy with work. I jumped on the bandwagon and gave Squarespace a try and, look at that, in less than a day I've got my website, portfolio and blog all up and running. You hear people shilling for it all the time but I can personally vouch for 'em now. Not having to run everything through FTP and manually coding every page lets me focus on work that I need to get done. So that's that.

In regards to what you can expect on this blog, it's going to be just like my previous blog. I'll be focusing on works that are in development and art-based topics, but now more than ever I need a place to output my thoughts and this is going to be the platform. If I can obtain the hardware for it, I'd like to start streaming off my Wacom device, but for now the focus is, as always, on the work. Until next time!

Press Start

I've finally gotten around to transferring everything over to this new host. It's so convenient having everything tied in to a single platform. Please have patience with me as I try to figure all this out, lol.