In honor of Breaking Bad!

I drew up a quick sketch card of Heisenberg (A.K.A. Walter White) a couple of days ago while anticipating tonights new episode which left me speachless and had the best cliffhanger of the show so far.

 The sketch is simple and based off the sketch of him from the show. I plan on doing some more realistic cards of several cast members soon and If anyone has a request for an original Breaking Bad sketch card for commission, please email me at... midnighthorizon@hotmail.com. Just put sketch card in the subject box. Getting back to work on my horror story pages. Gotta go!

Indie Creators... united we can achieve more!

Tired of doing it all yourself? Tired of spending hours and hours day after day and making what seems like little progress because you write, draw, letter, and color your own comic book? Well, it can be easier but it takes communication, willingness to be a team player, and likeminded people who want to help each other in order to help themselves.

Use your Strengths where they fit best
This will be the future hub of some great ideas and collaborations from likeminded Indie writers, artists, and creators. A place where guy's and girls who create comics as loners without help come together and help one another to pump out great comics. Maybe you can't find work as a pro but are right there on the verge of making it. This will be a place for those future pros. A place where you step up to the next level by trading notes, finding a writer, penciller, inker, letterer, colorist, editor, web designer, or whatever you need. Sure, it would be great to get paid for every job you do but let's face it, that's not always going to happen until you are dealing with bigger companies. Why not help others and trade off your skills for the greater good of your project?

Not trying to be the next digital webbing by any means. Just trying to help Indie creators who have too much on their plate by matching them up with a creative team... but for this to work we all have to be flexible to a degree and be able to bend and can't be set in stone on doing it "your own way". It's actually quite simple but a lot of writer/artist types try to go at it alone for whatever reason. It's been done this way years and it's how a lot of your big names have made it to fame by using their strengths and teaming up with other talented people. Look at Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore who teamed up to self publish Battle Pope and would later work together on the hit Walking Dead comic. That's just one example but you get the point.

Working together to make a bigger impact!
Maybe you are a writer and meet a great artist but he sees some flaws in your characters costume or how it wouldn't work well in a real fight. You have to take in his suggestions and be open to little changes. That's where he shines and has a better sense of how something looks visually. Just as writers know how to tell a better story than someone who just see's it when he draws it. Maybe you need and editor who can correct your typos and stuff, or a colorist who can make your work look even better. You have to let them shine where they fit best and trust them to do their thing. Vote on it as a whole creative team and see what people thing would work best. That's why there are creative teams and why books succeed more than one with a sole creator.

See your work completed quicker and with a higher quality look
When you work as a team using your strengths where they work best, you get a better looking, higher quality book. Plus it shortens the time you put into it if you were going at it alone. This get's you on to your next issue or another creators project where you lend your talents to help them get their book completed. It all works out if we all do our part but you have to be sure to return the favor to the other members. Joe helps you draw an issue of "The imperfect adventures of Punyman", and then when you finish that issue you help him write or letter his "Hot Babes From Hell" one-shot. Next, since Mary colored both your books you all jump in and help Mary complete her idea for a comic "The Devil's Bride." Suddenly, you have completed 3 published books at the same time it would have taken you to do 1, and you have all used your strengths where they are best utilized and the higher quality will more likely help your work to be successful and you are building a name for yourself by putting out work on a regular basis keeps you productive and shows your presence in the comic book community. So, you get to help the ones that helped you and build your resume. If your comic book succeeds and becomes popular, then you can eventually pay your team if they wish to stay on the series.

Your Own Talent Pool
Once you get enough people to contribute their talents, you have a pool of talent to pick and collaborate with. You may have enough to eventually branch off into 2 teams and more people can get their books out at once. What if you just want to find your strength? Why not apprentice under the guidance of someone willing to teach you some things like doing color flats for a colorist, proof reading a script or comic book before going to press, inking assists, marketing and promotional jobs, or web design for your site. That's the great thing about surrounding yourself with likeminded talent... there's so much to offer that everyone can shine somewhere.

Creative process.

Taking a little time out the past couple of weeks to look at and anylize my creative process. Trying to think outside of the box in several ways. You see... you can't grow as an artist if you continue to go about things the same way over and over. You have to experiment with new tecniques, styles, and the way you think about things in order to hone your skills and step up to the next level.

I have really been doing this a lot lately. Sometimes I find a cool new inking tecnique and sometimes I learn not to do that again, but the main thing is, I'm learning, growing, and maturing to the next level. Everyones taste is different and Indie comics to me is where you get to see fresh new styles and concepts. Great stories are just as important but the art is a big influence to many fans.

 My biggest experiments at the moment are anylizing every line and thinking if I truly need it and if the art really benifits from me using it. Trying to keep it simpler by using less linework and also adding solid blacks to my work. Shodow work can be a tricky thing so I have been focusingon that too. Sometimes overdoing it but learning non the less. It's all a journey and you have to keep moving trying new things to reach your goals. I'll be trying a lot of new things with my art. Until next time.

-Kenny

Productive Day!

Yesterday was a really productive day. I talked comics with Marshall Loveless who does the horror comic "ODM." We talked for over 2 hours about working on some stuff together in the near future. Marshall is a great artist and loves the horror genre even more than I do. I'm pretty excited to see his project come to life. I can't spill the beans on it yet but it is definatly going to get noticed among horror fans.

Plus, I actually got a lot of work done on some pages for my next short horror story that will be included in Killer Collection. Haven't namesd it for sure yet. Kind of torn between 2 names at the moment. I can tell you that it's a ghost story this time and that it is going to be something that I haven't done before. I'll be drawing a lot of things and using a lot of photo references. Going to be to digging deeper and giving it a darker and creepier look that's sure to give you goose bumps! Trying to do a lot of different shadow work with my inking and give it a creepier feel.

 That's the great think about these short stories... you get to experiment with your art and learn new techniques that help you grow as an artist. Every short story that I have done has given me a chance to experiment with my drawing style whether it be pencils, inks, or both. I'm also really trying to open my mind visually with this upcoming story. Well, I guess I better get back to it then if that's the case. I'll post a sample page of art next time to give you something to look at and show some progress.

-Kenny

My "Not so famous" humorous quotes

While I work on my new pages for Killer Collection, I figured I would plug my book That I published through Amazon's and Create Space last year. If you are like me and enjoy cool quotes and humorous sayings then I have something that's worth taking a look at. Here's a little gem by yours truly and it's available through Amazon and Create Space. It has also just been added to Barnes & Noble's website. It's called...

My "Not so famous" humorous quotes





Overview:
This humorous and witty book takes you through the everyday thoughts of the author who touches base on many subject matters that we all have in common and can relate to. Read
his twisted but funny quotes about life, love, drinking, men, women, stupidity and some
more risque subjects as well. These quotes are, "not so famous" which is why they will be
fresh material for readers searching for much more than the same old quotes that's been
read over and over. Some great examples are?" Men are simple to figure out, we are
basically educated cavemen." and " Once you think life is great, you should yank out a
nose hair to remind you that it's only temporary." So what are you waiting for... check it out!


Amazon link


Barnes & Noble's link


Any support is greatly appreciated and let me know if you buy a copy and I'll give you
a "Thank you!" shout out, right here on my blog and Facebook page!


Until next time,

-Kenny

Killer Collection.

 I am currently compiling several of my short horror stories that i did for Horrific Tales Anthology and putting them in a stand alone book with some new pages added in to the stories. Plus I will be doing a new story just for this book. It's titled, "Killer Collection." I will also be starting a kickstarter campaign to help cover printing cost and to bring in more readers.

Kickstarter is a great place where you can reach people who want to help you reach your goals by investing in your product and in return they get to become a part of the finish product by getting all types of cool rewards. It's a whole new way of doing things and It has changed how to get your project funded in a major way.

Well, stay tuned for more info about the status of my book. I'm working on new pages for it as we speak!


- Kenny

First entry!

*This is a little entry i put up on my deviant art account and thought it would be a good starting point for my blog.*

Do I start this journal off by saying, "Star Date" or something? Nope because that's just plain stupid. Okay here goes... A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
... There was born into the world an artist who could maybe, just possibly save the world from self destruction... and yes, as you may have already guessed. .. that man wasn't me. I was the kid that instead of drawing still life and learning about artists who spatter paint on walls, would rather draw pictures of super heroes, wrestlers and half naked chicks. The kid who made his own knock off comics of Spider-Man, Transformers and G.I. Joe... and no I didn't title it G.I. Blow. It was called U.S. Command... which I misspelled for the first 5 issues.  I made over 12 of them bad boy's and made my little sisters read them. They are still scarred to this day from those childhood events. Now that I look back I can't blame them at all. In some countries that could be considered terrorism.
Yes I'm being hard on myself but I realize I was just a kid with a passion for doing something that made me happy. My own world of characters with big circle heads and only 3 fingers on each hand. Yes these deformed little cartoons were more real to me than the assholes that sat beside me on the bus admiring the shiny new boogers they had just picked and wanted to share their discovery with me.  Could my self made comics be my shiny new boogers? Of course not, that's just sick.
I sat day after day drawing new comics, slowly creating my very own unique characters. Some of them are still around to this day and with practice grew out of their deformities. I didn't realize at the time that I needed to draw still life and look at real anatomy and due to that my poor creations had to suffer until I one day woke up and began to take the whole process in and see the big picture. I must have been about 15 then and started to get more into painting and put more emotion into my work but all of the sudden I hit a brick wall and lost myself into something to this day I have yet to understand... and that my friends was women. I hardly drew anything for the next couple of years. I lost my focus on art and was focused completely on... let's call it love shall we.  It wasn't a bad thing, I was just unbalanced and had my priorities all wrong. Later on after I got married I began to get that drive back in me to pick up the pencil again.
I began to revision several of my old characters such as Slayer and even some new ones. I was back with a vengeance! Hell yeah, I was going to publish my own comics and do it my way... so I thought anyway. I submitted my first Slayer one-shot to Diamond Distribution. They told me how much they loved the non stop action and that it kept them on the edge of their seat... I had them reeled in, everyone loves action right?! Well, apparently I forgot to learn how to ink and my perspective was off and it had an unprofessional feel that at the time I didn't think mattered for an independent comic book. They kindly turned down my submission for previews. I couldn't blame them because they were right. I hadn't taken the time to... say it with me one more time, "SEE THE BIG PICTURE." Very good boy's and girls.
That was over fifteen years ago.... I was crushed... I then moved to China where I have lived for many years in solitude as a monk. I practice drawing while blindfolded while balancing on one leg. I even found an old friend there who has finally mastered his art of booger picking. He calls it, "golden booger kung- fu." I have meditated everyday and taken an oath to one day face off with Diamond Distro. and bring down this monster... maybe I was born to save the world after all before we are devoured by this greedy beast.
Okay, I really didn't go to China and exaggerated a bit on that last paragraph but that would have been awesome if I did... well, except the booger part. Anyway, I have been practicing my skills over those years and self publishing my comics as well as contributing to small press comics from other creators. The last several years I have moved into an Indy publisher status and work with other, "Indy" creators. My sisters even ask to read my comics now and  they didn't need that therapy after all. Talk about a waist of money. 
My current works can be ordered from my website at [link] or at [link]. I've also worked with Highburn Studios on several books and you can see more from them at [link]. I do several comiccons a year and have just began selling my sketch cards on eBay. 
That's all of the shameless plugs we have time for in this installment and I hope you've been entertained by my somewhat true life story. Tune in next time when I over emphasize a new funny word like butt crack. One more thing, it's 3:30 am and I probably won't remember any of this confessional. So do me a favor and when you comment about it just mention the magic words," enlightened art monkey" and It will come right back to me. Okay, say it one time for good measure. This has been all i can stand for now so I'll be writing something here again when my brain swelling goes down. Later!
-Kenny