Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Art of the Wormworld Saga - Step 1 online!
Wow, that really caught me by surprise! The kickstarter progress jumped from 37% this morning up to 44% this evening. This means it's time for the first video. Due to the maximum length of 15 minutes per video on YouTube I had to cut it into two parts. You can watch them here directly on the blog or in my YouTube channel.
I would be happy to receive your feedback on the videos and if you happen to have any questions, please shoot them at me!
The next step - the drawing - will be posted as soon as the kickstarter campaign reaches 60% of the funding goal. So, please keep on spreading the word! The more people learn about this, the less will everyone have to contribute to its success! And since it's always handy to have a link within reach - click here to find the kickstarter project page:
The Wormworld Saga App at kickstarter.com
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Art of the Wormworld Saga Video Teaser
On kickstarter.com we have now reached over a third of the total funding goal for the Wormworld Saga App and this weekend I took some time to think about how to keep up the interest in this kickstarter campaign and how to spread the word even further.
What helped me during the creation of the first chapter was a set of milestones. The final goal doesn't look as daunting if you take it in small managable steps. So I sat down this sunday and created a nice set of videos in which I show my complete and unabridged process for creating a panel of the Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel. The four videos have a combined runtime of nearly 3 hours and I will progressively post them after reaching 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of the total funding goal. Have a look at the video above for a little teaser!
So, please keep on spreading the word about the kickstarter campaign and soon you will gain an interesting insight into the creation of the Wormworld Saga!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Wormworld Saga App on kickstarter.com
In the last few weeks I received many messages in which people advised me to start a kickstarter campaign in order to push the project forward. I'd already heard of kickstarter.com but I couldn't quite imagine in which way it might be helpful for me. It wouldn't make sense to ask people to pay ... say ... my income for a year or something like that, would it? What would I do the next year? Ask for money again? No, if I were to launch a kickstarter campaign it would have to be for funding something with a lasting effect. Something that would lift the Wormworld Saga onto the next level.
The Wormworld Saga is a true digital comic. Not only does its atmospheric artwork look best on a screen - the light effects on the dark and gloomy backgrounds can truly shine there - but the scrolling layout, that works like a charm on a screen, makes it practically impossible to print the graphic novel in a book format. However, the day I loaded the Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel into the browser of an iPad I realised that I would not have to bother any longer with chopping my work into pieces in order to fit it into a page layout - I'd found the perfect way to enjoy it.
The Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel looks and feels great on a tablet device. Not only can you literally hold the story in your hands but navigating the scrolling format with a touch interface feels intuitive and smooth. I think, this is the best way to enjoy my work and therefore I want to create
The Wormworld Saga App
The main purpose of the app is to provide an inexpensive product through which I can monetize the Wormworld Saga. By buying the app you would directly support me and my work and would make sure not only that there will be more chapters in the future but that they will come four times as fast as now! Like I stated in a blog post below, my goal is to create 4 chapters a year as soon as I'm able to work full time on the Wormworld Saga.
But this wouldn't be the only incentive for you to purchase the Wormworld Saga App. I consider the app to be premium content for those fans who really want to get everything out of the project. The app will have a list of features that will make it desirable for fans. That's important because the app will NOT replace the free online version of the Wormworld Saga. It will just be there for those, who want more.
Now, there's only one tiny problem: I can't create an app and it costs a whole lot of money to pay others to do it.
And that's where kickstarter.com finally comes into play.
For those who haven't heard of kickstarter.com yet: it's a platform to fund creative projects. You launch a project with a specific funding goal and you try to raise the money in a given period of time. If the money is raised, everybody is happy. If the money is not raised inside the timeframe, nobody pays anything - again, everybody is happy (well, except for the project owner...). But it's not just a donation thing. For your support of the project you receive rewards depending on the sum you contribute and all in all it's a very cool thing with a lot of interesting projects to discover.
Well, and now the Wormworld Saga App is one of these projects and I kindly ask you to consider to support it. I have created a video, which you can watch on the kickstarter page, in which I describe everything in greater detail. And I have created a range of interesting rewards for supporters of the project.
If you were waiting for an opportunity to give the Wormworld Saga a substantial push: here it is.
Let's kickstart the Wormworld Saga!
(have a look into my studio in the kickstarter video!)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Brazilian Portuguese Version online!
I was finally able to layout and upload the Brazilian Portuguese translation of the first chapter of the Wormworld Saga. Interestingly, I received about 10 times as much offers for this translation than for any other language. So I figure that a lot of you were waiting for this. I hope you enjoy the translation and please spread the word throughout Brazil!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Let's go on now!
The last 7 weeks were the craziest time I ever experienced in my whole life. When I launched the Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel on 25th December I had no idea what would follow. Sure, I anticipated to get some attention from the digital art community that I'm a member of for 10 years now. And I also hoped for some feedback from the webcomics community that I entered at the beginning of 2010 in order to find out how webcomics were done these days. What I wasn't prepared for was the avalanche of positive feedback from all sorts of people from all around the world that literally floored me when it hit. And just when I thought that things couldn't possibly get more exciting, I had to drive my wife to the hospital because our son was going to be born.
The last weeks were a surreal mixture of answering emails, changing diapers, giving interviews, getting not enough sleep, sending out prints and getting even less sleep. The bottom line of all that is:
I'm thankful for your encouraging feedback and the strength and support that it gave to me. I'm thankful for your active help in spreading the word about the Wormworld Saga and I'm thankful for your contributions to the project - your donations, your print orders and your fan translations. I'm thankful for the opportunities your ethusiasm opened up for me. And I'm thankful to be a father.
The Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel has now nearly reached 400.000 reads and since it's already mid-February it's time to work on the next chapter.
The first step towards the second chapter will be to create the preliminary version in greyscales. This is the step in which I'm laying out the plot and where I roughly define the staging and lighting of each panel. I'll try to polish the storytelling at this stage as far as possible so that essentially, when the preliminary version is finished, you already would be able to read the second chapter. Of course I won't let you. No, you have to wait until everything is nice and colorful.
Well, and that brings me directly to the single question that was the hardest to bear for me in the last few weeks:
Let me show you my generic schedule. I have it hanging in a prominent place in my studio:
Here's a closeup:
This is the schedule of a typical week. Here you can see, what I'm doing all day throughout the year. Blue fields are sleep (thanks to little Lucas this visualisation is highly idealized...), yellow fields are eating and household times. The big fat red block is my day job framed by the orange commute. The pink fields depict family time. As you can see, I'm reserving the weekends for that. Well, and last but not least, there are the green fields which are Wormworld Saga time. 10 hours a week. That's my schedule for 2011.
I worked after this schedule the last year and as you all know, and as is documented on this blog, the first chapter took me the whole year to finish. Looking at the schedule there shouldn't be any questions left why that was the case. It's only a fraction of my time that I can actually spend on the project and you can imagine that it's not easy for me to return to this schedule now that I know that so many of you are longing for the next chapter. But for the moment that's what it's going to be - another year of waiting for the second chapter.
However, I set myself a goal for this year. It's a high goal but I'm going to stick to it and do anything to make it happen:
I want to get this huge red block out of my schedule. Just imagine what it would mean for the Wormworld Saga if I could use all that time for its creation! I mentioned it on many occasions - if I'm able to generate my income through the Wormword Saga I would be able to create at least 4 chapters every year. That would mean that you would have to wait only three months for each new chapter. You wouldn't get a milestone update every one and a half months but every week!
To reach that point is my biggest dream right now. I have already taken the first steps to make this dream come true. When the time comes I will need your help. But after the last 7 weeks I have no fear that you will let me hanging. I strongly believe that together we can make it work!
The last weeks were a surreal mixture of answering emails, changing diapers, giving interviews, getting not enough sleep, sending out prints and getting even less sleep. The bottom line of all that is:
I'm thankful!
I'm thankful for your encouraging feedback and the strength and support that it gave to me. I'm thankful for your active help in spreading the word about the Wormworld Saga and I'm thankful for your contributions to the project - your donations, your print orders and your fan translations. I'm thankful for the opportunities your ethusiasm opened up for me. And I'm thankful to be a father.
The Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel has now nearly reached 400.000 reads and since it's already mid-February it's time to work on the next chapter.
The first step towards the second chapter will be to create the preliminary version in greyscales. This is the step in which I'm laying out the plot and where I roughly define the staging and lighting of each panel. I'll try to polish the storytelling at this stage as far as possible so that essentially, when the preliminary version is finished, you already would be able to read the second chapter. Of course I won't let you. No, you have to wait until everything is nice and colorful.
Well, and that brings me directly to the single question that was the hardest to bear for me in the last few weeks:
"when will we be able to read the second chapter?"
Let me show you my generic schedule. I have it hanging in a prominent place in my studio:
Here's a closeup:
This is the schedule of a typical week. Here you can see, what I'm doing all day throughout the year. Blue fields are sleep (thanks to little Lucas this visualisation is highly idealized...), yellow fields are eating and household times. The big fat red block is my day job framed by the orange commute. The pink fields depict family time. As you can see, I'm reserving the weekends for that. Well, and last but not least, there are the green fields which are Wormworld Saga time. 10 hours a week. That's my schedule for 2011.
I worked after this schedule the last year and as you all know, and as is documented on this blog, the first chapter took me the whole year to finish. Looking at the schedule there shouldn't be any questions left why that was the case. It's only a fraction of my time that I can actually spend on the project and you can imagine that it's not easy for me to return to this schedule now that I know that so many of you are longing for the next chapter. But for the moment that's what it's going to be - another year of waiting for the second chapter.
However, I set myself a goal for this year. It's a high goal but I'm going to stick to it and do anything to make it happen:
This shall be the last time you'll have to wait a whole year for a new chapter!
I want to get this huge red block out of my schedule. Just imagine what it would mean for the Wormworld Saga if I could use all that time for its creation! I mentioned it on many occasions - if I'm able to generate my income through the Wormword Saga I would be able to create at least 4 chapters every year. That would mean that you would have to wait only three months for each new chapter. You wouldn't get a milestone update every one and a half months but every week!
To reach that point is my biggest dream right now. I have already taken the first steps to make this dream come true. When the time comes I will need your help. But after the last 7 weeks I have no fear that you will let me hanging. I strongly believe that together we can make it work!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Turkish Version Online!
The Turkish fantasy portal website Kayip Rihtim provided a Turkish Version of the Wormworld Saga! It is now available on wormworldsaga.com. I wish all Turkish readers a joyful time with this translation!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
¡Que viva España!
I'm happy to be able to announce to you the launch of the Spanish version of the Wormworld Saga Online Graphic Novel! The Spanish version is special to me not only because a lot of people all over the world speak spanish but also because my wife is Spanish and now her relatives from Spain can finally enjoy the Wormworld Saga in their mother language. My deep thanks for the preparation of the Spanish version go to my wife and to Jaime Solis!
¡Que la fuerza te acompañe!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wormworld Saga on Drawn Today Podcast
Today the Drawn Today Blog released its 22nd podcast episode and I had the great pleasure to be invited as a guest to the show. It turned out a very enjoyable chat with Marc Scheff and if you are interested in an over an hour long talk about the Wormworld Saga, illustration and digital art in general please just follow the above links or download the podcast directly via this link.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Wormworld Saga Fan Artwork - Batch 1
Today I have an extra special treat for you all! I asked my peers at digitalartforum.de to create some fan artwork for the Wormworld Saga and I'm totally in awe over the great artworks they turned in so far. My favorite piece of this first batch of fan artwork goes directly into the credits but of course I want to show you ALL of the fantastic digital illustrations that were painted by some of the top talents of Germany's biggest digital art community. Here you go! (click images to enlarge!)
by Artur Fast
by Jakob Eirich
My heartfelt thanks to the artists!
I have also finally implemented all the donators and print customers into the credits. Sorry that it took me some time!
Friday, January 21, 2011
From Russia With Love
I'm very happy to announce today the release of the Russian version of the Wormworld Saga! I'm really happy about this translation because Russia is such a huge country and the Wormworld Saga has only received like 500 reads from it yet. I hope that with this excellent translation the figure will go up a bit!
I have to thank Michail Egorov for his massive effort. Michail did not only provide the translation for the word balloons but he painstakingly retouched all background artwork in which type of any sort is visible. He really did a great job and I hope the readers from Russia will enjoy this version.
And I also want to thank my dear friend Lilia Koité, who did some additional proofreading on the translation although she's a busy mom!
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