Well, where do I begin?...
First of all, its good to start a new Year. I left 2010 behind as one of the biggest changing years of my existence. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and then the Life-Changing circumstances of it all.
Here we sit in the year 2011. A good 40 days into it, in fact, with 325 remaining (at the time I’m writing this of course). In these past 40 days I’ve had to come to some resolutions in my life. Make choices that will break some ties, burn some bridges, and finally close some wide gaps with others. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of friends in the past 7 years. But in return, I have met an entirely new set of people as well. The core of these people are not the kind who will hold my hand and pull me along in life, but rather travelers on similar paths who will encourage me and in turn be encouraged by me as we continue on to our journey in life.
Artwork: I have reached a point now where I am slowly, but surely, getting back to the art desk. I am almost done with my first inked drawing since probably 2001/2002. I feel I have found inspiration once again. And I’m not rushing into it, but slowly easing myself back in to avoid burn-out. However, I’ve been trying to identify what is really holding me back from putting out my comic book; MockTales. And quite honestly I’ve been working on bits and pieces of this book since 2002/2003. I feel burnt out and pressured to keep trying to get an actual comic book and story put together that I’m always willing to give it up every three months to regain some sanity. So, with that note I’ve decided to put the actual “MockTales: Adventures of Tim Garn” book on hold until March of 2012. Most likely shooting for a release at the 2012 Emerald City Comic Con here in Seattle. With the actual book on hold, I will be using this time to develop a concept Art Book called “MockTales: Project Molten Magma.” This 50+ page book will contain characters and locations from the MockTales Universe, and even some random artworks too. I will be putting some of my Photography in this Art Book as well so people can see what parts of Seattle have influenced me, as well as some of the models I’ve been working with to learn to draw better. While I have had some really devoted people waiting for me to get the main book of MockTales done, at this point I feel that people really would like to just see me get something out and an Art Book is what feels right at this time. I can spend another year working with an Editor making sure that the story is going to be right and that fans will get a good quality book instead.
Deadlines and Promises: I’ve written about it before, but one of the biggest problems in 2010 was not following through on both self-created deadlines and also not following through on delivery of commissioned artwork. With the dream of making a comic book always cruising through my brain, I found myself getting into the position of telling people what I wanted, and not what I was capable of doing. As mentioned before, at the end of 2009 my wife left me, took the kids and asked for a divorce. “Who’s fault” and “details” on the situation are irrelevant and no one’s business but between me and my ex-wife. However, going through a divorce and suddenly going from family to single has had its good and bad moments. The bad has been depression and loneliness. Feeling lonely all the time made me feel like giving up on everything I want to do, including creating a comic book. Others would try to tell me to get my ass in shape and knock it off. But I found myself just wanting to give up even more when people did this. So, to help fix things I am going to counseling to get everything off my chest and find a good mental path to focusing and planning things better in life. I’m not ashamed to admit I need counseling. I feel it is best to get my priorities straightened out, especially if I’m promising everyone things and not following through. The other thing is that I am finally getting a team of people to help me. Which has been hard because I’ve been afraid to give up some of my creative vision in order to do this. But quite honestly, I have a whole world I am trying to create and I am but one individual. One person, or at least “me”, cannot do this alone. I have an assistant that has helped me get caught up on Commissions and shipping. And I am going to be working with an Editor to get the MockTales storyline set up for a continued set of story arcs once we get the first few issues out for 2012.
New Commission Prices for my art: With the new structure and organizing I am doing, I have decided I need to raise my prices for my rtwork. These new prices are part of me feeling better about my own self-worth, paying for shipping and supplies, and going into funding for my books and conventions. I will be attempting to re-post this elsewhere, but as of now these are my commission prices:
$10.00 - 5x8 Sketch Cards (Official MockTales Cards) with single character. Done in pencil
$75.00 – Single character 11x17 Bristol drawing. (+$25.00 inked)
$125.00 – Pagework. (Sequential and storytelling art.)
$200.00 – Covers or Poster and promotional art with background, action, ect.
Conventions: Due to 2011 being the first year I will owe taxes, I’m afraid I had to cancel my trip to C2E2 (Chicago). If I find some way to make it work in the next two weeks, and can still get my table, I will let people know. For now, my planned convention schedule is Emerald City Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, Jet City Comic Book Show and Spokane Comic Con. At Emerald City Comic Con 2011 (March 4th, 5th and 6th) I will be selling Original artwork and prints and maybe even announcing some plans I have in effect. Hope to see many of you there!
Websites: I have three websites that I have up and running right now, and one more on the way; mocktales.com, elvesnextdoor.com and earthhaven.net. MockTales and Elves Next Door are both part of the same comic universe, but Elves Next Door will be an adult site version of what I have in MockTales. Earth Haven is a boffer group that I was running, and we are currently in the middle of deciding to keep going or to disband. In 2 years I will be starting my own group (as this was a group I had been voted in to help run and administrate). The new Boffer group will be part LARP with a heavy amount of action and sport. My new website that I am developing will be for all those interested in the SCA (Medieval recreation), Ren Faire, Heavy Fighting, Boffer Fighting, and LARP. I want to help create a resource for people to use to check out if there is a group in their area and help people find the fun they are searching for.
In the end, I feel that 2011 is going to be a good year. I am hoping that my continued enthusiasm and re-born energy helps me pave the way towards many great things. I hope to see everyone joining the new MockTales website and by all means, any feedback or information, I welcome it. (constructively of course).
-Greg Scott Bailey
