by jdsmeaton | Jul 18, 2023 | Behind the Scenes
Why Do I Make Comics? A few years back, I read the book Start With Why by Simon Sinek. His book is about businesses but it relates to individuals. He breaks it down with Why, How, and What. WHY. Most people don’t know why they do what they do. WHY is not about...
by jdsmeaton | Jun 28, 2023 | 3 Questions With...
Mike Maihack Even though we both lived in Tampa, I met Mike in New York at the MoCCA Arts Festival. We’d later ended up tabling next to each other a little closer to home at Mega-Con in Orlando. I immediately became a fan of Mike’s work and I’m not alone. He’s built...
by jdsmeaton | Jun 7, 2023 | How To
The Art of Efficiency: Strategies for Creating Engaging Comics at Lightning Speed I was recently asked to write about how I breakdown a comic page. I love behind-the-scenes details, and I will share the specifics of creating a page in a future post. But today, I want...
by jdsmeaton | May 31, 2023 | 3 Questions With...
Pat Lewis I met Pat at the MoCCA Arts Festival around 2008 or so. I immediately dug his work. His art has a wonderful throwback vibe to it. His book The Claws Come Out, a collection of lighthearted monster stories is a delight. Pat lives in Pittsburgh, PA. His work...
by jdsmeaton | May 2, 2023 | 3 Questions With...
Welcome to the debut of 3 Questions With… I’ve wanted to interview and get insights from other creators for a while now. Three questions seemed like an enjoyable bite-sized way to do that. I’ve been a fan of Victoria for some time. Her latest book Hungry Ghost just...
by jdsmeaton | May 2, 2023 | Storytelling, Writing
You Might Find You Get What You Need Are you watching season 3 of Ted Lasso? The writing is excellent with setting things up and paying them off in satisfying ways. Which doesn’t necessarily mean giving the character (or viewer) what they think they want. *Episode 7...
by jdsmeaton | Apr 20, 2023 | How To, Recommendations
OK that is a dumb clickbaity headline. I’ll explain in a minute. I am drawing a 200 page graphic novel and it is a looong process. It can be a little overwhelming. I’m also not particularly fast with drawing. No “World’s Fastest Cartoonist” title coming my way. I’m...
by jdsmeaton | Mar 1, 2023 | Storytelling
Lettering! The part of comics (almost) nobody cares about but is sooo important. The problem with lettering is that the reader doesn’t notice it when it’s done well. It’s like sound in a movie, it’s taken for granted but if you’ve ever watched an old film where...
by jdsmeaton | Feb 1, 2023 | How To, News, Storytelling
When it comes to being a commercially successful creator, there is something more important than talent, or skill, it’s the ability to delight. Have you ever seen or read something that immediately just spoke to you? You thought, “I love this!” Have you had the...
by jdsmeaton | Jan 4, 2023 | Recommendations
Favorite kid’s graphic novels 2022 I read a fair amount of kid comics this year. Most of the books on my list were released in 2022 but a few were not. I included them anyway because if I found it worth recommending, who cares what year it was published? These were my...
