Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

Slowly going through the editing process to make sure everything is perfect! It’s getting very close now before I can get the stuck into the printing process. It won’t be too much longer before I can start sending out the reading PDFs.

Editing Proof :

Lettering is now completed on 5 Seconds Volume 3. Now it’s time for editing! Check out the uncoloured pencilled and inked drawn in page on this link.

Lettered :

Word Smith is slowly making its way into school libraries across Australia and it’s amazing to receive feedback like the below. This was sent to me by Kerri Olsen (Library Teacher Aide – Wynnum West State School).

Upon receiving a copy of Word Smith (a graphic novel by Stephen Kok) for our library, I knew straight away it was going to engage our students and it certainly has. The storyline is age appropriate and carries within a great message. Words used wisely are indeed so powerful.

The illustrations are also vibrant and colourful, capturing and holding the reader’s attention. I also believe, the graphic novel genre will keep it current and constantly on loan! We look forward to the next Stephen Kok novel with anticipation.

It’s awesome to receive photos like these. Here’s Owen Heitmann (Amplified Press) working his way through the entire Sigmate Studio catalogue. He mentioned that Word Smith was his favourite!

Owen Heitmann :

I love getting reviews about my work! Even negative reviews are a learning opportunity to see how to improve. St Therese (Mascot) passed Word Smith to two of their students and I’m happy to share the full review from Heather and Tricia (Year 6) below.

Word Smith Book Review
by Heather & Tricia
St Therese Mascot
Year 6 – 2019

From reading the title we were already hooked in with curiosity. We were instantly overwhelmed with questions on what the title meant and what this novel was about. Being artistic people, we loved the design of the front cover. Observing the style that was presented to us through the title we inferred that this book had something to do with mechanics.

The storyline was quite eccentric compared to other books. The main characters certainly stood out. Victoria’s stunning, bold attitude, led the way through the novel making it both plot and character driven. Being able to see from all the characters perspectives changed the story for us as we were able to comprehend the character’s perspectives on topic and opinions. This affected our view on the characters as we were judging everyone by their looks and stereotypes.

It has an ever-changing plot. Not only do the twist and turns change the storyline and characters but the turmoil differentiates the characters personalities. These hurdles on their adventure make cliff hangers for us as we waited to find out secrets and questions answered.

The hurdles in Word Smith are perfectly timed and aren’t chunky. Some problems took us by surprise, but took the story down a path we would have not expected. Although unexpected, the paths lead to an amazing storyline that was memorable.

The DRAWN IN page is my favourite reward. P.R. Dedelis has done some absolutely amazing work on this page. It’s so great to be able to put some of backers into my graphic novel. Thanks once again for everyone who helped to bring 5 Seconds to life.

Drawn In Pencils :

Drawn In Inks :

Don’t get Sparky mad at you!

I’m happy to get showing off more panels as they get finished. There’s so many amazing pages that I want everyone to see. The second volume of Word Smith really expands the story with new locations and characters!

A quick update 5 Seconds Vol 3 (The Final Countdown) Kickstarter is that everything is progressing well. I’m hoping to get it off for the first print run by late June / early July.

The second volume of Word Smith is powering along. Here’s a sneak peek at the some completed panels. Currently there’s about 10 pages that need to be pencilled and inked. There’s new characters being introduced and the page count for this volume will be higher than the first one! More details will be released in the coming months.

We did it! Sorry for the delay but I’m happy that the 5 Seconds Vol 3 (The Final Countdown) Kickstarter is now COMPLETED! Thank you once again for all your support.

All STRETCH GOALS were reached and I’m very happy to include all the extras! I’ve emailed all the Drawn In reward pledgers to get their photos and I’ll be prepared to ship out Vol 1 and Vol 2 as soon as the monies clear from Kickstarter. I’m taking it easy for a few days before getting straight back into the production of 5 Seconds Volume 3! Here’s a sneak peek on an unseen page.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/5-seconds-volume-3-the-final-countdown

The 5 Seconds Vol 3 (The Final Countdown) Kickstarter is now FUNDED! Thank you for all your support in making this happen. I’m so happy to be able to finish the story of Jake and Ellie. I still feel a little sad when I finally have to say good bye to all these characters. I think that moment will hit me when I start shipping out the graphic novels.

The STRETCH GOALS have also been announced and I’m really hoping we can break the AUD$5000 mark. I am currently in discussion with an artist about a new commissioned piece. I will share more details about this as it progresses but the proposal that has been put forward sounds absolutely amazing.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/5-seconds-volume-3-the-final-countdown