Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

Happy 2017! I hope this year turns out great for you. It’s been a great Christmas and New Year for me spending time with the family. Sometimes life is so hectic, it’s great to slow down once in a while.

One of Blue – Kickstarter rewards is original sketches from P.R. Dedelis. The parcel arrived between Christmas and New Year but this was the first opportunity I had to open it. They look amazing and I’m sure the lucky pledgers will love them!

A lot can happen in a year. The first year was absolutely amazing in which I launched 2 graphic novels, Tabby and Tabby Sketchbook. Tabby is currently in over 150+ public libraries across Australia and New Zealand. It is truly humbling to imagine someone borrowing and reading your work.

Dec 2015
I received some amazing news in December. Creative Partnerships Australia will match the amount raised for the production of my new 5 Seconds project up to $3750. This was the first ever government grant that was received and only 2 graphic novel submissions were accepted for the 2016 period.

Feb 2016
After months of getting it ready, the 5 Seconds Kickstarter was launched!

Mar 2016
After a very nervous last few days, 5 Seconds reached its target with over 100+ backers raising more than $4000+ to fund its production. This was a fantastic moment as 5 Seconds was a story I had mulling before Tabby and it was only in 2015 that I finally finished the script for it!

May 2016
I participated in Kinokuniya’s (Awesome book store in Sydney!) for Free Comic Book Day among some absolutely amazing creators. There was a huge turn out and I was glad to see the interest in Tabby.

Jun 2016
The artwork of Tabby was exhibited for the first time at Concord Library (part of Canada Bay Libraries). This original artwork was on display and it received some great feedback. Tabby was reserved out at Concord Library for several months after. Thanks to Lim and Tara from Concord Library for making this happen!

Jul 2016
I had the fantastic opportunity to do a presentation at Stanton Library (Thanks Eliza!) in front of over 40+ children. I was so happy how well the kids were engaged with Tabby. Since there’s very little dialogue in Tabby, they participated in telling me what was happening in the story. It was an amazing experience!

The first printing of 5 Seconds was done. I was busy packing copies of 5 Seconds as the Kickstarter rewards. 5 Seconds was added to its first library, Ashfield! (Thanks again Karen for all your support. Special mention to David from Manly library for being the second library to add 5 Seconds to its collection.) Impact Comics in ACT also became the first comic book store in Australia to stock a few copies!

Sep 2016
The Blue Kickstarter was launched and was selected by Kickstarter as a Project We Love.

Oct 2016
The Blue Kickstarter completed with over 100+ backers and raising over $3000. It’s so fantastic to see many previous pledgers return to support Blue! Now comes the fun part, getting the graphic novel ready for digital (PDF) and for print.

The Star (Malaysia’s national newspaper) also completed an interview with me. This was the first time I was written up by a newspaper outside of Australia.

Link :
http://www.star2.com/culture/books/book-news/2016/10/06/malaysia-born-graphic-novelist-goes-from-lat-to-cats/

Dec 2016
There’s not much left in 2016. Right now it’s been pushing for Blue to ready! There’s always a lot of last minute tweaks and corrections to make sure there’s no silly mistakes when the book is set to print.

What’s planned for 2017?
2017 is still very fluid at this time but I’m still planning to release at least one new graphic novel in 2017. I currently have a story with Comics2Movies that is currently in production. (The artwork is amazing!) I can’t wait to see it published!

Thanks to everyone for your support in 2016. When I look back to 2015 and 2016, I couldn’t have done it without all your help! Hope you have a very happy holiday period and a fantastic 2017.

The Blue – Kickstarter production is in full swing! This is a special page that is being added to the story with art of P.R. Dedelis and colours by Peyton Freeman. It’s a short public service announcement to consider a rescue animal if you are thinking of adopting a pet!

It includes some of our amazing Kickstarter supporters who have helped bring this project to life. This couldn’t have happened with your support and I am extremely grateful for your assistance!

The Blue – Kickstarter production is going great! Things are progressing well with the main goal to see the printable PDF ready. Here’s a sneak peek into the cover spread for Blue. (It’s still a draft and there might be some changes in the final version!)

The Blue – Kickstarter is done! Thanks for everyone’s help to make this happen whether by pledging and/or sharing the link around. It’s amazing to cross over 100+ backers and raise more than $3000+ to make this project come to life.

I’m also very happy to announce that both stretch goals have been reached! This means I will be setting a new Wall of Fame (wait for it!) and commissioning some additional artwork for the project. It’s going to be great. I’m very excited to bring you along on this journey and now the hard work begins now to start prepping Blue for its print run.

Some at Kickstarter must love Blue – An Australian Cattle Dog Story! It (Blue – Kickstarter) has been selected as a Project We Love. Tabby was also previously selected as a Staff Pick so it’s a great honour to have Blue picked as well.

Link : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/blue-an-australian-cattle-dog-story

Blue – An Australian Cattle Dog Story has now launched on Kickstarter!

Link : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/blue-an-australian-cattle-dog-story

Please support Blue by making a pledge to receive an awesome reward ranging from PDFs to physical copies to original artwork and more. Even if can’t pledge, please help by spreading the word around and sharing the link around. I have received tremendous support for my previous projects and hoping with your help to get this one over the line as well.

Blue – Cover

Almost there with the next Sigmate Studio project Blue – An Australian Cattle Dog Story. Still on track for a mid September for the Kickstarter launch. One of the popular rewards are the limited edition A4 Prints which are printed on card stock. There is only 1 print run and the image will not be used for any future prints.

The first print is illustrated by Cheun and depicts Mary (who works at Animal Rescue) taking Blue out for a jog. I like how the 2 of them look like they are having a conversation during the run! This one will be limited to 250 copies ONLY.

Blue – A4 Jog

The second print is illustrated by P.R. Dedelis (who is the artist for Tabby and 5 Seconds) which shows Blue playing with James. This one will be kept in Black and White, I thought it would be great for the pencils to really shine. This print will limited to 150 copies ONLY.

Blue – A4 Jog

Previous prints from Tabby and 5 Seconds have been well received and I’m hoping these ones will also be! I’m very excited to get Blue finished as I ‘m very happy with the way the story turned out.

Everything is progressing with the next Sigmate Studio project Blue – An Australian Cattle Dog Story. The planned date is still mid September for the Kickstarter launch.

Blue – Good Boy

I like this panel of Blue and Mary. Mary is one of the main characters in the story. She works at the Animal Rescue centre and helps James out with advice on how to handle Blue.

There has some very positive buzz surrounding this graphic novel! Thanks for all the kind words and support that I have received. I’m really excited to get Blue from concept to the final printed copy and am happy so many people are coming along for the ride.

I am happy to provide a sneak peek into the next Sigmate Studio project that will be launched. The current tentative date will be mid September to be available for crowdfunding on Kickstarter. I’m very excited about this project as it will feature the first collaboration with a new artist Cheun.

Blue – Cover

The project is titled Blue and it’s a story centred around an Australian Cattle Dog. James (a country boy) is new to the city and adopts a rescue cattle dog named Blue to make him feel more at home. However Blue won’t come when called, won’t eat and loves hammers!

It’s a story of friendship with a lot of fun and humour included. I had a fantastic time writing this story and it is based on a true story. (More information of that to come later.) Over the course of the next month or so, I will provide more insights into the graphic novel. This will include writing thoughts and of course more artwork! I hope you’ll be able to support this project when it launches very soon.

Blue – Sample Internal Page