Interviews and Contacting

True Believers 

Whilst sorting out work experience for True Believers we attended meetings and the organiser Stuart Mulrain contacted us with information by email. Here is the email log from our group where Jaypreet helped organise what we would be doing with True Believers for us Agents as a group and I also contacted Stuart.

Stuart Mulrain <oktruebelievers@gmail.com>	16 Jan
to nightshiftfilms, bcc: me

Hi all,

Sorry for the mass email.

Please find the info below. More info will follow as we have it.

TRUE BELIEVERS AGENTS INFORMATION

TEAM LEADERS and (mostly) where to find them*

Stuart – Everywhere!!!

Caroline – Entrance/Reception

Andy – Main Floor

Nigel – Balcony and Panel Room

Rebecca – Celebrate Cosplay Hall

All of the team leaders will be at the event all day.

*There will be some moving about on the day, but these are the main areas they will be focusing on and in charge of.

WHO IS ON WHAT SHIFT:

All Day (6:30am – 8pm)

Salvador

Lee

Gary

Lucy

Morning (6:30am – 1pm)

Owen

Gabbie

Jaypreet

Alexi

PANELS:

Below are the times and details for the panels on the day. If you have any preference for being in any of them, please email me to let me know which and we will make sure you’re either on the rota to work the panel room then or free to attend.

11:45pm – CELEBRATE COSPLAY

To launch the first Celebrate Cosplay event at True Believers, this panel will give you a brief introduction to cosplay and offer tips and techniques on body confidence, costumes, being the character and safe cosplaying.

On the panel: Ms Luna, Andy Milford, Stephanie Flinders, Raven Quinn and Tris Trinket

12:30pm – DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW

A huge part of the fun of a comic event is discovering your new favourite comic. In this panel some of our exhibitors will talk about their projects and what inspired them to create them.

On the panel: Barnaby Eaton-Jones (Chin Beard Books), Jack Devereaux, Adam-James Foulkes and Mike Garley

13:15pm – BIG PUNCH STUDIOS

Join local comic creator Jon Lock (Afterlife Inc.) and partner in crime Nich Angell (7STRING) as they discuss their latest partnership, Big Punch Studios, and their plans for 2015... namely, the launch of Big Punch Magazine and four new titles!

On the panel: Nich Angell & Jon Lock

14:00pm – COMICS AS EDUCATION

In recent years, the educational benefits of comic books have come more to the forefront and this panel will take a look at those benefits and how they engage and encourage children to read as well as draw, create and learn moral lessons about how to behave in life.

On the panel: Paul Duffield, Neill Cameron, Kate Brown, Mike Collins

14:45pm – CROWD-FUNDING YOUR COMIC

Have a comic book in you but are unsure of the best way to get it made? Then this is the panel for you, as a selection of creators who have used crowd-funding to make their comics talk about the pros and cons of making it happen and offer tips and techniques for running a successful campaign.

On the panel: Emma Vieceli, Paul Duffield, Anastasia Catris and Mike Garley

16:15pm – DRAWING COMICS

Learn tips and techniques on drawing comics from people who draw comics. This panel is a must for any budding artist looking to draw their first comic or develop their art and fans interested in learning more about how comics are drawn,

On the panel: Kate Brown, Tim Perkins, Emma Vieceli, Dylan Teague

17:00pm – CELEBRATING COMICS

What better way to end an event that is a celebration of comic books than with a panel that celebrates comics? Join us for a panel that celebrates comics and what it is to be a fan of comics.

On the panel: Jessica Martin, Laurence Campbell, TBC

ADDITIONAL INFO;

There will be a rota made up and in the green room area on the day with spaces for people to write when they would like to take their breaks. If you have a specific break requirement, please let me know in advance and we will get that sorted for you.

It’s not a definite thing, but I’m hoping to get some AGENTS t-shirts made up for you guys for the day. It might not turn out to be possible, but in case we can get it done, could everybody please email me your shirt size so I can go straight to getting them made if we can.

Could you all please also just reply to this email so that I know it has been received. It’s just so that I know these are definitely going to the right addresses.

If you have any other questions, queries or preferences on anything for the day, please email me and I will do my best to sort them out for you.

Finally, I sent out emails regarding spending an hour handing out Flyers in Cheltenham tomorrow. We’ll be meeting outside Proud Lion at 1pm so if you can make it, your help would be greatly appreciated and could make a huge difference in helping us reach more people and sell more tickets.

I also sent an email about the paper wanting a photo for an article. It would be great to get some of you in on that. Again, I’m not sure exactly where or when it will be, but it will definitely be in the week commencing 26^th January at around 4:30pm. I’m going to try and get us into the Racecourse for it if possible.

As always, thank you for being a part of the team and I look forward to working with you on event day.

I will keep you posted on all developments as they happen.

All the best,

Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	17 Jan
to Stuart

Thanks for the information I will be available to hand out leaflets on Saturday at 1pm so will meet you there. If you can manage t-shirts I would like an XS or S size at a push please
Cheers
Gabbie

Jaypreet Chager <j.chager@hotmail.com>	24 Feb
to me, alexistucker547, owenmorgan

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Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2015 23:37:43 +0000

Subject: Re: TBCF 2015 AGENT INFORMATION

From: oktruebelievers@gmail.com

To: j.chager@hotmail.com

Hi Jay,

Sorry, I just realised that I didn't reply with regard to the second part of your email. It's completely cool to use this contact info for your work experience forms. Also feel free to use these emails in your module.

All the best,

Stuart

On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 11:34 AM, Jaypreet Chager <j.chager@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hello, 

Thanks for the reply. That would be lovely. Does he mind picking us up from Francis Close hall campus or Harwick campus? 

Also, do you have enough room for 4 of us? 

Is it okay for us to use these contact details for our work experience forms,  or do you have another that you would prefer us to use?

Also, we are undertaking a module named Professional Practice, in which we produce a blog, is it possible for us to use the emails sent between us for this? 

Many thanks

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

On 26 Jan 2015, at 10:20 pm, Stuart Mulrain <oktruebelievers@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Jay,

sorry for the slow reply.

It would be awesome to have you guys along for the photo thank you. We're meeting at the HALL OF FAME entrance at the Racecourse on Thursday at 4:20pm if you guys can make it. Salvador has said he can give people a lift if they need it, I just need to let him know where and when to pick people up.

Not sure what we're doing about the t-shirts yet. I will keep you posted on that.

Thanks again for everything.

All the best,

Stuart

On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 11:27 AM, Jaypreet Chager <j.chager@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi it's Jay, Alexis and Owen

We were just emailing to say that we would like to go to the photo at the race course if we can. Also if you do end up making t-shirts our sizes are x-large, large and medium. 

Thank you for your time.

Sent from my iPhone

Illustrators 

Paul Duffield

I met Paul Duffield at the True Believers Comic Festival and bought one of his works Signal. This book has become a source of inspiration for me and I decided to interview Paul and find out more about his techniques and thoughts on making it. I found his advice very helpful especially in regards to Photoshop because I am currently trying to create a similar book to Signal using digital means for self publishing. I will keep contact with Paul and see if I can get more feedback and advice showing him my work.

Admiration and possible advice 4 messages

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Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	2 April 2015 at 17:27
To: paulduffieldcomics@gmail.com
Hello my name is Gabbie Scanlon I worked as an Agent at the True Believers Festival in Cheltenham and met you and your art work there. Since then I have pored over my copy of 'Signal' and aspire to create something similar as part of one of my modules on my Illustration course. It would be great and very helpful if I could ask you a few questions as a practising comic artist and illustrator and get some advice and guidance for my own practice. If not I would at least like to say that your work is beautiful with a wonderful use of compositions and that once I take a dig through your archives 'I'm sure I'll find more to become a fan of! Thanks, Gabbie.

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Paul Duffield <paulduffieldcomics@gmail.com>	12 April 2015 at 15:46
To: Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>
Hi Gabbie! Thanks so much for the kind words, I'm really glad you've enjoyed Signal! ^_^ Feel free to ask any questions you like, I'll do my best to answer them. All the best, Paul. [Quoted text hidden] -- -- www.paulduffield.co.uk - comicbooks - illustration -animation --

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Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	22 April 2015 at 19:43
To: Paul Duffield <paulduffieldcomics@gmail.com>
Thanks! Sorry for the amount of questions but it would help me with my course and personal work :) Would it be okay if I also put these emails up on my blog? Only my tutors will see it: I really admire your compositions and wondered how much you plan these, do you figure out the page layout along with its relevance with the story or do the compositions come first? Also is there any significance to the circular forms you use? You have a nice sense of timing with Signal, is there any particular method you use to help slow down and speed up the pace of your story? When you are working on webcomics that are then produced in paper form do you think about how people will interpret it differently in that format? Such as how the pages and turning of the pages changes how the actions are read. Do you find it better or worse working in book format? What steps do you take when working up your line work digitally? ( especially picking and toning colours) Any of these answers would be helpful hope your own work is going well :) Cheers, Gabbie [Quoted text hidden]

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Paul Duffield <paulduffieldcomics@gmail.com>	30 April 2015 at 10:23
To: Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>
I really admire your compositions and wondered how much you plan these, do you figure out the page layout along with its relevance with the story or do the compositions come first? I do plan compositions quite a bit. They tend to come together in two distinct phases. The first is the "thumbnail", which is just a little scribble, often with stick men where the figures would be. You can see some early stages of the planning for Signal here https://www.paulduffield.co.uk/news/project  This is the point at which I'm thinking about how the layout could reflect the story and how the layout best supports the story. For example, at this point, I had initially planned to draw a stright transformation from human into bird on a page of Signal, but that wasn't working (it looked hideous, not inspiring like I'd hoped), so I came up with the radial panels as a way of dividing out the human and the bird parts of the transformation, and did the rest with body language. The second is the roughs, with whilch I pull together all the concepts from the thumbnails, and wrestle them into a working layout. I do these on the computer, so there's a lot of work that goes on unseen, where I'm resizing elements, flipping them, playing with panels, adding and removing elements etc. You can see the finished Signal roughs here:https://www.paulduffield.co.uk/news/signal-roughs At this stage, I introduce little "resonances" between layout and story. The broad connections were already there in the thumbnails, but as they come together in rough, I can spot smaller elements to support them with (for example, the use of fibonacci spirals on the first double-spread of Signal was introduced at this stage as a response to the mathematics he's writing out on the floor.   Also is there any significance to the circular forms you use? Sometimes yes, but other times I just like framing things is circles! They provide a nice visual contrast to squares and give more options when making layouts. Some of the spirals and circles in Signal were deliberate though, to give the layouts a sort of diagramtical feel that could blend into the artwork itself. The same goes for The Firelight Isle... some of the circular panels are used to signify sound eminating from a single point, or to reflect the shape of a room or a holy symbol.   You have a nice sense of timing with Signal, is there any particular method you use to help slow down and speed up the pace of your story? It's all about space! The bigger the panel, the grander the moment seems. If you create a panel that someone can get lost in, it interrupts the reader a little, makes them focus on the details and requires more attention to absorb all the information in the panel. Conversely, if you want to speed up, making them flick from panel to panel quicker using a sequence of smaller panels in which smaller periods of time have past makes things seem "faster" to the reader, because the information in the drawings is easier to absorb sequentinally (no new scene details or significant changes to process).   When you are working on webcomics that are then produced in paper form do you think about how people will interpret it differently in that format? Such as how the pages and turning of the pages changes how the actions are read. Do you find it better or worse working in book format? Neither better or worse I think, just different. I love both formats, and both have different advantages. Signal for example was only ever imagined as a paper comic, so all the pages are double-page spreads that link together. That meant I had to present them like that on the web as well, and I do worry that without the page fold down the centre, certain sequences might be read a little out of order on the web. Freakangels was always intended for web first, so the panel layouts are very regular and predictable, with big panels, no smaller than a quarter of the page, so they can be seen easily on a variety of screens. Very strong for readability on the web, but a little monotonous and unimaginaive in print. When I started The Firelight Isle, I designed pages that could work on top of each other on the web as well as they'd work side-by-side in print. I've written up a full explanation of how I went about that here https://www.paulduffield.co.uk/firelight-isle-news/making-ribbons The process is a best-of-both-worlds compromise between the strength of digital and the strength of print. I get to design in double-spreads like I did with Signal, but also consider the web at the same time, using principles of simplicity and clarity that don't look stale in the print edition.   What steps do you take when working up your line work digitally? ( especially picking and toning colours) This is possibly a little broad to cover all at once, since my colouring has been something I've been improving on step-by-step for about 10 years! When I started colouring digitally, I was a little afraid of colour. I used it very sparingly, and didn't experiment much. As time developed, I learnt more theory about hue and tone, and applied it to my work. Hue first, as I found it easier to understand - picking palletes from paintings or from movie screen shots really helped. Signal was made at this point. Then tone, as I began to understand the concept of values and how they support the feeling of depth and light in an image. I tried to apply some of this understanding to the colouring of The Firelight Isle. Looking up tutorials on "colour theory" and "tonal values" will help in those regards. The other thing that I developed slowly was the understanding of how light indicates the shape of objects (especailyl faces), and how to translate that into cel shading. In terms of actual techniques, if you use photoshop, I'd be happy to send you a low res version of one of my layered files to have a look at, but they're a bit crazy! Hope that helps a little! :D Let me know if you've got any other questions. All the best, Paul.

Will Morris

Will Morris was one of the guest lecturers at the Illustration Awards Symposium on the 18th October 2014. I liked what I saw of his work and contacted him about the possibilty of work experience, this proved impossible and I also couldn't find a time to interview him as he was too busy. But I did get some good advice which helped with my sequential illustration project and helped develop my personal practice.

Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	03/11/2014
to will

Hello, my name is Gabbie Scanlon and I am a 2nd year Illustration student at the University of Gloucestershire. I recently saw your work at the Illustration Symposium and admired your use of tone and ink washes, especially in The Silver Darlings, and think this is an effect I would like to achieve in my own work as I currently enjoy using ink wash but would like to try new techniques.
If at all possible would I be able to do some Work Experience with you and learn from your practice? I understand you are busy but would greatly appreciate any help and guidance you could provide at a time that is convenient to you.

Thanks,
Gabbie Scanlon

Will Morris <will@whmorris.com>	03/11/2014
to me

Hi Gabbie,

Nice to hear from you, thanks for the kind words about my work.

I actually live and work in Edinburgh so I'm not sure of popping into the studio will be that convenient for you. There might be other ways I could share my process, if that's of any help? Personally, I was totally inspired by an Italian comic creator called Gipi. I wanted to capture some of the energy and expression he got into his washes and so tried to figure out a way to make the medium work for me. Trial and error basically, but with a good idea for where I wanted to get to.

Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like advice on (for what it's worth).

Cheers,

Will

Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	05/11/2014
to Will

Thankyou for replying so quickly and yes I see what you mean about studio not being convenient! Yes, would an interview maybe over the phone be alright with you?

Thanks for introducing Gipi I can definitely see the influence and his colour work is just so painterly and yet the panels aren't overworked which I find difficult. I will experiment with the medium now I've been inspired by both of you and invest in some quality textured paper.

Thanks,

Gabbie

Will Morris <will@whmorris.com>	06/11/2014
to me

Sure thing. If I can work out how to do it, I could walk you through my process on Skype? It's certainly not definitive, but it might help you to develop your own approach. Would probably be December before I could do it as I've got a tight deadline for a project this month.

Yep, Gipi astounds me with how effortless his work seems. My stuff is always much tighter, probably because I'm a bit risk averse or determined that a panel should be 'perfect' before I let it lie. Still I think the more confident I've gotten with my drawing the more relaxed I am about my pages.

On the paper side of things, if you intend to include linework done with a pen then I would suggest using hot pressed watercolour paper. This has very little texture but makes drawing easier and still takes washes well (if the paper's good). If instead you want to use watercolour or ink wash for the line, as well as any washes, (like Laura Carlin) then cold pressed paper has more texture. My personal favourite is Saunders Waterford high white paper, it comes in blocks and is stupidly expensive (c. £30 for 20 sheets of A3).

Also if you are doing washes on watercolour or even cartridge paper, I'd suggest doing all the drawing on regular paper and then transferring the ink line with a lightbox - any rubbing out can really mess up the surface of watercolour paper.

Sorry if this is all dead basic stuff that you're already on top of, I mention it because I had to figure it out by myself.

Cheers,

Will

Gabbie Scanlon <gscanlon94@googlemail.com>	07/11/2014
to Will

Skype sounds great and I know how it works if that helps? December is fine let me know a date that suits nearer the time, hope your project is going well.
Yeah it's definitely nice to have such freedom of expression but I know personally I have to learn to control my line and tone better and I very much like the, as you call it, 'tightness' of your panels as it lets the eye appreciate the shading without being overwhelmed.

Thanks for the paper suggestion at the moment I am using the less textured side of rather cheap watercolour paper but may start thinking about a paper budget for better quality work!

Haha it is basic stuff that I hadn't yet considered! I will definitely take your advice. 

Thanks again,
Gabbie

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