Religious Beliefs and Bioshock

Nov04
by on November 4, 2013 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Comics

Warning: there is a small spoiler for Bioshock Infinite in this entry.  If you don’t want to see it, read no further.

So I recently read that some people were displeased by one of the scenes in Bioshock Infinite.  As I have not yet played the game, I have to take their word for it.  In the scene, you character gets baptized in a religious ceremony.

Here is a link to the article.  Apparently, one such player was so offended that he/she wanted a refund for it.  Valve was gracious enough to grant it.

I have mixed feelings on this.

On its face, it’s hard to fault this player.  I’ve seen a lot of hate in the comments, but the reality is that some people genuinely do have very strong beliefs.  People who don’t have strong religious beliefs often have a hard time understanding how the universe appears to those that do have strong religious beliefs.

The interesting thing about this is that it goes both ways: to the active, staunch religious person, the world revolves around their beliefs and deviation from that belief can have detrimental effects on mankind. To the staunch atheist…well, that sentence could almost be applied word for word to them, too.  So it is understandable if someone balks after experiencing something that goes completely against their beliefs, especially if it wasn’t part of the advertisement.

That said, I generally find it distasteful to ask for a refund after partaking in something that can’t be returned.  For example, I’ve never demanded a refund from a theater, and likely never will.  Further, I have an inclination to distrust the motivations of those that do.

When I pay for a film, I am not entitled to enjoy the film; I am only entitled to receive the film that I paid for.  If I don’t enjoy the film, I question whether I will watch another film from that studio, director, actors, and possibly theater, but I don’t demand that I get my money back.  I got what was promised, and it would be wrong to go back and demand my money after I’ve already extracted the value out of it.

Of course, the most interesting (and in my view, pleasing) part of this whole discussion is the very fact that a game has sparked it.  As the medium continues to evolve, I suspect we will see more of this type of thing.  I think we’re better for it.

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The Use of Trademarked Characters in Art

Oct28
by on October 28, 2013 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Comics

I’ve been studying a lot about trademark and copyright law lately, particularly those aspects of the law that have to do with parody and the use of copyrighted/trademarked characters. I’ve been considering doing a parody piece about a specific group of characters (you’ll know it if/when you see it), and I want to make sure I am righteous with respect to the law.

This path of righteousness has led me to some strange places, and I’m not sure whether my understanding has increased or decreased since I started looking into it.

I came across an interesting panel from SDCC on fanart, and part of it applies here. I thought I’d share with you here.

In addition to the parody work, I’ve considered bringing my work to comic conventions. I’ve heard from several other artists that the comic convention scene can be difficult for fantasy/gaming artists because everyone wants their favorite character done. People will often come to the booth with questions like “What comics have you drawn” and “Do you do Batman?”

The comic industry seems to be this quiet little microcosm where companies seem to have no problem allowing third party artists to draw their characters for profit. it seems that, in every other industry, producers come down hard on copyright and trademark infringement, but Marvel, DC, etc., turn a blind eye. The unfortunate thing is that we will never know if/when the comic companies will have a change of heart until it’s too late.

Will I do them in the future? Probably not anytime soon. While I have the models, and could easily produce 3D artwork of Batman, Superman, etc., I will likely avoid them until I can be certain that I’m within the law to produce it EVEN IF they change their minds.  It would likely take some type of open license (like the OGL, GPL, etc.) that can’t be later revoked before I would consider it. Until then, I will stick to the gaming conventions and making game characters (i.e. non-trademarked characters) for fans.

If you have any advice or links on the topic, contact me through the contact page; I’m always looking to learn more.

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KokomoCon

Oct21
by on October 21, 2013 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Comics

Due to a small mix-up over scheduling, I deviated from my normal convention schedule this year.  This ultimately lead to me attending KokomoCon in Kokomo, Indiana over the weekend.  I’d like to describe the experience here.

KokomoCon is a small show, with about 1000-1500 people.  It’s also a one-day show, of which I am not normally a fan.  Still, two of my friends spoke highly of the show, and a third friend asked me to attend.  I decided to give it a try.

Unlike most of the conventions that I attend, KokomoCon was was not predominantly game-themed.  This made it difficult for me because my product tends to gel well with the needs of gamers.  For example, at Origins or GenCon, I can often strike up a conversation with a customer by asking “What do you play?”  As we talk, I get a chance to learn about the player’s experience, but I also get a chance to talk about how I can potentially enhance their gaming experience with artwork.  If they have characters that they have played for a long time, I can make their character for them to drop into their character sheets.  If they are game designers looking for artwork, I can potentially match some of my work to their themes.  Either way, we work through the creative process together.

At comic conventions, or even “all things geek” expos like this KokomoCon, I get a lot of “I don’t play games” in response to that opening question. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s just that the fans are looking for something different.  I can generally still strike up a conversation.  The problem is that, while I can talk intelligibly about Manga, comics, steampunk, etc., it’s hard to spark their interest when the product they want isn’t one that I make.

This leaves me with the decision of either sticking to just game-related shows OR expanding my portfolio to include things like superheroes and other trademarked characters.  The latter of these two choices makes me squeamish, but I won’t go into that today; I’ll write more about it next week.  That said, I don’t think the difficulties that I had with the show were the fault of the show’s organizers; I think it was just an oil-water issue of my content vs that market involved.

There were several good things about the show that I would like to mention here:

Organization – One of my friends at GenCon told me that KokomoCon was one of the best organized shows she had ever attended, and I would have to agree.  The process for getting signed up for the show was simple, and the booth was exactly as I expected on the day of the show.

Promoter feedback – KokomoCon doesn’t have the history of a lot of the bigger conventions, so the promoters of the show are still continuously seeking feedback.  This is a good thing; it shows they have an open mind.  They individually came around to invite the vendors back for next year’s show, and solicited responses on how they could make the show better.

Large space – as a vendor, this was both a good and bad thing.  It was good because it shows that the venue has room for the growth of the show.  Unfortunately, it also made it easier for people to just blow past the booth.  At more congested shows, people will often stop to look at – and potentially buy – artwork as they are waiting to get through.  This was one of the things that I liked about BashCon, and I hope to see at future shows.

Seeing friends – As I said, a friend asked me to come to the show, and was gracious enough to put me up the night before.  This connection is half of the reason why I attend the conventions, so I still got a lot of value out of it.

Streamlining of my own processes – As I said above, I am not a fan of one-day shows.  I strike up a lot of conversations during shows, and a lot of my sales come from people just coming back to talk throughout the weekend.

That said, I am happy that I decided to do a one day show this weekend because it taught me a LOT about how to pack for a show.  Knowing that I wouldn’t be there the full weekend, I trimmed away everything but the bare essentials for this show.  In fact, I was able to fit it all into what you see in the following picture:

About half-way through the day, I realized that this setup was actually perfect for my 4-day shows, and that I had been taking too much to the other shows.  By trimming down on my gear, I was able to pack and unpack much faster than normal.  This isn’t normally a big deal, but it can be huge if I ever travel to a show with someone else (hurray for carpooling!).

So, everything considered, KokomoCon was a good experience.  If you are a comic artist or toy vendor, I would definitely recommend the show.  There’s money to be made there.  If you are an up-and-coming artist, I would encourage you to try it just for the one-day experience.

By the way, there was one more interesting things about the show: unlike most shows that I attend, the floor at KokomoCon was not carpeted.  A smooth, hard floor combined with generally open space led some of the cosplayers wear roller skates.  The first time I saw this, I was disoriented by the person moving toward me in a smooth, straight motion that was inconsistent with her leg movement.  This caused a me to experience a vertigo effect that almost knocked me out of my chair.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Regarding Cosplay

Oct14
by on October 14, 2013 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Comics

I’m a bit of a fan of Manga and anime, and have been since the 90’s.  I really enjoyed Fist of the North Star, Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D, and Full Metal Alchemist.   I don’t know that I would call myself an enthusiast, though, as I don’t have the near-encyclopedic knowledge that a lot of modern fans have. I have seen Fruits Basket, Moribito, Naruto, and other modern animes, and can speak intelligibly during conversation.  My attitude toward manga and anime is similar to my attitude toward all comics; I would consider myself an “anime hobbyist.”

One benefit of attending gaming/fantasy/science fiction conventions is the exposure to the cosplay.  In addition to marveling at the costumes themselves, I get an opportunity to talk to people about the characters they are portraying.  If the story seems interesting, I often jot down the name of the show and look it up right after the convention.  I get pictures of costumes, they get to show off their wares, the shows get more viewers, etc.  Everyone gets to wet their beaks.

Unfortunately, people aren’t always nice to cosplayers.  A friend of mine posted something this week that was kind of depressing.

Cosplayers Share the Creepiest Things Ever Said to Them at a Con

You know, I get that geeks can be socially awkward, and I know this has been a problem at gaming/comic/fantasy/scifi/etc conventions for a long time.  Such comments are horrible, and nobody should have to go through that during a show.

In most of these cases, I’d bet dollars to donuts that the people making the comments were just trying too hard to be cool.  There is a part of me that feels some empathy for the people that do this type of thing.  Why empathy and not sympathy?  Because I know what it is to try too hard to look cool and say something completely inappropriate.  In my case, it happened at a very early age, and after being called on it more than once, I learn my lesson through tears of embarrassment during my childhood.  Make no mistake: it was a lesson I needed to learn.  But I empathize with those that made it to adulthood without getting the appropriate smackdown.

Look,  I know that most people won’t take advice from someone else; we all want to learn the hard lessons ourselves.  But if I could pass one piece of advice on to the younger generation, it is this: every interaction that I look back on with embarrassment in my life came about as a result of me trying to look cool.  Without exception.  Every one of them.  Likewise, every interaction that I am proud of came about as a result of me trying to help someone else, or to lift them up.  This may

On the 19th of this month I will be attending KokomoCon.  If you live in Indiana, come down to the show and say “Hi.”  I promise I’ll say it back, and I might even sell you some art.  And hopefully I won’t have to witness uncomfortable experiences like those described on that link.

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Reaper Miniatures Second Kickstarter

Oct07
by on October 7, 2013 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Comics

At last year’s PAX, I broke away from the convention for a little while to paint a miniature.  It was probably the first time in over a decade.  It took me about 3 hours, and I was generally pleased with the result.

The miniature was called a “bone miniature,” and from what I understand of it, it is a rugged plastic, similar to PVC.  These miniatures can be painted without primer as the paint just sticks nicely to the material.  Further, they are also much cheaper than pewter minis, and their lightness makes them less susceptible to dings and chips from being dropped on hard objects.  Finally I was generally pleased with how much I could bend the piece without cracking the paint or significantly deforming the miniature itself.  This allowed me to get to hard-to-reach places very easily.

I can’t believe I didn’t blog about this at the time, but last year Reaper miniatures ran a fantastic Kickstarter to kick start their new line of Bone Miniatures.  I participated in the Kickstarter at the $100 level, and got over 240 miniatures from it.  I’m excited about the opportunity to share the painting experience with my kids.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to join in on that event; fortunately, you will be able to join in on the next one:

Reaper II Kickstarter, Ending October 26th

The line they are running this year looks amazing; I will likely buy in again, plus purchase a few of the additional packs.  If you like painting minis, get over to their Kickstarter page and check them out.

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