Redux Deluxe!™ the WebComic

In my previous blog entry about the Beginnings of Redux Deluxe, I stated that I never saw myself as a comic artist…or more specifically, one who draws comic books. I felt that way then, I feel that way now…and I’ve always felt that way.

Whenever I show someone samples of my work, they always state that its ‘visually pleasing’ but doesn’t quite fit the mold of what ‘comic art’ should look like. I’ve heard this mostly in art forums, but I’ve also heard it in person. I’m not going to lie, I don’t over use pencil rendering, I don’t really use spotted blacks, and I don’t use alot of concepts that other ‘comic artists’ use. I thought that was the point of originality. I don’t consider myself as a comic artist anyway, and thats not something I’m striving to attain. I think thats very limiting, and you should open yourself up to alot more, especially if you’re trying to do art as more than just a hobby.

About this time two years ago, I decided to take art beyond a hobby, and try to do it at least semi-professionally. Its kind of difficult when you’re self taught and trying to break into an industry when all of your ‘peers’ have BFAs and MFAs…and all you have is just this ‘portfolio’ that you’ve created. Its very difficult. I can definitely see myself trying to get a BFA in the future, just to build a stronger foundation and maybe learn some things in art and illustration that I’ve overlooked.

So, if I’m not a comic artist…then what am I? I mean, I’m doing a comic now, and have the basic script for a graphic novel that I’m planning to do already penned out. I consider myself an Illustrator. A freelance illustrator. I would go so far as to use the graphic artist moniker, because there is more than just illustration that appeals to me. I like design, photography, layouts…I love it all. So I do information technology, and my real love and passion is art.

This place isn’t the forum in which I want to talk about the pitfalls, highs and lows and whatever else that comes with it in search of finding that happy medium and maybe even become a semi professional to a professional illustrator…thats what my art blog is for. I just wanted to let other readers know, who may also be aspiring creators (not just artists) is that don’t let no one put you into a box, because it limits your vision. Set out a plan of action, then execute that plan of action, and you’ll be amazed as to where it will take you. I’m still struggling to find a foothold in the illustration genre, but slowly and surely I’m getting there.

And I will get there.

Aside from posting random artwork that I do outside of this webcomic, and maybe writing stuff here pertaining to the update schedule of Redux Deluxe, I have no idea whatsoever to do with this blog section of my webcomic. I see people posting updates about what they’re offering in their store concerning their comics, maybe some people are doing wrap ups for conventions, or some just don’t post anything at all. Not posting anything seems like a waste of valuable space to me…so I thought to myself that maybe I will utilize this space here to write about the making of my webcomic, the thought process, creation process, and all of the trials and tribulations that come along with it (…and random artwork too!).

Redux Deluxe initially started out as a bunch of random sketches. It was supposed to be a gag a day type thing like most typical comics that are found in newspapers. Speaking of newspapers, I initially wrote it to be featured in my school’s newspaper, the Cavalier Daily. I submitted samples, but what seems to be the norm for me lately, I received a rejection letter in return. Since then, the whole idea has been lying dormant. The premise then was the same…CJ having to move and deal with readjusting and fitting in and making new friends, but more in a 3 panel strip gag a day form.

Honestly, I think being rejected then was the best thing that could happen to Redux Deluxe. Seeing my stuff in a 3 to 4 panel template like that felt really restricting and I couldn’t get my story across without it feeling really random. During this time that I had Redux Deluxe on hold, I was developing another story…one that I wanted to create a graphic novel for.

While I was ‘decent’ at art, I knew that I had a long way to go in terms of art, drawing, visual storytelling, layouts, and presentation for that graphic novel to come together. Then I found out about webcomics…

In the middle of last year, I ran into the idea of webcomics. It seemed like a cool outlet…something I was very interested in. I never saw myself however as the ‘person who wanted to draw comic books for a living’, and really, I still don’t. I love art, but that just doesn’t seem like something that would really interest me. But doing a webcomic, I could use it as an experiment, and practice all the stuff that I should do, and find out things that I shouldn’t do in creating a graphic novel. And just my luck that I had a story in my head on hold that would be perfectly suited for a webcomic…Redux Deluxe.

But I didn’t want to create it to be just another webcomic to be lost…I wanted to put my all into it and make it the best that I could…which explains why I started it late last year and put it on hold. I wanted to get better with photoshop and just practice a little more until I was able to create something I was proud in seeing and letting others to enjoy. And I also wanted to slow down, and make it into a graphic novel form…in preparation for my other graphic novel.

I’m not saying that Redux Deluxe won’t live on…far from it. The way I have the story penciled out, its going to be ongoing for a long time to come. And during that time, I hope to get my other graphic novel off the ground as well…probably posting that as a weekly webcomic as well.

So, thats the story of Redux Deluxe, and how its come to be. To me, its more than a webcomic, its my graphic novel that hardly no one believed in but me….which is why I’m trying my hardest to make sure that its a success.