I just sent the interior of the Toki Pona translation, complete with text and pictures, off to the translator to be checked!
Once that it okayed, I will assemble the book files, create the ebook, and make them ready for uploading to IngramSpark! Then we only await the printer’s e-proof.
Today, it came. Well, the first part, anyways.
Let me back up a bit. Last July (2021), I backed a Kickstarter by Shelly Bond called Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook.
Today I got an update. The books have been printed, but have not been shipped yet. In the meantime, the promised digital copy was made available (early!) to backers.
I was flipping through it on my phone at lunch at work. And even in those few minutes, I found three things that help with my children’s book projects, as well as with characters I am developing for other projects!
Now I am going through it and realizing there is so much more to learn… and my next projects will benefit enormously from the organization of the production process that this book teaches.
This book will have pride of place on my comics-creation shelf next to works like Kevin Tinsley’s “Digital Prepress for Comic Books”, Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” series, the Etherington brothers’ “How to Think When You Draw” series, and Duc’s “L’Art de la BD”… not to mention all the books about actual drawing and writing.
I am so excited by this!
Filth & Grammar is by Shelly Bond
with Imogen Mangle, Laura Hole & Sofie Dodgson
edited by William Potter & Heather Goldberg
proofread by Arlene Lo
cover by Philip Bond
Off Register Press, Los Angeles, 2022
ISBN 979-8-9855622-0-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 979-8-9855622-1-7 (softcover)
A couple of nights ago, I had a short dream in the drawing style of Camila Nogueira. After I woke up, I quickly drew a rough sketch storyboard in the Tiny Sketchbook I take everywhere with me, enough for me to remember it.
I think I’m going to do a proper storyboard and then do my first rough-draft animation, or “animatic“. It’s only a very short sequence, 15 seconds or so. I am thinking that it will be a kind of “Hello World” work as I step into the world of the animatic.
In the world of computer programming, a “Hello World” program is traditionally the first simple program you write when you are learning a new programming language, environment, or toolset. All it does is print or display the words “Hello World”. Sounds simple, yes? Perhaps. But it is a critical step for the programmer, because it shows that they have figured out how to operate the tools required to create the program, which may be a completely new set of equipment or commands… or familiar ones used in new ways.
So this is my Hello World animatic. I haven’t actually made one before, and I have to figure out how to do it. Scan in externally-drawn images? Draw them on the computer? And how do I put them together with the right timing, and add sounds? Photoshop? AfterEffects? Clip Studio Paint? Audacity? Something else? And where do I get the sounds?
I’ve been wanting to do this since I was in animation school all those years ago…
Yes, today a passing remark from a co-worker crystallized a lot of stuff in my head, and now I have titles and ideas for the first two sequels to The Lonely Little Fridge!
I give you…
The Lonely Little Fridge: Spin Cycle
Little Fridge is settling into his new home, in the apartment with the guys. He starts to connect to the community of appliances and other devices in the apartment. But one day he is covered in damp clothes! The apartment is crowded with hanging damp clothes placed everywhere! It seems the apartment clothes washer and dryer has broken down.
Little Fridge sees the repair tech arrive. He’s afraid. Will the washer/dryer be thrown away like he was? And then the tech opens up the washer/dryer! What is this frightening event?
But then suddenly the washer/dryer is put back together, and starts operating normally. The guys rejoice and start gathering up the clothes to re-wash and finally dry them. Little Fridge can feel the joy of the washer/dryer, knowing it has been cared for and saved.
The Lonely Little Fridge: Spin Cycle will be followed by The Lonely Little Fridge: Rest Easy.
This story will be about the guys rescuing an abandoned chair. It’s inspired by the picture nearby, which was forwarded to me by another co-worker with the words, “This reminded me of you.”
And now for something completely different: the figure drawing and background artwork of Pegah Arabi. It’s done in a painterly style. Some of the portraits are in black and white. Look at the proportions and light and shadow! I have a lot to learn about drawing necks…
Pegah Arabi’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pegah-arabi-5846775b/
Another of the stunning artists from Linked!n. Her work is also magical rooftops and cityscapes, but it’s completely different in feel than Camila Nogueira’s. The colour palettes are different, the style is less rigorously technical, and it feels friendly and small-scale, showing quiet moments in peoples’ lives.
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simona-cojocariu-221074179/
ArtStation portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/simona03
The artwork that grabbed me: Morning Coffee: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QrzVLx
Camila Nogueira is a Portuguese illustrator, one of the artists I found on LinkedIn. Some of Camila’s works show the rooftops and alleys of fantastic cities, but others show fantasy landscapes and floating buildings. The style is a fusion of technical illustration and magical realism. And the colours are stunning. And apparently some of the artworks are of real places…?
I recently dreamed in Camila’s drawing style…
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilaillustration/
Website: https://camilaillustration.pt/
…and this is the work that grabbed me. Porto Alley II:
https://camilaillustration.pt/work/portoalley2
The translator and I have approved the printer’s e-proof, and it is now ‘available’ on the printer’s/distributor’s catalogue!
I am very grateful to the people who have offered to translate my texts or check my translations.
Detlef Karthaus diplomiĝis pri tradukado ĉe Laurentian University. Li esperantigis kelkajn romanojn: nome “Demian” kaj “Sidarto” de Hermann Hesse; kaj “Dudek kvar horoj el la vivo de virino” de Stefan Zweig, ĉiuj tradukitaj el la germana. El la angla, li tradukis “Telenio” de Oscar Wilde. Dum multaj jaroj Detlef estas korektanto de la 10 leciona “Free Esperanto Course” por anglalingvanoj.
Detlef Karthaus has a degree in translation from Laurentian University. He has translated several novels into Esperanto: “Demian” and “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse, and “Twenty-four hours in the Life of a Woman” by Stefan Zweig, all translated from the German. From English, he has translated “Teleny” by Oscar Wilde. For many years Detlef has been a moderator of the Ten-Lesson Free Course for English-speakers.
Joe Bazilio é artista multimídia e mora na pequena cidade de Formiga, no interior de Minas Gerais, Brasil. É autodidata em artes, além de músico profissional, poeta, desenhista gráfico, fotógrafo e cineasta. Foi o realizador dos filmes na língua Esperanto, Gerda Malaperis e La Patro.
Joe Bazilio is a multimedia artist and lives in the small town of Formiga, in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He is self-taught in the arts, as well as being a professional musician, poet, graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker. He was the director of the Esperanto-language films Gerda Malaperis and La Patro.
Toronto Dabbogh chut qeSwI’ ghaH may’Iq’e’. pIj bo’DIj qaDDaq ‘ap DIlwI’pu’ ‘oS ‘ej chut Ho’DoSmey pIm HaD ‘e’ tIv. bo’DIjDaq qum qaDbe’DI’, bridgeQuj, Holmey HaD, ‘ej HatlhDaq yIt ‘e’ tIv. tlhIngan Hol yejHaD vInDa’ ghaH ‘ej Hoch patlhmoHmeH qaDmeyDaj’e’ Qapta’mo’, po’wI’ patlh bajta’. ghItlhvam DI’ta’mo’ tlhIngan Hol po’wI”a’ DeSDu’, tlho’qu’.
Michael H. Lubetsky (may’Iq) is a lawyer living in Toronto whose practice focuses on tax litigation and who has a particular interest in comparative law. When not in litigation against the government, he likes to play bridge, study languages, and go hiking. He is a member of the Klingon Language Institute and has passed all their certification examinations, earning the rank of po’wI’. He thanks master Klingonist Jackson M. Bradley (DeSDu’) for checking thie translation of The Lonely Little Fridge.
mi jan Apikela · lili la mi awen lon lipu lon lawa · mi kama lukin e ni · ma lon la pona pi wawa kin li lon · mi wile sama jan lili · mi wile tawa e nasin mi lon pilin pona wawa pi monsuta ala
tenpo ali mi la· nimi en toki ante li pona tawa mi · lawa mi la toki Inli en toki Epanja en toki Kanse en toki Italija en toki pona li lon tenpo sama a
tenpo la · mi tawa sewi e kiwen· li lukin insa e nasin sama lon ijo ali lon jan ali · li toki wawa e sona musi · li tawa pona e pipi linja tan nasin seli suno
o lukin e nasa pona mi lon ilo Yutu (YouTube: Abigail Sarah) · sina wile pana e pali esun· e sona nasa · e sona pi tawa kiwen · e sitelen pipi suwi · la o toki a tawa mi lon ilo Siko (Discord: #9031)
After a childhood isolated in books and the recesses of her own mind, jan Apikela (Abigail) discovered that this world is even richer in beauty and love. She wants to live as fearlessly delighted as a kid (which isn’t everybody, in the grand scheme of things).
She’s always been drawn to poetry & languages, and these days thinks with some kind of hybrid of English, Spanish, French, Italian, and toki pona. She can be found rock climbing, pondering the fractal patterns of the cosmos, gesturing enthusiastically about the liturgical cycle of Chipotle, and saving worms from the sidewalk.
You can participate in the beautiful chaos of her life on YouTube (Abigail Sarah) — or reach out on Discord (#9031) with any freelance projects, random philosophical thoughts, climbing tips, or pictures of snails.
The Lonely Little Fridge is available as a hardcover, a paperback, and an ebook. Translations are ongoing. So far, here are the different versions (as of 2022-07-24):
ISBN 978-0-9689795-7-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-9689795-8-7 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-1-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9689795-9-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-0-4 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-2-8 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-3-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-5-9 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-4-2 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-6-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-8-0 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-7-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7778198-9-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-7781804-1-5 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7781804-0-8 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7781804-2-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-7781804-4-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7781804-3-9 (paperback)