Tacoma Artists Initiative Project, Step 1: Script

My Tacoma Artist Initiative Project is creating two public service announcements using whiteboard animation. As part of that assignment I’m sharing this process on both my blog and the Cartoonists’ League of Absurd Washingtonians website. Step one of the project is drafting two scripts. My goal was to focus strictly on the dialog and time it to roughly 50 seconds per script. One I wrote each script I then sent it to my legal consultant, and then ran it past my editor. I gave my editor a few gray hairs because I did not write into the script the dialog in context with the images. I wanted to leave the script very open for when I came up with ideas during the next step, creating the storyboard.

Here are the scripts:

Voiceover Script for Defining Copyright Ownership.

Your creative expression can take many forms: writing, music, dance, sculpture, or visual art.

Copyright protects your creative expression.

Did you know that when you sell your original art you are not selling your copyright?

Just as an author does not lose the rights to his story when he sells his books, neither does a painter lose the rights to their creative expression when they sell their original paintings.

When a person buys original art, they become a curator of that piece, but they do not have the right to license the art.

Only you, as the creator, have the right to license your art.

Even after the original art has found a new home, you have the right to license and profit from your creative expression in any way you see fit.

The only legal way others obtain permission to license your work is in writing

Providing provenance to your art is a great way to inform buyers of their role as custodian.

It can confirm their obligation to keep the work safe from harm—and for you to have reasonable access to the original to make reproductions.

This message sponsored by the Tacoma Artists Initiative, and these fine creators.

@ 2013 Mark Monlux

***

Voiceover Script for Having vs. Registering Copyright

Your creative expression can take many forms: writing, music, dance, sculpture, or visual art.

Copyright protects your creative expression.

But there is a difference between having copyright and registering your copyright.

And since it can significantly affect how well your artistic rights are protected, you should know about it.

You have copyright the moment you physically create or record your expression.

But you need to register your copyright with the government to fully protect your work.

A registered copyright is your ticket into the courtroom.

It means that with a favorable judgment your legal fees can be collected in the settlement.

It also means that you can be awarded statutory damages for willful infringement.

Without a filed copyright you don’t qualify for any of that.

So, remember to protect yourself and your creative endeavors.

Register your copyrights early, and often.

It’s easy. You can do it online at copyright.gov.

This message sponsored by the Tacoma Artists Initiative, and these fine creators.

@ 2013 Mark Monlux

Tacoma Public Library Project

I just finished up on a project that was a lot of fun. The Tacoma Public Library asked me to do a series of eight cartoons featuring kids reading books in interesting places and situations. What made the project challenging was the images are going to be used into two different size formats, and in two different shape formats. One size would be nine inches by nine inches square on mini-posters. The second size would be two and a quarter inch wide round stickers. This meant that the images would need to have detail scalability. It also meant that I needed to create the image with three zones. Zone one would be the middle of the image and be the center point. Zone two was the image where the text would fall (with an option to remove the text). Zone three were the corners, where I’d have extra bits that would be seen only on the square layout. David Domkoski, Community Relations Manager of TPL, guided me in my efforts and we are both very happy with the results.

Technical Note: All of the blacks in the images were made with a color combination of; C: 20, M: 20, Y: 20, K: 100. This rich black helps the black stand up to the vibrant colors while at the same time removes any chance that white slivers will appear next to the black in case a bump in the registration occurs. Something that I’ve seen happen in the past when producing stickers on rolls rather than sheets.

Review of "Maniac", Report on Stumptown, and More News

I’ve wanted to see Maniac ever since I saw a before-and-after shot of a woman being scalped in “The Bloody Best of Fangoria, Volume 1.” Oddly enough, that was in conjunction with then-editor “Uncle” Bob Martin’s article on why Fangoria prints disgusting pictures. What he said in 1982 still remains true today: when hanging out in a morgue, some of us just want to look under the sheets. I put off my viewing for several years. I was surely doomed to watch it alone on DVD because few others shared my enjoyment of grisly, (and often pointless to the story) practical special effects. Then I learned that Justin Giallo was going to present Maniac at Grindhouse Theater, a monthly event currently hosted at Tacoma’s Grand Theater. How could I resist a chance to see this film in its 35mm glory in a theater filled with my fellow sheet-peepers? And how marvelous that one of the sponsors would be “Fangoria Magazine?” The next morning, I showed up bleary-eyed at Norwescon. My friend (and fellow table vendor) Matt Youngmark, creator of Chooseomatic Books, asked for a report. I told him that if you enjoy old grindhouse films involving maniacs and nothing else, this one would be a classic choice. I also confessed that I wanted to see the original so that I could make an accurate comparison to the 2013 remake, starring Elijah Wood.

I drew this strip while Matt Youngmark and I were sharing yet another table at yet another convention. This time we were in Portland, Oregon doing combo deals at the Stumptown Comic Festival. I drew a lot of sketches in people's books. If you would like to see photos - go here.

More news! A fun blog called "Sensational Adventure Club" interviewed me. The interview was posted just a few days ago here.

There's lots more to tell you, but it will have to wait until tomorrow's post.

Stumptown this Weekend in Portland, Oregon!

This weekend I will be participating at Stumptown at table D-03. Sharing my table will be Matt Youngmark, creator of Chooseomatic Books. Mat and I recently shared a table at Norwescon and it was such fun that we thought we'd do it again at Stumptown. If you haven't seen Matt's work before you definitely need to stop by and check out his choose your adventure books. Orientated for adults, fun for kids! Just like my book. In fact, ask Matt about the combo deals.

The Comic Critic Reviews Oblivion

When my friend John Draper asked me to see the premier showing of Oblivion, I couldn’t resist. I always get excited when I see that a movie is going to have robots in it, or spacesuits, or something that looks like a combination of the two. Normally a premier showing is held at 12:05 a.m., technically the day of the release, but still realistically pulling in that following evening’s audience. I was therefore surprised to see it scheduled at 8:10 p.m. on the day before its official release. I was also startled to see that the theater wasn’t nearly as full as I expected. In fact, there was ample room. While the story told in Oblivion finished with a fairly predictable ending (along some predictable routes), it did not go along the routes that I’d predicted. I was happy to get a few surprises thrown in. I think the reason I can’t go any higher than a seven on the rating is that Oblivion didn’t hold enough surprises for me. It had tension, action, sadness, and pluck. But it didn’t have the awe, guffaws, or big scares that would have thrown it up there with high-ranking, great sci-fi fantasy films. I should mention that while I give the movie a seven, my friend John gives it an eight.

Not to be confused with the Oblivion from 1994, starring George Takei - Oh, My!

The Return of Stickman #1475 & #1476

In case you missed the news story that inspired these two strips, here it is. Just a heads up that next weekend I'm going to be in Portland, Oregon selling my schlock at the Stumptown Comic Fest. I'll be sharing my table with Matt Youngmark of Chooseomatic Books. You will be able to find us at table D03. I'll be sharing the map as soon as it's released.

The Return of Stickman #1474

The unnerving story that inspired today's strip can be found here.