Well, Hello Darkness my old Friend.

I REALLY haven't been online in a while. Let's just say a lot of things have occurred along the way. But first news.

I am nervously preparing for my first art show next week Sunday for the Bones and Cones Halloween Art Show and Ice Cream Social to be held at the Township Bar on Sunday Oct.11. So if you are interest; stop by, have some free ice cream, listen to some Gothic tunes and enjoy and maybe purchase some artwork. Please : (

-Newest update will the start of my monthly October Monster Event. While others do Inktober, I'll stick with Freaktober. The first monster is up now, called the Mahaha.

I have a new collaboration I am currently working on the comics front, as well as developing two other books for release.

The card game; Thy Dunjon Quest had a successful Kickstarter to get a prototype developed. Unfortunately, we lost the prototype to a person we thought we could trust who has yet to return it. In panic, we submitted and obtained a Copyright for the game. Fortunately, we also have plenty of money left over to order a new prototype as we begin the long quest to gain a publisher. We spent the past few weeks researching tabletop game companies to for those accepting submissions and the results have been encouraging. More as this develops.

I haven't been updating a lot, yet paying for the site, due to my newfound relationship that is now on month nine. She is an amazing woman who is also an artist, so she has been driving me to push myself as an artist while working the 9-5 job. So let's see how much work I can belt out with her kicking my butt to do it.

So until then, enjoy the start of a productive month.

Work and my trip to Comic Con. I will fill you in on the details; but first my special announcement.

GAME DEVELOPMENT NEWS


- Thy Dungeon Quest:

UPDATE 8/29/13: As of this writing, we have successfully funded our proposal for a game prototype. With less than 40 hours before the campaign closes, allow me to thank everyone for backing the project. The next step will be delivering the customer rewards and ordering the prototype. I will also push for a Digital Download sample of the game once testing has finished so that we can obtain more feedback and lay out the plans for pre-orders.

8/16/13: We have officially launched a Kicstarter for Thy Dunjon Quest. The kickstarter is for a prototype and we have successfully funded the project. We have uploaded a few stretch goals and a new rewards tier for anyone who wants to see us make this project a reality.

For the Kickstarter;

Here

For the Update Video;

Here

- COMIC NEWS

I have begun working on a comic for a former client that I did character designs for her in the past. Originally, it was for an animated series, but the main animator had to bow out due to job-hunting, so see sought me out in adapting her story into comic form. I have already begun sketching out the roughs for the story as well as unearthed the character drawings I did for her to refresh myself in the art style. Expect to see a new Section uploaded in the coming weeks.

ILLUSTRATION NEWS

I am also working on a cover for a sci-fi newsletter called ScfiCommons and the theme is alien tech. I have the main alien character ready, and I am working on the main background to accompany the template sent to me.

MEDIA NEWS

As of now, The Review Show project is on hold due to the Kickstarter campaign, but expect news of its revival once that wraps up.

I am currently editing my video to show at my friend's wedding Japan that is coming on tomorrow. Shit, I need to wrap it up and send it to him right now!

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My updates have been shite, but I have time off and I plan to post today.

- I am starting up an online store with Zazzle, to print original content that I use my existing works with new graphic designs. I plan to announce the site once I have enough pieces to showcase. This is a new venture I feel the need to pursue after seeing a lot of stalling on collaborative efforts and feeling the need to branch out on my own in my projects.

- I didn't win the Project Rooftop: Emerald Ensemble contest, but I was realistically hoping to get Honorable Mention. I'll still submit as they have an open submission on their site and hey, free publicity.

The Mystical Kingdom of Monsters kickstarter's creator, Kevin Glusing, sent me an early gift, by e-mailing me the monster I helped to design for the game to play in my Fourth Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures. U look forward to playing it when I game this week.

GAME DEVELOPMENT NEWS
- Dungeoncraft: I have designed all the monsters for the Game Manual. Currently doing research and concept designs for the Character Classes for the Game.

- Thy Dungeon Quest: Still awaiting news on this project. I actually sent an email to my partners of a tabletop gaming contest, only to meet with delays and when reminded, only got the run-around in regards to a direction. Hence my development of a new online store and perhaps, a return to comic art.

MEDIA NEWS
- I plan to set-up a day to do a green screen test as audio tests were completed and I plan to push for production on the series as we have WAY too much delays coming up and a need to focus is what I am pushing for.


NEW ADDITIONS

- New Section
Dungeoncraft

All monster types are now uploaded.

Mystical Kingdom of Monsters Kickstarter Submission

ElcuandCucuy

Cucalon

All are available for viewing by either navigating the page or clicking on the names.

As time goes by, I upload a bunch of images and make posts about them. Here are the updates of everything I am working on.

GAME DEVELOPMENT NEWS
- Dungeoncraft: I am focusing on developing Creature and Character Classes to accompany the DungeonCraft Game Manual.

- Thy Dungeon Quest: The Game is set, still awaiting a video and a Kickstarter plan to manifest. I did the art, I'm waiting on my two partners to deliver on their end.

MEDIA NEWS
- Night of the Lepus Review:We did a cold reading of the script as well as a Lighting Test. Audio Testing has been stalled due to scheduling conflicts. This will be resolved this week.

- The Garbage Pail Kids Review: Slow due to writing. I am writing as much material as possible, can't say the same on other fronts.

- Screening of Liquid Sky is the next film that is up for screening. This is dependent on when we shoot the Night of the Lepus video and fine-tune the Garbage Pail Kids script.


NEW ADDITIONS

- New Section
Dungeoncraft

NEW IMAGES

Project Rooftop Green Lantern:Emerald Ensemble Contest Entry

Standard

Stealth

Construct

All

Mystical Kingdom of Monsters Kickstarter Submission

COMING SOON

Other Pieces

Nylarus

All are available for viewing by either navigating the page or clicking on the names.

ART NEWS

- Contest Submission: I entered into Project Rooftop's Green Lantern:Emerald Ensemble Design contest and for my design, I went with Kyle Rayner for my choice and have the images in my Character Design Location.

- Kickstarter Backer Bonus: I have backed a Kickstarter called Mystical Kingdoms of Monsters and submitted my monsters to put into the First Edition of the manual and my submission is uploaded in the Character Design Tab.

- New Section: I have added a new section in my portfolio called Dungeoncraft, where all work done for the game will be made available for viewing.

GAME DEVELOPMENT

-Dungeoncraft: After weeks of playtesting, Dungeoncraft is now read to be made into an official game.

-Thy Dunjon Quest: The game is, overall, ready for production, its the Kickstarter video that going through formatting issues.

MEDIA NEWS

- Night of the Lepus: Scriptwriting is done. We underwent a script reading and a Lighting Test. Audio Testing was delayed due to scheduling conflicts that will be resolved this week.

-Garbage Pail Kids: Writing is still in a stalemate, but I am working on it.

-Liquid Sky will be the next film to be screened by me and my co-host, after shooting is done for Night of the Lepus review and the script is fine-tuned for the Garbage Pail Kids review.

Soo, I have been pretty bad with my updates these past few weeks. I will be uploading new content this weekend as I have a backlog of images to process, so look for it in the site updates real soon.

I had some issues for a bit, as a while back, a client, Chris Allen, who I worked with during my time at The Warranty Group procurred me to develop characters for past away on a flight home from Las Vegas. Even stranger still, my boss at my current location mentioned a person having a heart attack on the flight before her return flight from Las Vegas. I didn't think much of it, until I got a message from this very site by another collaborator, Durell, who told me about Chris's passing.

Honestly, I didn't know how to react to the news. I wasn't super close to Chris, but I remember him as always being a friendly guy and when we were all able to meet together for his project, I can tell right away that, even with the delays, this man had a genuine love for his idea and a love for the superhero genre. Plus, he would every now and then, text me and ask how I was doing. He was that kind of guy and the world is much sadder without him.

Even worse, I wasn't able to give him a proper goodbye as I went to the visitation, only to find the funeral home closed and I couldn't attend the funeral due to short notice and that simple fact that I always feel those occasions are best left to the ones closest to him. This was the second time I have failed to say farewell to someone I knew in a creative circle.

The person I am referring to as well was named Alex. He was a heart transplant recipient that would come to my Comic Creator meetings. He wouldn't draw too much, mostly pitch various ideas and chat with us. But he was a good guy and being constantly in a hospital, you kinda understand his need to have friends around to talk to. Then as the year went bye, he started coming to fewer and fewer meetings as his hospital visits grew and grew. The most he did outside of a hospital stay was attending a convention out of state to help a friend promote his work. I didn't hear anything much after that, until I received a phone call from Alex's aunt, telling me passed away and when the funeral was, which unfortunately I failed to go to as well.

People like to think I'm a goody guy, but there are times like this that I feel nothing but shame for myself as I couldn't give a proper farewell to these men. I feel fear as I see people whose minds are brimming with ideas, snuffed out of existence before any of their dreams were realized. I am sad that these people, who I have been casual, but give them some form of respect, that I will never have a chance to see them or speak to them ever again and to call them what I always considered them, "my friends."

This was the eulogy I had in my mind for them, the fact it took me this long to post it is another reason why I find it hard to look at myself sometimes. For Chris, Durell intends to honor his legacy by finishing the project he started and I shall help in any way I could. For Alex, I can only hope I could honor his memory when I get my books published.

Sadly, I do not have any funny jokes or pranks to share, thought the web more that compensates for it with the joke post of Peter Dinklage being replaced by Warwick Davis for Game of Thrones and George Takei being in the Next Star Wars. Also, when my sister comes home from class, she wants to watch the Soul Eater episodes with the most famously infamously ridiculously awesome weapon character; The Legendary sword, EXCALIBUR!

Also, after a ridiculously lengthy hiatus from being a Dungeon Master for Dungeons & Dragons, I have returned to the DM screen... and nearly killed my entire party with a pack of Worgs. And this is only Encounter One! I planned it out in hopes to wrap up my epic story and it may actually take a little while longer if I continue to endanger my players this way, but I have it set, so let's see how they handle themselves next time. On the plus side, I believe my perverted Elven Cleric will soon be Level Nine and I guarantee that the rest of the party will be leveling up quickly as well with my encounters. Plus, I retooled my own enemy creations and have a huge Cemetery and Temple scenarios for the players to undertake. So, yeah, battles upon battles are in their future.

Two weeks ago, I think, I and a few of my collaborators did a successful playtest of the upcoming Dungeoncraft game to test out the new rules for the game. The new rules allowed for further growth within the game, allowing us to add a Mission Tier structure for a game that allows players to draw the map while fighting monsters, collecting items and crafting items.

Last week, me and the same friends/collaborators started the first step in our video series by watching our first bad movie; Night of the Lepus. I am writing my rough draft for the script and gathering clips and audio to add to the review experience. So far, I have most of the Cold Open, a beginning leading up to the middle and a great deal of gags and observations.

Tomorrow, I should be able to view a rough cut of the Kickstarter video for the other game I did artwork for, Thy Dunjon Quest. I am still hesitant regarding the goals and perks, but my collaborators seem set on their goal and I will just wait and see how that works for us.

Now for latest artwork,

From Last week
- Cephalostacean
- Skelesentry
- Octopodis
- Fiery Seraph
- Nylarthoptherex

This weeks additions
- Slender Man: Second Drawing
- Grendel: Concept 01
- Bettari DarkEyes

St. Patrick's Day came and went and I have to share a few things;

- I have divided my Character Challenge artwork into two categories; 2011 and 2012. You can see them in my Portfolio tab or click on the links to the years.

SITE UPDATES
- Created a new section in the Creative Challenges Tab called Concepts. Uploaded in that tab are;
1. Grendel's Mom
2.Fafnir Version One
3.Fafnir Version Two
4.Fafnir Version Three

- Added two new drawings in the Character Spotlight Section;
1. Director Bane
2. Shadow Spirit Beast

All are available for viewing by either navigating the page or clicking on the names.

GAME DEVELOPMENT NEWS
- Playtest for the upcoming Dungeoncraft Game went super well that former ideas that were dropped are soon to be implemented for further testing. For those not in the know; Dungeoncraft is a game where the game map is drawn by dice, as well as determining items and monsters. We have added a more developed crafting mechanic and a Mission Tier structure.

- The Thy Dunjon Quest Card Game's fundraiser video should be complete soon, and we shall have a Kickstarter set up soon. Thy Dunjon Quest is a social card game that makes players collect items, fight monsters, and play charades based on the luck of the draw.

MEDIA NEWS
- We should be doing our first viewing this week for me and my group's upcoming internet series. We had a couple of pre-production meetings and brainstorming sessions to compile gimmicks, bits, and other services. The first film we will watch is Night of the Lepiris about giant killer rabbits. Yup, its gonna be that kind of show.

That about wraps up my news for the week. I am Lorenzo, this is my website; signing off

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Ok,

Currently I have some stuff drawn up and inked, as I have fallen in love with using brush pens for inking and gray-scaling my works. I have been practicing on some rejected concepts of Fafnir and Grendel's Mother that will be uploaded shortly.

I started inking back to my comic book work, but my attention has shifted to media and gaming ventures pre-production. I obtained permission from my friend in adapting our former comic work, Rawni, into an upcoming RPG sourcebook and retaining him as a creative consultant. A couple years ago, I presented him an idea of rebooting his universe by drawing inspiration from Game of Thrones and using the world mythology aspect of the former work. So, on Tuesday, at our Game Production meeting, I pitched a series of ideas for developing a traditional RPG from various former ideas. The two my friends were most interested in was Lomen and Rawni, both projects me and my friend developed as comics, with Rawni edging out Lomen for a particular play mode option (large scale warfare) that I proposed. So once we wrapped up on financing Thy Dungeon Quest and finalize development of Dungeoncraft, Rawni will be in development.

Because of this, I went on a huge research kick, looking POD (Print On Demand)/publishing houses, copyright, OGL (Original Gaming License), GSL (Gaming Service License) licenses and MSRD (Modern System Reference Documents) downloads as well as any advice posts and columns regarding this venture and for our other game projects. We have another playtest this week for build-a-board game with a crafting mechanic.

Our Green Screen came in this week, so we are another step closer to our review show. The first pre-screening to prep our official show is coming soon, and the starting movie is Night of the Lepuris, about giant killer rabbits. I got into a minor dispute regarding renting the videos from my comic shop, Brainstorm Comics, as my friends were hesitant to endorse a company because of cost,unless it was free; which I balked at them as this is a local business, I have a good, long relationship with the store, and I get a discount on the bulk of my purchases, so for me to ask for free material is dickish and I am not willing to risk the goodwill I have with my local comic shop. I guess my reason is that my own experiences working on projects make me willing to spend some to gain something as risk-reward is part of the game, especially if you want to get the best out of your work.

Ok, enough talk, I have to be up super early for work tomorrow, so expect some new content real soon.

Wow, I am REALLY terrible at the Updates game.

After settling into my new job, I've been absolutely horrid in terms of reaching out and communicating to the online community.
Before the year ended, I've uploaded a lot of characters to fulfill my failure at the 30 Character Challenge.

I have all, but finished my October Monster Challenge with one creature remaining. Another failure on my creative endeavors.

Didn't finish my comic work; another failure.

Didn't get my game development done with my group; Another Failure.

You know what? I am sick of failing at what I set out to do, I can try and work until my body withers, but it will only end up looking like chicken scratches as the end result. I have set out to redeem myself creatively by finishing the challenges, by completing it before resuming comic book work. I plan to pace myself with it, but continue sketching along the side.

I have resumed game development as our team shifts from video games to traditional games; having completed shooting for an upcoming fundraiser video and play-testing another game project.

I have started writing on the side to fill out my blank entries, so look for those to be filled as well.

I am in the works of entering internet television, and with my restless drive, I am pushing to make it see the light. This and everything I do. Now.

New Drawings are Grendel's Mother in a monster form, The Guard dog Cerberus, and the Celtic dragon, Fafnir.

I'll strive for more consistency, as I plot and develop ideas within my Cave (code for my bedroom), but for now, enjoy the pics. Leave your comments on the message boards and I shall deliver more in the future.

OK, I'm participating in 24 Hour Comics Day CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation at 1845 N. Western from 10-10 Saturday and Sunday. Wish me luck in procuring a spot and doing it. Feel free to stop by if you like.

Click her for details

http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=448232

It is October and that means the start of my 4th Annual Monthly Monster Mayhem Challenge in my October Drawing Challenge.

For the uninitiated, this drawing challenge was started by me as a personal test to create creatures for the month leading up to Halloween. My criteria goes like this;

1. I create one monster per day.
2. Monsters are created based on mythology, folklore, or classic literary stories.
3. If I miss one day, I will add an additional one to make up for the missing day.
4. For each monster uploaded, I add a profile for each monster and my comments on my design for the creature.
5. Lastly, I have fun doing it.

The first two creatures for 2012 are upload in my October Drawing Challenge Tab.
01. The Shirime
02. The Tenome

I have also added a special addition to the Drawing Challenge last week; my rendition of Cthulhu to complete the ones I missed for 2009.

I have added another character to my Character Spotlight Tab, the mystical her called El Cuco

Hope you enjoy your visit.

Feel free to see the video at my tumbler

Well, bad news;

I didn't get the job as a Sequential Arts Instructor at the Chicago High School of the Arts, citing a lack of experience teaching. So, before I sink into a deep depression; I am going to check on the Rumble Arts Center to see about volunteering to teach to build my XP. Also, I am open to do a program at After School Matters, so my options are not necessarily closed off.

Meanwhile, I am currently inking my comic, working on some Greeting Card designs for this Greeting Card company startup. They sent me the templates a couple weeks back, and until I get my contracts in, I'll be doing some conservative design work before I know the full details.

I have my kickstarter startup plan around 75% complete, as I received my Amazon approval and I have dropped off my video work to be retooled by a friend. I will go over the perks with my comic collaborators so that can be settled.

Plus, drinking a leftover can of Diet Pepsi, hence the title. And it is disgusting.

A birthday announcement is coming soon; as my birthday sadly falls on the start of the work week, so I set myself up to have a weekend off on the days leading to my birthday, so from July14-15, I am available to eat, drink, and be merry with each and every one of my friends who want to hang out over the weekend.

Also, has anyone ever seen Jim Henson's the Storyteller? It was a very short series about various Europeanmyths and folk tales with creatures designed by the phenomenal Henson Creature Shop magic, stellar production values and top notch story-telling. The entire 9 episode series, plus its 4 episode season on Greek Myths are available for streaming on Netflix. Go check it out, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you for reading and I shall see or write to you soon.

Hey Everyone, sorry for the delays. My day job pretty much sapped most of my energy, but I am proud to deliver the following updates;

- Two new characters are located in the Character Spotlight section: El Boriken and the Chupacabra.

- Page Three of Loman:Reloaded is now added to my home page and in my Comics section. You can also view pages One and Two in the Comics Section.

- I am also finalizing my Kickstarter Campaign to get the Anthology of Interest off the ground. Awaiting Amazon approval and a final tweak to my promo video is all thats left.

- Working on some character Designs for an outside project that I haven't uploaded due to NDA. Once completed, they will be uploaded.

Well, that's all I can think of right now, I will share more later next week. Until then, peace.

New updates means new content.

- I have restarted the Loman Organization by deleting all prior work and starting fresh with a larger canvas to ink the pages to countdown until I finish it for print. I have uploaded Page One to start off this new endeavor. I plan to release a new page every week to count it down. The Loman Organization: Reloaded is located under Comic Artwork in my Portfolio Section.

- I have uploaded two Character Designs for another comic project entitled The Universal Machine. The main characters, Beethoven and the Murderbot are located in Comics Artwork, alongside Loman:Reloaded.

- To add content to Creative Challenges Section, I will use it to launch select Character Designs as a Spotlight segment. The first character, The Sovereign, is found in this section.

My goal is to make this a far more consistent site, so like always, feedback is much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

My apologies to everyone for my lack of updates. I have been stressing out with my current job and have dedicated a sizable chunk of my time to pursue other ventures, with limited success.

I had two interviews regarding a teaching position and a greeting card company, but have yet to hear from either. Just today, I got message for a potential fantasy project collaboration that I replied back to for a possible meetup.

I did a Drink and Draw last week , as well as my own Comic Creators meeting and have attempted vlogging, which has slowed as I realize the need for additional digital storage is a must. I am currently shopping around and I am open for recommendations.

But, I will be uploading some new content this week, so stay tuned for further details.I finished painting a character piece and am working on additional comic pages, so look for those this week.

Thank you all for reading.

I have been talking with a few members last week regarding the direction of the Chicago Comic Creators Group.

Let me recollect my entire string of thoughts as I venture to this decision. I stand in the Western Bus on my way to Belmont, contemplating the sheer scope of fail that I feel my group has been under this past year.

At first, I was on my way to the meeting, my mind set on just calling this endeavor a bust, as I had ran this group for a little over a year and growth has been stagnant and commitments from collaborators has resulted in half-hearted promises to bold-faced blowoffs from my so-called contributors. The messed-up part is that the two biggest pushers for the anthology are the ones who were quick to leave the project entirely, or just flat out no-show without rhyme or reason. I tried to get a social network of creatives together and it has been met with a resounding "ehh" or the sound of crickets from the audience.

I did Creative Challenges which have been met with enthusiasm, yet, the ones who actually deliver are the ones who show up at the meetings to begin with, while others say they will contribute only to never deliver.

So, yeah, I felt I was leading a sinking ship and it led to both my deepening depression, as the weight of projects, postings, ideas and directions have been primarily generated by me. If it wasn't for the every now and then suggestions or ideas from Lorenzo Ross or Nick Westendorf, it may have just been me pitching things. ALL. THE. TIME.

Maybe I didn't spell out my goals for the Group, and here they are; The idea was that I saw a lot of talented individuals who may have been overlooked or had experience within their respective fields and my intention was to unite this, often isolated and lonely process, into a group dynamic where everyone can share their ideas and techniques with one another while creating that story they were hoping to get out, but lacked the motivation to do it. This was part motivator, part support, all around social drawing group.

But, Lorenzo, you ask; Why does it matter if we get together to create when I can be just as productive by myself and deliver the same results? Well, true, but are you really improving yourself by looking up references or apeing another's style? Isolation breeds stagnation, and it is something I was hoping to break because a stagnant artist is a boring artist. We strive to better ourselves by drawing and creating. We read, research and practice, but you can achieve the same results and gain new insight by establishing a dialogue with people who share your passion and are willing to talk about it, and not just impose their ideas upon you by telling you your way is wrong.

*First and foremost, I do not believe in negative feedback. I hear people who enjoy or like the idea of tearing someone's work apart, and I ask, Why? How does that help someone who is , by definition, your peer, by verbally eviscerating their hard work just so you can get a chubby out of being a dick for the sake of being a dick? They can say its to improve the person, yeah let's ask all those mentally tortured kids who either off themselves or went off on people because "you were improving them." This is shit that can just make you out to be a bully or worse, a pretentious twat who suffers from tiny dick syndrome and only gets aroused by making others feel like shit before them. You may think of yourselves as "The Shit", when really, you are just "Shit." *We, as indie artists, are all struggling to get our name out there and, yes, some artists work does need help in improving, but by going off on a lists of why this arm sucks or this part is shit is the opposite of constructive; it is destructive. I don't how many times I had to give support to classmates who have felt offended or hurt by a harsh critique. Hell, I was verbally buried by a former Midway Employee who shook my confidence in myself, but yet, I didn't quit. Why? I had too many people who like what I was doing and who depended on me to deliver artwork that one overzealous egomaniac wasn't going to deter me from being an artist. It just discouraged me from going into Game Design.

But, I digress.

The Anthology Project was something I wanted to hold off until I can see who amongst the group was reliable to do the workload. A few people wanted to start it up sooner than I was comfortable in it, because I wasn't yet sure that people were ready for it. Sadly, my instincts turned out to be right as in spite of the circumstances, members started dropping left and right. Some, for personal reasons. Some, for their own ego. Some, just didn't have the heart. Is it my fault in all this? Perhaps, when I first started it up, it was more jokes and social than work, but like all things, time and experience helped shape the Group into more of what I was aiming for; its too bad the ones that left made up their minds and closed it off from it.

My flaws with it are threefold;

1. Lack of understanding regarding how much work is required for a submission: I understand the amount of pressure in creating a work is, even I face it, but to abandon it midway for other projects or to not touch it entirely, makes you appear very disingenuous and much harder to trust as I and others will ask" Can I trust you, or are you going to drop off when something else comes along."
* 2. Lack of communication with each contributor:* Aside from weekly meetings, I was hoping people were discipline enough to work without a babysitter. I guess I was wrong in that aspect.if you agreed to do a project with someone, but then receive and offer to work with someone else, payment notwithstanding, if you abandon one for the other without giving a word to the other group, then you make yourself unreliable to one group, and in an indy group,that is most insulting.
3. Lack of accountability: Since it is a collaboration, money will always drive a wedge between people and priorities will differ. What hurts me more, is when the above scenarios occur and there is nothing that can be done as a balance in regards to it. It only leads to an impotent rage that slowly builds as I look over at those who brag about their talents, yet I feel the sting of their actions as they blew me off in favor of their pursuits or those that walk away without a word or even offer to finish their work. Yes, this should not hurt me personally, but when you are friends with these people and you expect better from them, only to have this happen with the "It's nothing personal, just business," that is the proverbial slap to my face that I have received this past year, and fuck it, it does affect me personally, as this isn't just business. My friendship with each and every single person within the group makes it personal and when I see someone do this, it fucking hurts.

I sit there on the Belmont bus on my way to my friend Carlos' house dwelling on these thoughts and it fills me with a mixture of sadness, regret, and most of all, anger. Anger at the egos I dealt with over the years. Anger at, for the longest time, I have stood in the background while others made decisions that I felt are not in the best interests of the group. Anger at those who wish to promote the Group, yet I myself could not support it due to the inconsistencies prevalent within it. Anger at myself for trying to avoid making the same mistakes that others had before, only to do so without even realizing it. I tried my hand at being a leader and ended up getting it sawed off, blown up, or chewed out by those I thought I could rely on.

Then, I realized that I expect too much and put way too much pressure upon myself on a system designed for self-indulgence and fraught with clutter. I concentrated too much on expanding, when instead I should cultivate the talent that has stayed and believed in the Group. I make these huge events that less than a quarter actually show up, when instead I shall keep it within the circle that has been built this past year. Selfish, you may say, but to be fair, I did what I could to get people involved. You only have yourselves to blame for your indifference. As the old adage goes; "Actions speak louder than words do," and with that line of thinking I reached my decision.

I walk from Belmont to reach Carlos' place on Oakdale, for what I originally thought of as the final meeting for the Chicago Comic Creators. I go into it, instead, with a renewed sense of purpose for it. And my new direction for the Chicago Comic Creators is this;

The Chicago Comic Creators Group is now closed off until I actually finish what was thrust upon me. The Anthology will be finished, maybe with less people than I initially started with, but god willing, it will be done. In lieu of Event posts, will be personal messages to those who show. I am done torturing myself with every no show, with every non-reply, with every excuse hurled my way. I will no longer cater to your egos, nor will I hold a title that you have abandoned with the hope that you will finish it. If you are not willing to work on it consistently, then walk away. I was once patient with this line of thinking, but now, I done with the bullshit. You either cut the bull or you are officially shit to me. Because, in the end, it is the work that matters and I will see it done.

If you want in or to be involved, you will just have to message me directly. If you have a title that has been inactive for the past month or so, consider it dropped unless you show me some progress in it. Personally. I am sorry for those who may not like my draconian statements, but this all comes from within me and it has been brewing for quite some time that I feel cathartic and relieved in writing these thoughts down. Now, to move forward with myself.

Thank you for reading.

This Wednesday's meeting will resume the Home Edition format at Lorenzo Ross's home on 4445 N. Drake Avenue in Chicago.The meeting starts at 7pm and ends at around 10 pm.

Work will continue for our anthology as well as doing any last minute completion of our Creative Challenges. Those Challenges are;

Written Challenge: Dark Origin

Write a background for a new villain. Explain why they turned evil.

Rules: No one in their history, including themselves, can be murdered, imprisoned, raped, or be the victim of a science experiment.

Your villain’s background or profile can rendered like a comic supervillain or a modern criminal. Be as descriptive as you like.

Drawing Challenge: Styles Clash

The character to draw this week is : Wolverine of the X-Men

A character from the group will be randomly selected, then each artist will draw their rendition of said character for the week of selection. Also, we can do this for established character.

As an added bonus; feel free to redesign the look of the character or design them in an alternative look.

The format is work focused, but there is always conversations carried out during the work, so there is a social aspect to our meetings. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Welcome one and all to the next upcoming Chicago Comic Creators meeting; where art, fans, and words come together.

We will be meeting at my friend Carlos' place on 614 W. Oakdale, ring for Apt.3A, right off of Broadway. It is near the Broadway bus route and near the Red and Brown Line routes.

We will be experimenting with audio recording during our meetings as we chat and draw, with the results broadcasting at the end of the month.

Members within the group will be working on their contributions of the project; Anthology of Interest, while also working on discussion of various topical interests and the direction for the website.

Aside from that, there will be the usual banter of fun, merriment, and jokes to be had by all around the group.

So, I hope to see you all there.

I originally panned to videotape this announcement, but due to time constraints, I will be announcing this moment in text form.

Last week, the group did a drawing of what our first challenge is going to be and the first challenged pulled out was;

Single Panel Silliness

The rules are simple: A sentence is posted online and artists draw a single panel strip using that sentence.

And the sentence selected for the challenge is;

"It's A Trap!"

So, you have one week to create a one panel gag for the phrase "It's a Trap". Since most probably won't see this until Tuesday, the challenge ends on Monday instead of Sunday. I will post the results the next day as well as announcing the next Challenge.

This is Lorenzo, signing off.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the delay. Originally this would be meeting at Carlos's place, but he has his dad's birthday to attend to that day.

I wish Carlos' dad, Ben, a very advance Happy Birthday and switch over to meeting at Nick's place on 3390 West Hollywood, on the corner of Hollywood and Kimball at about a block past Bryn Mawr.


The Meeting is this Wednesday, March 7,2012 at 7:30pm. It will be interesting as I will also be giving blood that day, so I will be in fatigued state when I arrive to Nick's place.

Nick's place is located on the top floor, and you have to ring his buzzer to be let in.

We will continue drawing, writing, inking and discussing various aspects of art, comic culture and if possible, vidcast the process.

This week's meeting will focus on more site details and the start of the first series of Creative Challenges that will be drawn at this week's meeting. If you do not know what the Creative Challenges are about, check in my previous posts for details

Again, sorry for the short notice of the project, but I hope to see you all there.

I've been saying it for a while now, but I feel that there is enough material gathered to make this announcement. Starting March 12, The Chicago Comic Creators Group will do a series of drawing and writing challenges to sharpen our own creative skills and generate a bigger sense of community within the creative circles.

Most of these challenges will last about a week and will consist of one drawing challenge and one written challenge. We will also incorporate Theme Months and Single Page Challenges, that will put Weekly Challenges on hold for the duration of those monthly challenges.

Participation is not limited to just the group. If you want to participate, just comment that you want in and tag me with the finished picture or note. I am experimenting with this in the social networks before applying it to the groups website. All participants will indeed be credited with their work.

But, most of all, these are meant to be fun and to stimulate yourself into working either outside your comfort zone or go nuts on a topic you are skilled in, which is where the the overall goal when I started this group.

Challenges will be done via random lottery at our Meetings and the results will be posted at the beginning of the week.

If you would like to pitch an idea for one of the established challenges or propose an entirely new challenge, feel free to send me a message, via my email and I will respond in kind to your idea.

Creative Challenges



Weekly Challenges



Single Panel Silliness: A single sentence shall be written down, artists must draw a single panel cartoon based on said statement.

Exquisite Corpse: Each artist draws one part of something, then another artist adds on to it in descending order. For writers, one will write one sentence and another writer will write a following sentence after the previous one.These shall be named, Exquisite Corpse: Written and Exquisite Corpse: Drawn.

Styles Clash: For Character Artists, a character from the group will be randomly selected, then each artist will draw their rendition of said character for the week of selection. Also, we can do this for established characters.

Not So Super, Now: Draw your LEAST favorite comic book hero or villain. You may design them in an unflattering or reviled light, so long as the character is recognizable.

I do it, FOR SCIENCE!!!: Describe what would make a mad scientist go mad in the first place? Did "those fools at the University" discredit his theories one too many times? Was it an experiment gone wrong? Or maybe failure after failure mad the good doctor desperate for success?

Heroic Beginnings: Write a background for a new hero. Explain what led to them becoming a hero, their origins, abilities, and what challenges they endured to retain their heroic ideal.

Let's Combine: A particular pose will be posted, with blank segments dividing up the body into parts and artists comment on participation. Each artist will get a blank template of a select body part and will have a week to draw that part in any style they see fit. The end result will be digitally put together by me and the end result will be shown online.

Dark Origin: Write a background for a new villain. Explain why they turned evil. Rules: No one in their history, including themselves, can be murdered, imprisoned, raped, or be the victim of a science experiment.

Fallen Heroes: Reimagine a archetypal super hero as a despotic overlord. Honestly, how many times can they save the world before they decide they can run it better themselves?

Reformed Villains: Reimagine a super villain as crusading hero. Give details on what led to their change of heart and demonstrate that change in a visual manner.

Monster Master: Write or Draw your own monster. Give details regarding their behavior, personality, or life. You can build on a template from established creatures, with a twist or go and create one entirely from scratch; its up to you.
Will be split into two categories; Monster Master: Written and Monster Master: Drawn.

Alternate Endings: Write or Draw an alternate ending to a story you feel was either lacking or think could've gone differently. Both will be titled Alternate Ends: Drawn and Alternate Ends: Written.

Anthropomorphic Pop Stars: Draw a celebrity from pop culture as though they were an animal. You could go even further and do the name puns.

Monthly Challenges

One Page Challenge: Writers write a one page script or story idea, artists will volunteer in the comments section on drawing it. Both parties will have one month to do it and it shall be uploaded for viewing.

Single Issue Challenge: Like a 30 Character challenge, except artist and writers must do one page a day, of a complete story, within the month. Now, the average comic is 22-24 pages, so this will also include the cover and any interiors the creative team desires.

Theme Months: The group will vote on a creative theme that all writers and artists can participate in. Artists will draw characters, landscapes, or pages based on the chosen theme, and writers shall write a story, poem, or critique regarding the chosen theme. These will be a semi-monthly event.

Examples;

Classic Movies

Vampires, Zombies, & Pirates: Because everyone else is doing it

Monsters around the World

Superpowered Celebs

Mecha Mayhem

Slice of Life

The Cutest Thing

I look forward to hearing back from everyone

Opening Segment
This week’s meeting took place at Lorenzo Ross’s apartment from 7:00 pm to 11:30 pm.

Part One: Attendance
1. Nick Westendorf: Working on the functions of the Chicago Comic Creators Website.
2. Lorenzo Ross: Working on Page 15 for Awesome 5.
3. Lorenzo Bonilla: Discussed Group topics and inked Page 4-5 (out of 10 drawn) of Blazer the Raptor.
4. Anthony Aguinaldo: Sketched and submitted ideas for the challenges.

Part Two: Meeting Notes
• Nick worked on site functionality by ensuring navigation through the site was effective and responsive. He had a challenge with a link to the challenges page, but got it working before the end of the night.
• Lorenzo Ross couldn’t work too much on his comic, as he played host and had to stop midway to pick up Anthony for the meeting. However, Lorenzo is so far ahead in his work that any delay on him is inconsequential.
• I finished the inks for page 4 and was nearly finished with page 5 for my comic.
• Anthony came in and focused mostly on freehand sketches. He presented a Spider-Man costume redesign that we recommend he submit to Project Rooftop (website dedicated to comic character redesigns)
• We covered more ground regarding the Challenges Page, as I received Lorenzo Ross, Anthony and Alex Daniel’s ideas for challenges. I also made an additional 15 ideas for each challenge.

Special Notes:
I will post the list and description of each Challenge in a different document at a later time this Sunday.

Part Three: Closing Notes
We are making some serious headway in regards to productivity as we cover a lot of bases in regards to both the creative and the collaborative side of our project. It’s great to see others try and chip in with their ideas and actually have a dialogue that isn’t just the voices in my head. I look forward to working at next week’s meeting. We still have a lot of ground to cover and before, I was feeling a little stretched too thin, but with each member contributing to the project, I am most certainly am not alone in this adventure.
This is Lorenzo Bonilla, Lead Organizer, signing out.

Next Week: Chicago Comic Creators Meeting on March 7, 2012.

Well, hello there.

The Chicago Comic Creators Group cordially invites you to stop by our meeting, to be held at Lorenzo Ross's estate on 4445 N. Drake Avenue, right near the Kimball Brown Line and near the Montrose bus line.

We get together and draw, write, and go over our ongoing projects and sharing trade info with one another.

Projects we will be talking about;
- Details regarding our Group's upcoming website.
- Content and ideas for our upcoming Creative Challenges to be starting in Mid-March.
- Further discussion from last week regarding our Podcast/Vidcast Channel for the Group.
- Work on our respective projects and the impending cover for our own graphic novel; The Anthology of Interest.
- Gossip and chat about the industry and techniques.

So, I look forward to seeing you come check us out. If you can't attend or would like to contribute remotely, we have a Group Page setup at ;

www.facebook.com/groups/ChicagoComicCre…

so you can check it out as I plan to add more content in the coming weeks. Or, you can message me at |art.lorenzo@gmail.com|and we can discuss ideas you may have.I am not as hard to reach as my lack of status updates may lead you to believe.

Until then, Excelsior!

Opening Segment
This week’s meeting took place at Nick Westendorf’s apartment from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm.


Part One: Attendance
1. Nick Westendorf: Working on the foundation for the Chicago Comic Creators Website.
2. Lorenzo Ross: Working on Page 14 (nearing the end) for Awesome 5.
3. Lorenzo Bonilla: Discussed Group topics and inked Page 4 (out of 10 drawn) of Blazer the Raptor.


Part Two: Meeting Notes
• I showed Nick my design ideas for the website and both me and Nick exchanged ideas regarding site functionality, layout, button style, and page size. I wanted to keep things simple, though Nick encouraged me not to limit myself as he has grown quite proficient in designing pages and is willing to seek out a way to make an idea work.
• I shared some of the lessons I acquired from reading the books, How to make Web comics and Creating Characters with Personality with Lorenzo Ross, who also discussed with Nick ideas of updating his own personal website.
• I updated Nick in regards to Alex Daniel’s idea for a podcast/vidcast for the Group and encouraged each of us to come up with ideas for segments and topics of discussion for the idea. This will perfectly complement the monthly updates as it will give us much to discuss in filling a 30-40 minute podcast/vidcast.


Special Notes
• Went over the design plans with Lorenzo Ross in regards to the cover for our trade novel, The Anthology of Interest. The gist is each contributor will draw one character, preferably their main character, in a certain pose of their choosing, that will then be compiled together digitally to deliver the final cover in a traditional group shot style.
• I have also arranged to meet with Anthony and have an IM chat with David Jaxon to update them regarding the Group’s status.

Updates: Successfully update Anthony, who says he will resume meetings sometime next week. David, however, never showed up for the IM, so I just sent him a message on Facebook.


Part Three: Closing Notes
Last week, I was feeling a little down, but this week’s got me feeling much better with the Group. Taking a cue from the books I have been reading, I understand that I will not draw members to me, but show them that we are still consistent in our goals and in order to make them show the slightest interest, I will have to start showcasing our work and start my updates and interactions more steadily in order to draw interest.

The meeting format is slowly, but surely working as both work and ideas are being shared and its’ safe to say that each and every member that attends and shares their thoughts will be a blessing.

While there are still mild hiccups, they are nothing that cannot be overcome with pure determination and the will to succeed. I’ve let outside factors affect me both on an emotional and physical level, when in fact, I shouldn’t and that was my mistake. Though our group is small, I look forward to continue this endeavor as I am certain in the Group’s success and for those who haven’t seen it or experienced it firsthand, you are definitely missing out.
This is Lorenzo Bonilla, Organizer for the Chicago Comic Creators, wishing you all a good day.

Next Week: Chicago Comic Creators Meeting at Lorenzo Ross’s home on March 1, 2012.

If interested in the Chicago Comic Creators Group, message me @ art.lorenzo@gmail.com

Opening Notes: An anecdote

Today’s meeting was held at the residence of Carlos Mendez, part-time member, long-time friend/collaborator. On my way over, I received a text from Lorenzo Ross, saying Carlos wasn’t coming due to him having friends coming over. Now, at first, I was like “But it’s at his home.” So I go to call Carlos to make sure he was still meeting, aware of his particular form of humor. After clarification, I texted Lorenzo Ross back to say he was joking and to meet as promised.

Section One: The Events
Here’s what people did during the meeting;

Carlos: Writing and editing his opening prologue to his superhero project, Silo.

Lorenzo Bonilla (third person reference, I know): Inked Page 4 of Blazer and mid-inked Page 1 of the Loman Organization.

Lorenzo Ross: Drawn up Page 13 of Awesome 5 and did story layouts for the remaining pages.

Alex Daniel Curtindolph: Worked on character designs and pitched an idea for a series he is developing called Tempo.

Topics discussed
- Articles posted on the Group Page
- Thoughts regarding DC’s Nu 52 line of books
- Nick’s registration of a web page for the group and the layout to come of it. I will be, of course, coming with ideas as I am pretty much doing most of the leg work, aside from contributions from Nick Westendorf and Lorenzo Ross, who have been great in contributing to the group by pitching ideas and making the group work.
- Alex Curtindolph pitched the idea of creating a podcast for the Group, focused on discussing comics. I am open/receptive to the idea as I was considering doing so for the group.

Section Two: The Assignment
Last week, I asked members to come up with five ideas regarding the challenges I posted on the Meeting Log. So far, only three came up with ideas, and some, came up with challenges of their own. I like to thank Lorenzo Ross and Nick Westendorf for delivering their ideas
.
Nick’s Contributions

None for what I requested, but he offered two challenge ideas. Apparently, Nick must’ve been feeling evil as his ideas are villain-centric. They are;

1. Writing Challenge: Write a background for a new villain. Explain why they turned evil. Rules: No one in their history, including themselves, can be murdered, imprisoned, raped, or be the victim of a science experiment.
2. Art Challenge: Reimagine an archetypal super hero as a despotic overlord. Honestly, how many times can they save the world before they decide they can run it better themselves.

Lorenzo Ross

He came up with ideas for themes and a couple of additional challenges. I am awaiting a written version later on, but I shall list what I can recall.

Theme Month Ideas
1. B Movie Month: Create and write about things of a B-movie nature
2. Blaxploitation Month: Can be expanded to exploitation films, but the idea is to write and draw based on the exploitation genre.
3. Period Month: Not too clear, as I recall it was discussing things within the 1920’s Gangster films. I could be wrong. Like I said, this is from memory

Lorenzo Bonilla

I did my ideas last week and explained how some will work. For my contribution;

Theme Months
1. Science Fiction: Pretty self explanatory, as its writing and drawing things that pertain to science fiction.
2. Let’s be Surreal Here: Write and draw in the spirit of Surrealism, dreams and distorted imagery.
3. Monsters of Myth, Legend, and Folklore: Taking a cue from my October Drawing Challenge, where you basically write stories or draw things of monsters from ancient myths, folklore, and from literature, both classic and contemporary.
4. Heroes & Villains: Self explanatory, write or draw based on superheroes and super villains.
5. The Cutest Thing: A challenge for those of niche styles, but a necessary one; write and/or draw things pertaining to a cute and cuddly nature.

Styles Clash: A character is posted, artists draw said character in their respective style. For existing characters, you can go farther and redesign their look.

1. Blazer the Raptor: My own dinosaur character.
2. Spider-Man: If you don’t know who Spider-man is, you’re dead to me.
3. Optimus Prime: Ditto for Prime.
4. The Alchemist: My own superhero character.
5. Mechathulu: Its Cthulu, as a giant robot. My own creation.

Single Panel Silliness: Create a single sentence for artists to draw a single panel comic

1. “It’s ok, I’m a doctor.”
2. “ Tastes like Chicken.”
3. “I am your father!”
4. “I should warn you that I don’t have a license.”
5. “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”

Closing Notes: Personal Thoughts
Regarding the Podcast; Daniel initially wanted to do weekly broadcasts, as he knows a space we can go to record for a monthly fee, but I felt we should do monthlies and add aspects of the Group in terms of comic production.

Why monthlies, you ask? Honestly, the turnout. We average around 3-5 people a week for these meetings, not to mention those who say they may or confirm coming ,only to no-show and then there are those who post within the hour of starting that say they are not coming. It’s irritating to be honest, but one that is bearable. So, if we do it, there needs to be assurances of participation.

Second, I understand dedicating time to talking about comics, but as a creative group, we should also be focusing on talking about our work as well, which can range between story synopsis to what time of design method we go about to create our work. It doesn’t have to be the whole cast, but some of it does, otherwise, we are just simply a group of fanboys who talk about things instead of doing, and that is not me.

Now as far as the assignment, I am a bit perturbed. Not from those who have never came to a meeting that I tagged in my note, as I expect as much. For most, it’s just me updating them on the Group. I am more perturbed over those who I have spoken to personally and explained what I was looking, with them expressively saying they will submit something, only to get nothing from those individuals. And I am especially upset over the people that actually attend the meetings, only to not bother contributing, either through scheduling or simply not giving a flying fuck. For those I have this to say; You fail. Pure and simple. You can explain and give as many excuses all you want, but in the end, you still fail. My goals for the group is indeed making a communal pool of ideas, but through experience, it’s evident that contribution is a chore for some as they treat this group like junk food, experience it then discard it.

Nick one time theorized that its maybe and age thing, indicating that older members, like me, him and Lorenzo Ross, deliver, while the younger ones just shirk or abandon it. I like to believe that’s not true and I always like to give the benefit of the doubt, but I’m starting to believe it. And I believe I am going to receive flack or disdain over it, but I have been going on the theory that artists have a level of pretension or self-belief that makes them hesitant to be in a group, either out of fear of being judged, idea theft, or just simply don’t believe in it and Nick suggested I treat it like the Writer’s Group we both attended, where we just work on things and leave it at that. The problem with that, is that if we do it as such, with no goal in sight, the numbers will shrink or remain the same. I may consider reducing the meeting numbers if anything, but like I have said, yet it is often ignored, I am open to suggestion. All I ask is that you just be reasonable.

Thank you.

Greetings everybody
This past Wednesday’s meeting took place at the lovely home of Lorenzo Ross, who graciously hosted the Chicago Comic Creators meeting for drawing and discussion.
We discussed amongst our respective projects, the print shop options we looked up as well as digital outlets for our book. Prospects such as;
-Indyplanet thru Kablam Publishing
- RA Publishing
- The third party software from Aquaveda, that enables creators to animate their comics and format them for Apple devices.

Group Page Info

Nick has been creating a rudimentary webpage for the group should we entertain the idea, and I can purchase the domain name to give the group their own web page.

We also hammered down the details regarding our Artistic Challenges to be placed on the Group Page, which I shall go over in this statement;

Weekly Challenges

These will occur on alternating weeks for our weekly challenge.

Single Panel Sillies

On Monday, a sentence will be posted, and creators will have one week to create a single panel comic to be posted on the Group Page at the end of the week. Participation is determined by comments from members and will be expected to be complete by the given deadline.

Styles Clash

On Monday, we will post character that each creator will create drawn in their own style. These will be posted on the Group Page at the end of the week. Participation is determined by comments from members and will be expected to be complete by the given deadline.

Let’s Combine

A Blank Template of a character pose will be posted on Sunday and members can participate by commenting at the page. You will then receive a part of the character to design and draw that respective body part during the week. All parts must be submitted by Saturday to be completed by the administrator and posting the end results on Sunday.

Monthly Challenges

These challenges will occur on selected months and the creative teams will have one month to deliver the project. When Monthly Challenges are posted, Weekly Challenges will be suspended for the duration of the Monthly Challenge until completion of the challenge.

1 Page Challenge

Writers within the group will create a 1 page, complete comic strip and write a brief synopsis for the Docs Page, which will ordered numerically. Artists interested will comment on which pitch they want to take and both teams have one month to deliver a complete one page strip by the end of the month.

Theme Months

These will be in the vein of the 30 Characters Challenge and my October Monster Challenge, with a few differences. When a theme is presented, everyone interested in participating have one month to do whatever they feel in creating character designs, sequential arts, strips, short stories, poems, or other written or drawn works that reflect the chosen theme. Rules will be established if needed, but otherwise, it will be open-ended in terms of participation.

Assignment

Now, comes the fun or hard part for each member. For each challenge, all members will write down a maximum of 5 ideas and sentences pertaining to each challenge. You can either show them at the next meeting or drop them off at my inbox. We shall do weekly drawings of the challenges at our regular meetings and post them on the selected week of the chosen challenge.
Next week
At our next meeting, we shall refine the allocation weeks and months of when challenges will be posted.
Continue work on our projects and socialize.

Closing Thoughts

My intention for these challenges is to establish a digital network for everyone who has stated they have an interest in the group, but cannot attend due to outside factors, or have just stayed silent for the most part. They are for fun and are a good creative exercise for everyone involved. I hope to have your support in the coming weeks.

Thank you

Dear Mr. Bonilla:



Thank you for contacting me about the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), S. 968, and its House of Representatives companion, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I appreciate your input and want to let you know my view on this important issue.



I stand with those who stand for freedom in opposing PIPA in its current form. Freedom of speech is an inalienable right granted to each and every American, and the Internet has become the primary tool with which we utilize this right. The Internet empowers Americans to learn, create, innovate, and express their views. While we should protect American intellectual property, consumer safety and human rights, we should do so in a manner that specifically targets criminal activity. The extreme measures taken in PIPA not only stifle First Amendment rights but also hamper innovation on the Internet.



S. 968, as currently written, allows for abuse of our Constitutional rights, giving the Attorney General sweeping powers to block domain names of websites they deem "dedicated to infringing activities". Under current law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires service providers to block access to only infringing material, but S. 968 would block access to entire websites that may carry a page containing infringing material generated by a third-party user. In my view, this is an unacceptable violation of our First Amendment rights. I also worry this type of censorship will be used as a model for foreign repressive regimes to censor the web within their own countries.



S. 968 also places too great a burden on small Internet startups, as the bill would provide a private right of action to copyright owners. Since the bill would force the takedown of an entire site, not just the specific infringing page, it would hold user-generated websites liable for any content posted. This fear of liability and resulting uncertainty will cripple innovation on the Internet, one of our greatest economic engines.



I am also concerned about the bill's provisions that would undermine the security of the entire Internet. Network engineers and cybersecurity experts warn the technical implementation of the Domain Name System blocking requirement cannot function with the new security protocols, also known as DNSSEC, currently being implemented across the worldwide web.



While I support the underlying goals of the bill to crack down on online intellectual property theft, I believe PIPA in its current form is unacceptable. It will have widespread unintended consequences that will stifle freedom of speech and Internet innovation across the globe. This bill places far too much regulation on the Internet and will impact more than just those foreign "rogue" websites for which it is intended. I cannot support a bill that recklessly tampers with the Internet and our inalienable rights as citizens of a free nation.



Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this issue. Please feel free to contact me at (312) 886-3506 or online at http://kirk.senate.gov if you have any questions or concerns before Congress or the federal government. It is an honor to serve you in the Senate.


Very truly yours,
Signature
Mark Kirk
U.S. Senate

Our voices are being heard as the White House and many Congressional Representatives have taken notice, and many sites are going dark for 24 hours to raise awareness.

The Stop Online Piracy Act/ Protect Intellectual Property Act is a bill meant to combat international online piracy, but its current form will more than likely harm our own websites due to a lack of criteria for full site blackout and no form of due process for alleged offenders, i.e., web/parody/review shows and any art or film site that has either an homage or piece that has a licensed property within it. This site will not only limit information, but stifle innovation and even if you are in none of these categories, it will adversely affect how you surf the web and is comparable to the internet censorship protocols of Iran and China.

You can sign a petition or write to your representative at the following links;

http://americancensorship.org/

http://voteforthenet.com/



<div id="change_BottomBar"><span id="change_Powered"><a href="http://www.change.org/" target="_blank">Change.org</a></span><a>|</a><span id="change_Start">Start an <a href="http://www.change.org/petition" target="_blank">Online Petition</a> &raquo;</span></div><script type="text/javascript" src="http://e.change.org:80/flash_petitions_widget.js?width=300&petition_id=217124&color=1A3563"></script>

Here are the next three weeks of Comic Creator Meetings;

Wednesday, November 23

Next Door Cafe
659 West Diversey Ave.

Wednesday, November 30

The Wormhole
1462 North Milwaukee.

Wednesday, December 7

The Wormhole
1462 North Milwaukee.

Enclosed are the next two upcoming Chicago Comic Creators meeting locations:


Wednesday, November 2
Filter
1373 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL


Wednesday, November 9
Intelligentsia
3123 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL

Hello,



My own personal October Drawing Challenge has met with a huge gap. My week has been getting hectic as I shall demonstrate;



Monday- Was a day of rest due to belting out three pics.

Tuesday - Work and a Game Development Playtest were conducted.

Wednesday - Unexpected call-in to work and I took on several errands such as making a bank deposit, dropping off a Fedex package, and picking up my asthma prescription (which also turned into its own adventure). Followed by the weather turning to shit and me braving said elements to host my Comic Creators meeting.

Thursday - Almost got called in, but my sister covered for me so that I can take care of while she was sick, as I was the only one at home and the fact that I was not going to work seven days straight.

Friday - Work, followed by attending my friend Joe's 30th birthday, which was fun and I'm glad I went.

Saturday - Work followed by a personal day and pre-planning my catchup work.



Now, the list will go on, but I am going to belt them out as fast as possible as I have three more drawn up, ready to be shaded and making plans for the next two to keep me up to date. However, the facts and stories will have to be brief as I upload this artwork on several other sites, so sacrifices are made in that regard. I'll edit them at a later time for a more thorough review on each monster.



My job is draining me, that I am slowly getting much more quick to anger, but that could also be due to my prescription, which is a steroid inhalant that I have to brush my teeth immediately after inhaling, and my lack of sleep doesn't help much.



Just giving everyone an update on it and thought I share why the Challenge is progressing slowly. Also, I was originally planning to make the last week Viewer Request week, but have to put that on hold to catch up on all the artwork as next month, I'll be participating in the 30 Character Challenge and I need to be in form.



Thank you all for reading, commenting, and liking all the photos. I enjoy it and I look to see it to the very end. And for those who are also taking part of it; I may be behind, but I am still delivering. What about you?

Hello all,

After two weeks of comic creation, I am once again hosting another production meeting for the Chicago Comic Creators Coalition (C4). The purpose of this group is for creative artists such as writers, pencilers, and inkers to meet and work on their respective projects while enjoying the atmosphere of working alongside other like minded individuals. Its a mix of production/social mixer so come and stop bye. We are meeting at Atlas Cafe on 3028 W. Armitage, around the California Blue Line Station in Chicago. We meet from 7- 9 and chat before closing.

In other news, Next week I will be heading out to visit friends in Ann Arbor Michigan, so there will be a delay in updates. However, I have opened up a new folder entitled Destined Swords, which includes artwork for an independent video game I am involved in. Also, there are a few new pieces in Thy Dunjon Quest folder in my work to create card backing artwork.

That is all for the updates front,

Lozo signing off

Chicago Comic Creative Coalition (C4) Production Meeting

Time: Wednesday, March 30 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Atlas Cafe, 3028 W. Armitage Ave. Chicago, IL

After the first test, starting a meeting, we move on to the next test, the follow up. All creative individuals are invited to step out of their respective domiciles and join me and others in getting together for a night of drawing, writing, and inking for your respective comic projects, or any other visual or literary art you have in the back burner and are looking for a quiet place to create.

The location is Atlas Cafe, just off the California Blue Line Stop and just a block after Humboldt Drive on Armitage Avenue. Meeting starts at 7 pm for work and we convene at around 8:45 pm or 9 pm to discuss. Its a freestyle format, so feel free to ask questions and share opinions as we shape this group into something special.

Hey everyone out in the interwebs,

I am still uploading various samples of my artwork. I still have a lot to do in terms of filling out the info and uploads.

Current Project Details;

Thy Dunjon Quest: Completed a set of card backings in Illustrator. Showed them to my collaborative buddy, who felt they interrupted the already hand drawn aesthetic present in the card faces. This essentially means, I have to now draw the items indicating card types on the back of the cards.

Loman: I am currently uploading pages of the work done so far to my upcoming graphic novel. I am halfway done with the inking phase and had it tabled last year. Plan to finish it up, along with promo work this coming year.

October Monster Challenge: The drawings I have done for the October Monster Drawing Challenge are now uploaded for viewing. My 2009 folder is missing one picture that I have to resize, and I still need to fill out the info fields in regards to each monster, but the pictures are ready for your enjoyment.

MoonBebes: This issue has been completed since lastt year, now I have to do clean up and color the cover. Along with revising some text, this issue will be the first of several I plan on publishing this year. Also, plans on additional content for this issue will be forthcoming.

More content is still pending, but keep your eye out. I still have much to do.

Thank you,

Lozo of the L.A.B.site

Hey everyone!

This is actually the start of my own personal website, as I am currently uploading a ton of my artwork on and just getting acclimated to the controls her at OPP.

This may take a while and updates will be happening soon.

This is Lozo, of the L.A.B.site, signing off