To focus my work and draw up any future proposals for grants and such I have decided on my project's mission statement:
I aim to create an accessible graphic novel that addresses problems that people face in their day to day life and lets them know that they are not alone in their feelings and experience. I will do this by writing a story that focuses in on a group of young adults many of whom are members of the LGBT community. Themes tackled will include but are not limited to: * Dealing with the pressures of being a community leader * Coping with the loss of loved ones * Dealing with addiction problems * Defining relationships and what they mean to us * Dealing with debt and unemployment * Being a survivor of sexual assault * Social justice and social understanding * Polyamory and alternative relationships * Suicide * Living beyond labels that we are given/own * Modern evolution of social interactions The story and subject matter will be inspired by interviews with community members but will not be in a biography/autobiography format. Research done will lend its way to help identify how people in similar situations have situations have responded and find things they hold true to their personal experience of the world in order to create beautifully broken characters that real people would be able to respond with. Because of this it is not entirely a work of fiction, instead it blends elements of many peoples experiences and my own narrative lending itself to a more organic work.
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Happy Canada Day Weekend. A friend invited me to an upcoming event called the Awesome Foundation. 10 people get together monthly and donate 100 each to fund a local cause they vote on. Several finalists are chosen and at a final event party the finalists projects are presented, questions asked of the finalists, and the winner determined.
Now that I have enough writing done to start in on the project I think I'm going to really focus this weekend on producing the first pages of the comic so I can give a proper proposal with samples of both the writing and art. In addition I would also have to submit details on why the money was needed. I had to really reflect on how I want to shape the project. Because I want this to be accessible I have opted for a online webcomic with the possibly of publishing after enough work has been collected. As an author I scribble notes in books and as an artist I like to do all my pencil and ink work using traditional mediums. Colors would only cost me time sitting at my computer. So I sat down and broke my costs down. Online Hosting Space: 60$ for a year Domain Name: 20$ Art Boards: 20$ for a pack of 25 x3 for the first year of comics Technical pens- 4$ each x 30 for the first year T square - 15$ India Ink - 20$ for a pot x2 for the first year Ink Brushes - 30$ Drafting pencils- 4$ each - 30 for the first year Font rights- Adding it up we come to 465$ which is almost half of the grant for the basic art supplies. I would also need sketchbooks, notebooks, and other miscellaneous art/writing materials but those would be incidental and on a case by case basis. Then I remembered the costs of conducting interviews. Most people want to meet in public settings and as they are giving me their time, stories, and thoughts I treat the beverages and snacks or offer them money in thanks. This amount is usually small coming around 10-20$ an interview. This begins to add up when quantity is considered. I will continue interviews through the course of the project and currently have 10 scheduled over the course of the next month. Even if I only conduct 40 interviews, averaged, the cost comes out to 600$ on the project in interview costs alone. The bigger base of experience I can draw from means I can better connect with viewers addressing their truths and shared experiences. I will be posting another update on comic content later but will try and focus on funding on this post. Hopefully this grant works out as it would cover many of the costs starting out. Hoping is good but preparing for other means of taking this project to fruition is good practicality. I will do some research into other arts funds both local and offered by organizations like the Ontario Arts Council. One more option would be to set up a patreon account where people can donate on either a per month or per page basis. This option is a higher risk option as funding isn't a guarantee and I would have to establish a reward system giving higher donors the option of bonuses like mailing original pages, custom art, or unflattened versions of completed pages. I will find a way to make this project work no matter the path I take as it is becoming a really heartfelt honest exercise that I feel could really help people, as something like it could really have helped me in the past. A big part of my project is talking to other people.I want to create realistic characters who would respond like real people in their own situations with backstory that makes them well rounded people. I could do that by inventing them myself but I'm choosing to base elements of real people mixed with pieces that help suit the topics at hand. The interviews also have helped me find specific subject matter to tackle within the narrative without making a work of biography. I have been able to trace similar elements that have been reoccurring themes in the interviews and individual responses to them. I believe that this will help the writing to be more organic and will really help a wider variety of viewers to relate to the work.
I conduct my interviews one on one generally over coffee or tea. I record our conversation via phone and keep a notebook handy to jot down a few notes as we talk. I come prepared with a few questions to start things on a conversational tone then let our conversation unfold to let them talk about the things that they really feel like opening up about. I steer the conversation gently only talking a little time to jot down important notes, subtext I've noticed, and anything I think I may miss listening over the recording later on. I have enough material to really start in on some solid foundation work and am really looking forward to where this project takes me. Where do you begin when writing a meaningful project? To find out what I really wanted to do I had to break down that statement.
Meaningful to me was something more than I had written before. In the past I had written short stories and concepts from imaginary worlds that I haven't experienced. I've tried writing about my own experiences, in journals and with short narratives, but have found that an act of pure self indulgence. Then I heard a quote from a now forgotten source that stuck with me for some time, "I can only write myself," meaning people can draw from their own experiences and write how they believe someone would act. I can only write what I would do as an old woman, a beggar on the street, a warrior, a villain, a lost lover, I could only write myself into these figments. Recently a friend passed away and I've been subconsciously listening to people more than I had before. I searched out meaning and wanted to do something to honor him. At first I contributed by holding a fundraiser and trying to connect people to crisis services. Some time passed and I noticed that I was doing more than just listening. I was talking to people, finding out their own personal truths; telling them mine. One on one heartfelt honesty. I realized I this was it, this is what I had been looking for. I could take these personal truths and give them a voice. I wouldn't be writing myself. I could write in collaboration with other peoples experiences to create heartfelt stories, characters you could fall in love with, new things to think about, stories which could leave you feeling a little heartbroken when the story ends. I could connect people and possibly help them feel less alone knowing that someone out there is as wonderfully broken as I sometimes feel. Writing projects come in many forms and I decided early on that a graphic novel format would suit my needs. Stories have been told with images going back to the origins of human communication. An image lends itself to a dual communication, both a direct pictoral representation and stylized elements representing more. Some of my favourite authors have collaborated with illustrators in the past. Their stories have been the ones that moved me the most. Looking back it is these stories that drove my interest in illustration. Ideally I would like to start this project as a free weekly webcomic to make it accessible to as many people as possible. |
AuthorMy name is Patrick Brant. I am member of the LGBT community looking to share my skills as an artist to contribute meaningful work that has the possibility of helping people. This blog will focus on the production and process of that work including the accomplishments and challenges I may face. ArchivesCategories |