Hey Silverline Fam!
I know what you’re thinking. “That’s a lot of content spotlights back-to-back.” You’re right, and to that I say, we got good content dangit! We got lots of dope videos and interviews being live-streamed or uploaded all the time. We’ll be back with another Craft here soon, but this week we uploaded a special video that I want to feature!
That video is another episode of The Comics Fu show. I said it last time, but this is my favorite type of content that we create. This week features a conversation with Brad Graeber, CEO/CCO of Powerhouse Animation (Seis Manos, Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Castlevania, Blood of Zeus). When it comes to guests with clout, this is a contender for the peak. Castlevania is also in my top 5 for favorite modern shows, so Brad if you’re watching, hi.
In this episode, Co-hosts Sifu Kurtis Fujita and Patrick Lugo ask brad about how Kung Fu influences movement, animation, and everyday life.
As a practicing kickboxer, hearing how different martial artists combine their arts (combat and comic) is always fascinating. Taking that conversation and including animation really provides a lot of food for thought. I grew up watching anime and animation and was always fascinated by the visual poetry of a well-choreographed fight. Getting some insight on the creative side of that is really powerful.
I definitely recommend taking some time and checking out this video.
Stay good!
Monthly Archives: February 2022
Content Spotlight: Valentine’s Day Podcasts
Hey there Silverline Fam,
It’s the day after valentines day, and you know what that means? We got content for you to watch! There are rose petals on the floor, sandals on the table, and Phil Collins in the air. Before you get to cleaning that up or shooing Phil away, throw one of these podcasts on your YouTube viewing device and spend the next couple of hours chilling while we talk about romance in comics.
This week we’re featuring both an episode of Wednesday Wham and Silver Sunday. Each crew tackles the subject of romance in comics and provides a unique perspective on it. The lineups for each show also differ from the current roster so you get to see different creators in conversation than on current episodes of each show.
Make sure to check out both of these great shows, as well as this week’s lineup of podcasts starting with A Show on Tuesday tonight at 8 PM PST.
Be good out there, fam!
Content Spotlight: Silverline’s Getting a Facelift
Hey there Silverline Fam!
It’s a new year, new me kind of vibe over at the Silverline Youtube. We’re breaking up wax, hitting the tanning salon, and getting lean for hot-nerd summer. Well, we may not all be going that extreme. But we are getting a major facelift to our podcast videos.
As you probably know by now, every single Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday, we livestream a podcast that gets saved as a VOD on our youtube. That way you can throw us up on your laptop at work, your smart tv after work, or annoy your spouse by watching us on your phone in bed. That last one may get you kicked out to the living room couch.
Under the direction of our CEO, BJ Mann, our videos have a new sense of confidence and a sleek new look for that summer bod. The content of each episode is now spending a bit more time in the training center before coming out and strutting its stuff. So that means each episode will have more hyperfocus, leaving some room for the same old fun asides. But that’ll give the host more time and space to really dig deep into the subject material and deliver to you some true nuggets of wisdom to chew on.
The second part of this facelift is the facelift. Each episode now has a beautiful thumbnail that is sure to appease the almighty algorithm. Or at least, give you the viewer a better idea of what’s going on, as well as build a stronger and more cohesive identity for Silverline. That way if you’re bored and staring at your recommended page, we’ll be easier to identify. Just look for the chiseled chin of Dean.
You can already see it in action!
Check out last week’s and this week’s episodes and get some of that sweet sweet beach-bod VOD taste for yourself.
Craft : Jose Fuentes
Hey Silverline Fam,
Every Week I have the pleasure to hang out with Jose Fuentes on A Silverline Show on Tuesday. I figured it was about time I got down in the dirt with him and asked him about his craft as an inker. Jose is an all-around talented artist and comics professional, but he takes pride in his inks and has some of the best grit I’ve seen in a person. In this week’s issue of craft, we talk about his use of alternate inking techniques and the work ethic he brings to the page. I hope you all can find some bits of inspiration from the answers Jose gave. I certainly did!
TK: In some of our previous conversations you had talked about applying ink in not just traditional drawn lines, but by flicking or smearing some of the ink. Getting a sort of special effect on the panel. How often do you attempt to do that sort of application or do you have to balance more towards digital inking now?
JF: There are several techniques you can use to give the impression of texture in a flat/2d drawing. Smearing and flicking are just a couple options. I try to use different inking techniques to give that effect on every piece or page if it calls for it. You don’t want to “overwork” a page. You have to be mindful to not overwork the penciler’s work with ink. There is definitely a balance that you have to keep in mind. I try and do the same with any digital inks that I am working on. There are a lot of different digital brushes you can buy/download to help give you the same effects that I try and use traditionally
TK: As a follow-up, how much do you prefer working physically or digitally? What are some of the pros and cons of either?
JF: I prefer to ink traditionally. I like the feel of the crow quill on the paper and trying new techniques. I didn’t use to. I hated to have ink or pencil graphite on my hands, but I have learned to appreciate the process. I don’t get the same feeling from digital, but I have embraced the challenge of trying to achieve the same techniques digitally.
TK: You have also said that you haven’t worked that day if your hands don’t have ink on them. Obviously, that may not be the case if you’re working digitally that day, but do you think that same work ethic, that sense of “really getting into your work” applies?
JF: So the phrase was said to me by Jan Duursema. Then she taught us to [use] various techniques that I still used today. I took everything she taught me to heart and adapted the phrase as more of a motto for my life. Taking this motto into my digital work gives it a bit of a twist. No, I’m not physically getting dirty, but I used it to motivate me to try my best [and use] many digital tricks to make my digital inks look like physical inks
TK: Would you think that mindset is ingrained in you and you apply that to your craft or is that something that came out of specifically your comic craft?
JF: I feel that this developed through the course of my education. I was more laid back in my own personal training, mostly because I was working to take care of my family so I put my art on the warmer. Schooling was a huge eye-opener for me. I learned that I can actually work in comics. I knew I could draw but I never really had much confidence in my career as an artist. My wife is super supportive and has pushed me to reach for my dream job. And now I work on comics full time!
TK: One last thing, what are you currently working on and where can people follow you or see some of your work?
JF: I am currently working on digital inks for Silverline Comics Obsoletes book. Digital colors for a six-page story for Peter Clinton that will be in the Voyage: Melting Pot, and I have a digital coloring job for a book that has been put on the backburner. I’m also lined up to do traditional inks on a book for Jay Cornwell, a local artist in my area.