Development Blog for "A Tour of Fumi"

The Who and the Why

2010-11-09T01:26:00.001-08:00

The Who:

In case you don't already know, I'm currently a student at the Columbus College of Art and Design. I hope to graduate this December join The Art Department (TAD) this coming spring to further my education on top of working on this book. While I would enjoy being a concept artist for the film or game industry, as well as a freelance illustrator or industrial designer, I really want to try my hand at being an author/illustrator.

The Why:

I'm a world builder at heart. I love the idea of creating a place, a “land”, a “universe”, and creating the natural laws that govern it. Coming up with a history, culture, conflict, and solving these things visually. Writing and illustrating my own book would give me a good deal of control over these elements, (at least more than if I was a concept artist for a huge team project). I plan to be smart about publishing and promotion, but I realize the amount of competition in the publishing industry is intense, and my proposed project doesn't neatly fit into any particular marketing niche. Even in the worst case scenario, this project double as a concept art portfolio, as I would be content to work in production design. It's success would give me good reason to continue being an author/illustrator!

Content: How much is TOO much?

2010-11-09T01:24:00.001-08:00

When it comes to posting intellectual property onto this blog, I'm holding a tricky balance. I want to give away enough content to generate interest and receive feedback on this project. At the same time, I realize the dangers of posting one's ideas on the internet, (especially while it's still in development with a distant release). I just don't want people to steal my best stuff. Yes, I realize the chance is fairly slim, but not worth taking for the sake of a little more promotion.

For this reason, I will focusing more on the big picture, less on individual characters, world characteristics, technical detail, and plot specifics. (Though I'll definitely post some teaser artwork.) Most of my current struggles are about overall design and narrative concepts, anyhow.

An Introduction: What is this blog?

2010-11-09T01:17:00.001-08:00

This is a development blog for my ongoing book project. While the actual release will be in the relatively distant future, the purpose is about documenting my JOURNEY. It's about the process: how I want to execute and unify my ideas, to tell the story, handle point of view. It will deal with problem-solving. When I'm stumped about something, I hope to post the issue. It is my hope that some people from the large pool of design wisdom (whether they be fellow illustrators, or art directors, graphic designers, concept artists, teachers, or other students) will follow the blog and perhaps provide guidance. I realize I have a long road ahead of me, and that some artists have been practicing for longer than I've been on this earth! I'm very open to advice and critique!