Where is Everybody from? The Zwol family of posters ...

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Sat Aug 31, 2002 12:07 pm

I have been posting here for almost a year now and have gotten to know a lot of people here. It almost feels like a family. So here is a couple of question and then a chalenge ...

Where is everybody from?

Is anybody in the Northwestern Ohio/SouthEastern Michigan area (driving distance to Toledo, Ann Arbor, Detroit areas)?

My idea/chalenge is to come up with a Zwol comic artist circle(s). I want to get a bunch of cartoonist together on a regular basis and draw, talk about comics, art, maybe work together ... but just have an excuse to meet and draw. I live in the Detroit area. Even if you are not in my area, you could gather people in your area and perhaps make your own local chapter get together.

What do you think?

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Sun Sep 01, 2002 11:28 am

That's a great idea.

I live in Sapporo, which is a city on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. I used to live in Austin, Texas, though... I noticed that Cat made a trip into Austin a while ago....

Cat: maybe we can meet sometime. I visit my family about once a year. Next time I am in the US, if anyone is near the Texas area, maybe we can meet...

vince

japanimationfist · Post by **japanimationfist** » Sun Sep 01, 2002 7:18 pm

I live in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, in Canada. It's about two hours from Burlington, Vermont, where I understand James Kolchaka lives, but I doubt he'll invite me to hang out with him any time soon

I'd love to get together with everyone, but I imagine it could be rather difficult. Still worth some thought though. Maybe we should watch for a convention some time next year?

Alexander D. · Post by **Alexander D.** » Tue Sep 03, 2002 2:04 am

I live just outside Boston, in Massachusetts. I've only been hear almost a year though -- originally I'm from Long Island, NY. And I'm missing it about as much as I would miss head lice.

danharlow · Post by **danharlow** » Wed Sep 04, 2002 3:21 am

I've lived all over. I was born in Plymouth Massachusetts, went to high school in Ft. Collins Colorado, was in the Navy for 4 years in Hawaii (Pearl Harbor) and now live in Ft. Collins again.

Tim Mallos · Post by **Tim Mallos** » Thu Sep 05, 2002 1:26 pm

Hey David, I live in South Lyon MI (Just south of Brighton). When I take care of that link thing and we're on speaking terms again

we should hold a chapter meeting of two at a centrally located coffee house.

I use AA in my locale descriptor because people outside of MI have heard of it.

Tim

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Thu Sep 05, 2002 2:09 pm

I feel like I'm playing concentration and am looking for matches. So it appeares our first art circle chapter is in Michigan.

I want to thank everybody so far for posting for sharing a little bit about their lives. Good luck for finding follow posters in Colorado, Massachusetts, Quebec, and Japan.

Tim, I'll be happy to met you, as I do admire your art and humor. I think we should wait a little more to see if there are anymore people to join. If worst comes to worse, we'll set up coffee sometime.

Surlyben · Post by **Surlyben** » Thu Sep 12, 2002 7:39 pm

I'm from Seattle, washington, and my website is going to be back up next week

Needless to say I'm going to try and have something new for when it goes up...

InkAddict · Post by **InkAddict** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 8:37 am

I live in Belgium, in Ghent (It's the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), but as I did some of my studies in the French-speaking part of Belgium, I'm a fluent "Francophone". That's where I learnt to appreciate "adult" comix, by the way (and by adult I don't mean those with nudes 'n stuff

)

I'm busy on a comic to submit in a few days as I start "comic" classes next week !

Yay!

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 9:02 am

Yingo wrote:I'm busy on a comic to submit in a few days as I start "comic" classes next week ! Yay!

What kind of comic classes are you involved in?

vince

InkAddict · Post by **InkAddict** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 3:00 pm

Well, I'm a Graphic Arts student (Lay-out, Typography, Poster design, CD & book cover design,... you know what I mean), and I've finished my first two years succesfully.

These first two years are called "candidatures".

To be called "Master in the Graphic Arts" I have two more years to go ("Master Years"), in which I choose a speciality (publicity, direct communication, lay-out, illustration, ... or COMICS!)

Of course I chose comics! (Hope the gang I'll be with will be as cool as the guys on this board)

If there are any computer-whizzy kids among them, I'll be sure to point them this way so they can add to the fun!

There'll be a short interview to see if I'm the right stuff, and that's why I'd like to prove what I know already

Tim Winstead · Post by **Tim Winstead** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 10:20 pm

Losttoy,

Hey, I think your suggestion for gathering area artists to meet and talk shop is a great idea. I , myself am from South Daytona, Florida, and only wish I could meet more cartoonists in my area with whom I could
speak with and draw with or for . Any way, I 'm hoping that will change in the future as I know of noone directly in my area with whomI could try and form such circles..Good luck as this concept seems worthy or your efforts.........Take care..Tim

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 9:38 am

So yesterday, Sunday September 15th, Tim Mallos and I met in our first Zwol forum/web cartoonist type gathering. We met in Ann Arbor at a Starbucks. It was only two of us, not including my wife who read a book on a nearby couch. We really did not have an agenda, so there really is not any minutes to report back.
It was really nice though to met another web cartoonist going through simular situations I am and just chat. We talked about our comics, styles, what we would like to see in the future in our own projects, balancing drawing, family and work, etc. Tim is a nice guy and looks pretty much like his self portrait.
I'm not sure what else to write here. It was fun and I hope that we could do it again sometime and maybe somebody else from the SouthEastern Michigan/NorthWestern Ohio area will join us next time.

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 10:25 am

wow! That's great! Good for you guys. Hopefully there will be more of these meetings in the future. I will live vicariously through you all and the posts you make describing the meetings....

Until someone comes to Japan or I get a chance to get back to the states....

Last time I went home to Austin, Texas to visit the family, I really wanted to meet up with someone from this forum... but there wasn't enough time to arange anything. If there is anyone near the Texas area, or willing to meet somewhere around in there, let me know and maybe we can arrange something for next year (I usually visit my family once a year).

I know Cat lives in Texas, so if he is free it would be fun to meet next time I go back...

vince

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 10:47 am

losttoy wrote:So yesterday, Sunday September 15th, Tim Mallos and I met in our first Zwol forum/web cartoonist type gathering. We met in Ann Arbor at a Starbucks. It was only two of us, not including my wife who read a book on a nearby couch. ....

That's really cool, guys!

Tim Mallos · Post by **Tim Mallos** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 10:51 am

I enjoyed meeting on Sunday Dave. It was funny to sit down and both realize we had nothing planned to say.

Ya know, it's easy to get a kind of lonely feeling when you're trying to keep creating in your spare time. It's a big help to sit down with somebody else once in awhile and offer mutual encouragement.

I mentioned to Dave that I have been shopping the idea of a struggling artist coffe clutch around for awhile. While I don't know a lot of comic artists in my area (yet?) I know a number of struggling screenwriters, novelists, poets, watercolorists etc.

It seems to me that the fundamental emotional issues are very much the same. Describing and sharing projects / pain is probably helpful to the spectrum of creative types. I think people will find a lot in common in the stories they are trying to tell, even if they don't share a common medium.

So, just tossing that out to folks who would love to hang out with like-minded people once in awhile but can't dig up any comics artists...

A 'clutch' like that is hard to organize. They kind of just grow by invitation and interest. Maybe Dave and I will meet again and each bring another creative type and so on.....

Tim

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 11:33 am

Tim Mallos wrote:A 'clutch' like that is hard to organize. They kind of just grow by invitation and interest. Maybe Dave and I will meet again and each bring another creative type and so on.....

This reminds me of a group I used to be a part of back when I was writing prose. For a copule years it was just me and one friend, then two others became a part of it and we met regularly to read our work and share ideas and encouragement. This lasted for a couple more years before we gradually went our separate ways (I was first to move away from the area, actually). The group was a really good thing to be a part of and I miss that kind of camraderie now.

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 8:59 pm

I'm really lucky to have a comic book making friend right now. I think he's the first real comic book making friend I've ever had (I had friends who wanted to make comics when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago, and it wasn't as "real" as this guy is now).

Unfortunately, he is an English teacher, which means that he is here in Japan on a contract that will eventually end, and then he will return to Canada...

Other than that, I have met a 2 Japanese people who make comics, but one quit and the other one moved away.

I am really enjoying this friendship with the Canadian guy while it lasts. He was introduced to me as "a guy who read Scott McCloud", and is into all sorts of interesting things.

vince

InkAddict · Post by **InkAddict** » Sat Sep 21, 2002 6:08 am

Gazo, did your Canadian friend visit the board already?

I myself (starting my classes from monday on) am getting excited about getting to work with about ten other Comic artists(-to-be?)...

It's really great we all seem to get on despite our cultural differences. (maybe BECAUSE of our cultural differences)

Tim & Dave, what you did was just great. I know I'm sounding euphoric, but this is the brotherhood-of-men(-and-women-of-course) thing the online comics industry really needs. (a bit like the keenspace feeling of wanting to share)

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Sat Sep 21, 2002 7:00 am

Yingo wrote:Gazo, did your Canadian friend visit the board already?

Not to my knowledge... If he does, will that make our meetings bonifide Zwol Forum chapter meetings? I could really go for that. It would add a lot of meaning to my life.

Yingo wrote:I myself (starting my classes from monday on) am getting excited about getting to work with about ten other Comic artists(-to-be?)...

So did you get into the comics program?

Yingo wrote:... but this is the brotherhood-of-men(-and-women-of-course) thing the online comics industry really needs.

Yingo, you're all right. (I've always wanted to say that. It makes me feel so... self confident. Did I ruin the effect by adding the ever present cliche, "I've always wanted to say that"? Did I ruin the effect of commenting on the cliche by saying "ever present cliche"? I mean, it wouldn't be a cliche if it weren't ever present.....)

vince

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Thu Sep 26, 2002 2:12 pm

Ah ... the artistic synergy in this forum is great! From this item and the one hour comic string, I see some great things.

Here are a couple of ideas that have been flouting around in my head. Tim finds another local artist and I find another local artist ... The groups grows to about 8 to 16 members. The next Motor City Comic Con we all chip in for a table "The Michigan Web Cartoonists Group" (or something like that). Of course we can't just have a table, but we have to have stuff to sell or at least showcase or talents. So we start a very small publishing company to print mini-comics of our web comics.

Or something like that ... beyond that the possiblities are endless. Now, I just have to find another local artist.

japanimationfist · Post by **japanimationfist** » Thu Sep 26, 2002 2:46 pm

I'm starting to feel lonley out here. I guess I better find someone to sign up too. In the meantime I will have to live vicariously through your posts, and our new weekly one hour comic event.

Tim Mallos · Post by **Tim Mallos** » Sun Sep 29, 2002 5:05 pm

A 'clutch' like that is hard to organize. They kind of just grow by invitation and interest.

Ok, kind of weird to quote myself. Just a word of caution! I've tried to PULL these things together in the past and the harder I tugged, the less interested everyone became. It's a lot like dating

Imformal and low key is probably the best strategy. As in Greg's example, you get something good going over a long period of time, if you're lucky.

I don't mean to sound like a wet blanket. Just sharing that in my experience people might be eager to meet to talk about their creative stuff, but not nearly as interested in 'joining a group'. It's all packaging I guess.

Tim

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 1:17 pm

no wet blanket ... Yes, low key will be the way to go for now. I'm just dreaming of world domination again, but I guess I'll go back to the lab with Pinky.

Zwol.org

Where is Everybody from? The Zwol family of posters ...

Where is Everybody from? The Zwol family of posters ...

Howdy Neighbor

Reply to Gazorenzoku:...

Good Idea

[b]Our first meeting[/b]

Re: Our first meeting

Ideas

Now there ya go...