The Blast that was Renaissance!
Feb. 21st, 2010 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kamreadsandrecsI'd have to agree with something ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
coffeebased said: comic book artists seem to have the hugest, most giving hearts out there. Well, Filipino comic book artists seem to, anyway. After all, it was comic book artists who put together and worked on the book titled Renaissance, and on the book launching that happened today.
To put things simply, Renaissance is a collection of art from many of the famous comic book artists, both young and old, from the Philippines, including some internationally-renowned artists from Marvel and DC like Leinil Yu. When Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana) struck the Philippines, followed soon after by Pepeng (Typhoon Parma). Both storms, but Ondoy especially, devastated the Philippines, leaving behind millions of pesos worth of damage. Although nowadays a flood would probably be most welcome, there are still a lot of families who haven't been able to pick themselves up from the devastation these two storms visited upon the country.
Renaissance, then, was meant to be a charity thing, to help raise money to help Ondoy and Pepeng victims; hence, most of the art in the book had an Ondoy theme to it. The book launch today was of course meant to help raise a bit more money for charity, while allowing comic book fans the chance to rub elbows with some of the greatest names in the comic book industry, both local and foreign.
Hope and I had already discussed going to this event, and were especially looking forward to it. Although initially she thought she wouldn't be able to go, we managed to solve that problem quite handily (I know where you live now, Hope...), and arrived at Megamall around eleven-ish. We had a bit of a time trying to figure out which Megatrade Hall the event was taking place (the first two were occupied by this shoe sale thing that had us looking at each other and wondering if we were going in the right direction), but we eventually found where we needed to go, and went inside just as the panel was going on.
I got to ask the last question for the day: who do you think are the best storytellers, past and present, local and foreign? I really wanted to ask this question because I'm a writer, though I don't think the people on the panel expected that. I guess they were used to receiving questions about art. So sue me, I'm a Lit major and a writer. Most of them gave local examples, though, which is a good thing. I kind of thought of their responses as a reading/shopping list: who to keep an eye out for so I can get a feel of who writes really good stories for comics. Who knows, maybe I'll learn a thing or two from them :D.
We sat withsoloproject during this time. She had a huge hand in bringing the whole thing together, though she wasn't feeling too well due to lack of sleep. This was quite worrying, so we encouraged her to go home, which she did, eventually. It really was sad that she didn't get to stay and hang out, but her health's more important, and she really looked like she needed the rest. I really hope she's getting all the rest she needs; she didn't look too good.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around, looking at the merchandise and waiting for the sketch-athon to open. A rather funny thing happened: Hope and I approached one of the organizers asking about when the sketch-athon would start, and the next thing we knew, there was a line behind us of people who thought we were lining up for the sketch-athon - and it turned out we were, because it was just about to start when we'd come up to ask our question. So there we were at the head of the line, and sniggering to ourselves because, ha, we were up front, and the artists all had a sketch limit!
Technically speaking, each person could have eleven sketches - one per artist who was participating. However, since it was financially and logistically impossible to do so, I decided to focus on three artists: KaJo Baldisimo, Gerry Alanguilan, and Rico Rival. KaJo was an obvious choice: he's the artist behind Trese, one of my favorite comic series, and I already own quite a few of his sketches from previous cons. I wanted to add on to that collection with a new one: a sketch of Maria Makiling (whom he already drew with Anton Trese) and the Kambal.
Gerry, on the other hand, is the mind and hand behind Elmer, a story about chickens (and no, it's not so simple as that); and one of the geniuses behind the short but bittersweet Where Bold Stars Go to Die. He's most famous for Elmer, though, and I wanted something along that vein from him. A quick discussion with Hope while waiting in line gave me the idea: an Elmer-ized Tenth Doctor, with the TARDIS in the background, if at all possible. Hope told me Gerry was a Doctor Who fan, so I thought it would be a doable, appropriate request.
And then there was Rico Rival. One of the Grand Old Gentlemen of Philippine Komiks/Comics, he worked on the storyboard and backgrounds for Transformers: The Movie - the (in)famous one wherein Optimus Prime dies. That only meant one thing: a sketch of Optimus Prime, to go with the sketch of Prowl that I have from the last con.
I went to Gerry first, since he had a "waiting list" out on a pad in front of him. I asked if he would be willing to do the rooster-ified Tenth with TARDIS, and he agreed. I signed on his pad (I was fifth on the list) and then moved on to Mr. Rival. When I asked him if he could sketch Optimus Prime for me, he laughed in an embarrassed manner, and said that he'd forgotten how to do Optimus Prime.
Then he said: "I can sketch you if you want, though."
And I said: "Okay, sure!"
So he pulled up a chair for me, I sat down in it so that I was in three-quarters view from Mr. Rival's perspective. And then he started sketching. Now, I couldn't see what he was doing, plus I've never sat for a sketch before, so I was really nervous and just tried to get away with it by giggling all the time.
Next thing I knew, there were people behind Mr. Rival, watching the process. Then cameras came out and started snapping away in the background. Then people with video cameras - the huge ones that TV networks use - came around and started filming. All of this was happening and I couldn't see what was going on, and I just started getting more and more nervous.
And then someone pointed out that Mr. Ernie Patricio, another Grand Old Gentleman of Philippine Komiks/Comics, had started sketching me as well! I'd noticed that he'd sat down and had a pad in his lap, but I didn't know he was actually sketching me, too. I suddenly began to ask myself just what the hell I had gotten myself into. It's not that I don't trust the artists to do a good job: honestly, they have better things to sketch than me, so to have them do so is really an honor. It's just the scrutiny was a bit unnerving. I've never sat down to have myself drawn in any manner. I know getting pictures taken of myself is more or less the same thing, but somehow, sketching and drawing seem to be a bit more intimate. Like I said, the scrutiny is a bit unnerving, to me, anyway. Some people enjoy the attention, would preen under it; me, I just feel a bit uncomfortable with it, and decided to just giggle my way through the whole thing.
Anyway, it wasn't long until Mr. Rival was done, and the result was remarkable. I sat a bit longer so Mr. Patricio could finish his sketch, and then he very kindly handed it to me. The art styles of these two gentlemen are so different, so it's interesting how they can take the same subject, and make it look so very different just because they don't draw in the same way. I was so very, very honored that they took the time and the effort, and came away from the whole thing a little dazed. Those sketches were, if I am not mistaken, the first portraits created during the con.
After that I went to KaJo, and I asked him to do the Maria Makiling and Kambal sketch I had in mind. He readily agreed, and I watched him as he completed the sketch. I really, really like watching artists at work: how they can make images come to life underneath their fingertips, images that can take a writer a whole lot of thinking, pining, deciding, and angsting until they're completely satisfied with what they have. For artists, they have an image, and if they can manage it, it flows from their hand onto the page, with no need for further description beyond what it is. Some artists, I've noticed, take longer than others in the thinking process (KaJo's pretty quick, while Gerry takes his time), but the result is still the same.
In no time flat, KaJo had the sketch done and signed, which I certainly consider a fine addition to my collection of sketches from him. It was only a waiting game after that for Gerry to get through his list, but I could easily afford to be patient. After all, there were other artists whom I could watch.
Hope, lucky bitch that she is, asked Mr. Rival to draw Darna for her - appropriate, as Mr. Rival is, apparently, one of the original artists who handled the Darna comics. Mr. Rival's Darna sketch has a lovely fluidity of movement which belies his age. Hope later remarked in the car on the way home that apparently, comic book artists are like wine: they get better with age. I really have to agree with her; both in the sketch he did for me and in the Darna sketch he did for Hope, Mr. Rival's handiwork was lovely.
So Hope got her Darna sketch and another sketch from KaJo for Bunny, and then she stepped out with me so we could watch Gerry go through his request list. When he got to mine, he called over his friend Aileen (Eileen?) to ask what exactly the Tenth wore. When he got the answer, Hope and I wound up talking to her and squeeing over all things Doctor Who - especially since she sounded exceedingly pleased to find girls to talk to about the whole thing.
See, this is what I like about these kinds of cons: you get the time to rub elbows with the artists, and make new friends on top of that! And the artists didn't seem as stressed at this con as they did at the bigger ones, which makes them even more approachable and friendly.
This sort of thing was an excellent way to pass the time, especially when Gerry handed me the finished sketch and then spoke to Hope about her request: a sketch of Jake Gallo, the protagonist of Elmer - but with breasts added in the background, as a reminder of Jake's human girlfriend. We also found out from Gerry that Jake is apparently a huge fan of art-films, with a great love for Kurosawa and Tarantino.
While waiting for Gerry to finish Hope's sketch, we took to wandering around awhile, wandering downstairs at my request to grab churros from Dulcinea and then back up, by which time Gerry had already finished Hope's sketch. It wasn't long after that until Hope was summoned by her mom and we had to go home - not that I minded. I was starting to get tired anyway, and it had been a long, but fun, day.
Was it tiring? Very. Was it fun? God yes. Would I want to do it again? Definitely.
And to see just what happened, you can click this to see the Facebook album where I posted the pictures I took, plus scans of the sketches I got during the day.
coffeebased said: comic book artists seem to have the hugest, most giving hearts out there. Well, Filipino comic book artists seem to, anyway. After all, it was comic book artists who put together and worked on the book titled Renaissance, and on the book launching that happened today.To put things simply, Renaissance is a collection of art from many of the famous comic book artists, both young and old, from the Philippines, including some internationally-renowned artists from Marvel and DC like Leinil Yu. When Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana) struck the Philippines, followed soon after by Pepeng (Typhoon Parma). Both storms, but Ondoy especially, devastated the Philippines, leaving behind millions of pesos worth of damage. Although nowadays a flood would probably be most welcome, there are still a lot of families who haven't been able to pick themselves up from the devastation these two storms visited upon the country.
Renaissance, then, was meant to be a charity thing, to help raise money to help Ondoy and Pepeng victims; hence, most of the art in the book had an Ondoy theme to it. The book launch today was of course meant to help raise a bit more money for charity, while allowing comic book fans the chance to rub elbows with some of the greatest names in the comic book industry, both local and foreign.
Hope and I had already discussed going to this event, and were especially looking forward to it. Although initially she thought she wouldn't be able to go, we managed to solve that problem quite handily (I know where you live now, Hope...), and arrived at Megamall around eleven-ish. We had a bit of a time trying to figure out which Megatrade Hall the event was taking place (the first two were occupied by this shoe sale thing that had us looking at each other and wondering if we were going in the right direction), but we eventually found where we needed to go, and went inside just as the panel was going on.
I got to ask the last question for the day: who do you think are the best storytellers, past and present, local and foreign? I really wanted to ask this question because I'm a writer, though I don't think the people on the panel expected that. I guess they were used to receiving questions about art. So sue me, I'm a Lit major and a writer. Most of them gave local examples, though, which is a good thing. I kind of thought of their responses as a reading/shopping list: who to keep an eye out for so I can get a feel of who writes really good stories for comics. Who knows, maybe I'll learn a thing or two from them :D.
We sat with
soloproject during this time. She had a huge hand in bringing the whole thing together, though she wasn't feeling too well due to lack of sleep. This was quite worrying, so we encouraged her to go home, which she did, eventually. It really was sad that she didn't get to stay and hang out, but her health's more important, and she really looked like she needed the rest. I really hope she's getting all the rest she needs; she didn't look too good. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around, looking at the merchandise and waiting for the sketch-athon to open. A rather funny thing happened: Hope and I approached one of the organizers asking about when the sketch-athon would start, and the next thing we knew, there was a line behind us of people who thought we were lining up for the sketch-athon - and it turned out we were, because it was just about to start when we'd come up to ask our question. So there we were at the head of the line, and sniggering to ourselves because, ha, we were up front, and the artists all had a sketch limit!
Technically speaking, each person could have eleven sketches - one per artist who was participating. However, since it was financially and logistically impossible to do so, I decided to focus on three artists: KaJo Baldisimo, Gerry Alanguilan, and Rico Rival. KaJo was an obvious choice: he's the artist behind Trese, one of my favorite comic series, and I already own quite a few of his sketches from previous cons. I wanted to add on to that collection with a new one: a sketch of Maria Makiling (whom he already drew with Anton Trese) and the Kambal.
Gerry, on the other hand, is the mind and hand behind Elmer, a story about chickens (and no, it's not so simple as that); and one of the geniuses behind the short but bittersweet Where Bold Stars Go to Die. He's most famous for Elmer, though, and I wanted something along that vein from him. A quick discussion with Hope while waiting in line gave me the idea: an Elmer-ized Tenth Doctor, with the TARDIS in the background, if at all possible. Hope told me Gerry was a Doctor Who fan, so I thought it would be a doable, appropriate request.
And then there was Rico Rival. One of the Grand Old Gentlemen of Philippine Komiks/Comics, he worked on the storyboard and backgrounds for Transformers: The Movie - the (in)famous one wherein Optimus Prime dies. That only meant one thing: a sketch of Optimus Prime, to go with the sketch of Prowl that I have from the last con.
I went to Gerry first, since he had a "waiting list" out on a pad in front of him. I asked if he would be willing to do the rooster-ified Tenth with TARDIS, and he agreed. I signed on his pad (I was fifth on the list) and then moved on to Mr. Rival. When I asked him if he could sketch Optimus Prime for me, he laughed in an embarrassed manner, and said that he'd forgotten how to do Optimus Prime.
Then he said: "I can sketch you if you want, though."
And I said: "Okay, sure!"
So he pulled up a chair for me, I sat down in it so that I was in three-quarters view from Mr. Rival's perspective. And then he started sketching. Now, I couldn't see what he was doing, plus I've never sat for a sketch before, so I was really nervous and just tried to get away with it by giggling all the time.
Next thing I knew, there were people behind Mr. Rival, watching the process. Then cameras came out and started snapping away in the background. Then people with video cameras - the huge ones that TV networks use - came around and started filming. All of this was happening and I couldn't see what was going on, and I just started getting more and more nervous.
And then someone pointed out that Mr. Ernie Patricio, another Grand Old Gentleman of Philippine Komiks/Comics, had started sketching me as well! I'd noticed that he'd sat down and had a pad in his lap, but I didn't know he was actually sketching me, too. I suddenly began to ask myself just what the hell I had gotten myself into. It's not that I don't trust the artists to do a good job: honestly, they have better things to sketch than me, so to have them do so is really an honor. It's just the scrutiny was a bit unnerving. I've never sat down to have myself drawn in any manner. I know getting pictures taken of myself is more or less the same thing, but somehow, sketching and drawing seem to be a bit more intimate. Like I said, the scrutiny is a bit unnerving, to me, anyway. Some people enjoy the attention, would preen under it; me, I just feel a bit uncomfortable with it, and decided to just giggle my way through the whole thing.
Anyway, it wasn't long until Mr. Rival was done, and the result was remarkable. I sat a bit longer so Mr. Patricio could finish his sketch, and then he very kindly handed it to me. The art styles of these two gentlemen are so different, so it's interesting how they can take the same subject, and make it look so very different just because they don't draw in the same way. I was so very, very honored that they took the time and the effort, and came away from the whole thing a little dazed. Those sketches were, if I am not mistaken, the first portraits created during the con.
After that I went to KaJo, and I asked him to do the Maria Makiling and Kambal sketch I had in mind. He readily agreed, and I watched him as he completed the sketch. I really, really like watching artists at work: how they can make images come to life underneath their fingertips, images that can take a writer a whole lot of thinking, pining, deciding, and angsting until they're completely satisfied with what they have. For artists, they have an image, and if they can manage it, it flows from their hand onto the page, with no need for further description beyond what it is. Some artists, I've noticed, take longer than others in the thinking process (KaJo's pretty quick, while Gerry takes his time), but the result is still the same.
In no time flat, KaJo had the sketch done and signed, which I certainly consider a fine addition to my collection of sketches from him. It was only a waiting game after that for Gerry to get through his list, but I could easily afford to be patient. After all, there were other artists whom I could watch.
Hope, lucky bitch that she is, asked Mr. Rival to draw Darna for her - appropriate, as Mr. Rival is, apparently, one of the original artists who handled the Darna comics. Mr. Rival's Darna sketch has a lovely fluidity of movement which belies his age. Hope later remarked in the car on the way home that apparently, comic book artists are like wine: they get better with age. I really have to agree with her; both in the sketch he did for me and in the Darna sketch he did for Hope, Mr. Rival's handiwork was lovely.
So Hope got her Darna sketch and another sketch from KaJo for Bunny, and then she stepped out with me so we could watch Gerry go through his request list. When he got to mine, he called over his friend Aileen (Eileen?) to ask what exactly the Tenth wore. When he got the answer, Hope and I wound up talking to her and squeeing over all things Doctor Who - especially since she sounded exceedingly pleased to find girls to talk to about the whole thing.
See, this is what I like about these kinds of cons: you get the time to rub elbows with the artists, and make new friends on top of that! And the artists didn't seem as stressed at this con as they did at the bigger ones, which makes them even more approachable and friendly.
This sort of thing was an excellent way to pass the time, especially when Gerry handed me the finished sketch and then spoke to Hope about her request: a sketch of Jake Gallo, the protagonist of Elmer - but with breasts added in the background, as a reminder of Jake's human girlfriend. We also found out from Gerry that Jake is apparently a huge fan of art-films, with a great love for Kurosawa and Tarantino.
While waiting for Gerry to finish Hope's sketch, we took to wandering around awhile, wandering downstairs at my request to grab churros from Dulcinea and then back up, by which time Gerry had already finished Hope's sketch. It wasn't long after that until Hope was summoned by her mom and we had to go home - not that I minded. I was starting to get tired anyway, and it had been a long, but fun, day.
Was it tiring? Very. Was it fun? God yes. Would I want to do it again? Definitely.
And to see just what happened, you can click this to see the Facebook album where I posted the pictures I took, plus scans of the sketches I got during the day.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-21 02:55 pm (UTC)Meanwhile, I have a cold :/ Apparently, my itchy nose wasn't a bite, so much as a harbinger of things yet to come. I keep sneezing. :/
:D I had a lot of fun with you today. I think it was a good day for sure! :Db Until the next comic con! I really, really want to have my Elmer signed then -_- please remind me because you know I'll totally forget them -_- human memories. What can I say? XD
Speaking of human memories: Gerry also said something else about Jake. He said that he doesn't think Elmer ended up with his (hottt) human girlfriend. He said that Jake wasn't the type of person to ever be happy or content, so they probably broke up. D: Word of God is awesome but heartbreaking.
The comic I bought from Gerry's booth turned out to be surprisingly awesome. There are a couple of stories there that I thought were really elegantly told. Will show you when I see you. ;)
Ahaha, I use so many emoticons. -_- I'm like a Japanese school girl. -_- Stupid shoujo manga (Oyayubihime Infinity was my drug of choice. It was a major letdown after all that CLAMP I read the other day.)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 09:36 am (UTC)I'll definitely have to remind you about that; I left my own copy of Elmer behind, which sucks. I also want to get my copy of Bold Stars signed, so that's two items for me.
JAKE DOESN'T WORK OUT WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND?! Well, I guess there's some truth to what Gerry said about Jake, but... *sighs*
XD CAN'T WAIT FOR THOSE COMICS! Speaking of, I had to hide my copy of Bold Stars from my mom, lest she wonder what the hell I'm doing with something that could quite possibly be porn ^^;
I remember a couple of months back when I was on a shoujo trip ^^;. And I know how hard it is to read any other shoujo after reading lots of CLAMP; it's kinda hard to get over the awesome and settle for something a little less awesome. Though hey, why didn't you reread HanaKimi for awesome shoujo?
no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 10:15 am (UTC)I want to have my Bold Stars signed too, but I'm kind of sad that Arlan won't ever be able to sign it. :( So I'm not sure.
YES RIGHT I was so sad.
I think your mum would enjoy it, with proper disclaimers in advance. :D
I wanted to read new shoujo. HanaKimi is nice but I've read it a lot already. :) If ever I'm going to re-read shoujo, I'd rather do LoveCom again. But even those two manga wouldn't stand up to CLAMP complexity and ouchiness. So I'm downloading Nodame and BECK. :)