I attempted to type your URL, and I ended up typing "arrtist-black". Are you a pirate?
Nope, but Professor Juniper is!
(She is also a ninja.)
March 2012
40 posts
5 YEAR OLD ME
Son, let me show you some of my best work from back when I was five.
MY CRIB, YO.
AND A SUN.
LOOK AT THEM.
JESUS.
You just have to start drawing! Don’t worry so much about your current level of talent - once you start practicing, you’ll get better. Now, how to get into it… If you enjoy what you’re drawing, then odds are you’ll want to continue, so draw things you like! And if you want to learn how to draw those things better, then look at references, or how other people draw them. If you browse enough, you can find some useful tutorials online. Google is your friend~
Ah, you should note that drawing and painting are two different types of art. So is sequential art (comics). So getting better at drawing doesn’t guarantee getting better at those other things. Also, there’s a bunch of different mediums like markers, watercolor, ink, etc. Even if you decide to work completely digital, art programs typically have tools that pretty much replicate the traditional ones. You’ll probably find that you prefer some tools over others, so try a bunch of them out to see which ones are more fun for you!
The rules were pretty much the same as last time, so if you read the previous one, you should have known what to expect;;
I tried to keep it simple. It’s basically: Winning posts are decided by stating the name of the previous winner first, to make sure you’ve read what happened before your post. There’s a limit on which characters can appear so as to not mess with the main story. One not-pokemon character can appear because why not. The final objective is to find an item so the whole adventure isn’t completely pointless.
The only other way I know is to go on 4chan like how I did with the first two eps, but that requires me drawing everything as soon as the winning post is chosen, so it’s a whole day ordeal I don’t have time for anymore. Besides, I’d like the participants to be actual readers of my comic;;
What made those 4chan adventures fun were the copious amounts of HILARIOUS/ HORRIBLE posts that weren’t chosen. I mean WOW the things people came up with. And it was dubs decides, so it was by pure luck that the really bad stuff didn’t make it in! But other than that, it’s probably only fun for the winners. I’m left with having to make sense of their posts, and hopefully coming up with something entertaining. I’m drawing Karkat right now, and my knowledge of Homestuck is limited.
If anyone has suggestions on how I should run the next adventure, I’d like to hear it!
Now apparently I need a question mark to let people answer this, so
?
Why did Unrelated disappear?
Because shit happened, and people were having a bad time.
Have you ever been on the brink of losing all motivation to continue Black Adventures? What is it that keeps you going on and on?
Every single day I’m like, OH GOD I’M NEVER GONNA FINISH WHAT AM I DOING I HAVE NEVER COMPLETED A COMIC THIS LONG BEFORE IT’S NEVER GONNA GET DONE JUST YOU WATCH I’M GONNA MAKE IT TO THE SECOND TO LAST EPISODE AND JUST STOP RIGHT THERE BECAUSE I’M CRYING TOO MUCH BLOOD AND MY DRAWING HAND HAS FALLEN OFF AND ALL THE SPAGHETTI IS FALLING OUT OF MY POCKETS.
But then I remember I’m over halfway done, and that motivates me to keep going, because eventually I’ll be 3/4 done, and then finally completely done!
How long did it take you to hash out the overall plot of BA once you'd decided to turn it into a proper comic? And how much has the plot changed during the past year of actually executing those ideas?
Like, a week. It was pretty easy after I decided how I wanted the gym “battles” to go.
The ending has changed A LOT. The rest, not so much.
And since B/W 2 are coming out, I’m not sure if I still want to change some things about the ending…
What should an artist do if they are having difficulty developing their own style?
Work for a big company, lol. Places like Disney care more about your ability to emulate their styles.
Last semester, during a critique, I complimented some girl’s style and said it was one of her strengths. Then the professor said no, having one’s own style is only a strength if you’re an entrepreneurial artist, i.e. a freelancer. Another word for that is unemployed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful this way! It’s just more difficult. Basically, for most artists with a steady job, having their own unique style is not their selling point.
But enough soul crushing! If developing your own style is important to you, then just keep drawing. Keep trying different things. Don’t feel bad trying other people’s styles to see what you like. New things are often created by combining old things together. Eventually, you’ll find something you’re comfortable with, but you can’t stop there! If you reach a point where you don’t know how to improve your style, then it’s time to try something completely different. That’s not to say to forget your old one; it’s good to have many styles!
concerning BA updates
I’m getting messages asking me when I’m gonna update next, and well, I’m not sure exactly when the next update will be. But it’s not like I’ve forgotten about the comic, guys! I do have other stuff going on. I’ll update as soon as I can…
Right now, I’m with relatives. My 14-year-old cousin is getting baptized soon, and I’m busy convincing him that the priest is gonna cut him. He’s freaking out. It’s pretty funny.
Lexico Publishing, LLC
Another frequently asked question concerning Kcalb, is how would one pronounce it?
I don’t have a recorder on my computer right now, but I say, “kalb.”
I got the above pronunciation of “black” from dictionary.com, and I reversed the audio on Audacity to get apparently the most correct pronunciation of “kcalb.” Sounds funny, haha;;
The origin of Kcalb
A lot of people still ask me where Kcalb is from/where I got the idea for Kcalb. I’ve answered this from time to time, but I guess I haven’t put the answer somewhere where new people could easily find it. Hopefully, this remedies that!
The truth is, Kcalb was created by an anon, or a group of anons on 4chan’s /vp/ board. (If you’re unfamiliar with the site, I suggest you google first;;; /vp/ is the designated Pokemon board, and it’s supposed to be work-safe, but who knows what you’ll see there at any given time) Anyway, back to the origin of Kcalb:
The images I saved say it happened July 9, 2010. That’s about two months before Black Adventures started. The thread began as a Perfect Boyfriend Black meme. Let’s take a moment to hnnng at the following:
Somewhere along the thread, someone got the idea to invert the image of Black, and produced the following:
Then, possibly a different anon, changed his face to the Kcalb we all know and love today~
Black Adventures Kcalb is different, though. He’s more…innocent, haha. And it would not be in his best interest to harm the object of his affection, since he needs Black alive and well in order to exist.
I hope that clears things up a bit!
