Tools of the Trade

Hello, this is “The Voice”, filling in for Jaime Buckley who is off world this week.

You know what an eComic is, you have your amazing idea…so what now?

You need the right tools.

Ask yourself–how are you going to make your art?

Traditional? Digital only? …or maybe a combination of both, like WANTED:HERO.

Only you know what you specifically require…but there are some items you will need which are on every list—such as a computer, certain programs, and a connection to the internet.

Keep in mind, that you can only make art with as much quality as the tools you use. An ink brush without bristles, isn’t going to do you a bit of good. That, and, well…you’d be an idiot.

While Jaime was gone from his office, Cosmo and I decided to make a list for you. Our sound manager here also happens to be a ‘Lock Technician’, and got us into the shrine of WANTED:HERO.

And GLORY BE, we found all sorts of goodies to make a list!

So, here’s what Jaime Buckley uses for his own popular eComic:

1. Pencils (a few are 2h, for sketching, the rest are HB)
2. Erasers (some kneaded, but mostly a brand called Magic Rub)
3. Brushes (LOTS of brushes—which are his preferred tool)
4. A wide variety of ink pens called MICRON.
5. Quill pens with various tips.
6. A special mixture of ink, which ….hmmmm, this looks interesting…maybe we’ll do a podcast on the perfect ink too.
7. 11”X17” Bristol Board
8. Rulers of various shapes and sizes
9. A tooth brush….which is covered in ink—I guess it’s used for effects.

…and then we found the Holy of Holies…the computer.

It was a nice set up. Printer, scanner, two 20” flat screens, surround sound, wireless mouse and keyboard. But what was on the Inside, I asked myself? I mean, how can we tell you, if we don’t know, …right?

So Cosmo gingerly used the crowbar, to peel back the metal side of the tower.

We found a dual processor motherboard, top notch graphic card, 4 Gigabites of RAM, 2 DVD/CD burners, and 825 Gigabites of Hard Drives.

…which we learned should be renamed….”fragile” drives would be more appropriate.

Now, being an eComic creator, you need the essential tool to succeed: a web site.

This includes a domain name, a hosting package with a large amount of bandwidth (all Gnomes recommend BlueHost.com), access to a payment system, such as Paypal, a security system for safe delivery of digital content (Jaime uses Linklok), and then a slew of creative programming scripts, which can be retrieved from free service, such as Hotscripts.com.

It may sound like a large list—but most items can be purchased as you develop your eComic. The good news, is that once set up, you can keep an entire years overhead for a successful, money making eComic, to under $500!

That’s absolute peanuts, for a successful business.

Sit down and map out what you want to create, and how you want to deliver content to your readers—this will allow you to develop a solid basis of what you will require to get started. If you’re starting out and don’t have funds, search the web. There are many sources you can tap into for free tools…especially computer ones.

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