Panelgraph Meeting, Apr 2016: Lightning Talks, Mini Comicbook Challenge, Braintrust

[JF]

Panelgraph Meeting, Apr 2016: Lightning Talks, Mini Comicbook Challenge, Braintrust

Sunday, 17 Apr 2016
3pm - 6pm
Toa Payoh Public Library, level 3, Programme Zone
6 Toa Payoh Central, Singapore 319191

Programme line-up

Part 1: Lightning Talks (knowledge sharing), 3 to 4pm
Part 2: Story prototyping workshop for Mini Comicbook Challenge, 4 to 5pm
Part 3: Brain Trust (story feedback session), 5 to 6pm

Followed by dinner at Toa Payoh Central food court.

Part 1: Lightning Talks

Each lightning talk runs for 5 to 10 minutes, followed by Q&A.

THE 1% PARADOX

Or, how 1 nasty comment can outweigh 99 nice comments, and how not to let it stop your creativity.  JF Koh will share a bit of juicy gossip in the aftermath of a recent comics event, and in the context of that, some personal thoughts about overcoming creative fear and self-doubt.

SILVIA'S NEW GOTHIC BOOK

Silvia Gunarso will give us a sneak peek at the creative process behind her forthcoming book -- an online illustrated novel inspired by Nellie Bly, a 19th century investigative journalist who checked herself into an insane asylum to expose the appalling conditions and practices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly

DRAWING SKILLS LEVEL-UP

James Leong will share his personal journey of re-training his drawing skills to prepare for comics creation.

LIFE OF AN ARTIST-DESIGNER, AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE

Calvin Chua is a concept artist with an amazing portfolio.  He will share his illustration process and aspirations going forward.  You can see some of his art in Panelgraph Showcase 2015.1:
http://www.panelgraph.com/show.php?i=2015.1&c=calvin.chua

HOW TO BEAT OUT A COMPLETE STORY IN 1 HOUR

JF Koh recently attended a storyboarding workshop by Davis Vu and was surprised that it was possible to nail down the main points of a complete story from scratch in only an hour, using story beats as a structural guideline.  This talk will share key features of this quick creative process and the resulting 16-frame storyboard.

Part 2: Story prototyping workshop for Mini Comicbook Day

Mini Comicbook Day is a upcoming event where participants will create an 8 to 12 page A5-size mini comicbook within a day, print out copies on the spot, and staple them into booklets.  The event may happen later this year and aims to encourage more local content to sell at Starving Artist Fair.

This story prototyping workshop will teach participants to use story beats to plot out a complete story.  By the end of the 1-hour workshop, you should have all the main points of a brand new story plotted out in either written bullet points or rough pencil thumbnails -- ready for production at your next Mini Comicbook Day!

Part 3: Braintrust (story feedback session)

The recent release of Zootopia put the spotlight on the Braintrust -- Pixar's secret weapon for producing a string of box office hits throughout the 1990s and early 2000s (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, Up, Monsters, Cars).  After languishing for a decade with a bad system of managing their creatives, Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, and then it too started using the Braintrust system, resulting in a new run of hits -- Tangled, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and now Zootopia.

The Braintrust is a system in which experienced artists and writers give honest feedback to help improve one another's stories.  The story owner is not obligated to use any feedback which doesn't work for the story, but is free to make the final decision on which ideas to use.  It is a system based on respect, trust and honesty.

Please read these:
http://creative.porternovelli.com/lessons-from-the-pixar-braintrust/
http://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/lessons-learned/inside-the-pixar-braintrust

At Panelgraph, we have decided to start our own Braintrust, as a way to learn and to improve our storytelling skills.  A small group of us (Derek Chua, Steven Jap and JF Koh) will give feedback for one another.  Anyone interested may sit in, and hopefully we will all learn from the process.

We intend to make this a part of every Panelgraph meeting from now on.

About Panelgraph Showcase

"Panelgraph Showcase" is a free online quarterly comics anthology for writers and artists to hone the craft of creating original comics. We meet every other month to make friends and share knowledge.

If creating stories using words and pictures with like-minded creators sounds like fun, this is the place for you. Pitch ideas, get feedback, find collaborators, learn and share.

We focus on science fiction, fantasy, horror and other popular genres. We like heroes, villains, babes, monsters, robots, ninja, zombies, time travel, adventure, romance, comedy, anything larger than life. We avoid small personal stories set in HDB heartlands.

www.panelgraph.com