We’re on the eave of a KickStarter launch, yo. Come join me in the livestream and draw comics with me. (Or have me play in the background as you work on stuff for yourself. I’m good either way.)
You all know about Jamie Roberts, the genderqueer pirate who left the sea with their two best friends to go treasure-hunting in a land full of dragons.
But what if they weren’t pirates? Believe it or not, in very early drafts of this comic, Jamie and friends were not pirates at all!
In SUPER early drafts (we’re talking back in 2011 to 2013), they were students at a military school. In those versions of the story, they discover the top brass held an earth-shattering secret plan: to release a demon king and destroy their enemies. They would flee the military school and get refuge in the land where the demon king was sealed away.
In hashing out one draft, I had it that they were military school students, then turned pirate to escape. And the feedback I got was, “Why don’t you just…make them pirates?”
Honestly, storytelling 101: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Besides, I really wanted to get to the pirate bits more than the military school bits. People love pirates more than school, anyway.
So that’s how they became pirates!
Some of these concept sketches, though, will be making it into the bonus material of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3…Which is coming to KickStarter on October 14.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter to be the first to know! The newsletter is free and private, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The top two books are the sketchbooks that contain The Legend of Jamie Roberts’ script. The bottom sketchbook contains the majority of the world-building notes. Not ~all~ of them (because many notes are scattered across other sketchbooks). But this one has the majority of the notes, from initial concept to current day. Many of the notes in that one are held in place by paperclips and tape, so it doesn’t leave the studio.
But what do the scripts look like? Well, in the top two books, the pages look a lot like this…
They’re rough on purpose! I like doodling around to get the layouts right. As I work on pages, they go from script to a more refined sketch…
…Up to the finished page.
But it all starts with those rough sketches in the sketchbooks. I’m not going for “perfect” (whatever that is), I’m going for “out of my head.”
Believe it or not, this has worked for me since 2018. Now, I’m going to need a THIRD sketchbook soon, because The Legend is still going, but I’m approaching the end of that second sketchbook. I’m excited to draw what comes next!
Speaking of which, The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 3 is coming to KickStarter on October 14. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to know!
It’s not every day I get contacted by a sticker company. So imagine my surprise when I got an email from somebody at AllStickerPrinting which said, “We would like to collaborate with you.”
(I’m wondering if they came across my post talking about Stickerapp and that’s why they reached out to me? But hey, I appreciate them reaching out!)
So we emailed back and forth, and AllStickerPrinting agreed to send me complimentary stickers in exchange for a review. And that’s why we’re here today!
First, they gave me three options for stickers to print: Individual cut stickers, roll stickers, and custom decals. I opted for the individual cut stickers, specifically in vinyl, to stick (heh) as close as possible in texture and quality to the Robot Pride stickers I have on hand. (The Robot Pride stickers were printed by Vograce as part of the Universal Flaws of Robotics KickStarter campaign.)
Which design did I send AllStickerPrinting?
Hint: it’s a pun…
Get it? It’s PIE-rates!
Anyway, getting the request in was pretty easy, if based on email rather than going through the website. I was already used to working with printers by email with Vograce and (not sticker-related) PrintNinja, so this didn’t bother me.
We actually got everything handled just in time for the stickers to arrive at my apartment RIGHT before I left for a show! So I got to open the package at the show to see what arrived.
I’m used to this design as die-cut, but I don’t mind it being square. I also *really* like the texture of the vinyl! It’s a nicer feel than Vograce or Stickermule. (I haven’t tried regular vinyl from StickerApp yet, just the holographic, so we’ll see how they compare eventually).
When the stickers arrived, they were bound, shrink-wrapped, and then wrapped in bubble wrap, so it’s safe to say these were not scuffed or damaged in transit. The packaging impressed me with its security!
Also, for the budget-minded independent artist, I got these 100 stickers, which AllStickerPrinting values at $50. Which – I gotta’ say – is REALLY DANG GOOD. It’s better pricing than I expected!
They also sent me a sample pack of the kinds of stickers (and business card) they can print. For stickers, they have a variety of choices, from vinyl to foil to holographic – which they call hologram – to even Kraft sticker. You can even choose your level of adhesiveness, from removable to normal to strong. They also have transparent stickers, which is great! I’ve been looking for folks who could do transparent stickers so I could do a reprint of this beauty:
I actually have some ideas for cards and stickers, so I will definitely be reaching out to AllStickerPrinting again!
If you would like to try them out, check out their official website. The staff are very communicative and great to work with! I highly recommend them.
I’m going to reveal a plot twist that ALMOST happened in The Legend of Jamie Roberts…
In previous drafts of this story, Basho was going to die in Chapter 14. I even had the fight scene outlined and some rough sketches done!
But then, after everything that’s been happening in my personal life over the last few months (that then culminated into the last few weeks of August), I decided on a different direction.
Now, to me, it’s more important to have a story where family estrangement is necessary. Not only necessary, but healthier. I wanted to see a story where siblings (even twin siblings) become estranged from each other and it’s better that they separated.
In a way, that also reflects in the backstories of Jamie, Thomas, and Daniel, as well! All three of them left their families of origin, banded together, and became pirates. Exploring that may be the subject of a future mini-comic!
And the funny thing is, after deciding on this new narrative direction, the inspiration flowed back. Jamie and friends even started appearing in my sketchbooks again!
I wanted to share this with you to give a peek behind the curtain as to what almost was. But I’m jazzed about this other direction the story is taking!
