Zeros 2 Heroes - Posts

Trajan added...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:02:27 -0600

Well, Sturstein was kind enough to send me his gift to the ladies - Trajan emerging from the ocean depths. It's now been added to the Rip Current Fan Art gallery - for all eternity!!! Ha Ha!

Be sure to check out his other contributions - Lucia and Trajan together and Lucia in Art Nouveau.

Plus, of course, Will's storm trooper theatre, Fett's Lucia and Trajan, and a young fan's rendition of Lucia and Trajan facing underwater perils.

For the Ladies

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:36:16 -0500

Reading MariaTheDreamer's recent post on hot guys I got to wondering if more hot guys would attract more girl Zeds to hang out here. Mostly I just draw girls and monsters, which we all love, but I don't think I'm giving enough to the ladies. Ladies, you want to see the occasional hot guy, right?

So, because MariaTheDreamer was kind of the one who prompted this, I thought I'd do Trajan, from her Rip Current book. (Plus, he's way cool, and fun to draw.)

I'll let the ladies decide whether or not I succeeded. (I don't get a lot of practice drawing hot guys, and I have nowhere near the level of appreciation that I have for hot girls, so I'm really not sure if I can pull it off.)

Local boys

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:35:08 -0500

I've seen some of the trailers for New Moon. Studly Quileute guys. Well built. Shirtless. All this got me thinking of Marsden, my own studly First Nations dude in Rip Current.

One of the very first scenes that I had filtering in my mind for this story ultimately shows up on page four of the comic. Marsden, frustrated after a day squeezing into the patrol pods and not making a great impresstion, walks past Lucia and Remy, pulling his shirt over his head. You know, that move that guys do when they grab the shirt behind their shoulders and pull it forward over their heads. Anyways, the gals enjoy the view. Remy wonders at how he'd fit into the patrol pods. Things begin to spark.

Now granted in my comic, I let Marsden keep his shirt on, but the studly impact still happens and it's one of my favourite pages in the book.

As I've mentioned, Marsden is the only character in my book based on a real person. About ten years ago, this tall, really cute young guy with fabulous cheekbones and sweet dimples was helping me out during a visit to a second-hand sports shop in Port Moody, BC. When I saw him, I decided that I'd turn him into a character in one of my stories. I kept my promise and he became Marsden.

Now, when I hear all the fervor about Twilight, and all the drooling over the Quileute guys, even the fact that they're busy filming in Port Moody, I think to myself, Hey! I got there first!

And Marsden is WAY hotter.

Amazing Algae

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:04:55 -0500

The wonders of Rip Current never cease! The other night, I was driving home from a dance class and listening to CBC radio, when the discussion turned to alternative fuel sources. Turns out, that one of the best options is to draw oil from algae!!

Algae is fast and easy to grow in a small area, and is 60% oil. This is technology that exists now; we could apparently be switched over within a decade if the politics aligned.

When I created the world for Rip Current, I knew they would be using salt water for food production as much as possible (incidentally, that same radio program also talked about growing foods in salt water, also successfully in development). But I hadn't gone as far as considering what they'd use to fuel everything. I assumed solar, wind, the usual.

I'm VERY happy to discover algae biofuel is REAL. How convenient! How perfect! I'll be adding it to my Rip Current world.

Alice is perfect!

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:49:58 -0600

Yahoo! Last night I watched I am Legend... and I was mightily surprised to see Alice Braga, who I used as a model for my main character Lucia. She's great!! I'd only seen Alice in some photos and a short movie clip from a foreign film. I'm happy I made that choice.

On to other news... I have been busy elsewhere in my life these last few weeks, but before I disappeared, I had made that request for fans. The numbers had gone up, but have now dropped again, so I'm taking Will's advice and ignoring them. But that said, I'm sure it'll bug me again in the future.

Brownie Points

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:29:28 -0600

If I throw Ken and Barbie into the bathtub for a photo op, would that count as fan art? Blue Jell-o would probably look more like water, but I don't want to try and get that out of Barbie's hair ;)

What are brownie points anyway? Chocolatey goodness, the tiny guys from "Willow" or small girl children who sell cookies? I use the expression brownie points and have no idea what it's in reference to.

Appeal for fans!!

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:02:40 -0600

Please become a fan of Rip Current!

Okay, now I've got that out, I can move onto more specifics. I need your help. Seems I'm having a bit of a battle with the 'heat register'. I go up... but for whatever reason, I can't get my heat to stay up. (hmmmm if I were a dude, that could certainly be misinterpretted, but I digress...)

I know folks have read Rip Current or visited the property page. Some of you already have become fans, and thanks so much for that. Yeah!! But if you haven't, and can spare a few minutes to pay a visit and to add yourself as a fan, I'd sure appreciate it.

I'm going to spend some time over the next few months trying to drum up fans from elsewhere... BUT we all know the the real power here is with the regulars. So, calling all Z2H powerhouses (and aspiring powerhouses!!)... if you haven't already.... please throw your support behind Rip Current!!!

Dream on...

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:01:23 -0600

Hey! I added a new tune to the Rip Current playlist... (or get the link from the comic page, bottom left).

Driving home, listing to an old 'mix cd', listening to Depeche Mode's Dream on, got me thinking about Oakes.

Oakes is the rather unfriendly dude on the last page of the comic, giving Trajan a hard time. Oakes has had a rough go... everything he creates falls apart, everything he dreams of is destroyed. When the song asks, 'can you feel a little love...?' The answer would be yes, but just a little, because to open it up any more risks having that disappear as well.

I do wonder why Oakes keeps on trying, because he does... but he hasn't let me see that part of him yet.

For a glimpse of Oakes, check out the Chapter 1.2 : Trajan, either in the Extra Chapters goodies on the comic page or further along in the Rip Current blog.

New gallery for my Rip Current comic!

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:39:48 -0600

Ever wonder what visuals inspired the artists working on Rip Curent? Well, today's your lucky day! I've just created a brand new gallery, with images of the real-life actors I 'cast' as the main characters, juxtaposed with their counterpart from the comic.

I'm so pleased with how Patricio captured the essense of Rip Current in the pencils -- he used the references I provided but managed to bring a special life to everyone... soon after I saw his sketches, my imagined scenes with them changed to match their new 'selves'.

Just one of the many ways Rip Current was brought to life by the artists involved, Patricio, Christian and Aya, for which I'm eternally grateful.

I'd love to hear what you think!

Property pages = cool platform

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:55:16 -0600

I just got a new book, Get known Before the Book Deal. It talks about how important it is in today's market to have an author's platform, which is a readership, following or fan base. A strong platform helps prove to publishers, agents, etc that you've got that 'something' that audiences want.

Hmmm... sound suspiciously like what Z2H is trying to help us ALL with, both with the property pages for the published comics AND now with the new option to build our own property pages.

Now, having had a property page for Rip Current for just over four months now, I can say with authority that having the page is not enough. So, how to build a following both at Z2H and beyond? I'm hoping this book will offer some practical tools. When I get some goodies, I'll be sure to share them here.

But, I'm curious... I hadn't heard the term "Platform" used prior to picking up this book, even though I know many of the underlying concepts. Have any of you?

Rip Current, Plots and Schedules

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:54:40 -0600

Yes, it's true, I did write a blog about the future of Rip Current and how I hadn't plotted every eventuality out for the story and why. That was before I was reminded by Z2H that they really truly needed it, in three-pages of wonderous detail.

And so, this past weekend was spent figuring out and writing a couple of treatments instead of raking leaves, cleaning my house, playing foosball or editing my work-in-progress, a YA novel called Anastasis.

It's ironic, actually, since the weekend before, I had made up a new schedule for myself, noting which days I would work on what -- i.e. Monday, writing; Tuesday, visiting Z2H and my other haunts to read pitches and give crits; Friday, doing some writing business, like blogs, updates and submissions, etc. I figure, to build a career, one must regularly spend time at all the various stages of the process, from creating to selling.

Then, my first week into it, my schedule is already messed up!!

I'm wondering, does anyone else attempt to schedule their 'writing' to this degree? If so, have you been able to maintain it for any length of time?

More goodies!

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:46:16 -0500

I've just added a fabulous new pic to my fan art gallery... by Sturstein (check him out here: http://www.zeros2heroes.com/gallery/10)

For those who missed it, there's a new chapter about Trajan, added to my blog and to the Extra Chapters 'gallery' for lack of a better word, on the Rip Current page.

I am still thinking about putting up some images of the reference art and final character designs, but that may take me a week or so to get the time...

One more thing... I haven't picked who the new extra chapter will be about. If you have a wish, let me know!

Chapter 1.2 : Trajan

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:08:35 -0500

Dry air hacked at Trajan's throat. The heavy coat he still wore crushed down on his shoulders, prickling at his skin. But he waited, patiently, no hint of complaint. Even here, it was the easiest path.

Oakes hunched back into his dark chair, his own coat tossed over the seat of the only other chair in the room, forcing both Trajan and the woman, Celeste, to stand in attendance. Trajan was used to it, from before. But why a woman would endure such treatment amazed him.

"This isn't working." Oakes rubbed at his temples. "This Trajan creature gets us closer, gets us so that we can actually grab the food, but those Cascadians still seem to be one step ahead. I need results." He forced both hands off his face and through his dark hair. "I need that food."

"What of your raider?" Celeste asked, her voice a ripple weaving carefully through jagged stone.

"How am I to get him back? The Council refuses to speak to the Cascadians. That would be admitting that they're breaking the treaties; that they've failed Cordova."

"The need for food is unending."

"Only a bit, only a bit to buy more time... " Oakes battled his scowl, sinking further into himself. "Why can't I get this to work?"

Then, suddenly as if awaking, he remembered Trajan. "Get him out of here while I think."

Celeste tipped her head forward, acknowledging the command. Her long black hair fell forward over her bare shoulders.

She led Trajan through windowless corridors where sleek walls blended one into the other. He knew they meant to confuse him during this walk, so that he could never be certain of his location, but he'd navigated a maze in his own underwater city in order to escape. This Cordovan city proved far easier. He knew the way from his own room, past Oakes' rooms and to the outside door with the stairs to the barren cove. Beyond that, he had nowhere else to go.

The woman, Celeste, stopped in front of the door to his room and unlocked it. She pulled open the door and walked into the room, no longer waiting for him to enter first, as she first had. Trajan followed behind, about five paces, as he had done for all women since infancy. He scowled, pinched his lips into a hard line and cursed himself for being unable to adapt as easily to his new surroundings as this woman had been able to adapt to his own habits.

Feeling the heat of anger on his face, Trajan strode past Celeste when she paused, and went straight to the large window. He glared down through the glass onto the barren path below. No glimpse of the sky or of the ocean. This is how they've made it a prison, he thought.

He heard Celeste walk towards him, but he refused to turn. She should be forced to follow him, as she did Oakes. She had no power here. She was an object, dressed to show her curves and warm coloured skin, obviously for the pleasure of Oakes. Trajan tightened the prickly coat tighter around his chest. He should treat her as Oakes did.

"I have something for you, Trajan," she said quietly, possibly even kindly. But he refused to turn. Not for a woman, not ever again.

"Trajan?" Celeste touched his shoulder. He flinched back as if struck, then cursed himself once again. How could he possibly fear her? She was only a servant to Oakes, weaker than all men here.

Her hand darted away, to rest near her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said. As if tempted once again to touch him, she reached forward. "I won't hurt you. You don't need to be afraid of me?"

Seeing her movement as a reflection in the window, he turned to face her, but stepped out of reach. She dropped her hand to her side, but met his eye. Trajan fought every instinct in order to maintain eye contact and not defer to her.

"I'll show you," she said. Softly as a tendril, she moved across the room toward the bathing room. "I know you love your bath," she went on as she walked. "I found some salts for you to add to the water." She disappeared into the other room and returned with a large container. "It's kept under the sink. It should make you more comfortable."

Considering the bite of chemicals in their dead, processed water, this gift was extraordinary. Trajan felt a craving build inside him so strongly he could almost taste the salt in his mouth. There must be a price.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing."

Trajan shrank under the coat, grateful for the shield. A gift this personal could not be without conditions. Surely she expects something from him. Something equally personal.

Yet she walked straight for the door and let herself out. He heard the door locked from the outside.

The container sat on the edge of the sink. She knew he would use it. Sea salts, in large chunky crystals, as she promised. He grabbed a handful and dropped it into the bath and started up the water. As it filled, he pulled off his coat and let it fall to the floor outside the bathing room, shucked the rough pants he wore, closed the door and locked it.

Trajan stirred the salts into the water with his arms before easing into the water. His scales lifted from his skin with a content rustling, and his fins eased out from the back of his calves. His bones and body ached in the hard water, but the salts made it tolerable, even pleasurable. He sank into the water, curling onto his side like a child until he was fully submerged, the fin along the back stretching to the side of the bath. Then, he let himself sleep.

Stopping in to say hi...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:38:40 -0500

I like your comic and want to know what happens next. I should go read your extra chapters, shouldn't I?

The future of Rip Current

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:44:24 -0500

Are you wondering what's in store for Rip Current? Have you been searching this page and/or the blogs for hints as to what I've got planned?

First off, experience has taught me that it's better to know the what the end result needs to be before beginning the project. And since I don't actually know what the next step for Rip Current is, I don't want to waste time planning out every possible eventuality in detail. Doesn't make sense to me. A film version would structure differently that a tv series, which would again be different than a game.

However, here's how I'd tackle a few of the possible outcomes...

Movie(s): For a movie, I'd play up the romance and action, put on a time lock to help build suspense, with the end result that Lucia and Trajan get together. Future movies would head into dealing with the larger political issues between the three 'fortresses': the Cascadians, the Cordovans and the underwater Capricians.

TV: For a TV series, I'd weave more of the political intrigue into the mix, and draw out the love triangle with Lucia, Trajan and Marsden so there's be no clear 'win' for Trajan and Lucia. I'd look for a larger story arc over the series, similar to some anime series I enjoy watching, like Full Metal Alchemist, Samaurai 7 or Death Note, or even like Lost.

Comic: A comic, I'd play like the TV series, drawing out the storyline into the epic series I originally concieved.

Graphic Novel: It's be interesting to see Rip Current in a graphic novel format... I'm thinking manga. This story is particularly well suited to this format and I could take my time with the the characters and their reeactions. I'd miss the great colours for Rip Current, but that's what colour covers are for...!

Game: Rip Current would make a cool game, too. I'm thinking a series of objectives to be reached, with the end objective unknown at the beginning -- it would show itself after you've gotten through the early stages and realize how large the problem is. I'd like to see it designed similar to the Nancy Drew games my kids play, where there's a mystery that needs to be figured out, while the character still needs to take care of their 'responsibilities', such as running patrol, where anything can and does happen. The person could play as Lucia, Marsden or maybe even Trajan.

So, there you have it!! Any thoughts/comments on these ideas are more than welcome!!