::: Artist(s) Name:::

Jae Waller

::: Title of Projects:::

Mill City Fiasco

::: Publisher:::  (self-published?)

Lilyrei Studios (self-published, less official than it sounds)

::: Website:::

millcityfiasco.com

::: 1 ::: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? What’s your favorite color? When did you first realize you were an artist?

I grew up in the vast forest of northern British Columbia, Canada. My readership knows it simply as ‘Mill City.’ My favourite colours are turquoise and burgundy because I’m too indecisive to just have one – plus they look great together.

There was never a time that I realized I was an artist; it was more that I decided there was no reason I couldn’t be one. I got on the internet at age 11 and found Mena Baines’ Harry Potter fan art, thought ‘Hey, I can teach myself to do that,’ and it all went to hell from there.

::: 2 ::: What webcomic genres interest you the most? Who is your favorite webcomic artist and/or writer? How have they influenced your work?

I don’t know if I could pin it down to one genre. I’m fascinated by people and their interactions, so in plot-based comics I enjoy strips that explore relationships between people and do a lot of character development. I guess that’s a bit girly of me. But in gag-a-day comics I love authors whose sense of humour is both sardonic and tongue-in-cheek, who possess that ability to find humour in all aspects of life.

My favourite webcomic author is Aaron Farber of Men In Hats. MIH pretty much saved me from taking Mill City Fiasco in totally the wrong direction. I started writing for a Cyanide and Happiness-type audience, but they all turned out to be angsty teenagers who think reading macabre cartoons makes them hardcore, and I wasn’t really into that. Then one day my boyfriend showed me MIH and I realized that was the kind of comic I wanted to be writing.

My favourite comic artist is probably Andrea L. Peterson of No Rest For The Wicked. She has such a fantastic way of making things look beautiful and creepy at the same time, and I can’t wait to start experimenting with that style.

::: 3 ::: How did you get involved in comics? What was your first comic?

Once again I just decided ‘I want to learn to do this, and there’s no reason why I can’t.’ I’d been reading webcomics for awhile and it seemed like fun. My first attempt was a series called Acid-Tongued Reflux that barely made it past the drawing board. A couple years later I tried again with MCF and that one took off.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite story you’ve ever drawn? Favorite character?

MCF is the only continuous project I’ve done yet, so it wins out by default. My favourite character is probably a tie between the photocopy puppy and the sardonic sheep.

::: 5 ::: How did you come up with the concept for Mill City Fiasco?

Honestly, it’s like a surrealist documentary of my life. I get inspiration from anywhere I can. It’s great because I can go out with my friends and call it work, and I can complain about anything as long as I make it funny.

::: 6 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your webcomic? What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?

The hardest part continues to be drawing it because of the glaring errors I made with character design. They look cute but are not remotely mobile. It’s fine when they’re just standing around talking… not so fine when I want to show them walking, hugging, holding objects. Seems like the kind of thing you’d realize when you’re first designing them, but I didn’t really know what I was doing.

I use a tiny 4×6 Wacom Graphire tablet, a gigantic 24" screen, and a Mac computer that varies between running great and barely running at all. I draw everything in Photoshop CS4.

::: 7 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist? How do you promote your comic? What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?

How do I handle it? Not well! But there’s two approaches to running a webcomic. One is to be professional, don’t complain about things, stick to your schedule… and that’s great advice. Did it work for me? Nope. I rant and rave and update late when I’m swamped with schoolwork and treat my readers like my friends. They’re still here so it must be working.

I promote my work in a pretty low-key manner. I live in the world of independent music and theatre where you promote by word of mouth and giving your friends wearable merchandise. That said, Project Wonderful is also a great resource for advertising.

I am not a full-time artist, since I attend university full-time and occasionally work or volunteer or have a social life, but the best part of working as an artist is getting to work at home in my pyjamas whenever I want! The worst part is the petrifying knowledge that a career as a webcomic artist is just as doomed as a painter or novellist, but even the painters and novellists are laughing at your plight. The benefits far outweigh the costs though. I mean, come on… pyjamas.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?

I wouldn’t have an art career without the internet. I learned to draw from the internet; my comic is only readable on the internet; I sell merch and promote on the internet. Even some of my art classes are on the internet because I’m studying at two universities, one of which is 800 kilometres away.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?

That we’re all male! (Which also renders void the stereotypes that we’re sweaty and perverted and have no luck with women.) Webcomics are like democracy: they’re of the people, for the people, by the people.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?

That 75% of webcomics never reach thirty strips, 24% will make it past that but never become financially successful, and the remaining 1% aren’t going to tell you how they did it. The good news is that 100% of those artists and writers probably had the time of their lives making those comics.

This guy gives me new appreciation for everything Big Phamaceutical has done for us ;-) Don’t miss Mr. Scheff’s book- Alchemy – available thru Blurb.com. Oh and the iphone portraits. Visit his online portfolio for a look at his wonderful iPhone portraits.

::: Artist(s) Name:::
Marc Scheff

::: Clients/Employers :::
EA, Breakthru Films, Zynga Games, Large Animal games, Mothership Pictures, other Freelance work.

::: Website:::
http://www.dangermarc.com

::: 1 ::: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? What’s your favorite color? When did you first realize you were an artist? Did you draw as a kid? Color outside the lines?
I grew up in Boston, and I owe my artistic ability to both my mother and the pharmaceutical industry. My mother is an incredible chef, and was constantly experimenting with new techniques and presentation ideas. I learned a lot in that kitchen about how to be creative. My wife and I joke that I can take half an onion, a piece of tape, and a toothpick and make a four-course meal. I definitely use these MacGyver skills as an artist. For me, it’s important to have ideas and be willing to experiment, as much or more than extreme proficiency at just one thing.

As for big pharma, my dad is a pediatrician and when he’d take me to work he’d sit me down with the stacks of free pads and pens every drug salesman left in his office, and I’d just draw and draw and draw. Thanks to the marketing efforts of tylenol, immodium, and other Rx drugs, I got my first crack as an artist, a serious taste of the work-at-home lifestyle.

::: 2 ::: What comic book genres interest you the most? Who is your favorite comic book artist and/or writer? How have they influenced your work

I love fresh takes on the familar.

My favorite graphic novel of all-time is Arkham Asylum. Grant Morrison tells a well-woven tale, and Dave McKean’s illustrations are nothing short of visionary. The way McKean blends his collage, digital, and illustration work fits perfectly with the slightly shattered psyches of the Arkham crew, and of Batman himself. It’s a great story with great art, and they show that you can approach an old story in new ways, and you can combine ideas and styles visually with an ever greater impact that a single style.

I’ll also say that the original Hellboy books that Mike Mignola put out are amazing. More old stories with a new angle, and he keeps them simple with extremely tight sequential layouts. Look at some of his pages and you start to see that the panels don’t even just follow from the previous frame, but the work with the frame before and the frame above, and the one above that. Each page is truly a cohesive piece, and each frame cohesive unto itself.

Generally, I pick up my comics based on the art. I go to the shop a few times a year and just stock up on whatever I think looks pretty on the inside, occasionally noting a great cover artist to google when I get home. I don’t stick to a genre, but have been fairly faithful to Marvel, DC, and Image (and their sub-publications) over the years. I also collect annuals like Spectrum for inspiration.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite story you’ve ever drawn? Favorite character?
I’ve always loved making up new characters, especially as a combination of characters and creatures. I think my favorite thus far is the Tiger-Octopus-Snake I currently have up in my portfolio. It’s a fairly straightforward mix of features, and I just loved the process of painting it. Every decision along the way seemed to come fairly effortlessly and I really enjoyed the result.

My favorite story is actually a book I’m working on now. It’s a kids’ book, but one that adults will enjoy. It will be about 30 full pages of full color illustrations. What I love about this project is that I’m using a lot of my broad knowledge from fine art, character design, illustration, and environment design. I also just did a reference photo shoot with my wife, which was very fun to do. It’s a big project and I’m really excited about not just getting it done, but about the process. If I’m not excited about the process, it’s probably not going to make my favorite list.

::: 5 ::: How did you come up with the concept for your creatures? How did you come up with the idea for the book?

I believe that creativity is all around us, we just have to be open to seeing it. I practice this in different ways, and a lot of them are what I’d call idea games, games where I give myself a few variables and create inside of those boundaries. For example, the Element creatures on my site were all created by asking friends to tell me their favorite animals, and I’d combine three in each portrait. After the first two, I decided to make it a series of 4, one for each of the 4 Elements. Playing the idea game around how to mash up animals, opened my thinking and the concept for the series was a continuation of that same brainstorm.

It doesn’t have to be so involved. Sometimes I draw what’s in front of me, and I’ll make it a creature, or a building, like laptop monsters and halogen-lamp lofts. Through constant improvisation, both with ideas and materials, I think you can become a much better conceptual artist.

The book I’m working on was actually someone else’s idea. He approached me with a story he had, and I liked it. His skills complement mine, he has more contacts in the publishing world, and so we decided to do the project as a partnership.

::: 6 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your upcoming book? What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?

I use Corel Painter XI, Photoshop, and the large Wacom Intuos 4. I have a laptop and a 24" montor on my desk, and the wacom is on a music stand on my right. I like to work with my left hand on the laptop and tablet on my right, I feel kind of like I’m flying a spaceship. I have a scanner too, an old epson 1200.

The hardest part of all of my work is constantly realizing how much more I want to learn. It’s also the most rewarding part. This book is challenging me to approach my illustration with a whole list of new variables. I like to tell stories in my images, and now I’ve got about 30 that tell the story. This means I can slow down and tell less of the whole story in each image. It also means each image has to fit the style and pacing of the previous illustration. The book has basically taken my typical single-image approach to a sequential world. It’s been challenging, for sure, but watching the project coalesce is an incredibly rewarding process.

::: 7 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist? How do you promote your book/website/comic? What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?
The hardest part is the business side, definitely. I always carry cards on me, I always follow up with contacts. I send out a bi-monthly newsletter with news and new images. I go to figure drawing sessions in my area and meet other artists.

Aside from that, the truth is I’ve found most of my success simply through changing my speech around what I do. Speaking confidently about what you do inspires confidence in potential colleagues and clients. If you put up your work and start in with, "Oh, I want to change that, .. oh, that one isn’t my best piece" you immediately tell your audience that your work is not inspiring and they tune out. If you tell the story of the piece in a way that is inspiring to you, people will get that, and be attracted to your work. They can do their own critique for themselves, no need for you to help them!

I also believe that we, artists, have to work in the world in ways that support each other. We have to share ideas and resources. I open my home studio to a figure drawing group, there are other artists who do online tutorials, and still more who run big workshops all over the world. The more you share, the more genuine connections you’ll have in your network, and the more people will offer for you to learn. Being an artist, for me, is a constant learning process. Through speaking clearly about my work and sharing ideas freely, I’ve found that the learning process has only accelerated, and thus my own technical abilities and successes have followed.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?

Hell yes. I use Cooliris, a Firefox plugin, to do LOTS of image research. If I don’t know what something is, or want to know what objects belong in a 17th century pirate scene, I’ve got dictionaries, wikipedia, and google/flickr image searches to find almost everything I need. I still take my own photos for larger-scale projects, but I’ll always hit the internet first.

Aside from that I’ve LEARNED a lot from the internet. There are thousands of tutorials and videos out there, and I’ve learned from so many. You could spend a decade learning all there is to know from your couch. Some of my favorites are the simple and quick drawings from idrawgirls.com.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?

I think the romanticized starving artist is a myth, or the artist as anarchist. You don’t have to be a shrouded in negativity or "tortured" to create great art. You don’t have to draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa to make an impact or be important. David Lynch wrote a great piece summarizing this. He says,

"It’s common sense: The more the artist is suffering, the less creative he is going to be. It’s less likely that he is going to enjoy doing his work and less likely that he will be able to do really good work."

I wear jeans and a t-shirt most days. I smile a lot and like to run outside. I love my wife, my family, my friends, my awesome dog and I’m not afraid to tell you that I love my life. I think that living a fairly organized and compassionate life makes it easier for me to relax and tap into my creative energy when I sit down to work.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?

I have to draw and paint. If I go a few days without it, I start to go a little stir-crazy.

Oh, and the secret handshake and initiation rites. That’s all true.

::: Artist Name:::
Katie Cook

::: Title of Work(s):::
I’m all over the place…. but right now I’m currently working on the webcomics for the Star Wars the Clone Wars (via starwars.com) and a small project for DC Comics.

::: Website:::
www.katiecandraw.com

::: 1 ::: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? What’s your favorite color? When did you first realize you were an artist? Did you draw as a kid? Color outside the lines?

I grew up in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area and have yet to learn anything about football. I love a good lime green, but if it’s too "limey", i don’t care for it. I’ve been drawing all over the margins of my papers since kindergarten and have been telling people i was going to be a cartoonist since then.

…and no, i always colored inside the lines. i used shading too! very impressive, i assure you.

::: 2 ::: What comic book genres interest you the most? Who is your favorite comic book artist and/or writer? How have they influenced your work?

I’m a huge fan of superhero comics… yet i don’t think they influence me as much as they should. I actually think a lot of my influence comes from the illustrations in books that i loved as a kid (like anything dr. suess, i think he was actually a big influence on my linework!)

and my favorite writers and artists can change every wednesday, so that’s not always a fair question!

::: 3 ::: How did you get involved in comics? What was your first comic?

i’ve wanted to draw comics and be a cartoonist for most of my life, so i feel pretty lucky. a few years ago, i started to draw some pages for a few, creator-owned things and eventually have worked my way up to being able to work on some of my favorite licensed properties (mostly from word of mouth through peers and art directors).
and my first large comic was one that i drew on lined paper about one of my teachers (back in middle school) that was stuck in several edgar allan poe short stories. if i remember correctly, she didn’t make it out alive. i’d not sure what that says about me… but i’m sure it has to do with fluffy bunnies and kittens.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite story you’ve ever drawn? Favorite character?

It’s really hard to say, as i can’t actually talk about that project until…. march-ish. ha!

::: 5 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your work? What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?

the hardest for me is sometimes motivation (but the reminder i need to pay my mortgage normally takes care of that), but sometimes it’s sitting down and realizing how many people *see* what you’re working on after the fact. it kind of gives me stage fright and i get a little jittery about starting.

and i’m a mac.i have an intel 20" imac, an epson scanner that’s giant and slow, and printer that looks more like a VW bus than a machine… all crammed into a tiny room with a cat, a button maker, and a "wall-e" poster.

and i use the adobe CS3 suite. photoshop and illustrator are my two best friends. i also like to mix watercolor and other traditionally painted pieces with digital elements.

::: 6 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist? How do you promote your book/website/comic/work?

for the longest time, i was (awkwardly… and badly) handling the business side of everything. i have since handed off that charge to a man much better at this kind of thing. my husband ryan has taken over the roll of manager and he really helps me keep better track of everyhing. i’m a little scatter-brained sometimes so it’s really helping me out.

and i think that most of my promotion comes from having a blog and just making myself available online.
also, most people think my cat (named "ipod") is pretty adorable, so i’ve got a few crazy cat lasy followers.

::: 7 :::What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?

the worst part is sleepless nights, deadlines and pulling out all of my hair because of said deadlines.

the best part is being able to wake up and say "i, in no way, shape or form, want to put pants on today". then you trudge to your studio in you pajamas and get to work… a cat in your lap and a dog at your feet.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?

i think one of the best things you can do as an artist right now is have an internet presence. i have people that not only follow my work, but follow me… in a non-stalkery kind of way. but when people connect with your personality, your life AND your art. it’s pretty awesome and you’ve earned a fan-for-life.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?

that we’re angry, bitter people.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?

that we’re angry, bitter, *lonely* people. (ha! just kidding…. maybe not)

::: Artist(s) Name:::
Jaye Frisina

::: Title of Work(s:::
FIN cartoons, and Thirteenth Story zines

::: Publisher:::
Self-published

::: Website:::
ThirteenthStory.com

::: 1 ::: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? What’s your favorite color? When did you first realize you were an artist? Did you draw as a kid? Color outside the lines?

I grew up in Boston, and have not left yet. And oh yes, I have been drawing since I was a child! I used to draw on furniture with those scented Mr. Sketch markers, and I once drew on my white cat with red chapstick. Those endeavors didn’t go over too well. But art has been a constant part of my life, and I am grateful for it.

::: 2 ::: What comic book genres interest you the most? Who is your favorite comic book artist and/or writer? How have they influenced your work

Comic books interest me, period. There is no one genre that I gravitate towards, and the diversity of storytelling within comics brings me much joy.

My favorite contemporary comic book artists are Mike Mignola and Min-Woo Hyung. They, along with classic artists like Alex Toth and Bernie Krigstein, have taught me how to use black ink to the fullest, how to lay out a page, and how to use hard lines without compromising the softness of an image.

::: 3 ::: How did you get involved in comics? What was your first comic?

My first comic was Prince Valiant, which I read strip-by-strip in the daily newspaper at home. Hal Forester didn’t skimp on illustration, and each panel gave me a lot to spend time with visually. It would be a while before I found the local comic shops, though when I did, visiting them became a habit.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite self-published creation?

Right now I am working on the fourth issue of my art zine called Thirteenth Story. Making this zine has been a tremendous learning experience in regards to deadlines, publishing costs, and distribution. I’ve taken some hits, both financial ones and critical ones, and the process itself has made me grow as a person.

If I find something interesting enough, or important enough, or visually pleasing enough to put out there in this mini-magazine form, I will. But that doesn’t mean its worth any money to other people, and even selling them for $1 each has been difficult. I think I have given more away than I have sold! And that is okay for now. Each issue strives to fill in where the previous issue fell short. For example, the first three were sixteen pages long, which has been considered short, and this fourth one will be twenty-four pages. There is a lot of trial and error, but I am proud of the end product, and energized while making a new issue.

::: 5 ::: How did you come up with the concept for FIN ?

There is something about telling a story with sequential illustration that calls to me. I was often writing scripts, designing characters, and doing thumbnail sketches of comics that never came to be. I realized I was setting my sights too high and that to start out in comics with a novel-sized story line was just too overwhelming, and I never got past page one in ink. After much thought, I decided that if I were to do a cartoon in the drawing style that people were already so responsive to, then I could keep a manageable pace and feel what it is like to create consistently with the same characters and within the same world. The decision to have a ninja as the main character is solely based on being able to use a lot of black ink, for black ink is my obsession.

FIN is still new- there are only six official panels so far, and my schedule is a simple monthly one. But I have been selling limited edition prints of these cartoons, and FIN is getting a lot of attention. It bodes well for more comics from me in the future, and for re-visiting those longer scripts and sketches I have in my files.

::: 6 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your comic book? What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?

The technical process of creating this cartoon is pretty clear-cut. The originals are all five inches by five inches, your typical square. I draw in pencil on Bristol Board, then ink the blacks. The colors are all done with acrylic paints applied with a dry-brush style. If I had to choose a most difficult aspect, it would be the lettering, but only because I have to use a ruler and do some math. I letter in my own handwriting, because I like the original pages to be complete. So although I have the Adobe Create Suite, I only use it for removing dust marks and giving the drawing a thick black border.

::: 7 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist? How do you promote your book/website/comic? What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?

Well, I am no longer a full time artist. I did try that for a few months, and decided that I need to save up a lot more money before I can devote myself to art full time; plus I needed a health care plan, which is the law in Massachusetts. So I picked up some work as a Personal Assistant to the president of a local company and I make the most of the flexible schedule.

Someone once told me that being a full time artist is 50% administrative and 50% creative. I am still trying to strike that balance between business time and drawing time. The best thing I have done is to limit my hours online. Before, if I logged-on in the morning, it would be dark out before I realized it. Keeping tabs on that has helped protect my drawing time. Its difficult because most of my online time is spent on art business (on forums, blogs, and processing internet orders), but being realistic about the time spent in front of the computer is critical to my success.

I also sell my art in stores, galleries, and at craft fairs. Much of the promotion for those venues is done by folks other than me, which is a huge relief- but being prepared and organized for these situations is just as time consuming. I’m still making adjustments to where my energy goes, and I’m sure those adjustments will continue for quite some time, at least until I need to hire my own personal assistant.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?

Years ago, I participated in a pin-up contest for Runes of Ragnan, and it was the first comic-related drawing that I had shared with anyone. There was a gallery with all of the entries, the feedback was instant. It was a big moment when someone said that my drawing was now their desktop background. That quiet comment from god-knows-where changed everything for me. That beginning gave me the confidence to keep posting my artwork, and all responses since then, positive and negative, have helped me grow immeasurably.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?

We’re not shut-ins. I find that living life is important to the process, and its much harder to keep creativity alive if worldly experience ceases.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?

The notion of the struggling, starving artist. Its not easy making a living at making art in this world, but luckily we are a creative bunch and can figure something out.

Sunday the doors opened up at 1 pm (now that’s an artist schedule!), and the true meat of the conference began.  Before the opening keynote, Massive Black CEO Jason Manley stressed to the crowd that Reverie would address the economic climate woes through exploring the various markets where an artist can sell their work. Though this flexibility, artists can gain more opportunities and independence.  This was echoed further in the opening keynote by Lorne Lanning, creator of Oddworld.  When film went from silent to "talkies", there was a need for content that caught Hollywood by suprise.  That is, once audiences were exposed to films which had sound, there was a demand for talkies and less interest in silent films.  Hollywood did not plan for this, and still had a backstock of silent films for the upcoming film season.  Walt Disney latched onto this opportunity by offering his animated films, which could have sound quickly added to them.  From there, Disney had its foot in the door and as the cliche’ goes "the rest is history."

Pt. 1: The Conference | Pt. 2: The Workshops

Sessions were divided among traditional and digital art lines (three areas each) going on simultaneously.  A thing I was struck by was the informality of the sessions. Due to the layout of the Fashion Gallery, everything was open and no doors were closed.  People freely went back back and forth between areas.  Professional artists continued to man sketching areas and demonstrated their skills while being available for questions.  Thoughout Reverie, a live model area similiar to last night’s was open for folks to take a break and practice their newly-learned techniques.  For those who brought their laptops and wacom tablet, tables and power strips were provided to create impromptu "islands" of attendee artists.

Monday sessions I attended were:

"Nude Life Drawing with a Focus on Anatomy and Structure"

This session was dual headed with a digital painting demonstration by Massive Black artist Andrew Jones and an anatomy Q&A by fine artist Michael Mentler.  Mentler teaches regular seminars in Dallas at The Society of Figurative Arts and is known on the Conceptart forums as "The Bone Doctor" for his extensive knowledge in human anatomy and construction.  He took questions and produced various diagrams, methodologies and shortcuts beyond the typical "head measuring" scenario, as well as pointed out common mistakes people make in constructing heads and posing figures.  On a personal note, he aided me with how to properly measure a foreshortened figure by mapping it to a perspective plane.

"Flower and Flow"

Speaker Jenova Chen of That Gaming Company held a talk about how they got off the ground with their game "Flow" and the development of their new game "Flower." Chen’s background is in film, and approaches games in terms of the emotional experience that one would get from a movie experience.  He posited that entertainment is driven by a hunger to experience different feelings.  At the moment, games are focused on primal power fantasy models (such as first person shooters.)  This leaves the game market largely untapped in other user experiences.  In "Flower" the character is the landscape in a conflict that involves the interaction between the wild and urbanized environment.  The user is in a journey as they navigate with objects they pick influencing the changes in the landscape.  In "Flow," the character is a microorganism that dives through levels evolving and interacting with other microorganisms.  It’s start was as a Flash game which was developed as part of Chen’s thesis.  Like Disney, a technological opportunity came up in the form of the Sony Playstation 3.  Sony needed downloadable content for their new platform and online store.  They were able to approach them with a game that had an established user base, and Sony hired them for a three game contract.

Tuesday workshop intensities peaked, and I took the advice of one of the veterans to feel free and move around from panel to panel. Highlights:

“Creating interesting characters, npc’s and world histories from scratch.”

Writer Josh Sawyer for the gaming company Obsidian Entertainment opened describing the writer’s side of the character and world creation process, using an ensemble cast of characters for an undisclosed upcoming game.  The background of the game is based in a hard science environment and consists of military-based characters. Influences into the story and characters came from a combination of both Sawyer’s own degree in History, and from pop culture and keywords given to the characters.  The ensemble cast was created to be racially diverse; however, it really started to come together after the medic character came forward in development.  He acted as both a foil and a standard to measure up the others.  Sawyer also talked about the back-and-forth relationship of this development with the artists.  For instance, a concept art sketch of an African-American military character had a mechanical bracer.  This was done by the artist as an visual interest affectation.  From that, the writers asked themselves why it was there and proceeded to brainstorm a back story of him being a test pilot, an accident leading to a loss of a limb, and his resulting distrust of scientists and technology.

“Sequential Art and Storytelling for Entertainment.”

Afterwards, artist Marshall Vandruff took the main stage.  The centerpiece of his lecture was “Little Nemo in Slumberland” created by Windsor McCay.  McCay was a cartoonist who created "Nemo" in 1911. His background was in circus posters and stained glass.  But his work was ahead of his time, as he solved many film framing and editing conventions prior to cinema!  Using McCay’s work as a touchstone, Vandruff talked about how visuals work in terms of giving information, panels and scene construction, how style affects mood, composition and visual metaphor.  Please visit his website for more on this topic and references.

“Google Sketchup 2d/3d Concept Design Process”

Held in one of the smaller Digital Arts rooms by Massive Black artists Kemp Remillard , Rich Doble, Sam Brown.  Remillard spoke on the use of Google’s lightweight and free 3D software package in mechanical/technological constructs in illustration.  Models would be constructed and have basic lighting applied in Google Sketchup, and then inserted into an illustration (Photoshop-generated in this case) for detailing such as paintwork, insignia, or battle  Having an initial model gives one the  option to rotate and tweak to your hearts content without having to redraw a complicated structure or struggle with perspective problems.

“Toy Making for Independent Artists and Professionals”

The collectible toy market is a growing market, with potential for many artists.  And it’s not just someone’s sculpture of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  You can see many outsider artists creating original works.  Scott Wetterschneider of Big Shot Toy Works held an open forum question-and-answer session for artists interested in entering the field.  In short, artists work with companies such as Big
Shot Toy Works by submitting their designs either by full sculptures or 2D concepts for the company to make a prototype from.  Before entering the field you do want to research heavily into the market and have a plan for promoting your works, otherwise you will have about ten thousand vinyl toys in your closet.

“The Art of the Graphic Novel and Comics”

Marko Djurdjevic, senior concept artist and cover illustrator for Marvel Comics, talked about his work for Marvel’s Blade, Thor, Ghost Rider, and other titles.  The typical comic book cover is typically a dramatic action scene coming from the pages of the comic.  Instead, Djurdjevic would take the story and make a visual idea of the story. This would be done with simple solutions, with avoidance of excessive detail.  Compositions of multiple characters (in terms of size and placement) would relate to the context of the story, as well as body language.  As Djurdjevic talked, Massive Black concept artist Jason Chan drew up a mock superhero "Massive Black" comic cover from scratch.

Sunday was business oriented with last chances for networking, opportunities for portfolio review by Marko Djurdjevic and Massive Black artist Coro Kaufman. Various recruiters were also on hand taking resumes and portfolio/demo reels.

On stage were two panels which ran back to back:

"The Business of Art and Entertainment– Understanding Contracts and the Art of Negotiation"

Panelists were Jason Manley, Games Producer Sherry McKenna, and artist Shawn Barber. McKenna brought in a wealth of experience through her current role as a producer and her past work in the visual effects industry. She challenged the audience to think what their goals were…fame? money? getting your foot in the door? McKenna advised that of all things, you must offer a fair deal through the standpoint that one is providing services for the client. Should the client have a request that causes an issue, one must approach with discussion on how that request affects delivery of a quality product. Ego has to be left at the door. Manley led the audience through the contract process and the common pitfall areas in NDA agreements, change orders, contractual information, payment, and copyright violations. Both McKenna and Manley advised to document every conversation with the client with time, date, who said it, and who it was said to. If it was a face-to-face meeting, type up an email with a quick wrap-up and double check all the details. Be sure to include a tactful time limit in a note stating that if one does not hear from them in a day that all is correct. And everyone on the panel advised that above all things, do not be late. This was a very information packed session, and I’m very glad I took the four pages of tiny print notes that I did.

"From Commission to Completion: The Basics of Freelancing"

Panelists were Irene Gallo (art director at Tor Books,) and artists Shawn Barber, Bobby Chiu and Greg Manchess. The panel advised to avoid the jack-of-all-trade approach and find a niche. This especially will meet more succes in a portfolio as it shows focus. However, a good workaround is to have several different portfolios which address particular markets. They recommended beginners should stress figural work as the human figure is a good benchmark of technical ability. Portfolios should start with the best piece, but one will be hired on the strength of their worst piece. On websites, they should be updated regularly. Gallo in particular advised against Javascript or Flash galleries as she has a hard time going back to find a specific piece in a Flash thumbnail gallery, much less show it to an editor. She would prefer to have the ability to give an editor a specific link to the image. Manchess advised that in general, it was good to create a five-year plan of where you want to go with milestones along the way. All agreed that in the process there is the need to stay diverse in cients or avenues, as market wells may dry up. Of note, they added that the current state of the games industry is undergoing a business model shift into having a core team with outsourced contractors.

At the very end of Reverie, professional artists were invited to particpate in the Artist Thunderdome where the topic picked was the organization of H.O.P.E.’s work in Africa. H.O.P.E. stands for Helping Other People Everywhere and works to use artists and their contributions to create and support existing social charity projects around the world. Artists were given an hour to create their work while the audience watched. Unfortunately, I had to leave at this point but I’m told that the winner was Andrew Jones. We should see his work come up either in the forums or on the charity’s website soon.

View Slideshow of Reverie Here

The workshops are only a smattering of what was available. Please check out the convention website for further details on their curriculum. I strongly urge anyone in the art community to get involved with the Concept Art forums, as they have much to offer. You do not have to be a fantasy or science fiction illustrator to be a participant as it is mainly a group of people who want to improve on their technical draftmanship and art skills. Photographers and fine artists are also welcome on the boards and have their own forums. Today, you no longer have to daydream about getting to the field. It is now right at the tip of your keyboard.

rev⋅er⋅ie
   [rev-uh-ree]
–noun
a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing;
a daydream…

Enter Massive Black.  Massive Black is an outsourcing company, providing the services of digital artists for illustration, concept art, 3-d work, animation, storyboards, and miscellaneous creative needs for companies such as Blizzard, EA, Hasbro, Lucasarts, MTV, Nintendo, Sony and Tippett Studios.  They created Conceptart.org, a community outside isolated studio bubbles for both up-and-coming and professional artists.  On Conceptart, artists are welcomed and encouraged to upload their work in varying states of progress for critique by their peers.  There is also a place on the forums for sketchbook threads, artist challenges, and software and industry tips. But they went a step further…with other sponsors they started creating workshops both overseas and in the U.S. where Conceptart members could gather and learn from industry professionals and each other.

This year’s conference was entitled Reverie, and held in downtown Dallas in the Fashion Industry Gallery.  The kickoff party and meet and greet on Saturday evening set the tone that this wasn’t your usual conference.  Professional artists manned digital projection stations throughout the room, where one could watch them create a piece from start to finish.  Live nude and costumed models were available in a section of the room for impromptu sketches.  A DJ was on hand for the more traditional party-goers in the room and the floor open for dancing.

View Slideshow of Reverie Here

The workshops are only a smattering of what was available. Please check out the convention website for further details on their curriculum. I strongly urge anyone in the art community to get involved with the Concept Art forums, as they have much to offer. You do not have to be a fantasy or science fiction illustrator to be a participant as it is mainly a group of people who want to improve on their technical draftmanship and art skills. Photographers and fine artists are also welcome on the boards and have their own forums. Today, you no longer have to daydream about getting to the field. It is now right at the tip of your keyboard.

href="http://digitalapplejuice.com/concept-art-reverie-2009-the-conference/">Pt.
1: The Conference
| href="http://digitalapplejuice.com/concept-art-reverie-workshops-2009/">Pt.
2: The Workshops

::: Artist(s) Name:::

::: Publisher::: (self-published?)
Image

::: Website:::
http://solon-fyre.deviantart.com/

::: 1 ::: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? What’s your favorite color? When did you first realize you were an artist? Did you draw as a kid? Color outside the lines?

I grew up in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. At 11 I moved to the U.S. with my family. My favorite color is sepia. I realized I was an artist around 3 or 4, I have memories of those early attempts at transcribing my waking reality onto paper. I never liked coloring books and did not understand kids who colored pre-made pictures. And, philosophically, I suppose I always colored outside the lines and still do.

::: 2 ::: What comic book genres interest you the most? Who is your favorite comic book artist and/or writer? How have they influenced your work

It would be fair to say that Sci-fi is my favorite genre. In a matter of speaking, science fiction is mythology of and for our times. The same archetypes that exist in the great classics and mythologies of the world continue to resonate in the sci-fi format, the main difference being that we are currently conquering other frontiers and magic has been supplanted by science.

Never-the-less, the same universal issues remain as in the Odyssey, Gilgamesh and the Upanishads. Alan Moore is probably my favorite writer, more for the mastery of the English language and narrative virtuosity than concept and originality.

My single favorite comic is Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. My favorite artist was and always will be Moebius and his fantastical Harzack series still influences my work. In fact I am about to sart a sci-fi epic named Wrom in the Blossom and its inception owes much to Moebius’ work, at least visually if not lyrically.

::: 3 ::: How did you get involved in comics? What was your first comic?
The first time I got involved in comics was 1993 when I published a couple of comics on my own called Battle Axis. It was a highly conceptualized but immaturely executed two-issue run about a post-apocalyptic/superhero world where "bad guys" and "good guys" were not what they appeared and political agendas had more to do with their identities than values and principles. I self-published it under Intrepid Comics. In 1994 I illustrated a couple of sci-fi issues for a short run called Enchanted Worlds and it was for an indy publisher named Blackmore.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite story you’ve ever drawn? Favorite character?
I’ve only published nine comics altogether, including the five-issue mini series that’s currently out. It’s called Back to Brooklyn and it is a Sopranos-like crime drama replete with seedy characters, mobsters, hookers and corrupt cops. So far it’s been my favorite story but I hope to do more in the near future.

Back to Brooklyn was co-written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Garth Ennis. Jimmy is co-creator of Painkiller Jane (comic, tv series) and Garth has written things like Preacher and worked on the most successful Punisher series in Marvel’s history. They are both world-class and I am honored to have worked with them.

::: 5 ::: How did you come up with the concept for Worm in the Blossom? Who is your favorite character?
Worm in the Blossom, if all goes well, will be my writing debut as a serious comic creator as well as a lengthy sci-fi epic. By lenghty I mean 10 volumes but that’s up in the air until actual publication time. I am currently co-writing it with another author and hope to have something published by next year.

Most of the illustrations you see here are from Worm in the Blossom. It has a story arc and concept that has NEVER been used in any sci-fi format before and yet it retains the major characteristics of an epic. It is heavily influenced by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I will talk about it in much more detail, including the philosophical infrastructure of the story, upon publication.

::: 6 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your comic book? What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?
The hardest part of working on Back to Brooklyn was creating a gritty sense of realism that included real locations and credible "New York" characters. Also, with an ensemble of "real" characters, remaining consistent with the many faces and body types is challenging. If I worked a simpler style, e.g., manga, it would be only a matter of establishing a facial and morphological typology for each character.

I chose a more naturalistic style with it all the problems. It took me a couple of issues to nail down and polish my style. Many say that what I have done for Back to Brooklyn stands apart visually. I regard this entire project as "working out the bugs" in a sense. It’s a good primer for the next project.

As far as hardware goes I use a Dell workstation, an HP printer and a Mustek scanner (10×15 bed). I also have a sizable wacom tablet without which I wouldn’t even attempt to work in Photoshop. Most of everything I do has been touched by Photoshop CS in some way and I use Studio 3dmax a lot.

::: 7 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist? How do you promote your book/website/comic? What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?
The business side of being an artist is tricky. In the gallery system it is the gallery owners who take care of most business issues and for a while I had an agent. Now I’m self-promoting on-line and I’ve started making appearances at conventions. The best part of being a full time working artist is the continuous maintenance of the "zone." I have to remain creative and on the edge regardless of my mood. The downside is an uncertain income.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?
The Internet has helped insofar as I’ve received a requisite amount of attention from bloggers and critics for my Back to Brooklyn work. It has definitely put me on the "map" internationally, albeit, in a very small corner of the map… I am currently wroking on a new website so there is little in the way of self-promotion directly. I also maintain an account on deviantart so there is no shortage of input from fans and fellow artists.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?
That we are all pathetically needy egomaniacs who ONLY recreate the world after our own fashion.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?
That we are all pathetically needy egomaniacs who AT TIMES recreate the world after our own fashion.

Deluxe image export:

Magiq 1.0.2 image export:

My experience with Macintosh software taught me that, when in doubt, check the preferences. Deluxe used to have something similiar when WYSIWYG image filtering was turned on- so originally I thought it was a variation of that issue.

There were some toggles which appeared related, such as "New Comics Image Filter" under Preferences and the drop-down menu under Format>Comic. No such luck, even when testing high at 300 and low at ye old web-ready 72 dpi.

I investigated possible solutions with my source images. I thought perhaps they were too high or too low to properly internally display. Nada. I was miffed, to say the least. Magiq was written to utilize Quartz (the core graphics framework) that was already part of Leopard. My iMac  at the time was running 10.5.3.

The next logical step was to hit the plasq forums and see if anyone else was having the same or related problem. No luck there, either.
So I posted an initial query with a description of what was going on, and the links to the above images.

An important thing to remember about user forums is that participants come from a myriad of different skill levels and experiences. Most are civil. Some act like a schoolyard bully, and some just want to appear to be the most knowledgeable in the room. It’s best to ignore those and stay professional. I generally work under the assumption that if you are rude to your waiter, you  get the "special" sauce in your meal, no extra charge!

On the other hand, if a tech responds to their users in a disrespectful or unprofessional manner, it’s a good indication that you might want to look for an alternate software title. If I feel the need to report a problem, I stick to the facts. I find it usually gets me further than if I throw flames, insult the creators or technicians of the software, even if they’re acting huffy, oblivious to my specific problem, or could be moving a little faster thank you very much.

In this instance, plasq responded right away to my forum post and asked that I contact them directly, and upload the images via their submission form. Unfortunately that form did not work, so they were instead zipped and emailed directly. In all cases I got an automated confirmation of the receipt of my initial query as well as my follow-up queries.

A month later, Magiq version 1.0.3 came out and I was contacted by plasq and asked to give it a shot. The results were outstanding. The Magiq image is equivalent and arguably, slightly better than the Deluxe version.

Not all troubleshooting experiences with software and hardware will end this well.  Sometimes one will need to dig a little deeper via Google, or in third party forums to find another solution with a different product. One of my favorites is Mac OSX Hints.

Fortunately with plasq, they are enthusiastic about their software and very pleasant to deal with, often a good sign of a healthy product and company.

Let’s briefly look at the GUI. The first thing I recognized as an Apple ProApps user was the "I am a serious program" gray background, which sets the tone for Magiq’s introduction. It could possibly be intimidating to those familiar with Deluxe. But once you get passed that who-rearranged-my-furniture feeling, the GUI does make sense. The top has a navigation strip for browsing pages and some general options.

The toolbar on the left contains most of your custom options for each item selected within Magiq. It also has a wonderful feature in the enigmatic button named "Focus." When something is selected within Magiq, you hit the Focus button and it will lock down everything in your document except that isolated item. From there you can safely modify it without interfering with other parts of the comic. This is a great boon for content creators who have many objects and items. In order to get back to the whole document, simply click the button. The "Front" button duplicated the "Arrange" menu item in Deluxe (an identical feature of the same name in Adobe apps.)  This allows an object to be pushed forwards and backwards in order to have the right overlapping desired.

The bottom toolbar has word balloons, captions, FX lettering, and templates. It is set as a default to "ALL" which I like to keep on. However if you don’t have as much screen real estate, you can select individual views by clicking on the icons representing the different components.

The toolbars to the right contain your templates and panel layouts, the browser, and thumbnails of the selected content of your browser.

In the middle is your workspace. Like Deluxe, most everything in Maqiq is drag and drop. Here I already selected my template, and dragged a layout over from Panel Layouts.

One important word about the browser:

It will not automatically refresh. Which means any new content added will not show up.  This can be easily remedied by clicking this icon located in the upper right corner.

Let’s make a comic!

When you open Magiq, pick a blank layout to start with.

After it loads up and you see the GUI, go to Comic Life Magiq>Preferences. I set my "New comics filter images" to 300 dpi.  I want to make sure when I do my export that the image will be of good quality. Going from 300 to 72 dpi should be a lot cleaner than going 72 to an even lossier 72 dpi.  Also from Preferences, you can turn off sounds should you not find them amusing. Also, you can customize the library browsing, and units of measurement.

Next, go to File>Page Layout. From here you can select from a plethora of media sizes which have been expanded greatly from Deluxe. The Tao of I.T. Al is a custom layout of 600×600. I created this setting by setting the size I wanted and then applied it. To make it a template, simply go to File>Save As Template.  It will then show up at startup with your other templates.

When done, go to "Panel Layouts" in the right toobar and select a layout. Start dragging images from the browser, also on the right. If your folder is not showing up, you can drag it into the browser. And good news for those who like organization…it remembers this folder whenever you relaunch the program. As you drag your layouts and pictures, don’t worry If it is not exactly right. We can further modify it.  Notice when you click once on image, you see panel editing handles.  Clicking twice creates the image handles. In either case, you get this outline with tools:

The top purple arrows allow you to rotate. The bottom green arrows move the selection. The green handles around the image resize it. 

What is most interesting is the bottom orange tool, which calls up this popup toolbar:

This toolbar allows you to edit the paths on your objects, much like a vector graphic program (like Illustrator) would.

• The first icon is the Shape chooser, which brings up a popup menu where you can turn your object into a variety of polygons.
• The second is the selection tool, which is pretty much like every selection arrow tool known to man.
• The third icon is the line bending tool, which allows you to grab a point and turn it into a convex or concave curve.
• The fourth is the Line/corner smoothing tool which smooths out paths by straightening lines and rounding corners.
• The fifth and six icons are the Add Point and Remove Point tools respectively. The last two are the Add Part and Remove Part Tool, which will come in handy later when we get to word balloons.

When you select your image, you’ll notice this icon to the upper right of your selection: 

When clicked, this will open up a graphics palette that will allow you to manipulate your images.

The Graphics Palette contains the following choices:

1. Colors contains various color correction and manipution tools, as well as inversion and cropping.
2. Cut-Out contains tools for cutting out parts of the image, chroma keying, appyling shapes, and masking options.
3. Warp adds distortion effects similiar to photoshop and liquifying tools.
4. Skin (pictured above) is interesting as it allows you to paint some textures into a graphic. Here I took some "flames" and applied them to the background to make it look like the building caught on fire. Filter is the familiar photo filter options. Paint allows you to paint several types of brushes directly on top of your image. "Reset Layer" will reset the image back to its former status. When you are finished, click done and it will return the edited graphic back into the normal Magiq GUI.
5. Filter, although it sounds photoshop-esque is in fact various blur tools.
6. Paint contains paint tools, including a 3d tube brush, which allows you to draw on top of your image. Right here is where you want to paint a mustache on your cousin.

Once the images are fully tweaked, it’s time to add some dialogue and captions. Simply choose the balloon or caption desired and drag it onto the canvas.

The default font is Lint McCree Intl bb 12.0. To select a different font, simply go to the left toolbar and select the "T" icon. There is an expanded list of fonts provided by Magiq, but you can also access your System fonts by selected that option at the bottom. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to reset the default font. My workaround is to copy and paste balloons already have the desired font settings.

To those familiar with Deluxe, the feature of adding a connecting balloon appears missing. However, it’s been put into the popup toolbar accessed by the orange icon.

To add, simply hit the green "plus" symbol and an additional connected balloon will appear. This can be moved into a different position with a simple click and drag. To remove the additional balloon, select it and then hit the red "minus" symbol.

To make extra tails, do the same thing by clicking on the Add Part tool. To remove, click on the Remove Part and then the tail.

Note here that you can edit the balloon paths much like any other object in Magiq.

When you are done, go to File>Export. You will see a plethora of tabbed options with various configurations. You can send it to Email and Flickr (which has options for permissions on viewership.) HTML creates a webpage with thumbnails of your comic whichcan be used "as is" or be taken into your favorite HTML editor and be further manipulated. Image gives you the options to export as JPEG, GIF, PNG, or TIFF. You can also export it to iPhoto, iWeb, or as a PDF.

Congratulations. You have a comic!

If I had one gripe, it is that Magiq does present a problem to Deluxe users as you cannot open a Deluxe document within Magiq. If you have a large backlog of Deluxe documents, this creates a problem should you need to re-open Deluxe in order to back up and edit your comics to another medium.  For now you need both programs if you plan to migrate.

But why would you need that?  It is due to the adage of while you can shrink a low-res image, you can’t enlarge it.  That’s because a bitmapped image is made up of pixels.  Blowing them up only creates larger pixel areas creating that all-too-familiar crappy Youtube video look.  With vector graphics an image is drawn through points and calculated lines.  I like to tell my classes that it is like the computer is drawing with math by playing connect-the-dots.  The downside to vector graphics is that if an image is too complex, this creates more and more areas which become clunky for the computer to redraw.  Simplistically, if it’s complicated image and you want photographic detail it is best to go with bitmap.  For images which are simpler in terms of line and color such as type, web graphics, or logos then vector-based artwork is usually the way to go.  With programs such as Illustrator, you could always export to bitmap.  With Adobe Streamline, you could take an image and convert it to a vector-graphic.  It was clunky, and the interface sometimes left much to be desired, but it did the job.  Unfortunately, it dropped off my personal radar around the mid-90s, although it’s last incarnation was 4.0 released back in 1997.  Around Adobe CS2’s release, a function in Illustrator called Livetrace turned up.  It turned out to be the same functionality of Streamline, but in a much more elegant execution.

Let’s say you want to make a logo that you just placed into Illustrator out of this stock photo for your studio "Baker Street Design."  You want the image simplified for use in black & white, grayscale, and color.  Right now in its bitmapped form it would be tedious to go in and redraw and recolor it only to have something that would be as equally tedious to re-size without it aliasing all over the place.  But, it’s got the basic elements and look you want.

Here I’ve brought the image in Illustrator CS4 (although the commands and look are basically the same in CS 2 & 3.)  It is a good strong contrast image to start with.  I select the image and hit "Livetrace" at the top: 

Below left is the original image, and below right is one with the default settings which is a "Simple Trace." 

It’s not quite the look I’m going for, so I go to the Livetrace options menu in the top left area of the menu bar at the top.   I select "Photo Low Fidelity" which knocks it into what looks like a posterized image in Photoshop: 

Right now there are still too many colors.  So I adjust the Threshold slider to reduce the amount of colors to taste. 

Here, after some experimentation, I knocked it down to 11 colors.

However, I don’t like the color of the lamp glass, and would like to play with it.  I select the image and then hit "LivePaint" at the top. 

As you can see, there are a lot of areas of color shapes, including the background.  All the individual color areas now have been converted into a vector shape which can be painted with the LivePaint Paint bucket tool in the toolbar menu.  I select a bright yellow for the color version of our logo and paint the glass areas.  Notice the red line which indicates the vector shape you are painting.

tip:  It’s worth your while to examine your image zoomed in to make sure you do not miss a tiny vectorized area.

So, it is looking pretty good, but ideally we would like just the lamp and not have this big off-white area around it getting in the way of our future logo plans. 

To do this, select the white arrow tool from the toolbar.  This allows you to select points and areas instead of the entire piece.  I draw around the spots I want to eliminate and hit delete, careful not to hit any areas that I want to keep.  To check your work, hit the black arrow selection tool and select your piece to find areas where you may have missed.  You may have to go back and forth several times. 

Voila!  After cleanup you have a finished vectorized graphic which you can further manipulate in Illustrator and/or recolor as needed with LivePaint.