The Year that was 2011

After the frenetic pace of 2010, I decided to slow down a bit in 2011 and regain some semblance of a normal life by toning down the number of events I organize and the projects I take on in a given year. It seemed to have worked as I was generally happy and less stressed this year (though I doubt if it can be totally eliminated).

It doesn’t mean however that nothing was accomplished in 2011 (far from it). Here’s a look back at what happened last year.

January

January was my third month working for oDesk Enterprises (I started in November 2010) and it was probably one of the busiest months of 2011 for me. I was managing two projects for their two biggest clients and it was quite a challenge and a learning experience.

Johnny and I, together with the UP Bugkos, Graphic Literature Guild, and the UP Painters Club were busy preparing for the 2nd KomiksTrip, UPLB’s very own comic book convention.

February

February 19, 2011 Saturday saw the second year of KomiksTrip presented by the UP Bugkos and JonasDiego.COM in cooperation with the Graphic Literature Guild and the UP Painters Club.

March

March was learn-something-new month for me as I attended a Google Tech user’s seminar and a 2-day workshop about stock market investing.

I was contemplating on organizing another 24-hour Comic Book Challenge but my two projects with oDesk Enterprises was still ongoing and decided that there wasn’t going to be enough free time for me to juggle two activities at the same time.

April

We began preparations for the release of Pocket Comics and the Komikero Anthology on the Summer Komikon in May the next month.

May

JonasDiego.COM participated in the Summer Komikon held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig City (which was a most excellent venue).

We released the Komikero Komiks Anthology no. 7 and Pocket Comics no. 1 and made brisk sales.

We also had a mini-fund raiser during the event for Lapis at Papel, a charity effort to provide school supplies for under privileged schools in Mindanao. The Komikon organizers also tapped Gerry Alanguilan, Johnny Danganan, and me to act as auctioneers (which we always enjoy) for several art pieces that needed to be sold off for a separate charity.

June, July

I spent the month of June and July delivering copies for sale of the Komikero Komiks Anthology no. 7 and Pocket Comics no. 1 to various outlets such as Comic Odyssey and Sputnik Fantastik.

August

I took on a month long project for Tim Kainu, a US based graphic designer and photographer, who wanted to increase his traffic, improve his online presence, and monetize his sites.

September

I spent the month helping the 2nd Cebu Comics Convention organizers promoting their event.

October

I attended the 2nd Cebu Comics Convention held at the University of the Philippines Cebu this year.

The open air was quite refreshing and it was a well-attended event which also included comic creators and retailers from Metro Manila.

I brought copies of the Komikero Anthology and Pocket Comics to be sold at the convention.

Activities this year included cosplay, toy and art displays, local comic books give-away, comic book sales, mini-seminars, contests, and a zip line.

November

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JonasDiego.COM participated in the Komikon, the most awaited comic related convention in the Philippines. The venue was still at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig City. This year’s Komikon was one of the most attended I’ve ever seen with lines stretching out even before the event opened.

We put out another issue of the Komikero Komiks Anthology (no. 8) and sold copies of the Komikero Komiks Anthology no. 7 and Pocket Comics no. 1. We sold a good number of copies and made more than decent profit on sales alone, definitely enough to cover cost for table rental and upcoming expenses for the San Pablo Comics Festival next month.

I also started this month as a project manager for Special Glue – a web, social media, and mobile technology company based in Melbourne, Australia.

Development on other fronts included an invitation from Joe D Mango to produce Radyo Komiks for his Love Notes radio program airing twice a week, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 12:00 MN to 4:00 AM and will be livestreamed on DZMM and shown on Channel 26 and on TFC (The Filipino Channel).

Click here for more details.

December

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December was the month of the 3rd San Pablo Comics Festival, a comic book event organized by Komikero Publishing and JonasDiego.com in cooperation with the Komikero Artist Group and the Graphic Literature Guild from UPLB. This year’s Festival was held on a Saturday December 3, 2011 at ULTIMART in San Pablo City, Laguna accompanied by the Komikero Art Exhibit running from December 2-4, 2011.

Click here for more details.

JonasDiego.COM also partnered with JobsDB.COM this month which means that JonasDiego.COM blogs will now be carrying the JobsDB widget (particularly I Want Work) and you’re going to see the JDCOM logo on their partner page.

Click here for more details.

I also got a second project, working as a project manager for Minibee, an educational start-up engaged in reviving grassroots parenting through the sales of music focused nursery books and media.

The company is founded by the husband and wife team of Hamlin and Amy Au and is positioned to brand itself to the “Yoga Mommies and Hipster Babies” of Generation Y.

Click here to see the stuff that I did for them so far.

Happy New Year!

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Totally Spies Page

A page from a sample comic I did many, many years ago for a publisher who got the rights to publish Totally Spies in France.

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Lastikman Fan Art

A fanart I did many years ago for the Lastikman comics written by my good friend Gerry Alanguilan, drawn by the very talented Arnold Arre, and published by Mango Comics. 

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Police Tribune RMPF Print Ad

A print ad I designed for RMPF several years ago for the Police Tribune magazine. 

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Doctor Webb Art Gift

Here's another blast from the past: a drawing I made for Doctor Webb.

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It was a going away present during the last days of the AusAid/Fao/FMD Control and Eradication Project.

Back to the 90s

The logo I designed for 97.4 DZLB-FM, a local radio station in UPLB that I worked for as a student DJ back during my college days in the 90s.

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This was the days before computers and Adobe Photoshop was widely available. Most of my design work had do to be done by hand.

Adding the Monkey to the Logo

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I decided to add the monkey to my JonasDiego.COM logo.

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The great ape was originally part of the RMPF logo (which I'm not actively utilizing right now). It was a great illustration and I didn't want to waste it so I thought I'd incorporate it to my JDCOM logo.

The way we Talk

Ever notice that there seem to be hardly any overlaps in conversations in Pinoy Movies?

When I say overlap, I mean the kind where one character talks and then the other character starts talking as well even though the other has not finished with his dialogue yet. You usually see this in tension filled moments in drama and action movies. In Pinoy movies however, all the characters will wait for the one talking to finish his lines first before delivering their part of the script (the guy next in line will then take an ever slight pause before he starts delivering his dialogue).

There’s no flow.

And who can ignore the sing-song way Pinoy actors say their lines (like the actors are reciting something in front of a class)? It’s very distracting and it frequently prevents me from immersing myself in the movie because often times I feel like I’m back in highschool during recitation.

It seems to be embedded in the Pinoy psyche. I’m guilty of doing this myself.

I remember one time, when I did “extra” work for an indie film and I had a few lines to deliver. I swore that I will not do the sing-song thing and what do I do when the camera rolled?

I sing-songed my dialogue. Jeez!

Giving Constructive Criticisms

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Let’s face it: most Filipinos take criticisms personally.

It’s not entirely unjustifiable especially in the case of comic book creators. We pour our hearts and souls (not to mention blood, sweat, and tears) into our comic books and the last thing we want to hear is for people to say it’s no good.

Criticisms are important however especially if the quality of our work is to level up. Wikipedia defines constructive criticism, also known as constructive analysis, as “compassionate attitude towards the person qualified for criticism”.

It basically means that while we know that criticisms must be encouraged and accepted with an open mind and is an integral part of the process for self improvement, we also have to remember that people have feelings and that we have to exercise care in dealing with them. We want someone to improve, not to hurt his feelings but unfortunately, this is what happens most of the time.

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If you want to offer your criticisms you have to be more forthcoming as possible.

If you tell someone “your work’s terrible” and leave it at that without explaining why, it doesn’t really count as criticism and worse the person you directed the statement to won’t be able to make good use of it. Was the storyline too convoluted making it impossible to follow? Were the artworks too detailed distracting readers from the story? Was the lettering too small making it hard to read?

Be specific.

In the age of democratized publishing thanks to the interwebs, blogging, and social networks, never has the statement “everyone’s a critic” been more true but you can’t just say “your work is terrible” and qualify that as criticism.

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Without details the statement “your work is terrible” is just an opinion, not a criticism.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course but if your purpose is to help someone to improve, you have to present it with wisdom, wit, and tact. One of the primary purposes of the critic is to ensure that the general overall quality of the field he is in (movies, comics, books, etc.) remains high through detailed analysis and evaluation.

Besides, without offering detailed analysis and evaluation you’re not exactly setting yourself up as a credible critic.

“Having higher experience, gifts, respect, and knowledge in a specific field and being able to verbally convince at the same time, this person is intending to uplift the other person materially, morally, emotionally or spiritually.”

Personally, when giving constructive criticism, I like to start out with the following procedure:

1. Start by pointing out something positive about the work.
2. Identify the negatives and explain at length why it doesn’t work.
3. Give out some ideas on how it can be improved.
4. End by pointing out another positive aspect of the work.

As you can see it takes a lot of work to dish it out but considering that the people you’re offering your criticisms also did the same to produce the work, I think it’s only fair.

Comic Book Convention in Baguio

It seems like there’s going to be another Comic Book Convention in Baguio this coming February 25, 2012.

While there’s not a whole lot of details yet, the event seems to be presented by Gripo & Magnum Artistry and there’s going to be cosplay aside from the comic book related stuff.

Keep checking their Facebook Page for more details!

The Price is Right

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I’ve made it my policy to keep the Komikero Komiks Anthology at Php 50.00 for as long as possible so that more people will be able to afford it and read our comic books. Thankfully, the comics is selling well enough to cover the next issue’s printing and to rent tables at a few local comic book conventions that happens during the year but just barely.

A lot of people have expressed wonder at how we’re able to keep an 88-page monster like the Komikero Komiks Anthology at Php 50.00. Well, mostly it’s because of cheap photocopying (we’ve found a photocopying shop here in Makati that charges only 75 cents per page). We can actually bring down the price a bit more but that would mean we’ll need a bigger capital to print en masse so we can lower the per unit price.

Money’s kinda hard to come by especially for indie comic book producers which is why most follow a print on demand business model. Print on demand is a relatively inexpensive way of a small number comics using digital printing and photocopying technology. Printing with a limited number of copies, your supply is often equal to the demand which great especially for unknown and newbie comic book creators.

If you run out of copies, it’s no problem because producing more is fast and easy. You’ll only need a Php 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 initial capital to print 25-50 copies of your comics depending on the number of pages it has.

The per unit cost of producing a copy goes up however with this type of printing which means you’re not going to get a very wide profit margin…if there’s one at all. Striking a balance is something that most comic book creators struggle with so I came up with a table which you can use to help you determine your indie comic book’s selling price.

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Christmas 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Minibee Web Design

The Minibee is an educational start-up engaged in reviving grassroots parenting through the sales of music focused nursery books and media. The company is founded by the husband and wife team of Hamlin and Amy Au.

The Minibee is positioned to brand itself to the “Yoga Mommies and Hipster Babies” of Generation Y.

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Visit their website here I Like their Facebook page here I Follow them on Twitter

Avatar for The Minibee

Check out the avatar I designed for The Minibee's Facebook account.

The Minibee is an early childhood music education start-up based out of New York with operations in Little Rock, AR. The minibee philosophy is centered around grassroots parenting.

The company is founded by the husband and wife team of Hamlin and Amy.

The minibee is positioned to brand itself to the “Yoga Mommies and Hipster Babies” of Generation Y.

Visit their website here I Like their Facebook page here I Follow them on Twitter

Help those DEVASTATED by Typhoon Sendong

Carlo Veragara's Zsazsa Zaturnnah makes a call to help out those devastated by Typhoon Sendong. Every little thing will go a long way.

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You can also send relief goods via any branch of LBC.

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You can also try getting in touch with other relief efforts via the following contact details.

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You can also try Google's people finder for missing people due to Typhoon Sendong. Click here. You can also try Google's crisis map for Typhoon Sendong. Click here.

If you're able, please forward this message to others who may be able to help.

Again...Carlo J. Caparas is NOT a National Artist

Celebrity World by Crispina Martinez-Belen (Section P-2 of the Entertainment Section of the Manila Bulletin December 18, 2011 Sunday issue) featured an article about Ramon “Bong” Revilla’s new Panday 2 movie.

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The article however opened with the following:

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“Senator Bong Revilla and National Artist Carlo J. Caparas cherish past and present collaboration because they have yet to fail when working together.”

Carlo J. Caparas not a National Artist. As far as I know there is still a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the award being conferred upon him due to irregularities in the selection process and nation-wide protest from several sectors, including the creative community.

You can find out more about the issues on Gerry Alanguilan’s article. Click here.

Customer Service is KEY!

I wanted a new computer, something a bit on the higher end of the spectrum.

My old desktop just gave up the ghost (though I’m seeing about having it repaired…I think it’s just the power source) and my old reliable laptop (Lenovo Y430) was having a hard time coping up with the jobs I keep subjecting it to.

After some research I set my heart on a Dell XPS 8300 Desktop I found on the Villman website which was Php 59,990.00 SRP. Seeing as there’s a nearby Villman outlet where I live I decided to check it out there thinking I’d be lugging a new desktop when I go home after.

Apparently, I was wrong.

Villman Shenanigans

The Makati Cinema Square branch apparently didn’t carry the Dell model I was looking for. According to the sales guy these things had to be pre-ordered and it will take 3-5 days before it arrived (assuming stock was available). I asked about the ordering process and he said that I had to make a down payment first after which they would call their different branches and see if they had the model I want in stock.

This was absurd because, assuming that the stock was not available, I’m now locked in (I had to buy something from the store) because of my down payment. The cashier however told the sales guy to give the other branches a call and make an inquiry if the Dell XPS 8300 was available (so a down payment was not a requirement after all).

After several calls, it was determined that there was only one stock left and it was in their SM Annex branch, a good 30-45 minutes away from where I live. I was thinking that I’d just head on over there and buy it from that branch when the sales guy said that I can opt to pay it here and pick the desktop up there.

That was a major turn off and I decided I’ll just get my desktop from somewhere else.

A byte from the (Star) Apple

I proceeded to their next door (well, almost) competitor Star Apple hoping that they’d carry the Dell XPS 8300 or something equivalent. The sales lady informed me however that they don’t carry Dell and that if I wanted an i7 level CPU I’m going to have to wait until Monday because that’s when their new stock will be arriving.

At this point, I was beginning to think I was going to have to head on out to Greenhills or Quezon City to get my mean machine. Fortunately I remembered that there’s a PC Express right across the street from Makati Cinema Square.

PC Express

I asked the sales guy and I was again informed that they do not carry the Dell XPS 8300.

He asked about the model’s specs and its price however. I gave him my spec sheet and he said that he can probably give me a cheaper deal with the same (or better) specifications. With that he proceeded to check their inventory, put together an inventory of the parts needed, and whipped out a cost estimate in less than 10 minutes.

The sales guy gave me a package with double the specs of the Dell XPS 8300 but about Php 8,000.00 cheaper. I happily paid the cashier and took home the machine. The whole process took about an hour and I was very satisfied with their service.

Epilogue

I don’t know enough about computer parts and services these days (I’ve been out of circulation for far too long) but in my mind most stores are just about equal in terms of price and availability of stocks.

The thing that will really make a difference? Customer service.

It did with me.

PAID Cover Design Proposal

A cover design proposal I made for the The Philippine Academy of Implant Dentistry (PAID)'s 24th Annual Convention and Induction.

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