Better Pontiac Comic Book Workshop

For the last few years I have been teaching comic book illustration and writing under the auspices of the Metro Detroit artists group Detroit Trade Craft. I trained many artists under that group who have gone on to do some outstanding work. However it was decided that Detroit Tradecraft wasn't in the business of training any longer, so I had a dilemma...

If I wanted to keep training artists I would need some support. It just so happens that my long-time buddies Sean Kammer and Chris Gratten had started a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making my hometown of Pontiac, Michigan a better place. So ultimately I thought maybe I could do some things together with their non profit Better Pontiac. So I took the workshop to them to help me facilitate.

It has worked out wonderfully so far. Last year's class put out an anthology comic showcasing the writing and drawing skills of the group. This year our goal is to do the same. I teach a Wednesday night workshop at our local university. I teach 3 Saturday classes (1 in Pontiac, 1 in Downtown Detroit and a late night Skype Class). I have met some outstanding people teaching this class and many of the students self-publish.

Sean, his wife Megan, and Chris, along with our liaison and fellow board member Alexa are outstanding people. Their belief in the program makes me want to work even harder to produce an outstanding crop of creators.

For More Information go to
https://www.facebook.com/pontiaccomics/

Crowdsourcing Comics: A Trial By Fire

In October of last year, we cancelled our first Kickstarter campaign before its deadline was up. Our "Imaginos Plus" comic book project received generous contributions from some friends, family and supporters, but it wasn't enough to meet our financial goal. After an encouraging opening push, the donations to our comic book anthology slowed to an ever-decreasing trickle. The campaign stalled at just over $2,000, not nearly close enough to our $8,300 goal. Our first attempt at crowdsourcing our artistic ventures was time-consuming, emotional and ultimately disappointing.

It was also a learning experience; it forced us to take stock of our own work and think practically about what it meant to produce a creative, collaborative project. It forced us to explain the value of our work to other people - a surprisingly challenging and rewarding task. There wasn't a clear-cut reason why our first attempt at crowdsourcing failed. Were we explaining our project well enough? Was our financial goal too high? Did we offer the right kinds of incentives to potential backers? Did we fail to market ourselves properly? Maybe it was just timing. Most likely it was some combination of these factors. And while no one wants to fall short, we learned a lot through the process.

Fast forward to November 2013: our fledgling company Imaginos Workshop is now a registered LLC, and new artists and writers have been brought into the fold. We have a couple extra conventions under the belt, and we've made real progress on our comics. Our new Kickstarter campaign has a financial goal of $5,800 (well under our original asking price from the year before), without sacrificing any of the content. 

This time, the contributions didn't stop after the initial opening volley. People watched our Kickstarter video over 500 times and pledged an average of $46. They shared our project on Facebook, Twitter, Palladium Books and other websites. Veteran writer and columnist Bill Baker interviewed Mark Dudley on The Morton Report, and we provided our own Kickstarter updates every step of the way.

In the end, we finished at 114% of our goal. Our second try at crowdsourcing was an unequivocal success, made possible by the wonderfully generous contributions of all our backers. Perhaps it was important that we fell short on our first Kickstarter. It reminded us that some amount of failure and rejection is an inevitability in this business, and that it does not necessarily mean you're doing the wrong things. We were also reminded of the inspiring generosity of others ... an important lesson during the holidays. Our backers gave us the best Christmas gift we could have asked for. It means more work for us in the new year, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you.

Jon

Camera Mart's Demo Days returns with sales, swag and newest models of cameras

Calling all Metro Detroit photographers! This month features the event Demo Days at Camera Mart in Pontiac, the area's best location for cameras and photography equipment. The event is on June 15 & 16 at Camera Mart on Telegraph Road in Pontiac.

There will be manufacturer and vendor representatives there to show off the latest models of cameras and to answer any of your questions. You can get a free sensor cleaning (on a first-come, first-serve basis) for two of your cameras and win Camera Mart swag.

There will also be a raffle for a FREE Canon Rebel T3i camera! Camera Mart's Facebook page explains the details of the event, as well as what you can do to increase your chances of winning that T3i (for instance, tweeting or sharing Demo Days or, ahem, writing about it on your blog).

This event is a great way to shop for that camera you have in mind or to get some new equipment (there is NO SALES TAX on most items during Demo Days).

Camera Mart is located at 11 S. Telegraph Rd, Pontiac MI 48341. Demo Days will be on Friday 15 (9:30 am-7 pm) and Saturday 16 (9:30 am-5 pm).

Jon