And we are funded!!!

Thank you guys, so, so, so much!  With your help, we managed to make over 3 times the amount of money that we needed!  This extra money will be used to help make the anthology even more amazing, and to bring you sweet new gear.  You guys really blew us away with how cool and supportive you've been!  Man, you guys were so cool!

Stay tuned for updates guys.  :)  We'll let you know more info as it comes to us about the anthology, and we'll continue to update the page with interviews from our contributing artists.  :)

You guys really stepped up to the plate, and everyone on the team is psyched at how much support you gave to us!

2 Hours! Almost there! Don't miss out!

Hey guys!  Just 2 more hours until the kickstarter challenge comes to a close.  This is the last call for pledges.  That means it's your last chance to get a copy of the anthology at less then the retail price, and also your last chance to get some of our sweet swag for yourself!

Don't miss out guys!  We're almost there!

Last Chance!

Just 1 day left!

Ok, well, it's a day and an hour, but none the less!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, by roughly this time tomorrow our kickstarter fundraising period will end.  This is your last call to get in an order.  Once the fundraising period is over, we will be unable to accept any further requests for copies of the anthology.  If you've been waiting, it's time to jump on board, we'll be glad to have you. :)  If you'd still like to donate, go check out the kickstarter site here - Awesome Kickstarter Goodness!

Thanks to everyone who has already given us their support, you guys mean so, so much to us. :)  Seriously, you guys are the best.

Free Wallpaper and Process Book Sneak Peak!

Hi everyone, this past 26 days has been a really exciting and fun ride for us. We have just officially finished all the artwork for GAME OVER! (99%) Yes we're almost done! In this final 4 days, we will be putting the book together along with the cover, credits, thank you page and artists sketches! ( You get to see more personal stuff from us!) To celebrate this joyous event, we give you a free GAME OVER: INSERT MORE QUARTERS WALLPAPER ! (I know right, we're so nice!!!)

You can download the full resolution wallpaper HERE.

Also, we're almost done with the $75 PROCESS BOOK PLEDGE! Here's a sneak peek at some of the pages. Each of the artist took time off to put up this process page that includes artworks which did not go into the final comic! (Similar to deleted scenes in a film) We also talk about our process and material choices so this is definitely one of the books you shouldn't miss out!

We're down to the last 4 days and very close to the $10,000 goal! If you have a twitter account, facebook, or blog, do spread the word! I'll be doing another update tomorrow and give everyone a breakdown of what's happening ahead, your address and shipping details, international backers information and timeline for book printing! STAY TUNED!!!

- Nicky

It's like candy for your ear drums!

Hello there friends!

So, we thought we'd send you a treat from our awesome and almighty Editor.  He did an impromptu song about us today, and we thought you'd like to see it.  Hey, that's what friends do right?  They share!  You shared your support with us, and so we're giving you an early treat back.  Enjoy this song from our editor Dove. :)

A Ballad of Bodacity

MEET THE ARTIST DAY RECAP!!!

MEET THE ARTIST!!!!

HI FRIENDS and FANS!!! Our Kickstarter Campaign just kicked into high gear and WE WANT TO MEET YOU this SATURDAY!!! Live at http://www.livestream.com/desertrabbit

Please help spread the word cos we believe we are one of the first comic anthology to do something this EPIC and we want to make it AWESOME!!!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/desertrabbit/game-over-insert-more-quarters-anthology/posts/183382

A Chat With Phil

Time for a chat with one of the awesome artists contributing to the Game Over Anthology.  For this collection of comicy-goodness Phil has been working on a story about the Ragnarok...the Ragnarok and Roll that is!  Hoorah!  Let's take a look at what he has to say about creativity and his work.   

 How did you choose to interpret the idea of “The end of the world” and what made you decide upon that interpretation.

At first I wanted to go with some kind of “Mad Max” concept, but I couldn’t come up with a story at all. I started thinking of things I was familiar with that I could really draw from, and ended up settling on the Norse gods. I’ve always had an interest in them since my family is predominantly Norwegian. Then I decided to make it an end-of-the-world dance off, because I’m crazy or something. I donno.

 Can you give us a brief outline of your process? How do you create your comics, and what do you feel is the most critical step in creating your work?

Getting the concept down is, to me, the most crucial part. I rely on the pure ridiculousness of my storytelling to make my work stand out. That being said, a lot of my inspiration comes from music.

       What inspired you to study and become a Sequential Artist?

Reading Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki was a big turning point for me. That, and I really love cartoons in general. I just wanted to do anything where I could draw comics and cartoons. SCAD provided that opportunity.

  You’ve got a giant workload ahead of you. You know that you have to just sit down and draw for the next 16 hours straight, but you have time for one meal before you do this. What would you eat to power you through that stint?

Subsidiary question: Can we bend space-time? Because if so I would get burritos from Taco Bueno. It’s this Texas- only food chain that I was addicted to before I moved to Savannah. I only get it like once a year now.

  What is the first thing you remember drawing?

Zelda. Tons of Zelda fan art. That, and Pokemon. So much of my artistic career stems from these two series. I loved the art styles and the journeys that the games took you on.

         What is the last thing you remember drawing?

Umm, I drew panel 2 of page 4 of the comic for this anthology yesterday, which shows two zombies gawking at Odin doing the “boom-baby” move fromEmperor’s New Groove. 

 What was your favorite comic or cartoon growing up?

This is a ridiculously loaded question. I loved Nickelodeon’s Angry Beavers. That, and the Cartoon Network Teen Titans. Other than that, I’d say earlyPokemon, anything on Toonami, and Dexter’s Lab. And Samurai Jack. And Rocko’s Modern Life. Okay, gotta stop now.

 Would you prefer a dog or cat rolled up at your feet? (An iguana or parrot is also an acceptable substitute.)

  Dog, definitely. I have a miniature schnauzer named Luke. He’s pretty much been my best friend since I was 11. He used to sit next to my table and watch me draw, but he lives with my dad in California now.

Awesome Phil!  Thanks for letting us interview you!  Now let's take a look at some of his crazy-cool work. :)

FINAL BOSS CHALLENGE!!!!

SPECIAL NOTE FROM OUR EDITOR

WE ARE FEATURED AS STAFF PICK!!!

Thank you everyone for your continuous support! We have an announcement coming up this weekend! We're 200% funded now!!!! Stay Tuned!

WELCOME TO LEVEL 2

THE REAL GAME BEGINS! 

STAY TUNE TO STAGE 2

We did it!!!

Ladies and Gentleman, as of 1:51 Eastern time, we have been given $2,670!  We did it!   YEAHHHH!  And in less than 2 days than posting.  You all are awesome as heck!

If you haven't donated yet, don't worry, there is still time, we still have lovely thank you gifts to send out. :)

POPULAR THIS WEEK

We Made it into the POPULAR THIS WEEK section of KickStarter!
Thank you everyone!

51%!!!

As of 5:22 Eastern time, the Game Over Anthology Kickstarter has reached $1,275!!!  That means we are now halfway funded in less than 24 hours!  You guys are so, so awesome!  Please continue supporting us, we are getting closer and closer to achieving our magnificent dream!  Plus there is still beaucoup swag to be handed out!  Don't miss this chance guys!

Here's a little thank you sketch from Nicky Soh.  You'll have to forgive the fact that it's figures are a little off, he made it when we had reached 45% of our goal.  Thanks for contributing the sketch Nicky! :)

We're Live! Yeahhh!

As of this evening, the Kickstarter page for this project is now up and running!  Yeah!

Any and all support you can give us will be extremely appreciated.  There are some sweet-as-heck rewards involved for those who donate!  Think about it, a copy of this stellar anthology with your name in it, or a sketch.  Or, better still than all of that, a copy of the anthology with your name in it, a sketch AND one of the actual pages that were involved in the making of this.  That's right!  A piece of paper that we spilled blood, sweat and tears onto!  Well...maybe not blood sweat or tears...that's not really hygenic, but none the less, it'll be a page that one of our artists put a lot of time, energy and care into.

Help us to help you.  Give us your support, so we can give you the best comics we can!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/desertrabbit/game-over-insert-more-quarters-anthology

Oh, and before you go, you should know one very important thing.  If you're one of the early backers, you could receive a copy of the anthology at a reduced rate.  That means that you could get a copy of this awesome comic collection for less than retail value!  What a steal!  Get on that now before it's too late!

An Interview With Jen Hickman

Today you guys are in for a real treat.  We'll be interviewing Jen Hickman, one of the contributors to Game Over: Please Insert More Quarters.  Jen hails from San Francisco and has worked in graphic design previous to her work in comics.  She has always had a strong interest in Sequential Art and science fiction and is now combining her interest in these subjects for her wonderful short comic called After.  Let's see what she has to say about comics, coffee, and whether unicorns can win against ninjas.

Can you give us a brief outline of your process?  How do you create your comics, and what do you feel is the most critical step in creating your work?

There's a lot of wiggle room in my process, and every project is a little different. Plus, I'm a student. Now is the perfect time to try different things to see what works and what doesn't! That said, I pretty much always write an entire story before I start drawing. Sometimes the story's ending will change while I'm drawing it, but when I start drawing I like to know where the project is going and what kind of scope it's going to have.

The story-writing process is slow and accumulative. Something (usually completely arbitrary and out of my control) will spark a story idea, and then for months I'll let it percolate, mulling over characters and worlds and events and central themes. From there, depending on my mood, I'll either write stream-of-consciousness about the story or I'll write random scenes from it. Then at some point it's time to corral all those pieces of paper and stray word docs into a cohesive script.

Thumbnailing is next, and I'm struggling to be more detailed with those. Often I will thumbnail with stick figures, or, worse, I'll write 'chair' or 'profile bust shot' instead of actually sketching it out. Too lazy for words! It's usually because I'm rushing to keep up with the flow of planning the pages, and I don't want to lose track of the overall rhythm. When I was first starting out, pacing and timing stressed me out a lot, so I guess my thumbnailing step still kinda reflects that.

From there the process is messy and it changes a lot. I won't bore you, but rest assured, there's a lot of re-drawing and referencing involved. I also always make myself color/tone my work once it's 'complete', if only for the practice.

What is the first thing you remember drawing?

Ponies. There's some kind of a 'horse phase' that kids go through, I think, right around the time that they all want to be veterinarians when they grow up. That phase was awesome. I loved books like Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, and Seabiscuit, and all I ever drew was ponies. Usually the same horse over and over again- I could only handle about 3 different perspectives, all of which came from one of those cheesy 'how to draw' books where they break things into basic shapes and then gloss over the transformation from the shapes to the finished drawing.

What is the last thing you remember drawing?

I re-drew a panel that had been bothering me. I changed it from talking heads to slightly more dynamic talking heads. Sigh.

Caffeine is a sequential artists best friend.  What is your favorite way to get your caffeine fix?

Snob alert! I drink fresh coffee, preferably a light roast like harrar. I drink it black; that shouldn't be a surprise. It comes with the snob territory. I can't function until I've had a full pot of coffee, which (I've been told) is bad for you.

What is the most challenging aspect of sequential art to you?  What do you find the most rewarding?

On a technical level, perspective still kicks my butt. I always have to work really hard at it and while it's totally worth it, sometimes it can be really tedious. Theoretically speaking, though, I get really anxious leaving things up to the viewer. I want to make things obvious without being pedantic. Basically, I struggle with how much I can trust the viewer to infer. But it's kind of a fun puzzle, and occasionally it works out that I've said/drawn just enough to sketch out a thought and let the viewer do the rest, and then it's the best thing ever.

2 part question.  Unicorn Vs. Narwhals.  Who wins?  Pirates vs. Ninjas.  Who wins?

Well, for the first fight, a lot depends on the fighting arena. I'm going to assume that the fight will take place on land because that way the TV stations can easily get their cameras in there, which obviously is very important. At that point the fight is basically over; the unicorn would win in the first round. More mobile than its opponent, quicker, and not gonna die from lack of oxygen. The second fight isn't really influenced by fighting arena. Let's assume even numbers, and a neutral fighting ground. Ninjas are obviously going to win. I mean come on. Their whole M.O. is killing people. Pirates don't focus on that nearly as much as sailing, stealing, drinking, and swaggering. If it was a swag-off instead of a fight the pirates would probably win, but it's not.

Elimination round!  The winner of the unicorn/narwhal fight vs the winner of the pirates/ninja fight.  Who is the ultimate champion?

Unicorns. Those things are immortal. Also mainly the mental image of a unicorn with a skewered ninja on its horn is the best thing I've thought of all day.

Now that we've been able to get to know a bit more about her, let's look at some of her wonderful artwork.  Below are some character designs for After, as well as a page from her comic in 2 different stages of her creative process.

Like us on Facebook!

Hey there guys!

So you all like facebook, and you all like this comic anthology project too, right?  If only there was some way to combine the two.

Well you're in luck!  Now you can check out our sweet new facebook page!  Like us, comment on us, and recommend us to your facebook friends.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Game-Over-Anthology/325158867529762

OFFICIALLY APPROVED!

 

Hi everyone! the GAME OVER anthology is officially approved by KICKSTARTER! We're doing our final preparation before launching it this weekend. STAY TUNED! Meanwhile, check out our artist link at the sidebar!

The KICKSTARTER TEASER

Hi everyone, we're counting down to the completion of the Anthology Book and doing final preparations for our KICKSTARTER project. We here at Game Over have been working hard and right now, we're at the final stage, inking the 16 short stories! The unique part of this collaboration is the fact that we're all doing these comics the good old traditional way! (An increasing lost technique in the new digital world) Check out our teaser video and sample pages by the artists!

* follow our blog for more updates on our KICKSTARTER project!

Jorge the dangerous Venezuelan

 

Evil Phil

Dan the machine

Nicky the Pirate

Pan Pain

Ladies and Gentlemen! Your Attention Please!

16 artists!  Over many different countries of origin!  A fantastic array of skills and storytelling styles come together for the first time to bring you a thrilling new anthology!

We like to think of ourselves like a Sequential Art Justice League.  By combining our skills, we endeavor to save humanity from bad comics.  We only need you to do one simple thing.

Keep your eye on this page.  

In in the coming weeks, we’ll give you a first hand sneak-peak into our creative process!  You’ll get to meet individual artists from our team, hear them talk about their work and where they come from, and we’ll show you how you can help us to achieve our dream of bringing you wonderful comics!