It may have taken longer than I’d anticipated to get the webcomic back up and running after my big move, but Sarge is back and you can expect regular updates every Sunday from this point on!
Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy the next big action sequence that starts next week.
-Otis
I’m done moving from Virginia to Minnesota, I’m all set up in a new apartment and I finally have high speed internet access. That means full speed ahead and it’s time to get back to work!
I’ve updated the Otis Frampton Live schedule, shifting all of the previous entries to new dates. I have also added an upcoming sketch card sale that will begin on June 26th. And finally, please note that all artcast start times have now shifted one hour to Central Standard Time. I will still begin the show at 9:00PM local for me, but your viewing time will have shifted one hour later. I’m sorry if this inconveniences anyone, but I will continue to record all shows so that if you miss your card or commission being drawn live, you can watch it later at your convenience. Go HERE to see the updated schedule.
From this point on I am going to try to maintain a fairly regular schedule for sketch cards and commissions. Sketch cards will be drawn on Tuesday and Thursday each week, while commissions will be drawn on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturday will be my day off and Sunday will, as usual, be for commissions drawn live!
And, of course, this also means that I will resume posting new pages of Escape From Planet Nowhere!
Thanks to every one of my clients, customers and Ustream viewers who have patiently waited for me to get back into action. I appreciate it more than you know.
The first Otis Frampton Live show of the “new era” will be tomorrow night on 7-7-Sunday! I hope to see a full chat room.
Okay . . . back to work.
-Otis
Announcement About The Otis Frampton Live/Commission Schedule
By Otis Frampton on June 9th, 2010Posted In: Blog
UPDATE (June 11th, 2010): Starting today, all artcasts and work on commissions (as well as updates to Escape From Planet Nowhere) will stop and will resume when I have finished relocating from Virginia to Minnesota next week.
I hope to be set up with high speed internet in my new apartment as soon as possible. When I am, I will adjust the existing Otis Frampton Live schedule and resume work on everyone’s commissions (I will also be announcing a new sketch card sale around that time).
Thanks in advance for everyone’s patience as I take some time to move.
-Otis
****
This post goes out to all of my sketch card & commission clients as well as my Ustream viewers . . .
Some events are about to transpire in my life that necessitate a shift in the short term commission/Otis Frampton Live schedule. Sometime in the next couple of weeks I will need to temporarily cease working on commission and doing Ustream shows. I hope that this will last no more than 1 week, but I don’t know when I will be able to resume production of commissions, nor do I know when I will be able to broadcast my artcasts again.
As I said, this will be temporary and I will try to get back up and running as soon as I can. But I hope that my customers and viewers will be patient during this down time and you can be assured that I will keep everyone up to date as to when this “blackout” will begin and when it will end.
Does this mean I am going to stop taking commissions and doing an artcast? Absolutely not. I will continue with business as usual when all is said and done.
When I know more about the details of this upcoming downtime, I will post about it and make another announcement. Until then, I will continue to work on commissions and broadcast via Ustream as usual, following the existing schedule.
Thanks for your patience.
-Otis
When I was working on the roughs for the next few pages the other day I realized that I really wanted people to read the next two pages at the same time for maximum effect. So in order to achieve this, I’ll be waiting until next Sunday to post the next two pages at the same time. I apologize for the delay and I promise that this won’t become a habit, but these two pages work best when read simultaneously.
Trust me.
In the meantime, please enjoy the newest additions to the Downloads page!
-Otis
Starting on May 16th, 2010 I’m going to start offering free downloads of digital/mobile versions of Escape From Planet Nowhere for viewing on the iPad. There will be two different versions:
- A ZIP archive containing the files necessary for reading Escape From Planet Nowhere via the ComicZeal app (my favorite iPad app for reading comics).
- A PDF for viewing in iPad apps such as Goodreader (my favorite iPad app for reading PDFs).
I will be updating the two files every time I post a new page, so be sure to download and update as needed.
I am an advocate of reading comics on the iPad and I feel that these are currently the best way to read them on Apple’s device. In fact, I’d rather have people read my comic on the iPad than read it on a computer screen.
I tried an ePub version of Escape From Planet Nowhere but was not happy with the results. I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of what is capable with regard to reading comics on iPad and I look forward to the day that a better app becomes available for taking advantage of the device’s capabilities. It’s time to stop thinking like we’re in the print world and start thinking like multi-media content creators.
As I said, Escape from Planet Nowhere will be free to download and read on your iPad, but hosting this site is not free (unfortunately). So if you like this comic and feel compelled to help me out by throwing a few duckets into my virtual hat, click on the button below:
Thanks!
-Otis
UPDATE (23 Apr 10): For the first time since I started drawing Big Fat Sketch Cards I will be allowing people to choose a vertical composition for their commissions. In other words . . . I’m going Big Fat and Tall for this sale!
The sale details have been updated to reflect this change. Here is added text:
“-You have the option of choosing a horizontal (Big Fat) or vertical (Big Tall) composition for your card. You can have up to 2 characters on each Big Fat card and 1 character for a Big Tall card. Big Fat cards will features scenes with backgrounds and Big Tall cards will feature portrait style drawings with an abstract background. I will not be accepting any requests for multi-card images. Please specify, for each card you buy, whether you want it to be Big Fat or Big Tall. One scene/subject per card, please.”
Thanks!
****
I am announcing that on May 8th, 2010 at 3:00PM EST I am once again opening up personal sketch card commissions. I have exactly 60 slots to fill. Here’s the small print:
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS MAY RESULT IN LOSING A PLACE ON THE LIST!
-The cost per card is $30 (plus $2 for shipping in the Unites States and $5 for International shipping).
-These cards will be cut from bristol board. They are not pre-printed. There will be nothing printed on the backs.
-Each card will be placed inside a wide plastic top loader card holder and shipped in a cardboard mailer.
-The drawings will be full-color (or gray tones for appropriate subjects, such as scenes from black and white films or TV shows).
-You have the option of choosing a horizontal (Big Fat) or vertical (Big Tall) composition for your card. You can have up to 2 characters on each Big Fat card and 1 character for a Big Tall card. Big Fat cards will features scenes with backgrounds and Big Tall cards will feature portrait style drawings with an abstract background. I will not be accepting any requests for multi-card images. Please specify, for each card you buy, whether you want it to be Big Fat or Big Tall. One scene/subject per card, please.
-There are 60 slots available and you MAY request more than 1 card.
-I will be drawing these cards live on my Ustream webcast, in the order that I receive orders. I will schedule at least 2 days a week for sketch card work, I will draw 3 or 4 cards per show and will let people know which cards I will be working on in advance on my website (the weekly schedule can be found HERE) so they can watch. I will also try to record every show, in case someone misses their card being drawn. I will be drawing 6 to 8 cards per week, so you must be patient in waiting for your card. In other words, it may take me until the end of June of 2010 to finish the 60 cards I hope to sell during this sale. I thank you in advance for this.
-I will begin drawing cards for this sale on May 11th, 2010.
-I only accept PayPal for payment and payment is required at the time of ordering.
-When ordering and paying, YOU MUST USE THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS: otis@otisframpton.com
-Do NOT send the requests via private message on message boards, deviantART or any other public forum. E-MAIL ONLY.
-Use the subject header Otis Frampton’s “Big Fat Sketch Card” Sale 4 in the order request e-mail and the PayPal payment.
-DO NOT PAY until I have notified you that you are on the list. If anyone pays before I confirm they will get a card, I will refund the money and they will not be on the list.
-Please include the following information in the order request e-mail and the PayPal payment: what character(s) you want me to draw, what name you want me to use for the Ustream schedule and your shipping address.
-My sketch card work is best when I have some story elements to work with, as opposed to standard pin-up style shots. In other words, if you want me to do my best work on your commissions, give me a “story moment” to work with as opposed to just the name of a character.
-And once again . . . the sale will go live on May 8th, 2010 at 3:00PM EST. Any orders sent to me before that time will be ignored/deleted. I am posting this now so that people have some time to consider taking part in the offer and do not feel like they missed their chance to order a card.
Thanks in advance and I hope to see the winners in the Ustream chat room!
-Otis
P.S. If you’re planning to buy cards during this sale, please go here, scroll to the bottom and take part in a poll!
This image was created by Sebastian (aka MithrilUndomiel on deviantART).
Thanks for the amazing gift art, Sebastian!
-Otis
I’ve had a lot of artists ask about the Photoshop file I use for creating comic book pages. So instead of repeating myself over and over describing the specs of the file, I thought I’d just offer up a copy of it for free:
Click here to download my Comic Book Page Template.
The original file (which only had a layer for the trim guide) was given to me by the Art Director of Viper Comics when I started work on the first Oddly Normal mini-series and I’ve used it ever since to create comic book pages. I’ve added custom layers over time to suit my own working methods. The file you’re downloading includes a look at my basic layer group system (but I didn’t included everything . . . can’t give away all of my secrets).
Use it, enjoy it and pass it on.
-Otis
The guys at Digital Strips have reviewed Escape From Planet Nowhere in their latest podcast (along with The Loneliest Astronauts by Kevin Church and Ming Doyle).
I think this is the first official review of my webcomic and they were very, very kind to me and the few existing pages. And I’m thrilled that they picked up on the pulpy feel that I’m trying to inject into Planet Nowhere. So thank you, Digital Strips, for the high praise and recognition!
Go HERE to listen to the review.
-Otis
