Possum Press

HEY YOU! YES I'M TALKING TO YOU!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STILL COMING HERE?!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT MY NEW BLOG!!! WWW.POSSUMPRESS.COM/BLOG/ ...

2006-10-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Click here to get to my new blog!!!

NOW DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU BACK HERE AGAIN!!

P.S. ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE AT MY NEW BLOG.
(AND THEY HAVE ALL UPDATED THEIR LINKS). DON'T YOU WANT TO BE COOL?

Possum Press is Moving!: Be sure to click on image to visit my new BLOG! (lots of new posts)

2006-09-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody! Possum Press is moving to Wordpress! I decided to move the site so it can now be hosted by my website, along with a few other reasons (like categories to keep track of posts). Click here, and come check out the new digs!! (There is a brand new post waiting for you).

Ottawa International Animation Festival 2006: This Weekend!!

2006-09-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

I'm packing my bags and taking the ol' family to Ottawa for the weekend! For those of you who didn't know, a commercial that I directed for Chuck Gammage Animation has been accepted into this year's festival. It will be playing in the Short Competition #4, on Saturday, September 23, 3:00 pm (NAC - Southam Hall), and on Sunday, September 24, 11:00 am (Bytowne Cinema). I'll also be at the Meet The Filmmakers 4, on Sunday, September 24, 9:30 am (Novotel - Cafe Nicole).
The Commercial is called Lion and Zebra (Sport in a Box), and is a public service announcment for United Nations Canada. If you can't make it to the Festival, and haven't seen it yet, you can watch it here!
If you are going to be in Ottawa, I hope to see you there! I'm going to do my best to attend a few of the other events, such as the Bob Clampett Retrospective. I'd also like to pick up a copy of Amid Amidi's book Cartoon Modern, at his book signing. I'm looking forward to another fun and busy weekend. It should be good.

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 5: Basic Training

2006-09-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 4: in a tight spot!

2006-09-15T09:21:00.000-04:00

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 3: Crash Landing!

2006-09-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone! Here's the latest Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy strip. This is part 3. (Part 1 and 2 were posted earlier in August). I'm going to be posting these as I finish them, (one strip at a time here and there). There is a story arc, so one day, I'll put them all together, but for now, you get them as they are!

Expo Reviews

2006-09-11T11:34:00.001-04:00

Check out this review of the Expo from Heroic Arts Comic's Steve Layton, featuring none other than the Possum and Spy Guy!!!

Also The Possum popped up in this comic bloc forum by Brian Labelle

Thanks Guys.

Poptopia interview and more photos!

2006-09-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

O.K. I lied.... No drawings this post. I'm hard at work on the Possum #2, so I don't have a lot of time to do other drawings, and the stuff I'm working on now isn't ready to show. I have about 10 pages roughed out, and I started inking page 1 last weekend! I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, here's some fun things to look at and listen to:

When we were at the Comic Expo, Mike and Myself were interviewed by Paul French, who runs a Podcast site, covering all things pop culture. It was my first interview, and I kind of froze up, but thanks to Pauls editing out ummms and pauses, I don't sound half as stupid as I actually am. To listen to the POPTOPIA INTERVIEW CLICK HERE. Or click on the banner above to visit Paul's Poptopia site first hand. (We are interviewed on episode 76). I am the first interview of the show, and Mike is the last.

Also: My brother Mike posted a batch of photos from the convention on his blog as well. There is lots of pictures of us sketching, as well as some of the colourful characters at the convention! Check them out here!

One more batch of photos!!!

2006-09-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more photos from the convention. Next post will be some drawings, I promise.

Believe it or not, we were pretty busy all day. (Thanks to Mike Helmer for the photo!)

Mike, hard at work!

And a few celeberties to top it off: Rowdy Roddy Piper! ,.....

Mini Me! ,...

....And the beautiful Inara and Mrs. Reynolds. (This one is for you Sam!)

More Photos from the 2006 Toronto Comic Expo!

2006-09-05T15:38:00.000-04:00

Proof to our wives that we actually did something on the weekend!

2006 Toronto Comic Expo was a big success!!

2006-09-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

Well, the 2006 Toronto Comic Expo came and went, and it was an amazing weekend! We met alot of wonderful people, and got alot of good responses for our comics. Just look at all of these happy customers.

We did a free sketch for everyone who bought a comic. This was alot of fun, but kept us busy pretty much from open to close.
SPIDER MAN!!
"These aren't the comics we're looking for. Move along."
We were even interviewed by a puppet!
Darth Vader, checking out Spy Guy, by my bro Mike! (Who would have thought that Lord Vader was a fan)!

The Possum Press and Ultraist Studios booth at the 2006 Toronto Fan Expo! A great big THANKS to everyone who came out and visited our booth! It was a really fun weekend! ....... more photos to come!

POSSUM PRESS and ULTRAIST STUDIOS: table A12

2006-08-31T17:35:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let everybody know that me and Mike are going to be at table A12 in the artist alley. Click here for the map.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Toronto Comic Expo: This Weekend!!!

2006-08-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

This years highlights are Blair and Mike Kitchen who will be promoting and selling their comics, as well as some lesser known artists such as Mike Mignola and Jim Lee. If you are going, be sure to visit Me and Mike in Artist Alley! PLEASE!!! PLEASE, BUY OUR CIMICS!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Page 58: thumbnails to final

2006-08-28T10:23:00.000-04:00

Here is another page, broken down from thumbnails to the final page. This one has dialogue, so as you can see, planning it was a bit more messy.
Again, the pencils were done on the train into work. I made up a new panel that wasn't thumbnailed as I was pencilling to fill some space. (the middle right panel). I find it hard to plan everything out in the thumbnail stage. It is more of a jumping off point for me (just getting something down to have a visual start). Once I start pencilling in the actual page, I get a much better feel for what I can and can't fit into a page. I can feel if the panels are flowing or reading much better.
Inked and ready for tones.
The final page, as it appears in the comic. Tones done in photoshop.

Page 57: Thumbnails to Final

2006-08-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

Howdy! I thought I'd do a post on the evolution of a page from my comic book. This is generally the process I go through for each page, although there are no rules. It is just the way that I find works best. On the next comic I may find a better way, but for now, this is how it goes:
1: I keep two sketchbooks going at a time. In one I jot down any random ideas that I may have for various storys whether it is for the Possum, or for something entirely different. The other, I use for thumbnails, dialogue etc. for whatever comic I am working on at the time. I like the sketchbooks, because it keeps all of my thoughts contained, and organized. I do alot of this stuff on the train into work, so loose pages just get lost, or scattered between work and home. This page has no dialogue, so it was easier to plan out. If the page has dialogue, I usually write it all out first, then decide where I can break it up for each panel, then I do quick thumbnails. I usually base the page around a dominant image that I have in my head, then work the rest of the panels around that.
2: I do the rough pencils straight onto Peterboro illustration board (No. 27). I like the board, because I can keep them in my backpack to work on the train, and they can take a lot more abuse than paper. They also take the ink very well. I don't have to worry about them getting wrinkled and they are stiff enough to just pull out and start drawing. I don't need to carry around something hard to draw on. I got into a good rhythm of doing the thumbnails and penciling on the train, to and from work. When you have kids, and a full time job, you have to use every spare minute of the day to get things done. 50 minutes to work and 50 minutes home with no distractions is priceless. I keep the pencils pretty loose. My main goal is to get all of the thinking done at this stage, but because I am inking as well, I don't have to worry about someone not understanding what I put down.
3: Next, I ink right over top of the pencils, and erase them after the inking is done. Before inking I photocopy the pencils, just in case I really mess up. Because I'm not trying to get an overly slick, clean look, it gives me a lot more room to be looser in the pencilling stage. The inking is harder to find time to get it completed, because I can't do it on the train. I need a bit more room, and the train is too bumpy. I inked this comic with a Rotring art pen, with refillable ink cartriges. I chose these pens, because you can take them anywhere, and you don't have to dip them. They also have a round nib, so they handle circles and curves much easier than the hunt nibs that I tried. I also do all of the dialogue by hand. When it's done well (which I am still working on), I think it has a lot more personality than the computer fonts.
4: Lastly, I scan the inked page into Photoshop, and do the grey tones and dots on the computer. It's quite a lot of work to get 1 page of comic finished, but I really do enjoy it. I don't know how many times I cursed myself for making my first comic 72 pages though! Anyways, there you have it. I hope you get a chance to read the Possum, and enjoy it. I dropped some comics off at the Silver Snail in Toronto, so they should have some to buy, or you can get them from me on my website, or maybe I'll see you at the Comic Expo Sep 1-3!

WWW.POSSUMPRESS.COM IS NOW OPERATIONAL!!!

2006-08-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!! You can now order The Possum #1, and Possum T Shirts online! Go to www.possumpress.com, and click on the store link. Also for sale is SPY GUY: Minis, and SPY GUY: Bootleg, by my brother Mike Kitchen! You can get the whole bunch for a special $10.00 value pack rate, which includes a comic my brother did with a friend back before they went to college, thrown in for nothing. It includes a pin up I did when I was in highschool, which is quite embarassing......... good blackmail material! Don't forget to check out Mike's blog as well. www.ultraiststudios.blogspot.com

The Possum Press site, is still pretty bare bones, but it gets the job done. I will be adding to it when I can, so keep checking in.

P.S. Let me know what you think! Any suggestions, or feedback on any of this stuff (website, prices, art, anything), would be greatfully received (good or bad). There is a lot of decisions that go into all of this stuff, and I want to be sure I'm making the right ones. Thanks!

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 2: out of kvas

2006-08-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Back From Vacation

2006-08-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

Me and Avery are back from our four day canoe trip down the Tim River, in the interior of Algonquin Park. We went with some friends from our church, and had an amazing time. This was Avery's first canoe trip, and now she is a seasoned pro! What a beautiful place!..... oh well... back to the grind.

Lion vs. Zebra spot to be shown at the Ottawa Film Festival!

2006-08-11T14:09:00.000-04:00

Man, I've got a lot of news today! I found out not too long ago that a commercial that I directed for Chuck Gammage Animation was accepted into the Ottawa Animation Festival. It will be competing in the "commissioned animation" catagory. This is the first time I have had anything in the festival, so I'm kind of excited. Again, if you are going to the Ottawa Festival I hope to see you there.

If you haven't seen this commercial yet, you can watch it here!

Late Breaking News!!: Possum Press and Ultraist Studios will be at the Canadian National Comic Book Expo

2006-08-11T12:07:00.000-04:00

I Just found out that Me and my bro Mike Kitchen (creator/artist of Spy Guy) will be attending the Comic Expo at the Toronto Convention Center Aug 30 - Sep 3!! We will be sharing a table in artist alley. If you are thinking of attending the Expo, please track us down and visit our table! I'll let everyone know more specifics as we find them out! Hope to see you there!

Check out Mike's Blog here, for samples of the new SPUD AND HARRY pages, (Mike's next comic in the SPY GUY universe) and other Ultraist studios news!

THE COMICS ARE HERE!!!!!!

2006-08-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

44 boxes of The Possum #1 were delivered to my house yesterday! They are now sitting in my garage, and my wife is panicing, because we have no place to put them. I figure we can use them as furniture for a while. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. Of course there is a long list of things to do differently for #2, but for my first comic, I'm pretty happy!

I don't have my web site set up right now, but I'm working on a paypal account, so if anyone is interested in a copy........ I'm working on it. I'm going camping with my daughter until next Thursday, so when I get back that is my first order of business.

Animation!

2006-08-08T10:50:00.000-04:00

Classical Animation Medly

Here is a sample of some of the commercial animation work I have been doing over the last few years. All of these commercials were for Chuck Gammage Animation in Toronto.

Stop Motion Medly
I spent a year doing stop motion animation for Disney's Jo Jo's Circus, at Cuppa Coffee animation. It was a lot of fun, but I missed drawing. I'd love to try out some feature stop motion at some point though.

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy part 1: cheez wiz speech of '93

2006-08-04T09:18:00.000-04:00

More to come......

more life drawings

2006-08-01T11:34:00.000-04:00

Here are some life drawings from the last two sessions. We are taking a break for the rest of the summer and starting up again in September. I know they aren't the most exciting of posts, but bare with me, I'm only one man!! More fun stuff is coming. I promise.

more scribbles

2006-07-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

Some more scribbles from my sketchbook. These drawings were never ment to be seen by anyone else but me, but what the heck. Ignore the crudeness. I'm a very lazy drawer when I'm not using a drawing for a final piece. As long as I understand the roughs, and I can come back to it later, and still make sense of it, then it has fulfilled it's role in this crazy world.

Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy

2006-07-25T13:28:00.000-04:00

Another 2 pages from my old sketchbook. I had about 8 markers lying around to colour these with.....oh yeah, and I know broccoli is spelled wrong....it's a dumb spelling anyways.

Avery and Jacob

2006-07-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

What father can resist posting sketches of his kids. I don't sketch these two nearly enough. I don't see them enough during the week, because of work, so the last thing you want to do when you are with them is distance yourself from them to sketch. With that said, sometimes you just can't help it. Avery is now 3, and Jacob is 1.

more sketchbook pages

2006-07-20T09:21:00.000-04:00

Just another page from my sketchbook. Most of this page is ideas for a side comic that will probably turn up in the back of future Possum comics. It is called "The Adventures of Captain Smith and Broccoli Boy". I'm just starting to actually draw the real pages. These are just some random images that popped into my head, which I will work into the strip. Enjoy.

sketchbook pages

2006-07-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

Here are some pages from my old sketchbook (2002). These were done when I was first thinking about making a comic book. They are the first drawings of Stuart (a.k.a The Possum). When I draw in my sketchbooks, I'm not thinking about making a pretty drawing. These drawings were done quickly, with the sole purpose of getting an idea on paper.

Off to the printer

2006-07-18T14:52:00.000-04:00

Well that's it! The Possum #1 is off to the printers!! (screw ups and all). There's no turning back now. I don't feel relieved at all. I feel like I forgot to do something and when I get the comic back, there will be a mistake that I can't stop looking at. I'm in denial that I'm done..... what to do now....... nothing to do but wait. (I guess I could get started on issue #2)!

ZOMBIES!!!

2006-07-18T10:22:00.000-04:00

Zombies are alot of fun! I can't wait to get to some Possum vs. Zombie stories in upcoming comics.

busted USB

2006-07-14T10:30:00.000-04:00

Here is a few more life drawings from a few sessions ago. I went this week, but was sucking pretty bad, so I had nothing. I have been having problems with my portable USB drive, so I haven't been able to get anything new scanned in. Next week I promise I'll have some sketchbook Possum drawings! I've got lots of those.

Curious George Lobby Card

2006-07-07T12:50:00.000-04:00

My friend Florian Wagner was in Germany and spotted a scene that I animated on a lobby card, for the film Curious George. It's kind of neat to see them use a still from one of my scenes. Florian and his wife Nadine, were also animators on this film, for Yowza animation here in Toronto. It was a fun project to work on, during a time when everyone else was doing CG features. Thanks for the photo Florian.

Inked!!!!

2006-07-07T10:29:00.000-04:00

Pages 1 to 72 are finally all inked!! I finished the last one yesterday. All that is left is to do the tones on the last few pages, and tie up some loose ends like the letters page and intro page etc. I'll have one more busy week getting it ready for the printer, and then it will be out of my hands. It is kind of nerve racking to think that after all of this time, this comic will be finally finished!

Life Drawings

2006-06-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

I went life drawing the other day. It's been over 3 years since I went. It's amazing once you have kids, how quick the time goes, and how little of it you have. It felt really good to get back at it, but it took quite a while to get loosened up. These are some 30 seconds, ones, twos, and three minutes.

UN commercial

2006-06-23T12:18:00.000-04:00

Hey. Here is a commercial I animated/directed for Chuck Gammage Animation. It's a United Nations Canada commercial for their "Sport in a Box" campaign. You can view it on Cartoon Brew. I did the lion and zebra spot, and Sam Chou did the fly and spider spot. They were alot of fun to do, but it was a very tight schedule. Hal Mayforth designed both spots.

The Possum page 34

2006-06-07T12:41:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 33

2006-06-07T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 32

2006-06-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 31

2006-06-07T12:29:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 30

2006-06-07T12:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a few more pages of the Possum #1. I'm in the home stretch, to finish this thing!! (13 pages to go!) The end is actually in sight.

Possum Studios

2006-06-02T09:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm taking the easy road, and posting a few photos. They take a lot less time than drawing. I've been spending all my time trying to finish this comic, that there really isn't a whole lot to post at the moment. I have 18 pages left to ink!!! The finish line is actually in sight. (why did I make it 72 pages!??). When you are inking page 7, page 72 seems very far away. A month ago, I decided that I am going to finish this thing for the Toronto comic expo in September, which means that I have to have it sent to the printers at the end of July. It's amazing how fear can make you get things done. I don't want to post too many of the new pages, so that those who actually buy a copy will have something to read. Maybe next week, I'll put a few of them up though.

The Possum T shirt!

2006-05-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

I made Possum T shirts! Pictured here are 2/3rds of the Kitchen Clan, sporting their brand new Possum T shirts. left to right: Mike, Blair, Jeff, Brad. My other brother Brian lives in Calgary, and my sister Laurie went home, before this picture was taken. The shirts are silk screened, and come in grey or white, medium, large and xlarge. As of now, possumpress.com isn't up and running yet, so I don't have anything set up for ordering them with paypal or anything like that. I will very soon, I promise. In the meantime, if you want one, Email me at b_rkitchen@yahoo.ca and I will gladly work something out..........PLEASE BUY MY T SHIRT! PLEASE!!!!!

The Possum T shirt Ad!!!

2006-05-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

concepts for children's book

2006-05-19T09:32:00.000-04:00

These are some quick sketches to figure out a look for a children's book that I am illustrating for a friend. I still have a lot of work to do to find a style, but I am slowly getting somewhere with it. Right now it looks a little too generic. I'll figure something out eventually.

Broccoli Boy

2006-05-08T11:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a character that will be showing up in future issues of The Possum, in his own strip. This is a drawing I did, to learn how to use photoshop a while back. Keep an eye out for him. I don't want to say too much just yet.

children's book illustrations

2006-05-05T10:41:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of illustrations for a children's book I am working on. Maybe some day I'll get it done.

The Possum page 5

2006-04-27T13:11:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 4

2006-04-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 3

2006-04-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 2

2006-04-27T13:03:00.000-04:00

The Possum page 1

2006-04-27T12:43:00.000-04:00

The Possum #1 is almost here

2006-04-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

Here is the cover for the Possum #1. It is still a work in progress.

The Possum

2006-04-18T17:21:00.000-04:00

Howdy folks. Welcome to the Possum Press Blog. The Possum is a comic book that I (Blair Kitchen) am currently writing and will soon be publishing. Hopefully it will find its way into print before the year is out. I'll give you some sneak peeks as it is progressing, and hopefully show you some snippits of future comics as well. Enjoy.