Pro paying comics gig – Pencillers only

Pro paying comics gig – Pencillers only

Hi all I hope your projects are going well. Life is pretty hectic on planet Liz, hectic but happy.

I am once again talent scouting for an educational comics company, pencillers only this time round. If you have sent stuff to me previously keep drawing, but please don’t submit to this round. My client does not want to see any names he has seen before.

Style must be DC/Marvel realistic, tight clean pencils that can go straight from pencils to colour. Must be professional quality (of the two that got through last time both have done pro work for major players). Must be able to commit to doing 24 pages over a reasonable period. Must be able to work from photographic references and depict people from diverse backgrounds. Must follow artistic direction well, there will be a lot of corrections at storyboarding stage (storyboarding is paid for).

Please pass on to anyone who might be interested.

Submission info:
Please do not attach samples of artwork, send relevant url that shows your mighty awesomeness. As a general note please don’t make your website so wanky I do not know which links to click or have to click through outdated stuff you did in primary school before I get to the good stuff.

Final decision on who gets gigs will not be made by me. If I think your stuff has potential I will pass it on to the man who makes the decisions. Depending on the number of submissions I may be slow to respond. Follow up e-mails to see how things are going are fine.
Tips on what I’m looking for here: https://lizargall.com/2008/12/artist-search-over-for-now/

e-mail liz@lizargall.com

Fires, grief, stories and sense making

Fires, grief, stories and sense making

I have been reading Gary Hughes’ account of his first week after the fires in the Weekend Australian Magazine (March 7-8). A moving and intelligent account of the dislocation of a disaster like that. I cannot find a version of that article online, but here is his account of fleeing the fires. It is no wonder the guy has won Walkley awards. His account reminds me of the paralysed dislocation I felt after the Canberra fires. Minute in comparison, but with palpable comparisons. My family and friends were spared during those fires, although my father and sister on the other side of the town put out embers near the family home with the rest of the neighbourhood.

The many layers of grief, of letting go, of coping, surviving and thriving are fascinating, layered and complex. And these events are never in isolation. My mother died two days before September 11, burning trade centres another nail in a coffin on the day we were planning her funeral, compounding the fractures and disassociation. It took me a year and a half to find space to begin to grieve for her, sometimes grief takes time. I was unpacking grief when the 2003 fires came to Canberra and added a new sense of heartbreak and disconnection, opening up to then become self protectively numb again. It was nice to hear of seasoned survivors speaking of the anger after disconnect, it’s not personal, it’s almost physiological.

Six months, a year, after the fires I was in a workplace with a man who had lost his home while out fighting fires to save other people’s homes. He was still affected by the fires (of course) and there was a heightened consciousness and degree of conversation about the fires that stirred conflicting feelings. It assisted in spurring on an irrational anger every time a person mentioned their elderly parents. I was in a workplace where most of my colleagues were decades older and a number were struggling with roles of carers and the finite span of their parents. Every time they complained or expressed a fear of their parent’s mortality I wanted to yell across the room “Fuck you, my mother’s dead.” I can only imagine how hard this would be if you lost a parent younger and had to endure peers bitching about parents when you’ve lost one and would love to be in the position to bitch. My unexpected rawness providing new levels of understanding for friends who had lost parents in highschool. The anger was powerful and passed easily if I considered it to be a physiological response, passing through like running water and nothing personal. All of this flows through my mind as I see a new crimson sky in Victoria.

I was speaking to a friend about the numbness and trauma she and friends had been experiencing in Victoria, to be so close and while not personally touched by the fires, psychologically touched and rattled. I remember how rattled I felt by the Tsunami not that long ago, similarities and dissimilarities and sense making processes and how I control information flow.

Sometimes I don’t want to know anything, I will protect myself and close my eyes. Sometimes there is such a hunger to know and consume information and details, be hypnotised by the details and draw on them to make sense of it, make sense of the world, normalise events and contextualise the experience… lay down a map, like sketching a figure, look at the proportions, sketch out the physical space, sketch out the interior space, situate it in an environment, both current and historical. Processes like these spontaneous essay. Connecting this incident to the other stories I know can be life affirming, but also rattling as old wounds become re-energised, if they have not had the time grieve and flow like water through the consciousness so that they are not personal anymore.

I think of people who have been through so much more, people my father helps in war torn Africa who have seen more siblings die than live, witnessed, survived or perpetrated atrocities. I think of people in Afghanistan who have never known peace. I think of the layers of tragedy and grief, of complex survival systems, coping mechanisms, ways of thriving and how they intersect, bump into each other. It’s messy, difficult, magnificent and poignant, how humans love, lose, care and rebuild. That we live and love, make beauty and stories, imagine and will still dance (be it in words, bodies, sounds or sights) is magnificent. Our resilience and fragility is inspiring.

I am filled with admiration. I love how the world develops layers as I grow older, each year, each experience (my own or explored through one of the arts) is a piece of filo pasty, a layering that makes the world more interesting, more complex and extraordinary. As I get older, people become more extraordinary. I am able to see and imagine more layers to their filo pastry. The magnificence and brutality of the world. I cry more at the movies, in sorrow and joy. At times I feel more jaded, less attuned than I did a handful of years ago… but that is a self protective facade, brought about because I feel more, feel a greater complexity and my imagination can draw more lines in the air. Although I am not thrown into the air by my passions the way I used to, my passions have more nuance and depth, they are not diminished (though they are more manageable).

To draw on the wonderful Michael Marshal Smith’s Only Forward. When the wave has crashed, when the storm passes, as it will. What joy when we are able to bring ourselves fully into the present, bring our integrated selves with us and detangle our fragile selves from the barbed wire of the past… how extraordinary to have all those experiences like a magnifying lens to bring to our present selves and wonder at the world around us.

There is so much to learn, so much to remember, so much to make sense of when an extreme event happens (be it love or disaster).  Gary Hughes’ essay was a lovely point of reflection, moving and powerful. His words moved me and took me here. Our words, stories and sense makings are important.

Liz Bio vs 2

Liz Bio vs 2

With thanks for the kind crits, here is version 2:

A zombie love story, a seed that breaks through and changes the world, the quest to be cool through the power of snake skins or the disillusionment of of a nuclear physicist are a few of Liz’s tales. Dark and macabre or playful and delicious – she writes stories about hope, strength, survival and change. Liz writes across many media and genres, but comics are her major passion.

Liz carves out a diverse career as a freelancer, frequently working in educational comics as a writer, editor, project manager, talent scout and artist liaison. She has run creative workshops for a range of organisations, including the National Museum of Australia, Conflux and the Young Music Society. She even gets paid for writing creative works and essays, on spec or by commission. She has worked on and off as a Life Model for nine years. Prior to become a freelancer she worked as researcher, union organiser, refuge worker, circus manager and providing consulting and support to the community sector.

Her comics have been published in an array of publications, including Meanjin, The Girl’s Guide to Guy Stuff, Eat Comics, Something Wicked and in the collection Songs Dreams and Nightmares. She has supported and written for lip magazine since its inception. Her work is often psychological, poignant and she loves gritty urban fantasy. Her anthology, Dreams of Tomorrow, won a Bronze Ledger Award for Small Press of the Year. On Boxing Day she appeared nude in the Canberra Times to support the Parisian Life Model Strike and in January 2009 her musical Comic Book Opera, written with composer Michael Sollis, was performed for the first time.

If you want to find out more check out www.lizargall.com , drop her a line or say hi.

Your views wanted – new Bio

Your views wanted – new Bio

The art of Bio is a strange and mysterious one. I’ve been reworking one for the Emerging Writers festival in May.

What do you think? Does it interest you? Does it inspire you to come along to something I’m running? Does it inspire you to employ me?

Bio:

Liz’s stories often take people to dark places and then bring them out the other side. Stories about hope, strength, survival and change. Never one to hang out in the dark too long her stories can also be playful and delicious. She writes across many media and genres, but comics are her major passion.

In June 2008 she put the management of Warehouse Circus into new hands and plunged into the life of a freelancer. She works in educational comics as a writer, editor, project manager, talent scout and artist liaison. She has run creative workshops for a range of organisations, including the National Museum of Australia, U-Turn and the Young Music Society. She even gets paid for writing creative works and essays, on spec or by commission. She has worked on and off as a Life Model for nine years. Prior to taking the plunge she has worked as researcher, union organiser, refuge worker, circus manager, consulting and supporting for not for profit organisations to have better practices and be more prepared for emergencies.

Her comics have been published in an array of publications, including Meanjin, The Girl’s Guide to Guy Stuff, Eat Comics, Something Wicked and in the collection Songs Dreams and Nightmares. She has supported lip magazine since its inception. Her work is often psychological, poignant and she loves gritty urban fantasy. She’s even has won an award or two. On Boxing Day she appeared nude in the Canberra Times to support the Parisian Life Model Strike and in January 2009 her musical Comic Book Opera, written with composer Michael Sollis, was performed for the first time.

If you want to find out more check out www.lizargall.com , drop her a line or say hi.

Taken to Twitter!

Taken to Twitter!

I have now joined the twitterers. I blame Stephen Fry, he’s so intelligent and lovely and his love for it has infused me. It had been tempting me for sometime, given that lovely smart people like Liz Gorinsky and Mary Robinette Kowal Twitter. I have read enough about twitter and seen enough evidence that I know it can be a meaningful part of my day… I don’t like grabbing a social networking tool just to play the who’s got the most friends game. I am, very imaginatively http://twitter.com/lizargall

Here’s the lowdown on how I use my various social networks:
Myspace – I call it radio myspace, I don’t like the interface, I don’t like the ads, but it is the best place to collect musicians! I am hopeless at remembering the names of musicians I love, so this serves as a useful way of capturing them. By looking at who musicians I love friend I also expand my acoustic horizons and find new and interesting bands.

Facebook: A great all-rounder. My website (this post right now) is syndicated on it, my twitter account posts to it. I like the clean look, it feels nice checking in folks, gives me a good sense of connection and has an open airy feel.

Linkedin – Really helps me put my business head on, makes me think in a business-like manner and is a different sharing environment. There are interesting posts from the groups I’m in and I get to see how other people frame themselves. I don’t hang out regularly (perhaps I should), but I get stuff out of it every time I do.

LiveJournal – this website is syndicated on LJ and I have another LJ account that has been going for over nine years. It’s not a secret account, but I don’t publicise it as it is my most intimate space on the internet.

Comics Workshop now on 24 February

Comics Workshop now on 24 February

My Comics workshop planned for 17 February will now be held on the 24th – we have encountered some logistical difficulties.

Making Comics – writing, drawing and scheming!

When: 2.30 – 5.30 Tuesday 24 February

For: People aged 12-25

Where: U-Turn
Corner Chandler Street and Swanson Court
Belconnen ACT 2616

This workshop is free, thanks to the great folks at U-Turn who are all about:

Supporting young people aged 12 to 25 years, through recreational, educational, and health promotional activities, programs and community-based projects.

U-Turn organise a whole range of activites for young people in the Belconnen region – http://www.bcsact.com.au/

Comic creation drop in workshop in Canberra

Comic creation drop in workshop in Canberra

Making Comics – writing, drawing and scheming!

Serious, silly, gritty, funny, bizarre or poignant. One panel to 300 page sagas and beyond. Stick figures, photo realism or crazy collage. The world of comics is an amazing place.

An informal comics creation session for experienced hands and those who’ve never tried it before. Liz Argall will tailor the drop in session to what you want to learn and where you’d like to take the craft – draw, doodle, write and where to after that? Lets make some awesome comics.

When: 2.30 – 5.30 Tuesday 17 February

For: People aged 12-25

Where: U-Turn
Corner Chandler Street and Swanson Court
Belconnen ACT 2616

This workshop is free, thanks to the great folks at U-Turn who are all about:

Supporting young people aged 12 to 25 years, through recreational, educational, and health promotional activities, programs and community-based projects.

U-Turn organise a whole range of activites for young people in the Belconnen region – http://www.bcsact.com.au/

2008 review continues, two festivals in detail – Emerging Writers Festival and ACT Writers Festival

2008 review continues, two festivals in detail – Emerging Writers Festival and ACT Writers Festival

Going to conventions costs money, costs time and I’m very aware that it can be one of the best investments a writer can make, or a procrastination tool and a bit of a junket. Here’s an analysis of two of the festivals I went to in 2008, I’ll get to the rest later, so I’ll have a good memory/knowledge base for what festivals and conventions I’ll go to in the future and might be useful to others trying to decide on events.

Emerging Writers Festival

This was my first Emerging Writers Festival, held down in Melbourne. A great festival focusing on the craft and content of writing. There was a great collegiate feel and thanks to attending a panel on what publishers want I was inspired by the new directions of Meanjin and this lead to more published work. The Making of the Scientist, essay plus comic was published in the December issue of Meanjin, although it was written and approved many many months before.

I really enjoyed the down to earth attitudes of my fellow writers. No whinging, a good work ethic and on the whole an understanding and a love of the craft. I know a successful playwright who will not go to writers festivals, has never been… because, well he thinks they’re too wanky. I think I could lure him out for this one even though he’s very much an established writer, he’d get lots of value out of it (and get to grumble in a very entertaining manner about these whippersnappers).

My favourite panels were about the process of creating a specific work. Rather than boiled down generalisations or focusing on a specific aspect of the trade creators spoke about the process, start to finish, of getting something published. Fascinating stuff, great food for thought and having that structure really cut down on twinkish repetitive questions from the audience, while inspiring interesting questions and conversations. Their Ambassador scheme was absolutely brilliant and I hope they do it again. I flew down just for the festival and it was well worth the cost.

ACT Writers Festival

Volunteered for my local ACT Writers Festival, and really enjoyed my volunteering experience. Through this festival a whole range of knowledge and experience crystalised, I took another step forward and started writing much better pitches. My slim novel In Her Own Words is still getting rejection letters, but they are now personalised rejection letters with nice comments about my writing. Onwards and upwards! After the collegiate vibe of the Emerging Writers festival I did find the ACT Writers Festival… well, it felt more fragmented and…  I hate to say it, whingier. The Emerging Writers Festival had some innovative ways to deal with this problem, but a lot has to do with who’s in the audience and how they dominate the space.

The pitching competition was fantastic, and very well run. It was great to see how other people present, see the judges comments and afterwards the judges were generous with their time when giving further crits. Not the sort of experience you get often and I’m so glad the Writers Festival Pres poked me into entering. Lots of good stuff, was great to meet new and old friends and there was a lovely sense of community – though in classic Canberra fashion it can take a while to find.

Post Workshops

Post Workshops

Well I’ve finished all my booked in workshops. Wow, what a ride, what a rush. I’ve been delighted by the artwork that has been produced by my students, and how they have learned a lot more about telling stories with their art.

It’s been rewarding to challenge confident students to new levels and have shy students develop confidence and skills.

I’ve learned a lot as well and my teacherly folder of handouts has more than tripled in size over the past few weeks (first teaching every day at the Young Music Society and then at the Australian National Museum).

If you would like me to bring a workshop on comics, storytelling, writing, the art of collaboration or being a funky creative humanbeing/funky creative workplace please drop me a line. I love tailoring workshops to specific groups and happy to travel (please note, I am currently based in Canberra, Australia).