Blog

#11 – Reflection

Working on this internship gave me a lot of professional experience in working in design. Most importantly it brought me into the harsh world of deadlines. Meeting deadlines means the difference between keeping your job and not. On top of that, you are only getting paid a certain amount of hours, so if you need to stay on top of your work and have a social life, you need to make sure the work is getting done within those hours or it’ll be pouring into your personal hours. I plan to continue my work for this team after the semester ends, as working on a comic or illustration team of this style has always been a dream job for me.

I’ve definitely gotten a lot more proficient at Adobe Photoshop along with my personal favorite illustration program, Clip Studio Paint. Working with deadlines forced me to take some shortcuts here and there, which I am not entirely proud of. Having some prior experience with Photoshop helped a lot in some instances. For example, having Photoshop’s many built-in Blur effects, allowed me to blur backgrounds in an interesting way. This allowed me to not have to put in as much detail or use as much time in background drawings since they would be out of focus.

ETHICS 2B

The famous Fairey Copyright case showed why you should always use your own work, and avoid taking anything for free. Although, I agree with Fairey that this was basically a new art piece. The photo was clearly inspired by the photo taken by Mannie Garcia.

However, it was a bit too inspired and when the images are put side by side, it becomes evident that the illustration, despite the color and style, is not his own idea. Fairey defended himself by saying the recreation of the photo was protected by fair use. The case worked out with both sharing the rights. I think most cases should work in this way.

If a person uses someone’s art piece without changing a thing, then that is very suable and the stealer should have to pay for that. However, when the art piece is changed just enough to be its own separate entity, I think that draws the line between stealing and being inspired by it.

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1. Memmott, Mark. “Shepard Fairey and AP Settle Copyright Dispute over ‘Hope’ Poster.” NPR, NPR, 12 Jan. 2011, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/01/12/132860606/shepard-fairey-and-ap-settle-copyright-dispute-over-hope-poster. 

2. “Obama ‘Hope’ Poster Lawsuit Settlement a Good Deal for Both Sides, Says Kernochan Center Director.” Columbia Law School, https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/obama-hope-poster-lawsuit-settlement-good-deal-both-sides-says-kernochan-center-directo

ETHICS 2A

In the past, I have certainly used other creative’s work for school-related assignments. This would include images and videos. However, in most video cases it is clear that I have not made the video because there is a narrator or someone who takes ownership during it.

However, with images, they are much easier for people to take without credit since the image owner isn’t always immediately clear. Nowadays, when dealing with contracts, and legal agreements it is 100% mandatory to only use content that belongs to yourself. Cases such as the Shepard

Using another creative’s work without their permission can lead to lawsuits against yourself and cost you majorly. When taking work that belongs to others, the safest bet is to make sure it’s from a royalty or free stock website that gives you full use and rights to their image such as Pexels, Unsplash, or Pixabay. Otherwise, I will pay for a license to use the content.

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1. Lake, Rebecca. “Copyright vs Trademark VS Patent: Know the Difference.” Lendio, Lendio, 12 Apr. 2022, https://www.lendio.com/blog/patents-copyrights-trademarks/#:~:text=A%20copyright%20protects%20original%20works,matter%20(such%20as%20medicines).
2. Office, U.S. Copyright. “Fair Use (FAQ): U.S. Copyright Office.” Fair Use (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html.
3. Pexels – Free Stock Photos. https://www.pexels.com/.
4. Unsplash. “Beautiful Free Images & Pictures.” Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/.

ETHICS 1B

I did not have to sign a confidentiality agreement because the supervisor had given me permission to share any work created for the webtoon publicly, even pre-released work. The team felt it allowed for more publicity for the series.

There are several pros and cons that come with signing an NDA. One of which is the protection of your image. For example, with the gaming company Blizzard Entertainment, there was a case where news broke out that the women working there were being mistreated and underpaid. Although there were claims that several men there were harassing the women in the company, their names were not made public, most likely to an NDA. Therefore, their image was never affected.

A con for signing Non-Disclosure agreements is that the artist will never receive credit for the work they’ve done. Credit, in this case, meaning the artist will never be able to say the work was done by them. Even if the work is highly successful and portfolio worthy, breaking this can lead to financial consequences and legal fees.

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1.“Activision Blizzard Sued for Mistreatment of Women in the Workplace, Employees Stage Walkout.” The Northern Light, https://www.thenorthernlight.org/stories/activision-blizzard-sued-for-mistreatment-of-women-in-the-workplace-employees-stage-walkout.

2.“Non-Disclosure Agreements: Pros and Cons for Small Businesses.” Job Search, https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/signing-nda?hl=en&co=US.

ETHICS 1A

The design work I’ve completed for the company thus far has all been personal work of my own. The company has indefinite rights to all work since the work submitted will represent its brand. The commission of the logo was a one-and-done deal, and they are now the owner of the artwork. The same applies to all comic panels and the rest of the illustrations. However, I will still be credited as the artist. I won’t receive any additional pay on top of assigned work for these illustrations. According to AIGA Guide To Copyright, this would be known as a “work for hire”. Also, “An artist’s copyright is owned by the artist and is protected from the moment it is created by the 1976 Copyright Act. This protection covers the work for the artist’s lifetime plus 70 years. If agreed to in writing, the copyright may be assigned elsewhere.” (AIGA 54)

1. AIGA. GUIDE TO COPYRIGHT. https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet02-xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com/61aab133e7df2/24571491?X-Blackboard-Expiration=1651114800000&X-Blackboard-Signature=C5RiaeUV7ndMrBgwVa3TwemwBPFC%2FDZZXhGo%2F9DuHqw%3D&X-Blackboard-Client-Id=100211&response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27AIGA%2520Business_Ethics%252047556757-Guide-to-copyright-1-MB.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEA4aCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIC4PyO%2FfNb%2B7b7M4ofteSo9Yzowm5%2FkSty8K77CoYF4zAiB8zGyGRFqqsbTfWw0utVa%2FgcijDa0kWbEUn0m%2FkZcifSrcBAjH%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAIaDDYzNTU2NzkyNDE4MyIMRixJ%2BPkaF4AgkpokKrAEYFgSuN7Hl12xvWZL7J2xKkxdSaum%2Fni3TxgRieW58Go1XuBUj6%2FtOpDASAfjh5AQ5umocCYGOHS80wwVYU1MjZf2M91MbzIbmL8heLAfsVRy9bZHs3UIGl7ucGVzenLsJXdtQ979bBwj3WDVdSXOSYHS1n1KRtwottQ%2FAbttTZtyeqb3goG3kRuO1SMLzphss%2FnrSKfYTwQei4aGyT5N388oP9xam7UutkWmwOfkY%2BpZjYZqt%2BiCHBq3KuXFNSmWX3t8RBsLifhMrGGO%2Buajvy5Y%2ForBdmh7gsyi2DQhbbcsI8apcR1bUYNjpDlPZUJTazS36ZDZQ92lKHOPnRDUjxjBAVOz%2FJLa9Lc7%2BGvdO0Vo%2FZqq3tXXJQsQK4srssKPlmCHqirxi43374ZvdsMa21tjRvmMXR9mbV%2FMzIZa3kE86xePXDHMeG1ewjpkVMpJC6sb6%2B57hdjEszW5qc0AX9aNMWmwv23sqc7kUgI%2F2zqZg26LF9cm7D%2FFk6qGU7iJRiZF0TqP%2FstSSNrAKFlyRZt9XwzcxhMp8jq6CsQrnlYJ7w5b4r8F9eaZMLHFVGF9w3Zpb5odKRZNaPXDl93%2FqlR3OwkDSntrC41I%2FBjt88gqlFtapmrcNrHaEkgfCDTjhw2J2St9yrWqsnwc479tEPobc8%2BrqodstUsrhCFUXlfZOhNgHOa9tGiJ0PkTHBb8tjBgxIdvvsaSx5ORrirU5bLYDdft6GRG6916h9LkbyYwqe%2BmkwY6qgFiQ8dRBeh4nLj7LcBimw1Q6ETT5QMd48G5WxS2PNSLhwTA0lOQwqlSmJM8Z4zC8pARkhpjagTg5HUVRw9TU4grPghK7bOW6FygARwCPIrC3ZDqteee9FscHknDEbOl1%2BjOm1rj0J7wNUBymzJg9CbeYQHcMRApEdPyVJoA66w1NMXE4E5%2FeKblotBZaVFTqJWSeh6GSwk58nCKYgLOd3n4Q%2FoM58pa5JPjNw%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20220427T210000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAZH6WM4PLXO24NSUO%2F20220427%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=9cf55b0a35a00acc6bd3388aefc1e07fa74e9cf7f942930b73cd564b806ebfba.
2. AIGA. “USE OF ILLUSTRATION.” Https://Learn-Us-East-1-Prod-fleet02-Xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com/61aab133e7df2/24571489?X-Blackboard-Expiration=1651114800000&X-Blackboard-Signature=fbaNpUKXMSRLAA8LGQ%2B1KNw3s3ZsSJQueed3UoHMtvk%3D&X-Blackboard-Client-Id=100211&Response-Cache-Control=Private%2C%20max-Age%3D21600&Response-Content-Disposition=Inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27AIGA%2520Busines_Ethics%252047556733-Use-of-Illustrations-1-MB.pdf&Response-Content-Type=Application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEA4aCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIE9gS3UMo3%2FvRbNocOCODQYo4NfLH%2BiMSizF%2F8AUmScMAiBSDl1aV5nh3BQ2kMqU%2BZypqEVu%2Fzth3rm8tqgJ7mXjqyrcBAjH%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAIaDDYzNTU2NzkyNDE4MyIMdfvYUo4Z33qZ%2F%2B0LKrAEwGBm0gJI0nXJpGXWrE3VZDYGIB9yw8MXxK%2BbCF72e%2BqzlJ5TV8UUyVCi%2FWHAstX4eJrhGYOxM1rPsNfupYmyqUVb7Vksw1d3RAFzL86eVKP35FfX4vnEOT%2FQOOBKOGIZlebQtrRXwzr4LADmu00wKuOKbPMKka5oMsTORfUpDpRlmowrAnEIkCozGda11abLjvzXQC7l5tcqngx2mC9hR2%2F4AduKGn9S1X04U6nQRc8f%2Fr%2FeEvBEXtc%2FcxjcNibdq4u3zfktmy9yVbcMhgmrJYNJy6CF0rhKhocXGe3dwfQMJdAhrseQmDLhCW%2BfpOOMyOxQRF%2FB0nq0WA%2F7%2F8Czljrm45CaLACGYRvc8DdgUDgW9nF%2BqqjuZRMpXm7CV453sCiEO%2Fmc0PaFizlnTFu6ckkVvQYOeVm14BMxmJtFj9N8Hnbct6SyezrqPsTLJj6HfEdSgv1qZuv5thA%2FkMO1YcesbATdtvy6Is4Pp%2BzA8tKaziN1cX1P5g5lKyiz0OspqGDU1G2mUVs6XKMwOrB90EkSMdiEaOChWAgGMCncFmP7ZhPbyaE4jYUF0kVc6kh0pRTYQCZB66E1tu9HO2nQfWhIPrZbN4z6AZzZg9hS%2FHt1beuodUPQUawg31zPvI7V39E0otPyL7kfLQv0AO1ajxe1wI6ia8DwX0zSfW%2F%2BQ1bj0q5G5ytKfWiCpDocugpLJdVvXcxgbq2BOIWwP5cDuZyqRokaRJe41UZSkBioSNowguymkwY6qgHQxBHvGg2laKBz4Arp4bO%2FvHQwTg0FeC3UjO81AaOcCD61K3PQve8IqkWdNTwXb%2BC5%2Bx%2BqYjMAMDZO%2Bn6%2FHicbU6eJ5yXZb2XfGXi7J1IAVABhgXCpcNTkfYjlEiNeVPw%2FlwT7vu7NoZdBvcVbaJqXF%2Bjg%2BRO%2BFhcBzeBemiZYtmEfV4rrdoG4OHJn9siTzqautaWLjMTG%2BFtVdyxyQsSf60%2FgvAG%2BrmWhtQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20220427T210000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=Host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAZH6WM4PLRIK3REFJ%2F20220427%2Fus-East-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=7732fd511286000c19cf04123e0be763340ff31f72ce31d95eb27d1e32b603d0.

#10 – One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Due dates have also been pushed back. I have much more time to get work done now on top of other personal projects I do. Other members of the team have been pushing for animated visuals of the drawings done in the webtoon. This will allow us to put out more content in the downtime we take after this finished chapter of the story.

Promotional Art drawn by Keshan Brijmohan

#9 – Getting Organized

I have started the new set of orders. The part of the team working on the Webtoon side of things has created a Discord group chats in order to send and keep things more organized. This separates things such as sketches, line work, color, and revisions. On top of this, things like announcements and scheduling for things can be discussed much easier.

Discord Logo

#8 – Finishing What Was Started

The team has decided that they want to push back doing remasters in favor of finishing this current story arc. This way the fans reading will have something to look forward to, while the new readers will get an enhanced reading.

#7 – Refinement

Soon our team will be pursuing refining the current series and possibly remasters of early panels with the new art style. I will also be coloring more panels than usual. With the series’ fans slowly growing, it makes sense that the team decided to polish it up a bit more.

A better-rendered panel from a recent chapter.

#6 – Building The Environment

I’m adding better backgrounds to the colored panels. The current illustrations of backgrounds don’t show enough of the environment, so using 3D assets, I will try to pull the angle of the shot more out, so that it’s more prominent in the panel. Clip Studio Paint allows me to import my own 3D-made objects or use the ones built into the software. There is also a market with 3D locations made by other users that I can download completely copyright-free from.

Clip Studio Paint Interface

#5 – The Virtual Commute

Currently, for my internship, we are continuing in the next chapters of the series. I’m working on filling in the color before I begin the shading/rendering process. I’m very appreciative of remote working. It hasn’t changed much for my internship since my job has always been remote. Working online is also very convenient for me since I don’t have to put aside extra time for getting ready, commuting, etc.

#4 – The Wait

I am currently ahead on work for the comic, so this week I am just fleshing out what we haven’t released as yet. I am also doing revisions for anything needed such as small typos and adding in panels that we can reuse for certain pages.

Animated Panel from “Midnight Poppyland” written by LilyDusk

#3 – Polishing

This week, I’ve tried new techniques with coloring. The viewership and interest for the team’s comic seem to be increasing at a good pace. Subscribers of the comic have all good things to say in the comment section. We’re also very ahead on work which allows having more time for the next few deadlines. 

Shading from early chapters vs. the current style.

#2 – What Is My Job?

I’ve already landed my job with a comic author for WebToon. At this time, I’m just finishing coloring a set of 15 colored panels. This process will be what I do every week for the entirety of the internship. It doesn’t end there, as I also have to wait to see if there are any last-minute revisions or text changes that need to be done. 

‘The Garden of Words” Anime Movie

#1 – Finding The Job

Recently, I landed a freelance job through a freelance website, Fiverr, with an author/uploader from a famous comic app known as “WEBTOON“. I’ve considered using this as my internship since it requires me to put many hours of the week into cranking out multiple comic pages to be uploaded to the app regularly. My work would entail coloring, recomposition, creating speech bubbles, using 3D elements to create the background, and occasionally revising inkwork. I’ve worked with numerous comics in the past, but they were small series or “one-shots”. One-shots are one story or chapter of a story meant to test the waters of how successful a series can become without fully committing.