Journals18
Newest
Let me tell you about Charlie!
5 min read
So I've been doing some pages now of a comic I've so far had yet to mention the title of, or even the name of the main character. The her name always been obvious to me. It was actually in the second page I ever wrote about her. But that comic strip kinda sucked so it was removed soon after I uploaded it here. The title for the comic was a bit trickier. The title I worked with when I first started with this project was "Hipsters", a dreadful title that never fitted. Afterwards it I called it "The collective" for a while. But then, it just feelt right to name the comic after it's main character.
So the name of this comic, and it's main character, is Charlie.
So who is Charlie then? Charlie came to be right after I started to get sick of my previous comic "Rejected". I just didn't think the comic or character was funny drawing anymore. The main character in Rejected is a character design I've been using a long. But despite that, "Slinker" never really feel like its own character. Perhaps because I tried too much making him me. So I feelt like I needed to do something else. With colors. The Rejected comics had however female character, that I kinda liked drawing. And I think Charlie is an expansion of her.
(Sorry all my old comics are in swedish.)
So who is Charlie then? Charlie is a 21 year old girl. That lived a pretty empty teenage life, and to escape that life she moved out of her hometown to start anew. But to achieve an happy new life, she is going to have to fight a lot of embarrassing stuff. Like learning to be social! Oh my!
Working at a crappy job for a few years back home, she has saved enough money to get by a "few months" in her first very own apartment... That she has to share with two other strangers. OMG, how will she get by?!? What if they want to become friends with her? ARGH, WHAT IF THEY DON'T?!?
To escape this nightmare of awkwardness she is for now pretty secluded to her own room and internet. But will now and then attempt to communicate IRL.
Charlie is however deeply an really honest, caring and loyal person. That would probably be a great friend to have. She has all the tools to live her own dreams. She just lacks the experience, nothing she does she do because she is stupid or cynical. Just she doesn't really know any other way. She might learn though.
The comic so far hasen't been that storylined. Overall I make every comic strip to stand by its own, but I hope to have a little character development there in the future. What feels refreshing for me making this comic, and has probably help me stick with it. Is that I don't really care who reads it or whats funny anymore. Might be a weird statement, but what I feelt what been limiting in my previous attempts was that I did a comic I tried to fit in somewhere. Like a newspaper, or a site, or have an overall appeal similar to comics I like. And everything I did had to be so darn funny.
I think I can be pretty funny person now and then. But when writing a comic the whole "think of something funny" it's a really bad first step. In Charlies comics I want to tell about situations I, myself, find weird or awkward in daily life. And life full of it. If a page turns out funny thats a plus, but I my main goal is to tell something people can RELATE to. Because if people can read about awkward or embarrassing situations they can related to. Maybe that will help them survive it themself? I hope so.
I hope some of you has enjoyed my comics about Charlie so far. This month I will try to redo my website "www.joakimj.se" and give Charlie her own room. With both the swedish and the english version of the comic in one place. But no worries, I'm gonna keep posting the English versions deviantart too. I'm also gonna work on a few applications to schools. So I'm not sure when next page comes. But they will come, and hopefully constantly improve. My comic. Named Charlie. About Charlie.... Yeah, she's pretty sweet.
So the name of this comic, and it's main character, is Charlie.
So who is Charlie then? Charlie came to be right after I started to get sick of my previous comic "Rejected". I just didn't think the comic or character was funny drawing anymore. The main character in Rejected is a character design I've been using a long. But despite that, "Slinker" never really feel like its own character. Perhaps because I tried too much making him me. So I feelt like I needed to do something else. With colors. The Rejected comics had however female character, that I kinda liked drawing. And I think Charlie is an expansion of her.
(Sorry all my old comics are in swedish.)
So who is Charlie then? Charlie is a 21 year old girl. That lived a pretty empty teenage life, and to escape that life she moved out of her hometown to start anew. But to achieve an happy new life, she is going to have to fight a lot of embarrassing stuff. Like learning to be social! Oh my!
Working at a crappy job for a few years back home, she has saved enough money to get by a "few months" in her first very own apartment... That she has to share with two other strangers. OMG, how will she get by?!? What if they want to become friends with her? ARGH, WHAT IF THEY DON'T?!?
To escape this nightmare of awkwardness she is for now pretty secluded to her own room and internet. But will now and then attempt to communicate IRL.
Charlie is however deeply an really honest, caring and loyal person. That would probably be a great friend to have. She has all the tools to live her own dreams. She just lacks the experience, nothing she does she do because she is stupid or cynical. Just she doesn't really know any other way. She might learn though.
The comic so far hasen't been that storylined. Overall I make every comic strip to stand by its own, but I hope to have a little character development there in the future. What feels refreshing for me making this comic, and has probably help me stick with it. Is that I don't really care who reads it or whats funny anymore. Might be a weird statement, but what I feelt what been limiting in my previous attempts was that I did a comic I tried to fit in somewhere. Like a newspaper, or a site, or have an overall appeal similar to comics I like. And everything I did had to be so darn funny.
I think I can be pretty funny person now and then. But when writing a comic the whole "think of something funny" it's a really bad first step. In Charlies comics I want to tell about situations I, myself, find weird or awkward in daily life. And life full of it. If a page turns out funny thats a plus, but I my main goal is to tell something people can RELATE to. Because if people can read about awkward or embarrassing situations they can related to. Maybe that will help them survive it themself? I hope so.
I hope some of you has enjoyed my comics about Charlie so far. This month I will try to redo my website "www.joakimj.se" and give Charlie her own room. With both the swedish and the english version of the comic in one place. But no worries, I'm gonna keep posting the English versions deviantart too. I'm also gonna work on a few applications to schools. So I'm not sure when next page comes. But they will come, and hopefully constantly improve. My comic. Named Charlie. About Charlie.... Yeah, she's pretty sweet.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
I recommend a thing I like...
8 min read
Or my story of when I started to watch an anime that inspired me greatly, and a bunch of reason why you should watch it too. Even if your first reaction might be that you don't wanna. The anime is called Madoka magica, and it looks like this:
See what I mean?
There is few times in life when you experience something within simple entertainment that changes you. That opens your mind to something you would otherwise completely ignore. Like when the jock reads his first book. Because being the stereotypical jock he is, he thought those were for stereotypical losers. Then one day he starts to read Kafka. And realized that books can be good, and also that he is depressed. The times when something blows your freaking mind in short.
When it comes to animation this has happened to me two times. The first time was when I saw Spirited Away. Why would the teenage me ever waste time with a kids movie? Within the following year I owned most Studio Ghibli movies.
The second time was when I watched Madoka Magica. An anime series in 12 half hour episodes about magical girls Sailor moon style. Why the hell would the grown up me waste time with that? Because it turned out to be really good.
And you should watch it.
If you have not seen this before and you now look at the trailer above. What was your first impression? It looks kinda weird doesn't it? Like some old mans fetish? My first impression was of complete distaste, a big "What the fuuuck". And because of that it probably made more impact on me that I did actually enjoy it greatly.
It all started when I saw this article: kotaku.com/non-anime-fan-revie…
About a "none anime" guy who decided to watch the whole madoka magica series and then make a video review of every episode. Sense I read kotaku almost daily, I had seen articles about Madoka Magica before but simply ignored them. I started to watch his review of the series. Expecting him to make fun of it and how bad it is. But you could tell from his videos that he had got really into it. Like someone who had seen game of thrones for the first time. And after he mentioned a few plot twist I got interested and started to watch it myself.
I am gonna try not to dwell too much on the plot here. If I can get anyone to watch it with my ramblings I feel like I would rather make them watch it spoiler free. But the general plot is:
Madoka Kaname is a middle school student that one day encounter a strange small animal named Kyubey. It offers her to grant one wish, anything she can imagen, If she choose to sign a contract and become a Magical girl. An magical entity who sole purpose is to hunt witches. Witches are a dark creatures invisible for humans, that feeds on emotions such as depression and misery, killing the person in the process. Madoka is tempted to make the deal, just for the chance to help innocent people. But before she can, she meets an mysterious girl, that warns her that if she values her life and those she loves, she should not make the deal. During the the series Madoka discovers that being a Magical girl is dangerous, and can get her killed. By witches or even other Magical girls. And that this creature Kyubey that offers young girls magical powers, might be giving a devils deal.
So heres a few reason why you should watch it:
It's a show about magical girls. But a mature one. HP Lovecraft style.
I often heard Madoka magica to be a gruesome deconstruction of the "magical girl genre". (Yes it actually has it own genre in japan.) I haven't watch any except sailor moon when it was aired here and I was like 8 years old. But I wouldn't call madoka magica a critic against Sailor moon. Just a similar show in a more realistic setting. This is a show about what happens when kids gets divine powers and the price they pay for it. I'm thinking the people who made it actually liked Sailor moon, but wanted to make a more complex setting.
Madoka Magica is also often describe as an dark show. Which it is. It's sometimes downright disturbing. But it's not that just for the sake of it. The development towards those events feels natural, and constantly leaves the viewer in that zone they constantly think "maybe things will turn out alright", then the horrible thing happens, and they feel "Noo whyyy, but okay maybe this time it will" and the something twice as horrible happens.
I often feel that the show has a similar plot to HP Lovecrafts novells. That the main character meet an unnatural force so large, twisted an unimaginable that the characters can't even describe it. And is put in a perspective how small and insignificant humanity is in the grand scheme of things.
Unlike HP Lovecraft, Madoka magica isn't out to fully scare you or depress. It's a story about small girls that meets an force larger than anything they can imagen, and how they try to deal with it. But the treat is constantly real and some characters will fall for the consequences of their own action. Because how can you try to control a force you can't even comprehend?
The cute and cuddly is a trap.
Madoka Magica first 3 episodes is all about build up for the big twists. It follows the pattern of a tradition magical girl tv show with few hints of what is to come. The series introduction video is an example of this, it's very pop-music, pink, and girly I wouldn't blame you for turning of the video during it. But thats part of the build up, it set itself first as a very typical kids tale where a girl gets to chance to fight evil and do good in the world. But then smash that fantasy.
This also give Madoka Magica strong emotional journey, the colors, music and tone can be vastly different between scenes. In my mind the colorful parts, strengthens it's darker parts. The character feels real when they are happy, sad and we know what they have to loose, we seen them live a simple happy life. Without giving too much away, at the end of the series stops at a middle ground which is neither a happy ending nor completely hopeless.
It has a great all female cast.
If someone was going to make an superhero movie similar to the Avengers with an all female cast. (Not that Hollywood would, being Hollywood.) They should look at Madoka Magica. It doesn't need to be as as dark as Madoka magica is. But the characters stories and their development would be of great inspiration when creating a superhero. Aside from the main character Madoka the show focus four girls that each has their own character arch. And for being a tv show thats less than 7 hours in total it's all well told.
The music, oh gawd, the music.
The music in changes with the plot. It starts with happy pop like the trailer. (I at least think thats pop.) But then changes tone to something more surreal. Even the end credit song and introduction video changes to reflect the events of the show. And it creates some really memorial pieces of music.
My only critic of the show overall I think is that it feels intentionally advertised for kids. Now, no idea how it was advertise in Japan or what they see appropriate for kids. But at first glance this is show fools people. I would say 13+ Kids can watch it, not much direct violent imagery in it, even if violent stuff do happens. But most of all it deals with some heavy subjects, and is an overall sad story. I don't think it will harm anyone. But I can imagen that some parent in Asia bought this series for their 8 year old expecting something else.
But overall this show has made a huge impact on me. I would go as far as calling it one of the best tv series I've seen. It has inspired me the way I draw and use colors, and can find tasteful design even among things I would year ago call "girlish". (Not saying everything in the show is tastefully done. But some settings and concepts are amazing.)
Heck, after watching this show I might even be open minded enough to give another super girly looking tv show a chance. Like what if they made a new My Little Pony show? Imagen what that would be like? Hahaha... Oh wait...
See what I mean?
There is few times in life when you experience something within simple entertainment that changes you. That opens your mind to something you would otherwise completely ignore. Like when the jock reads his first book. Because being the stereotypical jock he is, he thought those were for stereotypical losers. Then one day he starts to read Kafka. And realized that books can be good, and also that he is depressed. The times when something blows your freaking mind in short.
When it comes to animation this has happened to me two times. The first time was when I saw Spirited Away. Why would the teenage me ever waste time with a kids movie? Within the following year I owned most Studio Ghibli movies.
The second time was when I watched Madoka Magica. An anime series in 12 half hour episodes about magical girls Sailor moon style. Why the hell would the grown up me waste time with that? Because it turned out to be really good.
And you should watch it.
If you have not seen this before and you now look at the trailer above. What was your first impression? It looks kinda weird doesn't it? Like some old mans fetish? My first impression was of complete distaste, a big "What the fuuuck". And because of that it probably made more impact on me that I did actually enjoy it greatly.
It all started when I saw this article: kotaku.com/non-anime-fan-revie…
About a "none anime" guy who decided to watch the whole madoka magica series and then make a video review of every episode. Sense I read kotaku almost daily, I had seen articles about Madoka Magica before but simply ignored them. I started to watch his review of the series. Expecting him to make fun of it and how bad it is. But you could tell from his videos that he had got really into it. Like someone who had seen game of thrones for the first time. And after he mentioned a few plot twist I got interested and started to watch it myself.
I am gonna try not to dwell too much on the plot here. If I can get anyone to watch it with my ramblings I feel like I would rather make them watch it spoiler free. But the general plot is:
Madoka Kaname is a middle school student that one day encounter a strange small animal named Kyubey. It offers her to grant one wish, anything she can imagen, If she choose to sign a contract and become a Magical girl. An magical entity who sole purpose is to hunt witches. Witches are a dark creatures invisible for humans, that feeds on emotions such as depression and misery, killing the person in the process. Madoka is tempted to make the deal, just for the chance to help innocent people. But before she can, she meets an mysterious girl, that warns her that if she values her life and those she loves, she should not make the deal. During the the series Madoka discovers that being a Magical girl is dangerous, and can get her killed. By witches or even other Magical girls. And that this creature Kyubey that offers young girls magical powers, might be giving a devils deal.
So heres a few reason why you should watch it:
It's a show about magical girls. But a mature one. HP Lovecraft style.
I often heard Madoka magica to be a gruesome deconstruction of the "magical girl genre". (Yes it actually has it own genre in japan.) I haven't watch any except sailor moon when it was aired here and I was like 8 years old. But I wouldn't call madoka magica a critic against Sailor moon. Just a similar show in a more realistic setting. This is a show about what happens when kids gets divine powers and the price they pay for it. I'm thinking the people who made it actually liked Sailor moon, but wanted to make a more complex setting.
Madoka Magica is also often describe as an dark show. Which it is. It's sometimes downright disturbing. But it's not that just for the sake of it. The development towards those events feels natural, and constantly leaves the viewer in that zone they constantly think "maybe things will turn out alright", then the horrible thing happens, and they feel "Noo whyyy, but okay maybe this time it will" and the something twice as horrible happens.
I often feel that the show has a similar plot to HP Lovecrafts novells. That the main character meet an unnatural force so large, twisted an unimaginable that the characters can't even describe it. And is put in a perspective how small and insignificant humanity is in the grand scheme of things.
Unlike HP Lovecraft, Madoka magica isn't out to fully scare you or depress. It's a story about small girls that meets an force larger than anything they can imagen, and how they try to deal with it. But the treat is constantly real and some characters will fall for the consequences of their own action. Because how can you try to control a force you can't even comprehend?
The cute and cuddly is a trap.
Madoka Magica first 3 episodes is all about build up for the big twists. It follows the pattern of a tradition magical girl tv show with few hints of what is to come. The series introduction video is an example of this, it's very pop-music, pink, and girly I wouldn't blame you for turning of the video during it. But thats part of the build up, it set itself first as a very typical kids tale where a girl gets to chance to fight evil and do good in the world. But then smash that fantasy.
This also give Madoka Magica strong emotional journey, the colors, music and tone can be vastly different between scenes. In my mind the colorful parts, strengthens it's darker parts. The character feels real when they are happy, sad and we know what they have to loose, we seen them live a simple happy life. Without giving too much away, at the end of the series stops at a middle ground which is neither a happy ending nor completely hopeless.
It has a great all female cast.
If someone was going to make an superhero movie similar to the Avengers with an all female cast. (Not that Hollywood would, being Hollywood.) They should look at Madoka Magica. It doesn't need to be as as dark as Madoka magica is. But the characters stories and their development would be of great inspiration when creating a superhero. Aside from the main character Madoka the show focus four girls that each has their own character arch. And for being a tv show thats less than 7 hours in total it's all well told.
The music, oh gawd, the music.
The music in changes with the plot. It starts with happy pop like the trailer. (I at least think thats pop.) But then changes tone to something more surreal. Even the end credit song and introduction video changes to reflect the events of the show. And it creates some really memorial pieces of music.
My only critic of the show overall I think is that it feels intentionally advertised for kids. Now, no idea how it was advertise in Japan or what they see appropriate for kids. But at first glance this is show fools people. I would say 13+ Kids can watch it, not much direct violent imagery in it, even if violent stuff do happens. But most of all it deals with some heavy subjects, and is an overall sad story. I don't think it will harm anyone. But I can imagen that some parent in Asia bought this series for their 8 year old expecting something else.
But overall this show has made a huge impact on me. I would go as far as calling it one of the best tv series I've seen. It has inspired me the way I draw and use colors, and can find tasteful design even among things I would year ago call "girlish". (Not saying everything in the show is tastefully done. But some settings and concepts are amazing.)
Heck, after watching this show I might even be open minded enough to give another super girly looking tv show a chance. Like what if they made a new My Little Pony show? Imagen what that would be like? Hahaha... Oh wait...
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
ITS SLIGHTLY BELOW NINE THUSAAAAND!!!!
2 min read
While writing this I got exactly 8999 pageview and my ego is boosted enough to write a post here.
So what have I've been up to lately? Most of the time I've been pondering what I should be up to. Should I do more comics? (YES!) Should do more animations (If you wanna.) Should I try develop my career as animator more and find more freelance work. (It's haaard, but its worth keeping an eye on.) Should start study again or find some other work for a better income? (Ummm.....)
Overall, I feel content about my current situation. I live a very stressfree life at the moment. For the first time since I moved to Stockholm I do not need to look for an apartment/ work or anything super urgent. My current work at Amnesty international gives me a low income. But enough to pay the bills and to support my daily social life with activities and such. It's also very reliable and a pleasant place to work at. I feel it never takes a huge part of my current life like work usally do and I got a lot of free time to do whatever I feel like. Something that I really appreciate now during summer.
So sense I didn't get in to that artschool I wanted to, nor have any other sort of work or anything coming up, I'm just gonna enjoy current situation for as long as it last.
What does that mean for this my deviantart page? Well, I'm drawing regularly, and there is plenty of things to come. When it comes to the still unnamed comic I'm gonna work on it slow and steady. I really like my last pages, I think they went in an improved direction, so gonna try continue to build on that. (Do you guys even realize how weird it is for me to say anything positive about my own work? WELL DO YOU?!?) My aim will be focusing more on small and silly awkward situations that life love throwing at us daily, rather than an overall plot.
Thanks to everyone who check this site regularly!
So what have I've been up to lately? Most of the time I've been pondering what I should be up to. Should I do more comics? (YES!) Should do more animations (If you wanna.) Should I try develop my career as animator more and find more freelance work. (It's haaard, but its worth keeping an eye on.) Should start study again or find some other work for a better income? (Ummm.....)
Overall, I feel content about my current situation. I live a very stressfree life at the moment. For the first time since I moved to Stockholm I do not need to look for an apartment/ work or anything super urgent. My current work at Amnesty international gives me a low income. But enough to pay the bills and to support my daily social life with activities and such. It's also very reliable and a pleasant place to work at. I feel it never takes a huge part of my current life like work usally do and I got a lot of free time to do whatever I feel like. Something that I really appreciate now during summer.
So sense I didn't get in to that artschool I wanted to, nor have any other sort of work or anything coming up, I'm just gonna enjoy current situation for as long as it last.
What does that mean for this my deviantart page? Well, I'm drawing regularly, and there is plenty of things to come. When it comes to the still unnamed comic I'm gonna work on it slow and steady. I really like my last pages, I think they went in an improved direction, so gonna try continue to build on that. (Do you guys even realize how weird it is for me to say anything positive about my own work? WELL DO YOU?!?) My aim will be focusing more on small and silly awkward situations that life love throwing at us daily, rather than an overall plot.
Thanks to everyone who check this site regularly!
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Fame has finally come
1 min read
blueislestudios.com/halloween-…
So today my piece of "Slender: The Arrival" fanart won an art contest by the makers of the game. Yay. No idea how many exactly contributed to that contest. Could be hundreds or just a few. But fuck it, I won something! And I'm damn well is gonna enjoy the heck of it!
Thats pretty much all I got today. I will upload two new comics pages soon. All drawn and done. Just need to translate them to english and maybe a few last adjustments.
Happy All Saint's Day everyone!
So today my piece of "Slender: The Arrival" fanart won an art contest by the makers of the game. Yay. No idea how many exactly contributed to that contest. Could be hundreds or just a few. But fuck it, I won something! And I'm damn well is gonna enjoy the heck of it!
Thats pretty much all I got today. I will upload two new comics pages soon. All drawn and done. Just need to translate them to english and maybe a few last adjustments.
Happy All Saint's Day everyone!
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
So about that comic... AGAIN!
2 min read
After my previous entry I've released staggering 3 pages! Thats not that much at all. Although I have been working on it quite regularly. Lemme share my issues with the whole thing.
The trouble with the newest page was that I was gonna introduce a new character. This was something I thought I had planned out pretty well doing a few designs, and feeling that I had an overall idea of what personality this character is going to have. But then after drawing and coloring a page the new character just feelt stale. Like it didn't really feel like relateable, which made it feel out of touch with the theme of the comic. So despite having pretty much finishing coloring a full page I started back at scratch a redesign the new character to something that just feelt more alive for me.
I don't really have clear script of what is going to happen in the comic. Just ideas for the character and the settings. I try write scripts as much as possible. But I've also realized that I just am better of getting ideas when I force myself to draw something rather force myself to write something. I also don't wanna really make a big story, but rather have well established characters being put in odd situations on single pages. But I guess it's hard to actually make something feels well established and not a bunch of random ideas.
So the situation is now that I have two pages in progress, one a reworked version of the one I scratched and another page to that I feelt is going to introduce the new character better. Hopefully will be done within the next 2 weeks. Unless I forget how to draw. I did that last week. It was very annoying.
The trouble with the newest page was that I was gonna introduce a new character. This was something I thought I had planned out pretty well doing a few designs, and feeling that I had an overall idea of what personality this character is going to have. But then after drawing and coloring a page the new character just feelt stale. Like it didn't really feel like relateable, which made it feel out of touch with the theme of the comic. So despite having pretty much finishing coloring a full page I started back at scratch a redesign the new character to something that just feelt more alive for me.
I don't really have clear script of what is going to happen in the comic. Just ideas for the character and the settings. I try write scripts as much as possible. But I've also realized that I just am better of getting ideas when I force myself to draw something rather force myself to write something. I also don't wanna really make a big story, but rather have well established characters being put in odd situations on single pages. But I guess it's hard to actually make something feels well established and not a bunch of random ideas.
So the situation is now that I have two pages in progress, one a reworked version of the one I scratched and another page to that I feelt is going to introduce the new character better. Hopefully will be done within the next 2 weeks. Unless I forget how to draw. I did that last week. It was very annoying.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In