New chapter in peKOMIK

Alhamdulillah, i get to help out peKOMIK (an organization that's helping out the comic industry in Malaysia) by being the treasurer, well, helping anyway. :D

I'm in the middle row first from the right. ;-) You can't miss it. It says 'FIEZA'. :p

Nostalgic moments

Things that i was very much crazy over back in the 90's...





The New Kids On The Block. Oh yeah. Very crazy over them indeed. In fact i was inspired by them, the Cavaliers were born. :p



Inoue Takehiko's Slam Dunk. I was so excited about this anime and manga because the strokes and the way he draws humans are just so.... amazing. and he still draws amazing anatomy. Kudos to Mr.Takehiko!



And of course, not forgetting the Legionnaires. I fell in love with them in 1994, while i was browsing for comics at a local bookstore. It just hit me on the head and i'm a big fan of Legionnaires and Legion of Superheroes since then. Not turning back. And i really like this penciller who drew this version. Anybody know who he/she is?

Freelance art lecturer?

I had a ball at Sekolah Tengku Ampuan Rahimah today. Not only did i get back to my old school and embedded within my head the nostalgia, but also i had the privilege to share my comic experience with the school students. Which to me was a harrowing experience. Nevertheless it taught me something valuable - confidence.

So anyway me and my partner-in-crime 'Z' went to the school at around 8am. Turned out that we were late at presenting because of some technical problems. But we managed to start off and 'Z' was the first to present his modules. I was sitting trying to ease my nervousness by drawing and doodling. Unfortunately it didn't actually work.

All the while he was presenting folios after folios, my heart was pounding ferociously. What will i say to those kids? Will i faint? Will i freak out? All these questions popping in my head made me agitated and i had to rush to the toilet. When i came back, the first session was over and the students came to me for advise and demonstration.

I met this wonderful artist. Her name's Siti Hajar and she showed me her work. Which was really excellent to say the least. Manga die-heard by the way. Which was pretty cool. Even Kaoru (Malaysia's own manga artist) would be impressed. Everyone else showed their works. They had really great talents. Too bad no one's taking them seriously.

I had a ball drawing fast sketches for them. They were all surprised that i completed a full bodied pose in 2 minutes. Me and the kids chatted and exchanged tips and tricks, and experiences. Then came my time to conduct the workshop. I started to tremble.

The first few minutes was okay. I had their attention by introducing myself and what i did for a living. Then i started getting all mixed up. I knew i did some text and keywords, but i just had trouble explaining it. Moments later i saw some kids yawning away. So i had to think fast. I taught them how to draw figures and emotions. Luckily that worked. Although i think i must have elaborated the points too detailed, i think i was beginning to enjoy myself.

I gave them free comic books for their effort in answering questions and coming up to the stage and draw a few things i asked them too. Some were too shy but that was okay. I eyed a few enthusiastic participants, and i knew they're very serious in drawing comics. After the whole thing was over, the students thronged to the table i was at and gave me their A4 sized papers. They wanted me to sketch them drawings. I felt kind of flattered and they didn't want to let me leave.

But everything has an end and we had to leave. A few students caught up with us and were telling us how excited they were about the workshop. Z decided to let me be Siti Hajar's mentor, and i must say, i was very happy. It had always been my dream to teach kids how to draw. We went on to the mamak restaurant and had ourselves a hearty lunch. I had my fried noodles with fried chicken while 'Z' had his friend noodles with squids. Eeeewwww.

We will certainly conduct more comic related workshops to various schools in Klang. I'm looking forward to this adventure. It was intense, but at the same time exciting and educational.

Comics, anyone?

A brand new day

As of a few weeks ago ( i don't remember and i intend not to ) i left Cerdik Publications for a greener pasture. I am now back to being a full time freelancer. I had such bad times in the company. With so many back stabbings and bad-mouths and under-appreciative eyes ( not to mention double agents and spies about )around, no wonder so many people left the company. And they actually made it big out there. I'm one of the staff to leave alright. Unintentionally, but drastically leave.

I'm tired of being the subject of ridicule and blame. Hey i can't help it if I'm an outgoing and rebellious person. Maybe because i hang out with the guys often. I dunno. Another thing is that... i worked my buns off just to produce illustrations for school kids. Making sure that the artwork will make them smile. My intention is to educate the kids at the same time entertain them. It's very disappointing when they were arguing about my strokes, saying it's not appropriate. Huum... no one complained the last 6 months. Why now? So there is something fishy going on. True enough, i heard that they are going to sake me for good. To get a more cheaper illustrator because they can't afford me. Not that my salary is the lowest in the company anyway. No joke. So to get even, i decided to resign before they fire me. Nobody predicted this but who cares? I just went off. Tata. Adios. Slitzweitz. Sayonara. Selamat tinggal. And all that.

It's been 2 weeks since i left. Guess what? Right after i left, i managed to get 3 projects. :) Yup. 3. Thanks to my buddy and great friend ( an a pirate ) Abang Zamri, he guide me to various companies in need of illustrators. The first one was from SJ Group of Companies. Mr.Faisal wanted me to create a children's book based on his 7 year old son Rayyan. It's called The Dreamy Adventures of Rayyan. Which sounds pretty interesting. Next was the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka ( http://dbp.gov.my/indek_dbp.html )project. Adapting the Malaysian history and legends into comic form. Which sounds very cool and challenging. If the project kicks off, i hope i can be one of them. It'll be a pioneer project so... you get the idea how excited i am. :)Then another project. This time i am approached by 2 ustaz ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulema ) who also happens to be cartoonists ( way cool! ) as well. They want to find girl comic artist and it's so hard to find one. Enter Abang Syem and he recommended me to them. They want me to creat 3 muslims girls to be made into a comic for girls. Well, they need a girl to draw a girl's comic right? So i accept the challenge. :)

Pretty exciting life i am going through now. Now that the pc is fixed ( it got struck by lightning and the phone line went dead ), all i need to do is to install a few softwares ( boy do i need to learn InDesign )and some other stuffs and voila! I can start doing my work! this time i really need to keep myself in check because i do still owe Uncle Jim ( Hahahahahha i feel like saying that ) a few comics. And i mean a few. *gulps* Wow, i will be quite busy, and that's a good thing. :)

Countdown to Ironman movie!

YYEEEEEHAAAAAWWWW!!!!! =)

Ideas for Cavs #2

Not much really. I wonder if i can tell a little about how it all started, since no one knows for sure how or why are they like that. From the beginning. How Jordan is linked to the demon world, how Cornelius plays the major role in protecting both Earth and Eyria (or was it Eory? need to check back my notes). I have the images and storyline and storyboarding in my head. I just need to write them all down.

I was also thinking of incorporating the keris. It's a traditional Malay and Indonesian weapon. And it is associated with the martial art called silat. I found a perfect candidate for that, and it will be..... (drum rolls please).....

JASON DORWILLE!!!

^_^

I see him as Hang Lekir actually.......

One thing i noticed, silat is an international sport. So it's like.. very cool and that's why i wanna incorporate silat in the cavs' world. Just an idea though *shrugs*