We’re having a booth at this year’s Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention! Last year was the first ever comicon in Singapore. We missed it. But we’ll be there this year and our stuff will be on sale. Do visit us! Details below:

Dates: 14-16 August (Friday to Sunday) 2009
Location: Suntec City Convention Hall 401 & 402
Booth Number: A13

ADMISSION IS FREE! See you there!

One such studio produces Christian cartoons to teach children the Word of God using traditional 2D animation media. Its website can be accessed at http://theocartoons.com/. They have a Youtube channel too. Here’s a sample of their work:

We will be releasing a couple of new designs for our A5 notebooks soon. These 2 designs will complete the “Books of Wisdom” series and are based on the books of Proverbs and Song of Songs. Look out for them!

This Christmas, we have launched a new set of Christmas cards and a new A6 notebook design!

The Christmas cards are evangelistic in nature - each card has a an illustration of a part of the Christmas story as told in the Bible, and an accompanying verse that speaks of the identity of Jesus as Saviour, the Son of God, Immanuel, etc.

Check out the new products at Wen’s World’s online catalogue at http://shop.wensworld.com!

Uses of Stick Figures

Stick figures are used in rough concept sketches to pose a character before actually adding much detail. In the process of creating a picture, it makes much more sense to do simple drawings before committing to more detail. Many beginners go straight into the detail work, and later they realise that the character would look better in a different pose, or the proportions are not right, and they have to erase all their hard work and start over. Not very productive. The rule here is to start from the basic (roughs) before going to the complex (i.e. into the details).

Drawing a Stick Figure

Figure 1

Figure 1 is the stick we’ve been drawing them since we were children. As you can see, he doesn’t have some very important joints! His shoulders are connected directly to his neck, and his legs are connected to his spine. He needs some shoulders and hips, and elbows and knees to go with them!

Figure 2

Now, that’s better! We’ve added horizontal lines for the shoulders and hips. (Remember: Guys have broader shoulders, and gals have broader hips!) Halfway down the arms and legs, we added more joints for elbows and knees. And to finish things up, we’ve added some simple hands and feet (you can draw mittens for hands at this stage). Just take note of the relative lengths of the upper and lower arms and legs. Unless you’re drawing Elastigirl or Plastic Man, you want your proportions anatomically correct.

Now he’s starting to look more like a person! But wait, there’s more!

Figure 3

There! Now he’s got some volume! You can add a simple rib cage or upper torso with a half-oval. It helps give volume to the stick figure, especially when it’s not facing full front. For hips, different artists use different methods. Some use half circles, but I decided on a jellybean shape for this tutorial. Remember that 3d shapes like the rib cage and hip (and hands and feet) look different from different angles. If your stick figure is facing a different direction or its body is twisted, don’t draw them all the same shape as if you’re looking at them from the front!

Figure 4

So here’s a simple tutorial on how to draw a proper stick figure. Try practising with different poses!

Until next time

Look out for the calendars in shops in late October ‘07!

Available in Singapore.

Additional features include a Bible verse for every page, hard cover with matt lamination, more sheets and a unique and different front and back cover for each notebook!

The designs are inspired by verses from 3 of the Bible’s books of Wisdom - Job, Psalms and Ecclesiastes.

Currently available in Singapore only.

Nate Butler, president of COMIX35, stated: “Twenty four countries are represented in the exhibition including Argentina, Indonesia, Estonia, Italy, Russia, Nigeria, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. Top comics artists from every continent are participating in this event.”

COMIX35 organized the first International Christian Comics Competition in 2005 and a Spanish Christian Comics Competition in 2006.

“Comics are the ‘medium of the masses’ around the world,” declared Butler. “Middle Eastern youth, East Indian school children, Filipinos, French and Mexican adults – all are huge readers of comics. And the Japanese are in a class by themselves. Their best-selling comic book has a circulation of 3.2 million copies per week, compared to 2.5 million copies a year for the top US comic title.”

COMIX35’s exhibition is providing entrants with the opportunity to prove they can produce top-quality work that will reach these masses as well. Two entrants will be selected as prize winners by judges from Japan, Australia, England, France, Malaysia and the US, but all exhibition visitors will be able to participate in designating the “People’s Choice Award.”

About COMIX35
A comics ministry based on the Bible verses from EXodus 35:30-35, COMIX35 has been training individuals and organizations around the world in the production and effective use of comics-style literature since 1996.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Nate Butler, COMIX35
http://www.comix35.org

Wen’s World’s entry is titled “That I May Save Some“.

Check out the following links:

Competition Virtual Exhibition Hall: http://www.christiancomics.org/

The Singapore Gallery: http://www.christiancomics.org/singaporegallery.php