Twitch LiveStreams

Ever want to learn more about the process behind the day-to-day work of a professional artist? What about taking a peek into Dreamside's development? LiveStreams are a cool way to do just that.

What's a "LiveStream"? Well... it's like a live YouTube video, allowing people to comment and interact while the broadcast is being produced. Since I spend so much time drawing at my computer, it makes sense to share some of that time with Dreamside fans.

Right now, I'm doing two series of streams: one that's Dreamside-focused and one that's more of a group hangout with other professional artists. The dates for these will be a bit erratic for awhile. If you want to ensure you don't miss a session, please make sure to both subscribe to my Twitch channel and also follow me on Twitter. I'll make announcements in advance on Twitter and, for particularly important streams, I'll also post about it right here on the Blog.

Regardless of whether or not you can attend the streams, you will be able to watch them all after the fact on my YouTube channel. I'll be archiving them into two streams: "Group LiveStreams" and "Dreamside LiveStreams".

I hope to see you on Twitch! If you have any questions, feel free to message.

 

Announcing Weekly Videos!

Hey Dreamers!

As things move closer to the print version of Dreamside and I slowly begin to take on more aspects of the physical production, I've decided to start a weekly video that will release every Friday. The videos will feature a range of topics. I promise to make them as interesting as I can.

Today's video focuses on book bindings and some of the thought that goes into determining the right one. Check it out!

If you enjoy the video, please subscribe to my YouTube channel as there will be plenty more to come!

WayForward's Shantae Comic Concept!

Here's a fun project! Recently, I took a break from working on Dreamside to paint this image based on Shantae by WayForward Tech, a company for which I've done work professionally. Shantae is a great indie video game series with a fun cast of characters and a colorful, expansive world. It's comical, engaging, fantastical and, well... a whole lot of fun.

Before you get excited, this isn't an official project, just fan art. C'est la vie ;)

Besides simply wanting to draw something different from Dreamside, I did this to test my skills with the comic/manga format. It's a challenging one for sure! In fact, as I've alluded to in the past, Dreamside's first foray into the literary world was in manga form. It didn't quite work for Dreamside due to that story's need for expansive narrative text (which doesn't work well in image-centric comics IMHO). But, I'm anxious to try out the manga format again in the future. While it likely won't be for Shantae, this was a fun project anyway! What do you think? Would you read a comic/manga like this sample page?

New Video Uploaded! Sneak Peek at Chapter One in Print...

As I mention in the video, I'm sorry for the lack of recent info! Things have been quite busy on my end revisiting and improving the old artwork to be print ready. In many cases, this has meant a total re-work of entire images. In others, a few touch-ups here and there.

I believe this new pass will bring the book to the level of quality I always knew it could be. It finally feels like the Dreamside I've had in my head all these years. Hopefully, watching the video above, you'll agree.

As soon as I have more info about the book's production, subscribers will be the first to be notified. See you soon!

Twitter GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE: The giveaway has started!

It runs until Thursday at noon ET. All you have to do to be entered to win is retweet this tweet!

It's hard to believe, but my Twitter following has grown close to 1000 people!

As a way of saying thanks, should that number officially reach the 1000 mark, I'm going to offer a special giveaway. The prize will be a twin set of Dreamside prints. These are from a very special, limited run. They are special one-off illustrations of Sarah and the Dream Girl posed in front of abstract backgrounds. They were designed to capture each girl's spirit in a single image.

I love the quality of these prints. You can watch a video showing off the Sarah print here:

 

If you want to be entered to win, follow me on Twitter and stay tuned. Please spread the word and help me reach 1000 followers. The giveaway will be limited to the US and Canada this time, sorry! 

Instagram...

Twitter... Tumblr... Facebook...

D.M. Cumbo is now on Instagram along with a host of other social media sites, including: Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and finally YouTube.

Each occasionally receives their own unique updates, so consider following them all to ensure you don't miss any D.M. Cumbo news. 

Especially with that upcoming art contest...

We Have Some Catching Up To Do...

Well, it's certainly been a long time since I've posted, hasn't it? Too long, I'd say! Read on for a tasty bit of info about upcoming events concerning both Dreamside's development and the second art contest.

First, for those who haven't yet seen it, Chapter 6 was uploaded recently. I'll be making a separate post to go over some production notes.

I'm busily attending to Chapter 7 as well. I know it's gone a bit off schedule. But, you deserve only the absolute best I can do. Chapter 7 just isn't quite there yet and needs more time. Please be patient with me as I finish this final chapter of Dreamside's first installment in its epic trilogy.

And on that note, my first book is quite close to completion! Naturally, as an indie author, there's much to learn about the many facets of book printing and distribution.

While I have considered the possibility of working with a publisher, I believe strongly in staying indie. It will allow me the luxury of controlling every aspect of the product development. I can make the books exactly how I think they should be, both content-wise and in terms of the physical design. For Dreamside, I want to include some premium features that might be considered too expensive or unrealistic for a mainstream publisher. I don't think it's reasonable to expect a publisher to be as deeply in love with Dreamside as I am. Of course, good publishers take great pride in their work and we have much to thank them for. All the same, will they skimp on the binding to cut costs? Will they deny my request for holographic stamping on the cover? I just don't know...

So, I've moved forward assuming that Dreamside will be self-published. 

That means talking with book printers! I haven't settled on a partner just yet. Maybe I've mentioned it here or there, but I'm planning to do a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the printing costs. I want to make this a very special book. A real, one-of-a-kind book that you can cherish and pass along to another generation. There's a strong likelihood I'll be filming parts of the offset printing process so you can get a rare look into the world of high-quality bookmaking.

The second D.M. Cumbo Art Contest starts soon! 

I've got two really exciting prizes. You read that right, there are two prizes this time! But it's gonna be a whole new challenge for round two. Stay tuned over the next week for further announcements...

Looking forward to sharing lots more with you over the next few months. It's going to be an exciting year for Dreamside fans!

Manga Studio "Webinar"

Next Tuesday, March 17th at 11:00am PDT, I'll be hosting a "Webinar" with Smith Micro, the co-developer of Manga Studio (or Clip Studio as it's known in Japan). It's the digital painting software I use to create the artwork for Dreamside. As you can imagine, I’m a big fan of the software!

If you'd like to learn more about how I work, you shouldn't miss this one-time event. I'll be covering a range of topics including how to create effective page layout, drawing characters, importing 3D models, and more.

There will be a Q&A session at the end, but you'll need to register to ask questions. Visit the Manga Studio Webinar page to register. If you can't make it, no worries. It will be recorded and available to watch anytime on YouTube.

A winner has been chosen!

Congratulations to Christelle Chan!

 
 

Please visit the voting page to read what the judges had to say about each piece and check out their review scores.

This was such a fun contest for us and I hope it was for you as well! This will definitely not be our only contest, so entrants who didn't make it to the finalist round this time should give it another try next time ;)

If you'd like to be notified when the next contest begins, make sure to subscribe to the blog using the form on the right sidebar.

Thank again to all our talented artists and voters!