Welcome humble traveller to the official website to Darkspeeds' brilliant and promising manga project! This is your source to his latest web manga pages on his exciting cartoon series. Each chapter bringing you closer to the true meaning of fortune explored by the heroes and villains of this amazing world!
Ruby 'Locke' Steadfast, the super enthusiastic adventurer, will soon meet up with a wombat named Ashworth who will radically change her life. Though how is this likely when wombats (and the world 'ASHWORTH') are two of the greatest taboos to Gloreyans of this world?! One can only find out when they follow these two into their remarkable journeys to discover what fortune really is all about!!
Hi again everyone! I've been rather busy with a few things lately.
To keep things short I'll share with you my updates.
i) Exposure of TGAF
Recently I've purchased a month's worth of advertising on CAMP SONIC. The statistics page indicated 8021 Unique Visits and 41638 Pageviews on the TGAF website!! Awesome! ^^
Also I've expanded my comic series to other comic archive hosting sites. This includes The Webcomic List and Smack Jeeves.
This
banner here links you to the official Smack Jeeves comic hosting site.
It's free to use so if you're into making comics go right ahead and use
it's simple yet effective facility.
The button here indicates the rank of my web-manga series on the Webcomic List site! I would love to see this on the top of the list one day!
ii) Chapter 6: The Early Days
Yes I'm finishing off the next 4 pages to this chapter! ^^ The preview pages are available in the GALLERY section of the official TGAF website.
iii) TGAF Fanart (JUNE 2008)
Dedicated
fans of my cartoon series have yet again brought you another set of
brilliant fan art for your viewing pleasure. I enjoyed this month's
collection and shall encourage you all to continue to deliver for this
month of July! Huge thanks once again to all who have contributed! You should be proud! *thumbs up*
Be sure to check out amazing new mini side-story of your favourite mountain horse called Dragon Wind!
Also in addition to Fei fans be sure to check out the Fan Fei Club
section of the GALLERY to review their latest pieces! Mainly updated by
the lovely ...! ^^ Alternatively you can view all of this on the Fei Fan Club @ deviantART
iv)
Finally there's the mention of new sections to be added on the official
TGAF website. I realise that what the website is missing are:
FAQ and LINKS
sections. I will be adding those in when I come back from my trip to
London and Singapore at the end of August 2008. *thumbs up*
In
the mean time YOU can help gather a whole bunch of questions for me to
answer - just to give me ideas and on questions that I have missed out
myself (don't worry I got my own list. ...)
So
yeah please contribute your questions on a special forum that I will be
creating in half an hours time. *thumbs up* Click either here - DARKSPEEDS REQUESTS HELP ON F.A.Q. SECTION! or the silly photo of me below.
24th June 2008:
TGAF/Darkspeeds Advertise!
came up with a great suggestion. Why not advertise my stuff on Camp Sonic (a Sonic fansite dedicated to publishing quality news on Sonic Unleashed).
I checked out the stats:
* 100,000 Pageviews / month
* 200+ Subscribers via Feedburner
* Primarily US Audience
* Primarily Wii & 360 Owners
This
information seems most attractive in my opinion for the target audience
I'm aiming for. TGAF site at this point of time I believe should have
enough content that is attractive enough to engage new people to check
out my stuff. And for only 5USD? I reckon it's a steal. Thanks HappyAggro!
Guys, please do not hesitate to give me suggestions on how to advertise TGAF! I'd love to here your ideas! ^_~
I
shall be getting the banner up and running shortly - as soon as I make
the transaction which is in a couple of minutes time. Let's hope it'll
all go well.
21st June 2008:
TGAF Website Update
Hey
guys! Just been busy completing a dedicated section to the TGAF comic
that is now technically considered as a web-manga. Free to download and
share! My main aim is to gain as much exposure of this series as
possible. Please do your bit to share this with your friend at school and at home.
The
website's got a new section dedicated to purely reading the web-manga
at your own pace. It is created for viewing pleasure and navigation of
the TGAF story has never been easier. Much thanks goes to once again for his technical support and for helping me set up a template that was workable and efficient. *thumbs up*
In
addition to the update I've improved the splash page as pictured below.
There is an animated gif that is dedicated to the wonderful friends and
fans of TGAF who have contributed their artwork! The archive continues
to grow and it's all thanks to you guys.
Now then with that done and dusted I'll explain what plans I have with TGAF Project.
In
the following months to come I'll be exploring other ways to publish
the TGAF content on different sites to gain maximum exposure. I want to
make sure that the sites that I have the web-manga published will be
relevant to the target audience whom I aiming for (i.e. teens to young
adults of 14 and over) I'll most probably be looking into a demographic
that is interested in shonen manga and anime but is also open to
anthromorphic characters from a design perspective (Sonic fans will be
a main target her).
In future I may be self-publishing the
web-manga via print media through self publishing initiatives. After
reading those reference books I bought from Sydney it seems that comics
nowadays can become commercial property if the idea sells well. All of
this can be done via the internet. Despite it sounding 'all too easy'
and too 'good to true' there is a downside to it, and that is, immense
competition in the digital comics market.
In my case it's the
most relevant way to go in publishing my material during it's early
stages since this 'global digital publishing strategy' is cost
efficient and doesn't require any significant start-up costs hence
risks are reduced. I will have more control in what I do too including
the website content and the artwork/comic content in general. Australia
at this point of time has very little publishing
opportunities/initiatives in the field of comics/manga. Even in America
they're finding it hard to compete for a top spot in the original manga
publications field - but at least they have a starting point (check out
SevenSeas Entertainment and Toykopop for examples of publishers of original manga from local manga artists).
Anyway to wrap this up I'll be doing self publishing my web manga content online and eventually through print media via Lulu.com when complete volumes are finalised by your truly. I'll need all the support I can get on this! XD *thumbs up*
In
addition to TGAF updates I'll be making sure that I have more pages
available soon. You can find out when they will be coming by looking at
the allocated dates on the archives (i.e. the missing pages to Chapter 06: The Early Days). ^_~
Below
are some behind-the-scenes photos of some of the latest artwork to the
TGAF series. If you're interested the most recent PIN-UPS were drawn
with a half folded A4 piece of paper! XD Saves a lot more time doing a
full page the usual way! X3
Bottom right-hand corner pic for Ana and Fei Fan Club fans!! XD
Sonic The Hedgehog Week
Yup this week I'll be dedicating myself to Sonic the Hedgehog cuz it's birthday on the 23rd June 2008!!! XD
(17th Anniversary logo created by Professor-J from The Sonic Show)
I'll
be in full gear to make promotional images for the upcoming and
promising Sonic convention (one of the biggest Sonic-fan community
meet-ups yet) coming this August 2008 in London, U.K!
I've
already made the logo and am now in the process of completing character
standalone s and group pics of Sonic and his chums. I hope to do my
very best!
Sonic and gang are lookin' pretty sharp with their suits and gowns! X3
Be sure to get all the news from the sexy revamp of The Sonic Stadium (blog style! XD)
TSS staff will also be announcing plenty of exciting news on the latest Sonic game releases (such as Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Unleashed) and activities dedicating to his birthday (like the SEGA Sonic Radio Show Marathon that is being hosted by several familiar faces and celebrities of the Sonic fan community )
Do make sure you check out the latest from the Summer of Sonic in a spankin' brand new website (also most sexual in it's presentation XD). Click on the images below to find out more!!!
Well that's it from me! Thanks a bunch for the continued love and support on my The Grand ASHWORTH Fortune series and also my life in general! There is much to look forward to in the coming months. ^_~ *thumbs up*
Sydney, the prime location for hustle and bustle in Australia, it is my third visit by now.
The
latest trends in fashion, technology and lifestyle are ever present in
the heart of the city. Most of these elements (based on observation)
are derived from the Asian culture and influences of South East Asia
(including Singaporeans, Chinese, Philippinos, Japanese and
surprisingly a huge amount of Koreans). People chillin' at an Internet
cafe's watching YouTube movies with a Bubble Tea in hand (comes in over
40 flavours including Honey Melon, Chocolate Malt and Rose Petal),
mobile phones ringing away in a close by train station with an unusual
ring tone that is only familiar to Chinese Pop listeners, Japanese
Conveyor Belt Sushi stations in nearly every block of the street... I
feel like I'm living in the fast lane here, almost like Tokyo (but not
Sydney's not that crazy, yet).
So yeah it's exciting to be
strollin' around in the city as a tourist. For those who live there it
is almost a joy for them to have a lifestyle filled with conveniences
just about anywhere within two feet of their apartment, but then again
it isn't a city without it's faults either. People are generally more
rough, rude or threatening (though they are not as bad as in the more
Southern parts of America) and especially when it comes to driving in
Sydney's traffic you better not be the 'slow driver type' or be
prepared to get honked or get a nasty threat from the driver behind or
beside you. It's almost like you're in a GTA4 scenario and you have to
a Belic cousin to survive (okay just exaggerating there.. XD).
Still
Sydney is an awesome place to visit especially when it has some world
class attractions that are easily reachable by the convenient transit
system (train, bus, and ferry being their prime, though it's bloody
expensive nowadays to use either one - almost $2.20, non-concession bus
fare for just one way - 2-4 zones!! The 5-7 zones is almost double
that!) In addition to that Sydney has a rich and diverse geographic
including country hills, beautiful coastlines, wonderful mountains and
a bloody good wine country region.
I'm going to stop there let the photos speak of my trip. I had an extremely brilliant time with my sister Eleanor (the travel guru, she's a cool sister) and her wonderful friend, since high school times, Jacqueline.
Even though it's been 5 days (2 days in the city and 3 days at Hunter
Valley, wine region) we did so much and made full use of our time.
We've
eaten some of the most amazing food there especially when it came to
dinner at some of the finest (and casual) restaurants both in the city
and in the country area. I thoroughly enjoyed every cuisine I had in
Sydney, thanks to my sis and her friends for their treat and to the
staff at the restaurants (including manager, wait staff and chefs) for
preparing the excellent and tasty experience.
It is interesting
to note that of all my travels this is the first time I've ever spent
so much of my money during a visit to one city (I only took out $300
but spent only $120 on research and reference material for my
cartooning business, the rest was on transport, accommodation and other
expenses covered in the trip). I will speak a little more about the
books later but for now enjoy the happy snaps below! = )
Please Note:
On the first photo, my sister is the one on the right standing, her
friend Jacqueline is in the middle. The others are friends of
Jacqueline (as seen in Sydney's best Thai restaurant and the Chinese
Dim Sum restaurant at the Fish Markets).
Comics! Comics! And Books!
It is once said that 'a wise investment is the smart thing to do' and spending $120 worth of reference books, manga and western comics was something I feel was fulfilling and satisfying.
Here is a snapshot of my book collection from Kinokoniya, Comic Kingdom and Kings Comics in Sydney (excluding the Spider-man comics that were bought for entertainment reading):
By
the way the book and comic book stores were exceptional. I enjoyed
browsing through the diversity of products and unique services it
provided, the style and decor of the store, and friendly staff
accompanying the needs of their customers.
Book Reference Recommendations for Comic/Manga Artists
For
those who are really serious about their business in making and selling
comics or manga (on the web or by print), and understanding the wide
range of issues on how to best market your work in the ever growing
industry of comics and manga try the following books:
MAKING COMICS by Scott McCloud:
I
bought this one when I was in Sydney the last time I visited the
amazing and massive Kinokoniya bookstore. I remember skim reading it
through the highly attractive and simple to follow comic style lessons
on how to create an awe-inspiring comic. Scott's a genius, in fact his
dad was an inventor, you can say that he is a theorist/inventor/analyst
on how to 'do it, to it' on comics. I've read the book and find it
extremely entertaining and useful. Very handy for those who want to
understand how comics work for you and your readers. He's got some
comic techniques that will knock you socks off - for beginners to
advanced comic/cartoon artists. Thanks Scott for the handy tips!
The Complete Guide to MANGA by Jason Thompson:
I've
only just started reading this one. It is a book not to be missed by
manga fans and for those who would like to make their own one day and
find the right genre that suits your style and needs. I've enjoyed
their easy referencing system where it gives the reader a synopsis of
the most recently published manga titles in America (updated till 2007,
the top 200 or so in each respective area i.e. action/adventure,
sci-fi, thriller/horror, mystery, shonen, cooking, romance, sports,
business, pachinko (wait business and pachinko manga??)) and etc...).
The author also includes a 4 star ranking of each title he has written
about (based on various reviews and his own to keep it unbiased).
For
those interested manga such as Astro Boy, Ranma 1/2, ONE PIECE, Full
Metal Alchemist, Naruto, Eyeshield 21 and Death note got 4 stars,
whilst Love Hina, Initial D, Rave Master and Bleach got 3 stars, and
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Raxaphon and Pokemon Adventures got 1-1.5
stars. I've still hundreds to go in reading his reviews and synopsis! XXD
Not
only does this book tell you about what's good and bad out there in
today's Westernised manga market but Jason also speaks about the
demographics, art styles and the publishers of manga. He also provided
detailed descriptions on the genre types as already mentioned above
(we've still got ninja, occult and religion, comedy and gag, children
and family etc...) As a bonus he notes the profile of the comic
artists, a brief history on manga and also other useful information
that will surely assist in the manga artist/reader connoisseur (e.g.
extra reviews, links to topic discussions on manga and much much more!)
So
if you think you've seen it all you ain't seen nothing yet without the
book. Use it to your advantage my dear manga artist or the reader (i.e.
the otaku, hate using the word! XXD)
Watching ANIME, Reading MANGA by Fred Patten:
I
have yet to read this book in full but I strongly believe that there is
something in this +370 page book that will hold the key to my knowledge
about the American manga/anime market. The author, Fred Patten, is an
acknowledged authority on manga and anime in the United States. He has
been a pro-active member of the fandom for decades even before manga
and anime became mainstream. He has been compiling information on the
subject based off a twenty-five year overview. Now that is impressive.
I
really think that this guy who has an abundance of experience and
knowledge on the anime and manga scene in America will teach me
something invaluable and I hope that I will use that knowledge to my
advantage and apply it with my current projects such as The Grand
ASHWORTH Fortune and GYROSHOES.
Just to give you an idea he explains in 63 articles on:
ANIME FANDOM
- The first ads in America
- Japanese recognition on American anime fans
- Anime Conventions
THE BUSINESS OF ANIME
- Soundtracks
- Licensing
- Home Video
- Theatrical features
- Simba vs Kimba
- Nadia vs Atlantis
- Anime Business in Japan
- Manga
- Refighting WWII
and much more...
And finally...!
A HISTORY ON WEB-COMICS by T Campbell:
THIS
was what gotten me into coming up with the concept of GYROSHOES. I was
really excited about the possibilities of the internet and how it can
be best used to the advantage of a proactive comic artist. The web has
unlimited possibilities people, it is only a matter of how your use
your time and resource on the technologies of the Internet available to
today.
What I've learnt from this book is that the inevitable of
the Internet has brought significant influences on the comics market
and industry today (manga included). Campbell has provided successful
examples such as VG Cats, MegaTokyo, Penny Arcade and Scott McCloud (to
name a few) to be pioneers and entrepreneurs to the web comic business
and today's fortunate technological era.
I wanted to make something like those mentioned by the author, you know 'start out early and see how it goes' approach. GYROSHOES will be ON HOLD for the moment.
It is a project I'm very interested in pursuing when I have the time
and motivation to do it. Right at the moment my ideas are too sketchy
and early for anything mind blowing to deliver. Probably in the next
month or even a year or so you will see GYROSHOES come to life in a new
form that is learnt from the applications of this book.
I
won't hesitate to recommend those who are serious about making comics
to get this book. It will teach you about how web comics history has
significantly influenced the industry and market of print comics and
how web comics can be used to make yourself enough money to do the
things you really enjoy doing - i.e. coming up with stories and drawing
them!
The Science Behind the concepts of 'Sonic The Hedgehog'
Ever wanted to go a little deeper in knowing what makes people tick when it comes to our beloved game/cartoon character 'Sonic The Hedgehog'?
Ever wondered why thousands and thousands of people around the world
have been at one point in their have been significantly influenced by
the fastest thing alive? What is the science behind this notion? What
are the answers? Are there any concrete answers to this?
Well
seek no further my friends, for there is an old website that is soon to
be (revived and) launched that talks about these concepts called Concept Mobius. This community and website is powered by the creative members, resource and knowledgeable staff of TechnoGuild). Be sure to check it out!
For more details be sure to read up on Chemb0t's latest journal entry about the website's exciting prospects from the team!
I had an interesting chat with Jason (aka
- humble genius and kind friend who also helped me built the TGAF
website) about the concepts on how Sonic influenced the way we are
today. I was attracted to his composure in the Sonic games, the style,
design and presentation of the character and the values taught by the
character. Because of those elements (fueled by compassion to re-create
my own kind of character and story one day - which eventually became I've been able to become the pro-active, enthusiastic, innovating and globtrotting Elson 'Darkspeeds' Wong that I am today. I couldn't be more proud and happier to be who I am right now. ^^
Thanks
to my family and relatives, my special friends and all of those who
have supported me over the years, I couldn't have done it without your
benevolence and support! Here's to another generation of inspired fans
of the Sonic series! *thumbs up*
Wonder
what happened to our beloved unlucky fortune hunter after the rather
unfortunate events that took place at Cape Locke with T.R.A.P. looking for the traitor Stream the Hawk? Well just ask Ruby!
And
also congratulations on unlocking the rest of the lost archives of
Darkspeeds concept sketches of TGAF during his world tour! Thanks for
all the visits! It's reached 7,000 hits and I can't thank you guys
enough for your show of support! See you guys on the next tour of sketches! *thumbs up*
21st May 2008:
Getting Shoed Up For This One...
What do you guys think of the new logo?
Any suggestions as to what this whole new concept is about? I'm actually curious to know what you think.
I hope to create something that is somewhat different from TGAF.
Cartoon design is slightly different in terms of character design but
the style of the comic is very different (i.e. the genre or nature of
the series). I will let you know that they do share the same
universe... Probably a spin-off? O.O
One can only find out when the website is open in which the next 10 web comic strips are too completed by yours truly first. After reading those through web comic strips you should get a clearer picture on what GYROSHOES is all about.
Once again I'm working with the talented on the website. It will be more simpler and easy to navigate (because essentially I want readers to focus on reading the comic ).
I'm sure I will have a great time working with him again! Here's to
bringing a successful result in the coming weeks! *thumbs up*
Also, a full update on my Sydney trip and projects to come for the month of June will be available during the end of Sunday. See you then! *thumbs up*
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For comments, please contact Elson 'Darkspeeds' Wong The Grand ASHWORTH Fortune is a work of
fiction any similarity between events and persons living
or otherwise contained herein is completely coincidental.
[GUEST]GreenFire : Oh. Aww man! I miss the old shading style. But hey, if it helps you get further, I'm all for it! ^_^ Have fun on your trip!
[GUEST]CCG : Can't wait to see more!^^ Also, I demand a full report of your trip to London! XD Sounds like it's going to be a blast! ^__^ I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip when the time comes!
[GUEST]Darkspeeds : Next page will come this Wednesday! I'll do my very best to finish off the next 8 pages to stock up and submit on schedule when I'm away on holidays this August!
[GUEST]Darkspeeds : Thanks for the comments guys! GreenFire I have stopped the shading technique because I've learnt from experience and from knowledge of others in the manga industry that using that style won't sell very well. Ink and tones is the industry standard and the way to go forward. ^^ And Ana thanks for the report! I've fixed the page now!
[GUEST]Ana : Heya again! Was to say that the previous pages before to the new one are unable to view. I found that when I was trying to upload my file that was all your comic pages
[GUEST]GreenFire : [Whoops, typing in the dark. Pressed enter by accident XD] But yeah, as I was saying, I miss the old style you used in the early comics, with the shading and everything. What happened to that? =/
[GUEST]guest_5235 : Great comic, Darkspeeds. It's really awesome/
[GUEST]Darkspeeds : Yeah Ruby's looking upbeat as ever Ana! = ) Thanks for the feedback! Also.... Thanks Ryu for your feedback too! I shall keep up with the hard work don't you worry. Thanks for the suggestions too! I have listend to the GG OST's before, I have an idea of what's expected from that fantastic fighting game series.
[GUEST]Ryu : Hey Darkspeeds. I was just browsing some music. And if you wanted to listen to some nice rock music, check out some soundtracks to Guilty Gear. They're awesome!
[GUEST]Darkspeeds : Thanks Ana. ^^ Ruby is having a wonderful time sharing with us memories of her past! Your comics are great, come on. Keep up the good work!
Huge thanks once again to all who have contributed! You should be proud! 
I'll do my very best to finish off the next 8 pages to stock up and submit on schedule when I'm away on holidays this August! 