Tag Archives: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

First Zine Progress and Contest: Round Two!!

Related Posts: First Zine and Future Shop and First Zine Progress and Contest!!

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A few weeks ago, I finished the pen work for my first zine. I’ve been very busy recently, but hope that sometime soon I’ll be able to get this zine scanned, printed, and watercolored. Then, once The Flea plush toy is ready, I’m planning on opening my online store! :D

Here are a few closeups of some pen work for the zine:

Zine Preview 4

Zine Preview 5

Zine Preview 6

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

I’ve realized that I made this contest a little bit too hard. Thusly, I added a few more hints (#4 and #5). Also, be sure to check the comments of my post First Zine Progress and Contest!! for even more hints. I will be shocked if no one produces the correct answer this time!

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

Hint #4: More specifically than Hint #3 — Mammon.

Hint #5: The poem was written by ONE of the three original Pre-Raphaelites — either William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, or Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine Progress and Contest!!

Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop

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For the past month or so, in between working on Elias & the City of Cats and The First Reich, I’ve been sneaking in progress on my first zine.

Here are a few closeups of some pencil work for the zine:

Zine Preview 1

Zine Preview 2

Zine Preview 3

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine and Future Shop

★Please Note: Feedback on this post would be extremely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Only January, and I’m already beginning to tackle some of my New Year’s goals (New Year’s Resolutions, Anyone?)!!!

First and foremost, I’ve been working on goal #1, making progress on some of the finished illustrations for Elias & The City of Cats. I’m hoping to make a bit more progress in the coming days and then meet up with Gabe on Friday to show him my work. :D

In the meantime, I’ve been brainstorming on goals #6 and #7, my first self-printed zine and my online storefront!

Zine:Shop 1

Possible envelopes for first zine.

The other day, I decided that my first self-printed zine will be an illustrated poem.

I was doing some research on The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and came across the perfect poem for my first zine! I think this poem will be unexpected and exciting while still tying in with The Poet and the Flea. The poem will remain a secret for now, but I’ll give a free copy of my zine to the first person who can correctly guess which one it is. Hint: The Seven Deadly Sins. I’ll be truly impressed if anyone gets this!

As far as production goes, I’d like to keep this zine relatively simple since it’s my first: about 6 to 8 pages, black and white with simple lines, a number of special hand-watercolored copies, all packaged in a lovely envelope. I’ll probably print about 25 or 30 copies, but I’d love to know if anyone is seriously interested in purchasing a copy so that I can figure out if I need to print more or less.

Zine:Shop 2

I’ve been planning my online storefront for a while now, but I’m waiting for the right time to set it up and launch it.

I’ve decided to use Storenvy, because it seems user-friendly and stylish. And it helps that it’s free.

Other than my first self-printed zine, I’d like to offer a wide range of products including The Poet and the Flea merchandise (prints/posters, t-shirts, tote bags, badges/pins, etc.). For prints, I’d like to keep them high-quality but made-to-order so that one can request any page of The Flea or whatnot.

The most ambitious product I’d like to see in my store is a The Flea plush toy. I’ve been playing around with many ideas for this, but know it has to remain relatively simple. The plush toy will definitely be handmade in black fabric, possibly with buttons for eyes and silver/gold (maybe glow-in-the-dark) fabric paint to add texture/scales. It will take me a while to get to this project (and I might recruit some help for it), but I’m excited to see how everything turns out.

Also, I’d like to offer commissioned illustrations, but I have to work out the details on that!

Again, feedback is very welcome! Just leave a comment below or send me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Comics I Admire: “Pre-Raphernalia”

Who says comics can’t be educational and hilarious?

Today, I’d like to share a very special online comic I admire very much! Please, let me introduce you to…

Pre-Raphernalia: The Pre-Raph Sketchbook Cartoons of Raine Szramski!

Raine Szramski is the awesome (and, not to mention, super nice) artist/illustrator of Pre-Raphernalia as well as another amazing series called Heaven & the Dead City, which can be either read online here or purchased here.

Pre-Raphernalia centers around the Victorian avant-garde artists known as The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including the likes of John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These artists were quite eccentric, even by today’s standards, and lived oftentimes rowdy and scandalous lives.

What’s so wonderful about Pre-Raphernalia is that Raine takes the true historical events/relationships/facts and depicts them to the full extent of their eccentricity. When reading, I often find myself laughing out loud! Furthermore, she takes the time to write a full historically-accurate explanation of each comic, thoroughly detailing the backgrounds of each individual involved.

I highly recommend Pre-Raphernalia for anyone who wants to learn a little bit of history while having a fun time doing so. :D

Below are a number of my favorite images/pages from Pre-Raphernalia.

The following images belong to Raine Szramski.

Wombatink

millais2

sir ned1

For more Pre-Raphernalia and Raine Szramski, please check out the following websites…

preraphernalia.blogspot.com

thewatchertree.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/raine.szramski

rainesz.deviantart.com

www.co2comics.com/pages/co2_heaven_and_the_dead_city.html

www.lulu.com/spotlight/co2comics

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Note on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images!!

“The Black Brunswicker” (1860) by John Everett Millais

“Isabella and the Pot of Basil” (1868) by William Holman Hunt

“Found” (1865–1869, unfinished) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

One of my more recent obsessions is with the artists know as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, it’s most famous members being John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Like many of my obsessions, the Pre-Raphaelites have been floating around the periphery of my awareness for some time, perhaps years. My interest was peaked only recently (this spring) by the Legion of Honor‘s stunning exhibit “The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860 – 1900,” featuring works by not only the Pre-Raphaelites but also their contemporaries, students, and successors (including William Morris, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, etc.). This exhibit picked up the threads of some other interests of mine, such as Charles Dickens’s companion and fellow writer Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone, The Woman in White, etc.). The exhibit also inspired me to dig deeper into the lives of these eccentric Victorian “Renaissance” men!

An easy way to learn more about the Pre-Raphaelites is through the BBC six-part series Desperate Romantics (2009), featuring a cast of lovely men and women (Aidan Turner, Rafe Spall, and Amy Manson to name a few) and gorgeous period costumes. While at times exuding a contemporary (as in 21st century) feel in the vein of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), the series is very painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable to watch. It’s a series I’m just itching to re-watch and show to all my friends.

Aidan Turner as Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Another wonderful way to enjoy the Pre-Raphaelites is through the online comic Pre-Raphernalia: The Pre-Raph Sketchbook Cartoons of Raine Szramski (preraphernalia.blogspot.com). This series is another painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable journey into the bizarre history of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, with plenty of cameos by Rossetti’s pet wombat named “Top.”

My most recent encounter with the Pre-Raphaelites is surprisingly through the British footwear brand Dr. Martens. Dr. Martens has teamed up with Liberty of London to create shoes and purses featuring William Morris’s celebrated “Strawberry Thief” textile design. My birthday’s coming up, so I’m hoping to get my paws on one of these timeless purses!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


Brief Update

Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

  1. Had a wonderful weekend (May 31st – June 4th) in San Francisco with friends Ariel and Olivia!
  2. Visited the Legion of Honor to see The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860-1900. Quite an amazing exhibit. Featured the artwork of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Aubrey Beardsley, etc. Also, very much enjoyed the Victorian Home Walk. I believe both experiences will help my writing.
  3. Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend: Currently in progress!
  4. The Poet and the Flea: As of Thursday, 28 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 28 pages (1-6 completed, and 6-28 in progress) of illustrated work.
  5. Thinking of converting “The Ink Drinker” (short story) into a full-length screenplay…
  6. No word yet from Playground Pictures. Monday, sent e-mail in response to ghostwriter gig on Craigslist.  Tuesday, sent e-mail in response to Japanese language tutor gig on Craigslist. Waiting for responses.
  7. Continuing research on various production companies to send query letters to.
  8. Tuesday, signed up with meetup.com. Joined a bunch of interesting groups. Hopefully, I’ll meet some new friends and learn the city!

To Do:

  • Apply to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition
  • Apply to The American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


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