A Studio made of Fans for the Fans
About TriCity Studio
TriCity Studio is based out of the K-W area and was formed by the creative talents of Jason Ward, Kyle Barnett and Stephan Petersen. The trio became acquainted as members of With Pen and Brush and quickly became friends outside the group.
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TriCity Studio's main objective was to form a more unified team of comic artists working together as a dynamic trio! Kyle and Stephan have collaborated on a number of occasions in the past and the group will be looking to do more of the same in the near future.
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At TriCity Studio, we understand that the first step in becoming a successful business means providing a product that not only meets the expectations of our fans (the triforce), but is also a product that we can be proud of. That is why we are welcoming any and all feedback our fanbase might have. We want to hear from you; what you like and especially what you don't like and it is our promise that, if you write to us, we will write you back! TriCity Studio is committed to providing a quality product and will settle for nothing less.
Submissions:
At this time, TriCity Studio isn't seeking new talent. That being said, our team is always open to looking at your work and giving you our honest and constructive feedback for further growth and potential future opportunities. The best place to show us artwork is probably at comic conventions however, as stated before, we make a strong effort to reply to every message that comes our way and we will gladly send you a review electronically. Before you send any material our way, here are a few tips of what we are looking for:
ARTISTS/INKERS:
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When it comes to drawing superheroes and pin-ups, give some serious thought to your character's pose. Dynamic poses are much more eye catching than a character who is just standing motionless. Consider the Camera angle; so many times, we think there's only one view that makes sense. Play around with higher and lower angles on characters to create more dynamic drawings. We should admit these are more so suggestions than rules. Some standing poses can work very well for certain characters depending on the mood of the piece. A good example is Batman (although he usually has the help of a long flowing cape). One rule that always applies no matter the circumstance however is anatomy. Nothing shows your skill better than the proper portrayal and understanding of anatomy.
The second more crucial part to becoming a comic illustrator is storytelling ability and your ability to draw sequential pages. Drawing beautiful elaborate images is great but do they tell a story? Ask yourself - if this page has no word bubbles, can I still tell what is happening? We can give you pointers specific to your work once we see it.
When sending art samples, please limit yourself to 5-10 images. This should be enough for us to get a sense of your work. We would suggest sending 5-7 sequential pages and 2-3 full page spreads/covers. Try to include a variety of character (female, male, skinny, fat, muscular, monsters, robots, etc.) in both quiet, slow paced scenes as well as fast action scenes.
COLOURISTS:
As you can see, our current team has a wide range of styles from Jason's more anime, kid friendly style to Stephan's dark, shadow happy inking. Ideally, we'd love a colourist who could adapt to our range of styles. A few things to experiment with when sending us samples - try colouring the same image is 2 completely different tomes. Show us happy, warm colouring versus something you'd see in a Batman comic. Colours should set the mood and accentuate the highlights of the piece, not take away from it.
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Another tip is to consider your light source. Some artists will already have their shadows dictating where the light is coming from. A good colourist will be able to identify the areas that require highlights and low lights.
WRITERS:
We are fairly open to all written material but we will be looking for what we feel are innovative ideas that haven't been done before and believable characters/storylines. Currently, we have a couple concepts that we would love to eventually see turned into well written comics if we can find the right fit.
We need - a story synopsis: beginning, middle, and end, omitting unnecessary details. A short-story synopsis should be no longer than a page. A synopsis for a series (limited or ongoing) or graphic novel should be about two to five pages. Indicate issue breaks where applicable. A synopsis should say exactly what happens and how, noting plot and character specifics. Do not leave the resolution of the story in question. This should be the most straightforward presentation of the story as possible, as the synopsis is often the make-or-break point for a proposal.
We want to see a 20-28 page script. When preparing to send your story, ask yourself - are my characters believable and consistent throughout the script? Is the plot clear and easy to follow? Is all the necessary information-including subtext, symbolism, essential background detail, communicated clearly to the artist?
All submissions, feedback and other emails can be sent to: tricitystudio@hotmail.com or you can simply visit our contact page.