The Adventures of Pepot Kuripot and Dora Gastadora
Finally after 6 months of sleepless nights, blood sweat, and tears our book is out! What started as an idea 2 years ago is now a reality. Yup we had this in mind 2 years ago but we didn't take action.
From sketch to reality
Only last year october2014 did we start the character sketches, it was supposed to be just between me and Burn, I was surprised that he already posted it on his blog and already said that we will have a book soon! Yes he started promoting even before we have page 1 of the komiks. Of course this created a lot of pressure at the beginning. This time I was also assigned to a telco account which means more hours spent at the office. Burn send the scripts and I do them on weekends, during lunch break or early in the morning. Google calendar really helped a lot in making this happen, scheduling and prioritizing the komiks, and making sacrifices like saying no to parties and stuff that doesn't bring me closer to my goal. But when I look at the big picture I know it was worth the sacrifice.
Another challenge was the printing cost. Since getting a sponsor will take a while we decided to self publish our book, using our own money and get a publisher later on. We did our book launch at the pantry at 07, it was just me and burn and our very first client Butz! We also have the website up thanks to Lara. We printed 500 copies of the book and sold them online. Looking back it was so worth it. This is one of the best passion project I've done so far.
What I learned in creating this book:
- Focus and time management: We all are give 24 hours everyday, what we do with it is up to us. Allotting an hour everyday and freeing up my schedule on weekends to do the things I love became my goal.
- Consistency and hard work: Doing the illustration as part of a routine helped a lot. I start drawing even if I'm not in the mood and after a few mins. I start to enjoy what I'm doing!
- Love what you do: Doing something you love makes you more productive, fulfilled, and helps you to push yourself to succeed even more.
- Work with a team: I wouldn't have done it without the support of Burn and our friends. Working with a team helps you keep focused and motivated to finish because you don't want to let them down.
- Just do it: I know it's cliche but it's true! :)