Work work work~

Right now, I'm multitasking all week:

Mondays at Serieskolan, teaching the students everything I know so they can conquer the world out there!
Tuesdays at Malmö University, teaching sketching techniques. The diligent students follow my crazy gudelines so well, and they evolve fast! I'm impressed!
The rest of the week is a mix of:
...finishing my manga Hearts of Midsummer for Nosebleed Studio's next anthology
...doing economy papers for Nosebleed Studio, Wasabi Press and my own company
...sending books to printers and recieving them.
...detail-planning A Sword Princess Tale, my next big project!

 The diligent students at the sketching course at Malmö University.

As written before, I have reprinted A song for Elise and my Harry Potter doujinshi The Marauders and the Secrets of the Heart. The former is avaliable for purchase in Nosebleed Studio's webbshop, but the latter is only purchaseable at events or via e-mail correspondance with me (see contact), since it is a doujinshi and I don't want to upset J.K. Rowling too much. It is a non-profit production, but I still want to be careful.

 Here's a photo of the two fabulous books, fresh of the printers!

I look forward to have them on Nosebleed Studio's book table for sale at all the events we're attending this year (check the list to the right to see which ones).

But, what is really stressing me out right now is the short story Hearts of Midsummer for Nosebleed Studio's next anthology, with a Swedish theme. I'm still screentoning and the book needs to go to the printers on the 1st of March! I hope I'll make it!

Here's a little short description on the storyline:

Julia is forced to celebrate Midsummer's Eve in her home village with her childhood friend Dennis' family. They havn't met up in two years, and last time they did he confessed to her that he likes her. So embarrassing! What will happend when the meet again? Will this be a Midsummer's Eve she will always remember or just wants to forget?

I really need to finish this manga short story NOW! Because 1) I have to start drawing A Sword Princess Tale to make it to the deadlines, and 2) I want to send HoM to Ribbon as my third entry, hopefully before the deadline in March! So much work!!

Ok, back to the drawing table! Please email me if you are interested in the books!

My second review in Japanese Ribbon magazine!

So sorry for the very very delayed update. Life is as always a roller coaster with its ups and downs~
Here's a little update on my life and the latest achievements:

First, I got the result for Hooked On You, the novel manga I sent to the Japanese manga magazine Ribbon for their rookie competition. I named it 「友達バブル」 in Japanese.
It got the same prize as the Circus Romantique manga I sent them last time, which is the 「もうひと息賞」. But this time, I got a little higher an actually won some money (like 20 000 yen = ~150 euro/1500:- sek).

A scan from the Ribbon #6 2012, by my newfound friend xTsukim!
Check out her DeviantART Gallery and Youtube account!

With the help of xTsukim, I got the text translated for you:

Tomodachi Baburu, 32 pages
By Natalia Batista from Sweden, 25 years old

Story: In the big blue sea lives the mermaid Mina. Other mermaids think that you get strong by eating human meat, but Mina just want to become friends with a human. One day a boy gets thrown into the water, but is saved by Mina...!?

Critique: Just like with the last manga piece, the artwork is on a high level. You take time to do the backgrounds and also succeeding in making it feel like they live in the sea. But then however, the storyline; It doesn't show if this was Mina's love story, or a frinedship story, or maybe a story of her growing up? It didn't show the theme well enough so we disn't understand it. The ending was cut off very suddently. We didn't know if this was a happy ending or not. Please make characters more personally attached to the reader.

Art: 16
Story: 10
Overall feeling: 24
Total: 50 (out of 100)


Great critique as always, I get so many "Aha"-moments when I read their or the editor's comments, while thinking "Why didn't I do it that way?! How could I have been so stupid!?"

I love constructive critique and comments. It makes me grow as an artist, and also realize my own weakness, where my focus needs to be on my next work!

Sadly, this story got only 50 points and the one before got 55. I am analyzing the situation, and I think my next entry will be a more Ribbon-ish story. For once, I know what I want to focus on; a REAL shojo manga love story.
I have some ideas already, but it's way too early to show, so I'll get back to you with it later.

While also working on Nosebleed Studio stuff, like the comimg trailer for our anthology and some economy papers (which I am in charge of), I'm also kickstarting a big project with my friend Elise Rosberg at Wasabi Press. We're the initiators of the coming Swedish Asia-fan community NonstopCon, that will be up this Fall! More info on the homepage, and I'll blog more about it soon.

That aside, I have also been getting in contact with editors and publishers from different countries, to find possible publication for my project A Sword Princess Tale. So far I have two that are interested, but some more are still looking at the pitch I gave them. These things take time, so I expect contracts to be signed not earlier than August or so. But if I get something before then, I'll let you guys know! ;)

Here's a quick sketch I did of Amalthea. There's more where this one came from but I have to upload them some other time.

Klara, färdiga, Manga!

Detta är kanske i senaste laget, men jag har lovat att informera om en mangatävling som är på gång i detta nu.

"Klara, färdiga, MANGA!" är en ny svensk mangatävling som hålls av det nystartade mangaförlaget Wasabi Press.

Tävlingen har olika kategorier och en första- och andraplatsvinnare kommer utses i varje kategori, och vinna pengar och priser från sponsörerna (mangaböker och prylar). Vinnarna utses av en jury bestående av mig, Åsa Ekström, Fredrik Strömberg (Ordförande i Seriefrämjandet) och Elise Rosberg (Chefsredaktör på Wasabi Press). Vinnarna kommer publiceras i en supersnygg antologi till april 2012 som kommer delas ut gratis till alla bibliotek och seriebutiker samt på mangamässor runt om i landet.
Och jag ber om ursäkt för den sena informationen, för deadline är 5:e december. Kom igen, börja RITA!

Elise är en av de mangavänner jag haft längst (vi träffades i Malmöfestivalens Mangatält 2004 tror jag) och det är så kul att spåna idéer med henne. Vi är farliga ihop... Så nu har vi såklart gjort det fatala misstaget och börjat spåna på en massa storslagna planer, som vi tyvärr kommer hålla hemliga en tid framöver, men som förhoppningsvis kommer till våren de med! Mer information då...

Jag lovade er ett inlägg om mina kommande projekt... Det får bli i nästa inlägg, och då på engelska så att alla förstår. Men jag kan ge er lite ledtrådar: sjöjungfrur och svärds-prinsessor...

Mer om det snart!