Report from UppCon:12

So little time, this will be a quick entry...

Just wanted to do a short report from UppCon:12 (the last ever) on the 15-17th of June. It was a big party, but also a sad goodbye for a generation. This will not end the manga fans entusiasm though, rather the oposite; people was already talking of what will be the next big con, and the need of a big event like this, if not bigger!

Nosebleed Studio visited the con and our tables was well attracted even though the artist alley was quite small. We sat in the big market tent, which made us get more attention compared to last year, Thanks alot, UppCon-team, you did a great job as always!!

Catarina had her One Piece onepiece on, also called a kigurumi.

Kigurumis was very popular at the con.
Thank you to all the awesome people who visited our table and bought our latest works!

Alice made her own kigurumi, plus one extra for her friend Tomas.
Siver Fang and Totoro!

Joakim had no kigurumi, but was happy anyway!

Our fanzines, only 20 sek each! Pricey!

I had a presentation about my experiences with Japanese manga editors at Ribon (Shueisha).
Thank you to all of you who came and listened!

And one of my dreams came true, as the sweet cosplayer Hjortron-chan came by
to show me her cosplay of Vanilj, one of the kittens in my manga Mjau!
I'm so happy!! Awesome cosplay!

The convention was great, and we're so grateful to all who support us by bying our fanzines or books, and coming over to our table to talk. It is truly an honor to have people read our works, and enjoy them! Thank you!!

A couple of days later, I went to Solna in Stockholm to have two manga workshops, which went great. The participants was eager to learn, and on the last workshop we ended up having fun drawing eye lashes and lipstick on Voldemort. Don't ask me how we got there, but the kids had a fun time and so did I.

Well, as today is my B-day, I will have to get going now. 26 years old... Quite young still, and lots of things left to fulfill.

Oh, and also, there's some big things coming, but I think I have to wait until August to tell you, when I have papers signed and everything.
Thanks for still reading and for all your support!!

Lecture at UppCon 12

I will be doing a lecture/presentation at this week ends UppCon convention in Uppsala!

The name of the lecture is "A Swedish Mangaka in Japan" and it will be about my contacts with the Japanese editors at Ribbon magazine, and my attempts to send them my short mangas. I will also talk about how the Japanese market works and compare it a little to our market.
And of course talk about the response I got on the two mangas I sent them! Very interesting!!
 

My sister Catarina will also hold a Manga workshop, and a Japanese friend of mine, Rio, will hold a lecture on her life as a Japanese Otaku, and the everyday life of Japanese Otakus! Don't miss it, it will be very very interesting!!

Saturday 16th:
10.30-11.30 
A Swedish Mangaka in Japan (in Swedish) with Natalia Batista
19.00-20.30
How to Draw a Manga Character (in Swedish) with Catarina Batista

Sunday 17th:
13.00-14.00
A Japanese Otakus Life (in English) with Rio Nishiyama

One of the pages from my Ribbon entry Hooked On You.

This will be the last UppCon ever, Though. The team that have been working on this project for 11 years have decided to move on and do other things. I really hope some new conventions will pop-up in the ashes of this giant's fall, because with it's 3.500 yearly visitors UppCon was Swedens absolutely biggest manga convention ever. It's so sad to have to say goodbye... ;___;

But! I got the green light from Fredrik Strömberg (chief editor at Bild&Bubbla - a Swedish magazine about comics) to make an article for the magazine about the past 11 years of UppCon. It's important to show the huge passion of the mangafans, and what some young people with great visions can create. I really hope the article might help to inspire!

See you at UppCon12!! :D

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.