Nine Years!

The image attached to this post is our first company logo.  It looks so outdated to me now...  Last Sunday marked eight years since the first Hatman comic went online.  And this month marks nine years that 3twins.net has been a registered entity on the web.  It seems crazy when I think about it; how many milestones have happened in that time, how many pitfalls and obstacles we've ran into and overcome.

It took us a year to get our first comic finished!  Three years later we were approaching our 50th issue.  Then we went into a semi-hiatus for four years so I could get my bachelor's degree.  We've created two audio comic series: Hatman & Indigo and Ion Bunny, and two web cartoons: Midieville and Star Fetched.  Now we're working on a game for the Nintendo Wii U.

We've been to comic cons, had loads of meetings, written tons of scripts, and commissioned thousands of pieces of art.  Some of the other bloggers have recently pointed out how much we have done.  However, as the captain of this ship, I say, "we haven't even started yet!"

~Jason Kuder
3twins.net Incorporated
Co-Founder, Chairman, & CEO

Characters

Everyone has favorite characters in life. How often have you heard a real person you love, or possibly don’t like so much, been referred to as a character? For us fans of fiction, we are passionate about the characters we love. We even love to hate others. It is always fun to find out that some of our favorite fictional characters are based on real people or an amalgam of several that the creator knew in life. I often see interviews where authors and artists are asked where they came up with the inspiration for their creations. For whatever reason, many become beloved for generations.

 

The 3twins website is certainly a place to find a great many characters that should appeal to many varied tastes. For fans of the site, this is already understood. My post is aimed at you: the old and hopefully new fans. If you have enjoyed the 3twins entertainment offerings, take a look around the website again. If you haven’t visited in a while, or at all, take a long look around; there is plenty to see!

 

My challenge to you is to please post responses to this blog and tell us your favorite 3twins characters. Please also tell us which you don’t like or could do without.

 

Create your escape!

                                                                                                                        ~ Chuck

Zombies, Monsters and Ghouls

As you probably know, at 3Twins we keep everything family friendly. However recently I was in a friendly debate over what shows are appropriate to let your family and children watch together (or do you allow TV at all?)... Respectively, what deems "family friendly", and what is crossing that line? Certainly, this is up to the parent/guardian to decide using the appropriate TV guide ratings. However, some shows that are aired on family friendly channels question that boundary. There is a timeline of monster and ghoulish related shows, such as Scooby Doo, The Twilight Zone, Addams Family, and Tales from the Crypt. The newer phenomenon (that is very gorey- and not family friendly at all) is the Walking Dead on AMC. What's up with our fascination with the living dead and monsters? Comment on this discussion, as well as your favorite monster show and why!~Kate

That Doesn't Sound Right

We all know that music sets the mood. It can bring you up or take you down. It can transport you back in time by unlocking memmories. It also annoy you to the point of near maddess.

The choice of music in a media project is as important as the visual elements. You certainly can tell a story and engage your audience wihtout music, but music digs deeper than your eyes can go and bore right into your memory. Anyone who's dealt with an earworm of song knows this to be true.

Here's a example: The trailer for a classic family film with the same visual elements, but different music.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic

The change of soundtrack turns a beloved classic into a chilling tale.  Next time you watch 'Jaws' replace John William's shark theme with Benny Hill's 'Yakkety Sax' and you'll never see the film the same way!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0aSF_wHLmQ 

~Jason Mutzfeld

The Beginning of My Love For Comics

If you’ve spent much time at all on 3twins.net then you know that our love of comics is evident in much of the work that we do. I personally grew up loving comic book characters, especially Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, but my experience with them was entirely through movies and cartoons. Even though I loved the stories, I never actually read the comics.

At least that was the case up until the summer of 1997. I was shopping with my brother and sisters, happened to see a four-pack of Spider-Man comics, and bought them on a whim. This was my very first comic book purchase! That four pack was known as the Revelations series, which was the conclusion to the Spider-Man Clone Saga – a story-arc that dominated the franchise from 1994-1996.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that the Clone Saga is considered one of the lowest points in the history of the Spider-Man franchise. It was full of messy storytelling and plot-lines that angered hard-core fans and confused new readers by phasing out Peter Parker and establishing Ben Reilly as the new Spider-Man. Writer Bud Budiansky was tasked with bringing Peter Parker back and ending the saga, but it was no easy task because of all of the loose ends and other problems that had been created. Budiansky ended up soliciting ideas from the entire Marvel staff and Revelations was the final product of his efforts. The final comic in the series saw the death of Ben Reilly and end of the clone saga, the first appearance of Norman Osborne and the Green Goblin in 20 years, the disappearance of Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s baby, and Parker reestablished as Spider-Man.

I spent the rest of the weekend completely lost in those four issues. My love of Spider-man was officially solidified and my love of comics was born. I never did become a comic book collector, but to this day I still enjoy reading them and getting swept up in the images. And if you peruse some of the drawings I’ve done for 3Twins, especially in Hatman & Indigo, you might even see how the Revelations story-arc influenced my own artwork.

Until next time,

~Steve

Sketching A Script To Life!

Everything starts with an idea and that idea is brought to life by an artist. Like any idea in the world of media and entertainment you must first understand the story and it's characters, then you go straight to sketching. This requires hours of sketching and refinement until the artist captures the heart of the story. The next step is carefully inking (marker) all the sketches into a final image, then i scan it onto the computer and bring it to life with color.

There was a time before Disney went CG, they were known for their reliance on traditional artists, storyboards, and sketches. Have no fear, artists are still needed to sketch out a visual depiction, whether it be for animation, movies, or a video game. Even in the world of Disney and CG, sketching remains the quickest and most valued shorthand used to bring any idea to life.

~Michael

What's Your Favorite 3twins Character?

I was thinking about the time I went to Yokohama, Japan. I felt like I was in a video game! Neon colors, happy synthesized theme songs for everything (including crossing signals) and every business had it's own anime mascot. That's right, even the adults in Japan had their favorite anime characters. I challenge you to find your own theme character and post them right here on our blog. From any cartoon, comic book, video game or whatever. If you're short on ideas review our past posts and find one here. We have lot's of lovable characters that are looking for supporters. I, myself, choose Bojac the Centaur, from the upcoming hit Wii U game "Of Mages and Pages" by your friends here at 3twins.net. Post your favorites here and let's see who wins!!!

~Tom

Captain America 2

So I finally saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and I have to say it's definitely worth the hype! I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but I highly recommend you do!

Now I can't wait for Avengers 2 to come to theaters. This so nicely sets up the ongoing Marvel stories.

~Andy

The Black Knight Image

So, Friday I posted an image of what the character of the Gold Knight will most likely look like in our Wii U game Of Mages & Pages.  Today I give you The Black Knight and how he will likely look in our game.

~Jason

Heroes

Greetings All,

Steven Ware here, just wanted to share a few thoughts that i have been considering.

i saw "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" when it came out and i am very pleased to see that it is still the #1 movie in America some three weeks after its release.  There is more to my pleasure at seeing the movie do so well than just fannboy excitement, though (not sure how much more, but there is a measurable percentage more).  I am excited to see a movie that deals with the complex issues of what s of what it means to be a hero in today's society (especially here in the U.S.A.)doing so well.  i really like the fact that a comic book movie is striving to say something more than "Might makes Right", in fact this movie may come as close to saying the opposite of that sentiment than any other comic book adaption ever has (including "Watchmen", imho).

Which brings me to the question i would like to pose to You All;  In today's world, how essential are heroes?  This world seems to meandering toward chaos more and more each day, is touting the actions and character of heroes (real or imagined) akin to some kind of Sisyphusian mental torture...in a nutshell, what is the appeal of looking to the best in mankind when the worst is running rampant?  

A fair assessment, no?  But maybe the whole symbol represented in the "Starfish story" is the key to the necessity of hope - which is what heroes embody in our minds, in our souls.  The need to reach for what Abraham Lincoln called “the Better Angels of Our Nature”.  Heroism inspires heroism, hope breeds hope.  In a society inundated by anger, angst and apathy don’t Our hearts cry out for heroes?  As the world spins into shadow, aren’t we all desperately craving the light of compassion, civility and self-sacrifice?  

I submit to You that the current spate of Superhero movies is touching more than a childish desire to see Our costumed vigilantes finally robed in flesh, but the fulfillment of the yearning that We feel to see Someone overcome insurmountable odds for the sake of the greater good.  Walt Whitman said; “ I understand the large hearts of heroes, the courage of present times and all times,” .  

I salute You Captain America for doing so well at the box office, and even more so for letting us believe, if even for a little while, that there is better in Us and that We can aspire to that better in Ourselves.

~Steven