Death-Civic Arts-Religion-Faith-God & Love.

God-Faith-Wellness-Civic duties: these are all things we don't talk about enough, as human beings. What we usually talk about is school, work, family, food, and celebrity news. Don't get me wrong, the majority of these things are important to me; especially family, but there are other concerns I secretly dwell upon that I keep private. For instance I often wonder about my own death; with the increase in my age as the decades seem to roll by faster- I ponder the inevitable climax to my life. I wonder if my wife and children will be loved and looked after. I have no real family to help in the event of my death, and her family is older and sickly. I wonder about my children, what will become of them. I worry about these things because I realize life is fragile, and with poor health, our time on earth can seem 'borrowed'. I've made peace with a lot of my demons, but there are still other areas of my life I wish to improve upon. I want change where change can be made. I want happiness when happiness is obtainable.

I hear a lot of 'self help' and 'positive thinking' advice, and I usually can take it with a grain of salt: take in what can help me; then spit out what is merely gristle and filler. I'm looking for the core of the problem so as to find a solution not a quick fix. That's where I want to focus my efforts: the root of the problem. Sometimes the root of the problem/or foundation is our family, a close acquaintance, a work mate, or a loved one. Often it is someone close to us that has a direct impact on our life and our outcome, and is often the direct cause of our dilemma. What do you do then?

-'FAKE IT.'
-Roll with the punches.
-Swallow your pride.
-Buck up.
-Man up...

That's the world's advice.

Here's my advice:

"Persevere in Prayer".
Start every day in prayer.
Focus on spiritual pursuits and concerns helps to lift my spirits.
Give to others.

When I'm feeling down, I bow my head and pray. Prayer before bedtime with my family really adds a sense of closure to my day....endure and persevere through prayer.

"Thank You Lord for Your strength. For allowing me to make it through another day of life in this tiresome system we  live in. Thank You for allowing my family,my immediate and distant relatives and all of mankind to survive another day of life. Watch over us always, bless us and keep us safe in Your loving arms. In Jesus' name, Amen."

God Bless you all
Are you addicted to Social Networking?

Cause for Complaint?

Sometimes. Just sometimes we think a little more of ourselves than we ought to. Why shouldn't you simplify and downsize. Hell I wish I could live with my parents, hell I wish I was 26 again! Step back take a hard look at yourself and rise above. Money and a job are a means to an end. That is all. Stay busy and stay focused. Just because you are not able to find work in the economy don't become 'idle'. Go back to school, work from home, start a small entrepreneurial business. Sell everything you have- borrow what you can- and move to a more stable state with a better unemployment rate. America is a wonderful country and some of us are forgetting the Pioneers of this country. They lived on soup stock and potatoes and chopped wood, ran farms, work the ground. Give back to the environment in your down time. Do community work. Most of all stay busy even if you aren't getting a dollar to do so. Emigrate to Canada or Europe they 'encourage' it! (they'll pay you to move). Think of our founding fathers, many of them living in France, and London and back and forth from the U.S. for years. That's why they were so great. Travel educates you and opens your eyes to new ways of doing things, and informs you that there is always other options. Travel, stay busy, and stay focused. It's not easy by no means. Took me 3yrs to rise up! Now I'm working as a pt tutor at an elementary school (15 hrs a week $8 an hour) and going to college and raising my family. My spouse is fortunate enough to have a full time job making a little more than me an hour. We scrap and struggle and fall....still do... almost weekly. But STAY POSITIVE> America has been through way worse. We can never quit. And don't turn into bitter anti-obama/anti-americans yes if you are anti-president you are anti-american. Let him finish his term or impeach him but QUIT Bitching about it. One more year then do something about it in the polls and quit dogging on The American President. TRUE Monotheistic spiritually minded individuals don't run from love.... Love of country and Love of God.

Back to School Tomorrow.

I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am glad that I am starting back so I can finish my degree. I am also glad the opportunity presented itself, allowing me the right circumstances to enroll and attend classes. It has been a year since I was able to enroll in a semester due to everyday cares, concerns and responsibilities. I am greatly appreciative to my family for the constant support and encouragement to start attending again.

The Reviews are in! CONVICT # 1

Reviewed by Steven Shipley, Chairman of the United Fanzine Organization And Owner of Budget Comics.

"CONVICT #1, from Larry DuCheny. The first U.F.O. publication from our newest member was in many ways quite impressive. Larry shows near genius in some places, like the cover and much of the panel sequence and layout. I even liked the all pencil graphics. This works because Larry's pencils are so tight and clean. But, on the other hand, there are some places for improvement. The storyline lost me about halfway through and I found myself looking back and re-reading pages to try to figure out what was going on. And, some of the production values were poor; like drawing on notebook paper and using the exact illustration more than once in the story. These things may seem picky, but they are a distraction from an otherwise excellent work. But this is Larry DuCheny's first effort and I'm pretty sure his second will be much improved. He is young and talented and will soon surpass the senior U.F.O. members in his creative endeavors."

This next review is from Rob Imes, creator and publisher of DitkoMania.

"CONVICT # 1 (Laurence DuCheny): This comic was rough, looking more like an ashcan or demo than a finished comic. It's probably not a good idea to write on the comic. My copy had my name written in pen on the front, then a personalized message from Larry on page 1, and later a penned note about one of the UFO Checklists inside being a place holder. I will sometimes print up a mock-up copy of an upcoming issue of DM on my home printer, with blank pages on some not-yet-done-ones, just to get a feel of what a finished issue will look like, and I go through with a pen and circle any typos, make notes to myself. etc. Convict # 1 reminded me of a mock-up copy, not the finished product. The faint pencil style artwork not being inked added to this impression. I wondered at first why the spine felt funny and then I saw that Larry had stapled the spine three times. A digest-size comic should only be stapled twice: once near the top and again near the bottom--not in the middle.

Another jarring thing I noticed as I began reading the comic was that some of it was being repeated throughout the issue. The side-view of James Douglas smoking appears on the cover, and again on page one inside, and again on page three. Another side-view, with his hand on his chin in a contemplative pose, appears on pages three and five. This makes it look like a cut and paste job, which is distracting unless it's being done deliberately in a humor strip like Doonesbury or Peanuts. For dramatic comics, it just looks like a short-cut to fill panels without having to draw more. Some of the drawings were very good (such as the aforementioned smoking of a cigarette, particularly in the positioning of the fingers), but others were less so (like the last two pages). The level of skill lacked a consistency that I would have expected, since (as I say) some panels looked great and some didn't. I would have been interested in reading an editorial introduction about how precisely this comic was produced, to explain to the reader what exactly he's looking at here. How much was drawn by the artist, and how much was manipulated by the computer? As for the storyline, it started out in an intriguingly dreamlike fashion (what with the nudity and general strangeness), but the last half with the gunfight was more conventional, less intriguing to me. Some of the content is perhaps more adult in nature than an all-ages sensibility of most UFO 'zines.

It looked like some of the panels were drawn on notebook paper because the lines were still visible. Also, the size of the lettering was inconsistent, sometimes large or small depending on the space available. But space shouldn't determine the size of the letters because in comics, the size of the lettering indicates sound. Letters that are big indicate loudness, small letters are quieter (like when a character mumbles something under their breath). With that in mind, it makes no sense for the lettering in Jame's thought balloon on page three, panel one, to be bigger than the actual spoken dialogue that follows. The comic's cover price of $2.95 seems a bit high. Does that price include the postage of mailing it? Larry's contact info does not appear in the issue, and I understand that he does not want his home address to be published. This may make it more difficult for some readers to contact Larry to obtain a copy of this issue. Anyway, we all have to start somewhere, and this is Larry's first UFO publication, so hopefully the next one will benefit from his experience with this one."

• Thank you all for your reviews! More to come in the near future. -"Keep publishing those comics!"

TEAM ZERO # 1 is featured in M.E. PRESENTS # 1

http://www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com/p/9572902/main-enterprises-presents-1

TEAM ZERO # 1 Color Cover variant.

Full color cover by Kyle Chaney.

Available now for $2.99. Illustrated and Written by Laurence DuCheny. With additional talent and lettering provided by Jeff Austin -inker extraordinaire! Rated PG. Good clean fun for ages 13 and up. Hilarious comedy, laughs, and mayhem all rolled into this superhero spoof. 20 pages of excitement. Order now at: Comixpress or Indyplanet 

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My comic book: Team Zero # 1 Now Available!

Who inspires you? What defines you as a writer?

How many times have you read a story that truly inspired you? How many of your ideas do you think have been inspired by a story you've read about it some novel? Curling up in a warm blanket with a good book is a great way to spend time relaxing and enjoying ones self. One of the most memorable stories I remember reading in my adolescent years is 'Monkey's Paw' by W.W. Jacobs. As a teenager, later on in life, my new favorite story became 'Harrison Bergeron'. A short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, who is also the author of another favorite of mine: 'Slaughterhouse-Five'. I guess you can say I enjoy science fiction as an overall genre in my choice of books. I enjoyed the ground-breaking-ness of Isaac Asimov's 'I, Robot' a collection of short interlaced stories. Although I can honestly say the highlight of the book is as simple as Asimov's creation of 'The Three Laws of Robotics' which has stood the test of time since the year 2058 A.D. This book also inspired one of my favorite movies which shared the same name, 'I, Robot', starring the actor Will Smith  in 2004. I also have come to enjoy the 'Jack Reacher' books by Lee Child. There is a lot of great inspiration out there. What inspires you when it comes to creating good stories?

Buying out time to create Art.

An artist's life is undeniably a life of solitude. An artist is usually oblivious to what is going on around them while immersed in his art, even if there are others around them. I've learned from personal experience that an artist can suffer from isolating himself from friends and family in order to create. A good art session can last 12 hours without much time spent doing anything else. It's as if the passion to create fuels the artist's drive to pursue the finished product.

I have always been a loner or self-entertained. But sometimes I can loose focus of the important things.  After years of balancing my time spent drawing amidst other responsibilities, relationships, friends, family, work, recreation, and most importantly God (Studying, praying, going to worship, and telling others about the Bible) I have learned how to prioritize.

For Christians, prioritizing  life, art, and time spent worshiping God can be difficult at times. Our own selfish wants and desires often cloud our thinking. But if there's one thing I've learned it's that putting God first over all other things just seem to make everything else fall into place. (Matt. 6:33)

Children are another important priority. Teaching and spending quality time with a child and their upbringing is of primary focus to a father. Parents are obligated to do so by God. I'll be honest I get frustrated not being able to draw or 'set up shop' to create. I used to get really angry about not being able to find time to draw. But I had to re-prioritize my life and desires.

Artists, remember to make time for your family and for God. If you have no family to speak of then get out and enjoy nature and take a walk by yourself or with a friend. If you have family take them with you. Focus on the little things. Often the simplest pleasures are the most enjoyable!

Clarity

I am definitely starting to realize the importance of digitally rendered pages when it comes to creating professional comic books. The final result of a book that has been digitally embellished is much more appealing to the eye. I notice that it also provides a smoother transition for the story to go from the eye to the mind. I am learning a lot of technical terms and what steps to follow when using a digital program to draw. I have also  been watching vlog tutorials on how to draw digitally.
An Awesome tutorial on how to create a good pencil brush in photoshop.
I was shopping around online and I have found that the Wacom Bamboo tablet is the most favorable in my price range. I am also looking forward to starting school this semester for the spring of 2011. A lot of gears are turning and  ideas are being set into motion. Pages are being thumbnailed, sketched, and even a few trials and errors of hand inking have been accomplished while I anxiously await purchasing my tablet so that I can convert myself solely to digital inking. I hate inking with a brush and have found pens aren't much more tolerable.
Good things are in store. I have joined forces with the United Fanzine Organization, click here to learn more. I was honored to be accepted as a member and I am working on a drawing tutorial one page strip for submission to the next group zine. It's gonna be an awesome year guys. Hope all is well for you in your art laboratory!! Keep that pencil in your hand and never stop. Until next time, Have fun creating!