The Carver's House

I think it all started in late-2021. I had been feeling huge bouts of depression in the years prior to that, which had prevented me from making comics. But a friend gave me a tip that enabled me ...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2022/11/two-weeks-since-burnout.html

The special ordering page at the Avenida Books website is live for international orders as well as special orders. You have to register with the site so that you can order. There are two ordering...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2022/09/international-and-special-orders.html

Image from Pixabay, Pexels.In the previous blogpost, we went through the first step in becoming more creative, which is Loading. What I need to add here is another important source of information...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-become-more-creative-part-2.html

Photo by Vanessa Garcia from PexelsIn my line of work, creativity is a non-negotiable. I draw, I design, and I write stories, so the more creativity I can tap, the more I'm able to...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-become-more-creative.html

Academic Year 2018-2019 was the beginning of my journey as a college instructor. Specifically, for the De La Salle - College of St. Benilde's Multimedia Arts Program. As of this writing, I am now...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/10/venturing-into-other-side-of-classroom.html

Mock-up of a Cover for the anthology (It's not done yet.)It all started in early-2019. I have no memory of what I was doing on that day. All I remember was drawing a tikbalang and posting it on F...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/10/creating-alternativa.html

I woke up at around 1:15 in the morning. It had just rained, so the air was quite cool. I'd normally wake up sweaty, especially during the summers even with the fan on. Last April, I finally, fin...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/10/when-facebook-instagram-and-wechat-go.html

Last January 18, "Rick and Morty" creator Justin Rolland sold digital art on the online auction platform Nifty Gateway. His collection earned him over a million dollars. Selling digital...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-artists-sell-digital-art-for.html

Trying something. I ripped the pattern off of Vectorstock, but I'll be replacing it for the final (if ever I get to it). I've also added the original drawing.It's a concern many young artists hav...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/finding-your-own-art-style.html

In the mid-2000s, well over a decade ago, a friend of mine told me something about life cycles. I don't remember if it was a Chinese thing or some other, but it was one from an ancient tradition,...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-i-deal-with-creative-slump.html

On many occasions, I've expressed (quite desperately) wanting to quit comics, and for many people, it would seem that all I've been doing is being dramatic about it. On one end, I understand the ...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/why-making-graphic-novels-still-appeals.html

I'm the kind of person who believes that age is but a number. Even though I turned fifty last month, I don't feel it, at least mentally. It's only when the physical manifestations of age creep up...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2021/02/when-generalist-turns-50.html

A number of you may heard that Visual Print Enterprises, or Visprint, the publisher of my books, will be closing its doors in 2021. They will no longer be accepting new manuscripts, and will be f...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2019/01/when-publisher-closes-doors.html

There's a nip in the air today, and a drizzle. It's been drizzling all day, in fact, somewhat unusual this time of year. But I'm still going to the mall, pay a utility bill, get some dog food, an...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2018/12/abolish-mmff-or-what-to-do-with.html

In January 2017, I posted a note on Facebook where I talked about quitting comics. That post got a lot of exposure, more than what any of my posts usually get. With that kind of response, one wou...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2018/12/in-january-2017-i-posted-note-on.html

It's been more than six months since I posted. I blame the time-sucking black hole that is social media. :-) Here are some of the highlights from last year: 1) "I Heart Davao," the 40-episode tel...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-happened-since-may-2017.html

There are a lot of people who want to make comics, or have tried to make comics but end up frustrated. I certainly struggled some when I started out, and it's no secret that there have been bumps...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2017/05/curious-question-to-those-who-want-to.html

For the 2017 digital edition, I changed the cover. Back in 2001, when social media wasn't a thing yet, I self-published my first comic book called "One Night In Purgatory." It's a simple story ab...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-bittersweet-melodramatic-gay-comic.html

I wrote this post as a note on Facebook. Surprisingly, it was shared 160 times as of this writing. I'm copy-pasting the text here. - - - - - - Let me begin with a story. Yesterday, I met with the...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2017/01/why-im-thinking-of-quitting-comics.html

Thanks for dropping by! If you're interested in getting your own giclée print of the Zaturnnah artwork that appears on one of the October covers of Esquire Philippines, please read the informati...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-zaturnnah-cover-girl-print-how-to.html

So this happened. How often does a superhero make the cover of a men's lifestyle magazine? The October 2016 issue of Esquire Philippines is also their anniversary issue. It will be all-illustrate...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/10/zsazsa-zaturnnah-cover-girl.html

I never thought the day would come. Yesterday, I submitted a sequence treatment to a film company. This is my first commercial screenplay project. I don't consider the Zaturnnah movie as the firs...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/09/writing-my-first-commercial-screenplay.html

GMA-7 recently premiered Alyas Robin Hood, a Filipino superhero drama series which raised the hackles of a number of Filipino comics fans because of the teasers' resemblance to the American show ...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/09/why-telling-gma-7-to-check-out-local.html

Apart from continuing my drawing chores for Zaturnnah sa Maynila, I spent some time at the Cultural Center of the Philippines over the last few weeks to take part in the Virgin Labfest proceeding...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/07/virgin-labfest-12-binyag.html

Writing for the theatre isn't something one would expect from a comics creator, but since I had my little stint as a professional stage actor for a few productions, I guess playwriting would even...

http://carverhouse.blogspot.com/2016/06/my-new-play-mula-sa-kulimliman.html