LBCC: May The Fold Be With You (Star Wars Origami)!

by Kari LaneDecember 19, 2013

Looking for that last minute gift for the geek/craft lover in your life? Well, look no further than Star Wars Origami! While attending Long Beach Comic and Horror Con, I attended the Star Wars Origami panel hosted by master folder himself Chris Alexander. Everyone who attended the panel was given their own blue print to make Boba Fett’s helmet. I had a fun time trying to get the pieces to fold just the right way and was proud of my final result.

I was able to interview Chris Alexander and get the full story on how this creative idea came about. Read on to see how Star Wars turned into a folding art and how it is something anyone can do!

So what exactly is Star Wars Origami and how did it come about?

This starts with the disclaimer “kids, don’t try this at home”. I was driving home after teaching first graders how to make an origami penguin. If you picture a penguin and turn it on its side you end up with something that looks like the B-Wing from Return of the Jedi. Both have a pointy head, long skinny body with stubby wings, and little feet. So there I was on the freeway and I thought I could make my first Star Wars model. I couldn’t wait. I pulled out a piece of paper and folded it. After that, I wanted to make the whole universe. I set myself a goal of creating an origami X-wing by the end of the month. Later I showed these to models to an acquaintance who suggested I write an entire Star Wars Origami book. It took a lot of perseverance, but after 15 years the book became a reality.

B-Wing design

How were the shapes/characters/ships chosen?

Workman Publishing approached me asking if I wanted to publish the book and already had in mind exactly what they wanted it to look like, 35 models from all 6 movies. At the time I’d created about 45 Star Wars models. Selecting 35 wouldn’t be too hard, but Lucasfilm requested a few to be included that I hadn’t created yet. Darth Vader and Luke’s pilot helmet for example.

I wanted the book to have models from all 6 movies and range from very easy to very difficult to make. For the most part origami is created from a single sheet of square paper. However there are many famous designs which start from triangles and other simple geometric shapes. Other models have more than one piece of paper. Knowing a lot of the readers of my book have probably never tried origami before I wanted to include a few models which showed the range of what can be done with origami.

How were the shapes developed?

For the most part I start with an idea of what I’d like the finished model to look like. Take Jabba the Hutt for example. He’s a big, vaguely triangular blob with a long fat tail and two arms. Once I get to that shape I see what can be done to make it more recognizable. There’s a balance when it comes to adding details. You don’t want to create a model that takes an hour to fold only to have 80% of the folding time dedicated to adding a pimple on his cheek. And what’s the point of adding that pimple if the models won’t have eyes and a mouth when you’re done.

Who did the artwork and how was it done?

I created all of the origami designs in the Star Wars Origami book. Once a design is created it’s a simple matter of folding it with a blank sheet of paper and marking all the places you want “painted”. Unfold the paper and see where the markings and the creases are. Then you turn those over to an awesome artist, in my case Phil Conigliaro at Workman. He took my layouts and made the special paper Pop.

Why Star Wars?

I’ve been a fan of origami all my life, and a huge Star Wars fan forever. It’s only natural to combine the two things you love. Consider the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Just try to imagine a world where that was never combined.

What is your favorite Star Wars origami shape to make?

I love folding the Falcon. It’s pretty quick, very recognizable, has an elegant folding process, and it’s once of my first designs.

Which one was the hardest?

Slave I, although the ETA fighter comes in a close second. It took me 7 years to get Slave I just right.

Slave I design

Can anyone do origami?

I believe anyone with a little patience can do origami. Origami has the undeserved reputation as being a kids art form, much like finger painting. So a lot of people get frustrated when they try to make moderately challenging models and can’t get them to come out right the first time. Just like with any other art form anyone can make simple things on their first try, but to get good takes practice. I’m sure even Michelangelo started with stick figures.

Any tips for those new to origami?

There are two “secrets” to origami. First, always be as accurate as you can when lining up a fold. Second, crease the fold as sharply as possible. Beginners tend to pat the crease into place. The creases need to be folded until they lose their will to survive.

How long did it take to put the book together?

Once I set out to create a Star Wars origami book it took me just over 2 years to create and diagram the 15 models I though should be included. I’d originally hoped to make one book for each movie. Once that was done I starting trying to find a publisher. Over the years I was turned down many, many times by many publishers. Undaunted I kept creating more Star Wars models and sending more proposals. 13 years after I’d first started Workman Publishing approached me asking if I’d be interested in getting the book published. It just goes to show what you can do with perseverance.

Any plans for future origami books?

I’m still inventing Star Wars models and hoping to put out a second book. There are still a few models I’d love to see published which didn’t make it into the first book, as well as material from the Clone Wars TV series, and a brand new movie coming out in December of 2015. I’m also working on a secret project which explores a new aspect of origami. I’ve created a few models for that project, and when I have enough I’ll see if I can get that published as well.

Where can people find the Star Wars Origami book?

You can find my book anywhere books are sold. Just about every book store has a copy, as well as Target, Costco, and craft stores like Michaels. Its also available online at sites like Amazon.

Geekscape 313: Jeff Grace Really Wants To Direct!

by JonathanNovember 22, 2013

Jeff Grace makes his return to the show to talk about his brand new film ‘Folk Hero And Funny Guy’ that he’s currently raising funds for, starring ‘Girls’ actor Alex Karpovsky! Plus, he’s got a one hour Hulu comedy special coming out in January that he can only tell us a little bit about (what’s the fun in that!?!)! Also, Jeff talks about releasing his movie ‘It’s a Disaster’ on the same weekend as the Boston Bombing. How did that effect things? PLUS! ‘Fangasm’s Andrew Duval guest co-hosts and I drop some big news about the future of Geekscape!

Subscribe to the Geekscape podcast on iTunes!

And listen to the full conversation here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:05 — 22.5MB)

Long Beach Comic Con: Things We Can’t Wait To See!

by GeekscapeStaffNovember 21, 2013

Long Beach Comic Con is this weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center and we’re gonna be there checking things out and poking around! Okay, so maybe it isn’t the massive juggernaut that San Diego Comic Con is… but if you know where to look there are some really cool things to discover!

Here are our suggestions on what to see while you’re there!

Kari

This will be my second year attending Long Beach Comic and Horror Con and I enjoyed the panels I saw last year.

Saturday

This year I am interested in Location Location Location (Saturday, 1PM, Room 102B). This panel will have authors disusing how the setting can affect the mood of a story. Often the location of a story is taken for granted but it can play a pretty integral part so I am interested in what these experts have to say.

The 80s/90s cartoons were the best cartoons ever (quality and story) thus I must attend the panel Disney Afternoon (Saturday, 3PM, Room 102B). The panelists worked on such amazing shows such as Gargoyles, Animaniacs, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and more!

Continuing with the nostalgia theme, there is The Truth Is Out There: Conspiracies, Ghosts & Aliens With Dean Haglund (Saturday, 4PM, Room 102B). I like horror/spooky panels and it would be fun to see him in person (I have been re-watching the X-Files on Netflix).

Sunday

I love doing crafts and am looking forward to Star Wars Origami (Sunday, 12PM, Room 103B/C). I think it will be fun to make Star Wars characters and who knows, maybe it will be a good holiday gift inspiration.

Lastly, I want to check out From Fear To Fiction (Sunday, 3PM, Room 103B/C) where they will be talking about how to channel your fears into something creative.

SJ Borger

Well, as a fan of the Doctor, I am most excited about the live simulcast of the 50th Anniversary episode, “The Day of the Doctor” on Saturday. Long Beach Comic Con will be showing it, plus all the pre-show hoopla (including a recently announced special from the YouTube channel The Nerdist) and I can hardly wait!

Not that that’s the only thing; there’s almost too much happening on Saturday. I may go into geek-overload! Right after the Doctor Who special, there’s a Q&A with John Kricfalusi, who created Ren & Stimpy, at 2 there’s the Beyond Clichés panel, about creating strong and dynamic female characters in comics and video games (yay!); then at 3 p.m. it’s the Disney Afternoon panel, with animators and talent from the Disney studios, and at 5 p.m. it’s Scott Lobdell vs. Marv Wolfman panel, and who wouldn’t want to listen to those two industry giants chat?

I honestly don’t know when I’m going to have time to hit the exhibit floor!

Jonathan

Saturday

1pm – JOHN KRICFALUSI
This is a must attend. I mean, really. The cartoonist who created The Ren & Stimpy Show! He’s pretty much responsible for most of my humor in Middle School (I know… I’m old)… so how could I possible miss this? This’ll be a great Q&A!

2pm – ROBOTECH INDUSTRY PANEL
Harmony Gold’s Tommy Yune was one of my guests on the Kaiju VS Men in Suits panel at Comikaze so I know the guy is legit and very entertaining to listen to! Steve Yun joins him as they showcase all the latest live action and animated Robotech productions! This’ll be great!

6pm – MARK WAID SPOTLIGHT
This one will be a highlight for me. From fan to editor to legendary writer and creator, Mark Waid is synonymous with incredible comics. I can’t wait to hear the man talk and just soak in the knowledge!

Sunday

12pm KEVIN EASTMAN PANEL
Formore Geekscape guest himself… and creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, publisher of Heavy Metal just to name a few of his projects! As great as he was on Geekscape, I know I can’t pass up an opportunity to hear Kevin speak some more!

Guests

Lance Henriksen – Booth #313

Guys, anyone who hasn’t read Lance’s autobiography ‘Not Bad For a Human‘ is seriously missing out. It’s an incredibly fascinating read and Lance has led an incredible life. Shit. I just want to shake his hand!

Jim Mahfood – Booth #1512

From Clerks to Tank Girl to his own gallery pieces, Jim’s one of my favorite artists. I love his insane style, met him at NYCC and can’t wait to have him on the show. I’ll use this opportunity to invite him, what do ya say!?!

Darick Robertson – Booth #1709

Another artist fave… and awesome music fan! Darick did a signing at the Geekscape SDCC booth and we should get him on the show finally. I mean, who doesn’t love his work on Hitman and The Boys?!?

Tone Rodriguez – Booth #1612

Mr. Rodriguez did the incredible cover for Super Action Man and has been a long friend of Geekscape. Absolutely I have to drop by and pay him a visit. Or maybe S.A.M. should…

Derek

I unfortunately won’t be attending this year’s Long Beach Comic Con as I’m stuck in Canada until at least the new year, but I’m insanely jealous of the Geekscape writers that are lucky enough to be going.

Looking at the schedule, it’s easy to see why LBCC is a convention that’s in a continuous, rapid state of growth: the programming is simply excellent, and it’s bound to draw in thousands upon thousands of new attendees this year.

Had I been lucky enough to attend, here are the panels that I’d be most looking forward to (and their descriptions, of course):

Saturday

1:00PM – Room 103BC: Star Wars Origami With Chris Alexander – Come on by and learn step by step how to make some of your favourite Star Wars characters out of paper.

2:00PM – Room 102C: IDW: The Panel of Doom – IDW’s annual panel extravaganza is back! Come hear what IDW Marketing guy Dirk Wood and IDW Senior Editor and Grand Poobah of Big Books Scott Dunbier have coming your way! Surprises, Hi-jinx, Q&A and Fun! Come armed with questions, you just may get a prize or two!

5:00PM – Room 102C: Boom! Comics – What’s Next For The Independent Publisher? – From Movies and television to comics and more, Boom! is making a name for itself in the industry! What do they have up there sleeve for 2014? Come find out!

6:00PM – Room 104A: Mark Waid Spotlight – What is in the mind of Mark Waid? Come find out how Mark comes up with his great ideas and stories for some of the most iconic comic characters in the industry.

Sunday

12:00PM – Room 104A: Kevin Eastman Panel – He co-created one of the most enduring comics in the last 20 years! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heavy Metal, and The Other Dead, just to name a few of the projects he has going on. Get inside the mind of Kevin Eastman as he opens up about the past, and future projects!

2:00PM – Room 102B: How To Get More Freelance Work – How can writers, artists, and other freelancers market themselves better? Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, join us to discuss the freelance world with Steven L. Sears (comic writer/creator and writer/ producer for three decades of TV series, including Xena: Warrior Princess), Brooks Wachtel (artist and Emmy-award winning animation writer), Christian Gossett (artist, writer, director, creator of The Red Star graphic novels, concept designer for George Lucas), Sarah Gaydos (Editor of comics like Young Justice, Batman Beyond Unlimited, and Star Trek), and Shaene Siders (writer for movies, games, and comics like Discovery Channel’s Megalodon and Prehistoric Sharks).

4:00PM – Room 102B: The Writer’s Journey: Breaking Into Comic Book and Hollywood Scriptwriting – The old days of sending in unsolicited pitches to big comic book companies in the hopes of getting hired are dead and gone. If you are an unpublished writer with dreams of making it in the comic book industry, and you don’t know how or where to begin, this is the panel for you. Join Hollywood screenwriter/graphic novel producers Brandon M. Easton (ThunderCats [2011] , Transformers: Armada, Shadowlaw), Geoffrey Thorne (In the Heat of the Night, Ben 10, TNT’s Leverage, Star Trek: Titan, Genre 19) and Jonathan Callan (Ben 10: Omniverse, Generator Rex, Slugterrainea, The Prisoner Webcomic) as they share insider information, publishing secrets and the professional realities on how to develop your ideas into a viable comics proposal.

That, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much to see and do at the Long Beach Horror and Comic Con, and I’m sorry that I can’t be there. I hope that all of you that do attend have an absolute blast, and be sure to look out for Jonathan, Kari, and SJ while you’re perusing the floor!

Banner Photo Credit: FlashFloodMedia

Geekscape Satellite: Looking Back On Long Beach Comic Con!

by Kari LaneNovember 8, 2012

The Long Beach Comic & Horror Con celebrated its 4th anniversary at the Long Beach Convention Center (surprisingly enough) just last weekend, November 3rd and 4th. This was my first time attending the LBCHC/LBCC and I definitely had a great time. LBCC of course, is one of the smaller cons and I have to admit that the estimated 10,000 guests who attended were barely felt at all. There were five dedicated panel rooms, all located in the front lobby area. This layout unfortunately made it feel more like a hotel con; intimate but somewhat lacking. Even though it was a small convention, I thoroughly enjoyed the panels that I attended.

If you’re interested in ‘How to’ panels, this is definitely the convention for you. Most of these panels dealt with writing, character design, voice acting, developing ideas, and even the pros and cons of using Kickstarter to fund your project. One panel, which was not quite instructional, yet was still very helpful for the indie creator was called, “Creating Save the Supers” This panel was hosted by The Guild‘s Sandeep Parikh who started the panel off by walking through the process of getting the show made. Parikh mentioned he originally wanted to make the show back in 2004 when he first moved to Los Angeles. A pilot was produced with some of the current creative team but according to Parikh, it was simply missing something. One of the original actors, Mickey Hawtrey (World Man), actually reprised his role for the currently running season. Discussing the humor of the show from the original pilot to the existence of the show today, Hawtrey commented that there is “encouragement of improv.” A hilarious exclusive blooper reel was shown that highlighted the creative gems that come from the improvisation. You can watch Save the Supers on YouTube and My Damn Channel. Now the show may seem like a well-funded TV ready show, but the producers spoke of using what little resources they had to make it look as close as possible to primetime television. Of course, in Hollywood it all comes down to who you know, and the importance of help from friends and family. The show’s producer Jeff Winkler said they are a “community of beggars.” This information helps make the prospect of creating a quality series a little less daunting: you need to work with what you have and not shy away from asking for help.

Another panel that spoke of acquiring assistance was Grimm Fairy Tales. At this panel, an animated pilot produced by Titmouse animation based on the comic book series of the same name was screened for the audience. The comics and the pilot take a darker approach to the Grimms’ classic fairy tales. The pilot’s animation is not completely fluid, but also not as stunted as motion comics tend to be. From the clip that was screened, Grimm Fairy Tales appears to be a bloody, sexy, and fun adventure. There is currently a Kickstarter to raise funds to finish the pilot and make the rest of the animated series a possibility. They did manage to meet their original goal, but they have increased their maximum in order to make more episodes and ultimately an animated feature. If you’re interested, check out their Kickstarter here.

Of course, this convention doesn’t only focus on comics: LBCC is both a comic and HORROR convention. There were a few panels I visited that dealt with horror in comics and YA (young adult) literature. One such panel was Monsterverse Horror Comics. Monsterverse Entertainment, a newer comic book publisher, was started by Kerry Gammill and Sam F. Park due to their mutual love of horror. Both men are incredibly fond of the classic Hollywood horror films and according to Park, they wanted to create “good old fashioned horror comics” but make them fun for modern readers. This series will be an anthology hosted by Bela Lugosi, much like the Crypt Keeper for Tales from the Crypt. Each issue is drawn by different artists and written by different writers. Park explained “[We] want each comic to have its own personality…and originality”. The digital age has changed the landscape for almost all forms of entertainment. Park said, “[It is] a wild and crazy time for comics”. However, he doesn’t believe that comics are on the way out. It’s an interesting realization that if you go to your LCS and they don’t have what you’re seeking in stock, you can simply buy a digital copy. Gammill and Park said the Lugosi anthology’s distribution is expanding. Currently, issue #1 and #2 are available on Amazon, and you of course can check your local comic book store. Monsterverse Entertainment also has a two part graphic novel called Flesh and Blood currently available.

ShaggyandVelma — I had so much fun that I forgot to take pictures! The only snapshot I managed to grab was of this shaggylicious couple.

The exhibit hall was just downstairs, and though it was relatively large, the layout could have definitely been improved. Artist alley was centrally located, but was not clearly marked or sectioned off. When you attempted to walk through the aisles, there were many booths that had a large vendor on one side and two vendors on the back which forced you into a creative zig zag if you wanted to see everything. There were also blocks that had four venders (two on each side), and this spacing irregularity hampered the flow of traffic. Beyond all the booths there was a women’s roller derby game that attracted many onlookers. Overall the layout of the exhibit hall did not encourage people to explore every section of the floor and booths at the far corner or those mixed in the middle were potentially overlooked.

Regardless, attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves at the convention and as expected. many dressed up for the occasion A few costumes that stood out were two sexy Punishers, a cute Mario and Luigi, and an elegant steampunk outfit. In the cosplayer community, race can still be a touchy issue but, fortunately, there seems to be an increase in cosplayers who dress up regardless of skin tone. One should be able to cosplay/dress up as whomever they choose and it was great to see this expressed at LBCC.

If you prefer smaller cons, enjoy the hotel conventions, or simply enjoy the informative instructional panels, then I’d recommend that you check out the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con. It was a great place to browse new art and comics from emerging artists. Parking at this venue however, can be a little tricky and if you plan to be there all day, you’ll need to locate a garage. One tip I have for you: make sure to shop around a little because I found a parking lot across the street from the convention center that only ran me $5 all day, but it was a little tricky locating the entrance.