Posted by Mat Nastos on February 8, 2010
Quick update on Star Wars Day at the Frank & Son Show. Hal Hefner and I will be working on sketch cards set up as exclusives by and for the event. There are a limited number of cards.
You can get more info on the even by going to the Frank & Son Website at: http://www.frankandsonshow.net/star-wars-day-feb-2010.html The Frank & Son Show is a twice weekly comic book and collectible convention held in the City of Industry in Southern California. The show’s address is: 19649 San Jose Ave., City of Industry, CA 91748.
I hope to see you all there!
-Mat N
http://www.ElfSong.com
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Posted by Mat Nastos on January 21, 2010
Hey, all!
Just got word that I’m going to be a part of Star Wars Day on February 20, 2010 at the Frank & Son show here in Southern California. The event is going to be insane, with Ray Park (Darth Maul), Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) and the 501st all making an appearance. I’ll be there doing Star Wars sketchcards. I’ll post more info here as I find it out. You can also drop by the Frank & Son Website at http://www.FrankandSonShow.net
I believe we’re going to have a table right up front near the guests, but the Comic Book Art Institute Booth (#807) will be open and active with some additional Star Wars related artwork and merchandise, so make sure to check us out at both locations.
-Mat Nastos, Super Genius
http://www.MatNastos.net
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Posted by Mat Nastos on January 3, 2010
I just got word today that one of my mentors, and a great friend of mine, Barry Blair, passed away today. I don’t have much in the way of details and I have absolutely no clue what to say at a time like this. Barry was a great guy, an incredible teacher and an amazing artist. He created hundreds of comics, including Elflord, Samurai, Dragonring, China Sea, Realmwalkers – too many to list. I miss the big guy already.
-Mat N.
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Posted by Mat Nastos on November 16, 2009
I am most excited to announce that we have acquired a permanent teaching space at the Frank & Son Collectible Show in the City of Industry, CA. We are now in Booth 807 and will be teaching workshops twice per week — Wednesdays and Saturdays starting on November 18. 2009. Check out our schedule and list of workshops below. If you’re in the Great Los Angeles area and want to learn to draw comic books, then drop by and check us out. Enrollment in limited, so hurry!
The Frank & Son Show is located at 19649 San Jose Ave. City of Industry, CA 91748. Our current schedule is:
Wednesdays
3:15-4:30 – Comic Book Art
4:45-6:00 – Comic Book Art
6:15-7:30 – Comic Book Art
7:45-9:00 – Advanced Comic Art (ongoing)
Saturdays
9:30-10:30 – Cartooning for Kids
11:00-12:00 – Cartooning for Kids
12:30-1:30 – Cartooning for Kids
2:00-3:00 – Cartooning for Kids
3:30-4:45 – Advanced Comic Art (ongoing)
Comic Book Art Workshop
Instructor: Mat Nastos
Next Workshop: Wednesdays starting at 3:30pm
Location: Frank & Son Show, Booth 807
Workshop Length: 1 hour 15 minute workshop
Cost: $25
Age: 16+
One of the most exciting forms of art and entertainment, comic books have been a part of entertaining childred and adults the world over for nearly 100 years. In this intensive 1+-hour workshop, students will be exposed to the art and techniques of professional comic book creation. This class will deal in-depth with working with a script, breaking down and laying out a comic book page, story pacing, visual storytelling techniques and how to pencil a comic book. At the end of the workshop, students will have the knowledge to be able to go out and create their own comic books. Contact us for more information on this workshop.
Note: Drawing ability is recommended but not required.
Advance Comic Art Workshop
Instructor: Mat Nastos
Next Workshop: Wednesdays 7:45-9:00pm and Saturdays 3:30-4:45pm
Location: Frank & Son Show, Booth 807
Workshop Length: 4 consecutive weeks; 1 session per week at 1 hour 15 minutes per session
Cost: $100 + $30 supplies/materials fee
Age: 16+
Comic Books are one of the only truly American forms of art. In this 4-week workshop, participants will be introduced to that art by a professional in the comic book industry. Students will be taken through every step of comic book creation: creating characters, writing a script, laying out pages, pencilling, lettering and inking.
Over the 4-week course, students will work towards creating a finished comic book page featuring a character they have created. Students will design the character with model sheets, write a one-page story featuring the character and then, in the remaining weeks, layout, pencil, ink and letter that page.
The course will explore comic book writing, page layout and design, figures in motion, visual storytelling techniques, pencilling, inking and more.
Note: Drawing ability is recommended but not required.
Cartooning for Kids
Instructors: Mat Nastos/Hal Hefner
Next Workshops: Saturdays
Location: Frank & Son Show, Booth 807
Workshop Length: 1 hour workshop
Cost: $25
Age: 4-12
This course goes over the fundamentals of cartooning for children. The basics include drawing faces and figures, creating cartoon characters and drawing for fun.These courses have been run off and on by the instructors for more than 6 years and are now returning to the San Gabriel Valley.
Supplies will be provided for the students.
About the Instructors:
Mat Nastos is an industry veteran of the film, television and comic book industries, with nearly 100 film and television credits to his name as a storyboard artist. He was been called a “legendary industry talent” in the comic book industry by Tony Caputo in the book “Visual Storytelling: The Art and Technique,” and his comic book work has appeared in 27 countries and been translated into 9 languages. Mat’s work has been published by Elfquest, DC Comics and Marvel Comics, as well as everyone from Playboy Magazine to Highlights For Kids. His publishing company, Nifty Comics, has sold more than 250,000 copies of his comic book, the Cadre, since 2005. Nastos is currently working on his 3rd film as writer/director/producer.
Visit Mat online at www.NiftyComics.com and www.MatNastos.net.
Hal Hefner is an artist, designer and colorist whose work has been featured in many industries. Hal has participated in numerous shows and exhibits, while winning several awards for his art. His professional experience includes science fiction and fantasy magazines as well as role playing games, movies, books, comics, cartoons, video games,murals, children’s brochures and commercial illustration for advertising. Hal combines traditional drawing and painting techniques with digital technology (Photoshop) that still maintains the integrity of an original painting. He has worked for companies such as Gensler / Studio 585 where he worked for clients such as Coca Cola, DirecTV, Citysearch,Strange Horizons, Nova Eth Publishing, Spacedog Entertainment, Eleventh Hour, Challenging Destiny Magazine, Shadis Magazine, Basement Games, Fractal Dimensions and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Hal has recently joined Nifty Entertainment as an artist, writer/creator and digital distribution director for comics and other entertainment properties.
Visit Hal online at: www.catmonkee.com & www.catmonkee.net
-Mat Nastos
http://www.MatNastos.net
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Posted by Mat Nastos on October 15, 2009
This is a quick announcement to let everyone know that my popular comic book art workshops are starting up again in November. You can find out more about them in the Comic Art Workshop section of this site. We’ll be running multiple workshops every week. If you are interested in learning more about comic book art and illustration, or on how to become a professional comic book creator, then check out the workshops. They are excellent training for anyone looking to get started in a career of comic book art.
-Mat Nastos, Super Genius
http://www.matnastos.net
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Posted by Mat Nastos on September 17, 2009
Yo yo!
I’ve got a lot of pretty cool stuff going on these days that I’ll be announcing here and over on the Nifty Comics website (http://www.niftycomics.com). The first thing is that The Comic Book Art Institute (http://www.ComicBookArtInstitute.com) now has a regular booth at the Frank & Son Collectible Show in Industry, California. The shows take place twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday, and we’ll be there giving free comic book art workshops, doing sketches and giving out more information on the school itself. If you’re in the area and want to find out more, then drop on by and check us out!
You can get more information on the F&S Shows at: http://www.frankandsonshow.net/
Look for more information on the school and new Nifty Comics news in the upcoming weeks!
-Mat Nastos, Super Genius
http://www.MatNastos.net
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Posted by Mat Nastos on August 22, 2009
It’s time for another long, rambling essay on comic book marketing, publishing and distribution. Since Nifty Comics had quite a bit of success selling comic books outside of the comic industry from 2005-2007 (I’ve been on a break since then, but am working on getting things back on track in 2010), I get a lot of emails from other publishers asking for my secrets. This is in spite of the fact that I’ve published a lot of what I’ve done in extensive details on my various websites — http://www.ComicBookMarketing.com (before it was hacked!) and http://www.NiftyComics.com both have articles on comic book marketing and alternative distribution for independent comic book publishers.
Anyway, today I received another such request from a good friend of mine and fellow indie comic publisher, Hal Jones. Hal does a comic called “Beyond Human” (and did a really cool superhero book back in the late 80s called “Alternate Heroes” that I wish had gone for more issues). You can get more info at his website: http://www.haljonesbeyondhuman.com/
Hal sent me a note that said, “Mat, I really do admire your business savvy and would like to get your skew on what I’ve been trying to do with (comic title removed), where and how.” and goes on further to say, “I’m not quite sure who, among comic readers, exactly ARE my demographic. On Drunk Duck, it seemed a wild and wide mix of people enjoyed it...”
Here is the response I sent him. Hopefully there will be some tidbits in there to help out other indie publishers as well. Of course, I’m sure I’ll still get the same questions from someone else tomorrow. Full Story →
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Posted by Mat Nastos on August 2, 2009
Wow, yet another day of updates here at Mat Nastos web HQ. I have just posted information on my latest round of internet and affiliate marketing workshops here in the Los Angeles Area. If you’re interested in internet marketing, affiliate marketing, are someone looking to find a great way to make a living from home or a business looking to increase your e-commerce sales, then check out the workshops…they’re a ton of fun and full of fantastic inf0rmation.
Affiliate Marketing Workshops by Mat Nastos
Until next time, it’s back to the drawing board for me!
-Mat Nastos
http://www.MatNastos.net
If you enjoyed this page, Buy me a Beer to support it! 
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