Giant Rhinos In Space Webcomic Launch 2014

www.giantrhinos.smackjeeves.com

Giant Rhinos In Space will be launching as a webcomic!
7 pages will be launched at 12noon GMT on Friday 31st January 2014
It will be updated with 3 pages at the same time every Friday

If you would like to be reminded and updated on any changes you can find myself and the project at the following websites

www.twitter.com/sammyborras
www.giantrhinos.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/giantrhinos

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmas 2013

Happy Christmas from Pip and Annie!

Bellowhead - Christmas Bells

Saint Raymond and Haim Gig Sketches

I went with my sister to see Haim play at the Institute in Birmingham last week. They were amazing live even though Danielle had a chest infection. It was interesting to hear Este and Alana sing some of the songs instead. Saint Raymond in the first sketch was their support act. Unfortunately I didn't do much sketching that evening due to a bike accident at the beginning of the week.

New Merchandise!

I printed some new merchandise for the events I attended in the autumn.  The Zine! vinyl stickers are 80mm and pin badges are 38mm. The Giant Rhinos plectrums are glow in the dark! They are all available to order online through my Etsy shop.

Everything Everything and Ghost Poet Gig Sketches

I went to see Everything Everything play in birmingham last Friday night. The 2 support acts were great. These first sketches are of Outfit. It's very odd drawing from above, I had a good seat on the balcony.

Dutch Uncles were really great! I loved their dancing and xylophone thing (could've been a marimba or glockenspiel or something, I've not been able to find out). 

Everything Everything had very bright stage lights, so I wasn't able to draw them. 

Dutch Uncles - Flexxin

Last night I was able to see Ghostpoet play live. Mt. Wolf were the support act. There is a band member missing because I ran out of space on the page.

I regret not finishing this sketch with the rest of the band members. It was a small enough gig to see them all.

Ghostpoet - Liiines 

Zines In Space - Online Shop

 

Yesterday I took my final comic pages to the photocopier and then folded a big pile of paper. They are now available to order from my Esty shop. I have a variety of comics available including some mini comics for just 50p ! Some of the older comics will be out of print soon because I'm discontinuing them (Mix Tape, Best Day Ever, Smoothie Wars, The Crossroads and Jumping the Shark Mini Comic)

I'll will have these comics with me on the Inspired Comics table at these events ...

• Bristol Comic & Zine Fair - 5th October 2013
• London MCM Expo - 25th - 27th October 2013
• Thought Bubble (Allied London hall)- 23rd - 24th November 2013

Thanks for reading this blog over the summer! It was a really fun project to work on. There will be a bit of a gap between this and further comics from Giant Rhinos and friends while I work on some autumn comics with Sarah Fogg. The best place to follow my other projects will be on my portfolio blog or my tumblr. You can also find me on twitter.

Here is one last playlist song ...

Radiohead - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

I don't really have a good reason to put this on the playlist. It's just the best radiohead song with a very impressive animated music video. Lianne La Havas covered it when we saw her live and it sounded beautiful.

Greenbelt 40

 

We went to Greenbelt last weekend and had a great time! I got to see loads of bands I love as well as find some new things to listen to. 

Musician Links ...

Folk On www.folkon.co.uk

Sam Lee  www.samleesong.co.uk

Grace Petrie www.gracepetrie.com

The Boxettes  www.theboxettes.co.uk

The AFC www.theafc.co.uk 

Helen Arney  www.helenarney.com
Fit/Sam Fitzpatrick Link Unknown (let me know if you can)
Jasmine Kennedy www.jasminekennedy.co.uk 

Rachael Dadd www.rachaeldadd.blogspot.co.uk

 Rachael Dadd - Balloon

Rachael Dadd used walkie talkies as an instrument. In my comic Zines in Space the aliens use a photocopier as an instrument, so out of the bands I saw at the weekend she is the most fitting muscian for the playlist. I don't know the title of the song so I've not been able to find it to show you but this song from her album is great too! 

Digital Zine Production

I've been placing the comic pages into a In Design file as I finish them. I know it's not very hip to use software at this stage but its a really easy way to get the booklet printed ready to be photocopied.

I'm hoping to print the comics next week which is pretty exciting! I need to choose how many copies to print

 

Beck - Defriended

Most the songs left on the playlist are not actually very close to the theme but I picked because of how they sound or because I listened to them a lot when I was the same age as the characters. This is a new song by Beck and I was pretty disappointed when I found out that there wasn't a full album to go with it. I bought a copy of Guero back when I didn't have a large CD collection and carried a portable CD player. The disc got a dent from a chair leg and still worked fine.

But for on theme music - Today I heard that Kiran Leonard used a radiator as percussion on his album. I'm not sure if it's on the songs which you can stream on band camp at the moment, but it sounds kind of interesting. (He is also only 17. That's the same age as the aliens who are making music in my comic.)

Pip Outfit Change

There's 3 scene changes in Zines In Space. So Pip and Annie get to have outfit changes! I thought Pip looked extra cool with the cap to cover her tired-from-party eyes.

Bag Boy by Pixies

I like shouting along to this song when it comes on the playlist. But I always get the shouting order mixed up. 

Tearfund Cafe Gig Sketches 2013

Daughters of David were the Tearfund Cafe house band (sorry I can't find a link?), so there is more sketches of them because we saw them a couple of times. There's also sketches of Trinity from the Netherlands (they know how to get a room dancing).  Then gospel group Divine Divine from London.

I was also working on the comic while I was away, so I have some stuff to post about that in the week.

Mikayla and Melissa from Music For Sleeping Children by Boom Bip & Charlie White

Comic playlist song! Zines In Space is about 2 best friends, so some of the songs on the playlists are on the theme of friendship. Music For Sleeping Children is a music video project which starts with recordings of interviews with teenagers.

T-Shirt Designs

It's fun designing clothes for Annie and Pip to wear, but at the start of this comic Pip is wearing a shoulder bag and necklaces so you can't see her t-shirt in most panels. Annie's t-shirt is a reference to on of my favourite teen movies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

The Waves by Villagers 

Rhythm Composer by Villagers 

I have 2 songs by Villagers on the playlist I made for making this comic. It was too difficult to choose just one to share. Both songs are from their 2013 album {Awayland}. I think the record includes a lot more drum machines and electronics as the base for song writing than in previous albums. It's great music anyway!

Stella Arena 2011/2013

This is the first page from a short story comic that I am working on over the summer. It's been a lot of fun trying to improve some of the older designs I created in 2011. I decided to make this smaller project partly because I really liked the story idea and partly so I could practice drawing the aliens and their environment before starting again on the longer story.

 

 

At the end of my university course in 2011, I printed a dummy book of the first Giant Rhinos In Space chapter. This photo is a nice comparison of the changes I made recently. I think in the dummy comic their world is explained verbally in dialogue and I'm hoping the new design is a stronger visual description.

 Immunity by Jon Hopkins

I made a playlist for when I am drawing this new comic. It's over 2 hours long so I will just post some of the songs that really fit the theme of the comic the most. This song by Jon Hopkins was one of my main inspirations for writing this short story. I don't think it really is a recording of a photocopier as the beat but the song is just beautiful. When I first heard it on the radio I had to find it straight away. The vocals are provided by King Creosote and if you liked listening to the song I highly recommend their joint album Diamond Mine.

Zines In Space Cover

I'm drawing a short story comic this summer to help me with drawing the main alien characters and the world they live in. I'm hoping to print it some time in the autumn, hopefully before Inspired Comics attend London MCM Expo in October.

Manchester MCM Expo Photos 2013

 

 

 

I had a great time on the Inspired Comics table with Sarah Fogg and Jack Davies at Manchester MCM Expo last weekend. We had a couple of new comics on the table which was exciting, including my new short story comic 2002 and the music zine Sarah and I finished this month.

The next event Inspired Comics  have confirmed a table at is London MCM Expo in October.

This Is Not A Serious Music Publication Summer 2013

 

Sarah Fogg and I made a new music zine and took it to Manchester MCM Expo at the weekend. It's also available to buy online through my Etsy Shop.
 
Articles, illustrations and comics featuring Haim, Blur, Villagers, Savages, Janelle Monáe, The Kinks, Gaptooth, Sex Bob-Omb VS. Gorillaz, Maxïmo Park, Flight of The Conchords, Fatoumata Diawara and Oasis

Excho & The Bunnymen & Maximo Park

 

I went to the Godiva Festival a couple of weekends ago. I was at work for most the weekend but I did enjoy managing to find time to see 2 of the headline acts. The above sketches are from the Friday night when I saw Echo and the Bunnymen

 

These sketches are of The View.

Maximo Park's set was amazing. I managed to get close to the front so it was great being able to draw more stage details. When I think of this band I'm always reminded of the instrument smashing in their 2009 Glastonbury performance.