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It’s just a little over 3 years since Chris and I made our debut as Fleet Street Scandal and almost exactly a year since the idea of Yuki 7 was born. From the first spark to sending off the final proofs, Yuki 7 has been the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken. Even though the book is just about to enter the world, for me, Yuki has just turned one. So much has happened, and I wanted to share some of what goes on behind the scenes when a self-published book is made.
I’m going to start in June of last year… (Cue wavy hands transition ala Wayne’s World)
June 2008
While I was in London working on the BBC Olympics commercial, I was soaking in a lot of new inspirations and thinking deeply about where I wanted to go next with my art. When I returned, I was simply struck by an idea: creating a globe-trotting female superspy. In my head she was incredibly cunning, beautiful, and always impeccably dressed. As she came to life on paper, she felt very familiar. She embodied a lot of qualities that I’d been trying to capture in my work for some time.
Looking for more inspiration, I combed through some folders of reference I had collected over the last few years, immersing myself in campy Euro-spy film posters, 1960’s Thai pop music album covers, and mid-century modern architecture. I went back and re-watched some of my favorite spy films like You Only Live Twice and discovered new ones like Deadlier than the Male. A world slowly started to form in my head and I could feel hundreds of backlogged ideas and unfinished stories suddenly collide into one cohesive mass. Later on, I realized Yuki 7 had been building for years even though she arrived in a flash of insight.
I didn’t want to get ahead of myself with illustrations, so I started to write down movie ideas. At first they weren’t even storylines so much as concepts that fit together – a car chase, a mysterious masked villain, an ambush on a boat, etc. Eventually I had 4 basic but intriguing movie outlines. I printed them out so I could scribble all over them. I couldn’t seem to get the ideas out fast enough – Yuki’s world simply poured out onto the page.
July 2008
I first introduced the idea of Yuki in a mini print at Comic-Con that year, calling her Secret Agent Y. But I knew I had only just scratched the surface of a much bigger idea. I began to wonder how people would have felt about this silver screen vixen during the heyday of her popularity in the mid-1960’s. I imagined a trendsetter and fashion icon, capturing the world’s attention and even inspiring imitators. Her world became real to me and I started falling for the illusion I had set out to create.
August - September 2008
By August, I had plenty of raw material and a grasp on the story. I roughed out an outline and set an initial goal to do an English, Japanese, and French poster as well as a soundtrack album cover for each movie. To keep things organized, I worked from big to small and roughed out each illustration before starting any finals. The roughs were finished by the end of September, and at that point, I set some deadlines. I wanted the book done in time for Comic-Con in July, but I also wanted to debut in a local gallery. I got in touch with Gallery Nucleus and gave them my half-hatched pitch for the book and some ideas for the art show. After we discussed it, they gave me a firm date of July 3rd for the opening.
To hit the show date, I needed about 4 months for printing, proofing cycles, and shipping. From there, I worked backwards: the book needed to be finished by February 28, and art by January 31st, giving me a full month for page layout. Previous experience creating our first book was an immense help in this planning process, but even so, this project was larger and more complex in every way.
We decided to go with a new printer for this book, Global PSD. Global has an impeccable reputation for producing art books, and several of our friends have had beautiful books made with them. I called them to discuss the project, the schedule, and get a quote. They sent over a contract, which contains rough numbers and requires a signature to commit both parties to the production of the book.
Chris and I estimated the total cost of the project – it amounted to everything we had saved in our business account. We were probably both a bit skeptical at that point, but we have always trusted each other and I think Chris sensed that the project had ignited my passion. Even though at the moment Yuki 7 was nothing more than an idea and a few illustrations, we decided to take the risk. Chris gave me approval to commit all of our resources and move forward with production.
We sent the signed contract back to Global PSD. I had already invested a lot of myself and hundreds of hours in Yuki, but as the deadline became more and more real and time ticked on, I realized the enormity of the commitment. Truthfully, there were times I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into, but my vision for Yuki 7 was very specific, and I had to make it come together no matter how immense the project seemed at times.
Coming up in Part II: September to January - Work continues, friends join in, and Yuki 7 gets a trailer. |
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Chris Battle
May 08, 2009 - 11:06 AM
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It's like a Yuki 7 DVD bonus disk! Looking forward to the next chapter. |
Annie
May 09, 2009 - 12:09 AM
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Hearing about self-driven projects like this are always super-interesting. Thanks for sharing! |
josh parpan
May 11, 2009 - 03:34 PM
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All this info is super fascinating Kevin! I eagerly await Part two!
oh, I started another Yuki piece! I've had Yuki on the brain lately! |
Pedro Vergani
May 12, 2009 - 01:03 PM
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Hi
I've just put my hands on my very own "Fleet Street Scandal" book. It is beautiful. Congratulations.
Can't wait for the Yuki 7. =]
regards!
Pedro |
lin
May 13, 2009 - 01:38 PM
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Fascinating journey Kevin, I can't wait to read pt. 2! & also really looking forward to seeing all the art in person! |
Tom Humber
May 14, 2009 - 12:35 PM
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I can't wait for this book to hit. I love your Yuki 7 art and I am a big fan of your blog. Thanks for showing the process that you've gone through to get the book out there, i'm finding that especially interesting. |
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