Conversations about the Gnomes

UPDATE  8/31/26

  Although I did these videos some time ago, the conversation presented here is a good summary of both the work done and the goals that have always been part of this project.  I changed the date setting so this is basically moved closer to the top, because I am "so close to finishing the Illustrated Storybooks" and I expect to be endeavoring to locate a Theatrical or Literary Agent to pitch this in the numerous markets it was written for. 

   I want people who become involved to hear my thinking on this.

   I will not be selling the project outright. I will be licensing markets based on performance. However, I am also thinking of how I will sell Image of the Mind Studios, when I am too old to carry on with it. So my thinking along these lines is to invite Industry Professionals & Organizations to buy into a newly established Board of Directors. Doing this will allow me to turn the entire studio over to the board when I decide to actually retire from the work of it all. I'm 72 and I expect at least another 10-15 years of some degree of involvement.  I am seeking to build a new studio compound as part of "The Theatrical Development Centre".  So that is one of the goals that this new Board of Directors will be involved in making happen.

   Initially I seek to establish "The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture" as the mechanism to produce this project (The Gnomes of New Hope) across the board. This Joint Venture is part of a larger organizational structure that is designed to support any project coming into the studio environment. Each project is so structured to contain its own management system in accordance with the overall structure and the studio provides certain resources for the project.

   Any organization buying exclusive rights to market in a particular Ancillary Market will be buying a position on that board and obliged to report on the activity in that market and likewise become one of our "Producing Partners".  Each particular project has its own board of Directors, essentially Executive Producers.

   There are multiple degrees of management going on here so I will outline all that on the IMS Management Page after I am finished publishing these Illustrated Storybooks.

Enjoy these funny videos. AG

I took these from my YouTube page, 

which I am only now starting to use.

 The Seven books in the collection are actually 

768 pages long, not 900.

Part Two;

Part Three;

Sorry for the colorful language at one point.

 Since these videos were done three years ago, 

we are very much further along by now.

ARCHIVE (edited)

I believe I am down to the last dozen pages or so 

that need to be finished.

The next stage is to prepare the layout for the printer.

   Now, contrary to what I said in the last video, I am considering setting up IMS Publishing with a print shop. 

    I went thru a lot of difficulty in trying to set a MSRP for the books. Numerous printers were interested in the project, but I need the price per page to be a fixed amount in order to set the project up with proper wholesale pricing that locks in a margin for each step along the production pathway.   Well, I am not finding printers willing to give me the right price.   So that mens we have two choices; web printing (external on-demand printing is now an alternative) or setting up an in-house on-demand print shop. All of these options require volume sales.

   Considering the amount of printing that is needed for other items, Libretto, music score, other publishing projects... setting up a print shop seems like the best option. We'll see what happens. 

   I'm leaning toward licensing the machine bound books to a reputable organization, but the licensing fees will need to be paid up front, based on a minimum quantity.  I'll get into the detail of that later and post that on the IMS Management Page, which is a private page for business parters as is IMS Producing Partners, where other details are posted.

    I continue to explore printing and publishing management options. In the meanwhile, once the full collection is completely ready for release to the public, I will be seeking to open the other markets in an effort synchronize the release of this project across multiple platforms. 

That' all for now... folks !

AG

Update on the Publishing Layout

 UPDATE 8/25/26

Two of the prototype 2D "Garden Gnomes"
good for indoor plants and outdoor gardens.
The Gnomette is "Meg" and the Gnoman is "Bubba"

   The Publishing Layout: 

    The book layout is nearing completion. I'm finding out that; saving the more complex illustrations for last is proving to be more taxing then I thought to complete. It's slow going when on illustration uses six to ten (or more) watercolor paintings to craft. A major issue right now is how to achieve consistency and accurate color rendition in the final printing. I am leaning toward installing a print shop in the studio, but that comes with a plethora of other details and expenses that need to be tended to.  I am also doing research on engaging a fulfillment firm to oversee book publication and distribution.

    It is important that I move away from the publishing aspect and move into the music and theatre aspect of this project. I can say that the signed Limited Editions will remain in-house at all times and I do believe that the hand-stitched edition may also be distributed directly from IMS.  It all depends on how this pans out. My previous efforts are jobbing out the printing did not work out the way I had hoped, mainly because the firms I was dealing with wanted to produce the books they way they wanted to, not in accordance with my designs (mostly in terms of binding and production quantities).

   The other activity that is beginning to take place is Animation. In order to keep Jency employed on this project, we will be engaging in classic animation. I'm having thoughts that I could use Ai to enhance some basic animation. (See the Ai sample below). So we are taking some basic scenes and drawing cells for the animation. My thinking is to do (for instance) 8:1 animation cells and let the Ai fill in the gaps. That's all up-in-the-air right now, but if another production compny wants to be involved in this process,  contact me through the web page; www.imageofthemindstudios.org (I need to start using that page more often) or use the links on this blog.

ARCHIVE (edited)

   The photos here represent a few of the work-stations that are currently dedicated to publishing and artwork. I'll add more photos later.

 

   As I have repeatedly said "It's almost done".  Well, relatively speaking that is true. I now have less than one binder of artwork that yet needs to be prepared and inserted into the layout, but the volume of those binders is largely due to the fact that there are multiple paintings that make up the illustrations for the few remaining pages requiring artwork. 

   It is most interesting that my prep work for making the paintings ready to be inserted into the books takes five times more work than actually creating the sketches and paintings. But that's just the way it is.

   So now we are going back to "placeholder" artwork and redoing it. Some paintings were not of the caliber that I wanted, but we used it anyway so we could move on. My goal is to keep Jency working on other aspects (sculpting & animation in particular) so I am addressing redrawing/painting some of the artwork, mostly to make sure that the look of the character's faces is consistent. Sometime it is hard to keep the look "right" when one is drawing the characters from different angles and trying to express an assortment of emotions. So some of it needs to be redrawn.

   But also, I inserted characters into the pages, in numerous instances, without backgrounds. So I am now crafting more backgrounds for the scenes. I figure we will need those backgrounds for the animation, but also, they will be used as backdrops for the stage show.

   The two images above are photos of the first stage model that I used when I first started writing the Libretto. I used it to determine blocking as I was writing. It's very primitive, but it helped. The clay gnomes started out with the features you see here, but that changed when Jency started drawing the characters. I'll get into that process in another post.

   In regard to the stage show; I have it in my mind to secure an LED (or digital) backdrop as part of the hard supplies for the stage show. My intention is to put a stage in my studio, wherever my final location ends up being. I started building the stage, but difficulties at my present location has prevented me from advancing with that. I will address the studio on the IMS Virtual Studio. This link takes you to my "main portal". Other links will be present there.

    I am also crafting a more functional Business Plan. It is based on all the other elements that have been discussed, but now I have decided to sell options for the major markets. Ownership of "The Gnomes..." And other projects will always remain with IMS, but I do expect to sell the studio outright when I am too old to be effective. (That's creeping up on me, ugh)

   So, the options will be for, production in the four primary arenas (Publishing, Theatre, Film, Television), distribution in those markets (contracted to a degree through production), and merchandizing individual Ancillary Markets. Marketing will be largely contracted, but supervised by The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture.

   I will be turning over 40% of all rights (and management) to The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture, who will hold the rights for a set renewable term, but not ownership. Ownership remains with Image of the Mind Studios, ad infinum. To possess ownership, it is contingent upon buying IMS outright. As I have mentioned, I will be posting the details to this Business Plan on the IMS Management or Producing Partners blogs (after the publishing layout is done, done.) 

   In the meanwhile, I am open to discussing any of this with persons interested in these affairs. I do expect to secure a Literary and/or Theatrical Agent, once the books are ready for distribution to Industry Professionals. 

   The licensing of any rights will be contingent final upon negotiations through my agent, although we can set the groundwork ahead of time and I can discuss the terms of a straight-forward and simple Option. However, I will not engage in legal manipulation or rhetoric in this regard and any final agreements must be cleared with the appropriate legal or other representatives. (sad to say). I do expect that legitimate business dialogue can take place in an environment free from complexity, given the right circumstances.

AG

Parade Float Update

UPDATE 8/26

   Work has advanced on the Parade Float. A new front suspension has been acquired and is ready for installation (sans the brakes) the metal for re-fabricating the chassis in areas where rust has decayed it's strength has been acquired and is on the welding table. Components of the stage sub-structure and cradles are being gathered as well as the stage itself (in the form of 5 4x8 platforms). No work on the engine or controls will be done until the chassis is sufficiently strengthened (see diagrams below).  Discussions and consideration regarding the animatronic aspect of the Gnomes of New Hope display are under way, but serious address of those elements will not occur until after the Storybook publication is underway, as that also involves puppetry and is connected in some degree to work on animation (as to content selection for marketing).

ARCHIVE

§   This year's Southampton Days Parade, which takes place on July Fourth, is in the planning stages. As much as I had hoped that this Parade Float would have been ready, sadly, that's not going to happen.

§   The truck that was acquired for this purpose was in very much more poor condition than I had expected. That means the rebuild will be more extensive and costly than I had anticipated. Components of the truck which I had planned on reusing will have to be replaced, in particular, the entire front suspension. But also, all the control cables and braking systems. It gets down to a complete rebuild, to the point of pulling the power train and rear suspension. All of this bring more complexity, time and cost. But it needs to be done if the end product will be safe, trouble free and serve a long term functionality.

§.   I have a source of numerous additional trucks if it turns out that more than one self-propelled parade floats needs to be built.

ARCHIVE:

   The templets for repair panels have been made and those panel are being quoted. 

   Here are the drawings for the Parade Float. Current activity is preparing the chassis for paint and reinforcement. The initial goal was to have the Parade Float functional in time for the Fourth iof July Parade. Truthfully however, I doubt that that will be possible. In addition to finishing the technicalities of the float itself, there is the issue of designing and constructing a presentation for the parade and then producing it (ie: actors costuming sets, materials etc,). So our goal is to just get the Parade Float/Portable stage constructed and functional (mainly for use with The Gnomes of New Hope).

    When the Parade Presentation for the Gnomes is under way, then plan is for Animatronic characters to be part of the Parade Float. We'll see how that goes. One step at a time. For now we need to finish the Parade Float and to assure that it is functional as imagined.

 In regard to Animatronics, we have advanced with building the parade float.

  

    Here you see the chassis that is being used for the parade float. It will be strengthened and rebuilt. It is the chassis of a Corvair truck the section in the back contains the power-plant and the section in front (center) will contain a cockpit for the operator. The operator will be seated under the stage. We are working on designing an animatronic puppetry presentation for the parade float.

     I was in Ohio recently and while there I bought a new front suspension for the parade float. The existing suspension is unusable due to rust, however, it will stay in place until the frame is strengthened in the critical areas, which likewise have severe corrosion that have cause the integrity of the chassis to fail. Even so, strengthening of the frame would be required in any event, because the chassis was part of the unibody, which depended upon other body panels for strength. The frame area need to be boxed and other support modification need to be made. Preparations to effect those changes are being made over the winter, with welding to taken place after the weather lets up and becomes warmer. 

Here is the Meadow Amphitheater,
where we performed as 
The Shakespeareans of Tamanend Park

   
   I have begun prepping the chassis for paint and welding support struts. As you can see above, the chassis will accommodate standard 4x8 stage platforms and not only serve as a Parade Float, but also the core of a mobile stage which can be set up in a festival or park environment.  Thinking in that direction is a result of what happened with the stage that was built in Tamanend Park, being destroyed by vandals. With this portable stage, we can take the stage with us and not leave it exposed to nefarious deeds. I expect to try to emulate the stage that was built for Tamanend Park, with wing extensions that can be added to all four sides of the Parade Float/Mobile Stage.  We may even consider a modular backdrop scenario as an accessory to the stage.

AG

Thoughts on Book Publishing (+Garden Gnomes)

Above is one of our new Garden Gnomes
and two others below.
I'm developing a collection of these "flat" displays
from hundreds of watercolor character paintings used in
The Illustrated Storybook Series

These products will be available once I post them in a "Shopping Cart"
 on 
www.imageofthemindstudios.org

 

     In calculating what kind of printing operation I would need to set-up for an on-demand printing operation, it seems quite clear to me that if I do enter into a printing operation, managing those affairs will distract from the work that needs to be done on the Stage Musical and other work on Animation & Puppetry. 

  The kind of printing press that needs to be used for this project is something that may be a bit beyond my immediate thinking, in regard to expanding my studio printing capabilities. I say this, not because it is beyond my capabilities, but because entering into that degree of printing, in terms of quality and consistency, will distract my operation away from the primary goals, because I will need to be focused on the production line.  

    I will be expanding the printing operation for an assortment of purposes, including Limited Edition copies of the books, printing the Musical Score/Libretto and other prototype & Limited Edition materials, but larger quantity publication for Retail Distribution requires a higher quality printing presses than I think it is advisable to maintain at this time. 

    It remains a possibility depending on circumstances and expense, but the initial expansion of our capabilities will, by necessity, be limited to smaller production quantities with printing equipment that is less capable of consistent quality on high production quantity.

   That being the case, I invite larger scale printers and publishers to discuss this project with me, because I expect that I will not be able to meet sudden large scale demand, should that occur.

AG