Friday Archive Dive: Robert Khoo on Reading Contracts

Today's Archive Dive is from Feb. 4, 2010, when Robert Khoo discussed how to read a contract.

I’ve become pretty competent at dissecting and drafting contracts, so much to the point where I’m known as the “contract guy” within my group of business school friends. By no means am I a lawyer, but I’m solid enough to know when to pick up the phone for our attorneys versus what I can handle on my own. In a departure from my all-theory-all-the-time piece last month, I’m going to try to alternate between that and a more concrete offering. Today we’re going to try to distill my own steps in going through and breaking down contracts and what my thought process is for kicking it over to the billable-hours guys. 

Read the entire piece and comment there.

Mailbag: Developing a Style

Q: I've been a doodler and cartoon sketcher all my life, but I've never really had my own style. In middle school, I mimicked anime. In high school, I mimicked Penny Arcade's style. Now after college, I mimic whatever style I feel like at the time. What this means though is that while I can draw anything from looking at a reference (whether it be realistic or cartoon-like), I've never been able to develop my own style of drawing or been able to capture the images I have in my head. I've always needed some reference point to draw from. Do you guys have any advice for how an artist can develop their own style? Is it just a matter of practicing without looking at a reference? What are your thoughts?

A: There are two questions here. The first is about deveopling a personal style and the second is about the use of reference. Let's discuss them in order.

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Transcontinental discount: Updated procedure

Webcomics.com members get a 10% discount at Transcontinental.

Starting today, we're unveiling a form that will guide you through the steps of submitting a quote request. It will be sent directly to the contact at Transcontinental who is authorized to grant the discount.

Ka-chunk Ka-chunk (Manual imprint credit-card machines)

A Private Forum discussion has developed focusing on using smartphone-enabled readers and other digital methods to process credit-card orders at conventions. It's worth a look. Also check out the following from the archives:

• Merchant services primer
• Convention checklist

In one part of the Private Forum thread, a member asks if anyone still uses the old manual-imprint devices.

I wouldn't leave home without mine. If you're going to use one, here are some things you'll want to know.

February To-Do List

Get out your calendar and start circling dates. It's time to do a little webcomics planning.

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