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The Made Collaborative Virtual Studio!

Introducing
Made Collaborative Studio!
Let's Collaborate!

What

Made Collaborative is an immersive virtual studio experience. Our virtual Studio Cards are designed to facilitate collaboration with you by providing you with context on topics, concepts, characters and some of the people behind or Creative Commons comic project called the Back of the Yards.  

Why

The Made Collaborative Studio was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody.  Len and Jimmy began developing this virtual platform in 2020 when COVID emerged as a way of extending their original in-person classroom comic collaborations in the west side of Chicago to the virtual realm. 

Who

In addition to Len and Jimmy, other project collaborators include John Golden, Eric Nyamor, Dan Dougherty and Manny Dominguez.  Jimmy and Len also worked with with a Chicago design studio, Firebelly Design, for initial consultation on this virtual studio framework, and would then engage a company called Belov Digital Group to help bring this virtual studio framework and website to life. 

Welcome to the Made Collaborative Virtual Studio Platform!

Welcome one and all!. We have created this virtual platform to enable comic story collaborations between you and participating youth from after-school programs and other academic organizations.  And by doing so, we are hoping to provide all participants a fun collaborative environment and with that, develop some cool comic stories and characters along the way together, including our ongoing Back of the Yards comic series!  

Within this virtual platform we will be combining common third-party collaboration tools like Google Workplace, Miro virtual project boards and Zoom virtual meetings, together with custom applications created by us on this WordPress website – most notably our virtual Studio Cards (presented below), which we use to provide you with background context on the creative concepts, characters and other information to help facilitate your collaborative input. 

And with that, perhaps the best way we can describe how you can begin collaborating with us is with one simple phrase…

"Pick a Card, Any Card!"

We Will Then Review & Track Your Collaborative Input ...

As part of this virtual collaborative model, we will be using virtual Miro project boards like the master board below to track your submissions.  It also within these Miro project boars that participating artists, administrators will communicate with one another to track status of ongoing collaborative development.  And you can take a peak into some of those collaborations simply by clicking below any time! 

 

And We Will Select Some of Your Collaborative Input for Further Collaboration ....

As part of this virtual collaborative studio model, we will host weekly Zoom workshop sessions.  It is during these virtual sessions that we will select notable submissions from you and participating youth for further development.  And over time, we will invite some of you to participate in those Zoom workshops with us!  Dates and times for upcoming Zoom workshops will be posted on our This & That blog page.

A Quick Word on Intellectual Property

Except as otherwise noted on this website, the materials and content shared by Made Collaborative under our logo are published under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license, which essentially means that you can copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the content presented on this website for any purpose as long as you give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

In short, given the unique nature of our collaborative comic project, The Back of the Yards, and the nature of this virtual platform with the ongoing fusion of ideas that meld into new forms of narrative and evolving character development, we feel it is essential that everyone has continued access to the content we create collaboratively.  As such, we encourage you (and after-school programs in particular given this project’s early origins) to use all the Back of the Yards characters, storylines, and related themes under this Made Collaborative Studio platform for your own independent projects. All we ask is that you give us a shoutout in that regard and allow others the same access going forward pursuant to the terms of this open Creative Commons licensing framework.

You can learn more about this Creative Commons license framework here on our Terms of Use page.  Otherwise, just scroll on down if you are ready to collaborate with us!

Table of Contents

So, Without Further Ado, Let's Collaborate!

Pick a card, any card...

Introducing a New Hero’s Journey
Back of the Yards!

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 00

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Summary
Welcome to the Issue #3 Collaborations! With this base Studio Card, we introduce you to the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons comic project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. Back of the Yards is a story about young man in the West Side of Chicago that has what he believes to be a supernatural encounter and his subsequent journey to understand what is real and what isn't within his neighborhood.
When
We will examine past, present and future states of these neighborhoods in attempt to gain a better understanding of how these neighborhoods originally developed and evolved through the years.developed in collaboration with participating youth from the West Side of Chicago.
Who
As part of this collaborative series, we will also examine the residents of these neighborhoods, including early immigrants to present day inhabitants, and their corresponding influence and impact to our urban communities.
Why
In order to more fully understand some of the complexities of our urban centers, we must understand their neighborhoods, including the evolution of those neighborhoods and their residents. And, of course, we plan to incorporate some of these related themes into our ongoing comic series, Back of the Yards, with your collaborations.
Read more

All Stories Start With

A Great Character!

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 01

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Summary
With this collaboration, we're putting our original Create a Character process to work on an actual open question from Issue #3. You'll have an opportunity to help develop the young man's appearance, background, personality, motivations and history - and ultimately help us answer a simple question: Who does Dex see?
Background
Early in Issue #3, Dex Coleman encounters a young man he doesn't recognize. We know this character will matter to the developing story. What we haven't fully decided is exactly who he is.
This & That
Selected ideas and artwork may be featured through Made Collaborative and considered as we develop the character who ultimately appears in Issue #3. Contributors whose ideas are incorporated into the finished comic will be credited as part of its development.
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Who is…
Andre Davis?

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 02

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Summary
For Issue #3, we're opening the next stage of Andre Davis' - our comic's first created character during those early classroom collaborations - journey through collaboration. As Andre's abilities begin to emerge, we're inviting you to help us explore what he can do, how those changes affect him, and what becoming something extraordinary might ultimately mean for him.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Andre is bright, inquisitive and self-reliant, always searching for the truth and a greater understanding of himself and others … but he may also be susceptible to the trappings of his newfound power …
Archetype
The Hero
Motto
“To dare is to do.”
Collaboration Background
Andre’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Tamia Parker?

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 03

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Summary
For Issue #3, we're opening the next stage in the journey of Tamia Parker - another character born from our earliest youth collaborations - to collaboration. As Tamia's dreams begin to blur with reality and she senses that something within her is changing, we're inviting you to help us explore what her transformation might become—and what it could ultimately mean for her.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Tamia is extremely bright, curious, introspective and creative. She is an artist at heart, with empathy that forms connections with others in ways that she even doesn’t fully understand yet…
Archetype
The Creator
Motto
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen
Collaboration Background
Tamia’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Cerria Cortez?

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 04

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Summary
For Issue #3, we're opening the story of Cerria Cortez - one of the newest characters entering the world of Back of the Yards - to collaboration. A military veteran, young Chicago police officer and Nick Zomski's new partner, Cortez carries her own history into the neighborhood. We're inviting you to help us explore the people, places and experiences that shaped her, including the tattoos she carries and the stories behind them.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Cerria is fiercely independent, emotionally guarded, highly intelligent, and driven by a deep belief that truth, justice, and personal determination can still challenge broken systems
Archetype
TBD - [Eric to Determine]
Motto
TBD - [Eric to Develop]
Collaboration Background
Cerria Cortez was developed by Eric Nyamor in collaboration with Tony Maldonado, Len Kody, and Jimmy Briseno as part of the Issue #3 pre-production workshops during the summer of 2026.
Debut
Issue #3 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Nick Zomski?

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 05

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Summary
For Issue #3, we're also introducing Nick Zomski - a veteran Chicago police officer whose past may hold clues to what is happening in the present - and opening his story to collaboration. More than thirty years ago, a younger Zomski crossed paths with Darius King and an investigation that was never fully resolved. As Zomski makes his debut in Issue #3, we're inviting you to help us explore what he remembers from 1994, and what he may recognize today that others do not.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Quiet, observant, and deeply pragmatic, Zomski values fairness, survival, loyalty, and maintaining order within systems he no longer fully trusts.
Archetype
TBD - [Tony to Determine]
Motto
TBD - [Tony to Develop]
Collaboration Background
Nick Zomski was developed by Tony Maldonado in collaboration with Eric Nyamor, Len Kody, and Jimmy Briseno as part of the Issue #3 pre-production workshops during the summer of 2026.
Debut
Issue #3 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

Who is…
Carl Castaneda?

The Issue #3 Collaborations | 06

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Summary
For Issue #3, we're opening the mysterious world of Carl Castañeda - and Room 23 - to collaboration. Castañeda has quietly connected the journeys of Andre, Tamia and others from the beginning, but much about who he is, what he knows and the strange space known as Room 23 remains unexplored. We're inviting you to help us imagine what lies inside Room 23, what purpose it serves, and what it might reveal about Castañeda and the larger forces shaping the world of Back of the Yards.
Core Personality Traits & Values
He clearly knows more than what he is saying, but the best teachers do not give they answers but merely point the way.
Primary Archetype
The Mentor
Motto
“Your dreams are part of the same primal energy that brings all existence into being!”
Collaboration Background
Mr. Castañeda is a character developed by Len Kody. He is a way of tying the various narratives and characters created by the first wave of participating youth as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #2 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Russell Patterson?

Studio Card #6: Our Young Dreamer

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Brief
Russell Patterson is a comic character developed as part of the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. Russell is a very shy and creative young man. He is a grade or two younger than the rest of our young principal characters.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Russell Patterson has an extremely vivid imagination and a very active dream life. He just may be the most talented and creative student at New City High, but he lacks confidence so he too often daydreams as a means of escape.
Archetype
The Dreamer
Motto
“It is okay to live a life that others don't understand”
Collaboration Background
Russell’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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And Every Great Character Has
A Hero’s Journey

The Journey Begins

Studio Card #2 | Creating Your Own Hero’s Journey!

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Brief
In the previous Studio Card, you took your first creative steps—bringing a character to life and exploring what makes them unique. Now, it’s time for their journey to begin. Every hero, from the first stories ever told to today, follows a path filled with trials, transformation, and discovery. Welcome to the Hero’s Journey!
Scope
The first five stages of the Hero’s Journey form a Call to Action. We meet your hero, step into their world, and watch as a challenge disrupts the balance. Will they answer the call? Will they step onto the rocky road of adventure? Or will they cling to blissful ignorance?
This & That
The Made Collaborative has developed a storytelling template rooted in ancient methods intrinsic to human nature. We invite you to engage in the same process that urban youth and our cadre of professional collaborators have used to shape Back of the Yards. Join us in building a richer, deeper world—on the comics page and beyond. And who knows? Your story could become part of it.
Read more

Neighborhoods
& Their Residents!

Studio Card #8: Neighborhoods & Their Residents

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What
With this Source Card collaborative production, we examine the unique characteristics of our urban neighborhoods, including their unique histories, events and residents.
When
We will examine past, present and future states of these neighborhoods in attempt to gain a better understanding of how these neighborhoods originally developed and evolved through the years.
Who
As part of this collaborative series, we will also examine the residents of these neighborhoods, including early immigrants to present day inhabitants, and their corresponding influence and impact to our urban communities.
Why
In order to more fully understand some of the complexities of our urban centers, we must understand their neighborhoods, including the evolution of those neighborhoods and their residents. And, of course, we plan to incorporate some of these related themes into our ongoing comic series, Back of the Yards, with your collaborations.
Read more

Law Enforcement &
The Community

Source Card #9: Crossing the Threshold Every Day

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What
This collaborative series is a peek into the issues facing law enforcement and community relations within our urban communities.
When
We will begin Part I of this collaborative series with a snapshot of the early origins of modern day policing, setting the stage for a deeper dive into the present day issues in Part II of this series.
Who
This Source Card overview begins with a look at a man named Robert Peel who may not be a household name to many of us, but as it turns out, in many ways he may well be the founding father of today’s modern day police force as we know it.
Why
To facilitate a collaborative process that promotes just a little more understanding from all sides on a complicated set of issues facing our country’s urban centers. And along the way, with your help and input, incorporate some of these themes and issues into our Back of the Yards comic series.
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Who is…
Peaches?

Studio Card #10: The Street Corner Mentor

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Summary
Peaches is a comic character developed as part of the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. For now, known only by his nickname, “Peaches,” he is one of the neighborhood’s “Elders” who observe and comment upon the activities of the younger folks. Peaches backstory is rich, deep and yet-to-be revealed!
Core Personality Traits & Values
Peaches is the dignified moral compass the Elders. Even though he is very much a realist, Peaches tends to see the best in people and he encourages them toward a righteous path.
Primary Archetype
The Mentor
Motto
“Though our destiny is now our own, our search for that destiny has only just begun.”
Collaboration Background
Peaches was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Big Earl?

Studio Card #11: Our Gentle Giant Everyman

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Summary
"Big Earl" is a comic character developed as part of the Back of the Yards comic series; a Creative Commons project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. Big Earl is a big man with a big heart. Beloved by all in the neighborhood, everybody knows his name and has heard a story or two about this gentle giant.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Earl was the neighborhood football hero before an injury pushed him to the sidelines. And undiagnosed dyslexia prevented him for excelling in school. But Earl’s kind soul and balanced nature granted him resilience through life’s toughest struggles.
Primary Archetype
The Everyman
Motto
“If I didn’t get hurt, then I would never have found me.”
Collaboration Background
Big Earl was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody in 2015 as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Dex?

Studio Card #12: We All Have That One Trickster In Our Life

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Summary
Dexter Coleman is a comic character developed as part of the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. "Dex" is one of the last of a previous generation of neighborhood troublemakers who are alive and not in prison. He’s gone (mostly) straight in his older years, trying his best to make amends for the bad deeds of his youth.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Dex is a wisecracker, a sharp dresser and a straight talker. Even though his moral compass has evolved over the years into that of a respectable citizen of Back of the Yards, he’s still known to indulge in a few vices.
Primary Archetype
The Rebel
Motto
“I ain’t got time for dreamin’. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Collaboration Background
Dex was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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Who is…
Draymond Carter?

Studio Card#17: Who is Draymond Carter?

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Brief
Draymond Carter is a comic character developed as part of the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons project produced by the Made Collaborative Studio. Draymond is Russell Patterson’s fiery-tempered younger cousin. But the cousins are more like brothers ever since Russell moved in with his Auntie, Evelyn (Draymond’s mother).
Core Personality
Draymond’s extroverted and assertive personality is a stark contrast to Russell’s more gentle and introverted nature.
Archetype
The Sidekick
Motto
“You're going to lose.”
Collaboration Background
Draymond was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
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The Monahans!
Andre’s Favorite Comic!

The Monahans!

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Summary
TBD
When
TBD
Who
TBD
Why
TBD
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Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library). 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW