However, I do have a new pastel sketch to share with you:
There will be new pieces made soon – especially in the realm of T-shirt designs and other illustrations. Keep an eye out over at my RedBubble.
Also, I am considering making a few blog posts about either of these two topics. Which would you like to read about more?
The history of American comics
A beginner’s guide to freelancing
I want to hear from you. So please let me know in comments below.
This year has been ridiculously crazy for me: new boyfriend, a car accident, a broken wrist, moving to Arizona, and going full-time freelance. But next year I’m looking forward to more conventions, more books published, more comics, and more friends!
Let me know in comments: How did your year go? And what are you looking forward to the most?
Today I want to talk a little about this comic I’ve been working on for the last 5 years. Maybe even longer.
I mention it by title every once in a while on this blog.
It’s The Legend of Jamie Roberts.
Jamie Roberts has been brought up before, but the launch of the actual webcomic has always been pushed back. That’s because I’m still writing and drawing it, and things are always changing.
But now, I’m feeling really confident with this story, and it will be coming out.
But let me tell you a little of what the story is about.
The figure on the left is Ranki. He’s a Dragon King from Corith. 500 years ago he was defeated in the Corith Civil War and banished. But being a dragon in human form that lives a really long time, he hasn’t died yet, and he’s still pretty ticked that he lost.
The figure on the right is Jamie Roberts. She ran away from her home in Touloy by joining a pirate crew, disguising herself as a boy so no one would recognize her. She and her two best friends from the crew, Thomas and Daniel, head for Corith when they discover there are national treasures to be found (and possibly looted).
Jamie and her friends are hired by another Dragon King to be his bodyguards while he travels across the country. I won’t tell you what adventures await them because you should read the comic for that.
Speaking of, the comic production schedule looks a little like this right now:
Write comic, finish before the end of the month
Edit.
In January and February, draw comic pages.
At the beginning of March, launch comic to the world!
I was about to say I would launch it in February – HOWEVER THAT’S NOT TRUE.
The reason I’m not launching in February is because there will be another announcement around that time. Watch out for Rogue KickStarter campaigns!
Still, I’m REALLY excited for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, and I hope that you are, too.
I even made a 7-page teaser you can read at SmackJeeves (though fair warning: it’s at least two years old. The art will look WAY different).
Keep watching this blog. I’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes sketches and even some character snapshots!
I’m updating to share a video I made for ArtLink Phoenix and the Project for Awesome.
The Project for Awesome is an annual event on YouTube where video creators advocate for their favorite charities and raise money for those charities. If you go to the website, you can see the videos other people have made.
You can watch the video I made for ArtLink Phoenix here on YouTube. Every comment you leave is a penny donated to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, which is the pool of money that is distributed to the winners of the Project for Awesome.
If you are interested, you can be part of a new trend on Twitter: for every tweet with the hashtag #P4A, it’s a penny donated to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck. P4A is trending even more than the NSA! Let’s keep it that way today!
Yesterday I was filming at the Phoenix Festival of the Arts for the Project for Awesome. It was a lot of fun and I met so many cool people there! With any luck I can squeeze all of them into the final cut of the video.
I’ll be making a bonus post here on the blog once the video is finished, so you can see it! It should be up by December 17th.
In other news…
My sister @TheTwitchingEye and her husband came back from my previous hometown in Ohio. They were visiting my grandparents who were celebrating their 50th anniversary (woot!). While they were there, they brought back a lot of the things I couldn’t bring with me when I moved to Arizona (because my car was full).
These things included John Green books, Calvin & Hobbes treasuries, my charcoals, and most importantly…
My soft pastels!
Boy did I miss these. I wanted to start doing some larger gallery-space works with these, but before I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have them. Plus, I didn’t want to buy a whole new set. So when Kristen and Justin brought them back I was so excited!
Once the holidays (and the madness) are over, I’ll be starting some new pieces. I already have some portraits in mind…
This year I intend on participating in the Project for Awesome. It’s an annual event in which YouTube users upload and share videos that promote non-profit organizations that help decrease worldsuck (or the amount of suck in the world).
I’m collaborating with ArtLink Phoenix to make a video for the Project for Awesome. I’ve been hoping to find a filmmaker to collaborate on this project, but since I haven’t heard from anyone, I took the initiative and did a little filming while out for ArtLink’s First Fridays event last night.
I met some really great, really kind artists while I was out, including Noreen Ayonayon, Charles Wilkens, Don C. Dohlman, Doug Bale, and Runz with Scissors. Special thanks goes out to them for letting me film their gallery spaces for the Project for Awesome video!
There are more events hosted by ArtLink coming up soon, so I hope to get to those to get more great footage and meet other really cool artists.
The video should be done and up online by December 17th. I’ll keep you in the loop with progress.
Between volunteering with ArtLink and making videos, I’m still working on Validation with Christian and I’m still making Johnson & Sir.
“Validation” is going to have a giveaway for the 400th like on our Facebook Page, so go like it if you want to keep up with the details.
I’m also starting a new series of digital illustrations, with the working title “Color Spectrum Girls.”
I’m exploring not just color, but how the girls in the illustrations interpret the color they are illustrated in. Like, you know how most people imagine blue to be a calm and soothing color? Well for the Blue girl, blue means personality and a thousand different shades of life. Yellow is anxious and nervous, and White is stark and awkward, to name a few more.
I’m really excited for the project! I’ll be sharing snapshots of the work once it gets underway. Sketches are done, at the very least.
Speaking of sketches and art, if you’re still looking for something unique for presents, you can still commission me! Details are over at this post.
Of course, I still have other wares for sale over at my store, if you want something already made and finished. I’ve got comics, prints, and coming this week, stickers!
Here’s the sketch of the week:
That’s all for now. In the meantime, be kind to each other, and don’t forget to be awesome.
