Author: Kelci

Now the month-long chaotic escapade known as NaNoWriMo is over. Let me do damage control for a minute.

Each year, NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month) has the rather lofty goal of writing 50,000 words in one month.

And this year I only did a little over 27,000.

One must know one’s limitations. My limit is apparently 27,000-ish words. I’m still proud of that, but I know I can do better.

(In my defense, real life happened several times, like job hunting and working on Validation and Johnson & Sir. I didn’t have either of those last year, but this year I did. I’m not complaining, though.)

On to other news, now that November is over, we’re all in December, and that means Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or (for the rest of us) Festivus.

If you would like a custom-made piece of art for a loved one this year, I’m offering my services for you! My rates are all over on this blog post. I will draw you anything you like, from owls to awesome ladies.

This month I’m doing my best to keep my other projects light. I need to go easy on myself and free up space in my day for making Christmas presents – for family, and for friends who would like something awesome drawn.

Also! You should be reading this new blog, The Twitching Eye. It’s all about writing and mental illness but delivered in a way that’s fun and refreshing and great to read. She just started but she updates every Wednesday. Keep it bookmarked!

SHAMELESS PLUG SENTENCE: You should be reading Validation and Johnson & Sir, and I also finished up my current run of Mini-Comic Theater while also updating Facebook and Twitter and getting new things on Behance.

That’s all for now, and don’t forget to relax!

It’s about freaking time this happened!

I moved from Blogger to here over the course of this week.

This website has been a dream of mine for at least 3 years now. I’m glad I finally have the chance to get it up and show THE WORLD!

If this is your first time here: Hi I’m Kelci.

You might already know me but in case you don’t, I’m the artist of Validation, Johnson & Sir, and Mini-Comic Theater. I make comics, and I make a lot of them.

But what can you expect out of this website?

Other than that it showcases my portfolios of work, I’ll also be sharing works-in-progress, tutorials, comic and graphic novel reviews, convention announcements, and just plain old announcements.

I hope you find them useful. If you would like an idea of what to expect, I got some past blog posts that you can check out, including:

• Things That Inspire Me
• Paper Wings and More on Characters and Story
• Problem Solving in Action
• Comics on Phones: Will They Replace Books?
• Dragonball Z Versus Dragonball Z Kai: A Personal Tale

Lately I haven’t been sharing a whole lot of sketches, so I’m going to do that now:

More content will be added. Keep checking back in. I’ll update every Sunday.

Thanks for reading!

Soon it will be November, and soon it will be the start of the gloriously creative and chaotic National Novel Writing Month (those of us cool people in the biz call it NaNoWriMo – or if you’re Master-Level Lazy, NaNo).

Starting Tomorrow I will be embarking on NaNoWriMo, along with my older sister Kristen, aka @TheTwitchingEye on Twitter. She will be working on FINALLY writing a full draft of the novel she’s been making for the last 15 years.

I, in the meantime, will be writing a full draft of a story in the making for a mere 5 years.

The story I will be writing is my new draft of The Legend of Jamie Roberts. (I know, I know, I never stop talking about that darned story, but trust me – the wait will be worth it, and I will make it worth it no matter what).

The reasons for the new draft are actually pretty important. For starters, Jamie and friends are no longer soldiers – they’re pirates.

(This change actually makes the Snowball Fight poster moot. Could you help me get them off my hands please? They’re not bad posters, they’re just not accurate to the story anymore. Think of them as an alternate universe and let your imagination run wild.)

You can get the poster at the Store.

Another thing – some of my characters from previous drafts have left (which makes this mini-poster moot as well. Darn it!)

Could you help me get this off my hands as well please?

However, a character leaving the plot has changed one character’s entire story, not to mention that the ending of the story overall is now different.

Ok, on to other NaNo business before you get bored.

This year Kristen and I are not writing alone – we’ve joined a NaNo writing group based here in Phoenix, AZ. We actually went to a pre-NaNo party just a couple of days ago (there was a person wearing a Toothless hat there but I didn’t get a picture because I thought it would be rude_. We both met some cool people and a great support group for our endeavors.

If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year, you should go to the website and sign up. Signing up means you commit to the challenge and want to join a group for support. There are tons of groups based in different locations and genre, plus there are pages of plot, character, and writing ideas in case you get stuck.

NaNo starts tomorrow (I am the master of short notice!) – so if you’re hesitant to join and haven’t heard about this event until now – wait until next year unless you’ve got a lot of ideas, serious cajones, or both. But if you think you wanna do the challenge, join us!

SHAMELESS PLUG SQUARE:

Of course there are the posters mentioned up above.

Also! Earlier this week I added 2 new prints for sale. Both are made with the help of my fabulous friend Chloe and are part of our Doujinshi studio, MACPILT. So go check out Brotherhood and You Are Not Alone.

That’s all for now, but thank you for being awesome!

Hey there!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I recently moved to Arizona. You would also know that I work on a lot of comics, and when I’m not doing those, I’m in the “real world”.

Here’s the thing: the “real world” mandates that I need money for rent…and food…and clothes…and things that generally make life less miserable. Plus, there are conventions that happen in the “real world” where I can meet all you fabulous people (outside of the computer).

Ergo, I am offering to draw commissions to raise money for these things.

That’s right! I draw one of the offerings below for you in exchange for moneys for food and conventions and T-shirts and other generally awesome things.

First, the offerings:

• $15 for a pencil (or ink) sketch of head and shoulders of a character of your choice. (Example 1) (Example 2)
• $20 for a full color sketch of head and shoulders of a character of your choice. (Example 1) (Example 2)
• $25 for a pencil (or ink) sketch of full body of a character of your choice. (Example 1) (Example 2)
• $30 for a full color sketch of full body of a character of your choice. (Example 1) (Example 2) (Example 3)
• A spot color for the background in any of these comes free.
• A detailed background in any of these is an extra $10.
• Any extra characters or animals are $10 apiece.
• If you want the character(s) to say something, there’s no extra charge.
• If you want this delivered digitally, there’s no shipping charge (but I need your email). 
• If you want to own the drawing for yourself and hang it on your wall/ceiling/etc. shipping is an extra $5 in the U.S. $8 Internationally.
• (Don’t forget to add your address if you want me to ship it to you!)

Want me to draw you something different than what’s above? Just ask!

But here are a few things to keep in mind. Please:

• Keep it PG. No sexual nudity or violence (especially the blood and guts kind)
• No porn.
• Remember I have the right to say “No I won’t draw this for you” for whatever reason (and I will give you one if I need to).

You can pay with either PayPal or check (but I really prefer if you use PayPal).

I hate to include instructions, but this’ll just be easier for you and me.

1. Figure out what you would like me to draw for you.
2. Send me an email at kelcidcrawford at gmail dot com with a subject line that says something like, “I’d Like to Commission You!”
3. I decide whether I can draw it for you or not (I reserve the right to say no and/or direct you to somebody else).
4. If I decide to draw your awesome request, please pay half of the cost before I get started. I will give you the PayPal link or mailing address to send payment to on this step.
5. Once I get your payment, I’ll get started!
6. I’ll keep you posted on the progress of your art, and I will ask for your feedback (especially if the piece is really complicated).
7. Once it’s done, I will email you your final amount of fun tickets owed.
8. You exchange fun tickets with me.
9. I send you the finished art.
10. JOY!

The Legend of Jamie Roberts now has a six-page preview! To read it, go here.

And just in case you missed it, I started posting “Mermaids” to Mini-Comic Theater. To start that, go here.

Don’t forget, too, that Validation updates tomorrow, and then Johnson & Sir updates on Tuesday.

Plus! Another new comic will be premiering this week! I’ll be sharing a link once it’s ready here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

You would think I’d get tired of making comics all the time, but I don’t. That’s the fun part.

I can hear you asking, “You’ve been hyping up The Legend of Jamie Roberts for months now! When will it launch?!”

Here, I’ll do it in bullet points, because it’s easier for me to do it this way:

• Jamie Roberts launches in the first week of November
• Once we get closer to launch, I’ll set a date and announce it.
• The comic will be full color
• The comic will update once a week…to start.
• Once I feel comfortable, I’ll increase production to twice a week.