More Blog Posts Incoming

image of a desk covered in papers, pens and pencils, an x-acto knife, a sketchbook, and a mug full of tea

Yus, there are more blog posts coming to the site during the month of April.

Why? Because I have a lot to write about, surprisingly.

There’s a handful of blog posts series coming this month, including:

  • Adventures in Moving: updates on my moving situation, as I’m looking to move house this summer.
  • Writing for Comics 101: pro-tips on how aspiring comics makers can write better comics.
  • Freelance Lifestyle: how to live well on a budget, land and fulfill gigs, and maximize your energy and focus.

I’ll also be continuing my Throwback Thursday art posts on (you guessed it) Thursdays. I like this trend and I’m going to maintain it.

Adventures in Moving will start updating on Tuesdays.

Freelance Lifestyle will update on Wednesdays and will run for 4 weeks.

Writing for Comics 101 will updates on Fridays, starting on April 17, and will run for 4 weeks.

The short-run blog post series might continue if there’s enough demand for them. For now, we’re starting with this.

If there’s a topic on any of these posts that you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

HerdCon Got Cancelled – Here’s What’s Next

herdcon 2020 has been cancelled. Here's what's next...

HerdCon 2020 has been cancelled, in large part because of the Coronavirus situation.

Now, DO NOT lash out at the organizers. Please. They made the best decision they could with the pressure they had and the information available to them. I trust their judgement. And I trust them when they come back next year. They have plans to run HerdCon 2021 and I hope to make it.

Before I continue, please: take care of yourselves. Especially if you have autoimmune issues.

Ok, now let’s get into it:

What’s Next?

Well now, my Friday and Saturday are wide open. So I’m taking Friday to catch up on KickStarter rewards.

On Saturday, I plan on running a livestream.

I’ll be livedrawing some Dungeons & Dragons characters I run! And if I draw other things, that works too. You’ll get to see it.

The livestream will be on Saturday, March 14, at 1 pm EST. Here’s the link. If you’re in YouTube, be sure to hit the notification bell to know when it’s live.

Hope to see you there.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your understanding.

You. Are. Awesome.

Introducing: The Freelance Lifestyle Blog Series!

My previous post, where I talk about preparing for freelancing full-time again, was a bigger hit than I expected it to be. So I’m beginning a new blog post series: all about the freelance lifestyle!

What will make this series stand out from other freelance sites or blog posts out there are these big things:

  1. I’ll talk about living well on a budget. Of course I’m going to talk about how to make a budget in the first place. And I’ll also be sharing how to maximize your earned dollars and live well on less.
  2. I’ll share how I land, fulfill, and complete gigs. A lot of posts on the internet are about how to find work. Few of them are about actually doing the work and making your clients happy with your work. So I hope to share my secrets on how I keep my clients happy and coming back over and over again.
  3. I’ll share how to maximize your energy and focus, to know what things are worth your time and energy, and what things are better off left to someone else to worry about. No, I’m talking about hiring outside help – I’m talking about knowing which outlets (social media or otherwise) are worth pursuing.

If there’s anything else about the Freelance Lifestyle you’d like me to talk about, leave a comment below!

If you would like to help contribute to this series, consider giving a dollar on Ko-Fi. It’s a digital tip jar where you can give just once (and it takes a smaller cut than PayPal).

Stay tuned for new updates in this blog post series!

I’ll also be continuing my Adventures in Moving blog post series. That will update intermittently as things develop further.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Price Changes for 2020

There are a number of price changes happening this year, from store prices to commissions.

Why? Because I have bills to pay, yo.

Last year, I did ok, but only because I had a part-time hustle at my local gas station. When I move in the spring, I won’t have that side hustle anymore. I need to adjust my prices to help cover that loss now, so I can be sure I can cover bills today AND tomorrow (metaphorically speaking).

What, exactly, is changing, though?

Commissions have gone up, anywhere between $5 to $30 each.

For a full breakdown of what’s gone up, check out my updated commission pricing list on the Get a Commission page.

Minicomics are now $2.

To be more accurate, all of my minicomic prices are going up by $1 each.

Miniprints are now $3.

They used to be $2. But printing miniprints in color ain’t cheap.

Now I have a Ko-Fi

Tired of Patreon plugs? Well Ko-Fi makes a good alternative. Plus, you can give just one time, OR you can give a monthly contribution. You can go as little as $1 (a month, even!), and you can cancel anytime. It’s more flexible than Patreon in that way.

That said, ko-fi is more for commissioning me to make things. If you want to see behind-the-scenes work, Patreon is still the best place to do that.

I appreciate all the support you have given previously. That support has helped to pay the bills. I hope that with your continued support, we can keep making cool comics.

Thank you for your understanding, and all that you do!

You. Are. Awesome.

Brave Rewards (Are A Thing)

I recently switched from using Chrome to using Brave, a web browser that blocks ads and trackers. And I discovered that Brave Rewards are a thing.

I switched from Chrome to Brave because I REALLY hate ads. And I really don’t like the idea of a web browser that tracks my usage and sells my data to outside parties. Brave, from what I understand, does neither of these things.

What Brave does instead is it tracks how many ads and trackers it has blocked, and converts that information into a unique digital currency.

(This, to me, makes sense, because Brave will, on occasion, have its own ads pop up. Those ads are 90% of the time about bitcoin and other digital currencies).

After that, you can spend that digital currency supporting creators that you love.

And THAT’S where my interest is. Because here’s the thing:

I’ve had patrons leave Patreon because they’ve taken issue with the platform. Which, I get it. But the patrons leaving the platforms means I need to find another side income to cover that loss.

Enter: Brave Rewards.

If you have Brave as your browser, you can check the Brave Rewards tab, and select your favorite creators that way. After that, ad revenue that you get goes to your favorite creators.

You can also set up tips to go to creators, but at the moment, I don’t have accounts on any of the platforms Brave is connected to tips with (Twitter, Reddit, and GitHub).

So if you have Brave as a browser, I hope you consider helping me out by setting me up as one of your favorite creators. It’s a passive way to help these comics grow.

(And for those of you who hate Patreon and Chrome, this is a good way to subvert both).

Of course, I’m not an expert in this, so there are details that I’m missing. If you know more than I do about how this works, for the love of bananas, leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.