This here is Charlie, from my three-part comic series The Charlie & Clow adventures.
Recently I flipped though a LOT of old sketchbooks (the oldest one dated back to 2011 during my junior year of college). And I saw Charlie pop up quite a bit in those old books.
Her story changed, but one thing stayed constant: her goth-punk aesthetic.
I originally created her to be one of the starring members of a punk rock band. Over time, she became more of an interesting main character than the one I originally wrote. So I rewrote the story to make her be the focus.
Through the rewrites, though, she always stayed a punk/goth girl.
Part of it is because of her personality.
But also I really like drawing punk and goth fashion.
So who knows? You may see more of Charlie being a fashion model on Instagram.
In the meantime, this original sketch IS available as a hi-resolution download for Ko-Fi backers and Patreon patrons. The sketch itself will be listed for sale on Storenvy soon. If you want to know when it drops, get on that email newsletter. It’s the best place to find new shop listings.
ALSO! I will be at the New Dimension Comics in Saint Clairsville, OH on March 7. It’s Free Graphic Novel Day! To celebrate, I will have free grab bags, as well as some original sketches marked down for sale.
(All proceeds from the sale of the original art pieces will go towards helping with the cost of moving. Because I will be moving to a new apartment May 1 this year).
Thank you for reading!
You. Are. Awesome.
P.S. I’m not joking – watch my Instagram for future pics of Charlie being a fashionista.
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!
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.
One of my Patrons on Patreon, Pat, suggested I draw a UniDragonMaid. Little did she know that I would ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE.
Why a UniDragonMaid? Well, I was looking for ideas to draw for an upcoming art show in Columbus, OH themed around mythical creatures.
And… well, she was too cute of an idea to pass up.
I drew her with some colored Bombay India Inks a friend of mine gifted to me recently. The lines were drawn with a Kuretake Bimoji Fude Brush Pen I got from ArtSnacks.
Patrons on Patreon not only made the request to get her drawn, but they got to see her published before the general public. If you would like me to draw random things for you, consider supporting me on Patreon with a monthly subscription.
If I have noticed anything regarding social media platforms in 2018 – from Facebook constantly being pursued because they sell private data, to Tumblr’s crackdown on NSFW content – I have noticed that social media platforms aren’t exactly held accountable. They’re also always changing.
I want to have a space online dedicated for my art, sharing the art and stories of my life, and hearing from you, the reader. And the best place to do that is… this blog.
So, in the spirit of sharing in spaces that are NOT social media platforms, I’m going to start updating this blog once a week in January.
I want to start with once a week updates for two reasons: to not overwhelm myself, and because there’s a lot going on outside of the blog. There’s Validation, The Legend of Jamie Roberts, the projects detailed in the other goals for 2019, and now I have a new job outside of the internet. So, once a week updates it is… for the time being.
Still, I want to share art, news, and stories, and I want to hear your stories, as well.
2: Launch the Lazy Diana Podcast
Lazy Diana is a zine I make. As I like to pitch it at conventions, it’s Magic and Paganism for lazy people. Because not all of us in the field can afford going to the top of a specific hill three days before the first quarter moon and stand under a yew tree. RAVEN.
Lazy Diana: The Podcast will be very much about magic and paganism for lazy people. The plan is to have episodes last ten minutes or less, updating twice a week, with each season being about 16 episodes long. There will be a two-week break between seasons, to give me time to write and record new episodes, edit them, and all that jazz.
For 2019, I want to actually make this podcast a reality! The plan is to have a website for it where people can download new episodes or listen to them on the site itself. I may pursue other platforms (like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, etc), but… I’m not entirely sure how those work. More research will be needed there.
3: Launch the LGBT History Podcast/Radio Show
This has been a goal of mine since 2017, when I started Beyond the Rainbow. Beyond the Rainbow is an LGBT advocacy group in my neck of the woods. Because up until Ohio Valley Pride became a thing, there was no LGBT advocacy group in my neck of the woods.
I do still want to make the LGBT History podcast, for two reasons: a) it’s cool to read about LGBT figures in history, and b) the local radio station expressed an interest in airing it on their station. Their FM station. That broadcasts in the Wheeling, WV area. The mostly densely populated area in my neck of the woods.
This project (and Lazy Diana) had been on hold because I needed a half-decent microphone to record at home. Now, thanks to a Christmas present from my little sister, I have one!
The goal with this series is to update it once a week: this is to keep myself from being overloaded, and also because the radio station has only one time slot for this show to air. Episodes would be half an hour long, probably a little shorter to allow for advertising spots. Again, because that’s the length of time the radio station would allow.
4: Launch Indie Comics Hub
Have you noticed that there’s not a ton of indie comics coverage in the comics news hemisphere? It’s mostly Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and the like. The most indie it gets is Image comics and the occasional coverage of a webcomic that’s managed to garner more than 3000 regular readers.
Well, I plan to launch a website dedicated to indie comics.
Not Image comics. No.
I mean webcomics, small press, independent publishers, and the stuff you can only get at zine fests and comicons directly from the creators themselves.
The website will start with comic reviews and interviews. If you’re a regular reader, you may remember two blog post series’ I had running on this site before: Review Day Tuesdays, and Featured Artist Fridays. In fact, I did a Feature recently on a webcomic artist. Indie Comics Hub will be a website dedicated to just that.
(Plus maybe the occasional Top Ten list, and anything else particular to indie comics).
I hope to not only launch this site, but also grow it enough to bring on at least one other contributor. I hope to monetize it enough to actually pay this contributor, as well. But the first achievement to unlock is to make the dang site.
It will NOT be an online store. When I did my research, I discovered that there are roughly 6 billion online stores advertising themselves as “the hub to buy indie comics.” Indie Comics Hub will NOT be one of them.
5: Grow Patreon to $500 a month
This was a goal I had for 2018, but I neglected it. To be honest, I feel like I’ve neglected my Patreon page somewhat. I update it as consistently as I can, but I feel like I can do MORE with it.
So 2019 is the year I polish up the Patreon page and really drive for patron support. If you’re a patron on Patreon, you know I’ve already made a blog post asking for your feedback for what you would like to see more of in 2019. (And if you haven’t given feedback yet, PLEASE DO!)
If you’re not a patron on Patreon yet, why not? If you’re broke, that’s ok, there’s no pressure to pledge. But if you have the funding to pledge and you haven’t yet, I’d like to know why not. Is it Patreon as a system? Or are there rewards that are missing that you haven’t seen me offer yet?
Be honest and let me know. I want to improve my Patreon in 2019 and I cannot do that without your feedback.
6: Workout at the Gym at least once a week
(Insert joke about getting gym memberships and never using them here.)
Here’s where I disagree: I took weight training classes in high school. I was actually a weight lifter, believe it or not. My personal record is having bench-pressed 180 pounds. There was one time I did 210, but 180 was what I could bench consistently without straining myself.
Both of those weights are more than my own personal body weight. And I miss being able to lift and press things that were heavier than myself.
There’s a satisfaction I get in weight lifting that I don’t get in many other forms of exercise. That satisfaction is being able to see the progression and improvement of how much weight I can move. Being able to track that is a big part of why I like weight lifting so much.
The problem is: I can’t afford a gym membership at the moment. So the only way I can go to the gym is when my mom brings me along as a guest to Planet Fitness… whenever she decides to go. Or remembers to invite me.
However, my buddy and former Dungeons and Dragons player, Dana, was on the lookout for somebody who could tag along with her to the gym. She wants to get in shape, but doesn’t know how the equipment works. (Wee lamb didn’t even know what a bench press was).
And I was like, “TAKE ME WITH YOU, GRASSHOPPER.”
So the plan right now is, starting in 2019, I’ll be Dana’s plus-one at the gym. I show her how the equipment works and train her a bit, and I get to exercise. Win-win!
7: Start and Grow an Indoor Garden
Yes, I have a yard, but a) it’s tiny, and b) the enormous pine trees cast most of the place in shade for 90% of the day. The only space with consistent sunshine is the front of the house, and… we don’t have a front yard. We have a front sidewalk.
However, there’s a big freaking window in my living room that lets in a metric ton of sunlight every dang day. So the plan is to build a shelving unit and start growing some plants there.
I like green things, and I like having plants in a space. It’s aesthetically pleasing, cleans the air, and makes a space feel more alive.
Also, to be honest, I want to see if I inherited my late grandfather’s green thumb. He grew vegetables all year long thanks to his massive outdoor garden and the greenhouse porch he had built. He was most proud of his tomato plants – he was even buried with the tallest one that he had ever grown.
I want to see if I can start something like that.
The idea is to start with herbs and succulents – those are often the hardest to kill on accident. Especially basil. Basil is a surprisingly sturdy plant in my experience. I had a basil plant in Phoenix and it was exposed to constant sunlight. That sucker (his name was Nigel) never died. In fact, putting him in the shade was when he seemed sickly.
The other cool thing about growing plants indoors: FOOD. I want to be able to literally eat the fruits of this labor.
So those are my goals for 2019. There’s smaller ones, too, like drawing one sketchbook page a day, and writing one page a day. Those are connected to the larger goals for the year.
There may be a secret Part 3 of this post series. It would highlight my bullet journal and how I’m going to track all of these goals. But I have to get a bullet journal set up for 2019 first.
What are your goals for 2019? Let me know! I’d love to hear about them. Also, we can be accountability buddies – I want you to achieve your goals, too!
