Sailor Mercury: A Sketch

sailor mercury fanart sketch made with brush pen and copic marker

I didn’t grow up watching Sailor Moon – unlike apparently 99% of other Millenials. I knew it existed, but I didn’t watch it regularly.

But when I DID watch it, I watched it for Sailor Mercury.

Mostly I watched for her because Mercury (the planet) rules Virgo, and that happens to be my astrological sign.

But also she’s smart. I REALLY liked smart girls in my cartoons who were also cute as heck. Surprisingly, not many girls on TV at the time were smart AND cute. You were one or the other. But Sailor Mercury dared to be BOTH.

So yeah. I drew her.

She’s available as a hi-res download now, too, on Ko-Fi and Patreon for just $1.

The original sketch will be listed on Storenvy soon.

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

The Toledo Art Walk and How It Went

So on Thursday (July 24), I went to the Toledo Art Walk thanks to an invite from Packo’s at the Park and my friend Chloe. Packo’s wanted some caricature artists to help promote their restaurant and be a part of the Art Walk this month, and I was happy to do so because…

  1. I like to draw,
  2. My friend Chloe is awesome, and
  3. I drew caricatures at Cedar Point for 3 summers and knew what I was doing.

The day of the set up, we got there early and stopped at The Art Supply Depo.

Inside the Art Supply Depo.
Inside the Art Supply Depo.

Another shot of inside the Art Depo. They had artwork from local artists on display as well.
Another shot of inside the Art Depo. They had artwork from local artists on display as well.

The Art Supply Depo is an awesome store situated on South St. Clair street right behind Packo’s in downtown Toledo. They let Chloe borrow an easel for the night to draw caricatures on, and they had just the right markers and board that I needed to draw with.

The nice thing was Packo’s advertised for us in the Art Walk map, so that helped a lot in getting our name out there.

The front of the map. These were available at The Art Supply Depo and other sponsoring shop fronts.
The front of the map. These were available at The Art Supply Depo and other sponsoring shop fronts.

The back of the map.
The back of the map.

Our listing.
Our listing.

Once Chloe and I got everything we needed, we set up our tables by Packo’s.

Chloe's table sat next to me.
Chloe’s table sat next to me.

I didn’t bring any Validation or Johnson & Sir books with me. But I did bring Prologues, IF-X, and a bunch of smaller things like bookmarks and stickers. I also had a book of prints.

Close up on my comics, bookmarks, and stickers. I also had some copies of Mr. Dino and Friends and Ghost to give away for freebies.
I also had some copies of Mr. Dino and Friends and Ghost to give away for freebies.

I had to keep the stickers in the sorter because it got breezy.
I had to keep the stickers in the sorter because it got breezy.

These bookmarks will be listed for sale online soon!
These bookmarks will be listed for sale online soon!

The Book of Prints. There were also a selection of $1 prints in the back.
The Book of Prints. There were also a selection of $1 prints in the back.

Here’s Chloe’s table:

This was before I remembered that my book of prints had a few of her works in it.
This was before I remembered that my book of prints had a few of her works in it.

Close up on her prints, for RWBY, Wreck-It Ralph, and Sailor Moon.
Close up on her prints, for RWBY, Wreck-It Ralph, and Sailor Moon.

Our friend Alex also set up just down the sidewalk from us, selling some of her work. I meant to get pictures but by the time we got done setting up people were approaching us for caricatures left and right.

I managed to catch a few pictures before the customers left!

I loved drawing their hair.
I loved drawing their hair.

Their friends were teasing them the whole time. It was kind of adorable.
Their friends were teasing them the whole time. It was kind of adorable.

While I didn’t sell a whole lot of bookmarks or prints, I did get a lot of tips for working on caricatures, which is awesome!

Once 9 o’clock hit, we finished up drawing our last customers, and then we packed up.

This cart was the best gift I have ever received. Also, I'm a pro at condensing all the things into small packages.
This cart was the best gift I have ever received. Also, I’m a pro at condensing all the things into small packages.

And then Chloe, Alex and I went to The Durty Bird right around the corner for burgers and drinks to celebrate!

Left to right: Me, Chloe, Alex.
Left to right: Me, Chloe, Alex.

GRUMPY CAT FACES.
GRUMPY CAT FACES.

Inside The Durty Bird. Their burgers are delicious.
Inside The Durty Bird. Their burgers are delicious.

Of course I had to send the appropriate thank-you notes to folks, because I had a great time and the event went really well! I’m planning on going again when the next one happens August 28th. Hopefully then I’ll have more books (if people are interested!).

I intend on getting more involved in caricatures and doing them at art festivals and parties. But since comics and caricatures are both separate kinds of art forms, I’m making a separate blog specifically for caricatures.

It’s called “Caricature’d!” and you can find it here.

I’ll be adding more to it over the next couple of days, so keep checking back to it.

Here on this siteĀ I want to keep the conversation about comics, appearances I’ll be making, and the process of making comics (among other comic-related things).

Speaking of which, I’ll be making more of them soon…

Thanks for reading! I’ll see you on Wednesday.