Category: KickStarter

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The Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook On KickStarter NOW UNTIL NOV 18

My new art book, The Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook, is on KickStarter now – until November 18!

WHAT IS STARS OF FANTASYVILLE: A SKETCHBOOK?

Let’s answer your question with another question: do you know about Inktober?

Inktober is the artists’ challenge to draw in ink every day in October. It’s an art challenge I have done every year since 2017. And when I do, I often collect the Inktober sketches of that year and gather them into a new book!

In the past, I’ve drawn Witches, Gods & Spirits, Dragons, and even a webcomic called PuzzleSpell.

For Inktober this year, I drew the characters that feature in my comics, roleplaying games, novels, and other stories! Every sketch is drawn with Copic markers, Zebra brush pens, and Strathmore paper, and adjusted for printing in Clip Studio Paint. I have gathered all the sketches from Inktober this year and put them into Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook.

And now, you can pre-order a copy of your own!

What I’m Asking For

To make this book happen, I’m asking for $700 by November 18. As of this post, we’ve raised $485, and we have 8 days left.

What will that money be used for? Well, I broke it down in this pie chart I drew:

processing fees - $62. printer set-up fee - $35. Print 100 copies - $247. Shipping books to me - $35. Shipping books to customers - $150. ISBN and Barcode - $150.

Why do I want to print 100 copies?

Ok. I mentioned this in my post about Aistear Con 3, but I’ll state it here, as well: books are my best category when I go to conventions. So to prepare for conventions next year, I would LOVE it if I had as many copies as possible in my inventory. Nothing sucks worse than getting ready for a show and realizing, “Oh dang, I forgot to re-order books and now I only have 2 copies of this title left.”

What Can You Get for Backing This Campaign?

I kept the rewards list simple: digital and physical copies of The Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook, and PDF copies of all the Inktober sketchbooks of years past.

Because here’s the secret: I have a LOT of add-ons you can include with your rewards!

Add-on options include (but are not limited to)…

The PDF of PuzzleSpell the webcomic, copies of my other books, commissions, keychains, pins, and subscriptions!

If you’re able, back this KickStarter BEFORE NOVEMBER 18, yo.

back this campaign!

If you’re broke, share this post! Every share helps.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Roxie, the Comics, Now Available for Pre-Order on Ko-Fi

She’s bold. She’s brassy. She’s one-of-a-kind. She’s ROXIE!

The roller derby girl from Validation has starred in her own adventures before. Now, this new book collects all of them in one place!

In this book, all 30 original-run comic strips will be reprinted in full color (with retouched artwork as needed). Plus bonus content like character art and original scripts… and a preface by CB, the creator of Validation who has a WHOLE bunch of credits to her name!

Here are some specs about the book:

  • This book measures 5.5 inches tall and 8.5 inches wide.
  • Printed in full color.
  • Saddle-stapled.
  • Roughly 25 pages.

You might have some questions for me. Let’s address them here.

“Why aren’t you running this on Kickstarter?”

I actually wrote a lengthy blog post about my disagreement with one of Kickstarter’s most recent decisions. On the one hand, I COULD run a campaign on the platform while still posting that their decision is a bad one. (After all, other creators have posted similar sentiments right on their campaign’s front pages. Pressure like this HAS gotten KickStarter to change their minds on other issues in the past.)

Or, I can use ko-fi as a platform and run a book pre-order. I LOVE ko-fi, ever since I switched to the platform a couple of years ago. Ko-fi has only gotten better and more robust since I joined. I believe in it and I want it to succeed! To that end, I want to run this pre-order on ko-fi to test out some features that Kickstarter may not have. (Also, keeping track of add-ons is WAY easier to do on Ko-Fi!)

“Do I need to read Validation before reading this comic?”

I like to think it’s a perk, not a requirement. You can totes read this as a standalone story.

“Who wrote and drew this book?”

I did! I get the confusion, though – Validation was written by CB and drawn by me. Roxie is set in the same universe. But CB let me have free reign to write and draw this story.

“Your book is $10?”

Because it’s free shipping for US backers! Shipping costs are already factored into the price. (Sorry, UK and Canada, but shipping is a little extra for you to cover the difference.)

“I FOR SURE want the book! What else can I get?”

You have options!

  • You can get just the book for $10.
  • OR, you can get the book and a Roxie sticker for $15 (free shipping again for US backers).
  • OR, you can get the book, the Roxie sticker, AND a Macho Mujeres keychain for $20 (once again, free shipping for US backers).

You can also browse the rest of my ko-fi shop for any cool add-ons you would like to add! I’ll ship them all together for you. I also have a commission section, though I think that needs to be rung up as a separate transaction.

“What if I want a PDF?”

That will have to be a separate store listing. Sorry, but ko-fi is specific about individual item listings in their shop feature. Also, the PDF is, like, 80% done for printer purposes. Formatting it for digital sales is a different process.

“Oh, this is a pre-order! When will my order arrive?”

After May 1, but before June 15. I’m leaving a few weeks’ buffers just in case something happens at my comic book printers’ HQ.

“Why should I support you?”

Do you mean, OTHER than the fact that I have 10 other successful crowdfunding campaigns under my belt? Because I’m a genderqueer comic artist who REALLY loves making comics and sharing them with the world! I’ve been at it non-stop since 2013.

Also, I’ll just throw this out there: by purchasing this pre-order, you become a sidekick on my ko-fi! That means that, no matter what you pledge, you get access to ko-fi supporter-only content. Things like exclusive webcomics, podcasts, and other goodies.

“Great! How long are you accepting pre-orders?”

UNTIL APRIL 30 at 11:59 pm EST. After that, the listing will switch to “Draft.” That way, I can fulfill orders without fear of last-minute purchases that would throw off my numbers.

Can you support this book? Marvelous! Are you broke? Share this! Use tinyurl.com/roxie-book to share with your peeps.

Thank you so much for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

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52 HOURS Left (and Counting) for Kay the Valkyrie…

Kay the Valkyrie hit its funding goal in the first hour that it launched! Now, there are only 52 hours left to get your print.

If we get to 10 backers, everyone who backs the campaign will get a FREE bundle of quarter-sized pins included in their rewards.

Should we get to 15 backers, then everyone will get free pins AND a free bookmark.

Book Bundles and Sticker Bundles are STILL available as add-ons! Plus, there’s the option to include commissions in your rewards. So if you would like me to draw something custom (especially as a gift), then get that add-on.

Want to see what other add-ons are available? I talk about them in this archived live stream. Go check that out, yo.

Got the means? Back the campaign!

Broke? Share the link! It’s tinyurl.com/ks-valkyrie. Every share helps.

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Live Stream TODAY at 2 pm EDT

Today at 2 pm EDT, I’m live streaming on YouTube! We’re gonna’ chat about Kay the Valkyrie and their new wall print on KickStarter right now.

Who is Kay? Why a wall print? How do you even run a 7-day KickStarter campaign? What are the add-ons? That’s what we’re talking about today in the stream.

I’ll also be joined by my comics buddy Ben Wright-Heuman! He’ll help field questions you have in the live chat.

Can’t make it? The stream will be archived on YouTube shortly after it goes live.

This live stream is to promote Kay the Valkyrie on KickStarter…which has ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT on KickStarter! If you have the means, go pledge to get your print and extra rewards.

That’s all for now. Thank you for tuning in!

You. Are. Awesome.

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A One-Week KickStarter Campaign?

I think the last time I ran a one-week-long KickStarter campaign, I ran one for funding Validation’s Final Push. Before that, I did a one-week campaign for Validation’s buttons. I kept those short because the asking goals were kept small. And that’s why I’m doing another one-week-long campaign.

If you missed my previous blog post, here’s the TL;DR: I want to get a new print in the world.

There are two things I’m doing WILDLY different this time.

  1. I’m offering only two main rewards for backers. But…
  2. I’m offering a variety of add-ons so backers can customize their orders!

I’m keeping the asking goal small because I don’t need much to make this happen. Just what I need to make back the cost of supplies. All the rewards for this campaign are things I have available right now. That, or they’re things I can make at home. So fulfillment will be really easy!

This KickStarter campaign SHOULD be ready to launch by Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The campaign is still being reviewed. As soon as it’s ready, I’m announcing the launch to my email newsletter peeps first.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more updates.

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.