Tag: comic artist blog

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Getting Ready to Move

AT LAST! My roommate and I found a new apartment! We are signing the lease in the next week and a half. So, in the meantime, I’m getting ready to move.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

For one thing, this means a new, re-designed studio space. I’m clearing out the supplies I don’t use, and getting ready for new stuff. Like a new office chair (because Mister Moony the kitten has torn the crap out of my old one, which wasn’t in the best of shape to begin with).

This also means more creative time! The new apartment is closer to the office where I work, so less commuting time = more drawing time!

Unfortunately, this move also means that a lot of schedules are going to get disrupted until things settle down. So…

HERE’S MAY’S UPDATED SCHEDULE

New Punk Signal updates on the Tiny Dinos Discord are going on hiatus until June 6.

The Legend of Jamie Roberts will update as usual on Wednesdays. (Behind-the-scenes content for the Clubs will also continue as normal). I will clue you in if this changes.

TikTok will update sporadically, if at all (same as right now). The same is true for Instagram and Tumblr. I am NOT on Twitter anymore because Twitter is broken AF.

Validation on Instagram is going on hiatus until June 5.

Validation on Webtoon is going on hiatus until June 5, as well.

Vanita and the Demon King will update as usual on my email newsletter. (Behind-the-scenes content for the Clubs will also continue as normal). I will clue you in if this changes.

Any blog updates will be saved only for big news, like a convention appearance being booked or needing to extend the hiatus.

Email newsletter updates will continue updating once a week on Fridays, so readers can get the latest from Vanita and the Demon King in their inboxes. Also, Subscribers to my Clubs will continue getting Sunday updates.

YouTube videos are a special case because some are already in the pipeline. One video is going live this Friday, and I hope to get the other one done before May 15. (It’s halfway done already). Don’t expect regularly scheduled updates, though.

I appreciate your patience while I’m moving to a new home. With any luck, I hope to resume things as normal around June 1.

That’s all for now. Thank you very much!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Point of Inspiration – Ganondorf

Point of Inspiration is a new series of posts where I share different sources of inspiration, and what they inspired in my work!

Today, let’s talk about Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda.

ganondorf tears of the kingdom fan art by kelci d crawford

First of all, his reveal for the Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, has me swooning. (And I’m not the only one.) I’m not shy to admit that I like some cake with a generous helping of BEEF.

Second, this villain is fascinating to me. He’s appeared in maybe half of all the Legend of Zelda games, but his appearance (nearly) every time is like a boogeyman coming out of banishment to antagonize the world at large – not just the main characters of Zelda and Link. It’s like he reappears to not only terrorize people; he also wants to claim a prize he thinks is rightfully his. (Usually the land of Hyrule).

I’m not going to bury the lead here – Ganondorf was a major point of inspiration for the antagonist of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Ragun Ranki.

ragun ranki from the webcomic the legend of jamie roberts

Like Ganondorf, Ranki is a) a redhead, and b) someone banished to another plane of existence for amassing too much power. And after a long time being banished away, he comes back to the world to cause chaos.

Here’s where things diverge a bit. For one thing, Ranki is a lot more…(how should I put this?)…flirtatious.

the legend of jamie roberts comic panel

Don’t get me wrong, fan works exist to give this kind of air to Ganondorf, as well (looking at you, Tale of Two Rulers). But in the canon, Ganondorf isn’t nearly this persuasive and willing to flaunt that.

For another thing, Ranki has a family still alive in the story. We’re getting into spoilers here for the comic, so if you haven’t read The Legend of Jamie Roberts, go do that.

But in short, having Ranki’s relatives still alive in the story is going to complicate his goals. Only time will tell how they will react to each other if they cross paths again.

Of course, other ideas inspired Ragun Ranki (especially Ansem and Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts). But Ganondorf was the launching pad.

Stay tuned for more Points of Inspiration!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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Do I Have Any Upcoming Campaigns?

Yo! I wanted to give you an update. Because you might be wondering, “Kelci! Do you have any upcoming campaigns for KickStarter or Crowdfundr or something?”

Short answer: not yet.

Long answer:

My roommate and I are getting ready to move to a new apartment in May. Fingers crossed that everything works out there!

Because of that, though, I’m not going to do a campaign for any new products until after May 30. I don’t want the stress of running a campaign at the same time that I’m moving to a new home. The exception for a campaign is anything for my Subscriber Clubs.

Speaking of which, I made some spiffy updates to the Clubs, including the addition of desktop and phone wallpapers as rewards. Check out the Subscribe page for more details.

THAT SAID…

The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 2 is slated to wrap up production around the end of July/start of August.

So expect a KickStarter or Crowdfundr campaign for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 2 to happen in August. (Which is also my birthday month!)

SO…YEAH!

If you would like to help with moving costs, I’m available for commissions, my ko-fi shop is open, and I’m accepting new members to Subscribe to any of my (new and revamped) Clubs. Or you can just leave a tip on Ko-Fi.

But if you’re broke, share any and all of my comics, from The Legend of Jamie Roberts to Validation (on Webtoon and Instagram), and even the brand new Vanita and the Demon King! Sharing is caring.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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What’s This? A Queer Nonfiction Book In the Works?

books used as jumping off points for my new nonfiction book's research

Last night, I got struck with an idea.

It came about because Star Prichard announced they’re making How to Webcomic version 2.0, a book they made about how to create and publish webcomics in 2023. (Go back it on KickStarter if this is something you’re interested in.)

The thing is, I had the thought of doing something like this before, but I’m glad that Star is doing the labor for that, not me.

But it got me thinking, “What can I offer that hasn’t been brought up before?”

Because here’s the thing – there are tutorials and how-to books all over the place about how to write stories. Heck, it’s not just How to Webcomic – There are also books about world-building, screenwriting, and the “hero’s journey.” Heck, I started drafting a book about how to write better characters. But I wanted to offer something else.

Then it hit me last night.

I thought, “Has anyone written a book about Queer Storytelling?”

A LOT of how-to books about writing focus on the same story beats and story types, claiming that they’re “universal.” But they’re “universal” to straight men. Stories made for women and LGBTQ+ people have different end goals, different story beats, and different aesthetics.

I thought about my own background in writing, especially in nonfiction. What I wrote in college focused a lot on social deviance (if it wasn’t focused on African Art History). And in our culture, LGBTQ+ people are considered social deviants, because they don’t fit the Straight mold.

That train of thought got me thinking – “A lot of stories exist to prop up OR challenge social expectations. So what do queer stories look like?”

Now I’m inspired to work on this book.

I’m gathering sources already, I have books from the library to start with, and I have an outline written.

This book is NOT going to be immediate. Heck, it will likely not come out for another year. I need to research, gather sources, and take lots of notes, and that’s even BEFORE writing the dang thing. It’s going to be like writing a research paper, but longer.

I’ve done it before, though. It’s been years since I did, but I think I can do it again.

If there are queer stories you would like me to look at (for research purposes, of course), shout them out in the comments, yo.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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It’s the Incredible RathaCon!

This Saturday, April 1 (not a joke), it’s RathaCon!

I’ve been going to this show in Athens, OH dang near every year, and 2023 is no different.

The show runs Saturday only at the Athens Community Center from 10 am to 7 pm.

If you can make it, you should also check out my cool neighbors, like Shawn Langley, Canonwrite Productions, the Columbus Cartoon Coalition, A “Junior” Vigorito, and Chloe L Rose!

WHAT WILL I HAVE?

I’m bringing my usual setup of comics. I’m also bringing…

  • A new (and framed) piece of original art, priced on a sliding scale,
  • Extra copies of The Stars of Fantasyville, my latest sketchbook,
  • misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1,
  • The last of my pins from my (now closed) Pin Club,
  • 2 for $1 stickers,
  • Lots of grab bags,
  • Materials to draw caricatures,
  • And a LOT more!

Any and all profits will help towards my move to a new apartment in May.

After this show, I have no other events lined up until maybe Free Comic Book Day (still figuring out plans for that weekend, to be honest).

HEADS UP: My online shop will be closed during RathaCon weekend. It should reopen sometime on Sunday, April 2. That said, commissions are still open. Any and all commission sales will help towards moving to a new home.

I’m VERY excited about RathaCon! Hope to see you there!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.