Fanart vs Original Art – Which Do You Make?

In today’s video, let’s discuss the age-old question asked anytime we walk into a room where comic artists congregate…”Should I make fanart or original art?”

As mentioned in today’s video, here’s where you can Join the Club!

🎨 Tools Used:

  • Music:
  • “Late Night Radio” Kevin MacLeod
  • “REST ZONE” Louie Zong
  • Video Editing: Olive Video Editor
  • Drawing Program: Clip Studio Paint
  • Microphone: Blue Snowball

👏 THANK YOU TO MY CLUB SUBSCRIBERS! 👏

To get your name added to this list, join the club!

  • magicalgirlkyra
  • All Unka
  • Raiden
  • Ella Q
  • Andrew Balch
  • Adam Vazquez
  • Maya Smith
  • Pat Jade
  • Jessica
  • RPZ
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  • Saphronia Maple
  • Cakes
  • Brandon E
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  • Sean McGavin

And thank YOU for watching!

You. Are. Awesome.

P.S. I’m testing what it looks like to host videos myself rather than through YouTube.

Realizing now that by uploading my own videos, which take up a LOT of space, I need to be purposeful about the videos I *do* make and post.

I’m Going MIA

I’m going to be MIA and away from the keyboard from July 14 to July 20 or 21. Family is going to be visiting.

I WILL, however, be at the Toledo Comic Arts Festival this Saturday!

The event is at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Main Branch in downtown Toledo, from 10 am to 4 or 5 pm. I will also be participating in a quick draw event at 3, competing against other artists to see *who can be the best*!

If you can make it to Toledo Comic Arts Fest, I hope to see you there! If not, I’ll be back online after the 20th.

Webcomics and newsletter updates will continue as normal, though!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

I Made A Comic About Lake Erie and the Toxic Algae Blooms

I made a comic about Lake Erie and the toxic algae blooms! You can read it now, freely, on Crucial Comix and The Revelator.

This is my first nonfiction comic publication, aside from a 3-page explainer for a Columbus, OH zine about the 3 Sisters crop arrangement (that’s coming later). I had not made a science comic like this before, and I’m glad I accepted the challenge!

On Crucial Comix, it’s, “Lake Erie Was Declared Dead. Now We’re Fighting For Its Life.” On The Revelator (a publication of The Center for Biological Diversity), it’s, “In Ohio, Facing A Future Without Clean Water.”

Here’s a sneak peek of it:

part 1 of my lake erie comic.
part 2 of my comic about Lake Erie

To read the rest of the comic, head to Crucial Comix or The Revelator. Links are above the art.

I want to make more comics like this. The scientists who got me in touch with the biologists for this are expressing interest in working with me again on a separate project. We’ll see who likes the pitch and where we can go with it!

During the making of this comic, I learned *way too much* about Lake Erie. So if you have questions, leave them in the comments and let me know.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

We’ve Started Making Pages!

Kai and I are now making pages for An Ignorance of Romance!

Here’s a peek at the thumbnails for the first 4 pages…

thumbnails for comic pages

This is the stage where I read the script, then I lay out what I think the pages will *roughly* look like. Once sketched, I send them to Kai for approval. If approved, I can start actually drawing the pages.

Good news – Kai approved of these thumbnails! So now I can start drawing pages.

Thanks to the funding raised so far, we can cover webhosting and domain registration, and covering costs for the first page or two.

As an FYI – there will be extras in these opening scenes, like castle staff, stable hands, and market folks. So if you (or a friend!) want to be drawn in this comic, there are spot available for you to claim that reward!

You might be asking, “Will this comic be drawn in color?”

Surprise: this comic will be drawn in black and white with tones. This is so we can post two (or more) pages in a week, because black and white pages are faster to produce. There’s a LOT of story here, so we want to post more often!

Got more questions? Ask them in the comments and we’ll get back to you!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

The Membership Drive Have Slowed. Will It Pick Back Up?

Things have really slowed down in the Ko-fi Membership Drive. Will things pick back up?

Here’s what we’ve got so far:

  • We made it to 10 total members on my page! Which means all members will get a Little Caticorn mini-print mailed out to them after Jan 31.
  • At 12 members, all members will get that mini-print PLUS a Caticorns pocket zine mailed to them.
  • That Caticorns zine got drawn live on YouTube! You can catch the replay here.
  • We still need to hit the 12 member threshold for folks to get this zine. Which means we just need two more people to join the club!

So if you have the means, consider joining as a Ko-fi Member on my page!

If you are broke, do not stress about it. Seriously. The two best things you can do to support this drive if you’re broke as heck are:

  • Spread the word to the folks in your life who like comics about genderqueer pirates, caticorns, dragons, and adventure! Use the link ko-fi.com/kelcidcrawford
  • Subscribe to my YouTube channel. My other goal this year is to get to 1,000 subscribers on YouTube before the end of the year. It’s free and you get to see my art process in my livestreams!

That’s all I’ve got for now. Spread the word and get some zines!

Thank you for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.