An Open Letter to the American People

Dear Reader,

I’m writing this open letter to unfurl some things that have been on my mind for the last week. I hope you find something in this that resonates with you and helps to keep you going.

First, things are going to get better. This will sound unbelievable, especially in this new and uncertain time where Nazis are coming out of the ash pile, Betsy DeVos is destined to ruin public education, and Trump is calling any judge who opposes his Muslim ban, essentially, an unpatriotic American. But things will get better. In some ways, things are already better. Continue reading “An Open Letter to the American People”

How I Grew Into Punk

kelcid self portrait punk portrait sketch

It started all the way back in high school.

Stick with me a second.

Throughout middle school I mostly listened to metal, so it wasn’t until high school that I began to branch out from that genre into others. High school, for instance, gave me a healthy appreciation of hip hop and alternative rock.

In high school the punk I heard was largely pop punk and whatever was popular at Hot Topic at the time – which was YellowCard, Blink 182, and Coheed & Cambria when I came on the scene.

However, I DID like the visual aesthetic of punk. One of my classmates, let’s call him Pete, was a hard core punk and drew album art for bands. Really grotesque stuff, like fat pimpled babies with extra limbs. That made me more aware of art outside of Disney and manga, that’s for sure.

I was intrigued. Eventually I hitched a ride to the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition with one of the friends of Pete on a trip to Columbus (our work was in the first round of judging). Well he misread the directions and we ended up in Short North, the artsy district of the city. And there, we stopped at a magnificent record store, called (I shit you not) Magnolia Thunderpussy. Continue reading “How I Grew Into Punk”

An Open Letter to My New Tablet

tablet

Dear Tablet,

When I went to upgrade my phone the other day, I saw you sitting on the shelf, covered in fingerprints and possibly biohazardous germs. Initially, I was unsure if I wanted to own you or anything like you.

Sure, a lot of people I knew had one like you. From what I saw, though, tablets like you did the same function as my phone, only larger and more cumbersome.

How wrong I was to judge you.

I decided to get you, at first, to have something to show off my art at conventions: you had a larger screen than my phone, but were more compact and easier to wield than my laptop. Plus, you didn’t sound like a jet engine in take-off or overheat so much you could bake my knees off.

But then I got some apps on you…

And then I started writing my comic scripts on you….

And then I discovered you were the perfect device to read digital comics on. Comixology, webcomics, it didn’t matter! Your high resolution screen and fast internet connection meant I could read as many of my beloved comics as I wanted.

You have done wonders for my reading and writing time. And I look forward to spending more time with you, you lovely slab of technological wizardry.

Sincerely,
Kelci

Thank you for putting up with my open letter. As a reward, here’s a warm-up sketch I made recently.

claire the zombie hunter lady

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.