Well you guys...we did it! The Kickstarter was funded sometime in the morning hours of 7:30-8:00 am on Saturday. I honestly didn't think we would make it. There were times I was sure we would, and then those feelings would melt away as numbers stagnated. Then, suddenly, a few more backers would jump aboard and it would start over again. I'm grateful, super grateful, but Kickstarter is a stressful beast to parry with and it's definitely made me re-think how to use the platform in the future. Maybe I can dive into my thoughts on that in another newsletter later on. I think the more traditional thing to do at the moment is to simply celebrate the win. Which means I'm going to be able to make a couple of big print runs of both The After Death Book One and Two and, for those of you who backed the project, get some new books into your hands along with whatever else: commissions, bookmarks, magnets, whatever. Yeah! It's happening! I've said it via Kickstarter, I've said it on my socials, and I'll say it again as I feel it will never be enough: to those of you that Kickstarted the book, thank you! To everyone else, hey I'm also happy you're right here and a part of the newsletter community. People show support in many different ways, if it's not monetarily through a Kickstarter or Patreon, it can be just sharing my comic with a friend, or showing up and reading every time I put something new out. It can be stopping by my booth at a show, or dropping me an email or message saying hey. It all adds up and support doesn't just mean monetization. If you're reading this newsletter, it means you've trusted me with your email address and are interested in what I'm up to. That means a lot as well. Thanks to all of you. I'm super glad you're here. Okay, that's my acceptance speech in a nutshell. Howsabout we talk about some art! |
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The final little installment of my series on The Art World. I think I had intended this to be a longer series of comics but I don't think I really have much else to say from that time of my life. I was happy to have had some artwork show in local shows and even had a painting in a pretty reputable gallery in Fort Worth. I attended the opening receptions. I drank the wine and ate the cheese and crackers, but that's just not the life for me. I still visit galleries, but not as often. It's like the varnish of wanting to be a "serious artist" has worn off and nowadays I only get myself to an art gallery or artist reception if I'm really into the artist. Anyway, this will be the final part of 'The Art World' and in the next comics I'll return to my usual shenanigans. |
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The back cover illustration for Book One is the same illustration I used for the front cover of a small teaser comic I made of The After Death to give people a taste of what the comic was. For Book Two, I wanted to illustrated some original art that I would make specifically for the book. I landed on another scene from the abandoned Six Flags Theme Park they visit in the story. I just can't get enough of this creepy scene and thought it would be fitting for the back cover. Most of the second half of Book Two takes place during Christmas and I didn't really want a Christmas scene on the back cover giving the impression that it was a Christmas book. The last half just takes place during Christmas more than it's a "Christmas story" type vibe. Below is the final illustration for the back cover and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I also purposefully left any characters out of the scene, opting instead just to let the scene speak for itself. Credit goes to @abandonedneworleans' instagram feed for being my go-to reference for scenes like this one. |
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A few newsletters ago I shared some artwork I created for Rhea's movie club-Camp Hag Hole. The intention was to get them made into merit badges, or patches, to give to everyone who watched all the movies in her club. We got the patches in a week ago and are thrilled with how they turned out! Below is the artwork versus the actual patches. |
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Props to Patchy Bastard, a local creator we used to make the patches for us. Find him on Instagram here. He can make anything, and will ship anywhere. Hit him up for any patch ideas. |
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You may not have noticed, but I've been going through a few profile illustrations on my Patreon page. Really, I was just looking for something that represented me a little better than a photo. Finally I sat myself down and drew out a self-portrait that felt more in line with what I had in my head. I really like my autobio comic logo and wanted to do something along those lines. This is what I came up with: |
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There's a New Batman in Town |
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And last but not least... This one is more for the comic nerds out there, but DC comics is doing this whole new thing called "Absolute..." whatever. There's going to be an Absolute Superman title, an Absolute Wonder Woman title, and an Absolute Batman title. The Absolute Batman logo's been getting flack because I guess people hate it? I mean, most people need something to complain about from day to day and recently it's been this Batman design, but I have to say, I'm on board. I'm generally excited about this new Batman series-so much so-I made some quick fan art of him while at work this past week. |
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What's Making Me Happy This Week |
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Karen Cheng is a creative person who has made a couple of videos all about the artist v. algorithm elephant in the room. Her videos are super creative and cool to watch, but she quickly breaks down the problem with the algorithm and also puts forth ways she's dealing with it (for her, she's moving to Patreon). But, she's also created a concise helpful guide she'll share with you if you comment "guide" in her comment section of her 2nd video. I did, and got the guide to alternatives to Instagram in my Google Docs immediately. Anyway, give her videos a watch, check out her Instagram, check out her Patreon and get the guide if you're curious about ways to fight against the algorithm and lets take the internet back.
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That's it for this doozy of a newsletter. It feels good to finally share a newsletter with some meat on its bones, y'know? As always, thank you for reading and if your reading this newsletter and aren't subscribed, consider doing so over on my website. It's free and this way we can stay connected week to week. And until next week, take it easy. ~b |
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If you enjoy this newsletter and want to help support it and my artwork consider hitting one of those buttons below. They're all free to peruse but becoming a member on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber are the best ways to help me pay some bills. If you don't want a long term commitment, consider checking out my Etsy shop. Or, lastly, follow me over on Instagram. Thanks for reading! |
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