The Future Is Here!

So it has been a while since I last posted in here. Since my random cartoon teaching gigs I've had two friends ask me to teach "the making of comics" to more students. My one friend who is part of the Literature Committee at her high school was going to see if I could speak for an hour about comics as a piece of literature. I've also been asked to teach a few girls from an all girl high school how to draw comics. Both gigs will be in April of next year, but they want to book me in advance before commencing the next semester. I'm pretty excited that I was asked to do these things, even if it doesn't pan out, it's the thought to ask me that counts. Very exciting!

So I had just completed some works for an upcoming event called Futurecon! Futurecon is a cool 3 day party right on New Years put on by constant con goers who wanted to make their own convention. It's based on a sci-fi movement that doesn't seem to be primarily focused on for most conventions (normally when you think of sci-fi you think of aliens) which is Time Travel. It's one of my favorite kinds of Sci-fi being a fan of such movies as "Back to the Future" and "Time Bandits". I was asked to participate in drawing for the very cool event. I made caricatures of Liana K and Ed the Sock (who will be running the event) dressed in gear from different time periods and also as Marty McFly and Doc Brown from "Back to the Future".

These caricatures have been put on a cover for the event's free keepsake program book that doubles as a photo album. Also my line drawing of Ed and Red as Marty and Doc has been put on the official t-shirt for the convention. Sales from the t-shirts will go to help banish epilepsy as well as the money from most of the con. I'm really proud to be a part of this history-in-the-making event. It will be the New Years party of a lifetime! If you would like to go to it, please feel free to register for it on the website here.

That's all for now, I hope everyone's holidays go smoothly and hopefully next year will be just as wonderful, if not more wonderful than this one. For me, it'll have to be pretty darn wonderful, I had a blast this year!

I'M IN THE NEWS!

Even though it's small town news it still counts. I grew up in the country, this is awesome to me! So, this is one of the creative things I was doing a few months ago that I said I'd get back to you about later. The very awesome Liana K from "Ed the Sock" and "This Movie Sucks" asked me to join her in participating in a very cool program at a public school that connects children to their young parents. I was thrilled to be asked and therefore taught a whole bunch of kids about grade 1-3 and their parents how to create their own cartoon character and then their own comic strip. What the article doesn't mention here (because the photographer/writer of the article left before this)is that the school asked us to stay and do another more advanced presentation for about 60 kids from grade 4-6. We had all of their attention and it was so super fun! I made an interesting suggestion that you can turn any shape into a head or body if you just use your imagination. We had kids asking to come up to draw a shape in front of everyone so we could turn it into something cool! Liana who is a huge fan of comics and claimed she wasn't an artist at all was drawing more than I was up there. Everyone wanted to participate! Needless to say, it was a very fun day! Thanks to Adam Hodgins who arranged the whole thing and the awesome school of Brechin for having such a wonderful program. I wish I had something like that when I was their age.

Interview

Well it's been a while since I wrote a blog post...lots of artistic things are going on, but stuff I can't really discuss too much now. Instead I wrote a little interview out about my life and my art/writing career. Enjoy!:

• What is your birthdate?:
March 5th, 1982, yes I’m getting up there in age, I don’t care, grow old gracefully.
• Previous occupations:
For art: graphic designer, caricaturist, art director, storyboard artist, face painter, cartoonist, fashion designer, etc…I’ve also done a lot of random retail jobs to keep this art career afloat.
• Favorite job:
I’ve had a few, but I’ve always enjoyed making my own comics.
• High school and/or college:
Went to school in Banting Memorial High School then went to Georgian College for Fine Arts for 3 years and eventually moved to Toronto.
• Name of your favorite composer or music artist:
I love the band “Cake” ‘cuz they experiment with all kinds of instruments in their band. I enjoy artists who experiment. I’m also into MGMT.
• Favorite movie:
It depends, I have a few favorites…but it changes with my mood…Maybe The Fantastic Mr. Fox most recently.
• Favorite television show:
Freaks and Geeks.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Life is hard, but when drawing, it’s fun.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. If I have time to watch a movie I have time to draw a comic.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Getting to wake up everyday and make a living doing what you love.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Knives.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. I’ve always wanted to go to England to see the history there.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Jim Henson, I love creating new characters, imagine and inspire imagination in others like he did.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. My boyfriend, he is the most amazing boy I’ve ever met, he is so calm and together, successful in his career, and he knows when to be mature and when to have fun.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. “That’s insane!” I’ve been told I say that a lot when talking to people…some people tell insane stories though, in my defense.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Not taking a photography job that was offered to me when I was in high school ‘cuz I was lazy then. Woulda been great on a resume.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I want to learn the drums. Never became musically inclined but I woulda loved to learn something cool.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. I think publishing my very own comic books and my own web comic.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I’m too self conscious and I sometimes blame that on the fact that I’m a girl.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. I have a good imagination which helps me to tell stories and create.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I would love to be some kind of mythical creature. I love mythology, Unicorns, Pegasus, anything horse-like were such powerful animals that inspired imagination
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I think the fact that I’m tall…when people would describe me to someone they often referred to me as “the tall girl”. I change my look too frequently to pin-point a single trait.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Daria
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. The plant in Little Shop of Horrors.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. If I could go back in time I would tell all of King Henry the Eighth’s wives to watch out and never marry him ‘cuz they’re going to die a horrible, horrible death.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. When people ignore their inner nerd and mask it with a phony version of them selves.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing or drawing?
A. Creating new products for people to use or wear.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. To be a shape-shifter…then I could do almost any profession…even if it is just temporarily.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Having an imagination, a sense of humor, and being open-minded
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Rice Krispies…I could make so many things with that.

On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. C.S. Lewis, J.D. Salinger, Daniel Clowes, Mike Carey, Craig Thompson, and Graeme Roland Base.
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Catcher in the Rye, Ghost World, The Unwritten, Blankets, and I know you just said 5, but it’s a short children’s book and so awesome anyways in art and in writing, The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. I just read Blankets but would love to reread it. I’ve reread The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe several times as a kid and have reread Catcher in the Rye.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Keep trying, you will have a magnum opus someday, if you get rejected, don’t let that stop you, Stephen King kept every rejection letter he ever received when he first began, that’s words of encouragement enough I’d say.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That Tom Boy Tara is awesome and I’m not allowed to stop making it…their words, not mine.

Marketing Strategies For The New Comic Artist

People often come up and ask me at conventions, “How do you get your web comic out there?” To be fair I’m not famous…yet, but I have become a little more known with a few marketing strategies I’ve discovered through trial and error. I took Fine Arts Advanced in college and they teach you a little bit about how to market yourself as an artist, which has been helpful, no doubt, but once I got into the real world and realized the competition and how fierce it is I soon had to rely on my creative skills to stand out above the rest. Plus I find a lot of these strategies work well online, which is what you want when you’re a web comic creator.

Business Cards: One of my favorite old fashioned strategies has always been the business card. I’ve tried many printing places and they were all well and good, but at one particular convention I saw one man’s cards that stood out above the rest. He had these tiny cards, about half the size of a regular one, and he had many different images on them. I thought they were adorable and showing off numerous images as if to have a mini portfolio seemed like such a wonderful idea. I quickly asked him where he got them printed. He said, “Online at moo.com.” He then proceeded to tell me how cheap they were to make. I joked with him about possibly working for them and he assured me he wasn’t. I took a card and remembered the easy-to-remember web address when I got home and looked it up. Such a fun site it was too! I made some cards with their wonderful “printfinity” function to showcase a few of my different styles I use. I’ve gone to them several times for mini cards too, because I find they actually arrive quickly and in a cute, little protective box. Whenever I hand them out at conventions I suggest to people to use them as bookmarks for their graphic novels they’ve just purchased. They’re such handy little things. Plus not only can you make business cards but you can make postcards, stickers, greeting cards, etc. Another great thing about moo is if you join their newsletter they will keep you updated on cool events, contests and the best is their marketing strategies. They sure know how to market (it is their job after all) and man, I’ve learned a lot just from reading their newsletter updates!

Edible Business Cards: I find people really seem to like free food at cons, not all mind you, but most. Plus, if the con was anything like last Fan Expo where it was impossible to get food because of the long lineups people will be thankful for it. I had an epiphany one day about the best food that would get messages across to people and I thought, ‘Of course! Fortune cookies!’ I swiftly began searching for sites that provided great deals with Fortune cookies and one place has served me well. Goodfortunecookies.com had the best and coolest deal! The site may look a little sketchy, as well as the box the cookies come in, but believe you me, they make them fresh and delicious, and they’ll get them to you on time! I’m not one to procrastinate so I like to order them way before I need them, and they don’t go stale for about 3 months or so. You can set the date for when you want them delivered by, and you’ll bet they get it to you. Best part, you can write your own fortunes! I like to get huge amounts of them for a fairly good price and I write 17 different fortunes (all having to do with situations that happen in my comic on them) then I put my website underneath the fortune and tell people to go check out my comic from there. Another cute option they have (perfect for the artist with the cool style) is you can put a logo on there for free with a big order. They have different deals going on but I know they can do it, just make sure there’s no writing on the logo because it’s so small few people can read it. Leave the written anything to the fortunes themselves. Now, this business card method doesn’t always work mind you, some people are superstitious when it comes to Fortune Cookies, or have food allergies, that’s where backup cards come in to play, and you can rely on your moo cards in that case.

Be A Walking Billboard: Okay, so I have come up with so many kinds of clothes to wear in the past it’s ridiculous! The old fashioned t-shirt logos work wonderfully, don’t get me wrong, but I also find other types of clothes, the ones that you can’t find at a normal convention also make you stand out. Remember: If you’re doing a different comic, one that has barely been established it’s best to do something different so people will take notice. Sometimes causing a scene works but people see through it and it seems hokey. I like checking out different product ideas I could do that will also showcase my stuff long after the convention is over, so if people want to purchase something online, they have the option to. I once wore a tie with my logo on it and people seemed to love it! You can always shop around to see what sites work best for you, but for now I’m using zazzle.com to make numerous projects, including skateboards, doggy shirts, hats, purses, ties, shoes, stickers, magnets, posters, and so much more! You can do so many cool ideas with it! You can customize your store too if you’d like, just play around with it. Fun to make new and unique products! You can also make shirts on Zazzle, but I like to go to a Canadian site called tshirtmonster.ca where you can change the colour, style, brand, size, gender and if it’s an adult, child or baby shirt to suit your needs. You can also opt for an environmentally friendly organic blend shirt for those who like that sort of thing. The quality of shirts is excellent. I like to wear the shirt randomly out, or to comic related events. If I do a bulk order of shirts I ask friends if they want to wear them at the table with me so not only is the order cheaper and you know they’ll be bought, but your friends can advertise the different styles that suit them made specifically from the site. I also have a few shirts at the table for people to pick up in case they want something now. Getting a size people will want is tough though, but through trial and error I find the bigger the shirts the better, not everyone can fit into a small and some people would rather wear a big shirt than a tight one, you can wear it as a shirt to bum around in at home. Another new product I wanted to do because my site is a bit edgy was make temp tattoos. They’re fun at conventions. They’re a little different than some products too so they stand out and if you go to straytats.com you can make any image into a tattoo and you can re-size it to suit your budget so you can either make one big one for you or a bunch for conventions! I made a bunch of Jack the ferret from my comic; I think he worked out well. Also, there are a lot of people who are crafty and make one-of-a-kind customized products. My friend Valerie Scovill just created some beautiful jewelry for my comic and if they don’t do well at this next convention I go to I’m thinking of putting them for sale on Etsy.com which is fabulous for any kind of unique, handmade trinkets. Also, my moo business cards ended up being wonderful for making jewelery! Valerie realized the cardboard they used to make the business cards were perfect for being suspended in resin. The cards were the perfect thickness and lightweight enough to not be too bulky. The cards at the bottom were used to make pins to put on your clothes!

Social Events: If you have the money for it, go to conventions, trade shows, and any related event that has to do with your audience. If you can afford a table by yourself or can share some with friends please do. If not, fliers or business cards at these events are also a good idea for getting it out there. Unfortunately you can’t be shy here, this is where you must hone in on your social skills or at least appoint a friend who has no fear going up to people who supports your business choice. If you don’t approach people and let them know what you’re doing, word of mouth can’t develop and your creation won’t get out there. Go to as many art shows as possible too. There are lots of free events in the summer time especially that may have people that are interested in the same things as you. Research online. You can also make your own event, with the power of Facebook invite friends to a gathering you made up. Hold it at your house or a public place like a pub, restaurant where you can talk with people. Maybe see if there are any art shows involving comics or even approach restaurants that look like they're artist friendly to see if they'll hand out fliers for you or showcase some of your art to possibly even sell. If you have a book you've published go ask your local comic book store if they accept books from Indy comic artists. See how they do business if they buy your stuff outright or do commissions, a lot of stores do things differently. So if your comic features music in it ask a local music store if they can take some of your books to sell. Try to find local Indy 'zine creators to see if they'd like to showcase your art or comic in their magazine. It helps get your name out and you're checking out the cool community and what they're doing too. People may even give you some of their business advice while you're at it.

Online Marketing: Well if you’re just starting out with a new comic it is hard to get it out there. What I like to do (especially if you’re promoting a web comic) is check out different online forums, maybe ones that are specifically art, comic related or would appeal to your audience, for example, (again I'm using music as an example)if your comic is about music, try to check out some music forums as well. I’ve tried forums like CBR.com the comic book website in the Indy comic section and also craigslist.com to show off what I’ve done. They’re free for the stereotypical starving artist and it’s online so it’ll be easy to access. You’re zeroing in on your target audience too so you’re bound to get some interesting feedback. If not, just remember not everyone will like your comic, especially at the beginning stages, so don’t be so sensitive to harsh criticism, some people don’t know what they’re talking about and just want to insult or some people just want to help so you can heed some of the advice if it seems necessary but remember this will happen a lot if you’re getting your art out there so it’s good to develop a thick skin now, which is something some artists have trouble with I’ve noticed. If you have passion and drive for what you do and feel you have a lot to say I think you should keep going with it. If it’s something you want to make money off of, don’t expect anything right away. I find the people who do it for fun because they enjoy it and they don’t care about the money portion of it have the right idea. Also ask the web comic creators that inspire you if they can help you advertise your stuff on their site. Sometimes they're nice and have been in the same boat as you so they may help you out, if not you tried and if they have forums on their site post on there for others to find or even create some advertising by making banner ads to post on your site or others. Also you can try to get other people to advertise on your site, and join affiliate programs. It may help you earn a little extra income to maintain your site. Adding a button from paypal to your website in case someone wants to donate to you for all your hard work doesn't hurt either.

Other Marketing Techniques: If you do happen to get a table at a convention or trade show I’ve seen different strategies, some work, some don’t. I haven’t tried this yet but I want to either get a large cardboard cut-out of one of my characters or buy a cheap mannequin (maybe at a flea market) I can dress up to look like my character and put a wig on, paint her face and maybe add some of the merch I’m selling, like buttons, jewelry, t-shirts whatever to give an interesting display. So many people have cool ideas at these things. I have also cosplayed as my character before, or if you have friends that like to cosplay maybe you can ask them to dress up as a character from your comic for you. I once did a photo shoot with a bunch of friends of mine so I had a photo album to show at these conventions and during the shoot people were wondering what we were doing so we did a little promoting then. You can do it any time during the year; you just need a little creativity with your promotional methods. Of course Facebook, twitter, blogs and a whole plethora of social network sites are right at your fingertips too so take advantage of the free advertising methods and if you have the time try to look into new ones and see what's gaining the most audiences.

There are lots of different methods that work for different people; again it’s all trial and error as you go. If you don’t mind doing a little shameless self promotion and if you also have friends who support what you do they can help you and you have some of the ingredients to be successful. These are just some tips I have used that have helped and stuff I’ve noticed other people have used. It sounds like a lot of work and some of the tips may cost money if you really want to get into it, but if you display stuff online and keep it simple by directing people to your website where all this stuff is, they’re bound to stumble across it and enjoy it. Most of these ideas are either free strategies or fairly cost effective so have fun marketing!

A Blog About a Blog

So I already enjoyed the idea of the wonderful blog T-Dot Comics before because it's all about the rich comic industry in Toronto and we have a lot of cool and interesting comics here. Let's face it, people come from all over the world just to enroll in Sheridan College which has proved to be a tremendous school for animation and sometimes those honor students get picked to work for Disney...or at least they used to. Not only that but we have countless new schools popping up randomly to teach people how to draw cartoons properly, what with Max the Mutts Animation School as well as Ty Templeton's Comic Book Boot Camp! So not only is the idea behind T-Dot comics a fabulous one but I like it even more now that there has been a video interview of myself posted on there (call me self indulgent, call me what you will, I still think it's pretty cool) along with a number of very cool artists like my friend James Turner who has a link to the side of this blog if you notice. If you'd like to visit the blog please feel free to go there at: http://tdotcomics.ning.com/ but if for some reason that doesn't work you can always check out the side of this blog and click there under the video posted or you will notice a link has also been established for the blog itself.

On a sad note, today is the unfortunate anniversary of my mother's passing. Four years ago today she had ended her 5 year struggle with cancer. Before she got to the point of not speaking because she was on so much pain killer medicine she told all three of her children that she wanted us to do everything that we wanted to do with our lives. That was one of her last spoken wishes. She was a very unselfish woman, one who always encouraged artistic endeavors and creation in any way. She was an amazing artist, as well as a great fashion designer and I always admired how she was always positive no matter what happened during her life. She was my inspiration and the inspiration of all of her children, as my older brother pursued his dream of working in the film industry and my younger brother still plugs away recording for his musically talented friends. She will always be in my heart and I think it is one of the reasons I keep on going with this comic as much as I do, I not only want to fulfill my dream but I want to make my mom proud as well. I'm happy with all that I have accomplished, and must say I never thought I'd get to where I am today if it wasn't for her. Miss you mom!

Fan Expo

Well I attended Fan Expo at long last. Shared a table with the wonderful troop at Nerdgasm Comedy! Joined the Nerd Girl Pinups on occasion too so it was a tremendously busy convention to say the least. Especially since no one seemed to know that there were 3 levels to the con unless they went downstairs to attend a panel. I was located on the 100th floor and it seemed to be the worst location for activity. Which was odd because on Saturday the convention was at maximum capacity so you'd think we'd be working our butts off, but no sir, it was dead then busy, then dead then busy, etc throughout the day. People were so annoyed with the con, in fact, that the attendance for Sunday (at least where I was) was minimal and I refused to travel far from my table assuming a security guard would not let me back to my merch. It's rough advertising for a comic by yourself that few people have heard of, that's why I stayed put unless nature called. I was lucky that the cool people at my table provided me with beverages and food (something I forgot to bring along)so I traded them my fortune cookies I made (or my edible business cards) to thank them for their generosity. The whole con was frustrating and also fun but tiring as well. Lots going on before the con and after the con. I went to the first Annual Questy Awards on Friday night and was going to go to a Nerd Girl Pinups party but became suddenly drained of energy when I was done the con on Saturday, Sunday night I got up enough energy to attend a DVD taping at Nerdgasm comedy. It was a lot of fun! Sunday I also had a video interview with the cool/lovely Alice Quinn of T-dot Comics which is a blog for all your Toronto Comic needs! My video interview shall be posted in a few weeks, will let you know when it is. In the meantime check out their site: http://tdotcomics.ning.com/

There is tons to talk about on this blog and lots of pictures to post, however, I don't have all that much time to do that at the moment. Maybe another day I will post them, until then, keep reading Tom Boy Tara, the recent comic brings up the good question, "What's going on with Tobey right now?" So if you missed Tobey you should check out my latest comic.

TBT Jewelry Has Arrived!

As stated in a previous post I have commissioned a wonderfully talented jewelry artist to create a line of Tom Boy Tara jewelry pieces for the Fan Expo and to hopefully also be sold at the upcoming Canzine Festival. If you like any of these pieces and perhaps want them done differently or something we can make commissioned pieces for you. Here are some pictures of the pieces that were actually crafted for the shows already and there might even be more to come if they do well!
The first picture is of all of the jewelry in a group that Valerie S. has made for me.

The second picture is a closeup shot of the earrings she made. Now you can have your very own Tara gold earring. You can buy either one, the way she wears it or both as a pair.

The third picture is of all the pins you can put on your shirt, bag, suspenders, coat, whatever you want it on and you'll look delightfully 80's as well as unique, as every one is different!

The fourth and fifth pictures are of the necklaces that you can have. Either on a classic chain, or on a circular wire cord for a modern and edgy look,
they're definitely a cool conversation piece.

Every piece is hand made with resin so your piece is sealed from any kind of water damage so the images will last for a long time. All very durable and awesomely edgy, it'll be hard to pick a piece you really want. If you want to know the prices of any of them let me know and I'll try to give you an estimate, whether it's one of the pieces here or one you want to make as a commission.

Gender Bias Still Slightly Lingering

Not to sound like a feminist type here, but sometimes, even still in this day in age, it is very difficult being a woman in any industry. Especially in a creative one. It's fascinating how few people take you seriously if you are sweet to them (of course that goes for men and women, few people respect a nice person. It's a shame, but a painful truth) and you must be forceful and honest to get what you want. I'm not saying you have to be down-right mean to get something, but you have to stand your ground to be looked up to in any way. Tricia Regan is an up and coming film-maker and was interviewed on a cool website called "Create Your Own Flag" which is a fascinating look at people in small businesses making their way to the top, as opposed to interviewing people who have already made it. This is Tricia's interesting perspective on the gender bias in the film industry:

http://www.captureyourflag.com/interview-library/how-to-overcome-gender-bias-in-the-film-industry-tricia-rega.html

Quizzes and Surveys!

Hey guys! Just a quick favor to ask of you! I have made a quiz of Which TBT Character Are You? for fun and also a little quick survey to see the main stats on who I'm marketing the comic to for a media kit I'm trying to do. If you're bored or wouldn't mind filling out a quiz or quick survey for fun that would be super rad of you!

Quiz: http://www.gotoquiz.com/which_tom_boy_tara_character_are_you

Survey: http://www.kwiksurveys.com?s=KBJKFI_d72b9bea

Thanks again dudes and dudettes! You've been most wicked!

Pinups and Comic Panels With Special Msgs Coloured

So I have some new sexy pinups as well as some random panels I coloured in from my newest TBT comics. This pinup I did of Tara is pretty random I know, especially seeing as Tara isn't supposed to be seen as eye-candy in the comic, but she's human, and under all our clothes we are all vulnerable, so I guess I was just showing Tara in a moment of being, on her own, when no one is supposed to be watching. She's still friggin' cool under all of her clothes.

The next few comic panels raise some interesting points. Why are women so mean to each other? Even the ones that don't seem like they should be are. I find it fascinating how most men are pretty chill with other guys, unless threatened (like a girlfriend has been hit on or something to that effect) but most women, for some reason have to prove themselves to a new group. If the girl passes, most of the time she's in for life. Girls can be very possessive and will treat their friends like a precious treasure. I don't know if it's some kind of bitterness they have deep down, or if it's some kind of jealousy thing but women can be so malicious! I think it all boils down to being self conscious. All women, no matter how beautiful, inside and out have at least a hint of insecurities. Let's face it, all women are beautiful in their own way, and a lot of women see others as a threat, until they get to know a girl and realize she's harmless. Sometimes though, even after the judging phase seems to be over, they still have a deep down resentment towards that one chick who just rubs them the wrong way for some reason. I must sound bias though, it really depends on the girl's character to be perfectly honest. Hence why I state "most girls" throughout this blog post. I've just seen this behavior so many times my head hurts. Oh well, thus is life I guess. One girl can't change the way society functions as a whole. So anyways, hope you like the panels I've coloured in for your viewing pleasure! Anyways, enjoy the new comics I've made!

Events and Products

So I'm actively getting ready for upcoming conventions. Not only have I done the regular (business cards, prints, buttons, stickers, t-shirts, etc.) stuff you normally find at conventions but I also have a grand collection of: TBT jewelery, tattoos and edible business cards (fortune cookies I made up myself having to do with situations in my comic). I have never taken Conventions lightly.

The most recent pieces I have been working on are stickers (you will see those at the conventions I plan on attending) and my wonderful "You Dunno Jack Tattoos" that I got specially made just for the convention from a wonderful site called Stray Tats found at: http://www.straytats.com/

A pic of me wearing the delightful new tattoo is featured here:

This could be you sporting an awesome, cartoon ferret, side-kick tattoo on your magnificent pipes!

I also tracked down a wonderful creator of comic jewelery, the lovely Valerie S. has agreed to make me an arrangement of comic necklaces for the convention to distribute! Originally I contacted her because I purchased a wonderful Betty necklace from the Archie Comics (She's my fave character) and asked her to do a commission piece of Jughead for my friend Amy who is a huge Archie Comics fan and she loves Jughead to death! She has agreed to make me a bunch of jewelery of some of my images, necklaces, earrings and buttons will be available for purchase. Here is the commission Jughead necklace she crafted for me for my friend:

Just to keep people in the loop, I may or may not have a table at the upcoming Fan Expo, but that certainly isn't going to stop me from attending the show. I will most definitely be distributing my fortune cookies and may bring a few small items with me for purchase if you feel so inclined to buy some. Also I have purchased a table at the Canzine art show put on by Broken Pencil magazine for Indy Art. Details for the show can be found here at: http://www.brokenpencil.com/canzine/ If I don't end up selling much this year I definitely will at this event. It's cheap to get in too, only $5 at the door and it includes a magazine as well. Well that's my new update on what's going on here. Hope to see some friendly faces at these wonderful events and hope you like what I've got!

Youthful Behaviour

I truly believe in order to appear youthful, you have to think youthful. It is an art, like eating cereal for all three meals of the day, going to bed early and watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Adults can still be kids, as long as the bills are paid, and food is on the table and some responsibility is met. There is nothing wrong with taking an adventure to an amusement park or a zoo without having to have kids in tow. If there are some kids that would like to tag along, by all means, bring your nieces, nephews, whoever wants to come, but even if you’d like to take a day to just play and feel free there is nothing wrong with that. So many adults fear the unknown, why do some mature people act so infantile? It is not that they refuse to grow up, but mainly they realize there is nothing wrong with having fun once in a while, so long as the fun is legal. You can be a giant kid in a sophisticated manner, as long as you realize your responsibility to your job, significant other, your own children (if you have them) and all aspects of life. Playing with toys was accepted when we were kids, why not now? The people who impulsively collect may be more mature than you think, they know there is no rush to grow up because when you’re old you are old and you can’t turn back time, no matter how cool that would be. So for now enjoy the complexity and simplicity of youth, I know I do.

Beginning of July Update

Well not much is going on so far in July, I hurt my leg somehow and was told it might be a blood clot from a random Dr. at a health clinic. I went out of my way to go to get an ultrasound to further investigate in the middle of nowhere and it was nothing...needless to say I'm never going back to that health clinic. Missed a day of work for it and now I feel fine. I'm going to try to make it to the Midnight Release party of the final Scott Pilgrim comic book. I sure hope it's a doozy, it's been built up a lot. I know the movie is based on all 6 books. I have 5 so far (the first two of which are signed by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator) and waiting to see the outcome of Mr. Pilgrim. I like the fact that it's Canadian and has a lot of gaming and music humor thrown in. Waiting with anticipation has inspired me to scope out some of making of video blogs that Edgar Wright documented while on set. I've also made a little cartoon avatar of myself. This is me as a Scott Pilgrim character:


Well, as if that guy needs any more publicity...his books have probably received enough with this new movie. Something that may need a bit of publicity though is the comedy stylings of Andre Arruda who is appearing in a cool comedy show this Wednesday called the "Anti-Giants of Comedy". Andre was awesome enough to request I do a cartoon of him for the flier. So here's the cartoon I drew of him that he enjoyed enough to post on facebook (he'd always wanted to see himself as a cartoon) and here is the finished flier that has the head of host comedian of the nerds, Gavin Stephens:



That's just some of the work I've been doing lately. In addition to some of my latest comics I've been trying to post (hope you've been keeping up with them) I've also drawn a random pinup of Tara I felt was kinda fun and almost retro looking. Love her x-ray specs, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a pair for myself. Hope you enjoy it:


So that pretty much ends the beginning of July's update so far. Hope you like what I've been doing, and maybe I'll see some of you at these upcoming events!

June 2010

So this month has been ok so far. Haven't had much time to do my comics but I've been trying to work over-time when I get home from work trying to do what I can to keep up to date as much as possible for Tom Boy Tara. I've been drawing caricatures for people, and just completed a portrait of Deena for my friend's b-day. I hope she likes it. I'm normally not cheap like that, but she enjoys the character of Deena and also I spent a ton of money when I was down in Niagra Falls for the weekend. It was very unexpected. Beautiful down there, but man does that place financially drain you. There are in fact, no cheap vacations! Well, that being said, I also attended the Fan Appreciation convention this month, in which you have to pay to get in on the Sunday, but you get a $10 voucher that you can spend at the con on any of the vendors. I ended up getting a pretty cool comic belt and a Scott Pilgrim wallet that some dude was making. Tried not to spend too much, but you know how it goes. Love the summer for cons...but my wallet hates it. So I shall now leave you with a portrait I drew, scanned and coloured in Photoshop. The portrait of Deena:

May 2010 Update!

Hello! I've been so busy in the month of May I haven't been able to do a blog post in a while! I've been attending comedy shows, Rock Band nights, and even got a new job! It's been nothing but creativity happening lately...it's a bit over-whelming funnily enough.

The month started out amazing with the help of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! I love that day anyways, I look forward to it all year 'round. This year was somewhat different though, but in a good way (as if FREE COMIC BOOK DAY can get any better!) and I ended up drawing with a bunch of pro comic artists in the industry at Paradise Comics! It was extremely fun and quite the honor! Of course few people had heard of me but I had a lot of friends come out. I drew about 12 drawings in 6 hours...one every half hour I guess while I chatted with the cool artists, cosplayers and many of the comic fans and kids who made it out for the awesome event! It was very exciting! I drew one pic of the Swedish Chef as an inside joke for a friend and everyone wanted me to draw them a Muppet for the rest of the day. I was type-cast but that's fine by me as I love Jim Henson's creations anyways so it was my personal tribute. There were many pix and videos taken of the event with my brand new digital camera I saved up to buy. Thanks to the wonderful people at Paradise Comics who made it all happen! Later on in the evening I attended Nerdgasm Comedy show where I dressed as my version of Hermione from Harry Potter and attended a Rock Band event much later! It was a tiring but fun-filled day for sure!

The next weekend my work sent me and some other fellow employees to a charity auction where I happened to meet Michael "Pinball" Clemens and I had no idea he was going to be there! He was super nice! I've also been extremely busy drawing some pictures for wonderful clients of mine. I just did an image meant to be turned into a tattoo for a fellow nerd girl pinup I met as well as drew some caricatures for a comedian for an upcoming flier for his comedy show. I've done this all while working full time at my new job and trying to keep up with posting my weekly comic.

Oh and who can forget TCAF! I attended TCAF (the Toronto Comic Arts Festival) in which a lot of Indy artists and webcomic creators, etc. came out of the woodwork and I even got to meet the very humble and cool Daniel Clowes! I was so beyond nervous as I am such a fan of his work! His unique art style and inspirational writing has made me want to pursue this industry for quite some time. I am not saying I am like him by any means but I feel he and I have a similarity when it comes to intuitive comic creation...at least from interviews I've read about him and things I've heard. He was very cool, he signed the copy of Wilson I picked up as well as the cover of "Now Magazine" that featured a giant article on him as well as a self-portrait drawn by him. He joked about how he'll sign his self-portrait by giving himself a tattoo on his neck and how he should do that in real life. I was so nervous I blurted out something dumb about me being a wuss and wouldn't have the balls to get a tattoo but that'd be cool. He musta thought I was a huge dork. Either way he took a ghetto flier I was handing out of my comic and said he'd check my stuff out. If he did I'll probably never know, but man, it was still cool that he took the flier anyways...ahhh, I'm such a retarded fan girl!

TCAF had many other cool comic artists there too! I talked to so many cool people and was practically broke by the end of it, buying comics, a t-shirt, a balloon, a Frisbee, socks, etc...so many things, so little time. I was there for only 3 hours but it was a blast! Then I had to go off and paint some kids faces at a party. Which was totally fun too!

So my latest comic #146 has been a cartoon cross-over...which is kinda lame I know but it managed to work out a bit in my comic. I like to draw some inside jokes in my comic sometime...so inside only I seem to be laughing, so I decided to let people in on a little secret as I know not everyone has read my actual published comic books! Sarah (the red-headed girl Tobey seems to be slightly smitten with lately) was the star of my one time only book "Why I Hate Cheerleaders", so I decided to make it known with a little asterisk in the comic. I advertised for the Dork Girl trilogy way more than I did for "Why I Hate Cheerleaders" which is a shame 'cuz I really enjoyed creating that book. Maybe after I made it known that Sarah is Tobey's new love interest all grown up and in college now, people may search it out and pick up a copy or two. If not...it was worth a shot? Anyways, may I say, this has been a very interesting and creative May.

Jade Coloured

So I decided to colour in Lexia's line art of Jade she drew for me at the Wizard World Convention. I had some time and wanted to do some art so it made sense to just have fun with it. I like how it turned out. Now, I made the pillows those colours for a reason just so you know. A friend of mine is doing a project for the H.S.S.E. (Heterosexuals for Same-Sex Equality) and I liked the idea of the organization. I just did my own mini tribute to it by colouring in this picture of Jade and using the pillows to show the colours of the groups logo. More information of the H.S.S.E. can be found here:

www.straightnotnarrow.ca

In case you're interested in further information on it.

Jade

So this is Alexandria Proudfoot's sexy version of Jade. And such a fitting picture to add after posting my newest comic #139. It's a pivotal twist in the comic and may or may not be shocking to some. If you haven't read the comic I suggest you go and read it now before reading forward in this blog post.

I always deep down knew that I was going to make Jade bi. She's a very experimental person to begin with. Plays by her own rules and does not care what society thinks of her. For a long time I was contemplating whether or not I should do this particular comic, seeing as some people may either be pissed off or maybe even happy that I did this. It could go either way. The comic is about gender stereotypes and being who you are, and I think that it was only fitting that I made one of the characters gay or bisexual to show that it's ok to be yourself. Even though Tara's reaction was abrupt and Jade read her all wrong, I'm sure somewhere down the line there will be some kind of reconciliation. Jade is too cool of a character to phase out. This will not be the last you see of her. However be prepared for more drama unfolding soon after. At least now people will get the point of the comic #69. Yes I've known since then that Jade was going to be this way, actually it was a thought I had when I first created her but for a while I wasn't brave enough to follow through with it. I think it was a good idea to allow Tara to trust Jade and then have her spring it on her unexpectedly. Hopefully you won't stop reading the comic after this, it gets interesting later on.

Wizard World Comicon 2010

Well, Wizard World Comicon was a tremendous success! So many cool things happened! It's amazing how just sitting in one spot at a table can accomplish so much. A person brought a ferret by our table so we had to take a picture of my boyfriend Matt wearing a "You Dunno Jack" Shirt. A girl with Tom Boy Tara hair wandered by so we had to take a picture of her, naturally. I met Winston from the Ghost Busters! He hugged me!!! Also signed a Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man piggy bank I own. So cool! I'll explain most of these pix.

This is me at Wizard World on the first day with a random con outfit I decided to wear. Plus my cool utility belt for making change when someone buys my merch.

Me at the table on the 1st day, guarding all my merch.

This is the second day, with me at the table guarding my merchandise.

This was my crew that stayed with me at the tables Saturday and Sunday. Alexandria with the blue/purple hair and Matt with the Cicadas shirt on.

This was my t-shirt I made for Tobey in one of my comic strips and thought it looked cool so I bought it for myself to wear around on Saturday.



This is my friend Tina who is a colourist/cosplayer that attends my comic book Wednesday crew hang out sessions on occasion. She found my dolls and robot pencil sharpener and enjoyed them immensely, as you can see.

I got this cool "Game Over" cuff for fun! I like video games on occasion and it went with my blk and wht ensemble quite well.

I tracked down artist Attila Adorjany and purchased a shirt from him. He does a very cool webcomic Metaphysical Neuroma, definitely check out his stuff!

These are some of my pins and Convention Magnets I made by hand to sell. They're all like unique fridge art. I drew lots of replicas of these babies.

This is me and the comic crew on the 3rd day at the con. We're all pretty tired by this point but we're still havin' fun!

Ok so this guy isn't the real Jack, but we had to take a picture of him. It was just too cool to see a ferret at the convention when I had Jack plastered all over my merch as you can see here.

Yes, it's Tom Boy Tara for realsies! Naw, this girl just had her hair but it was so epic we had to take a photo of her!

I met Xena! I mainly took this pic for my friend Melinda who loves Xena, but man, her costume was really incredible! So much detail! It was superb!

Me gettin' in the middle of a Storm Trooper prom. I just had to disrupt it!


Lexia was doing some cool drawings for me of Jade and has done past awesome drawings for me of Tara, Tobey, Jack and Deena, so on the last day I told her she should make some money off her drawings. She ended up making $30 bucks after drawing two commissions for people and had so much fun doing it she wants to be more prepared for next time and make a ton of prints for the next con. Hopefully we see more of her work soon. I will soon post her Jade drawing in another post.


As if the con wasn't cool enough I met Ernie Hudson, A.K.A. Winston from Ghost Busters and got my piggy bank signed by him! My boyfriend then bought me a Ghost Busters jersey (which I've wanted for a long time) for having such a good con! Seriously best con evar!