So I've been trying to apply to actual artistic jobs online and I stumbled across a job at Webkins the stuffed toy made for online and offline play. I went to the website and they're all really cute and cuddly looking. I noticed they didn't have any ferret animals...perhaps it's because some people (especially moms) don't seem to like ferrets, they can be a little smelly...but they have a toy skunk. Perhaps they just never thought of it before or came up with that concept yet. So I thought, what would happen if I turned Jack the Ferret into a stuffed animal? What would he look like? I think he'd look a little something like this:



Pretty cute huh? Maybe he will be a stuffed toy someday. *Sigh*

An A-Sexual Comic

So I suppose the core reason I probably made Tom Boy Tara is because I never really liked all the girly cartoons and all that stuff as a kid. I think My Little Ponies was cute but found it barf-o-rific when I saw little girls kissing them on the commercials, there was no way I'd be kissing my toys. I didn't see much of a need for playing with dolls as a youth either and changing their diapers, cuz I never really thought I'd have or want kids as I got older...still kinda feel that way too, which is odd. I hated Barbi with a passion and I suppose Deena is partially my inner hatred towards her. Though I don't despise Deena. I think she's essential in my comic, I actually think she's very sweet natured though a tad naive to her surroundings, but it's her obliviousness that makes her work in the comic. I guess it gives Tobey and Tara something to bond over when they're all, "Can you believe her?"

Tobey I think is my inner nerdy self, though he's extremely likable and cool. I had a friend make a passing comment that he's the kind of boy you deep down wish had a secret crush on you, which to me is true. Tobey is more vulnerable than Tara and Tara is the tough-as-nails type of girl that never likes to show a boy she's close to that she likes them. She'd rather go about her day not thinking of the opposite gender and doing her thing and because she's so hellbent on not making romance the main focus of her life (like some girls do) she often doesn't realize the guy she truly likes actually may even like her back. Such a confusing life tomboys lead.

But yes to circle a thought back around from where I originally intended it to go, Tara is the kind of character I always wanted to watch on TV or even read about in comics. She's smart, has a personality, thinks like an individual and doesn't follow a certain way women should be, she does things on her own terms. Doesn't focus on love but sees nothing wrong with dating, she just feels like everything has it's time and purpose when it comes along. She adapts to change very well and is very mature even though sometimes her artistic look may make her appear immature. She has many dimensions to her, not just a pretty face though she is attractive she just knows that there's more to girls than sex appeal. She doesn't try to be manly but just prefers things perceived as manly by society, it's just what she likes and she's not afraid to show what she likes or who she is.

I wanted to make an a-sexual comic, and although I know many people think this is a "girly" comic because the main character is a female, I think it has enough male jokes in it and observations on the two genders to make both sexes enjoy it equally. Just because a girl writes and draws it doesn't mean I don't have outside inspiration that causes me to write and draw the things I do. I think when you are considered a "tomboy" in people's eyes it gives you the perception of two different types of lives. You live the life of a girl and know how they feel because you are one, and understand what they go through. Although you still have a deep understanding of men in the sense that you hung out with a lot as a kid and/or even now and maybe even played sports with them or played in the mud and didn't care about looking pretty all the time. It definitely gives you an interesting perception on life and social scenarios, that's for sure!

Hey guys! I've posted a few pix that were randomly taken of me at the Toronto Comicon I went to on Sunday. A couple are of me holdin' up Neozoic which is a really awesome comic coloured by my good friend Jessie Lam who has a site @ http://axl99.net her stuff is wicked and check out her animation "Last Stop"! She's an amazing animator! I also posted a pic of me talkin' to a cool artist by the name of Attila Adorjany who has a site at www.600poundgorilla.com so go check that out. Anyways, here's me at the con, just a few pix but whatev:

Toronto Comicon-Fan Appreciation

Well I only unfortunately attended the last day of the Toronto Comicon today and it got a little hectic with people in there at one point. It was fun, I meant to go there and hand out a bunch of fliers but I didn't nearly hand out as many as I should have. I met a lot of cool artists and got a lot of cool free stuff and wicked deals while I was there. Not too shabby. Fun fun. Got a Lionel Hutz action figure for $1. "Who cares?" You say..the selling point is it came with a cute little smoking monkey. Ha ha ha! Too adorable...well, the sad truth is the monkey wasn't really smoking (probably cuz kids may buy the toys and it's kinda promoting cigarettes and such) but it was too cute to pass up none the less. I also got a 25 cent drawing from a little girl selling pictures to pay off a munny doll she bought herself. She actually wasn't selling much stuff surprisingly. I dunno why, it was only a quarter and 'sides gotta support the young artists. Anyways I bought a Pikachu sketch from her. I also got some free sketches too from a few people and bought a t-shirt with the Flash symbol on it for my boyfriend...cuz well...he really wanted one and wouldn't shut up 'bout wanting one every time we watch the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon sports a similar shirt. I also didn't get him much for his b-day that just went by so this was something nice for him. Hell, if he didn't want the shirt I woulda taken it. I was originally trying to buy something for myself but felt a big ol' bunch of selfless comin' on so I went with it. I think over-all the con was pretty fun, can't wait to attend the next one honestly. Hopefully I won't have too long to wait, this is only the beginning of the nice weather, which means more cons are a comin'.

My Zazzle Pannel


make custom gifts at Zazzle

Check out my gallery at:
http://www.zazzle.com/pishposh555*

Website Info!

So it's finally here! I have my webcomic up and running! Yay! No longer a blog comic, but I still will update on here quite frequently...maybe no more art will be posted but you can always check that stuff out at: http://www.tomboytara.com and this blog is still featured there, it's a vicious cycle. Ideas and news about my comic and I'm sure comicon info when my upcoming conventions will be, pix and how it went will be posted, etc. So don't fret, just 'cuz I have a website doesn't mean I'll ditch my blog. It's kept me sane during this whole making a webcomic ordeal, and I'm sure it will remain as my technological therapist.

New Cover Possibility for First 100 Comic Strips!

So I entered a drawing contest recently on Facebook in the group "Facebook Comic Convention" in which you have to draw a character from The Watchmen. I drew a pin-up of the original Silk Specter and I had so much fun doing it I couldn't stop drawing pin-ups, which gave me a great idea while I was brain-storming art this morning for my comic. I'm going to publish 100 of my first comic strips plus extra art and such and I decided to do a fun pin-up style cover that sorta lets the reader in on what's going on in the strip but not really. The thing I love about it is it totally oozes sex-appeal. I dunno about you but I'd snag it off the shelf to have a good read, but that's my humble opinion...ha!

QUIZ!

I made up a fun little quiz for my cartoon characters. Check and see which character you are.
Which Tom Boy Tara Character Are You?

This is a fun piece I wanted to do for a while and ended up playing around with it this morning. Looking down on the cast of Tom Boy Tara with Tobey holding Jack way up high. I like the circle frame, it sorta looks like they're on a record or in a crazy little bubble or something. Perfect picture for a pin!

Joe Gallagher (my roommate and part owner of the real live Jack the Ferret) asked me to draw this commission of Jack as a slinky going down the stairs inspired by my picture I did for Jessica Carr. He wanted it coloured in too and is buying a frame for the finished product.

This commission is for Karolina Cwiek who donated a portion to my website fund. She wanted the cast in black and white but I went the extra distance and coloured it in for fun. It's an interesting cast picture. She specified to have her fave character Jack front and center.

This is a black and white piece I drew specifically for Jessica Carr who donated a large portion to my website fund. Thanks for your support! Jessica's commission and others I do will be featured on the website.

Donations for Tom Boy Tara Website

Ok, so I don't have a large amount of money at the moment so in order to get my website up and running on the internet I need to spend money to make money unfortunately. So, I came up with a fun little way to make money to get my website out there.

A donation of 5 dollars or more will get you an original hand drawn picture by me for you to put on your wall or do whatever you like with. Not only is this excellent practice for me, but you get an original picture (that may be worth more than $5 some day…who knows) and a scanned copy of your picture will be featured in my portfolio section of my website. So here's the deal:

A donation of $5 will get you a black and white drawing of your favorite character in Tom Boy Tara: Tara, Tobey, Deena, Jade, Eddie, Charlie or Jack.

A donation of $7 will get you 2 characters of your choice in blk and wht.

A donation of $10 will get you the whole cast in blk and wht.

If you want colour of these it may be a couple of dollars more than their original price.

A donation of $15 will get you a caricature of yourself in blk and wht but a picture of yourself must be provided as well.

A donation of $20 will get you a full colour caricature and again you must provide a picture.

If you're ordering a piece online and I need to mail the piece to you I may need a little extra cash before I give you the original piece. Shipping and handling costs. If you want to work out something you can send me your information to emilyrags@hotmail.com and we'll discuss things from there. Please include your full name, phone # and/or e-mail, address (if needed), the amount you wish to donate, and what you would like done for your piece. I'm also creating a part of my site with special thanks to those who have donated. Your name will go there as a tribute to your support. Thanks all who choose to participate!