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.