Year of the Tiger and Up at the Library- January 30th Recap (Patreon)

Hey Artnerds!

I apologize for the lack of a newsletter last week- I got the Covid 19 booster on Friday, and it hit me harder than the past two vaccines- I was in bed til Monday.  If you haven't gotten your booster yet, don't let this scare you off- there were a couple underlying reasons why it hit me so hard, and hopefully you'll have a much better experience.

Ready for February? 

We're nearing the end of January, I'm definitely ready to move on to February and warmer weather.  We're now in Mardi Gras season here in Louisiana, with Mardi Gras Day on March 1st- kind of a fun bookend, since February starts with the Lunar New Year.  Make sure to check the channel on Tuesday- I have a fun Year of the Tiger tutorial to go with that lineart I shared earlier in the week.

I've been working on 7" Kara Chapter 9 a bit here and there, but as I get back into the comic making groove, I realized now's a great chance to update some of my materials.  Since I use heavy duty metal drafting pencils when penciling thumbnails and roughs, I thought now would be a great time to see if I could find an improvement on my standard, the GraphGear 1000, so I'm waiting on Amazon to deliver new comic supplies and some new drafting pencils to test out.

I'm also working on getting some older stuff that's been sitting on my camera finished up and edited, to make room for a big Chapter 9 vlog- I've written and video'd my process for years, so I don't feel that more tutorials would be helpful, but I did want to share the process in a meaningful way.  I also think this will allow me to share different aspects of creating comics and the process in general in a way that I haven't really dived into outside of the blog. 

February 14th is not just Valentine's Day, but also the second installment of my Volumetric Drawing class at the Paradis branch of the St Charles Parish Library!  If you live in the area, I encourage you to sign up- it's free!  But even if you don't, I'm going to record a tutorial to help me prepare for the class and create a presentation, so I'll have some great stuff to share with yall!

And Feburary marks the end of FANuary and my hiatus from reviews.  I feel like spending January thumbnailing potential fanart pieces- one per day- each with a different vibe and intention, is going to help me with the most challenging part of the comic making process- thumbnailing.  I've always had difficulty visualizing panels and illustrations, and while writing environmental descriptions has always been far easier, committing it to graphite and paper is a struggle.  Fanuary has provided an opportunity to flex those muscles a bit, so I won't be going into Chapter 9 totally out of shape, and I think I've come up with some fun thumbnails that can be fleshed out into full illustrations later.

Back on the Grind

I'm really looking forward to getting back to the Student Grade Showdown- I've got a hoard of interesting student grade palettes that I'm itching to unbox and swatch. I need yall's help though- which palette should mark my triumphant return?  I go through the potentials here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg67kh6qG0A&t=5s  Let me know which one you're the most interested in seeing!

Speaking of art supplies, 

I really want to do the Arties, a potential art supply review feature, but I need more nominations for best, worst, and everything in between!

My own nominations, if you need a place to start: https://www.patreon.com/posts/arties-art-show-60652207

The Ballot: https://www.patreon.com/posts/nominate-your-60277469

I won't do it without yall, so please take a few minutes to check out the nominees and cast your votes!

7" Kara on Display

I was invited to create a comics display at the Destrehan branch of the St Charles Parish Library, and I am so pleased to be able to share my comic making process and supplies with a different audience!  I really love the work I'm able to do through the library, and it's a pleasure to be able to show off my hard work and hopefully inspire other comic artists!

Did you know that if you have an interesting collection to share, you can contact your local library about loaning it to their display case?  

More art classes in Ascension Parish

Speaking of libraries, I'm currently in the process of scheduling more art and drawing classes with the Ascension Parish Library system!  We've got a couple already on the roster, but are negotiating adding more classes!  

I really hope that at some point, I can build up enough of an audience that I can pitch extended multiclass units, like what I used to teach with Community Ed.  While teaching with Community Ed was sometimes stressful, the 6 week classes gave us enough time to really dive into making minicomics together, and I loved celebrating with a zine/minicomic exchange!

Backer Exclusive and Early Access

Early Access!  Year of the Tiger Alcohol Marker Tutorial: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-of-61793358

Year of the Tiger Printable Lineart: https://www.patreon.com/posts/year-of-tiger-61786605

New to the Public:

Tuesday, January 18th: Mila Capsule- Artist Reviews Mechanical Pencils: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOX2aF4GQk8 (mechanical pencils, drawing pencils, stationery)

Saturday, January 22nd: New Super Vision, Paul Rubens, & Daniel Smith Supergranulating Watercolors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb0E3Eys4LM (watercolor, watercolor paints, watercolor review)

Tuesday, January 25th : Uniball Chroma- Artist Reviews Mechanical Pencils: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcROz_1Mvr0 (mechanical pencils, drawing pencils, stationery)

Saturday, January 29th: Lotsa Watercolors- Showing Yall Some Upcoming Stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg67kh6qG0A&t=5s (watercolor, vlog, vote)