A Little Progress on the Comic- Patreon Newsletter August 14th (Patreon)

Hey Artnerds!

What's new in your neck of the woods?

When it comes to what's going on with me, I always feel kinda weird writing about personal things.  Partially because often it's more about the people in my life than about me, and I respect their privacy, but also because I'm never sure how much people care, particularly when it's bad news or an extended issue.  Like, I don't want to wear yall out with bad news- yall are here for art and comics and art supplies!  Since this is ongoing and has taken up much of my time, I'll give you guys a brief overview.

My mom had a mass in her lungs, and recently her biopsy results came in.  It's a fairly rare type of cancer typically treated with surgery, but she may not be a good candidate for surgery and may need radiation instead.  Although her arm is fine and she doesn't need a cast or surgery for that, the osteo doctor keeps making follow-up appointments as well.  I'm currently spending a lot of time at the hospital (most of it waiting, as Oschner seems to run about an hour late for everything) or driving back and forth between the East and West Banks of the Mississippi River.  Mom's surgery is tentatively scheduled for September, but all this driving and hospital waiting leaves me with very little time to make art, comics, or review art supplies.

I try to play catch up on housework and artwork when I can, but it can be challenging to juggle both.  To give yall an idea, today I wanted to focus on two things:

Housework and editing video.

This is where editing on my phone is actually nice.  I swept and screened audio.  I did dishes and rendered video. I took a break and spent an hour doing voice-over.  I steam-mopped and screened.   When I had free time between chores, I worked on today's Patreon Newsletter. If I were chained to a computer or even a laptop for editing, I would've had to forego it entirely today- I'm too behind on keeping the house up to ignore it much longer.  I'm sure a lot of yall can relate, and at least I've gain a new appreciation for all of yall who are juggling kids, housework, and making art.  Yall are seriously superheroes.

If this weren't ongoing and didn't look like it'd be going on for a long time, I probably wouldn't mention it.  But since it affects how much I can get done for Patreon, I thought yall deserved to know.

What I've Been Working On:

Comic Pages:

Two more watercolor comic pages down for Chapter 9!  I'm reaching the midpoint.  It's been a struggle to find enough time to make it worth my while to get painting, but I try to keep moving everything along, even if it's just a little bit at a time.

Mairtini Review

This is recorded and half edited?  I still need to add in the snippets of other reviews, do the voice over, and screen  it before rendering, but I'm hoping to have it out to yall this week.

Faber Vs Faber:

I'm screening this video as I type this!  I hope to have it rendering tonight, and out to yall this week.  This is a long one- 1h 45 min, and I compare the Faber-Castell Creative Studio watercolor palette to a Faber-Castell palette from AliExpress!

You as a Lilliputian:

I know some of yall backed the 7" Kara Kickstarter, so I wanted to give yall a gentle reminder to please fill out the You as a Lilliputian form, because I'm REALLY looking forward to drawing yall!  If you think you are in this tier and you haven't heard from me, please email me!  I used the emails provided during the Kickstarter, but I know it's been awhile.

Once I have fulfilled this tier, I'm going to start offering You as a Lilliputian commissions in the Natto-shop.

Christmas Card Designs and Prepping for Fall shows:

With my mom's ongoing health up in the air, it's challenging to make plans for the future.  I'm hesitant to make commitments because it seems like every time I book a show, her doctors want to schedule her for something vital that weekend.  Way to mess with a comic artist's head, eh? Her health is the priority, but try telling that to Louisiana, where all events are either in March or Fall.

That said, I do have three shows on the books for South East Louisiana, if you're around!

Terrebonne Comic Con -September 16th and 17th- This is a library comic con- and yall know I do well at those!  I'm really looking forward to this, and they even asked me to give a talk about character design!  Sadly, my mom's lung surgery is set for earlier that week, so I'm crossing my fingers that they can find her an earlier surgery date and that all goes well.

The Peculiar Market- October 14th- A one-day show in Harahan, which is about 30 minutes away (if I catch traffic).  I'm looking to find my adult anime fan demographic since I've left anime cons, and this one seems quite promising.  Also, one of the founders likes The Borrowers, so I'm going to take that as a good sign.

Destrehan Fall Fest- November 11th & 12th- My third year!  Last year showed a nice little uptick in sales, and having worked the Cherry Blossom Festival in Nashville for years, I know sometimes it takes awhile to grow a local audience.  A friend is getting married that Saturday night, so Joseph and I have some juggling to do, but hopefully my energy levels hold up (Joseph is tireless, he always seems to have energy to spare)

I placed a restock order for some of my more popular art prints, and am going to place an order for new designs!  I also want to work on some Christmas cards that are Louisiana themed or Lilliputian-themed.

Early Access:

Great Things in Small Spaces: Reviewing 12 Free & Cheap Drawing Apps & A Frunsie Tablet Review: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-in-87468858

There's only one early access video from last week, but it's a great one that took three weeks to create!  I hope yall will check it out! 

New to the Public:

Tuesday, August 8th: Not What I Expected: Kuretake Gansai Tambi Art Nouveau Review + Bookmark & Etegami Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfnNgRKDKI

Sunday, AUgust 13th: Revisiting My Goth Phase- Boku Undo Shadow Mei a& Kuretake Graphite Gansai Watercolors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acWikqlHSGo