comics

Season 2019 Recap!

This is the fastest way to sum up 2019

This is the fastest way to sum up 2019

Uh, it’s been like 15 months, where have you been?

I forgot I had a blog. Well, not really, but I practically did because of how absolutely off the rails 2019 went. When last we spoke, gentle reader, I was wrapping up Juneicorn in 2018. Then suddenly— ! It was 2019! And then, suddenly— ! It was less than 30 days until THE END OF THE DECADE.

Let that sink in for a moment.

So skipping over the second half of 2018 cuz it was mostly job hunting, training, and freelance work, what exactly went on in 2019 for me? Let’s get caught up. Get a cuppa, this might take a minute.


Fox TV

January started out with wrapping up two longterm freelance projects I had at the end of 2018, Aspen Mascots and some more work for Learning A-Z, but we’ll come back to those. As is the way of the entertainment industry, a sleepy, overcast day where I was deep into Kondo-ing my house got completely flipped on its head with one phone call.

I legitimately misheard the voicemail as “This is (name) from AMERICAN DEBT calling!” and I started to sweat.

I legitimately misheard the voicemail as “This is (name) from AMERICAN DEBT calling!” and I started to sweat.

So next thing I knew, I was walking into the Fox TV studios for my first day of work as a Storyboard Revisionist on the show American Dad. I have done quite a bit of storyboard work for independent animated shorts, commercials & whathaveyou, and even in-studio at Snapchat (which I guess I never mentioned in 2017/2018… whoops) but this was my very first job at a traditional animation studio. It’s been a lovely, wonderful rollercoaster ever since. The crew is amazing, the job has been challenging and fun, and I’ve learned more than all 8 years of art school and 6 years of freelance combined in a short 12 months. Take THAT, Master’s Degree!

Aspen Mascots Graphic Novel

February rolled around, and my next piece of amazing news dropped— Aspen Mascots was going to be released as a trade paperback graphic novel! I could hear 2015 Joie “SCREEing” through timespace when I got to hold this baby in my hot lil’ hand! It even had distribution in bookstores and Targets, not just comic book stores!

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Conventioneers

But then March was like “hold my beer” because all of the things I had committed to do before getting the job at American Dad started to dovetail, much to my stress levels’ chagrin.

First, I had signed up to do a project that would debut at Emerald City Comic Con with my creative partner Jackie Ball, and it was a real doozy— an interactive comic ARG (alternate reality game; in this case, essentially a scavenger hunt) about two plucky child heroes very into cryptids and paranormal mysteries. This project deserves its own post, so I won’t wax poetic about it now, but needless to say it easily required 500+ hours of work (especially folding and stapling), and I pulled more all nighters than the entirety of my art school days combined. Thank goodness for very good friends who volunteered their time to help us pull this together.

The project went off with several hitches (as projects like these do) but we called it a success! We had at least 6 players fully complete the entire game, AND they said they had fun. Win!!

WonderCon & Mare the Merrier

Second, WonderCon was once again coming up, and because of how busy I’d been, I felt a little underprepared. That said, I still managed to get together a printed release of my one-shot comic The Mare the Merrier! My pretty ponybois were ready to prance their way onto my convention table and spread the joy of their colorful (literally) story to the masses.

You can read more about this bad-boi right here!

You can read more about this bad-boi right here!

Cons are, if you didn’t know, physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. They have razor thin profit margins, require a ton of planning, prep work, packing, research, creation of merchandise, hauling, set up, and then 12+ hour days standing at a booth for 3 or more days in a row attempting to sell your wares, all the while eating unhealthy food, drinking absolutely too much, and not getting enough sleep. If you’ve done this even once, you know that to con is to pretty much need to die afterward— and I’d done two of these back to back. And then had to go right back to work on Monday.

SCBWI

THIRD, because March couldn’t have just gotten to this level of “out of control.” No, no, it needed to really twist the knife in my sleeping schedule— I had an article for the SCBWI Kite Tales blog that I’d been asked to write 6 months prior that was due. Had I done it in the 6 month lead up I had? Of COURSE not! I like procrastinating as much as the next artist and BOY did I pay for it. That said, somehow I still managed to both write and illustrate the sucker, and I’m proud of it. You can check it out here!

I also had a great trip to Sacramento for the SCBWI North/Central California Spring Spirit Mini Conference in May. It was just a one day conference, but it was jam packed with great keynote speakers and breakout panels. I was also thrilled to meet a few fellow artists who knew me from my Juneicorns (hi, if any of you are reading!) Which brings me to…

Juneicorn

June. Time for another installment of Juneicorn! I was raring to go, ready for another 30 entries in my series and… if you’re an astute reader you’ll have caught on to having just about burnt myself out so far this year. I ended up with 6. That said, I was focusing more on quality over quantity this year, and I think I delivered. My 6 humorous horses were, I think, much more detailed and better written than the year previous! Maybe in 2020 I can bust out all 30 at this level.

Famous last words.

Absolutely none of the 2019 Juneicorns were cheesey jokes. Well ok, except for this one.

Absolutely none of the 2019 Juneicorns were cheesey jokes. Well ok, except for this one.

Hawaii District 2

Continuing in the pattern of “Everything slams together in one month, why oh WHY can’t things be more evenly spaced throughout the year: a memoir by Joie Foster,” I had a work trip to Hawaii in June. Fox TV is a union studio, so that meant that I was able to join The Animation Guild (Local 839), and got to help serve my union by being a delegate to the IATSE District II convention in Honolulu.

Yes, I mean, twist my arm it was in Hawaii, but honestly it was two days of real work to build our union’s image, meet and form connections with other fellow IATSE locals, get updated on important legislation, and other tasks.

Zinefest

ALSO in June was TAG’s Zinefest, which was the last convention for me for the year (and forseeable future, if I’m honest). Thankfully, this one was a way smaller (one room), shorter (4 hours) show that didn’t leave me ready to collapse at the end. It was actually an excellent way to network with fellow Guild members and comics creators, and I had a blast!

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Learning A to Z

Lastly in June, my previously mentioned work from January was finally released and I could show it in my portfolio! I worked with Learning A to Z on their ELL Grammar Packs, which focus on teaching verbs. I had some pretty complicated illustrations to compose that were jam-packed with “verb-y” details!

Otis College of Art and Design

Things finally started to calm down after June, and my summer was mostly me trying to get my adult life in order. When you’re this busy, things start to fall by the wayside! Remember the Kondo-ing I’d mentioned in January? Well that hadn’t been finished, so I was back to it.

OH BUT WAIT. There’s a moment to breathe? I could start to bring my shoulders down from around my ears? Nonsense, I’ll have NONE of that.

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Once again, everything got turned on its head in August with just one email from Otis College of Art and Design asking if I’d teach their storyboard class. I was hired a hot 24 hours before class began... so there I was the first day of class, having screamed through LA traffic from Fox to Otis, blinking at a room of 20 students all eager to learn… and I didn’t even have a syllabus.

Anyway, it all came together in the end, and my semester teaching thus far has been both challenging and delightful. I swear my students have taught me more about life than I’ve taught them about storyboards, but I digress. The school liked me enough to ask me to teach this coming Spring semester too, so I guess I haven’t sucked too much!

LASIK

During my hiatus (a normal part of television production schedules where there’s a gap of work in between seasons), I also finally fulfilled a lifetime dream of mine: being able to see into the 4th dimension! And by that I mean getting LASIK to correct my absolutely awful eyesight.

Now I can see through walls!

Now I can see through walls!

Getting surgery on one’s eyes is scary enough, but when your eyeballs are 100% pivotal to the career you’ve built your entire life and identity around… phew. “Scary” is the understatement of the decade (which is almost over so let’s not top that, please?)

But I’m so glad I did it— being able to see better than I ever did with contacts or glasses is one of the best gifts I’ve been able to experience in life thus far. On our annual drive up to Oregon, I was shocked and awed at the gorgeous scenery that I could actually SEE for the first time! Like, in HD detail!!!

Background Design and Site Update

And finally, we’re almost caught up to real time! To help tide me over during my hiatus, I got to do some freelance background design for American Dad. I’ve done quite a lot of backgrounds for animated shorts (and in general with my illustrations and comics work) so it was really fun to do it for a television show! Look for them in the last two episodes of next season!

My corgilicious contribution to the TAG Post-It Note Show on Friday, December 6th in Burbank!

My corgilicious contribution to the TAG Post-It Note Show on Friday, December 6th in Burbank!

I’ve also had a chance to finally give my website a bit of a facelift. Inspired by a Post-It piece I did for the Animation Guild’s Post-It Note show, I added a new logo, restructured my pages, and updated just about every part of the site (which you will likely notice just by reading this blog post).

So when I tell people that 2019 was the craziest whirlwind year I’ve ever lived, hopefully you can see that I am not speaking in hyperbole. I can’t even sum things up in a conclusion, so instead have this excellent photo of my Studio Assistant being the Crimmas Tree Gremlin to wrap things up.

"Hoomans solve my riddlez three to get treatz from Crimmas tree"

"Hoomans solve my riddlez three
to get treatz from Crimmas tree"

So I hope you enjoyed this recap (how many cups of tea did it take you to get through the whole thing?), and that you have a lovely end of your decade.

Did I finish my Kondoing? No. Guess that’s gonna be a two year project now…

Happy 2020, everyone!

New Book: Aspen Mascots Halloween ComicFest 2018!

Aspen's 2018 Halloween ComicFest Aspen Mascots cover, art by yours truly, inked by Gabe Carrasco, and colored by Justice!

Aspen's 2018 Halloween ComicFest Aspen Mascots cover, art by yours truly, inked by Gabe Carrasco, and colored by Justice!

Exciting news-- this year's Halloween ComicFest titles have officially been announced, and this year, Aspen will be presenting Aspen Mascots as theirs! I did the cover for it, which was revealed yesterday-- and it's the first cover I've done since Everstar back in 2014. I'm so excited about how it turned out. 

The inside will be coloring-book style as usual, and it'll feature my pages from Aspen Mascots as well as games and puzzles! It'll be available FOR FREE at a participating comic book store near you this October.

A complete listing of all the HCF titles, including the HCF Commemorative T-Shirt by Eisner Award-winning creator Eric Powell, can be found in the July issue of Diamond Comic Distributors’ PREVIEWS catalog, on sale at all local comic shops on June 27th, 2018.
— HalloweenComicFest.com

Check out my posts about previous years' Halloween ComicFests with Aspen!

In Comic Stores Near You - Aspen Mascots

Today I've got some really exciting news... well, news that I probably should've shared two months ago but NEVERTHELESS...

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I've been working with Aspen Comics since late last year on an all-ages title called Mascots! The story is written by Vince Hernandez, penciled and inked by Joie Foster (ME, in case somehow you're lost and don't know whose blog you're on...), colored by Justice, lettered by Micah Myers, and edited by Gabe Carrasco.

What's it about??

This sums is up rather nicely!

This sums is up rather nicely!

A milipede villain (villipede?) named Wormier must rescue his worm-y village by any means necessary, and builds a time machine to achieve his goals! And of course because it's time travel, nothing works the way he wants it to and he goes off on a zany adventure through time with his gryphon buddy, Griff. Yes, a gryphon named Griff. It's a thing. A ton of the mascots, creatures, and other critters from popular Aspen titles are involved, so be ready to get your cute-and-hilarious on!

Featuring a sense of humor that is very in tune with my own...

Featuring a sense of humor that is very in tune with my own...

How do I buy the thing??

At your local comic book store in the back of any Aspen title that comes out this year! And... uh... turns out Chapter One came out in February, Chapter two in March, and Chapter Three this month... so I'm a bit late to the game in telling y'all about this. Whoops!

At least that means you can binge read it?

At least that means you can binge read it?

Luckily, most comic stores have issues from the last several months so if you go, you can probably still find the books that my story is in. Also, here's a handy-dandy list to make your shopping trip easier:

  • Chapter 1 can be found in: Charismagic (vol 3) #1, Shrugged 3 #1

  • Chapter 2 is in: Charismagic (vol 3) #2, Shrugged 3 #2, Jirni (vol 3) #1

  • Chapter 3 is in: Charismagic (vol 3) #3, Portal Bound #1

And for those of you who are visual:

A gratuitous shot of my comp copies to make life easier for you... including Portal Bound which you should DEFINITELY check out since my buddy Gabe is a writer on it!

A gratuitous shot of my comp copies to make life easier for you... including Portal Bound which you should DEFINITELY check out since my buddy Gabe is a writer on it!

Buy and then read all the things, and then tell me what you think. Be gentle, us artists are delicate beings.

Chapter 4 comes out soon, so make sure you're ready for it! (Oh... uh. Speaking of, I'M not ready for it, so I better get back to the drawing table like NOW...)

Typical artist.

Typical artist.

Halloween ComicFest 2017!

Wow, I've been a little absent these last few weeks, haven't I? I have tons of blog posts planned, but have found myself a little, um... busy. I recently started a new in-studio job (the art test I had to do for it was referenced in my work-cation post, details to come later).

So, in the meantime... Halloween has come and gone, and with it-- Halloween ComicFest! I'm super excited because that means not only do I have comp copies in my grubby little hands, but I can also share my pages with you! So without further ado, here they are!

The Cover! By Simone Di Meo-- and perfection, b/c there's a Stranger Things 2 ad on the back!

The Cover! By Simone Di Meo-- and perfection, b/c there's a Stranger Things 2 ad on the back!

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Two of the pages in action, with letters!

Two of the pages in action, with letters!

How to Make an Ashcan Comic

Are you a comic artist? Wanting to sell the artwork you create is a pretty natural step, especially if you're signed up to do an Artist Alley at a convention. But how to get your work out there? One fun DIY approach is to create what's known as an ashcan comic!

This guide is by no means exhaustive, but I'm covering the basics and have links for further information at the bottom!

Guilty Horse, an ashcan I created out of a personal challenge to draw an entire comic in ballpoint pen only.

Guilty Horse, an ashcan I created out of a personal challenge to draw an entire comic in ballpoint pen only.

What's an Ashcan?

According to Wikipedia, the roots of ashcan comics lie in creating quick prints used solely for copyrights that weren't intended for distribution (eg, "goes straight to the incinerator"). Also known as "zines," nowadays they are essentially mini comics, typically measuring 8.5" x 5.5". This is the most useful for doing small print runs, creating a collectible, or especially when an artist doesn't have a ton of printing money.

While I have seen them come in several different sizes, professionally printed, or even full color, traditionally they are black and white and stapled (lovingly) by hand. Their subject matter can vary wildly, up to and including non-comic ashcans with more illustrative or abstract approaches. I've even seen small prose books done this way! Illustrators, this applies to you too-- this method can also be used to create an artist sketchbook.

A fine example of an ashcan, Precipice, by Mom Comics! Check out the rest of her amazing work here!

Basically you can do whatever you want. Don't let anyone tell you how to live your life! I WON'T BE A PART OF YOUR SYSTE--. Ahem. Back to the topic at hand. 

Prep Work: Getting Your Comic Printed

When you're done drawing, scanning, and otherwise creating your artwork, you've got to prep the files for printing. A nice perk of an ashcan is that you can print four pages per US standard 8.5" x 11" paper sheet. This means two comic pages per side, printed on both sides. The less actual pieces of paper you have to print on, the lower your costs! If you have a nice enough printer and paper at home, you can print your book right from your desk... but if that isn't possible for one reason or another, local printers (or places like Staples or Kinkos) tend to only charge around $0.10 per side of B&W printing.

Laying the book out can be the toughest part to get right, since you have to think in terms of a folded book and how those pages stack together. To print Guilty Horse, this is how I laid out my pages:

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So the first two pages "12 & 1 and 2 & 11" are printed on the same sheet of paper flipped on the "short edge." This means that when the printer is finished printing page "12 & 1," it flips the paper over on the short side and prints "2 & 11" on the back. That makes sure that both pages are facing the same way, and that it'll all make sense when stacked together. This entire print job is only four pieces of paper!

Down ' n Dirty Printing Quick Guide:

-Make sure your files are at least 300 DPI, or your linework will be all fuzzy!
-Keep important parts of artwork and text away from the edges of your pages or they might get cut off on accident. A general rule of thumb is to leave at least 1/4" gutters all around (and in the middle where you'll be stapling, too!), and have your text even further in, just in case.

See you on the "flip side." Haha, printing jokes.

See you on the "flip side." Haha, printing jokes.

If you have the budget, one fun thing I like to do is get my cover printed separately on colored cardstock. Preferably neon, so it stands out! It also gives the ashcan a higher quality and durability.

I asked the FedEx dude for "the most retina burning cardstock they had."

I asked the FedEx dude for "the most retina burning cardstock they had."

Assembling the Comic

Now that you're all printed up, hopefully your pages make sense when stacked in order. When I want to make sure I've done it right, I pinch it gently in the middle and thumb through it to make sure.

Gently bend the pages in half to "score" the edges-- basically you're marking where you'll put your permanent fold later on. If you want a neater line, or if you have a ton of pages, you can also do a light indent with an x-acto blade.

Slightly scored papers gives you a good target for where to aim your staples!

Slightly scored papers gives you a good target for where to aim your staples!

You're gonna need a longarm stapler to get all the way to the center of the pages without bending them. If you don't have one, a friend (or your local library) might have one you can borrow. If you think you'll be doing a lot of these, I bought mine for $20 on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, if you buy the thing, I get a kickback. Yay!) Two staples ought to do ya!

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Now we'll make your final fold-- use a flat edge to get it nice and crisp. I'm using a paddle used in applying screen tones, (another affiliate link!) but you could also use a butter knife or ruler. I just like the beveled edges of the tone paddle, as it won't put hard marks on the paper edges.

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If you have lots of pages, you may notice that the edges of your papers begin to jut out. Not to fear though, this is fixable. You can use an X-acto to trim the extra paper off, and it'll boost the craftsmanship and quality of your book. Aren't you glad you didn't put your artwork too close to the edge, now?

Hooray, you've made your book! Now you just have to repeat the folding, stapling, and cutting about 50 more times to stock up. I recommend putting on your favorite music or podcast to help pass the time (cuz uh... this will take awhile...)

So that's that! With a bit of trial and error, soon your artist alley table will have an entire library of your comics. If you have made an ashcan, please feel free to show it to me in the comments below! I'd love to see it.

Additional Resources

More in depth information on creating your own ashcan: http://www.artofdawn.com/blog/how-to-make-an-ashcan-comic/

A guide to printing comics that I can't recommend enough (not an affiliate link)! https://ironcircus.com/shop/ebooks/72-let-s-print-a-comic-pdf-ebook.html

WonderCon 2017

WonderCon was a smashing success yet again! This is seriously my favorite show of the whole year: the fans are great, the staff is helpful, and not least at all because I don't have to travel for it!

Testing a display option

Testing a display option

I of course had Corgi #3 available, and came very close to selling out! I'm also happy to report that I sold out of all of my copies of the MANthology. I also had a few new pins, and finally launched a few food art-related items. Wine-o-clock, naturally, sold the best.

I also finally caved and found a new way to organize my pins. This reduces the headache of digging to find whatever pin a customer is requesting off the display board!

When we first arrived, we were disappointed to discover that we were jammed directly behind a giant pillar. This made traffic around our booth extremely tight and difficult to navigate, and it impact our sales in a huge way. Luckily the WonderCon staff was helpful, and they allowed us to move to another vacant table that faced an aisle.

The fanbase that turned out to support Corgi #3 was extremely heartwarming. The amount of times I was scolded for not having the new issue last year was practically uncountable. Point taken, I will make sure Corgi #4 is on time for WonderCon next year!

Corgi #3 Cover Reveal

Guardian Corgi has got some real trouble on her paws– she’s in over her head with a feathery fiend! With her normal companion out of action and a mysterious feline hampering her progress, it looks like she’s gonna need to recruit some help to save the world this time!

Let's see that cover finally, shall we?

AND I'm super stoked about what’s arrived in the mail today! I am over the moon to share the newest installment of my comic with y’all!

These vibrant beauties will debut at WonderCon 2017 in Anaheim, CA March 31-April 2 at table B-35! Following previous tradition, the first 50 copies will be signed and numbered! For those of you who can’t make it to Anaheim, there will be online opt…

These vibrant beauties will debut at WonderCon 2017 in Anaheim, CA March 31-April 2 at table B-35! Following previous tradition, the first 50 copies will be signed and numbered! For those of you who can’t make it to Anaheim, there will be online options for ordering it.

Check out more info on the comic here!

 

Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi 3!

You guys I am so excited because this installation of Guardian Corgi has been SO long in coming! It’s been worth the wait though, as behind the scenes I’ve leveled up in my storytelling, art, and coloring skills. *tiny yay*

Guardian Corgi 3 is going to release March 31st at Wondercon 2017 in Anaheim, California… I’ve always had a tradition of releasing new issues of the series at WonderCon, and this time is no different. I’ll also be doing the same “first 50 issues are individually numbered and signed” like I have in years past as well.

I can’t wait to share the next Corgi story with you, and I hope to see you at WonderCon!

… and don’t worry, if you can’t make it to WonderCon, I’m planning on reopening my web store so you can purchase copies online. :)

New Comic: The Mare the Merrier

And then outta left field– a preview of my new comic set to release in March in the Ladybugs' MANthology!

“In a world of pastel ponies, only the girls are ever allowed to get their hooves dirty. When the boys decide to canter right into the face of danger, they find themselves in a pretty pickle. Can Twinklebit and his herd save *themselves*?”

Check out the rest of the comic here!