So 2015 was quite an interesting year for me. There were fantastic ups and some truly awful downs. I had some money woes, drama, health issues, and intense career frustrations… but I’d rather not dwell on the negative when I had so many positives, too!
This was my second year as a full time freelancer, and I managed to significantly expand my client base. I did another album cover, worked on two different card games, a miniatures games, and a classic tabletop RPG. I painted backgrounds for an animated short with a long distance studio, and that was fun! I also got my first licensing deal (it’s jewelry… and it comes out next year! Squee!)
In education, I spent most of the year enrolled in Chris Oatley’s OALive class, now known as the Storyteller Summit. I learned quite a lot about storytelling and writing in general which led an amazing chance to pitch in writing a movie script, too! I made a lot of awesome friends in OALive, including the amazing comics group, Team Space Bear!
I revamped my website, and launched an entirely new comics-centric one, which was exciting because I’ve always wanted a place to focus on my cartoon work. It also helped me solidify my online branding.
Comics-wise, I published Guardian Corgi #2, and have two more comics in progress currently (one’s a 22 page one shot, and the other is a longer format). I finally got my first comic onto Comixology, which means I can now sell comics from three different platforms! I also have a brand new webcomic, Clucked, that I work on with Joel. It’s gonna launch in about 2 weeks!
I was a guest at the Norwegian comics convention Stribefeber, which was AMAZING! I absolutely LOVE that country, and really hope I can return again in this year.
I also became part of the amazing community that is The Comic Bug. It’s fantastically supportive and full of fun people. The Los Angeles Womens Comic Creator League is also now a group I’m a part of, and I contributed to their anthology that comes out this year.
Rounding things out, I’ve started adding more Pro notches to my belt– I’ve started doing colorist jobs for BOOM! Studios, and my first job was coloring an OGN that comes out in a few months!
I’ve got some solid goals figured out to shoot for this year both for leveling up my art skills, and expanding my business. Plus, I’ve lined up some conventions I’m REALLY excited about, including a of Pro Table at Emerald City Comic Con! My main goal is to create tons of comics! I am SO ready!!
In my personal life I got to go on some fun adventures including going to Mexico, spent a good amount of time enjoying Oregon (including Portland), had my bestie Prentice visit me in LA, and got my mom out to the West Coast. I also saw Weird Al and Tim Minchin in concert, and I finally got to the Getty!
Oh and I turned 30, I guess.
I made new friends, and had insanely good times with my current ones. I moved across LA, and in with Joel. It’s been a real wild ride.
So here’s to 2016! Happy New Year! I’m excited to see what adventures it holds! May your new year be amazing!