A Day in the Life of a Freelancer

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So for everyone out there that wonders just what we freelancers DO all day, I wrote up a little outline about how my own typical schedule goes. Yes, we can work in our PJs* if we really want, but it’s certainly not sitting around stuffing our faces with bonbons. Or, if we do, it’s while we’re doing about 8 different tasks at once. You can eat bonbons or not, I won’t judge. You do you!

*I actually never work in my PJs, despite the temptation. I swear, really! If I do, my work ethic goes right out the window!

My Typical Day!

  • 8:00 AM: Wake up… I know, that’s not very early. It’s a thing I’m working on.
  • 8:15 - 8:45: My workout! I switch off between cardio and strength 6x a week. I usually use Jessica Smith’s programs.
  • 8:45-9:00: Dog walk.
  • 9:00 - 9:30: Shower n’ stuff.
  • 9:30 - 11:00: Breakfast while I BUSINESS FRENZY for about an hour. I go nuts on social media promoting myself and others, plus send/respond to emails, and search for new potential gigs. This is also when I post new content and work on writing any new content that needs writing.
  • 11:00 -  3:00: Job stuff! Actual client work. I also eat lunch at my desk at some point in here.
  • 3:00 - 4:00: Typically a second BUSINESS FRENZY but this time I might lean more heavily on the social media side. It’s when a lot of people are active! This is usually accompanied with tea.
  • 4:00 - 4:30: Walk the dog!
  • 4:30 - 8:00: More Job Stuff!
  • 8:00 - 9:00: Dinner
  • 9:00+: If it’s Crunch Time I’ll get back to Job Stuff. If it’s not, I’ll switch off between reading/watching a program, playing a video game, or working on my own comics/personal projects.
  • 12 AM: Bed time!

And of course there are exceptions to this rule. Making my own schedule as a freelancer is very cool! Things might shift around if I have a doctor’s appointment, business lunch, or some sort of event to attend. On Tuesdays my ballet class rearranges the *entire* day. It also depends on my current workload. If I’m lighter on the client work side of things, I tend to lean more heavily on BUSINESS FRENZY time and do such things as designing new promo materials and catching up on accounting.

If you’re a fellow freelancer, what does YOUR day look like? Share in the comments!

My Very First Comic

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This is my very first comic I ever made at the tender age of 12. And yes, that’s a plushie of the main character that my mother and I made together. Despite it being part of a school assignment, I like to think my 12 year old self was forward-thinking with merchandising opportunities!

My First Comic

My First Comic

I took this photo because my Patrons have unlocked the “Old Embarrassing Comics” Creator Goal, which means I unearthed, scanned, and uploaded 18 year old comics to share. I had a lot of fun revisiting my old (and awful) storytelling and art skills, reviewing why I made certain choices I did, and sharing a lot of fun personal backstory in the post. Literally ANY Patron level can get these, so I couldn’t help but share this! If you want some great giggle material, this might something you’re interested in!

Wacom Companion 2: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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So for the holidays I received the best present an illustrator who frequently travels could ask for: the ability to put together a truly mobile studio! While my old, smaller Wacom Cintiq was technically portable, it was a real pain to tote around since it required so much other equipment. The stuff was heavy. My arms are made from noodles. Once set up, the stuff pretty much took up an ENTIRE table… which doesn’t really work at your local Starbucks. Or anywhere.

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Enter the Companion. Sleek computer + Cintiq all in one… I’ve been frothing at the mouth to own one since they were first announced. So how does it hold up as a portable studio? Did it pass my road test? Let’s take a look.

The Ugly

I like to go backward because I’d rather end on a positive note.

  • The Stand – (photo above) The Companion 2 comes with a stand to hold it up like an easel. This thing patently sucks. It has three “cutouts” that will hold up the Companion at different angles. Except it doesn’t work well. It’s flimsy, and it’s hard to snap the tabs into the holes on the Companion to keep it in place. If I have it at its flattest setting, the Companion won’t snap into the bottom tab, and the thing is constantly sliding forward. I have to keep doing the ChaCha with the darn thing. Draw draw PUSH. Draw draw PUSH.
  • The Battery – I have tested this Companion quite a bit, and the battery just doesn’t last very long. My latest test put it into Full Studio mode: WIFI on, Photoshop chugging along, chat programs running, and music streaming from Google Play. I got approximately (and I’m being generous) 2:30 hours out of the thing before it hit about 10% battery. I didn’t run it to power loss, but… I feel like anyone that works out in public hits a point with their battery where they are afraid to keep it running for fear of it shutting off suddenly… and losing your progress. We all know that those battery estimates are wrong, wrong, wrong. So if you’re on a flight or in a café that gives you A/C access? You’re golden. If not? Well, don’t plan on working very long.
  • The Price – Whoa mama this thing costs a lot. But then again so does anything by Wacom. If you like Wacom products, you already knew about this going in.

The Ba-- Actually let’s call this The Neutral, aka Mild Annoyances

  • Photoshop – Photoshop’s UI is fantastically too small for the Companion’s screen, and the version I have can’t enlarge. I hear the new Photoshop CC has this capability, but that it’s experimental. Sure I could up-res my screen but why would I want to do that? That messes up stuff in other programs. Most applications will adjust their UI a bit so that the buttons are at least not microscopic. Manga Studio does it perfectly, as does Chrome and most games I’ve tried playing on the thing. I get around this issue by just using my Cintiq pen– it gives me way more accuracy, but I still have issues with misclicks sometimes.
  • The Borders – I’ve had a teeny bit of trouble hitting menu items on the very edges of the screen, but it doesn’t mess up my workflow very much. I only notice it sometimes, and that’s mostly toward the top.
  • Touch Control – This issue might have a workaround that I just don’t know about. Basically, I wish there were a way that when the Companion sensed the Cintiq pen on its surface, it would turn OFF the touch function. Why? Because when I draw I rest my hand on the screen, and that can sometimes lead to hilarious results with simultaneous commands.

The Good

  • The Weight – This thing weighs about the same as my normal laptop, so it doesn’t break my back when I tote it around. Specifically, because I don’t have to tote a Cintiq AND a laptop (with 500 cords), it’s quite easy to carry through airports and across town to the coffee shop.
  • The Simplicity – Graduating from Cintiq plus laptop, three cords, two power cords, two power bricks, pen and external HDD to just Cintiq plus cord, pen, and external HDD has been a lifesaver. My footprint on a tabletop has been reduced by about half, and it’s way less time consuming to set up!
  • It’s Slick – The machine has great aesthetics!
  • It’s Fast – Mine is the i5, so while it’s not the most powerful that Wacom had to offer, it gets the job done. If I’m using a very large brush, sure I’ll get a bit of lag. Undoing a big Fill tool command takes a milisecond longer than it does on my desktop computer. It’s almost not noticeable though. In addition, it’s got a solid state HDD so this thing boots up and shuts down like it’s breathing. Poof! So fast, my head is still spinning.
  • Easy to Use – I love that the computer itself works well as a tablet. Windows 8 is made for tablets and is very easy to control with a finger tip. I needed to get a bluetooth keyboard to make typing easier though!

So what’s the verdict? Companion 2, while it has a few things that I’d like a workaround for, is an extremely excellent, easy to move studio. I can get any type of work done (writing, drawing, painting, comics, emailing, social media, spreadsheets) on the go without issue. I’d say my biggest complaint is the battery life, but that just means that I need to get creative about finding A/C outlets in cafés! I’m excited to use this fancy doodad for years to come!

How does it stack up against a Surface Pro or iPad? No idea as I haven’t tested those. I did significant research on those other options before I settled on the Companion 2, and my findings mostly were that all of these items are comparable. They’re all gonna have pros and cons, so it’s just down to your work style and what things annoy you the most!

Whichever you choose, you’ll probably be fine. Happy drawing!

PS. Wacom didn’t sponsor this or give me the Companion 2 for free. (Rats, that would’ve been nice.)

Happy New Year!

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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!

Draw This Again: Howl-o-ween Part 1!

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Before!

Before!

After!

After!

The Zombcorg is one of my more popular prints at conventions and shows– I guess everyone loves a good Undead Stumpers.

I don’t typically go back and rework old pieces of mine. But, because I’m going to be adding more to the corgi series, I wanted to revisit this piece and give it some love. I’ve learned quite a bit and have much better equipment from when the original piece (left) was created in 2012!

  • The original piece was only good for a 4x6 print, but now it’s been embiggened up to an 8x10!
  • Because I have a Cintiq, my line quality is now infinitely better than my Intuos days.
  • I improved on the corgi’s anatomy, having drawn corgis about 800,000 times at this point.
  • I smoothed out and revisited bits of the background in an attempt to improve it while maintaining true to my original intent and brushy rendering.

Topexx Dominions

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Lately I finished working with Space Monkeys Down on their new tabletop card game called Topexx Dominions.“Topexx Dominions is a tactical combat card game where you, as the General of your army, are pitted against other armies in a battle for supremacy.” 

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Sounds like fun, right? There’s steampunk and crystals and all sorts of interesting material in this game. I would assume it’ll take a ton of strategy to play… which sounds hard to me because strategy games are possibly the thing I’m worst at. What, you want me to THINK and PLAN? I spend all that energy on my freelance career, kthxbye.

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The kicker is that the cards are in a hexagon shape, which sort of blew my mind. Planning a composition for a half hexagon (with symbols on top of it) is a particular challenge, especially when you’ve got to create art that can be reused for things like banners and promos.

Check out the rest of the illustrations in the collection below (click to enlarge):