Lucy Bellwood – Page 31

XOXO Livesketches

This past weekend I had the exceptional pleasure of being hired by Medium to live sketch all the speakers at XOXO, an annual arts and technology festival run by my pals Andy Baio and Andy McMillan here in Portland. I’d heard great things about XOXO in the past, but this was my first opportunity to check it out in person—and BOY HOWDY IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Yes, I felt like my arms were going to fall off after each day’s sketching (20 minutes per speaker, with seven to ten people each day of the conference), but I met so many fascinating folks and got to hear some really wonderful presentations. Here’s a truncated image of all the speaker portraits from Saturday and Sunday (not including the pull quotes from each talk, which you can see over on Medium):

Crazy.

And now it’s time to gear up for Rose City Comic Con this weekend, where I’ve got a new comic making its print debut! Expect a post about that in the next couple days.

I’m also planning to collect some more complex thoughts about what XOXO meant to me once I stop being socially hungover from non-stop connections and late nights over the weekend, but that’s a story for another time. In the meantime, check out the full post on Medium!

Comics

New Comic: Rim to River

Hi everyone! It’s been a minute, huh? As some of you may know, I recently returned from my second whitewater rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. I went as a “voyage cartoonist” with Arizona River Runners, a Flagstaff-based rafting outfit, to document one of their seven-day motorized whitewater trips down the Colorado River.

You can read the whole story here (or pick up a print copy at Rose City Comic Con in a couple weeks), but suffice it to say I had an amazing time—I’m still reeling from the experience. While I was gone I penciled and inked sixteen pages, then colored them all in the week that followed. It felt so good to crank out a completely new piece of material on the heels of Kickstarter madness last month (THANK YOU, by the way, for making that such a colossal success! More news on that soon), and I’m excited to get back to drawing new content in a big way.

(This comic wouldn’t have been possible without the support of all my kind folks on Patreon, so if you’re looking for a way to help make even more art happen, check that out here.)

News

Baggywrinkles Now LIVE on Kickstarter!

The day is finally here, friends! Baggywrinkles: A Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea just launched on Kickstarter and it’s time to get this sucker made. If you’re already on board and you wanna get straight to the business, here’s the page!

Wait, what’s a Baggywrinkle?

A Baggywrinkle is furry, cylindrical device used for preventing chafing between a ship’s sails and the surrounding lines. It’s one of the most distinctive features of a ship’s rigging, made all the more ludicrous by the fact that you spend a LOT of time explaining what it is to visitors—a hard sell when it’s got such a weird name.

But it’s also the namesake of my educational, autobiographical series about the time I’ve spent sailing on 18th-century tall ships!

So, you’re making a book?

THAT’S RIGHT. Baggywrinkles has been running in little micro-installments for five years now. With 90 pages of content under my belt I’ve finally got enough material to bind everything together into a really handsome 6″x9″ softcover collection.

I’m funding this book on Kickstarter because it allows for some really thrilling opportunities to do this collection right. You can check out the campaign page for full details, but the most important thing I want to tell you about is that if we exceed our funding goal of 15k by just $5,000 I’m going to hire Joey Weiser and Michele Chidester to render the entire collection IN COLOR.

I cannot express with words how excited I am about this possibility. LOOK AT THESE LOVELY COLORS! THE BOOK WOULD BE SO AMAZING! I mean, it’s gonna be great either way, but I’m really gunning for color.

So go check out the page and take a look through all the rewards. There’s lots to enjoy—prints, original art, special PDF bundles, and more. And thank you for being such stalwart readers and supporters. You all mean the world to me.

FOR BAGGYWRINKLES. FOR GLORY.

News

T-1 Week to the Baggywrinkles Kickstarter!

Ahoy, friends! I am so, so excited to announce that Baggywrinkles: A Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea will be hitting Kickstarter July 20th.

What is Baggywrinkles, you ask? Why, it’s my educational, autobiographical comic series about living aboard an 18th century tall ship! You can read the first five issues online for free, and check out new content from the series every week on Patreon. I’ve been working on these short stories intermittently since 2010, and I’m finally ready to bring the whole bundle together under one cover.

So next Monday (July 20th) I’m launching a campaign to fund the printing of a 100-page, 6×9″ softcover collection featuring Issues 1-5, the never-before-seen-in-print Issue 6 (all about the history of scurvy), and a host of other exclusive goodies. Take a look at the finished cover design!

I’ve been hard at work with a team of stellar professionals to make this collection something you’ll all be proud to own—we’re talking French Flaps, patterned endpapers, high-quality matte paper stock, and deliciously thick covers.

Tiling-Background — So pattern. Very endpaper. Such nautical.

I’ve also got some really neat extra rewards. Like remember this giant guide to sailors’ tattoos I drew for the Vancouver Maritime Museum?

Well, I’m gonna turn it into a super fancy two-color, limited edition letterpress print in collaboration with the fine folks at Twin Ravens Press in Eugene, OR! And there’s more extra rewards to come.

This post is your official warning to watch this space (or follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Instagram) for the campaign launch next week, and to keep your eyes peeled because I’ve got a very special stretch goal that I’ll be announcing once the book goes live.

I can’t wait to share more with you—stay tuned!

Comics

New Comic: Salt Soap

This is a short piece that I’ve been meaning to draw for a few years now—glad to finally have it finished. You can find it in print in Irene #6 later this year. Enjoy!

[For optimal viewing, click on panel one to read the comic in slideshow mode.]

If you enjoyed the comic and want to see more, why not chip in a couple bucks a month on Patreon? Your support keeps me drawing—thanks!

News

New Panel Recordings: Frisky Fun, Young at Heart, and Best Foot Forward

Hello, friends! Here’s a quick post to let you know I’ve added three new panel recordings from VanCAF 2015 to my collection of educational audio content over on Soundcloud. Read on for all three:

Frisky Fun for All: The World of Adult Comics was just about the most fun I’ve ever had on any panel ever. Me (Boats), Erika Moen (Oh Joy, Sex Toy), Amanda Lafrenais (Love Me Nice), and Adriel Forsyth (Arizona) discussed everything from the representation of diverse body types, non-binary identities, and myriad kinks in illustrated porn, to using adult comics as a platform for sexual education and awareness. I was so honored to participate in this conversation, and I’m really glad we grabbed audio to share it with a wider audience. [Photo credit to Shary Contrary!]

You can also check out…

Young at Heart: Comics for All Ages, with me, Doug Savage (Savage Chickens), Joy Ang (Adventure Time), Ian Boothby (The Simpsons Comic, Futurama), and Nina Matsumoto (The Simpsons Comic, Yokaiden) discussing the ins and outs of great all-ages work.

And Best Foot Forward: Promoting Your Comics and Yourself with me, Kel McDonald (Sorcery 101, Misfits of Avalon), Shannon LeClerc (Rainbow Killers), and Canadian Comic Book Hall-of-Famer Ken Steacy (Spider-man, Astro Boy). Thanks to Rob Cottingham for the delightful sketchnotes from this panel that also serve as the header image for this post.

As always, you can check out the many other panel recordings at my main SoundCloud page. Want to express some gratitude for all the free audio content? My Soundcloud membership is made possible by generous support from folks on Patreon. If you’d like to join them and get some neat perks while supporting the creation of more comics, head over and check it out.

Conventions

Special Edition: New York This Weekend

Greetings, East Coasters! I’m heading to your fine shores this weekend (June 6th & 7th) for Special Edition: New York, a comics-centric show from the folks who bring you New York Comic Con. I’ll be in Artist Alley at Table H3. There’s a great line-up of creators attending, and I’m really excited to do my first-ever show in New York (and stick around for a few days to explore the city). I even designed one of the show badges!

Our pieces needed to include a New York landmark, so of course I chose the South Street Seaport Museum, home of the tall ship Peking. I can’t wait to visit and see her in person—did you know she’s featured on one of my super fancy nautical postcards? She’s also the subject of Irving Johnson’s incredible film “Around Cape Horn”, which is a must-see for anyone interested in tall ship culture.

I’ll be bringing loads of great comics, including the first six issues of Cartozia Tales! These award-winning all-ages adventure comics are generally only available by mail subscription, so be sure to stop by and pick up some signed copies in person—I’ll even have sticker sheets and paper dolls. Here’s a selection of pages I’ve been drawing for the series:

If you want to learn more about Cartozia, there’s some really fun behind-the-scenes stuff happening on our Tumblr this week. Take a peek!

I’ll also be running an iteration of the ever-popular Freelance Like a Rockstar panel on Saturday from 3:45 to 4:45pm in Theater 2. Come learn about freelance career secrets from me, Ron Chan, Cat Farris, Molly Ostertag, and Katie Lane. I’m really thrilled with this line-up—lots of experienced folks who can share valuable advice and answer your burning questions. More details here.

I think that’s it from me—hope to see you in the Big Apple!

Art, News

Special Edition: New York Pre-Show Commissions

Hear ye, hear ye: I’m taking a very limited number of PRE-SHOW COMMISSIONS for Special Edition: New York next week. Pre-show art means I’ll be able to deliver a higher calibre of work to those of you looking for originals while prioritizing talking to everyone on the show floor rather than hunching over my sketchbook desperately trying to complete larger art pieces. Everyone wins!

There’s a couple different options for con commissions. Read on to find out which is best for you:

1. Little Paintings (Full Color / $30 – $45)

These cuties are done on high quality cold press watercolor paper and measure either 3″ x 4″ or 4″ x 6″. Featuring a bird or animal of your choice with an optional word balloon, they’re ideal gifts or tiny talismans of your favorite beasts.

2. Pin-Ups (Ink Only, Grayscale, or Full Color / $50 – $70)

These are larger pieces (generally 6″ x 9″ or 8″ x 10″, but I’m flexible) with minimal background elements and one or two figures. More figures or full-color generally equal higher costs, but let me know what you’re after and we’ll work together to achieve it!

3. Ships (Grayscale or Full Color / $80 – $120)

A handsome portrait of a tall ship of your choosing on a calm (or tempestuous) sea! 8″ x 10″, full-color, lotsa rigging guaranteed.

Sign-ups are limited since there’s only a week and a half before the show, so shoot me an email at lucypcbellwood [at] gmail [dot] com and let’s get rolling! Payment for commissions is due up front via PayPal or your online money transference service of choice. All pieces will be ready for pickup at Special Edition: New York, June 6th-7th.

News

VanCAF This Weekend

Hey Friends!

Just a heads up that I’ll be tabling at the Vancouver Comic Arts Fest in Canada this weekend and would love to see you there. Here’s the details:

VanCAF takes place May 23rd & 24th at the Roundhouse Community Center (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver) from 10am-6pm Saturday and 11am-5pm Sunday and features FREE ADMISSION.

I’ll be in the front hall at Table E2 with a gaggle of amazing creators like Chris Schweizer, Tony Cliff, Dylan Meconis, and Ron Chan in the neighborhood.

Goodies on the table: Baggywrinkles 1-5, Grand Adventure, Down to the Seas Again, Definitely-Not-Filthy Sailing Prints, Nautical Postcards, SPACEWHALES PRINTS, and brand-spankin’-new Queer Bird Stickers!

StickerSelfie — Mmmm yes delicious stickers.

I’ll also be on THREE panels because I have zero time management and they were all just too much fun to pass up. (I’ll record and upload these to SoundCloud for those of you who can’t make the show.)

Saturday:

Sunday:

Phew, I think that’s the lot! I can’t wait to see you there.

Comics

True Believer PDF Free for FCBD 2015!

Happy Free Comic Book Day, everyone! I thought I’d celebrate by making one of my most meaningful comics available for you all as a PDF at no charge. True Believer (for those of you who’ve only arrived at this blog in the last couple years) was an autobiographical story I completed as part of my thesis at Reed College in 2012. It was my first “real” comic—a meditation on why we make space for creation in our lives and an homage to my teacher Dylan Williams, a legendary local comics publisher.

I’ve been meaning to release the PDF of True Believer to the general public for free for a while, and what better day than today? This comic and the Kickstarter that went along with it were huge early career milestones for me, and I realize a lot of the folks following me now maybe don’t know about them.

So download the comic for free here, and thanks so much for all your support through the years—this was where so much of it started and I’m really thrilled to still be doing it as hard as I am.

(If you want to keep helping me make more comics, check out my Patreon page! There’s lots of new content going up there every week.)