Author: Lucy Bellwood

Illustration

The Ornithology of the American Lesbian

If you follow me elsewhere on the Internet you’ve probably already seen that I illustrated this feature for BuzzFeed on The Ornithology of the American Lesbian. The writers gave me a ton of freedom when it came to matching birds and humans, so I got to run wild picking my favorite avian friends. Challenges included accurately translating Bette Porter into an ostrich and Lea DeLaria into an owl.

My only enduring sorrow is the fact that the authors were originally thinking of human illustrations, so the classification text never got updated from Mammalia to Aves. Apologies in advance to my scientist pals—I promise I’m only responsible for the artwork. Check out the whole list here!

News

New Recordings: Crowdfunding & All-Ages Comics!

Hey blog friends. Just wanted to check in and let you know I’ve released two new panel recordings on my SoundCloud page!

The Modern Realities of Fundraising for Artists ran at Linework NW here in Portland this month. Tristan J. Tarwater led a great discussion on modern techniques for funding creative projects and careers through the Internet, including Kickstarter, Patreon, taxes, generosity, and many things in-between. The panelists included me (True Believer), Hazel Newlevant (Chainmail Bikini), Taneka Stotts (Beyond), and Kory Bing (Skin Deep, Borogrove).

All-Ages Comics Aren’t Limiting ran at Emerald City Comicon back in March under moderator Rachel Edidin. The panelists—myself, Jen Van Meter, Janelle Asselin, Adam P. Knave, and Sarah Gaydos—discussed the elements of great all-ages comics, where to draw the line with content, and recommendations of favorite titles.

Thanks to my generous supporters on Patreon for covering the hosting fees for these recordings!

News

Linework NW This Sunday

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Hey Portland! I’m making a hometown appearance at Linework NW this weekend. This fantastic indie comics and illustration festival boasts a unique format with two completely different sets of exhibitors Saturday and Sunday. This means you can only find me there on Sunday (at Table 24B), but should totally show up both days to take full advantage of the talent on offer. Did I mention it’s stone cold free to attend? You heard it here first. Or maybe you didn’t. Either way I’d love to see you on the floor.

The skinny:

Linework NW – 4/18/2015 + 4/19/2015

Location: Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015 & Sunday, April 19, 2015

Time: 12:00pm – 8:00pm

And here’s a handy map! See Table 24B? Right in the middle there. Aw yeah.

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You can check out the exhibitor lineups for both days of Linework NW right here. I’ll also be speaking on a panel called The Modern Reality of Fundraising for Artists at 4:30pm on Sunday with Hazel Newlevant, Kory Bing, and Taneka Stotts, moderated by Tristan Tarwater. Check out the full listing of panels for more exciting discussion topics.

Hope to see you there!

News

ECCC This Weekend!

Hey friends: I’m headed up to Emerald City Comic Con this weekend! I’ll be exhibiting at Table Island 1214 along with a bunch of my pals from Periscope. Here’s a handy map:

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What can you expect when you find this trove of comics riches? How about some SPACEWHALES?

SpacewhalesThe commissioner of this illustration graciously allowed me to make some art prints out of it, so now you can own and display this nice picture of the Cutty Sark cruising through outer space with some whales in your very own home. The prints are 8.5 x 11″ on semi-gloss paper and they look very handsome if I do say so myself.

whales

Also, you remember those Definitely-Not-Filthy Sailing Terms I illustrated on The Nib a while back? I also made prints out of those because I LOVE YOU.

DirtySailing

You can come by my table and pick out your favorite, or nab a bundle deal on three at once! I’ll have seven designs available at the show and any leftovers (along with the remaining spacewhale prints) will be put up in my online shop on Wednesday.

I’ll also be appearing on a sweet panel at 11:50 on Friday morning with Rachel Edidin, Jen Van Meter, Janelle Asselin, Adam P. Knave, and others to discuss crafting truly “all ages” comics. We’ve run this panel once before at Rose City Comic Con, so I’m looking forward to going more in-depth with all these smart, skillful folks. Here’s the detailed listing:

All Ages Comics Aren’t Limiting
Room: Hall E (TCC 303)
Date: Friday, March 27th
Time: 11:50AM – 12:40PM
Moderator: Rachel Edidin

Tired of dark and gritty? Looking to expand your market share? Want to make something your kids can enjoy? Just plain curious about why you should take all ages comics seriously? Join Rachel Edidin, Jen Van Meter, Janelle Asselin, Adam P. Knave, and Lucy Bellwood for a discussion of what creates an exceptional all ages comic.

And I think that’s everything! Give me a shout in the comments or on Twitter if you’re gonna be there so I can keep an eye out.

See you in Seattle!

News

BellCAF This Saturday!

Pacific Northwesterners, rejoice! My first convention of 2015 is here and it’s taking place in beautiful Bellingham, Washington this weekend.

10644792_951786474846582_1426249973643236198_oBellCAF is totally free and promises a really fun roster of indie cartoonists. I’d be delighted to see any/all of you there. Learn more at their website, RSVP to the event on Facebook, and let me know in the comments if you’re planning to attend!

 

Comics

New Comic: Dance Yourself Clean

Dance17

I’m so delighted to share this comic today as part of Whatever We Please, The Nib’s collection of comics honoring International Women’s Day. Dance Yourself Clean is a brief meditation on what being a part of the social dance scene here in Portland has done for my sexuality and my sense of self. Read the whole thing here.

(This comic was made possible by the generous support of my patrons on Patreon! If you’d like to see me making more comics, won’t you consider joining them?)

Art

31 Days, 31 Outfits – 2015

Those of you following me elsewhere on the Internet have probably already seen this year’s 31 Days, 31 Outfits challenge, but I finally got ’em all scanned and uploaded into a tiny army, so I figured it was time for an official post. If you’d like to compare notes with 2014’s 31 Outfits, you can take a peek at those right here.

(The Goblin Interlude was brought to you by Evan Dahm and Goblin Week.)

Outfits2015-Vertical

I hadn’t intended to make this an annual thing, but it’s been really fun both times and I dig getting to see my progress year-to-year, so I guess I’ll be seeing you with another batch of these in 2016!

Comics

Hourly Comic Day 2015

It’s that time of year again, folks. 2015 Hourly Comics are here! Be warned there are mild boobs and sorta-I-guess spoilers if you’re committed to never knowing how Moby Dick ends? That’s all the warning you’re getting though.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the premise of this exercise, on February 1st cartoonists around the world attempt to draw a panel (or series of panels) for every hour they’re awake. The result is a tiny snapshot of everyone’s lives, which is generally a ton of fun. Google around and you should be able to find comics from many great creators. I’d recommend Eleanor Davis and Boum to start.

If you’d like to see previous HCD efforts, here’s 2014, 2013, 2012, and (gulp) 2011. It’s amazing to see how much my art’s changed year to year. My skills are improving but I’m also getting…tighter? More static somehow? Next year I’d like to draw straight to ink and loosen up a little—maybe work in something larger than my sketchbook to keep things flowing. Also it’s physically painful to me that these are uncolored pages. Nrgh, perfectionist tendencies.

ANYWAY. Comics. Have at ’em!