Lucy Bellwood – Page 35

TCAF/VanCAF Recap

So. Wow. TCAF and VanCAF. Holy cannoli what an amazing couple of shows. Sold out of basically everything, met a ton of new fans and familiar faces, moderated my first panel, hung out with some incredible creators, ate delicious food, and just generally dissolved in a giant pool of happiness and gratitude that I get to be part of such a wonderful industry.

True Detective Season 3 — The industry is also goofy. Did I mention it’s goofy? Here’s me with gun-slinging comics rockstars Katie Shanahan, and Nicholas Kole photographed by Chris Cater — you can see more of his photos here.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to stop in, say hello, buy comics, and even follow up via email to let me know how much you’d enjoyed them — I’m really lucky to have such classy folks for fans.

Photo May 24, 1 18 15 PM — One of my favorite things at shows is seeing readers’ beautiful nautical tattoos.

If you missed it, the VanCAF panel I moderated on Building Comics Communities is available to listen to online:

And here’s a little gallery of watercolor commissions I did during the show! You can even buy a couple of them in my store right now.

I always have such a lovely time tabling at these two Canadian shows, and I couldn’t think of better note to end my spring convention rush on. If you’re looking for my upcoming appearances, check out the updated list to the left of this post. You’ll notice I’ve had to cancel CAKE in Chicago this weekend (I’m sorrrrrryyyyyyy), but I’ve also added some new stops to the summer/fall roster, so keep an eye out for me at a show near you.

For now, it’s time to get back to the studio after a long month of travel, business, house moving, and other nonsense. I can’t wait to DRAW!

See you guys next time,

Comics

New Oh Joy, Sex Toy Guest Comic

I was so excited to return to Erika Moen’s Oh Joy, Sex Toy this week and deliver a guest comic about the exciting, unorthodox possibilities of the lowly Cutter Snake Bite Kit. The comic is (obviously) very not safe for work, but if you’ve got a spare moment in the comfort of your own home or exceptionally progressive workplace, give it read!

While you’re at it, be sure to check out Erika’s Kickstarter campaign to print the first year of OJST comics — including my first guest strip about rope bondage! The campaign has already shot through it’s initial funding goals, but all the excess funding raised past this point goes towards paying the guest artists a higher page rate, so every dollar helps make it more feasible for me to do many more guest strips in the future.

News

VanCAF This Weekend!

Hey Vancouver! I’m headed back to Canada this weekend for VanCAF, which means more fun with Canadian pals and more chances for you come see some awesome cartoonists conveniently gathered under one roof FO’ FREE! You can find me at Table E7 in the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown on Saturday (10am – 6pm) and Sunday (11am – 5pm). Click the map below for a full exhibitor list and event schedule PDF!

I will also be moderating a panel all about building comics communities with some of my favorite pals. We’ll be representing casual meet-ups (Drawing Night), nonprofit organizations (Cloudscape Comics), professional shared workspaces (Periscope Studio), and online camaraderie (Shanahanigans Live). Here’re the details:

Drawing People Together: Comic Communities

Saturday, May 24th 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Hosted by: Lucy Bellwood

Featuring: Ed Brisson, Jeff Ellis, Katie Shanahan, Steven Shanahan

It can be hard making your way in comics, and nothing can be more valuable to a professional than the constant inspiration, energy, and networking that a community can provide. Come join comic leaders Lucy Bellwood, Ed Brisson, Jeff Ellis, and the Shanahan siblings as they discuss ways to connect with your peers and the benefit that comic communities can bring–both professionally and personally.

I can’t wait to see you all at the show. Bring yourselves, bring your friends, and bring your love for comics! Come say hi! I will probably look something like this:

SEE YOU IN VANCOUVER!

News

Summer Travels: The 38th Voyage

Big news, friends! I’ve been selected to participate in a fellowship program through the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum this summer, sailing aboard the last wooden whaling ship in the world — the Charles W. Morgan. This is a huge thrill, and promises to be the catalyst for a new installment of adventurous nautical comics. Just look at this beauty:

Originally launched in the 1840s, the Morgan has been fully restored and will be sailing around the Eastern Seaboard for three months this summer, taking on 80 fellowship participants who will each capture an aspect of the voyage according to their own disciplines. Needless to say I’ll be drawing some comics and sharing them all with you when I return! Here’s the itinerary:

While the stint aboard is brief (a mere 24 hours), I hope to use my time in the area to visit a few other vessels as well as Mystic Seaport itself to gather more info for the comic. I’ll very likely be based in Boston during the trip, and am looking into the possibility of doing a reading while I’m there, so stay tuned for more details as July draws near!

You can learn more about the various voyagers and their many specialties here. I’ll be sailing on the second day sail from Provincetown on or around July 10th. For more information about the voyage, the ship’s restoration, and local events you can attend, visit Mystic Seaport’s homepage for the 38th Voyage.

Do you live in Boston and have a recommendation for a good reading venue? Let me know! Otherwise keep your eyes peeled for reading details, further updates and sketches from the road once I set out.

News

TCAF TCAF TCAF

Great news, Canada! You can find me slinging comics this weekend at the ever-so-fabulous Toronto Comic Arts Festival. It remains far and away my favorite show of 2013 and I’m sure this year will be even more excellent than the last. For starters I have so many more comics to share with you than I did last year! LOOK AT ALL THESE COMICS: GOLLY. Then there’s the stellar guest list, the super cool panels, and the FREE ADMISSION. Do I have your attention yet? GOOD, ‘CAUSE IT’S GONNA BE A PARTY AND I WANT YOU TO BE THERE. You can find me on the ground floor at Table 145 in the Toronto Reference Library from 9am – 5pm on Saturday May 10th and 11am – 5pm on Sunday May 11th so no excuses come say hello.

WOO!

Art, News

New Nautical Postcards

I’ve added not one, but TWO new postcards to my nautical line-up as of this morning. You can now own prints of HMS Rose (otherwise known as HMS Surprise in Master and Commander) and the Peking (last of the prestigious Flying-P line) via my online emporium. These cards feature the same matte, silky goodness previously seen on the barn swallow prints, plus 1/4″ rounded corners for maximum charm factor. Buy a pack of 5 or treat yourself to a variety bundle. The 16pt card stock is extra hefty so as to withstand the rigors of the postal system should you choose to mail any of these via the postcard format supplied on the back:

I’ll also have these designs available at TCAF in a couple weeks — stay tuned for more details!

Comics

New Comic: Flip the Switch

So a while back I hinted that I’d soon be contributing some work to The Nib, Matt Bors’s comics portal over on Medium.com. That day has finally come! I went to check out Float On, the nation’s largest sensory deprivation tank center, and made you a whole comic about it. If you’ve ever wondered what happens to a work-addled freelancer’s brain when you cut off all its access to outside information and stimuli for 90 minutes, this one’s for you.

Click through to read the whole story on The Nib.

Panels & Talks

Panels, Podcasts, and Posts!

Hi gang! First off: big thanks to all of you who came out last month to say hello at Emerald City Comicon. It was incredibly cool to see so many familiar faces and get comics into returning hands. I promise I’ll keep cranking ’em out so you’ll have more to enjoy in 2015.

Now: I have a whole bundle of audiovisual treats for you today, taken from various panels and speaking gigs I’ve done in the past few weeks.

First up is It’s Not Too Dangerous to Go Alone, a great panel run by Kenna Conklin of Geek Portland on having the guts to make your creative career happen. I got to speak alongside Erika Moen, Dylan Meconis, and Angela Webber, which was a treat in and of itself, but I also feel like we hit some great points about motivation and starting from scratch.

Second is Erika’s Freelance Like a Rockstar panel, with Steve Lieber, Dylan Meconis, and Amy Falcone. (I nabbed this recording on my phone, so the quality is a little less spectacular, but you can still hear everyone!) We discuss all the juicy freelancer topics like finding jobs, self promotion, pricing strategies, and *gulp* contracts. Valuable fun for the whole freelance family.

Finally, I got to participate in a panel on Setting Realistic Goals as part of the MakingComics.com Massive Open Online Course last week. I really enjoyed getting to digitally discuss project management, scheduling, and work/life balance with Jared Cullum, Jen Vaughn, Damon Gentry, Eric Shanower, Christina Blanch, and Patrick Yurik. Plus this one has video so you can see all our weird facial expressions while we talk.

Phew. That’s all from me for now — I hope these discussions are useful to you all!

News

Emerald City Comicon This Weekend!

Yes! It’s here! Convention season! Madness! Excitement! Comics! Emerald City Comicon, the Pacific Northwest’s biggest comics event, is THIS WEEKEND and I want YOU to come out and say hello. The show runs all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Washington State Convention Center. Hours are 10-7 Friday and Saturday, and 10-5 Sunday. Also: event tickets are sold out! So I guess this is really a post for those of you who are already planning to be there. You can find me tabling with a slew of folks from Periscope Studio at Table Island 1214 (see the ginormo map at left) with my shiny new swallow postcards, a brand new issue of Cartozia Tales (#3! At last!), print editions of Grand Adventure, the full suite of Baggywrinkles comics, and many other goodies. I’ll also be on two (yes, TWO!) panels: On Saturday: It’s NOT Too Dangerous To Go Alone: Finding the courage to do it yourself “How long have you been thinking about starting that comic, game, or band? Feel scared? Join the club! Just don’t let it stop you. Learn how navigate through self-doubt, motivational issues & lack of know-how on your way to victory!” With Erika Moen, Dylan Meconis, Angela Webber, and Kenna Conklin Room: HALL C (610) Time: 11:20AM – 12:10PM And on Sunday: Freelance Like a Rock Star “Do you fantasize about being self-employed but you just don’t even know where to start? Shh, shh, little friend, no more tears – this group of seasoned pros is here to share their hard-won knowledge with you so you can freelance like a rock star, too.” With Matt Bors, Erika Moen, Steve Lieber, and Dylan Meconis Room: 2B Time: 4:00PM – 4:50PM See you in Seattle, friends!

Art, News

“Setting Realistic Goals” Talk @ Making Comics MOOC

So this is something of a new game for me: in a few weeks I’ll be speaking on a panel of creators as part of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) run by MakingComics.com. The CEO, Patrick Yurick, was actually at CCS the same summer I went through my Comics Conversion and started doing this stuff for living, so it’s pretty neat to see where the two of us have ended up after four years.

The course is free and open to the public, with a pretty minimal time commitment and a rockstar line-up of creators ready to talk about four key topics as each week of the course goes by. It’s like a panel discussion where you can log in and ask questions in real time. The course is perfect for those of you looking to launch a comic or learn more about the process of going from idea to finished product.

Here’s the flier for the week I’ll be participating:

Look at all those cool dudes! We’re gonna get technical up in this business — motivational techniques, time management, maintaining momentum oooooh yeahhhhh. However! To attend the talk you’ll need to register for the course (again: FREE) before this Saturday. If you’d like to learn more before you register, or take a gander at the other weeks’ guests, click here — there’s a great FAQ about how the MOOC is structured and run.

Hope to see you online April 9th! And be sure to register this weekend to participate.