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The 100 Day Project

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Those of you following me on social media may’ve noticed a new series of drawings going up over the last couple weeks! I’m participating in The 100 Day Project, which comes to us via Elle Luna and The Great Discontent. The premise of this project is simple: make something every day for 100 days. That’s all. Could be anything; a written word, a cake, a joke, a drawing, a button. I’ve actually been pitching it as a do anything for 100 days project—so one could even eat an apple a day or something similarly arbitrary. I think it’s the regularity of the ritual that’s important. There’s also value in creating something small every day and using the exercise to break down our inhibitions around perfection, but regularity breeds ritual, and ritual can take many forms.

Anyway, I’ve opted to use up the many, many Scout Books and Field Notes sketchbooks I’ve been accumulating from various events by chronicling 100 objects in my possession with words and pictures.

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Notebooks from Linework NW (designed by Lisa Congdon), XOXO (designed by Brendan Monroe), Reid Psaltis, Scout Books, and Erika Moen.

The format involves a drawing, however crude, and as much context about the item as I can cram on the page. It started here:

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And has continued apace for the last couple weeks.

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I love projects like this that require relatively little commitment on the day-to-day, but add up to something vast over time. I’m really excited to see where this goes. If you’d like to follow along, take a peek at my Instagram page or follow along on Twitter.

Alaska Robotics Minicon in Juneau this Saturday

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Hi friends,

Just a quick post to let you know that I’ll be appearing at the Alaska Robotics Minicon this Saturday in Juneau, Alaska! The show runs 10am-5pm and is TOTALLY FREE! It’s also got an amazing lineup of guests including Kate Beaton, Tony Cliff, Raina Telgemeier, and many, many more. Here’s a map of where I’ll be on the floor (Table 27):

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I’ll also be making a couple of school visits during the day on Friday, which I’ll try to document in some fashion. Really looking forward to talking about scurvy with a bunch of middle schoolers. I think that’s going to go over well.

See you in the wilderness!

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“Bombshells” are Here!

So as some of you may or may not be aware, I sit next to my friend Erika Moen when working at Periscope Studio. She takes a lot of reference photos for her fantastic comic, Oh Joy, Sex Toy, and since we’re perpendicular to one another I’m in a seriously ideal position to photobomb basically all of them.

We’ve been joking about putting together a zine of all these photographic masterpieces, and this month I finally thought “Why not?” and ordered a whole bunch of them. So, without further ado, allow me to present: BOMBSHELLS.

You can grab a copy in person at Emerald City Comicon later this week! The show runs Thursday-Sunday, and I’ll have a limited number of copies on hand to sign and sell. Find me at Booth 1214 with the rest of Periscope, or head to Erika’s table just across the aisle at 1322!

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New Talk: The View from Aloft

I have new video up from my time at The Animation Workshop in Denmark, where I was teaching a class on webcomics and social media earlier this month. (This is the first time I’ve had video footage of my public speaking—thanks, Sam!—which is really exciting.) If you’re a person who makes things on the Internet, or a person who wants to make things on the Internet, or a cartoonist, or a budding creator—this probably has some utility for you.

Things I cover:

  • How I ended up doing what I’m doing now (full-time adventure-cartoonist-ing, most days)
  • How social media has enabled me to succeed in crowdfunding, freelancing, and basically everything else
  • What sailing has in common with being an artist (it’s more than you think)
  • Communities and gratitude economies and how they shape our work
  • My unified very vague theory of How the Internet Makes Us Better People
  • What you can gain by giving your work away for free

I had so much fun teaching at TAW, and I hope this talk distills some of the stuff we were exploring and discussing over the course of my two weeks there. If you enjoyed it and want to see/enable more, feel free to check out my Patreon page! I post a ton of behind-the-scenes, nitty gritty, creative-in-the-trenches stuff there every single week, and I’d love to have you on board.

Emerald City: Pre-Show Commissions & Show Details

Hi friends,

Emerald City Comicon is upon us in just a couple weeks, which means it’s time for pre-show commission sign-ups!

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Here’s the drill: I have a limited number of slots for folks to get artwork done before the show—this means a little more care and attention can go into your pieces, and they’ll be ready to pick up whenever you swing by my table at ECCC! Prices and contact details can be found below.

Speaking of my table, here’s a map of where I’ll be on the show floor [Booth 1214 with the rest of Periscope]:

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(Note: I am totally not this buff and tattooed.)

Emerald City is a whopping four days this year, so there’s really no excuse not to swing by and say hello. I’m bringing lots of minicomics, stickers, prints, buttons, and anthologies, plus I’ll be taking preorders for Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea (due out August, 2016).

So here’s the run-down on commissions:

1. Little Paintings (Full Color /3×4″ = $35, 4×6″ = $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 (Full Color / 9×12″ / $70)

These are larger pieces with minimal background elements and one or two figures. More figures generally equal higher costs, but let me know what you’re after and we’ll work together to achieve it!

3. Ships (Full Color  / 12×16″ / $300)

A handsome portrait of a tall ship of your choosing on a calm (or tempestuous) sea! 12″ x 16″, full-color, lotsa rigging guaranteed. These are substantial pieces and make excellent gifts.

[A note on all commission options: if any of these strike your fancy, but you’re on a budget, ask about greyscale or ink-only work to cut the cost a bit.]

Sign-ups are limited since there’s only a couple weeks 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 Emerald City Comicon in Seattle April 7th-10th.

See you in Seattle!

New Merch: “Fair Winds” & “Blissful Indifference” Postcards

I’m releasing two new postcard designs this week!

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They’ll be coming in sets of 5 for $5—a mere buck-a-postcard—so hop over to my store to pre-order, or read on to learn more.

Many moons ago I drew this in a sketchbook to celebrate the passage of time and its marvelous effect on giving a shit about things.

GiveaShitWho among us has not encountered a previously fraught circumstance, only to find that the anxiety, stress, and strain surrounding it has completely dissipated? What a relief. So I’m printing up a batch of glossy, UV-coated 4×6″ postcards to celebrate the sensation. Preorder a set here to ensure you’re in the first wave.

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Postcard mockup!

For the more nautically-minded among you, I’ve whipped up this illustration of the brigantine Irving Johnson of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, sailing away with a classic sailors’ valedictory phrase. Send it to far-flung friends or keep it for yourself as a reminder that calmer times are ahead.

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Both cards feature space for an address, stamp, and message on the back, like so:

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Tres chic! Check out the whole selection of postcard offerings here. Enjoy!

Teaching in Denmark

Some big, big, BIG news for you this week, friends:

DenmarkBannerThe Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark has invited me to come teach a two-week class on webcomics, the Internet, and modern career options for independent cartoonists. I am beside myself with excitement. I fly in just ten days and there’s a lot to get done before I go, but I just can’t wait to meet this batch of dedicated students. I mean, seriously, go look at the work they’ve been doing here (comics-specific work can be found on this Tumblr). SO COOL.

Logo-sortI’ve also never been to Scandinavia before, so I’m extra thrilled to be exploring a new part of Europe. Apparently there’s nifty cathedral in Viborg, but you all know what I’m really holding out for.

Viborg_2Perhaps. We shall see.

I’m looking into options for capturing and broadcasting bits of the class while I’m there, so if this is a subject that interests you be sure to follow along on Twitter—I’ll do my best to share work in progress and notes from the trip on there!

That’s all for now.

<3

L

 

The Galaxy of Super Adventure: Fears

Hey Friends,

If you like spaceships, comics, radio drama, and the practice of making things, let me recommend a really fun podcast! The Galaxy of Super Adventure is part one part galactic adventure saga, two parts creative advice round-table. It’s run by my comics pals Ben Hatke, Zack Giallongo, and Jerzy Drozd, and this week’s episode (all about FEAR) features a guest appearance by yours truly!

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I play Bold Space Adventurer and Sensitive Artist Lucy Bellwood, crashing in for a talk about artistic anxiety and self-doubt with the help of my sentient French mustache sidekick, Polly (pictured above).

The whole series is a hoot, and I highly recommend listening to it from the start, but if you just want to jump in for this episode, check it out here. Enjoy!

 

Hourly Comic Day 2016

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Hello, friends—it’s time for another installment of everyone’s favorite working holiday: Hourly Comic Day! This is my sixth(!!!) year participating which, for those of you who aren’t familiar, involves drawing a panel or two for every hour you’re awake on February 1st. It’s a lovely way to create a time capsule of your drawing style and general life trajectory over time, and I always enjoy to sense of creating something start-to-finish in a single day.

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You can read the whole story over on Medium! Enjoy—I’m really proud of how this batch turned out.

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[Previous years: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and (gulp) 2011.]

Baggywrinkles Ebooks are Live!

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Dearest Bags and Wrinkles: I am so, so, SO excited to announce that the ebook edition of Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea is now available for purchase!

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If you supported the Kickstarter campaign, you can find a download code to get the files for free in this update, otherwise it’s $7 for a bundle of two versions—high-res and slightly-less-high-res—so you can read the book from any of your devices with comfort and ease.

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Thanks to your sterling funding efforts, and the hard work of colorists Joey Weiser and Michele Chidester, the book is coming to you in full color for the first time ever! You’ll also be enjoying the publication design efforts of Allyson Haller, who did a fantastic job of wrapping the whole book in the loveliest branding a girl could ask for. This ebook also includes the complete guest art gallery with work from a stalwart crew of amazing artists. Here’s a brief selection:

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Ready to hop aboard? You can buoy (GEDDIT?) a copy for yourself right here:

Thank you all so much for your patience, enthusiasm, and support during the production process. Next step: printing the physical book! Stay tuned on the Kickstarter page for more news about that as the year rolls on.

Love and boats and comics,

Lucy