The online home of Adventure Cartoonist Lucy Bellwood
A couple challenges from the last few weeks. Remember you can always join in on these suckers by heading over to the Artistic Veggies tumblr! A new challenge goes live every Monday.
I’ve also been blasting through the last of my Kickstarter custom comics! Thank goodness for that. The most recent strip was a requested Firefly / Doctor Who mash-up for Jason. I never really find the inspiration to draw fan art unless someone specifically requests it, so this was a fun one.
Okay, back to work!
Hello everyone! It’s 2013! Isn’t that crazy? I think so.
This year was my first as a Real Live Cartoonist, and it’s been a hell of a ride. I was about to start writing a list of all the stuff that happened, but I got exhausted just thinking about it. Let’s just say A Lot of Stuff went down. Comics, dance, work, travel, freelance, moving, breakups, unbreakups, practice, growth, change — and 2013 just keeps looking better. I have another two months at Periscope (which, for the record, is the most inspiring and wonderful work environment ever), two of my comics will be published by people who are not me before July, there’s a new issue of Baggywrinkles in the works, and it’s looking like I’ll be traveling to at least FIVE conventions this year. I’m excited, inspired, and ready to make more art. What more could a girl ask for?
I also got a very kind mention in Tony Cliff’s 12 from 2012 list for Paste Magazine. Tony is the mastermind behind the adventures of Delilah Dirk — one the most beautifully-executed and delightful webcomics out there today. I’m immensely chuffed to see Baggywrinkles alongside such an impressive gaggle of names, and I highly recommend that you go check out the rest of the group. There’s just too much awesome stuff happening in comics right now.
Speaking of awesome stuff, here’s some exciting news! The story I’m illustrating for Symbolia Magazine is now officially underway. Here are all my thumbnails laid out and ready to go:
The issue with our story won’t be out until June, but expect several sneak peeks as I work through pencils and inks over the next couple months. Sarah Mirk has put together some really powerful stories, and I can’t wait to start working on them in earnest.
Weekly drawing challenges continue unabated. Here are the 50 Hats I promised last week:
And I’m making noises about doing an alphabet series involving figures from Classical Greece — gods, goddesses, heroes, legends, etc — as a tactic for improving my inking technique. Here’s a photo of the Athena sketch that got me started on the idea.
If you have any favorite Greek figures, perhaps you’d care to leave their names in the comments? I’ll probably be taking suggestions as I go…
Apart from that, work continues unabated. I’m in California until next week, and then it’s back to the grey northwest for more drawing, more food carts, and more…nope, those are basically the only two things I’ll be paying attention to for a while. OH! I’m also going to be teaching some workshops later this month: Freelance Badassery and Kickstarter Bootcamp. Keep an eye out for dates and times as soon as I have them.
OKAY. PHEW.
We’re really done now.
I count myself lucky to not suffer from dreadful PMS very often, but for some reason I’m having a DOOZY of a time with this month’s Reminder That I Have A Uterus Celebration. In an attempt to salvage what has been an otherwise fraught, tearful, and frantic Friday, I have spent the evening drawing (and laughing at) this comic. Enjoy.
Nautical enthusiasts and beloved shipmates, rejoice! Baggywrinkles #3 is now available online for your reading pleasure. This issue covers the sailor’s rig, period-appropriate clothing, and the mysterious science of the foretopmast’ays’l. If you’d like to own a physical copy of the comic, you can pre-order one here! The current printing should be finished and bound in two weeks.
These comics celebrate and support the modern world of tall ship sailing. If you’d like to have a direct impact on the survival of this amazing lifestyle, consider supporting the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain via the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, a Washington non-profit dedicated to perserving maritime heritage. You can donate to the Seaport here, or, if you’re lucky enough to live along the West Coast, visit the boats in person when they stop in a town near you! For more info about crewing aboard tall ships, check out the Tall Ships America homepage or the Seaport’s Two Weeks Before the Mast program.
Lyrics from “Sailor’s Boot” used with kind permission from Frank Turner. All other content © Lucy Bellwood, 2012.
Regular service to resume shortly.
So, as some of you may know, I attended a rehearsal of Don Giovanni earlier this week, courtesy of the Portland Opera. The company runs this great outreach program where cartoonists come and live sketch rehearsals in the days leading up to the show. I’m no opera buff, but the experience was fantastic. Stellar cast, dramatic staging, and no shortage of saucy thrills. If you’ve been wanting more bang for your operatic buck, this is the show for you.
Unfortunately, these sketches fail to capture the pathos and emotional torment of the show itself. I have, instead, chosen to focus mainly on the boning. There’s a lot of that.
And they all lived happily every after!
***
Seriously, folks, with the flippancy of my goofy sketches aside, I suggest you all go check out this show. I had a wonderful time. To sweeten the deal, those of you in the know (i.e. everyone reading this blog) can get your tickets for the Thursday (11/8) show at 50% off! Head over here and enter the password MOZART to get in on the action.
If you enjoyed this you can find other excellent commentary, artwork, and cheap gags from the evening’s cartoonists and live bloggers on Twitter under the hashtag #pdxgiovanni.
Bad-ass Baggywrinkles reader Aaron Meyers recently asked me to do a commission of ROM the Spaceknight. Who was I to refuse? My apologies to Mr. Meyers, Mr. Gosling, and anyone whose childhood memories I have defaced by creating this thing.
In other news, the first print run of Baggywrinkles #3 is SOLD OUT! Gonna reprint that sucker ASAP, but expect a delay of a couple weeks as I sort out some print quality issues and juggle other comics work. Also: today was my first day hanging out at Periscope Studio, where I’ll be interning for the next three months alongside some of Portland’s finest comics folk. Words don’t really convey how excited I am to be in a place that looks like this:
Also: huge thanks to everyone who showed up at Comics Underground last night to hear Baggywrinkles #3 performed with a live cast and sound effects. It was such a treat to perform in front of all you nice people. Here’s a blurry picture of me being sassy about the Lady Washington (Thanks, Cory!):
That’s all for now! More art soon…
Hey gang,
I write to you from not-very-sunny-at-all San Francisco, where I’m settling in for a weekend of crazy awesome goodness at APE! For those in the area, APE will be taking place at the Concourse Exhibition Center this Saturday and Sunday from 11-7 and 11-6 respectively. Passes are $10 for one day or $15 for the whole weekend and it’s gonna be OFF. THE. WALL. Here’s a map of the whole exhibit floor:
And here’s the weeny little corner where Baggywrinkles Headquarters (that’s myself and the incredible Mr. Sam Alden of Gingerland Comics) will be rockin’ out at Table 718:
Speaking of which, Baggywrinkles #3 is OFFICIALLY COMPLETED!
It was a crazy couple weeks in there, especially considering that I waded through a 100 degree fever and a debilitating neck injury while trying to ink the last 10 pages of the comic, but as my mother always said “You can’t keep a good nautically-inclined cartoonist lady down.”
So here it is! 20 pages of hand-sewn, lip-smackin’ nautical comics goodness. I only printed a limited number for the show this weekend, so if you want one, be sure to stop by early. If I don’t sell out, I’ll be putting the remainder online in the store when I get back and start the full print run.
That’s all for now, Baggies and Wrinklers. I can’t wait to see some of you out this weekend!
Hugs and kisses,
Lucy
I’ve done it, everyone. I’ve discovered what really happens when you split open a ping pong ball.
YOU’RE WELCOME.
