Inktober-In-Progess: Dealing with Demons

As you’ve probably all noticed, this month’s Inktober challenge has morphed into something of a themed exercise for me. I’ve been illustrating my horrible little self-doubt demon in his many forms, trying to name some of the fears and anxieties that everyone deals with (in one form or another) when they sit down to make work. Here’s a selection from the first half of the month.

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If you’d like to join in, please do! I’m trying to keep an eye on the #drawyourdemons hashtag and I’d love to see what your little jerks say and how you respond to them.

This character came out back in 2012 when I was stuck in an art rut. A bit of digging in the Ancient Bellwood Archives revealed the original:

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Followed by this additional doodle:

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(I can also guarantee the little bastard’s been plaguing me since long before I started making comics about him.)

Anyway, I’m contemplating putting all these illustrations together in a little minicomic when the month is done. If you’d like in on that, keep an eye out on Twitter. Happy Inktober!

New Comic: Scurvy Dogs

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That’s right! My latest comic, an examination of maritime history’s deadliest deficiency, is now live! For the last few months, Eriq Nelson and I have been hard at work researching the ins and outs of scurvy in the Golden Age of Sail, and now we’re bringing our findings to you in 18 pages of informative, entertaining comics.

There’s even a Napoleonic Capybara. No joke.

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I’ve had such a blast working on this piece—even if the production timeline was somewhat delayed by the Kickstarter I ran this summer. Speaking of which, this comic will round out the hardcover collection of Baggywrinkles comics I’m publishing in 2016! What’s more it’ll be in FULL COLOR! Gosh I’m excited.

Anyway, you can read the whole thing right here! I do hope you enjoy it.

Rose City Comic Con This Weekend

Hey Portland friends!

Just a courtesy notice that I’ll be tabling at Rose City Comic Con this weekend and celebrating the print debut of my newest comic, Rim to River!

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If you want to try before you buy, you can even read the whole thing online right here. I’m so thrilled with how these puppies came out. Come snag one for yourself! Here’s the details of where you can find me and the rest of my compatriots from Periscope Studio:

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As you can see here, I’ll also be appearing on the Comics Journalism panel on Saturday morning at 11am in Room 5. Should be some good discussion around bringing real-world stories to life on the page. More details on the Rose City Comic Con site. Hope to see you there!

XOXO Livesketches

 

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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):

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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!

New Comic: Rim to River

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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.

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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.

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(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.)

 

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!

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.

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 Hall111 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!

Down to the Seas Again at Sequential Art Gallery

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Big big big news, everyone: I have my first-ever solo show opening a week from today at Portland’s Sequential Art Gallery! Down to the Seas Again will collect all my original art from this summer’s voyage aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world. I’ve been slaving away over this comic for the last month or so, and I really can’t wait to share it with you all in person. We’ll have all 20 watercolored pages up for your browsing pleasure, as well as nautical comics for sale and a lot of process-centric stuff for you to investigate.

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The opening reception will take place during Portland’s First Thursday Art Walk on September 4th from 6pm-10pm at:

Sequential Art Gallery + Studio
328 NW Broadway #113
Portland, OR 97209

I’ll be on hand selling comics, showing off originals, and getting excited about boats. I would absolutely love to see you there.

If you’re the Facebookin’ type, you can keep an eye out for the official event on Sequential Art Gallery’s Facebook page. If you can’t make the opening but would still like to check out the show, you can do so all month during the gallery’s regular hours: Mondays from 2pm-6pm, Saturdays from 11am-5pm, and by appointment.