Author Archives

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Plodding Along

Hi, everyone.  It’s been a while. I’ve had little to report, but, lest anyone think I’ve been marooned or mutinied, I sent out this message in an e-bottle.

The past month and a half, I’ve been plodding along on various projects: Cartage revisions (finished this week, now starting a smaller batch of edits/3rd & 4th look revisions), character art/sprites for Detective Butler, an occasional poke at John Churchmouse, and drafts/ideas for some new painting series based on operas and musicals.

Back to plodding I go.

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Look, Look, an Ebook!

I spent the last week testing Amazon’s new Kindle Kids’ Book Creator, specifically to convert Racing Pajamas into an ebook (codename: e-RP). It is now available for purchase on Amazon. Huzzah.

Fortunately, you do not have to have a Kindle to read e-RP! Amazon created an application for computers, phones, etc., to view Kindle files. Visit Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing page, scroll to “Kindle for PC/Mac” at the bottom & download the necessary file. It’s free! (And also accessible via the e-RP sale page.) Since I don’t have a Kindle (just a Kindle previewer), I’d love feedback about the real Kindle display in case I need to fix something.

At this time (and largely due to technical complications), there are no plans to sell e-RP through other venues, but I expect to utilize multiple channels for future books.

I’ve also revised my preview of Cartage (printed for the anime convention) for beta-testing/potential audience-building on the web. You can download the PDF on the Coming Soon page. It’s also on Lulu.com to (hopefully) reach a wider, unknown audience. Bread upon the waters.

Further fruitage from KawaKon: Hard to believe that was a month ago! I’m doing new digital character artwork for a visual novel called Detective Butler, created by an independent game developer, Goldbar Games. The new VN (creation in progress) will take place four years after the initial VN on the site (also free). Some credit for my new adventure goes to good ol’ Principia connections–the team lead of GG is a friend of a guy I attended Upper School with. Cue Principia’s unofficial alma mater. I’m sure you all know it. (Hint: It’s sung by dozens of dancing dolls in Disney World.)

It’s a small world after all…

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Another Haiku + Updates

Another one of my haiku was selected to appear in the latest issue of Frogpond (vol. 38.1), the Haiku Society of America’s tri-annual journal. This is my second published haiku. More accurately, it’s senryu, but let’s simply enjoy poetry for now.

H_FP38.1

Also, I’ve begun updating several pages of DrawstheEventide.com. Last night I revamped the For “Sail” page. It’s now divided into product categories: art, books, & stationery. Next on the “biggish project” list is the Writings page, which has spent much of its life as a nondescript, sometimes invisible corner of this site, but I have some ideas about adding regular content & implementing interactivity. If you have ideas about improvements or additions, let me know.

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Convention Reflections II

Two days ago, I ventured to draft of my Kawa Kon art adventure; after an hour, I realized just how much occurred. Sally forth for my truncation.

As an art vendor, I :

  • Launched out into the deep — my first booth anywhere. Lots to consider in logistics, display, & transactions.
  • Practiced “sailsmanship” and made some (not canvas) sales. 1 fun strategy: Call to people dressed as characters from a show, etc. for which I had art available & show it to them.
  • Purveyed Pandagrams. Though equally well-received, the original ink drawings sold more than the card packs. (For those wondering about Cartage, I had so many changes I want to implement that I decided to make a short preview mock-up for the Kon. I may make it available online.)
  • Noted trends (research for future plans/art/products.)
  • Expanded my audience. I’ve  given more business cards to costumed people than normally-clad folks.
  • Made connections (with potential for future clients/projects). About 4 booth visitors were seeking portrait artists (not generally sought at cartoon-oriented gigs) in their “real lives.” I also held conversations with genuine people, including other creators, musicians, and earnest high-schoolers (some artists) seeking encouragement to succeed. Genre-wise, I was introduced to the “visual novel,” which is different from a graphic novel in that the story is playable like a video game.
  • Gained valuable first-hand experience with ticketed parking lot gates.

Behold the booth.

booth-sm

booth2-sm

Before I sign off, there are two elements of my Kawa Kon experience you might be wondering about from last time.

1. Dodging giant gerbils. The dealers’ room/super-tent had large overhead air tubes along the ceiling. Sporadically, a burst of air would WSSSHOOM through the tube, flapping the vents as it went. Totally a giant gerbil running through the tunnel.

2. Surviving an air raid. The hotel was opposite the St. Louis airport. Sunday was busy & noisy.

In short, this experience was about testing the waters–managing a booth, spreading the word, and determining whether I’d like to do it again. I would.

Happy Pi Day of the Century! (3.14.15.) If I weren’t such a revisionist, I could’ve posted at 9:26:53.

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Convention Reflections

Konnichiwa, minna-san. (Hello, everyone.) Kawa Kon 2015 has concluded, and I am pleased to report that this pirately purveyor of pandas and pictures had a successful weekend. All in all, my first adventure hosting an art booth at an anime convention (anywhere, for that matter) was a good educational experience–practiced “sailsmanship,” made some connections, enjoyed the calvacade of costumed characters, dodged giant gerbils, and survived an air raid. All in a day’s work.

A more detailed review of my artist alley experience will sail your way soon. Keep a weather-eye out.