I've been pondering for some time now the possibility of throwing off the shackles of my day-job and following my dream of being a full-time contract illustrator and cartoonist. Every time I think of it, though, in my mind it always looks to be a few months away, always a few months away, at least.

Some developments occurred today that have made this possibility a dead-set reality, and as of this afternoon I am officially pursuing full-time contract illustration work. No more hemming and hawing. I've been putting it off too long, finding excuses to let the fear of it all get the best of me. I may not be sure that I'm ready to do it, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I'm hoping my new lifestyle (if I can really call it that yet) will allow me time to close out some long-running projects, like the 8-Bit Tarot deck, and a couple small comics projects I've had set aside. I also hope that I can refocus my efforts to making serious progress on Ellie Connelly, and would like to launch the webcomic within the month.

In the meantime, I'm going to complete a small illustration test for a potential client which, if things work out well, may provide fairly steady periodic work. I'm also going to need to redesign and update my portfolio, put together some promotional postcards, and start telling people that I'm available for commissions and contracts.

Hey, did I mention that I'm available for commissions and contracts? Check out my Portfolio! ;)

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And the original:

I'm so happy I even managed to get the hidden skull in there!

This leaves only one card left in the suit of Cups - the three - but unfortunately, that's going to be the last one I do, for reasons which should be clear to anyone who is familiar with the card and it's meaning. Anyhow, the next one I do will be the six of swords, a suit that's been badly neglected thus far.

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Just added the second pack of 8-Bit Tarot cards to the Lunarbistro.com store, so if you've been waiting for your chance to order some for yourself, wait no longer!

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I'll be adding the second pack of my 8-Bit Tarot cards to the lunarbistro store in a few days, I just want to make sure I fill all the pre-orders first. What's that, you say? Pre-orders? Yep! I'm letting anyone who ordered the first pack have dibs on subsequent packs, to help ensure that they can get the full deck and not end up with missing packs.

if you want to get on the pre-order list, it's time to order that First Pack! And if you want to pre-order pack 2 right now, make sure to add an extra $5 + shipping to your paypal order.

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Hey! My internet-friend Manning Krull just posted this awesome set of pics to the Weird History livejournal, featuring a turn-of-the-century cafe in Montmartre called Le Cafe d'Enfer (the Cafe of Hell). Check out this awesomely creepy place:

Go to the post to see a bunch more pictures, including interiors!

And of course, when I saw this, I was struck by the amazing similarity to the Cafe Faust, which I designed for a far-too-brief scene in Chutney Point:

How weird is that? I wonder if anyone can find me photos of a fish-&-chips restaurant shaped like a giant fish, or a gift shop carved into a giant redwood tree...

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Hey, I had the privilege of taking part in a group interview for the Inkstuds radio show yesterday, and now you can listen to it via podcast! Larry Marder, Dave Roman, and Tara McPherson carried the interview, thankfully, and we all talked a bit about why we got into comics in the first place.

Go now, Listen!

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