Lunarbistro.com is the
art, comics and sketch blog
of indigo kelleigh.
Hey, Internet!
For many cartoonists and self-publishers, tabling at a convention can be a downright chore, a source of anxiety, and at best a necessary evil. Cartoonists are a generally shy, socially insulated lot, and when it comes to tooting our own horns and selling our work, most of us are too terrified to come out of our shell long enough to engage the public. I've seen this firsthand at many a convention, including Stumptown, and I'm guilty of it myself. There are a few tips I've learned over the years, though, and I want to share them, but not here.
What I want to do is make a small minicomic with tips, tricks, and advice for people who've either never tabled at a convention before, or who just don't seem to have very good luck at it. And I want it to be a kind of definitive 'How To' kind of book, so I'm seeking any advice and tips you might have, to include.
The minicomic will be available for free to anyone who wants one, and I'll even be happy to make a pdf and host it for free download. So let's hear it! Reply here and I'll collect the info.
And please spread the word - let's get as much info into this mini as we can!
Hey! so I spent way too much time yesterday getting myself set up on Twitter. So now, after months of reading my friends's incomprehensible twitterings, I can start throwing out my own! My twitterfeed (did I really just type that?) is at http://twitter.com/indigokelleigh.
I'm going to look into getting one of those little twitter boxes for the blog here too, at some point.
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.
So, as I've been struggling with myself to continue working on Ellie Connelly, so I can actually start putting up some comics on the site, I've been finding myself getting bogged down in historical details. This is the first time I've done a period piece, and I just can't seem to let myself slide on what I would normally consider small details.
For example, on page 8 (the current page-in-progress) there's a very brief, one-panel shot of the exterior of Ellie's home in New York City. In 1892. Wanting to keep a level of historical realism in this story, I've been finding myself researching a lot about Irish immigrants and different neighborhoods in NYC at that time. I've learned that there were a lot of Irish living in Greenwich Village in the 1890s, and I know there are a lot of good rowhouses there (since I decided to put Ellie in NY, I wanted her to live in a brownstone, or a rowhouse, or something like that). But then I started letting myself get all wrapped up in WHICH house? Like, I needed to find the street she may have lived on, and the right style of house - one with nice architectural detail, but not too much to draw.
All for one panel.
And now that I think I've found the house, I'm stuck thinking about the interior, how the house is laid out, where the doors are, that sort of thing. And it got me wondering, am I the only cartoonist I know who worries about that stuff? And, how important IS the historical realism? I mean, if it's getting in the way of me telling the story, should it really matter?
I know that a lot of filmmakers go to extensive lengths to reproduce time periods for their movies, and they have to actually MAKE the stuff, a lot of the time. Is it too much to ask that we cartoonists do the same kind of research?
And I also have to keep in mind that, though only a very small part of this book even takes place in NYC, it is hopefully only the first such story, and that subsequent adventures will show more of the city, of Ellie's home, and her neighborhood, so I think these are important things to think about, even if I'm not going to be using it all right now.
It's not much of an issue with contemporary settings - you can look at most any magazine or movie to see what people are wearing. But if you're setting a story in a particular city, how extensively do you research the city, the neighborhoods? How much photo reference do you use?
I guess I should consider myself lucky that the house I have in mind is still standing, and I could go take pictures of it if I were anywhere near NYC...
Hey, Portlanders! This event is being coordinated as part of the all-out cultural assault that is The Month Before Stumptown (previously known as April):
24 HOURS!
24 PAGES!
1 ARMY OF CARTOONISTS!
1 UNFORGETTABLE EVENT!
Announcing the return of 24-Hour Comic Day... Stumptown style! At 10
AM on Saturday, April 5, cartoonists from all over Portland and beyond
will converge on Cosmic Monkey Comics for a marathon of comic-book
magic. Will YOU be one of them?
A 24-hour comic is exactly what it sounds: one complete comic story
(24 pages) completed in 24 hours. Writing, drawing, lettering, and if
you're really ambitious, coloring -- it's all gotta be done on the
spot. Similar to the ever-popular National Novel Writing Month, it's
an opportunity to celebrate your art form, get your creative juices
flowing, and enjoy the rare opportunity to have some company working
alongside you!
"But what," you ask, "will make THIS 24-hour comic event special?" How about:
So... CARTOONISTS! Ink-slingers and pixel-pushers alike! Step on up
and join the action!
Will you be exhibiting at the Stumptown Comics Fest (April 26-27)?
Need a kick in the ass to produce some comics in time for the show?
Here's your chance!
Respond to cosmicmonkeycomics -at- earthlink.net or 503-517-9050 to RSVP!
Space is limited (we're capping it at 20 artists), so respond ASAP!
APRIL 5
10 AM TO 10 AM
COSMIC MONKEY COMICS (5335 NE Sandy Blvd)
24-HOUR COMICS DRAWPOCALYPSE
Hey, Portlanders! Tonight's first thursday, which of course means gallery openings across the NW and SW PDX areas. I'm actually taking part in one, the Meanwhile... show being curated by my friend Kaebel Hashitani, proprietor of the Sequential Art Gallery.
I'm providing a page of Ellie Connelly art, as well as donating a couple pieces from my private collection (not listed below)
Here's the listing for the Meanwhile show:
First Thursday, March 6, 6:00 p.m.PCPA and the Sequential Art Gallery present MEANWHILE...: An Exhibition of Comic Book Art, featuring artists from the Stumptown Comics Fest, a collection of comic book pages, covers and crossover art. Featuring artwork by Ryan Alexander-Tanner, Jon Ascher, Matthew Clark, Paul Guinan, Seamus Heffernan, Garret Izumi, Indigo Kelleigh, Carolyn Main, Kip Manley, Jenn Manley Lee, Larry Marder, Dylan Meconis, Erika Moen, Bill Mudron, Sarah Oleksyk, Jesse Reklaw, Craig Thompson, Jim Valentino and John C. Worsley.
The ArtBar and Bistro inside the Antoinette Hatfield Hall. 1111 SW Broadway at Main St. Portland, OR.
see you there!
Powell's in Portland plays host to numerous authors, including graphic novelists! In the past they've welcomed Craig Thompson, Colleen Coover, and Alison Bechdel, and on Monday Feb 25th at 7:30pm they'll be adding Charles Burns to that list. From the Powell's website:
From one of the most fiercely admired graphic artists at work today comes a gothic masterpiece of existential fear and loathing, more than a decade in the making and already hailed as a classic. Winner of the prestigious Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards, Black Hole (Pantheon) is a horror tale unlike any other, set in suburban Seattle in the mid-1970s. "The best graphic novel of the year," raved Time magazine. "One of the most stunning graphic novels yet published."
Burns's work was a huge inspiration to me as a kid, he was one of the artists in RAW that I really latched onto at a time when I was starting to see comics as a real tool for self-expression. To say I'm looking forward to this visit is an understatement.
At the Powell's on Burnside!
There's a Drink & Draw event tonight here in Portland at the Rose & Thistle, starting around 7pm. The last one I went to was a lot of fun, and I've been looking forward to being able to go again, and it looks like tonight's my lucky night (it didn't hurt that I chose the date and time)! If you're in the Portland area and want to hang out at a good pub with some other cartoonists talkin' shop and drawing drunk, pop on by! I plan on working on my planned contribution to the Missed Connections anthology.
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