Fantasticon Lansing: See Me This Weekend 4/29 – 4/30

by on April 25, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News
fantasticon lansing

See me in Lansing this weekend. Image via Fantasticon website.

[dc]I[/dc] love local comic shows and similar events, like this weekend’s Fantasticon here in Lansing. I will pretty much go to any local show, if I can fit it into my schedule.

The perks of local shows are obvious: I don’t need a hotel and the driving is minimal (maybe 20 minutes instead of hours). This works out to a lot of savings, as attending large shows is one of my biggest costs (in some cases, hundreds of dollars for a single show).

Sure, I might not sell as much at a smaller, local show, but the expenses are lower (and there’s no travel stress). It’s a trade-off. Appearing at a local show tends to give me a home court advantage too (friends stop by, etc.).

Come see me at Fantasticon in Lansing this weekend!

When is Fantasticon?

Fantasticon is 10 AM – 6 PM Saturday, April 29 and 10 AM – 5 PM Sunday, April 30 2017.

Where Is Fantasticon?

Causeway Bay Hotel & Convention Center, 6820 South Cedar Street, Lansing, Michigan 48911

How Much Are Fantasticon Tickets?

Two-day advance tickets are $12.50 for both days. Day of tickets are $12 for Saturday and $8 for Sunday. Kids 5 & under are free. You can buy tickets online.

What Am I Selling?

  • Prints: I’ll have two new cartoon prints, like Mecha Kitty, along with fresh copies of old favorites.
  • Stickers: My usual collection of stickers, with a few new Foxes & Boxes designs thrown in.
  • Buttons: I ordered a fresh batch of buttons from Pinback Buttons, featuring Foxes & Boxes logos and some cartoon art.
  • Comics: My Foxes & Boxes mini-comic (collecting the first three pages), in color. I also have copies of my Hourly Comics collection from last year (which are comics you cannot read online).
  • Coloring Books: A few remaining copies of my 2016 coloring book (I did not make a new one this year).
  • Commissions: I’m selling cartoon commissions and Random Cartoon commissions.

If you are in Lansing, or don’t mind a road trip, please come see me and the other artists this Saturday and Sunday! The other perk to a smaller show is you, as a guest, can easily see everything thing. Big shows have a lot to offer, but they are exhausting. (On a related note, I miss walking around comic cons as a guest. Maybe I should just attend one as a Normal soon.)

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See Me at the Clinton-Macomb Comic Con on Saturday!

by on April 18, 2017 at 12:53 am
Posted In: Blog, News
clinton-macomb comic con

Via the Clinton-Macomb Comic Con Facebook event.

[dc]T[/dc]his Saturday kicks off the first of four appearances in three weekends. I am not attending many big shows this season, but I’m not hurting for appearances.

This Saturday, you can find me at the first ever Clinton-Macomb Comic Con at the Clinton Macomb Public Library (main branch). 

And guess what? Admission is free!

From the CMPL’s Facebook event:

You don’t want to miss this! We’re hosting our first ever all-ages, all-day, all-library event celebrating everything pop-culture from Paw Patrol to Game of Thrones. The best part: unless you choose to purchase something from a local artist or author or eat at a FOOD TRUCK, everything is free! Panels, photo ops, crafts, board games, video games, trivia, a costume contest, and more!

When Is The Clinton-Macomb Comic Con?

Saturday, April 22nd, starting at 10 AM. There are events running throughout the entire day. I’m planning on being there 10 AM to 3 PM.

Where Is The Clinton-Macomb Comic Con?

40900 Romeo Plank Rd, Clinton Township, Michigan 48038.

What Am I Selling?

As this is a transition year, wherein I shift my focus to Foxes & Boxes, my new items are few, but fun.

  • Prints: I’ll have two new cartoon prints, like Mecha Kitty, along with fresh copies of old favorites.
  • Stickers: My usual collection of stickers, with a few new Foxes & Boxes designs thrown in.
  • Buttons: I ordered a fresh batch of buttons from Pinback Buttons, featuring Foxes & Boxes logos and some cartoon art.
  • Comics: My Foxes & Boxes mini-comic (collecting the first three pages), in color. I also have copies of my Hourly Comics collection from last year (which are comics you cannot read online).
  • Coloring Books: A few remaining copies of my 2016 coloring book (I did not make a new one this year).
  • Commissions: I’m selling cartoon commissions and Random Cartoon commissions.

I’m undecided about continuing to sell my 4×6 watercolor cartoons. Prints seem to be bigger sellers, even though I prefer selling original art. However, if prints are what the people want, then so be it.

ANYWAY

Come see me this Saturday at the first ever Clinton-Macomb Comic Con!

Next weekend, come see me here in Lansing at Fantasticon.

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The 100 Day Project

by on April 12, 2017 at 12:06 am
Posted In: Blog, News
the 100 Day Project

Day 7 of the 100 Day Project. Via my Instagram.

[dc]L[/dc]ast week, I decided to take part in The 100 Day Project. As the name implies, it’s a creative project lasting 100 days.

What Is The 100 Day Project?

The goal is to make/do something every day for 100 days, and more importantly, to get in the habit of making something every day (like the book I’ve used, Art Before Breakfast).

My darling wife Stephanie brought the project to my attention and suggested I give it a shot. I hesitated at first, because similar projects, like Inktober, caused me to burn out in the past and led to stress (I didn’t finish in 2015, and I didn’t even try Inktober in 2016).

I realized what actually caused all of that stress, however: posting the Inktober updates here. Daily blog updates are a lot of work, especially compared to the speed and ease of social media (thanks to a few taps on my phone). A blog post here is a lot more work than a blog post on Patreon or a quick photo on Instagram.

So, I decided all of my 100 Day Project Updates would be on social media only (at least for now). The updates start on Instagram, and then go to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr at the same time. (all tagged with #the100dayproject and #100positivethings)

A quick note: if you look in the right sidebar of clattertron.com, you will see I added an Instagram Feed plugin, which shows my latest update.

What is My 100 Day Project?

I wanted to keep my 100 Day Project simple, and I knew it would be drawing. But what would I draw? And what could I stretch out for 100 days? Stephanie suggested I split the 100 days between drawing and inking comics, but the thought of doing so gave me hives (and I worried Foxes & Boxes would suffer).

Inspiration came while I was meditating using a guided mediation with positive affirmations: I would draw a character saying a positive message.

My thinking was, if I force myself to write out something positive every day, I can offset any stress of the project. This is more about attitude adjustment and confidence building than wishing for good things to happen because I keep thinking they will.

Continue Reading

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Make Digital Comics? Try Blambot’s Free Fonts

by on March 21, 2017 at 12:07 am
Posted In: Blog, News, Reviews
blambot logo

Image via blambot.com.

[dc]I[/dc] started using Blambot fonts for my comics (with this one). Why? After years of hand-lettering my digital comics, I decided to shake things up.

Blambot Fonts: The Switch

I never used Clip Studio Paint‘s font tool the past because I wasn’t crazy about the default fonts. This changed after I went to Blambot’s site and tried out a few of their free fonts. I downloaded a few free fonts and played around in Clip Studio Paint.

I quickly decided I wanted to switch to using a digital font.

Why I Switched to Digital Fonts

My Foxes & Boxes comics are more dialogue heavy than my older Clattertron comics. That comes with doing long-form story comic instead of a gag-a-day comic, which was usually more about visual gags. Switching to the font tool sped my work flow up, and made it easier for me to write and re-write dialogue on the fly.

For my old work flow, I typed the text out in OpenOffice, pasted it into Clip Studio Paint, and traced the text on a separate layer. While I mostly liked the look of this process, it kept losing some of its charm as the years went on—especially when I switched to Foxes & Boxes.

(Yes, I realize the compromise here would be to make a font from my handwriting. I haven’t ruled that out yet.)

Now, I type out the text in OpenOffice paste it straight into Clip Studio Paint. I rearrange the text a bit, move things around and such, but then I’m done. I sometimes rewrite dialogue after pasting it and seeing how it actually looks in the panel.

Blambot Free Fonts for Indie Creators

Blambot offers a bunch of fun fonts for free if you are an indie creator (like me). There are a bunch of premium fonts too, and I recommend giving them a look . I like it when companies go out of their way to throw a bone to indie creators. I may buy a premium font as a thank you.

Check out Blambot for some free fonts today! There are three categories: dialogue, sound effects, and design.

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