My New Foxes & Boxes MOO MiniCards

by on February 16, 2017 at 12:22 am
Posted In: Blog, News
foxes boxes moo card

What a card! Via my Instagram.

[dc]C[/dc]onvention season is starting up, and I decided it was time to invest in some new promotional materials: business cards. Now, I’ve done the usual business cards over the years. This time I wanted to try something different, and something in color.

I decided to give MOO Cards, specifically the MiniCards a shot for my new Foxes & Boxes business cards.

What Are MOO MiniCards?

MOO MiniCards do things a bit differently than traditional business cards: you can get smaller cards and/or cards in different shapes.

The idea is the different sizes and shapes make your MOO MiniCards stand out in a sea of traditional business cards. I’ve used MOO Cards in the past, but I remember liking how my previous batch (for my old Ginger and the Geek podcast) turned out.

I ordered mine a few weeks ago, and they look great.

Business Card Design

Creating a new business card is always a bit of a chore: what do I put on the card? Where do I put the information? Should it be two-sided or not?

And so on.

I knew I wanted color cards. It was time to make the leap. Color business cards stand out better and look more professional.

The Foxes & Boxes logo (designed for me by Steve Jencks) was a must have, as was images of the titular characters. The unique shape of MOO Cards means I had less real estate to play with, but that ended up being a good thing. I wanted my MOO MniCards to be simple with only the basic information. It’s easy to get carried away and cram too much information on a business card.

I eventually decided on the design you see in the picture above: the Foxes & Boxes logo on one side with pictures of Fox and Boxes along with basic information on the other side (saying Foxes & Boxes is a fantasy comic, my name, when it updates, and the URL for the first page).

I didn’t design my MOO MiniCards via their website, but created both sides of the cards myself in Clip Studio Paint. A Moo MiniCard template helped me make sure everything was print-safe too.

More MOO Cards to Come

I only ordered a batch of 100 MOO Cards for my first run. I’ve learned to try new things in small batches. Now that I’m happy with the result, I’ll order more.

I’ll be at the MSU Comics Forum next Saturday with my new MOO MiniCards. Stop and by and check them out.

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My Year Without Coffee

by on February 14, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News
year without coffee hogan

Scientific artist rendering by me.

[dc]L[/dc]ast February, I’m unsure about the exact date, I decided to stop drinking coffee. I did not realize it was already a year later until I was skimming through my old comics yesterday and saw this one about giving up coffee (which I made a few months after giving up coffee).

Why did I Stop Drinking Coffee?

I wanted to see if it would help with my anxiety issues and help me calm down easier.

To be clear, I didn’t give up caffeine (which I probably should try next).

I just switched to green tea, which still has caffeine, but not nearly as much as the cups of black coffee I would down all day. I compared it to only eating half (or less) of a pizza instead of a whole pizza. Sure! That makes all kinds of sense. Green tea reportedly has calming properties as well.

I drink black tea here and there, mostly as iced tea, but still not anywhere near the amount of black coffee I used to drink (four to six cups a day, at least).

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Monster Factory is What You Need In Your Life Right Now

by on February 8, 2017 at 12:02 am
Posted In: Blog, News
mass effect 2 monster factory

Things get weird in Mass Effect 2 thanks to Monster Factory.

[dc]I[/dc] finally got around to watching the YouTube series, Monster Factory, and I’m kicking myself for not checking it out sooner.

Monster Factory is a YouTube series by brothers Griffin and Justin McElroy, known for their podcasts My Brother, My Brother and Me and The Adventure Zone. The latter was my entry drug into all things McElroy and helped me keep sane during the many hours spent getting our new house painted and cleaned up over the Spring and Summer (I learned about The Adventure Zone via another favorite podcast, The Flop House).

What is Monster Factory?

Each episode of Monster Factory is about Griffin and Justin trying to “break” a video game by creating the most insane looking character possible using the game’s character creation engine (like those in Mass Effect 2, The Sims, or Bloodborne). The McElroy’s only limitations are what the game actually offers in terms of manipulation and their own twisted humor.

In short, I love every damn second: it’s insane, random, and hilarious.

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Want to Be Patreon Pen Pals?

by on February 7, 2017 at 12:04 am
Posted In: Blog, News
letter

Photo by John-Mark Smith via pexels.com.

[dc]O[/dc]ne of the rewards I offer on Patreon is a chance to be pen pals. Really. Well, kind of one-way pen pals, but that’s better than nothing. Right? Sure!

Mail Pals

At the $10 a month reward level, I will send you a hand-written letter a month, every month, along with an inked drawing on the same page.

So, for the price of two fancy coffees you can get a piece of original art and a personal message from me, every month, right to your mailbox. Plus, this also gets you full access to my Patreon blog posts and early access to the newest Foxes & Boxes comic before anyone else.

How does Patreon help me make comics?

Making “free” entertainment is not without its costs. Patrons will help me cover my costs for making a new comic every week. Costs like:

  • Biannual Website hosting fees.
  • Yearly domain registration fees.
  • Monthly website back-up services.
  • Website plug-ins and updates.
  • Design work (like the Foxes & Boxes logo) and promotional items (business cards, etc).
  • Art supplies (pens, paper, etc).
  • Equipment and software (drawing tablets, drawing programs).
  • Monthly utilities and Internet service costs.
  • Online advertising (Bing, Project Wonderful, Facebook).
  • My PO Box address.
  • Table fees for appearing at comic shows.
  • Travel costs for appearing at comic shows (food, gas, hotel).
  • Costs for making art prints, books, comics, and other items to sell at comic shows.

Gifting

I’m happy to send the letter/drawing to someone else on your behalf. Do you have a son/daughter, niece/nephew, hermit uncle or family pet you would like to see get more mail? That’s totally doable! It doesn’t matter where I send the letter/drawing, all I need to know is the address and the person’s name.

(In the case of young children, maybe let me know their age so I don’t accidentally write something PG-13 or make off-hand remarks about paying taxes or lamenting the onset of lumbago).

Of course, there’s also the $20 a month level where I send a watercolor post card instead of a letter. Like with the letter, I can send it to someone else if you want.

I’m eager to give these a shot and see what I can come up with every month—and it helps cover my website costs too. You get a goofy message and a silly drawing every month, and I keep the lights on (and/or cats fed).

Paying It Forward

From now until April, for every three new patrons I get, I will back another artist on Patreon. I will pledge at least $1 a month and keep the pledges going for at least six months.

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