2013 Convention Appearances

Here's a quick update with some confirmed con appearances for the upcoming year, and I hope some of you will be able to stop by Artist Alley and say hi! I'll be sure to post table location information and all that good stuff the closer we get to the convention dates.

• WonderCon (Anaheim, CA) March 29-31
• Boston Comic Con(Boston, MA) April 20-12
• Puerto Rico Comic Con (San Juan, PR) May 25-26
• New York Comic Con (New York, NY) October 10-13: unconfirmed

I've got a couple more possible shows I'd like to add in July and September, but there's no official word yet.

On Covers....episode VI

I began my morning playing the rigorous game of "Email Catch-Up"--which, as many of you no doubt know, is an exercise in futility because it never ends--and after some replies and such, I dove into work. I'm a cover artist for book publishers and authors, and as I was reviewing the request forms, two things hit me: 1)Publisher's are still asking authors to describe a scene from their book as the basis for their cover, and 2)Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond tea is delicious!

Point #1: True, not all publisher ask for scenes, but most of the ones I work with do. Here's a direct quote from one of the forms, for example:

"Please describe, and assume the cover artist has not read your book. If you would like a specific scene you will need to describe it here." (Italics are mine, for em-FA-sis.)

There a couple of main problems with this, and while I understand that mine is mostly a critical opinion, I'll just note my covers which tend to get the most attention do not usually illustrate a specific scene.

The first problem is that covers which attempt to illustrate a specific scene are not especially meaningful for potential readers who haven't already read the book. In other words, most people don't really know--or care--about what's going on in the illustration, because they don't really know--or care--about the story and characters yet. So unless the scene is something incredibly awesome and jaw-droppingly interesting, showing a scene with two guys, I dunno, putting on each other's socks isn't going to be the best way to hook someone into buying the book. (Even Michelangelo himself would have problems hooking someone with that idea, no matter how amazing his art.)

The other problem is that this approach to covers is incredibly old-fashioned, with its Rockwell-era formulas and 80s-Harlequinn execution. Even if a certain illustrated scene is open enough to stand on its own without viewers needing the context of the story, it still feels kinda uninteresting, visually.

So, while publishers might still invite authors to think of their covers in terms of "scenes", the whole point of my rambling is that I hope to get more people thinking outside the box. I'm always thrilled when authors give me free reign to have fun on their covers, and that usually leads to covers that are more eye-catching and interesting! (This inevitably leads in to a Support Your Local Gunslinger Cover Artist discussion, but that's for a different blog post.

Point #2: Republic of Tea tends to make pretty good teas. If you live at your local Panera during finals week and regular deadline crunches, you become pretty familiar with some of RoT's basic offerings like Earl Greyer and Ginger Peach, which both taste great with milk and sugar/honey. But the Vanilla Almond tea is incredible. INCREDIBLE even! Flavorful, without smacking you in the face with almondness, it's bold enough to warrant milk and sugar without getting lost in the mix. I highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and think coffee is as overrated as a Wes Anderson movie. Da-dum-dumm! *cymbal crash*

Now, time to get back to work...!

Upcoming Appearances: New York Comic Con 2011

It's looking more and more like I will have a table at New York Comic Con this year, which will be very exciting! Its my first time attending the con, but I've heard fantastic things about the event, so I'm stoked. Hope to see some of you there!

New York Comic Con - October 13 - 16, 2011
Javits Center
New York, NY

Appearance: Book Expo America: May 24-26, 2011

I'll be at Book Expo America (BEA) this year--w00t! Stop by and see me at the Dreamspinner Press booth, where I'll be doing signings, sketchings, and such. I'll also have a sneak-peak at my upcoming DSP sketchbook project, which should be coming out later in the summer. Please stop by!

BookExpo America (BEA): http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

May 24-26: Exhibits, Conference, Special Events

Javits Center

655 West 34th Street

New York, N.Y 10001

Impending Freedom! And Voyages!

Okay, so I'm in crunch mode as I muscle my way through a few big projects/events, and then it's glorious summertime---full of convention goodness, artistic freedom, lemonade and a beer or two! Huzzah! I'll have more to say within the next few days, but I thought I'd dust off my journal and blog before getting back into regular posting. (Or, my version of regular posting, that is....)

Guest Blogging at Clare London's journal

I'm guest blogging over at the lovely Clare London's journal today: clarelondon.livejournal.com

Head on over to have some fun and maybe win some goodies!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Years, everyone! It's incredible how quickly 2009 went by, but I hope it was a fantastic year for you as well. So many exciting things happened in the last twelve months that it's been quite a whirlwind. I attended my first RWA conference, participated in a number of exciting art projects, and I made new wonderful friends in addition to the amazing folks I was already blessed enough to know and have in my life. And as always, I'm incredibly lucky to have the best readers and art fans any creative individual could ever hope for. A huge part of what I love about my work is knowing that something I've drawn or created has made someone else happy for a little while.

So thank you, thank you, thank you! And here's to a fabulous 2010!