Tag: comic artist blog

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New Ideas All At Once – The Genghis Con Mini Pop-Up Event

pictured is an artist alley table set up at a mini pop up event hosted by Genghis Con. This event happened at Superscript Comics and Games in Lakewood, OH.

This past Saturday, I showcased my work at the Genghis Con Mini Pop Up Event. Being surrounded by comics readers and fans…talking to other creators…it gave me so many ideas, all at once.

It just felt GOOD to be back in the comics scene at a live event.

But How Was the Show?

We got a bigger turnout than expected! I sold out of a handful of small things, like stickers. And The Case of the Wendigo was the most popular book on my table!

I want to give a quick shout-out to my friend Deci Belfry. They designed, printed, AND cut my new business cards. Plus they printed and cut new Mr. Dino postcards for the table! (This reminds me: I’ll be sending a portion of proceeds to Margie’s Hope. They’re a local nonprofit serving the trans and nonbinary community).

New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie's Hope in Lakewood, OH. On the postcard is a dinosaur holding a transgender pride flag.
New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie’s Hope in Lakewood, OH
Here's one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me! Pictured is a stylized velociraptor jumping on a business card, with the text "You. Are. Awesome." Below that text is IG: @mrdinoandfriends as well as kelcidcrawford.com
Here’s one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me!

What Kind of Ideas Did I Get?

SO MANY.

I’ve mentioned on Instagram that I have a personal project, called the Character Compendium. I’ve decided that the first batch of compendiums will be zines. They’ll be easier to assemble, print, and share that way (instead of making one large book. The book was the original idea, but zines are faster).

Speaking of zines, I need to give a shout-out to Matt, aka haberfish on Instagram. His perzine inspired me with the idea of a Mr. Dino “anthology” zine. He also makes delightful cartoons, and you should follow his work.

Not only am I thinking of a Mr. Dino perzine…but Matt and Deci gave me another idea…

My personal project, Kitties By Kelci? What if there’s a comic strip with those witch kitties? I will say: if I move forward on a Kitties By Kelci comic strip, they’ll post once a week on my email newsletter. That’s how I first published Thoughtful Dinosaur and Charlie & Clow: The Bonus Arc. I think it’s high-time that another email comic strip happens. Don’t you?

Cool! But Don’t I Have a Lot Going On?

Honestly? Yeah. That’s why I’m going to make some of these new ideas small projects, like zines. (Actually, this ties in nicely to one of my 2021 goals: make more minicomics). Small projects are easier and faster to finish.

When it comes to making and finishing things, I just need to remember: One Thing At A Time. It’s been my mantra for a while now, and I find it helpful in times like this.

That’s all I have for now. Be sure to stay up-to-date by hopping on my email newsletter, where I talk about current and upcoming projects. Like new books.

And be sure to check out Deci and Matt online! I also want to give a shout-out to a few other artists from the pop-up event: Caleb from Village Comics (he has a KickStarter next month!). Lindsey J Bryan. And Quill. (I know I’m forgetting other cool peeps, so tag yourself in the comments).

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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BreeBree Bootique is Now Kitties By Kelci

a black cat stands on hind legs, holding a shield and wielding a laser pointer like a wand. The cat wears a wizard hat embroidered with a ball of yarn rolling around the base. The cat also wears a purple tunic and gold vest. The shield has a dark green cat face and a red gem on the front.

“Whaaaaaa? A name change?” Yes, because BreeBree Bootique is now Kitties By Kelci.

You see, I had a mighty brainstorming session with art buddy and professional cool person Deci Belfry the other day. I’m working with them on something secret (details will come soon), but soon we got to talking about BreeBree Bootique.

And…well, Deci brought up a good point. Which is:

“Dude, if I found out you were drawing cute cats, I’d be ALL OVER that. Because I know you’re the one drawing them.” (Or something like this. I’m paraphrasing here).

I was like, “…You’re right.”

So, Kitties By Kelci will have the same cute kitty art, just with a new name.

The Instagram has the new handle. If you already followed BreeBree Bootique, then Kitties By Kelci will still pop up in your feed. If you haven’t followed yet, now’s a good time to do it.

That said, the RedBubble link has not changed. Lesson learned: once you pick a username on RedBubble, that name becomes the permanent shop name. Even RedBubble says so. Future merchants: LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.

Maybe Kitties By Kelci will expand to other shop fronts because of that? Who knows?

For now, this is the biggest change I have. All of my other projects are still going smoothly (for the most part). And if you’re a backer of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1, I’ll have some good news for you tomorrow.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Falling A Twee Bit Behind on Some Things…

here's a picture of an art piece in progress. The 11 inch by 17 inch paper has a monster depicted whose body is mostly made of leaves. Next to the canvas is a tin full of colored pencils.

I want to talk a bit about how to set goals to be…more realistic. Because I have fallen a twee bit behind on a few things.

First, I wanna’ talk about this piece, pictured at the top.

Right now, the title is (tentatively), “Cryptid of Leaves.” I started this piece all the way back in 2019. So…it’s been A WHILE. I worked on it, then set it aside, because those leaves ALONE took effort to draw. And then I thought, “Let’s color this with colored pencil! That’ll get the look I want to achieve!”

And past me thought I could have this done in a month. On top of everything else I have going on. Which…(insert laughter here).

I have only worked on this in my free time, when I have the urge to do it. So I’m shifting the goal for this piece: I want it finished by…the end of October.

Why so late? Because I still have KickStarter rewards to fulfill and other books to put together. Speaking of which…

Second, I want to talk about the PDF for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1.

For KickStarter backers, I had said, “Oh this should be delivered to you by the end of May!”

It’s June 1st now. The PDF still needs put together. Oops.

To be fair, May was a big transition month. I quit working at NeverEnding (long story), and shifted back to freelancing full-time. Still, getting my freelance sea-legs back can only explain so much. All I can ask is please, continue to be patient. The PDF should still get done by the end of June. I’ll go more in depth about the process in a KickStarter update tomorrow.

Third, The Legend of Jamie Roberts.

So…I’m out of buffer. The month of May had some unexpected events that prevented me from keeping up with my usual production schedule. That means right now, I’m making the next updates as the story is going. That’s not a place I like to be in.

Does this mean that The Legend will get a temporary hiatus? I don’t know. But I’m tempted to have a short, two-week break from regular updates just so I can build the buffer back.

…Maybe I’ll just do that. Expect a more solid decision tomorrow, with The Legend’s usual Wednesday update.

I’ll end this here before this post gets too long. Thank you for stopping in! And thank you for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

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MAJOR Updates

Today at 1 pm EDT, I’m announcing some BIG changes! These changes include a new livestreaming schedule, new projects, and new storefronts.

Got questions? I’ll answer them LIVE!

Can’t watch it live? This stream will be archived here on this site and on my YouTube channel.

Thank you for watching!

You. Are. Awesome.

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I’m Leaving the NeverEnding Team

NeverEnding is a platform that lets users create characters for their tabletop RPG games and other stories. I signed on as the lead artist and character designer back in spring of 2020. And I will be leaving the team this Friday, May 21.

Why?

Well, there’s been some behind-the-scenes stuff going on. I don’t want to get too much into it here. Just know that my reasons for leaving have nothing to do with the team. I think NeverEnding has a great concept! And I hope they succeed, even with my departure.

That said, things have been…BANANAS. But in a good way!

Like, The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1 AND Less Than Secret: A Cryptid Anthology both WILDLY succeeded on KickStarter. But…I still need to fulfill rewards.

Plus, well, my creative energies are being fulfilled elsewhere. At some point, working on stuff for NeverEnding stopped being fun. And I’ve made it a point in my life to work on things that are fun and fulfilling. Life’s too short to do otherwise.

I’ll be talking more about new projects on the horizon this Saturday, May 22. I’ll be livestreaming on YouTube at 1 pm EDT that day. So I hope you can make it! I’ll be sharing sneak peeks at the new things I’ve been working on.

It’s…bittersweet to be leaving NeverEnding. I’ve learned an awful lot working with the crew. And I’ve improved as an artist. (And oh sweet banana pants I have learned SO many new ways to use Clip Studio Paint, my drawing program of choice).

But it’s time that I sail away and go to new shores. You know what I mean?

I hope you’ll join me this Saturday on the livestream. If you do, you’ll see some of the new things coming soon!

Thank you for your understanding.

You. Are. Awesome.