I’m Discontinuing Art Books (For Now) – Here’s Why

a zine opens to two illustrations. On the left is a dragon in a vest, holding a magic staff. On the right is a dragon man, wielding a dagger and shield. Fingers from a white hand hold the spread open.

I’m discontinuing the print runs for my art books, including Witches, Gods & Spirits, and Dragons. Here’s why.

First, the cost of printing has gone up. Since 2021, the cost of printing books has increased across all the printers I work with. This is especially true for the printer who runs Witches, Gods & Spirits, and Dragons. (Stars of Fantasyville and CATS got printed with a different company.)

Second, when I looked at my sales stats across the decade, the numbers shocked me. I ran my numbers to account for which books earned the most from crowdfunding AND convention sales. Dragons and Gods & Spirits barely made it in the top 10 overall earners list and the top 10 earned per year list. Neither title made it to the top 5 in either. Witches only made one list (top earners overall).

And that’s if I took out Johnson & Sir from the stats. If I left that title in, the outlook for those art books looked worse.

Third, and this is the big one for me – I’m feeling called not to make any more art books. My energy wants to make more comics, and any art that’s not comics wants to be stickers and prints. Not art books.

I also want to work on and grow The Legend of Jamie Roberts. It’s hard to do that when time and energy are being put into art books that cost more and more to print but sell less and less. So I’m taking art books out of the equation, so more time and sweat can go where it wants to go – making comics.

So what does this mean?

Well, there are some shops I sell on consignment with who are carrying the last of my art books. Last week I dropped off the final copies of Witches and Gods & Spirits at Handmade Toledo. Quimby’s in Chicago and Indie Northern KY are also options if those are closer to you.

This also means no Junicorn or Inktober art books for the foreseeable future. My energy is not called to participate in those challenges anymore. So I’m going to honor that. I would rather pursue things out of joy and curiosity, not obligation. And Inktober doesn’t inspire me the way it used to.

The good news is – if you want art, prints and stickers are still happening! In fact, I’m hoping to do a flash sale soon to get two new sticker designs in print. If you saw this livestream replay, you may know which designs I’m talking about. Hint: Godzilla be thicc.

Here’s the difference – prints and stickers are happening when I want to make them. Not out of a viral art challenge or out of a sense of obligation. I’m making the art I want to make, that I feel called to make, that I think would bring joy to others. I want that to be my driving force moving forward.

Having said that, there are two exceptions (ish) to the final-run art books: Stars of Fantasyville, and CATS. Stars have a ton of extra copies left – like, over 60. I’m not doing another print run because the first print run is still in stock. But I won’t do a second print run of it either.

CATS, on the other hand, will get reprinted as soon as possible. It was only released less than a year ago! It hasn’t had the chance to expand its reach yet. Also, it brings joy to me and many others.

As for the other books? It’s time their runs come to an end.

Don’t get me wrong – the art books did bring me joy at the time. But for reasons including the cost of printing, slumped sales, and discontinued interest, I’m letting the concept go.

Thank you, art books! You brought joy to me and a lot of others. I think it’s time to let you rest so new stuff can be made.

Stay tuned for more of that new stuff – including that flash sale I mentioned.

Thank you for your understanding and your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

October 5, 2023October 2, 2023

Commission – Violet Bit Kitten

a commission art shows Violet Bit Kitten, a cute girl with pale skin, gold glasses, and purple eyes, wearing a purple dress with purple hair. Her cat ears are also purple.

Check out this commission I finished for Violet Bit Kitten!

Violet Bit Kitten asked me to draw her VTuber persona, and I was happy to get such a cutie to draw. If you would like to see how I drew her, check out this live-stream replay on YouTube.

(Be sure to subscribe to Violet Bit Kitten, as well. She’s a pretty chill streamer!)

I love drawing characters! If you would like me to draw a commission for you, I’m available. Here’s a page with more info.

That said, I do recognize that funds might be tight. But if you have a membership of $5/month on Ko-Fi or Fan Clubs, you get exclusive discounts on my commissions (plus other perks)! Sometimes commission spots are available on Crowdfunding campaigns, like Mr. Dino Pride Keychains on Crowdfundr. (By the way, you have UNTIL OCT 6 to get Mr. Dino merch.)

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

September 2, 2022September 2, 2022

Available for Pre-Order for 3 DAYS ONLY – Dragon Baby Pride Keychains

They’re here – and they need your support!

For folks who liked my blue baby dragon keychains, you’re gonna LOVE these new Pride Baby keychains! They’re the same size as the blues, roughly 2 inches square (not counting the keyring). Plus they’re printed on one side in sturdy, clear acrylic. They also come with a protective film on the front to save the babies from scratches.

Why make a Dragon Baby keychain with LGBTQ+ pride colors? Well, to let folks know that they’re not alone. That they can be brave AND adorable at the same time. And if people take issue with that? Well, a baby dragon is still a dragon. Never meddle in their affairs (for humans are crunchy and good with ketchup).

Anyway, these babies are now up on Crowdfundr for 3 DAYS ONLY!

Why Crowdfundr?

While Crowdfundr is new (to me, and I’m sure to you, too), they’re actually sponsoring this year’s Small Press Expo – a show I’m going to!

I also spoke with a representative from Crowdfundr. These folks have worked with other comics artists, so they know what creators like me (and patrons like you) are looking for in a campaign.

Also…the platform is smooth as heck to work in. AND you can mix and match your own reward bundles!

Do you want just a keychain? You can do that. Or maybe a sticker, keychain, AND a painting? You can do that, too! Want 15 keychains and a page from Dragons: A Sketchbook? Make it happen! I’m already in love with Crowdfundr because of this mix-and-match reward system alone.

I hope you give this new platform a try – and I hope you support these Dragon Baby Pride Keychains!

If you’re broke, check out the campaign and click the share buttons. There are a TON of options, yo.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021

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.