Patreon Is Where It's AT

NYC is FINALLY mostly “over the curve” and now we’re all in the phase of “NOW WHAT?” Definitely a time of soul searching and exploring career/life choices for many people on Earth. One thing I’m super happy about is that through all this, my wonderful patrons on Patreon have not only STAYED, but I gained some NEW ones and some people even pledged MORE! I’m truly grateful to each and every patron that has supported my work.

Backing up a bit, Patreon is a crowdfunding website, much like Kickstarter, but it’s for ongoing work, not for one particular item. For example, I launched my Patreon so people could see the behind the scenes world of how I create the AER HEAD comic series. Whereas I launched my Kickstarter specifically to print 100 copies of AER HEAD issue #1 once it’s all complete. Building my Patreon definitely helped me understand how to better launch a Kickstarter when the time was right, and I highly recommend artists launching both.

If you’re an artist, musician, or other creative and don’t have a Patreon, BUILD ONE NOW! Now is the time where, even though you may feel like the world is crumbling around you with instability, there ARE actually people out there that still have stable jobs working remotely that would love to support you during this time. I share a lot about the stages of building my own Patreon in the first few public posts. Public posts are posts everyone can see, whereas you’d need to join one of my monthly membership tiers to see some other posts.

For example, here’s a sneak peek of a recent post for the “See the Present” tier (lowest tier level at $2/month) where I went into detail about the scanning and cleaning up process for my AER HEAD comic. If you want to level up your comic creation skills, this is a great tier to join at a low price!

Also, as part of MerMay (drawing prompts where you draw mermaids for the month of May & post on social media), if you join my “Custom Character Artwork” tier, you’ll get a drawing of one of my AER HEAD characters as a mermaid, usually on a surf board!

This is a $50/month tier, but this is the price I normally charge for a color sketch of one character at a comic con anyway (btw MoCCA Fest is officially cancelled). If you’d like a mermaid sketch, you can always sign up for one month, then cancel later. If you’re missing that in-person comic convention experience, this is a great way to get some cool unique art and support me as a freelance artist in these troubling times.

Just go to patreon.com/mindyindy and select a monthly tier. It’s super simple - you can even pay with Paypal. Many thanks, and I hope to see you on Patreon!

Inspiration: Make 100____!

I’m already thinking about my plans for the new year, which is actually a new DECADE! I want to hit the ground running in 2020 and will do a post on some of my goals in the next few weeks, but I wanted to share something cool with you: Kickstarter’s “Make 100” campaign. I’m not participating in it (still working on my own Kickstarter fulfillment!) but if you want to get your feet wet with Kickstarter for the first time, Make 100 is a great way to finally give yourself the push you need!

Make 100 happens every January and you can make 100 anything - 100 copies of zines, 100 bracelets, 100 cupcakes, anything! It’s very advantageous if you coordinate a project you’ve wanted to do with one of Kickstarter’s special promos like this because you’ll probably get a bit of extra attention from being a part of the larger campaign. Kickstarter promotes Make 100, people search for it, and your project may end up in a featured newsletter (happened to me twice for “Small Press Big Ideas.”)

I’m telling you this now so you still have time to plan if you want to launch anytime in January. You could even launch at the end and have almost 2 months to plan. I know that people have various thoughts and feelings about Kickstarter (my launch happened mid-kerfuffle), but you can’t deny that it is the best platform to launch a project in a HUGE way. There were people who just found me “out of nowhere” just from Kickstarter!

Business Tip

Start planning for the new decade now instead of the first week of January and then give up the second week of January. By brainstorming now I feel like I have more time and space to determine what goals matter to me.

Less than 24 Hours Left to Kickstarter!

Greetings! As of this posting, we’re less than 24 hours left to my AER HEAD Kickstarter and almost at $3,000! Super happy that so many people have come together to make all this happen :) Still stretching towards the next stretch goal though, to hire a flatter! But really anything on top of my initial goal is icing on the cake. Last chance for you to be part of the action and get your name printed in the thank you page of the book (back at any level), get original pages from the AER HEAD comic (it’s hand drawn!), and more. Check it out before 5pm Thursday Oct 10 (that’s tomorrow!)

Business Tip

You can’t promote too much when you’re advertising something like crowdfunding, an event, a special sale, etc. We artists struggle with self-promotion a lot, but I’ve found the more you do it, the easier it gets. Sometimes I wonder if I’m being too annoying posting all over facebook or in my IG stories, but the thing is, this is what these platforms ARE DESIGNED FOR!

Also reaching out to people with personal messages has gotten more people to actually donate to the Kickstarter. We do need to be mindful of the way we message though! A friend/colleague in the comics world today was just saying how people just send him links to their crowdfunding with no message. Pretty rude and it doesn’t really work. I see messaging people as a way to reach out and reconnect with someone you may not have seen in awhile and also let them know you’re still creating great artwork (or whatever it is that you do).

Cheers!

Last 48 Hours of Kickstarter! Reached 1st Stretch Goal!

It’s crunch time: the last 48 hours of my AER HEAD Kickstarter campaign, and just we reached the first stretch goal at $2802 as of this posting! Now I have the funds to hire a professional letterer, which will make the book much snazzier and save time! But I’m not stopping there - help me reach an even stretchier stretch goal of $3600 to hire a flatter! Heck, I’ve flatted for others in the past, but this is the next step in helping me get AER HEAD out into the world more efficiently. If you’ve already backed, MANY THANKS YOU’RE AWESOME!! If you haven’t checked out the Kickstarter yet, please do so now before it ends this Thursday October 10th at 5pm!

Business Tip

You never know what you can achieve until you try! A little over a month ago, I didn’t feel fully ready to launch a Kickstarter, but I did all the research I could in the available time. Having deadlines is a super motivator! If you’re considering launching a Kickstarter, find out when they have special campaigns, like January’s “Make 100,” and set it as a goal. Sometimes comic cons are great deadlines too. Or holidays, or other events. But Kickstarter really kicked my ass into gear!

NYCC & 1 Week Left for Kickstarter

I can’t believe there’s only one week left to go for the AER HEAD Kickstarter! Ends Thursday October 10th at 5pm, so if you haven’t backed yet but would like to, don’t delay any longer to get a digital or physical copy of AER, original art, + more!

My campaign is a bit longer than most because I didn’t want to end on New York Comic Con. I won’t be tabling in artist alley this year, but that may be a good thing so I don’t have to worry about making the table $ back. This year I’ll be focusing on promoting the Kickstarter while I go to various panels and visit people. I made a big sign out of the AER HEAD cover art and am going to wear it on my head haha! I’ll have some preview comics and if anyone wants to back the campaign on the spot they’ll get the mini comic free. At SPX I had a table for 2 days and got a few backers, so we’ll see how this new approach works. It’s fun trying different marketing ideas!

If you WOULD like a sketch from me, I’ll still take orders though! I’m using the Pro Lounge as my base - lower level room 1B05. Direct message me on Instagram @mindyindy_art or twitter @mindy_indy so we can meet up for commissions.

Business Tip

Always try to be one step ahead (or a few steps!). In my recent public Patreon update, I talk about how all the research and prep work before the Kickstarter launched was essential to its success for reaching its first goal in a week and a half.

Half Way Through the AER HEAD Kickstarter! New Computer Tech Stuff!

Half way through the Kickstarter! So elated that people have come together to support myself and an artist and my dreams :) . Read my latest Kickstarter update here. Many thanks to all my current backers, and if you haven’t already joined the fun, please do so and select an AER HEAD reward like a digital or physical copy of the book :)

In other news, I added a new media section to my website! Since I’m reaching out to people and news entities about my Kickstarter, I wanted to add a tailored section of select media like articles, interviews, and podcasts that feature my Kickstarter. Check it out!

Business & Tech Stuff

You’ll see at the bottom of the media section a coaching call with Tyler James of the ComixLaunch podcast. It’s humbling for me to have this out on the internet because we discuss problems I’ve been having in the freelance world, but it’s always a learning journey.

One of the hurdles I faced recently was that I had to get a new computer during my Kickstarter - super stressful! But I am typing to you right now on the new computer and IT’S AWESOME. I’m also just glad that the screen doesn’t blink in and out and that programs start in 2 seconds. Keep in mind that I had to get the computer regardless of how the Kickstarter went, as it was literally dying. None of the Kickstarter money will go to the computer unless I make extra beyond my stretch goals.

I highly recommend doing THOROUGH research when buying a new computer if you’re mid-career. When you’re a student, you take what you can get, but as you grow professionally you realize that sometimes “off the shelf” computers won’t cut it. Brace yourself, I’m gonna get my TECH on:

Refurbished 2018 MacBook Pro on the left. Early 2011 MacBook Pro on right. Yes I’ve made that baby last 8.5 years by Frankensteining it. This model was one of the last of its kind where you could switch out the parts. Today’s Macs are built in one solid piece so if one part has problems internally, you pretty much have to get a new computer. For the 2011 one, I replaced nearly everything in it except the screen, keyboard, and fan. The logic board was the first to go - took it to Apple’s Genius Bar & they fixed it. Then the hard drive went - luckily I got it replaced without losing data. I upgraded my RAM 3 times on this Mac - once all by myself. The RAM is Random Access Memory (yes the Daft Punk album is based on actual tech stuff lol)

Over the years of having that computer I gradually learned about the tech stuff to save money. WHY was my computer slowing down and what was the cheapest way to fix it? I’ve learned through asking techie friends, YouTube, and Apple support on the phone & in-store. It’s difficult for me to understand everything about RAM, for example, but the only thing you need to know is that THE MORE RAM YOU HAVE, THE BETTER because it speeds up your computer. I knew that if I wanted my next computer to have a chance at lasting many years I HAD to get the highest RAM possible, which meant customizing, which you can do on the Apple website.

But customizing is more expensive. I decided to look into the refurbished section of the Apple site and found one that was modified to 32GB of RAM instead of the standard 16. I had to wait awhile for an affordable computer (their inventory fluctuates all the time. Once literally a mac disappeared before my eyes! BEFORE my EYES!!) but a suitable one popped up and I snatched it!

Another problem was that I couldn’t easily transfer all my files from the old Mac to the new one due to hard drive size. Years ago my external HDs kept failing so I saved all my data on the Mac’s internal HD & backed up remotely through CrashPlan (switched to Carbonite now). When I replaced the HD on the old computer, I souped it up to 500GB, but the new Macs come with only HALF that due to people saving files in various clouds. For all my previous computers, I just migrated the old computer to the new one, but trying to do that now would have caused many problems because you can’t transfer 500GB of data to a device with only 256GB of space.

In THIS case tough, I did NOT choose to buy the extra internal HD space because it was hella expensive!! You can always get more EXTERNAL HD space for way less. I got 2 1TB external HDs, each for like $60. I downloaded all the data from Carbonite to one of the HDs. I never used TimeMachine because it’s for the entire system & don’t want to go down that tangent. In my case, I think Time Machine would have made the transition more complex.

Anyway my newer Mac has the regular 256GB internal HD, and I’m storing all my data now on an external HD, which I’m backing up to a 2nd external HD and will reconnect it to Carbonite later to also back up my new files to their cloud.

Ok my eyes are bugging out from re-living all of this lol! My new computer journey was even more complex than this but I have to stop here or my brain will explode. This stuff is hard for me to understand but I CAN learn it if I try, but I do get burned out easily from it. Made lots of progress though and am super happy with the end result!

Kickstarter Launch Wednesday 9/4 at NOON!

It’s almost here! I’ve really been hunkering down for the past few weeks to prepare myself as much as possible for my Kickstarter launch. I’ve gotten some preview pages done and have gone over the numbers of calculating shipping and goals many times. The launch won’t be perfect, but I gotta do it anyway!

If you back my project, you can get some SURFTASTIC rewards which include a digital or physical copy of AER HEAD #1, fold-out poster, original art, custom art, or even get drawn in the crowd scene at the surf competition! Go to Kickstarter at noon tomorrow and search for “Mindy Indy” or “AER HEAD” (keep in mind the spelling). I’ll send the link with a post tomorrow but currently I can’t control what time these emails go out (one of many tech problems). When you see this email the Kickstarter may actually already be live. But you’ll want to snag the early bird deals ASAP - there are a limited amount of discounts for the first backers of the higher tiers.

Also as a THANK YOU for being on my email list, if you back my project and send me an email (mindy at mindyindy dot com) with your Kickstarter receipt, you’ll get a FREE digital PDF of OTHER REALMS, a collection of short sci-fi comics, stories, & illustrations! Written by Patrick McEvoy & drawn by yours truly. Thanks for being with me on my creative journey thus far - I truly appreciate it!

Business Tip

The special offer I just mentioned is a great way for people to get more interested in your projects! Everyone loves free stuff! At this point in my career I have plenty of work I’ve already created to choose from. The common thread of AER HEAD & OTHER REALMS is the sci-fi theme. For example, I don’t think that Apartment Hunt really ties in with AER HEAD themes at all besides being funny. Digital rewards are great because they don’t require shipping.

Thanks for reading!

Saying NO so you can say YES

This Labor Day weekend you probably said YES to a few summer activities, which means you probably had to turn down others. Even relaxing and doing nothing but watching Netflix is prioritizing rest and saying no to other things. It’s just like that with work too. As a freelancer, we need work, but saying yes to too many projects by default means that oftentimes we don’t have the time to do personal projects that matter to us.

I’ve had a lot of practice saying NO to projects over the years mainly because I’ve grown to recognize the red flags about questionable projects. Does this person actually have a budget for the project’s worth? Is the person good about communication? Do I get a weird vibe from them? There are even some times where I didn’t feel comfortable working on the subject matter of a project, if it’s against my beliefs or morals. This is especially hard to do when all the other flags are green. As an artist, I do get some pretty weird stuff thrown in my direction! But we all need to make a living, so I’m not saying to turn down projects left and right, but it’s good to have some guidelines and boundaries for yourself so you don’t get overwhelmed and end up working on something you don’t feel right about working on.

Recently I said no to a project and I realized that if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to plan my Kickstarter to it’s fullest. It’s crucial to plan your campaign out thoroughly and it takes a lot of time. There are so many moving parts it’s mind boggling! Everything from building your page to explain your project, to writing press releases (EEK! something I’ve never done before) to planning a social media campaign and OH YEAH you still have to keep creating the actual art!

I said YES to my own comic project, AER HEAD! For the next month I’ll be going full speed ahead on trying to promote AER HEAD #1 on Kickstarter. Please keep an eye out for my Kickstarter LAUNCH this upcoming Wednesday, September 4th at NOON Eastern Time. Search Kickstarter for “Mindy Indy” or “AER HEAD”. I’d love for you to join me in this endeavor of making the printing of the comics actually happen! We need more surfer heroes in the world like Aer :) Many thanks!

Learn Anything from Podcasts

I totally geek out about podcasts and have learned so much about productivity, social media marketing, science, well-being, and more over the years from them. My favorite used to be Beyond the To Do List but my NEW favorite is the ComixLaunch podcast by Tyler James, and I was actually featured in a clip of this episode! Anyone can ask a question over voicemail and it’s a cool way to engage listeners of the show. I had a question about the lowest Kickstarter tier and took Tyler’s advice. My lowest tier is now set at $5 instead of $1 or $2. Tyler has all the winning qualities that the productivity “gurus” have, but he applies them to the comics realm, which I’ve never seen anyone do before. Even if you’re not looking to launch a Kickstarter now, he and his guests also give great real insight into the comics industry, as in this episode.

My Kickstarter for AER HEAD #1 is scheduled to launch on Wednesday September 4th (mark your calendars!), but I still have a lot of research and planning to do, so I’ve been listening to the ComixLaunch podcast nonstop to learn everything I can about Kickstarter tips while doing inking work, other comic work, doing dishes, cooking, etc. I’m a big fan of saving time this way and write Kickstarter tips on post-it notes if I hear a good tip to look into or action item.

Business Tip

What area of life would you like to learn more about? Seriously there’s a podcast for EVERYTHING, you just need to dig around a little for it. I discovered the ComixLaunch podcast from ANOTHER podcast (Funding the Dream) which mainly focuses on gaming projects on Kickstarter. And you don’t even need to have an iPhone to listen to the podcasts - for years I just listened on various websites (when I had crappy Android phones). It’s great to learn new things and always keep growing as an artist and as a person, so find the podcasts that can help you reach the next level of your life!

Look out for my Kickstarter!

Recently I did a public post on my Patreon about how I’m using Patreon and Kickstarter together! Check it out! The world of crowdfunding is so amazing. At first it seems overwhelming, but I think anyone could do it if they had enough motivation. It does take time to learn how to plan correctly to launch your project, and that plan varies by platform. I’m glad that I started with Patreon first rather than jumping into a Kickstarter before I was ready. But really, it’s high time I did one for AER HEAD by now!! Stay tuned for more updates, as my current plan is to launch in early September :)

Meanwhile, no conventions or events planned for me in the comics world in August! At first I thought I’d try to exhibit in more beach/boardwalk events, but I really do need to focus on planning the Kickstarter. And untangling the massive mess that is getting a new computer. And getting more ongoing work. Yes all these 3 things at the same time make my head spin but it’s the journey of life!

As for my computer, I’ve made my 2011 MacBook Pro last until now through upgrading the parts over time. It’s one of the last macs with this ability, but 8.5 years later, the writing is on the wall and it started acting up. I solved some things and am typing to you on it now though.

I’ve put my Business Basics for Freelancers class on hold to prioritize other projects. I’m considering adding a special business tips section to this blog/mailing list, but really this whole post is a kind of tip. But let’s try it out by talking more about the differences between Patreon and Kickstarter:

Business Tip

If you’re a creative person of any kind, or a teacher, or an inventor, I highly recommend crowdfunding on Patreon, Kickstarter, or both. Here’s a quick rundown of differences:

Patreon

Ongoing campaign with patrons pledging a monthly subsciption.

Behind the scenes peek at your artistic process.

Feels more laid back and organic, and you can post very sketchy sketches and feel ok.

Kickstarter

Short campaign usually lasting only one month where people pledge only once.

Usually focuses on the finished product like physical comic printing. Usually most of the project must be done before launching.

Feels like everything needs to be perfect. Definitely more pressure and stress to fund a successful campaign in a short time.

Ok trying some new things out with layouts on this blog. I’m using Squarespace and wanted to make a side-by-side list, but seems like it may have been better if I created my own graphic in Illustrator. But whatever I need to move on with my life. I’m considering moving to Mail Chimp but it doesn’t use an RSS feed. Ugh other tech problems.

This really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between Patreon and Kickstarter. Please let me know what you think by replying if you get this via email or commenting if you see it on my blog!

NYCC 2011

Words are not enough to describe how awesome and inspiring the New York Comic Con was this year!  I met SO MANY awesome people everywhere I went and learned immensely important things for my career as a cartoonist.

I got a 4 day "Professional" pass.  Usually the con is 3 days, but Thursday was open to just Professionals.  That's why you see all that clear space around me in the top picture, and craziness in the pic just above (taken Saturday).  It helped to have time to scope things out before it got insane.  I was able to talk with some other professionals I may not have gotten one-on-one time with otherwise, like Victor Gorelick: Co-President/E-I-C of Archie Comics, and Paul Kaminski: Compilation Editor of Sonic the Hedgehog.  More on Sonic later :)

Half the time I spent going to panels (meaning interviews with creators/business people, rather than drawn comic panels on a page!).  The ones I targeted were mostly about "how to" things, like self-publishing your comic, copyrighting, and digital distributing.  One of the best panels was about using Kickstarter to fund and market your comic, so that may be the way AER HEAD gets out into the world.  I even went to a panel about planning events in a comic store.  It was aimed at store owners, but was actually very helpful in teaching interesting marketing techniques.  Another useful one was about digital coloring.  Christina Strain blew my mind away with all the awesome Photoshop stuff she demonstrated.  I thought I knew a lot about coloring before, but there's so much more to learn!

I loved the panel about Womanthology, which is a compilation of short comic stories drawn and written by women.  Womanthology is being put together by Renae De Liz, who I got to meet and is super awesome!  She also drew the gorgeous artwork for the graphic novel adaptation of The Last Unicorn (one of my favorite childhood animations).  I also met her husband, Ray Dillon, who inked and colored her work.  This couple is so inspiring not only because their artwork is supernaturally amazing, but they have such drive and passion about them, as well as being very friendly down-to-earth people.  Another Last Unicorn person I saw was Peter S. Beagle, who wrote the original prose novel that the animation was based off.  I met him once before at the San Diego Comic Con years ago, and it was just as awesome seeing him again.

Another highlight was the Sonic the Hedgehog panel!  I've been a lifelong fan of Sonic - from the videogames to the tv shows to the comic.  I was thrilled to meet my favorite Sonic artist, Patrick Spaziante ("Spaz")!  I asked him lots of questions about his career, gave him one of my AER HEAD mini comics, and practically launched into outer space when he said that HE liked MY artwork!  How cool is THAT?  As Sonic would say:  "Way past cool!"  I also briefly met Ian Flynn, writer of Sonic.  Everyone working on Sonic just beams with positive energy and it shows that they really love what they do.  Someday, I want to be part of that team!

I also spent a lot of time in the "Artist's Alley" section of the Con.  This is the section where independent comic publishers and freelance artists have booths to sell their books and showcase their artwork.  The more I talked with artists there, the more I felt the calling to get a table at this and other cons too.  Some artists suggested starting with the smaller conventions to save money, so keep an eye out for mindy indy at your local Brooklyn cons soon :)  (In this context, "con" is short for convention.  I don't intend to con people :)

I noticed a significant difference in people's general responses to me this year when I mentioned that I colored Marvel comics as Kyle Baker's assistant.  (I was careful not to look like I was blatantly name-dropping, and didn't bring it up with everyone.  It naturally came up in conversations).  I had a published Deadpool Max comic to show as an example too.  Last year, I toted my portfolio around to publishers and asked advice, and was told at worst that my style wasn't what they were looking for, and at best to just submit samples online to the company's general email, not to anyone specific.  (I don't like online art submissions, because like job submissions, I think they go into a black void and my time was wasted).  But this year, people paid attention to me more!  I got lots of positive feedback from the AER HEAD mini comics, and I may have gotten some possible leads to future projects - fingers crossed!

Speaking of Deadpool, a gazillion people dressed up as him!  Everywhere I turned, there was Deadpool!  I think because there's a movie coming out soon.  I felt special that I get to contribute my talents to something so big and popular :)

While I'm at it, here are more cool costumes!  If you don't know, Comic Cons are places where people dress as their favorite characters, often going to amazing lengths over details.  I especially appreciate when I see unique characters from my childhood, like Darkwing Duck!  Look at how the guy made the duck feet - they're 3 shoes glued together!

There are so many more awesome stories to tell, but it's past 4AM.  Overall, this year's NYCC was more amazing than I could have imagined!  I met fantastic people, reconnected with some old friends, learned a whole lot about the business, and had a TON of fun all at once!