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!

Daily Drawing Habits

Intober is a fun project artists all over the world participate in each October.  Every day, there is an official drawing "prompt," usually just one word, and you draw something (usually in ink), and use the hashtag #inktober and post it online.  The # key words help others find your work, and you can see what others have drawn too.  I'm still learning more about the proper way to use #s, but I've improved. 

My personal favorite from Intober and runner up with "likes" on Instagram.

This year I almost did all the days of Inktober prompts, even through NYCC when I was exhausted from drawing at the end of the day.  It doesn't have to be a complicated drawing either.  Sometimes it only took 5 minutes to sketch something quick, and I tried not to spend over a half hour on any one drawing.  Usually I draw them on the subway.  All of my Inktober drawings were just with a sharpie or micron - nothing fancy.  Not even a pencil under drawing (except one I think).  The point is to get you drawing SOMETHING and not worry about perfection.  Sometimes it's hard though, when you see others work and it's mind-blowing with detail.  But who knows - they could've spent the whole day on it, or a week.

"Rollercoaster of Love" by The Ohio Players, later covered by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Last year after Inktober, I just stopped because the month was over and there were no more prompts.  But that's not the point - the point is to get you in the habit of drawing each day, and this year I had momentum and wanted to keep going!  Since I'm very passionate about all kinds of eclectic music, I decided to choose a music theme for every day, calling them Doodle Tunes #doodletune

"Jigsaw Falling Into Place" by RadioHead, from their "In Rainbows" album.

Every day of the week has a different theme.  Monday is "New Music Mondays," where I listen to all the new releases on Spotify and pick the song I like best to draw.  Even though Spotify changed it to be released on Friday, I like starting the week fresh with new music.  Next we have "2000s Tuesdays," because all music from the past almost 2 decades blends together.  I've decided to make "Wild Card Wednesdays" to feature any music that doesn't fall into a usual decade category, something random.  For "Throwback Thursdays" #tbt I draw a 90s music theme.  Fridays are 80s music, Saturdays are 70s, and Sundays are 60s.  I will literally NEVER run out of ideas and this has been super fun so far!

For people on my mailing list, please note that I post these Doodle Tunes on my social media - it doesn't link to this blog.  I mainly use my Instagram @mindyindy_art to post the drawings to my Twitter @mindy_indy and Tumblr: http://mindyindy.tumblr.com/ and Facebook business page: https://www.facebook.com/mindyindycomics/  By default it was posting to my personal facebook page, but now the official Mindy Indy Facebook page will be seeing more posts.  For my friends and family seeing this post on my regular Facebook, please "like" my Mindy Indy page.  Technical stuff, I know!  I can't post everywhere all the time though.  I love the ease of linking to other sites with just a click of a button. 

Hope you enjoy the Doodle Tunes, and remember, it's never too late to start drawing every day!  You can pick a theme of something you're interested in or passionate about.  And if you miss one day, no big deal.  Just pick it back up the next day and don't worry about "catching up."  You're doing this for YOU.  Drawing every day will flex your brain muscles and help you think more creatively, and you'll also get faster at drawing!

Take a BREAK From the MEDIA

(For older folks, IRL means In Real Life)

Since the surprising election last week, for many in the arts community it seems like a giant wrench has been thrown into our lives (to say the least).  For me, everything seemed to be going fine with art projects pre-Trump.  I was just getting into a great routine doing semi-regular nightly personal art coming off of Inktober.  But now, post-Trump, I've found myself being glued to news sites and the media to see what the new "chaos of the day" is and am realizing that too much news is unhealthy.

Yesterday I saw a movie (Dr. Strange!) with some coworkers, and it was SUCH a nice break from all the negativity!  The movie was very inspiring to me artistically - a refreshing boost!  And that night, instead of googling the news during dinner, I researched more about the original Dr. Strange comics.  So I've decided to give myself an extended break from the news and limit myself on Facebook (which is just as bad or worse, because of so many fake news articles and people ranting).  Pre-Trump, I wasn't interested in the news much unless a major event happened (like an ISIS attack).  Some people have criticized me for this, but it allows me to focus more on my artwork and get more done.   I even had a professor who told students to not bother with the news, because it's so fleeting, and just do your art. 

Now, I'm not saying escapism is the ultimate answer.  It has been revealed that our country has many problems to sort out and it will take much time and understanding from both sides to resolve, which we should take part in a positive way.  But in the meantime, it's OK to give yourself a break and do something fun and inspiring.  You deserve it!

Social Media Stuff

I didn't post here for a few days because my facebook posts were out of synch with this mindy indy site.  Now everything should be running smoothly.  I've been doing a lot with social media for myself and my new boss/client Arlen Schumer.  If you haven't yet, please check out the mindy indy facebook page, google+ page, @mindy_indy on twitter, and tumblr!  It makes it easier for you to check out mindy indy on whatever site you use the most.  It's good to post everywhere on the internet to get some kind of buzz going.  Everyone has their own preferences, so I hope you continue to enjoy mindy indy comics from whatever site you choose!