The Power of the Cintiq!

A few months ago at a party, an art school friend of mine and I were talking about drawing tablets.  He wanted to get rid of his old Cintiq because he didn't use it anymore and couldn't get much for it online.  "Donate it to ME!!" I excitedly said, and it happened!  This Wacom Cintiq 12WX, while being many years old (first of its kind made in 2001), is BETTER than my much newer Wacom Intuos Pro, which I got about a year-and-a-half ago. 

(...drawing bikes is still hard, though, no matter what medium you're using.)

With any Cintiq, you can draw directly on the screen.  This is MUCH more intuitive than the Intuos or Bamboo, where you draw on a separate surface and there's some guess work of hand-to-tablet/eye-to-screen coordination, resulting in having to redo many lines.  I can draw curves SO much better with the Cintiq!  With the Intuos, I'd have to redo curves up to 5 times before an optimal result, but now with the Cintiq I rarely have to redo lines twice.

uuummmm..... WHAT??

It did take 4 hours to set up before being fully functional though.  The Cintiq 12WX, being an older model, has many cords and extra stuff I didn't understand at first glance.  But I just had to carve out a few hours to study the whole manual and then this diagram made sense.  I discovered that I also had to download an updated "driver" from the Wacom site.  But hey, for this device being free, I'll take it!

So far it's working great!  The only problem is the screen color being different than my Mac screen.  I've tried tweaking the calibration and fiddling with different amounts of brightness and RGB, but it's still off.  I may have to switch back to the Intuos for color stuff until I figure out the perfect harmony for the Cintiq.  Any suggestions are welcome!

Patty Pillow Comic Published!

Announcing the publishing of a comic book I worked on with the RLS Foundation:  The Adventures of Patty Pillow!  It's a 10 page comic/workbook for kids with RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome) to help them cope with symptoms.  Basically, RLS causes a person to have pain/discomfort in their legs at night, but walking around eases the pain.  This causes lack of sleep, which causes a decreased quality of life. 

Quoting an article the RLS Foundation published in their quarterly Nightwalkers journal, "this booklet follows one boy's RLS journey, teaching him the value of a support network at school, with friends, and at home.  With RLS superhero[ine] Patty Pillow by his side, the child explores how to track and treat symptoms, and learns that RLS is just one of the things that makes him who he is."

The story follows Patty and the kids through various playground activities, interspersed with tips on treatments of symptoms (in the yellow and pink boxes) and interactive spaces for kids to draw what their symptoms feel like.

It's so awesome to hold a book that I drew and colored all by myself!  It's ALL digital too, drawn from my wacom tablet.  I worked very closely with people from the RLS Foundation who wrote the script.  We had many discussions and they were very open to my story suggestions, so it was a great collaborative effort with lots of freedom!  I think the hardest part was the layouts - there's a ton of content the foundation wanted to get across, and I did my best with breaking up the text.  But I think the comic's strongest point is the characters and how they care about each other :)  Patty Pillow ROCKS and the RLS Foundation has been incorporating more of her into their awareness campaign!  For more info, go to www.rls.org

Haven't had much of a problem with bugs in my current apartment until now.  I have a feeling someone else in our building sprayed and so the roaches scattered and escaped to the safety of my clean apartment.  But these ones are small compared to the giant ones I had to deal with in other buildings.  In other news, I'm getting close to 500 Daily Misfortunes!

Limit-Break Interview

Limit-Break interviewed me at Boston Comic Con!  I've done some Dead Pool sketches for Jared in past conventions, and it was cool that he chose to spotlight me.  Here are some other Limit-Break interviews:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClC0JJmkLAwFLf0z-nO6Gcw/videos   And if you have trouble viewing my interview, see it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pkNzxP7Ll0

In other convention news, I will NOT be tabling at Baltimore Comic Con this weekend.  I'm not too sure how successful the show will be considering it's Labor Day weekend.  Conventions are growing due to the large influx of new fans due to all the super hero movies.  I know the hard-core fans will always show up for conventions, but most new fans probably will not give up barbecues, parties, and other vacations to go to a comic convention.  I'll have to ask other tablers how it goes.

If you live in Baltimore and would like a sketch from me, I can totally still do that!  Please email me at mindy@mindyindy.com with a description of the sketch you want and I can mail it to you.

Keep in mind I exaggerate the Daily Misfortunes, haha!  I do spend a lot of time at the post office though, even in the daytime during off-peak hours. 

Follow-Up Tips

Do you have a bag of business cards hiding in some corner of your room?  This is a bag of business cards, flyers, and pamphlets I've accumulated from comic conventions, art shows, and more over about 6 years.  In years past, I was not the best at following up with all of these people (that's what the cards are FOR, right?).  But recently I've optimized my follow-up strategies!  Here are some tips to help you avoid the overwhelm of following up when you find yourself with like 50 cards after any event:

1.  Pick the TOP 5 most important people you met and get back to them the week after the event.  How you define "important" will vary based on your priorities and goals.  Your criteria could be people from major companies, people most likely to lead you to a job, or just new friends you felt a strong connection with!

2.  Pick the NEXT 5 most important people and get back to them in the following month.  Beyond a month and you risk them not remembering you.  A month seems like a long time, but a solid follow-up email requires more work than you'd think.  For my follow-ups, first I review all notes I took when I met Person A (if you don't take notes, START!).  These notes usually include recommendations of people and companies Person A said to check out.  Next, I check out said peeps/companies online, which can be like going down a rabbit hole.  One cool link leads to another, and before you know it, hours have gone by!  Make sure to keep track of your time to not get too caught up in this research step, but have enough knowledge to mention something about it in your follow up email to Person A.  They'll see that you're more serious about taking their advice.

3.  For all other business cards beyond those 10, just follow them on social media.  Think quality, not quantity.  With my busy schedule, there's no way I can write a thoughtful email to every person I've met, which is why in the past sometimes I just put it off entirely, which lead to that gigantic bag of cards.  It makes me wonder what happens to all of my business cards...  

The next step after following up is... will you actually DO the advice those top 10 people gave you beyond just checking out so-and-so?  Granted, take all advice with a grain of salt - you may even get conflicting tips.  Pick what advice feels right to you.  Make a list of specific steps you can do to improve your artwork (or any other skill!) and begin implementing them.  All too often in the past I've just let this last step go, but it's important to moving forward in my career.  That could be a whole other blog topic of project organization and implementation, but that's for another time!

Oh yeah and that note on the bag is an idea I had one time to scan all the cards.  It's a project on my "rainy day" to-do list.  Considering following everyone on social media, or just throwing it out.

Boston Comic Con This Fri-Sun!

Hey peeps in Boston, I'll be back for Boston Comic Con this Friday thru Sunday!  I'll be tabling with Jennie Wood once again in Artist's Alley table D421.  Stop by and say HI!  Not much time to blog now, gotta get up at 5AM for that Megabus...

And then on my to the subway, I had to stop in TWO grocery stores on the same street to try to cool down from the oppressive heat (life tip = frozen food section).  The effect was good, until right when I stepped outside again.

Comic-Con International in San Diego was Awesome!

(Crowd photo by Geek Shot)

How can I begin to tell about the awesome time I had at Comic-Con International, the biggest comic convention in America?  I was on the wait list for an Artist Alley table, and my main goal was to enhance my career.  I got all my merchandise ready, and felt that even if I didn't get a table, I could still benefit greatly from the portfolio reviews and informative creator panels.  It was a bit of a risk - the plane ticket was pricey all the way from NYC, but I got to stay with my sister and brother-in-law :)  The risk was totally worth it, as I ended up getting a table half-way through the convention! 

"Let's Fighting Love!!" South Park life-sized scenes.

At other conventions, I don't really get to walk around and fully enjoy the fun due to working at my table, but this time I got to do BOTH!  My favorite thing to see was the life-sized recreation of the town of South Park, complete with some of the most popular scenes.  Neil DeGrasse Tyson sponsored a virtual reality section too. 

Did you know that at SDCC, there is a whole section for folio reviews?  Other conventions I've been to don't have this.  I researched the listed companies and what they were looking for, and the week before, I got together 3 folios: storyboarding, comic, and coloring.  These were reviewed by people from Nickelodeon, Disney, and comic companies like Action Lab and Arch Enemy.  I did this all Thursday, because I knew it would just get crazier with each passing day so I had a better chance of being chosen.  If the list is too long, no luck - I didn't get in for Cartoon Network which was only on Friday.   I actually went to SDCC a decade ago and just had a student folio.  I noticed a considerable difference in the response to my work now that I have years of professional experience in the comics industry!  I think artists at any stage in life can benefit from these reviews - people pointed out things in my work I'd never thought of before.  Many cards were exchanged... we'll see what happens!

Most of Friday I sat in on a bunch of panels.  I was amazed at how many wonderful creator-themed topics SDCC had!  Everything from industry pros telling their career stories to cool Photoshop techniques and more!  My top 3 were:  1.  Artist as Brand: Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur, where indie creators talked about the struggles and rewards of business stuff and owning their creations.  2.  Creating Comics with the iPad- I had no idea of the incredible advances in technology and freedom artists can have on-the-go.  3.  Cartoon Creatives: Women Power in Animation- since I'm considering getting more into the storyboarding world, it was great to see many strong women with major roles in the industry! 

I've gotta say, New York Comic Con has been lacking in creator-themed panels in the past few years, probably due to a "fans first" policy.  But before I began tabling at NYCC, I remember they used to have more good artist panels.  Last year I didn't find many good NYCC panels to blog about that I'd be interested in as a creator (if I had time to go) - they focused on celebrities and fan themes.  By the way, SDCC "pro passes" are still FREE, whereas NYCCs pro passes keep going up in $ each year.  Overall, I feel that San Diego CC respects, appreciates, and represents creators more than NYCC. 

The Most Random Sketch Award goes to this dog as an Ewok-Gremlin!

Every day I got to the convention super early and checked in with Artist Alley registration to see if a table opened up.  And Saturday morning IT HAPPENED!  I couldn't believe it!  Little did I know, SDCC's Artist Alley is notoriously difficult to get into, with the waiting list being "years long."  It's complicated to explain exactly how I was able to get this table, but it was a combination of being qualified, prepared, persistent, some tips from the inside, and some luck!  If one of these aspects had gone wrong, I may not have gotten in, but I guess it was meant to be! 

I realized that SDCC's Artist Alley is different than other artist alleys because it's made up of mostly old pros that have had major industry work for like decades!  I was right next to Len Wein, creator of Wolverine and other X-men characters!  Ken Penders, one of my heroes from Sonic the Hedgehog, was also tabling.  So there were giants like these, and then... me, somehow! :PI was sketching up a storm though, and was successful enough to pay for that plane ticket + more :)  There was lots of encouragement among the rest of the artists, with words like "good luck, kiddo!" and I did feel like I fit in there more.  Oh Katie Cook was in the row right behind me!  Her career has grown so much over the years, she's very inspiring!  So it looks like the next generation of cartoonists is on the rise at SDCC.

Overall, I had the most ideal experience this year at SDCC, with a great balance of fun, constructive folio reviews + networking, informative creator tips, and making $!  If you're on the west coast and in the comics or animation industry, SDCC IS A MUST!  If you're in the midwest, it's worth a road trip!  If you're on the east coast and have a place to stay, the plane ticket is definitely worth it.  If you don't have a place to stay, hey AirBnB is on the rise.  It's cheaper if you stay farther from the convention and take the trolley.  Hope to see you there next year!

Did I mention that I got sick the week before SDCC?  Just like what happened last year before NYCC!  I guess I burn myself out preparing.  I went to the same clinic and they recognized me :PLuckily antibiotics are like tiny microscopic superheroes!  Comic cons are exhausting enough without being sick.

Pete's Mini Zine Fest This Saturday!!

Tomorrow I'm exhibiting in Pete's Mini Zine Fest!  A celebration of little works of joy:  zines!  Though zines (short for magazines, of the indie kind) traditionally consist of written works, cartoonists are gradually taking over zine fests :) 

Saturday 7/30 from 2-7pm at Pete's Candy Store (the "store" is actually a bar... there is no candy, but it used to be a candy store) 709 Lorimer Sr, Brooklyn NY 11211.  Take the L to Lorimer or G to Metropolitan Ave.  Here's the facebook invite.  See you there!

Last week I got to experience and exhibit at Comic-Con International in San Diego!! (more on that in the next blog) and I realized I need to prepare for Boston Comic Con in 2 weeks.  Do I even still live in New York?

Apartment Hunt: In-Depth Review!

I met Tim Young this past MoCCA Fest, and he not only interviewed me at the show, but also did an in-depth review of my comic "Apartment Hunt" for his "Deconstructing Comics Podcast!" (Click here to listen!)  Tim lives in Japan, so now some people in Japan know about my comics!  It's a fair and balanced review, and I think it comes out slightly on the positive side, which is great considering Tim and his friend were pretty harsh on the first 2 comics!  They start talking about mine at 22:45. 

Tim and his friend were very spot-on in communicating visual details in words.  I appreciate that Tim liked my clear panels and style!  I totally understand about getting confused towards the end, and maybe I could have explained the 3rd girl differently.  Yes, I could have made a 24-page comic going into every detail of the hunt, but that seemed boring to me, and I think the shortness better conveys the urgency of finding an apartment in NYC.  But I'm super glad they both wanted MORE story!  The sequel will have slightly more pages, though not as many as 24, but this review is great to think about while making it!

Ah, they caught me on the size!  I was hoping people wouldn't notice it...  Originally, "Apartment Hunt" was supposed to be a quarter page in size, like my other mini comics (The Misfortune Cookie, The Lucky Penny, etc) that are drawn at 8.5x11 size to scale down to 1/4 size.  But when printed, the text was just too small, so I printed at half page size, which lead to that white space on the top and bottom.  Although for the sequel, I'll have to make it the same "wrong" size to match the first story.  To answer their question, I printed it at Staples.  I never photocopy my work, as the quality wouldn't be as sharp! 

Thanks again, Tim, and everyone please check out the Deconstructing Comics Podcast!

The post-vacation-blues are a real thing. 

Techie Stuff!

This is a comic I've been working on for awhile with writer Patrick McEvoy - called "Integration"!  I met Patrick at a small convention at Lovecraft Bar months ago, and he liked my work and sent me some scripts to look over.  (It's good to exhibit at conventions large and small because really, you could pick up freelance work anywhere!)  It's great that I had a lot of freedom with the drawings - from the green mohawk to the disco ball stoplight (of course stoplights will look different in the future... so why NOT a disco ball?)  I love futuristic themed stories - they're so fun to draw!  Glad this comic is complete and seeing the light of day - as freelancers know, projects without solid deadlines are always the ones to be pushed back when other hard deadlines loom.  But I've been improving my time management skills and was able to fit this between other projects whenever possible.

In other tech news, I replaced my computer's RAM (random access memory) all by myself with success!!  It's a big step for me - at first just the thought of opening my computer's insides was scary.  Thanks to talking with the Mac Doctors at the Apple store, watching lots of YouTube videos about it, reading some articles, and asking tips from technology-inclined friends on Facebook, I found the process pretty easy to do once I got started!  Knowledge is power!!  I wouldn't recommend doing this if you're not prepared though.  The biggest thing to watch out for is the electrostatic thing, which sounds scary!  No, you will not be electrocuted, you just need to touch something metal to discharge any static electricity.  Honestly, the hardest part of the process was getting the new RAM out of the damn clam shell packaging!

I'm not going to give a step-by-step process, as others could do it better than me, but I'll give a tip.  From watching YouTube demos, I learned that there are different sizes to the 10 screws on the back of the MacBook Pro.  To keep track of what screws went where, I put them in 2 shot glasses and drew a little map of where those sizes of screws should go.

A few years ago I had to get my Mac's hard drive replaced.  I've blogged not too long ago about how I had to take it in to get the logic board replaced.  Well soon after that I had to replace the battery.  And now with 16GB of RAM (vs 4GB), my computer is 4 times faster!!  This Frankenstein computer pretty much runs like new now - the difference is unbelievable!  I can definitely extend the life of this baby for at least another year I think.

One other thing - computer repair places will charge you a lot to do a simple RAM upgrade.  Installation can cost anywhere from $40 (if you've already bought RAM online) to up to $200 if you buy RAM from their store.  When getting RAM online, make sure it's compatible with your OS (operating system - in my case, a MacBook Pro).  I chose the Crucial brand, recommended by the Mac Doctors (Genius Bar people), and it was half the cost stores charge.  Some other complicated things, like the logic board, should definitely be handled by a pro, but newbies can save a lot of money and feel empowered by getting your feet wet replacing RAM.  

Going against the tech theme for the Daily Misfortune - I don't want to jinx my computer :P

Honorary Custom Comic!

Some of you may have seen the weekly No Tears:  Life With FD comics I create and share on Facebook.  FD stands for Familial Dysautonomia, a very rare disease.  The guy who writes the scripts for the comics, David Brenner, the FD Foundation's executive director, has worked there for a whole decade!  Some people from the foundation reached out to me and we came up with the idea to make him a custom comic as a special honorary gift!  They wanted to depict David as a Navy Seal, the most specially trained, technology savvy, and elite fighters of the USA.  I definitely listened to the In the Navy song a lot while working on this :)  (Can anyone find the Beatles Yellow Submarine "Easter Egg" I placed in there?)  I made the comic in a record time of 8 days, along with my teaching job and other duties.  I presented the comic at last Sunday's FD Day, their annual conference.  Everyone loved it!

Usually I draw custom comics for couples, as you can see from the custom comics section on my site.  It's a great way to tell the story of how the couple met, got engaged, and so on!  But I think the honorary custom comics are extra special.  Sometimes the couples comics are just for 2 people, unless they're displayed at a wedding reception.  But the honorary comics can be displayed in the office and seen by everyone!  It's kind of like a visual resume - if you're new to the company, or not as familiar with the honoree's day-to-day work, you can tell what a hard worker and amazing role model the person is in the comic! 

Computer Crash!!

There I was last Saturday night, working on some sketches for a client in Photoshop, when suddenly the screen went spaZoid, then black.  I remained calm.  But then I started to worry when my computer wouldn't restart!  I immediately made a Genius Bar appointment for the next day at the 24-hour Apple store (yes, we have one of those in NYC :)

Basically it was a problem with the laptop's logic board, and apparently was a defect of some early 2011 computers, because they fixed it for free!  Thank God, because it would have been like $600 otherwise, and this computer is 5 years old, so I'd probably only get another year out of it anyway. 

Luckily, I wasn't too worried about data loss because I back up via Crash Plan!!  It's basically cloud backup.  At first, when my external hard drive crashed a few years ago, the concept of backing up to some unknown location was scary to me, but it actually works out very well!  Before, with my external HD, I'd only backup at the end of the day (or every few days), but this way I backup continuously.  I had to redo some stuff on the one file I was working on at the time of the crash, but all other files I'd worked on that day were fine.  But seriously, if I didn't have the comfort of cloud backup, this situation could have been A TOTAL DISASTER.

But the Mac doctors had to take my computer away to do some operations for a few days.  I had separation anxiety, as I'm protective of my laptop to a ridiculous degree.  They said it could take 5 business days, but I insisted it had to be fixed by Thursday, as I have a weekly deadline (the No Tears: Life With FD comic!  Colored digitally in Photoshop).  Of course, there is never a good time for a crash to happen, but when an artist relies heavily on their computer to get work done for many clients, it's a tough situation!  I was very adamant about this, and the Mac doctors were very understanding.  I did have some physical drawings for a custom comic that needed to be done in the meantime though, so I was still productive.  Luckily, they fixed my Mac 2 days early!  The squeaky wheel gets the grease! 

And so far all files and programs are OK and running smoothly (knock on wood).  The Mac doctors didn't have to wipe my drive, so I didn't even need to spend the time re-uploading everything from Crash Plan and was able to jump right back into work!  Given everything that happened, with so many points at which things could take a turn for the worse, this situation turned out pretty damn good!  

Motor City, Voting, and Lost Shuttle Buses!

Motor City Comic Con was even better than last year!  Thank you to everyone - old friends and new fans - who visited me!  My parents (above) even came by to help at my table for a bit and check out the show.  I told them the convention would be crazy, but I don't think they were fully prepared for the amount of people and utter chaos of Saturday.  Oh and the shuttle bus they took got lost.  To alleviate traffic jams for parking, MCCC had some off-site locations to park, one of which was at a high school where people could take a shuttle bus.  Good idea!... until one or more gets lost.

This sketch wins the Most Random Sketch Award for the convention!  A guy was asking artists to draw elements of the periodic table.  I asked if he was a fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, which of course he was!  I got the element Caesium (pronounced "see-zee-um").  After some thought and a bit of googling, I came up with this critter.  To my surprise I found out that the guy had trouble finding other artists to illustrate the other elements, probably because they just weren't sure of how to tackle the subject.  But hey, I love the challenge, and sketches like this are the most fun and original!

The tally is in for the voting jars!  When I have the luxury of a big table, it's fun to have something extra like this.  The question was "Which candidate would be better for cartoonists?"  There was much discussion from passerby about "better in terms of drawing" or "better in terms of policies," but it was open to interpretation.  Even though I added a Trump jar after the initial Instagram post, and even though some people said he'll create jobs (he did win the MI primary after all), and he's better to draw (the political cartoons of this era are unrivaled), Trump still got ZIP!  ZILCH!  NADA!  $0.00!  Hillary wasn't too far behind, earning ONE CANADIAN CENT!  The girl who dropped the coin in made sure to emphasize that it was Canadian.  Coming in 2nd place was a QUARTER for libertarian candidate John McAfee - a very thoughtful vote!  (drumrolllllllllll) And the WINNER... with a total of a whopping $6.76... was BERNIE!  He had whole dollar bill$ up in there!  Definitely the underdog and person for the people, Bernie has won the hearts of artists and indie peeps nationwide... but will it be enough??  Well, it's enough to buy me lunch!  Thanks, Bern - I'm feelin' ya!

Come to think of it, the last time I was on a shuttle bus in Brooklyn, the driver got lost too!  HOW CAN WE STOP THIS MADNESS??!!

Happy Friday the 13th!

YAY it's Friday the 13th - the luckiest day of the year!  :)  I'll be at the Motor City Comic Con in Artist's Alley, table H4.  Swing by today and join me in celebrating my birthday :)  www.motorcitycomiccon.com for more info.

Motor City Comic Con This Weekend!

I'm excited to announce that I'll be exhibiting in Motor City Comic Con this weekend, back in my home state of Michigan!  Coincidentally, the convention starts on my birthday, which is also the only Friday the 13th of this year - very lucky!  MCCC is Friday May 13th from 12:30P - 7P, Saturday May 14th from 10:30A - 7P, and Sunday May 15 from 10:30A - 5P.  At the Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI 48374.  Daily passes range from $25 to $35, check their website https://motorcitycomiccon.com for more info.

There are some cool panel discussions going on too.  It's so great to see how much this convention has grown over the years - they didn't even have this stuff when I was a teen!  Panels of note are the "Who’s Panel with Billie Piper" and a handful of creator-themed panels like WRITE BETTER COMICS and The Art of Inking.  But most exciting of all is the Holy Golden Anniversary Batman! panel on Sunday:   "Marking it’s 50th anniversary, the dynamic duo and stars of Batman, Adam West and Burt Ward have dropped by The Motor City Comic Con to take your questions and discuss their infamous TV show.  With the inside scoop and behind the scene stories in their utility belts, this event will leave you saying, “Holy Panel Batman!” Note:  You won’t want to miss this since it’s their last year of Con appearances before hanging up their capes."

See you there!

Since entering the working world, I've always taken a day off for my birthday, and my college semesters ended in April, so I haven't had to "work" on my birthday since high school!  But hey at least I'm doing what I'm great at and what I love.  But if you're thinking of going to MCCC, stop by my booth in artist's alley on Friday the 13th because I'll be taking it easy!

Update! Carmine at 1p Today for FCBD!

My time has been changed at Carmine Street Comics to 1pm today.  They have a great line-up of creators all day for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!  See you there at 34 Carmine St.

Free Comic Book Day TOMORROW!

Did you know that it's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY tomorrow?  The first Saturday in May, this year being May 7th, is a very special event for all comic stores!  Selected comics will be available for FREE!  No, not all comics in the stores are free (the stores would go out of business).  But it's a great way to get new readers, especially kids, interested in comics!

Some stores will also have special guests.  Carmine Street Comics will have many comic creators exhibiting on an hourly rotating basis.  I'll be there from 2pm - 3pm selling my comics and doing sketches.  Since I've gotten my new teaching job, I am not at Carmine on Tuesdays anymore, but it will be great to be back in the mini artist's studio!  Carmine Street Comics is 34 Carmine Street in the village near the West 4th stop.  See you there!

The Power Of Saying NO

This is a lesson that I've heard on a few productivity podcasts:  Sometimes you have to say NO to possible opportunities that come along that are lower priorities, so you can say YES to your top priorities and live your life the way YOU want to.  This prevents you from doing a zillion things that are "just ok" and getting burnt out, saving your energy for the BEST things. 

I know this NO concept sounds weird, as we artists tend to say YES to everything, especially when first starting out in our careers.  This is good up to a point, where you start to get a snowball effect of projects.  It's like an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet where you see a smorgasbord of all these different delicious foods, and you pile your plate really high.  But then after you eat for awhile you realize there's no possible way to stuff everything into your stomach in one sitting!  The same thing happens with art projects, gigs, and etc:  you literally cannot do every single thing on Earth that seems like a good opportunity, or has a slight chance of opportunity/doing something just for "the exposure" (we've all heard that load of crap before).  You have to take a good hard look at everything on your plate and turn some things down for your sanity and health.

For example, when I first started exhibiting in comic conventions, I'd travel sometimes 2.5 hours away for a whole day trip to very small conventions or shows with low attendance, where I didn't end up making much profit - sometimes I'd lose $.  But as I've progressed in my career, and now that I have a solid 3 ongoing projects with consistent pay, I realize I don't need to exhibit in every single convention.  After much consideration, I've prioritized either doing regular freelance work on the weekends, doing something fun, or just relaxing!  I've learned the hard way that I need to make R&R a priority, otherwise I catch colds from being worn down.  New Yorkers especially may think there is no time for R&R, but you have to MAKE time by using the power of NO.

Here's proof of the power of saying NO!  Whenever I hear multiple people I respect saying similar things, I take it into consideration.  From Julie Sheranosher http://www.imjulie.com/saying-no/ and Michael Hyatt http://michaelhyatt.com/027-how-to-say-no-without-feeling-guilty-podcast.html

By the way, don't worry about missing me at the large conventions like NYCC, Boston CC, Baltimore CC, C2E2, Motor City (coming up in May!) - I still intend to exhibit at those!

Happy Earth Day?

Facebook told me it was Earth Day today.  Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have known.  But really, Earth Day should be every day!

Especially in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, sidewalk trash cans are always overflowing and you see trash on the streets everywhere.  Meanwhile, there are no trash cans on the J subway platforms, but there are signs saying "Trash is a problem.  Be part of the solution."  The MTA wants you to take your trash with you, but realistically what happens is that no trash cans = trash all over everywhere else on the street.  The average New Yorker is always in a rush and carrying a bunch of stuff everywhere, and I've seen countless people just leave their trash on the platform seats.  I have a hard time believing, as the MTA claims, that there is less of a rodent problem too... trash being in bins contains the problem, but trash strewn everywhere leaves it wide open to more vermin.  Trash IS a problem, MTA, so get some freakin' trash cans! 

MoCCA Fest THIS WEEKEND!

My friend Nadia "Toughspirit" Burgess and I will be sharing a table at MoCCA Fest this weekend!  Table D153 ... on the FIRST floor this time!  Not 4th like last year... the new venue only has 2 floors thank God.  It's at "Metropolitan West" 639 West 46th St, right by the Highline and the Intrepid!  Only $5 per day to get in!  Kids under 12 are free.  Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 from 11A-6P both days. 

A major special guest this year is my former cartooning professor, Phoebe Gloeckner!!  Her work The Diary of a Teenage Girl, an account of her teen years in prose and pictures, was recently adapted into a critically-acclaimed and award-winning film!  The book "received notable recognition as well as controversy for its honest portrayal of teenage sexuality with themes of drug use and childhood traumas.She'll be part of the official programming, going on at Ink48, around the corner from the fest (653 11th Avenue at 48th Street).  VERY EXCITING!!

But MoCCA Fest isn't an April Fool's - that's happening for real ;)

Jazz Sketching Returns!

I'm once again doing live sketching at Friday Night Jazz in Times Square THIS FRIDAY!  3/25/16 (yes I know it's Good Friday... but come chill out with jazz and relax - Lent is almost over!)  I sketch to the music and sell the drawings after - it's "pay what you wish."  Admission is FREE!

8:30pm to midnight @ Cielo (underground)
242 W 49th Street (b/t Broadway & 8th ave)
RSVP on Facebook

 www.TimesSquareJazz.com   

And if you hadn't gotten a copy of Circuit-Breaker #1 yet, make sure to check it out before they're all gone from comic stores!

Sometimes I think that I'm spreading myself too thin when I do so many different events and projects, but hey, as a cartoonist it's rare to get a "full time" job doing only one thing, and you have to make the best of whatever opportunity comes your way, and make your own opportunities.