Still kicking here!

Posted by jupe

Hi everyone!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much recently, but I’ve been up to a lot of exciting stuff! The top of my priorities has been organising and setting up a new studio space to share with other local artists so I can work from work instead of from home. We move in soon… within the next couple weeks!

I’ve also been working on a new project called Shelly. It’s going to be a series of books for girls ages 10-15 and will deal with the things that are on the minds of girls that age. I’ll be taking direct feedback from that age group and will be incorporating those ideas into the comic so that they have something relatable and relevant to their age group. I find that many girls read below or above their age group because there just isn’t anything there for them.  This will hopefully help change that.

It will be real. It won’t be holding back or pulling punches. Girls want something intelligent; they don’t want things to be dumbed down… and I want to provide that.

Shelly is well under way and preview images and work can be viewed under the portfolio link on this page. The first issue is due out in the summer of this year. As it stands, I hope to have two issues out per year.

Please use the contact form to get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments or suggestions for the book! I look forward to hearing some feedback.

Thanks for your continued support and readership!

I’m bad at posting again

Posted by jupe

I know that I should be posting more often, but I’ve actually been really busy lately.

First off, I’ve been working on Strange Romance like a mad woman. I have finished all the inking and need to do the colouring. I’m waiting on my writer to let me know if he would like me to do watercolour and marker or digital. Either one is fine with me.

Secondly, I’ve been saving up for a new drawing art tablet. It’s not a Cintiq, as I’d be saving for years for that expensive sucker, so instead, I’ll be getting a Yiynova MSP 19U+ v5. They should really come out with a better name for it. Anyway, it’s supposed to be about as good as the Cintiq and about $2000 less expensive.

Third, I’ve been going to a lot of conventions.  MCX was my first convention and I did amazingly well. Since then, I’ve been to Oshawa con, where I did okay, and to Forest City Comic Con, where I did really, really well again. I’m getting the hang of tabling and have big plans for an upcoming convention in December.  I have two more cons before the end of the year: Sheridan College con, which is a Friday con, and Festivus con in downtown Toronto, where I am sharing a table with my artbuddy, Chris.

I have a ton of knitting to get done, as well as more prints. I’ll be working on crap every single day until the end of the con season of 2015…. and I’m already thinking about 2016. It’s going to be a busy rest of the year 🙂

Yiynova MSP19u+ v5

Posted by jupe

It may look like a bunch of letters, but there are actually many aspects of the newest Yiynova 19 inch tablet which makes it better than the Cintiq — particularly, the $800 price tag.

Thing is, I’m not going to be able to get it for a really long time, and as nice as my Wacom Bamboo tablet is, an on screen drawing tablet would be far superior for me to work with.

SO, as much as I hate people asking for money, I’m going to become one of them.  I’ve set up a GoFundMe page for the big price tag of $800 and will see if I can manage to get a bit of cash from people who are willing to support my fledgling art career.

If I reach my goal, I’ll send everyone who pledged $15 or more at least one art print as my thank you to them. The more you pledge, the more prints you get.

In other news, I’m all rested up from my time at Fan Expo and am ready to get this house clean as soon as possible. My mom is giving me a huge hand in it and I plan on helping her make it go as easily as possible. Then, off to Thunder Bay for a week, and after that, a small comic convention in Mississauga where I can hopefully sell some more prints.

The kids are in school, so I’ll be an art machine and will feel a lot more freedom, as well as a lot less stress.

Fan Expo

Posted by jupe

I’d post more, but I’m really really tired. I worked the Toronto Comics table today and yesterday and while working, I spotted a girl who looks just like one of the pictures I drew awhile back.

Check this freaky-deaky shit out!

Steampunk lady was super duper nice. She and I chatted a bit and she walked away with a self portrait.

Bedtime soon. I’m so tired I could pass out right now.

Actually, that sounds like a great idea.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Posted by jupe

And I mean Awesome as in actually Awesome and not Sarcastic-Awesome.

I’ve been on a drawing streak. I’ve organised my copics, coloured with them, and done a lot of pages for Strays. The script is constantly being modified in little ways as I receive feedback and I’m pumping out the storyboards like gangbusters.

I am currently halfway done the Strays comic in storyboarding. Check it out in the Portfolio link at the top of the page for the most recent images.

I’ve been on a crazy sleep schedule but it enables me to actually get stuff done.

Tonight’s dinner is homemade burritos. It will be glorious. 🙂

Long Day!

Posted by jupe

Wow, what a Friday!

My dear friend EK Weaver is in town and I’ve been going out of my way to make time with her and Brett. Last night, we got a babysitter and went to the Indie Ale House with her, Brett, Neil Nadelman, Mike Toole, Dave Merrill and his lovely wife Shain, Greg and Jaime, my husband, and eventually Andrew Stevenson, my friend and editor. It was a lovely time with great food and drink.

Today, I hit the gym and after I showered and changed, went to meet EK, Brett, and Mike downtown. As it turnd out they were on Weston Road. Not wanting them to get lost on the subway or streetcars, I picked them up and we slowly made our way down to Chinatown where I introduced them to Megan Hendricks at the Embassy. They really liked the studio and classroom and after much humming and hawwing, we went for dumplings.

Man, do I ever love dumplings.

The time was beginning to wane on us so I called my neighbour Meghan and asked her to pick up Nick. Luckily, she was able to, because by the time we went to Black Oak Brewery and dropped everyone off, it was late. I got home 20 minutes after Nick got out of school. Thank goodness for Meghan. I have the most amazing neighbours.

I doubt any of my neighbours read my blog, but I still feel enormous gratitude toward Tanya for keeping an eye on the boys after Charlie was picked up by Keiren and Ty, huge gratitude toward Charlie for persevering for hours without tv or internet entertainment (she read books, as I was told), to Meghan for picking up Nick, and to Rob and Cindy for understanding when Alex couldn’t attend that board meeting.

We really do have the best neighbours, ever.

Anyway, I’m home now, and  very sore, but it’s so worth it. Tomorrow is my nephew Eligh’s birthday party and my birthday on Tuesday. Then, June 4th is Nick’s birthday and the 6th is his birthday party.

BUSY BUSY and a long day but oh so satisfying.

Strays!

Posted by jupe

I’ve been doing a lot of work on Strays now that Toronto Comics is finished. I feel like I can move forward with momentum, though I’m still slightly hesitant because I’m waiting for feedback on my work.

Here is a sneak peek of the first four pages of Strays, penciled.

Strays Pencils, Pages 1 through 4

In other news, Toronto Comics Vol 2 is done and published and copies are flowing nicely. I also have Sawchuck coming out this summer and two more anthologies to work on this year.

I’ll post more as I go along!

An Early Morning

Posted by jupe

It’s been awhile since I simply snapped awake, unable to fall back asleep, but it happened today.  I’m pretty sure that it’s gym related, as I’ve been back at it this week.  I need to pick up a sheet from the front desk and start tracking my progress on the circuit.

So, with Ty having had a heart attack, I decided that it’s finally time to stop being a lazy, sedentary blob and go back to the gym, for which I’ve been paying for months without using. I hate wasting money and the gym is good for Russell, too, as he goes to the daycare room, so really, I have no excuse not to go.

And Monday came around. I thought I had all my gear together… or so I thought. I had a lock, but it wasn’t my normal lock. I had no idea what the combination was.  My gym bag was pissed on by the cats. I forgot spare socks/shoes. I forgot my yoga bag. I forgot snacks for the boys in child minding. I forgot a post workout snack. Yeesh! At least I was motivated to go, yes?

I grabbed both boys, as Nick had a day off school, and I headed in to the gym. I lasted only 15 minutes of BodyVive and was feeling enormously shitty about how out of shape I am, but I didn’t let that stop me.

I hopped on the treadmill for 10 minutes and then worked the circuit for 20. When I started feeling nauseous (probably due to forgetting breakfast…) I stopped and cooled down. All in all, I had a really good 45ish minute workout. My muscles reminded me how good a workout it was the next day. Hell, my muscles are still reminding me how good that workout was 😛

Tuesday was supposed to be my run day but my body said HELL NO, BITCH. Plus, it was cold and rainy by the time I wanted to run. So, I skipped it.

Wednesday, yesterday, was another gym day. I was a bit better this time. I got a new gym bag on Monday from Kathy, the saleswoman. It has a bit of a defect with the end zipper, but the rest of the bag seems fairly intact. She was nice enough to give me a free bag so I’m not gonna complain about it. I went to Newbody and actually lasted long enough to feel good about myself: 25 minutes this time.  I hit the machines for the next 20 minutes, then headed back into Newbody to try the Flex bar workout in order to cool down.

I’m really pleased to have finished an entire hour of working out.

Today, I suffer again… but if the weather is nice later, I’ll go for a short run, just to loosen up. I may also hit the gym again, just to use the foam roller and let Rusty socialise.  Hell, I might even do a walk/run while I’m there. Might as well, so I don’t have to later. We’ll see how things go.

Other things on my agenda:

  1. get cat food
  2. another load of laundry
  3. probably nap, as I got up at 5:45 today. Effing sun is finally coming up and is blinding me 😛
  4. draw (Pocky’s Totoro pics)
  5. drink moar tea. ALL THE TEA.

Making it short

Posted by jupe

I don’t think I posted yesterday. Oops…

I came down with another of my killer headaches last night. I still have it and it’s just effing RAGING right now. I’m going to try a cup of tea to make it better, along with ibuprofen which isn’t working and some naproxen which will hopefully do something.  Acetominophen did nothing last night, so if the naproxen doesn’t work, I’m in for a world of pain all day.

Nick lost his first tooth yesterday. I’m sort of an idiot and didn’t put it into an envelope to go under his pillow, so we lost it… but at least he got his money from the tooth fairy.

That’s it for now. Hope my headache goes away….