Sunday, November 27, 2011

FTLY/Wyrd Romance Reboot: Teaser pinups.

Hi there. *waves*

Maria here. So, I had this webcomic a long time ago called For the Love of Yaoi. It's actually sort of how I wound up in the BHC. You can read the (decade old) archives over here (try not to sneeze from all the dust).

As several of the BHC members already know, I am working on a new and improved version of this webcomic, currently under the working title of Wyrd Romance (unless I come up with something better). Scripts for chapters 1-4 are written and in process of editing. Chapters 5-10 are in outline format. New character designs are happening. I intend to have pages drawn starting in January, and the comic should go live online by May 2012.

Until then, I'm working ridiculous 10 hour shifts, 6 days a week, at my current temp job. So all I have to show for myself right now are a couple of pinups. You can see them here at my Tumblr:

Black and white inked illustrations (Wyrd Romance main characters, as well as a sneak peek at some art I did for one of the other upcoming BHC projects).


A colored version of the Tristyn pinup.


Feel free to follow me on Tumblr for more arts. I'll probably create a dedicated Wyrd Romance Tumblr/Facebook/Twitter account eventually, but for now you can see some of my arts (and random fandom madness) on my personal account.

Cheers, and thanks for looking!

-Maria

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Artist Intro: Kate Saturday





Name: Kate Saturday

Current projects: Circus Season, The King of Lunch

Past projects: Shark Book, Parakeet Caper, San Jose: I'll Keep You, Monsters, DeatHat, Corpus Callosum, When I was Young I Lacked Perspective, Always Bringing- Always Taking Away, People You Know

Website: www.confoundedcontraption.com

Shop: email me and we'll work something out.

Webcomics I read that no one has said yet: Platinum Grit, Riot Nrrd, Dr. Mc Ninja, The Dreaded Atrox, Thingpart, El Goonish Shive, Doctor Cat, Magellan, SO MANY other webcomics you don't even know how many probably even I don't know

Print comics I buy when I have money: Doom Patrol, Akiko, Batman (if written by Jeph Loeb,) Groo

My favorite thing to draw: monsters

What inspires me to make comics: The way the language and the visuals combine to make more than the sum of their parts.

Why are you in the BHC: They're nice and they invite me to things.

My artistic new years resolution: Put some wonder in the world.

Favorite part of the artistic process: Creating! Making something where once that thing did not exist!

Finishing move: Impenetrable Joke

Astrological Sign: Giant Anteater

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Artist Intro: The Gerbil

Photobucket

Name: Jonathan, aka Gerbil

Current projects: Cordyceps Tickles (autobiographical webcomic), Grey Bouquet Designs (postapocalyptic childhood whimsy)

Past projects: "Don't You Hate When It Happens to You" minicomic from Day in the Life anthology; cover art and doodles for local zine Get Off Yer Ass!; many many unrelated things preceded by somebody telling me "hey, you should draw..."

Shop: http://www.greybouquet.com/ --> go to "Shop" --> ??? --> profit

Print comics I read: [recently] Peepo Choo, Empowered, The Boys, Wonderland; [all-time faves] Transmetropolitan, Fruits Basket, Blacksad, absolutely anything by Junji Ito or Furuya Usamaru

Blogs I read: Hyperbole and a Half, Cracked (uh.. that one counts, right?)

My fav stuff to write or draw: Stuff that's endearing and somehow off-putting at the same time. Or even better, the stuff where somebody laughs at it and then immediately looks sheepish for doing so, but it's obvious they still like it. So basically whenever I win over cognitive dissonance in other people's brains, and it doesn't only make sense in mine. This is when I've done my job well~

What inspires me to make comics: NEED. TO GET IT. OUT OF MY HEAD. It never stops coming whether I write it down or not, but people seem to enjoy seeing it if I do, and I want to roll around in that I-made-something-that-is-awesome feeling every chance I can.

Why are you in the BHC: They keep me going outside, talking to other people, and drawing, and it's all enjoyable. 'Specially 'cause so many of us seem to be pushing against the same kind of art-making issues. Plus, they're the reason I now have a filter for what I say out loud. Which, seriously, is REALLY handy!

My artistic new years resolution: Two comic strips a week, for the autobio stuff. Keeping it going. No pauses. Final destination. Nodding as my punctuation for that last one.

Favorite part of the artistic process: When I get to see somebody look at something I doodled into the third dimension, and they start chuckling. Or wincing. Or d'awwing at how it's cute. Any of those, really.

Hogwarts House: who with the what now?

uh... Pokemon types?: Now we're talkin'! Dark, Psychic

Blood Type: the hippie kind ("be positive"? Really, blood?)

Astrological Sign: Scorpio, right on the edge vs. Libra

Minneapolis Indie Expo This Weekend!



The Black Hat Collective (or, a whole bunch of it anyways) will be at the Minneapolis Indie Expo or MIX this coming weekend! We'll be at tables 70-72. We'll have comic books, buttons, prints, coloring books, t-shirts, and even some jewelry. Come stop by to say hello and enjoy shipping-charge-free goodies at The Soap Factory this Saturday and Sunday. There's no charge to get in the door, so you have nothing to loose, and a reasonably high chance of catching a spontaneous musical number with jazz hands. *


*The Black Hat Collective makes no guarantees regarding the quality of the musical numbers, the accuracy of the lyrics, or that half of them won't consist of the original English Pokemon theme song.

Nicole in City Pages!


Since the fabulous Ms. Nicole Lorenz is up to her eyeballs in graduate school and running her coloring book empire, I felt it was important to let you all know that she was interviewed by Citypages for her fabulous premier coloring book Fat Ladies in Spaaaaace! (that's 5 "a"s, now). Go and hear how all this madness began, what her future coloring book plans are, and her ideas about humor.