That’s the Krismas card we sent out. It is now the last day of 2018, and I feel it has been a successful year for me. I felt like I did nothing, and then I wrote a list of successes for 2018 at the beginning of my new day planner.
Teaching
I taught two university-level art classes at Western Washington University for the graphic design department. It was a bit of a trip because my mom went to school there, in that department, while I was in high school. I taught a class on illustration tools (such as pen and ink) and a class on comics. Both were really fun and I think I would like to do them again. But I might teach them on my own. I will be researching this and sharing what I learn here for $1+ patrons.
Comics
I started Cob (working title). I have completed 27 pages of 96. And the whole thing is laid out. I am going to do another (around) 25 pages next, hoping to thumbnail those in January (which will be pretty packed for me).
I started the Badger comic, which quickly turned into a murder mystery. I have outlined the story, so now I can get back to doodling on it during TV. I intend it to be a less strict story process. I usually, like in Cob, outline every single page. But this one I am doing page by page.
I tabled at Olympia Comics Festival (where I met and chatted with Eric Shanower) and Bellingham Comic Arts Festival. Both were very fun and I plan to do both again in 2019, if BCAF happens again.
I did hourly comics day.
Publishing
I started the year by publishing Her Blood and Bone, my collection of 2017 Inktober illustrations.
Volume 4 of Awesome ‘Possum is out. I think it is the best one. I have thought that about each, so that is a good trend. If I do another, though, it won’t come out until 2020 and it might have a more specific theme than “nature.” Thoughts?
I finished a small autobio mini comic, The Ants of Our Discontent. I have to admit, there are still ants in the kitchen. Not as many, though.
Four pages of my comic Oooh, Shiny! were published in Raven Chronicles: Last Call.
I had a comic published in Seven Days, the Vermont alt-weekly.
Freelance Work
I made enough money through my various jobs—editing, illustration, design, weaver, teaching—to pay for the two months the Abe doesn’t work in the summer and to pay for a new transmission in our poor old car.
I started issue 2 of Artema, written by Rachel Cholst. It is currently half inked on half the pages. I do two rounds of inking, one for the major lines, those that I get in the pencils; and another round for adding in details like hatching and spot black.
I laid out two books for First Second. For two creators I really enjoy. Book three of The Nameless City: The Divided Earth by Faith Erin Hicks is already out. I adore her work and was thrilled to get this assignment. I tried so hard not to read it, but obviously couldn’t help it since it helps the job. And I was literally tearing up. Island Book by Evan Dahm is coming out in May 2019.
Personal
I moved into Bellingham! I have never actually lived IN Bellingham. I grew up outside of Bellingham. And when we (Abe and I) moved back to Washington, we moved back to the same place, living with my mom. But now I live within 5 minutes of the post office and the library.
I got a part-time job as a weaver at True North Textiles. It is a fun job and adds to my strange list of jobs. But now I can pay the rent every month without worry.
I cataloged and organized all of our books! With the help of Abe. If I am looking at it right, we have around 600 books (I think we still have a couple boxes that have not been cataloged). We still need two more bookcases though.
I have been learning Dutch on DuoLingo and plan to continue. I do enjoy it.
2019 Goals
I want to keep up my satisfying work. So my goals are:
– Finish Cob
– Apply to Creators for Creators
– Start the Maria comic (again)
– Finish Artema 2 (this is due by the end of February, so I will definitely complete this)
– Do at least one job for First Second (this is not really in my hands, but wishful thinking)
– Apply to 12 anthologies (that’s only 1 a month. Can you believe I haven’t participated in someone else’s open call anthology?)
– Complete Dutch on DuoLingo (this is part of my work on the Maria book)
– Read 1 prose book per month. My top picks:
- Schrodinger’s Cat trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein
- Grass by Tepper
- Roadside Picnic
- Hard Fought by Greg Bear
- Forever War by Haldeman
- Mystery of Metamorphosis
- Lab Girl
- Journey to the End of the Night by Celine
- Siddhartha
- Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
- Embarrassment of Riches