Promoting some friends!

One of the perks of having a comic is sharing stuff that I feel should be shared. I have a trio or friends doing promotions right now, so let's give them a signal boost! Maybe one is offering something you want!

Going in order of the banner, I'll start with Tiff Ross, creator of the Cyantian Chronicles and Alien Dice. She's currently holding an Indiegogo campaign to fund those adorable plushes of her character Darius. If you don't want the cute doll (WHY NOT!?) she is also offering commissions as part of the fundraising.

Next up is Becca, of the Nattosoup art and comic blog, who is working on adorable watercolors, featuring art of Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Nintendo characters, Adventure Time and Gravity Falls, among original creations. Check her Tumblr for a sampling of them. You can commission new watercolors, or grab one already created, over at the Nattosoup shop! (Edit: There's some issues with the store check-out. It'll be fixed soon, but you'll have to contact Becca directly to purchase something for now.)

Finally, Darc of Code Name: Hunter is doing a fundraiser to replace her well-used Cintiq, and offering lots of perks in the process. This is one of the best-drawn comics out there, and funding keeps it going strong, with more updates per week! She's so close to the goal! Don't you want to be the one that puts her over the top? Remember, she's also giving back to artists, new and old, with her Pimp My Studio giveaway, so she deserves some love. (The deadline for that promo is midnight of June 10th - that's today!)

Two worthy projects!

You may have seen the banners on this site already, but did you know *I* put them there? Both of these projects are dear to me, and I'd love to see them succeed! One is for comic lovers. One is for art lovers. All will enrich your lives! Click each banner to visit the funding page. (Then fund them!)

The Precocious kids read and love Newshounds, and you should too! (If you don't help out, you risk their wrath.) This is a comic that I adored and studied when I first started on my cartooning path, so it's dear to me. It's been going online for 15 years, and the time has come for Newshounds to end.  Thomas K. Dye, the creator, wants to give his comic a proper send-off and bring his story to a close on his terms.  In order to do that, he needs your support. The final book, fourth in the current series, must happen! Read over his Indiegogo funding page to learn more and see the special bonus options.

Heidi Black is one of the amazing artists I met during my time at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She's a recent grad of the top sequential art program in the country, and one of the most skilled, talented and versatile artists I know. She has professional experience, webcomic experience and knows more art tricks that just about anyone... and she's sharing it with you! Artists, this book is a MUST-HAVE. It's not only a beautiful art book, but a collection of tutorials to help level up anyone's art skills.  Non-artists, she is offering her version of a swag bag as a donation level for those not in the market for a tutorial book - support a good project and get some mini comics, a poster and some charms! Several other tiers of rewards are available to supporters, so check it out! ONLY A WEEK LEFT TO FUND THIS ONE!

Thanks for reading my pleas, everyone. I want these projects to succeed, and a perk of being a creator is that I can signal boost!

And now, more Derpy!

Here's the final sketch for the Derpy/Bud muffin-lovin' commission. I have never drawn a pony this well before, so I'm gonna trace the heck out of it for the final piece.

You'll note tracing is my theme today. Usually I redraw commissions on the watercolor paper, but this time I'm tracing all three. (The third is the Autumn sleeping on the couch sketch, which was conveniently sketched at the correct size.) I think this is a consequence for me going back and making a finer-quality sketch for each project. Usually I do a rough, get approval and then upgrade the sketch right on the final paper.

On an art geek note, since all three of today's projects have scale issues, I'm doing them on Reeves BFK white instead of the watercolor pad I've been using. This paper is new to me, so I'm not sure how it handles watercolors. (I thought I was buying the same brand I've been using, but it seems that was Arches, not Reeves.)

It's commissionathon time!

So... as you might guess, that image above is not mine. It belongs to one of my friends, who is joining me on this current fundraising experiment. See, this time it's just not me looking for some commission. There are three of us, here for all you drawing needs.

There's a decent amount of Precocious readers who qualify as liking furry art, so we decided to team up and offer our services. Unlike me, they have TALENT, so they can draw most anything you ask them do, anthro or good old-fashion humans or animals.

For me... you know what I do. I draw Precocious-y stuff, and that's it. What I'm offering for this run are half-page watercolor pieces, featuring one character (mine or yours) and maybe one prop for $25 each. (Look down the blog for the Dionne/Jacob pieces for an example.) Normally I'd charge more, but since these are experiments so I can get better at the whole watercolor thing, you get a discount.

My friends are MUCH more versatile, and able to offer a great variety of tasks. You can get a sense of the work one offers from the piece above. (Which I should mention is from a few years back, so she's even better now!) The other draws ridiculously cute chibi art! I'll have a sample of her work up shortly. Their prices will range from $15 sketches to $50 full-color single character pieces done in a variety of methods. (Extra charges apply for extras, such as more than one character and backgrounds, of course.)

All artwork, no matter who does it, will be accompanied by a special limited-edition Precocious gocco print. This way you get something Precocious-y AND get superior artwork of your favorite character!

This is kinda an emergency fundraiser thing, as we're all in need at the moment. This post is a feeler to see if anyone out there is willing to work with the three of us. When the commissionathon officially launches, I'll put it out where people can actually see it. If you're reading this now and want to give my friends and me a shot, please reply here or drop me an email at chrispco@yahoo.com.

Edit: And just so you guys know. We don't do anything porny. Don't even try to ask.

Buying in bulk makes you feel like a pro

Tuesday's strip used up the last template in my current pack, so that means it's time to bust out the big bad box of Bristol board! Behold: 300 strip templates just waiting for me to taint them with my ink!

It's silly, but every time I exhaust these packs of 100 it brings mini-celebration. I've outlived another pack! I've rocked the world 100 more times! There was once a day when I bought these templates in packs of 14 each. Now I look at the blocks of 100 and shrug it off as if it was nothing. I know I can conquer these things, and I know I can make that conquering worthwhile. (You are not allowed to disagree!)

And now, it is time to crack one of these packs open and defile the first victim. Woohoo!