It’s been two days, and almost half of the original images have been sponsored (and nearly all of those are actually paid up). There are more orders, but they came too late–I have to disappoint some people with e-mails after I finish this update. It makes me feel terrible, so I wish I’d had the time to implement an actual claims system, but bills are bills and they come when they do.
Thank you so much to everyone. I’m absolutely amazed at how many people responded to PlunderZOO, both with purchases and with RTs, blog posts, and other signal boosts.
All of this really makes me appreciate technology more than before. If it wasn’t for the fact that we can open up a dog and put pins and wire into its bones, my puppy would be literally crippled for the rest of his life, walking and acting like an old dog before he even finished growing. It wouldn’t even matter how much money anyone had, or whether or not they would put it toward what he needed. And if it wasn’t for the free information on the Internet, I wouldn’t know how to draw (seriously). And most importantly, if it wasn’t for the way people use the Internet, the way we take cold, hard code and use it to build warm, sharing communities, not nearly as many people would know about my venture or have the means to join it.
Our zoo is going to look so cool when all those animals are captured, folks. (: Thank you for being a part of this.
Our pet landshark when he was a wee little beastie! (Before we had him.)
Broken Pitbull™ is almost Repaired Pitbull™. Hanzo has one more surgery scheduled, and then he will be a fully functioning cyborg canine! However, even with the Vet Loves My Dog Discount™, it has emptied my bank account. (This is especially bad right now, since I just got accepted to a fantastic writing workshop–which is a bit expensive.) My cats will have to work either selling their favors or picking pockets, and when they come home in the wee hours, I’ll collect their day’s take and slap them around a bit if I think they’ve shorted me.
Which is why you should check out The Plunder Zoo.
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Thanks to Audrey, Keffy, EJ, Chelsea, and Brenda for checking out my live sketch show on Ustream. It works like this: there’s a live feed from a camera pointed at the art I’m drawing, and a chat window beside it where you can make fun of my drawing and demand content and responses. My talented friend Eliza does really cool sketch sessions this way, which she calls Sweatshop. (Check it out–she’s way more entertaining than I am!) Since I copy everything else she does, I figured I’d copy that too.
It was so fun. I will do this more. If you wanted to watch/participate in one of these live drawing sessions, what time/day is the best for you?
Until I figure out when I’m going to have a regular broadcast, here is the weirdest and least appropriate sketch. Probably work safe unless they read the text. Then it’s only safe for giggling nine year olds. » Continue Reading…
This took me an hour.
My boss is getting this tattooed on her foot.
A collective hour, that is. You wouldn’t believe how many pieces of paper I killed, how many times I put it in a drawer for a month and then accidentally found it when I was trying to look for character sketches for a comic. I don’t even believe it.
I hate those flowers, you guys. I HATE THEM. I’m not saying that so you’ll tell me they’re great (please don’t). I’m saying it so you understand why I’m contemplating a bit of therapeutic madness that coalesced in my mind after a comment on my tantrum from the wise and venerable Bear:
“flaws are what make the world beautiful.“
Whether she left out her capitalization as a subtle but powerful statement or whether she just didn’t feel like hitting the shift key for the largely uncaring audience on Twitter, it got me thinking.
I don’t know why I’m so scared of my art sucking. I don’t actually care. If I’m not specifically creating an original for sale, I use inferior art supplies on purpose because they’re cheaper. Archival quality? I don’t care if my art lasts years, or minutes. Nearly all my joy comes from the process of making a drawing, not gazing at the finished product. I have just as much fun drawing with my finger on a fogged-up car mirror or a filthy pickup as I do on a piece of Bristol board with Copic liners.
And yet because I don’t particularly enjoy the finished product, I always assume others won’t either. And I also assume they will judge how much I care for them or how much effort I put into their work by the end result. So if I don’t make it perfect, my own logic insists that they will think I am rude or careless instead of just an unskilled artist. It’s taken years to dig this deeply into my neuroses, and I’m sure there are many more layers to my insanity. But I do know it’s hard for me to let go of art if I can’t ctrl+z, because those flaws might come across as a statement instead of mere accidents.
(I also undervalue my own skills and can never be good enough, but this neat article on pricing your own skills made me feel a little better about just giving people what they need from me instead of what I would need from me.)
Anyway, flaws ARE beautiful. I love this picture, which is a partial nude, so careful when clicking:
» Continue Reading…