Fan Art by My Daughter
February 10, 2009 - Tuesday
I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those parents who are always bragging about their kid, but I guess I'm going back on that pledge for the moment. Today's special artwork is drawn by my daughter. It's her rendition of a kitty cat (complete with eyelashes). You might not think it's much to write home about, but realize that my daughter is only 26 months old. Most kids her age don't do much more than scribble. I just have to teach her how to use a dip pen and India ink, and it won't be long before she's ready to take over this comic!
Fan Art by Krishna Sadasivam
February 6, 2009 - Friday
Is there a better feeling in the world than opening your email and being blown away by some great fan art? I think not! So you can imagine how excited I was to see this surprise from Krishna Sadasivam when I opened my inbox tonight. There's so much I'd like to say about Krishna that I don't know where to start. First, he's the creator of two fantastic webcomics. PC Weenies is a geek and computer themed comic that has been running over 10 years--how many other artists can claim that? Then there's the always thoughtful Uncubed, which is a semi-autobiographical comic that follows Krishna's experiences as an Indian American. Krishna is also a full-times instructor in the Media Arts and Animation department at the Art Institute of Tampa. And if that's not enough for you, Krishna is one of the nicest and most generous people in webcomics. He hosts a webcartoonist roundtable podcast called the Sequential Artist Pub, he's regularly one of the hosts for the live podcast Art and Story Alive, and he helps out with the Nightgig Comics Sampler every year for Megacon. I'm probably forgetting some other stuff, but I think you get the idea. Click the picture below for the full-size image.
Guest Strip Contest Runner-up: JM Brown
February 5, 2009 - Thursday
Today's runner-up entry for the Calamities of Nature Guest Strip Contest is JM Brown, creator of the webcomic Glimmer. He also writes a blog that you can read here. Click the picture below for the full-size comic.
Groundhog Day Webcomics
February 3, 2009 - Tuesday
To followup on Groundhog Day from yesterday, let's take a look at some of the other webcomics that mentioned Groundhog Day in their strips. Click each of the pics below to see the full-size comic from each site. And if you know of any webcomics I've forgotten, as I surely have, feel free to post about it in the comments (especially if it's your own comic).
Happy Groundhog Day!
February 2, 2009 - Monday
Edit: The results are in. Punxsutawney Phil (the most famous of groundhogs) saw his shadow today, which means 6 more weeks of winter. This forecast has been supported by a number of less-known groundhogs, so it looks pretty certain that winter will last a little longer this year.
Perhaps it's needless to say, but we didn't quite reach our goal of making Groundhog Day a national holiday. Nevertheless, don't let that get you too down today. There are still plenty of reasons to celebrate the greatness of groundhogs. Next year we'll just have to work twice as hard to make this dream of ours a reality.
Also, just as a reminder, there are two weeks left on the t-shirt pre-order. Thank you to everyone who has bought a shirt so far. I work really hard on this comic, and I appreciate your support! It makes a big difference toward allowing me to keep doing this!
Spiffy Studios Launched and T-Shirt Pre-Order
January 30, 2009 - Friday
If you've bought a book from me, you may have noticed that I'm publishing under the name Spiffy Studios. Maybe you were thinking, "What's that all about?" Well, I'm excited to announce that I finally have the Spiffy Studios website up and running. This will be the hub for all my artistic projects, both illustration (like Calamities of Nature) and merchandise.
The first order of business with the new site is that I'm offering a new t-shirt for pre-order. This shirt features the artwork that I've been using to promote the campaign to make Groundhog Day a national holiday. The pre-order runs until February 16th, at which point I'll send the order to the printer. By doing a pre-order, it'll allow me to offer more colors and sizes than I could if I had to buy the shirts ahead of time. Plus, I'm giving an extra $2 off to thank you for your support. Once the pre-order is over, I'll probably only have one color available and limited sizes. If you haven't gotten our Volume 1 collection yet, we are also offering a special combo deal where you get a discount on both the shirt AND the book, and in addition save on shipping.
