Baltimore Comic Con THIS WEEKEND! :D
I'm on the Megabus right now for the Baltimore Comic Con tomorrow and Sunday! It's awesome that I can even DO this post right now on the bus - they have wifi! This week I didn't have a chance to post the Daily Misfortunes because I've been super busy with other work and getting my BRAND NEW book out: "Mindy Indy's Daily Misfortune and Flip Book"! I can't even believe I got all 100 printed in time. I had to reformat the size like 3 times, then my first printing option fell through (their printer broke) but I was able to print them at Staples! The 24 hour Staples ALWAYS SAVES MY LIFE!! The books were so heavy I couldn't even drag them all in my huge suitcase at once, so I had to leave some behind, but if I miraculously run out tomorrow I can always print more at another Staples! I'll have pictures later, and will be creating an online store very soon so you can buy it :) Anyway, I'm super excited to be exhibiting at this convention! I'm also very thankful to my great friend Tracy for all her help - without her I probably wouldn't be able to be at the con! If you're in the Baltimore area (or NYC area - Megabus is only $9!!) please make a trip to the Baltimore Comic Con - I heard it's even bigger and better than last year :) I'll be at table A247 in Artist's Alley.
Thank God I didn't miss the Megabus! I came pretty close :/
Baltimore Comic Con next weekend!
I've been preparing new stuff to exhibit at the Baltimore Comic Con next weekend! It's September 8th and 9th. This time next week I'll be on a bus getting there. Special guests include Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Frank Cho, Dean Haspiel, and many more. The convention is also hosting the Harvey Awards, which honors comic work excellence. There will also be lots of fun and cool comics and collectibles to buy! I'll be in Artist's Alley, Table A247, so if you're going to the show, please stop by! I'll have a new book out! Yes, an actual BOOK, not just paper copied and folded at Staples :P More info on that next week!
Misfortune Cookie Animation!
I've been working on a very special project - a Misfortune Cookie Animation! I love doing hand drawn animation and use a light table to see through the drawings on paper. It takes longer than animating on the computer, but I want the drawings to look like how I drew the comic. The animation is part of a larger project, which I'll reveal in the next few weeks :) Part of my plan to get stuff ready for the Baltimore Comic Con that I'm in September 8th and 9th!
The Daily Misfortune 57
Teaching Kids Comics @ Utrecht
Had a blast teaching kids how to draw and ink comics at Utrecht Brooklyn this past Saturday! Lots of talented kids (and their parents!) came and I taught them step by step how to create their own character and three panel comic strip. When it got to the inking part, I was a little nervous having open ink bottles around kids, but everything was ok. We mostly inked with Micron pens :) I did get to show them a little of how you can fill in large areas of black with a brush and ink, and how to do ink washes. Initially I thought it would be more of an inking demo to show college students how to use the supplies (this Utrecht is right by Pratt University). The students seemed busy buying art supplies for the back-to-school season, though. But live events are always different and turn out great.
With each new event I do I learn something. I usually teach on a big white board to a big class (at MoCCA), but this time I drew on a bristol board page to show how cartoonists really create their art. I had to keep turning the page around so kids wouldn't see it upside down! Also, it's difficult to do a linear step-by-step routine when people are jumping in at different times. I had to keep tabs on who was at what point while I started over again with new people. I did have some already-drawn simple comics for people who wanted to just jump in with the inking. Maybe I'll do more of that next time. It was a super fun experience though and I love doing this stuff! The Utrecht manager said the event got lots of positive feedback and maybe they'd have me do another one! It's good publicity for me and I sold a few comics, but most of all kids had tons of fun learning and drawing!
Cartooning Demo at Utrecht Brooklyn Saturday!
I'll be doing a cartooning demonstration at the Utrecht Art Supply Store in Brooklyn this Saturday August 25 from 12pm-2pm! It's at 536 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205
"Comic Illustration Demo" Brooklyn-based professional cartoonist "mindy indy" will teach others how to create a 3 panel comic strip, focusing on character creation and story. Join mindy indy as she delves into different ways to ink comics: try out a variety of inks and pen nibs while learning cartooning techniques such as cross-hatching and shading. Participants can also look at finished mindy indy comics for reference and buy them if desired. All ages Free!
Hope to see you there!
TNH animation done!
TNH, the animated short I worked on with Kyle Baker, premiered on MTV Geek recently! (NOTE: There is violence and swearing, so if you're a kid, don't click the links.) It's more of an "adult swim" kind of cartoon. I mainly animated individual characters in Blender, After Effects, and Photoshop. Some scenes I animated are: The funny looking crowd watching the pole dancers, close ups of legs dancing, a LOT of the komodo dragon scenes, the glass shattering with girl screaming, some of the stairs chase scene, the peep driving the car, the baby animals looking with fright, the bunny flying in the air, and the cooked chicken, among others. There's too much to say in one blog post about the process of animating, but please watch and enjoy!
Reddit?
A friend suggested I post my comics on Reddit. It looks like that site just links to this site. I posted yesterday and "mindy indy's Daily Misfortune and other freaking awesome comics!" is already buried on the 5th page. I tried posting again, but it only lets you post a link once. Not sure how it's supposed to work. I'll look into it more later. Trying to get my daily misfortune book together :)
New Misfortune Cookie Page!
The more content I make, the more I need to organize it somehow. People are interested in the daily misfortunes, and I tried to point them to the actual 5 page Misfortune Cookie short comics, but they were buried in my blog. So now, there's a brand new Misfortune Cookie page on this site! Look in the upper right corner, among the other links. Both comics are up there.
The Daily Misfortune 51
The Daily Misfortune 50
Stoop Postponed :(
The Stoop 2012 event was postponed this weekend due to threat of thunderstorms. They spread the word on Friday, and it didn't even rain a single drop on Saturday! Beautiful weather all day! But that's the way it goes sometimes. I'll let you know what date they change it to if I'm still able to participate. They need to wait for a park permit, so who knows how long that takes. I'm also doing other events, like doing a Cartooning Illustration Demo at Utrecht Brooklyn on Saturday August 25th (536 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205) and the Baltimore Comic Con September 8th & 9th. Hopefully neither of those events will get postponed! They're indoors, so that helps.
Stoop Prep
I've been preparing my new teaching routine for The Stoop tomorrow. Just a reminder:
The Stoop 2012: A Free Celebration of Arts, Music and Life August 11, 2012 from 2pm - 7pm Ft. Greene Park Myrtle Ave between N. Portland Ave and Washington Park (300 Myrtle Ave - if an address is needed for GPS) Brooklyn, NY, 11201
Hope to see you there!
The Daily Misfortune 47
The Daily Misfortune 46
The Stoop 2012
Mindy indy is participating in another fun-filled event this Saturday! I'll be teaching people of all ages how to draw comics at The Stoop 2012 in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn this Saturday August 11th from 2-7pm. The Stoop will feature live performances, DJs, games, activities, interactive arts stations, live art and many prizes, such as DJ101 class courtesy of Scratch DJ Academy, several fitness classes courtesy of Triomph Fitness, Health & Wellness, Dance Class passes from Mark Morris Dance Co., Hair care products from Doris of NY, passes to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and more.
The Stoop is brought to you by an awesome group called FOKUS (Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success). Atiba Edwards started the group at the college I went to (University of Michigan) and I did a few events with the group back in the day - I did caricatures of people in U of M's diag. Years passed, we fell out of touch (as happens with college peeps), and one day Atiba walks into the art supply store I work at in Brooklyn! It's so random and great to reconnect with people like that! Glad to be involved with FOKUS again.
Here's more about the event:
For the fifth year in a row, FOKUS will present The Stoop, a celebration of art, music and life. This fun and free event will be held on August 11, 2012 in Fort Greene Park (Myrtle Ave and N. Portland Ave) in Brooklyn, NY from 2-7pm and is designed for folks of all ages!
Stoops are known for being a place for people to gather, relax, share stories and have a good time. This event mimics that by bringing together artists and the community into one space for a fun celebration in the park.
The event is currently sponsored by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council, IZZE Sparkling Juice, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, Scratch DJ Academy, Triomph Fitness, Health & Wellness, Soul Of Brooklyn, MoCADA, MAChO, Montana Colors and Xmental Inc.
If you are interested in being a STOOP 2012 volunteer, please contact Atiba T. Edwards, The Stoop program director, at thestoop2012@gmail.com.
The Stoop 2012: A Free Celebration of Arts, Music and Life August 11, 2012 from 2pm - 7pm Ft. Greene Park Myrtle Ave between N. Portland Ave and Washington Park (300 Myrtle Ave - if an address is needed for GPS) Brooklyn, NY, 11201
Music all day by: DJ Polarity
Performances by: ScienZe Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band Ayodele Alli Nyendo Arts
Interactive Art Stations: Vinyl Artwork w/ Scratch DJ Academy Live Mural w/ Xmental Inc. Cooking Demo w/ Myrtle Eats Fresh Comic Design w/ Mindy Steffen Terracotta Pot Painting w/ Anna The Bumble Bee of FOKUS HIP-HOP Jeopardy w/ FOKUS Cru T-Shirt Design w/ FOKUS Cru
Games & Activities: Obstacle Course w/ MAChO Bean-Bag Toss Tournament Tug-Of-War Egg Race Hula Hoops OGO Sport Games Connect 4 and other Board Game Tournaments & MORE
Directions:
via Train
B/Q/R to Dekalb Ave
2/3/4/5 to Nevins St.
G to Fulton St
C to Lafayette St
via Bus B54 to Myrtle Ave-N. Portland B57 / B62 / B69 to Park Ave-N Portland St.
via Car Take Flatbush Ave Extension and turn right onto Myrtle Ave Take Vanderbilt Ave and turn left onto Myrtle Ave From Manhattan Bridge: Continue onto Flatbush Extension then turn left onto Myrtle Ave. From Brooklyn Bridge: Turn left onto Tillary St then turn right onto Flatbush Ext. and turn left onto Myrtle Ave
That's all from the facebook event.
Rockaway Beach Studies
This weekend I went to Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY. I heard it's a great surf beach, and wanted to sketch the waves and surfers for Aer Head references (besides just having awesome beach relaxation :) The above sketch was done with Prismacolor markers. I scanned it with my recycled scanner, but the colors weren't as vibrant. I had to tweak it in Photoshop to get the bottom picture. The top picture, just taken with my camera, is actually closer to the true colors. So far, the scanner doesn't seem to be that great with colors (maybe that's why it was on the curb). But for line art it's great.
When I think of surfing, I think of gigantic waves, and was a bit disappointed when all I saw was tiny waves. Maybe it was the wrong time of day for big waves? I still got to capture some surfing gestures. It was hard because surfers move fast. I mostly sketched the surf board's size in relation to people's bodies, because I had trouble with that size ratio when drawing Aer Head. Also, a detail I noticed was that all the surfers have a cord attaching their board to their foot.
The Daily Misfortune 43
Desert Island Comics Success!
Good news! I stopped by Desert Island Comics yesterday to see how well The Misfortune Cookie sold, and the owner, Gabe, said he'd sold 2 more that day! He said one girl (from Japan?) bought one for herself and one for a friend. That makes me super happy! So over about 2 months, I'd sold 4 copies. Not bad - they SOLD! And without me being there in person to show them how great my comics are. I dropped off copies of The Misfortune Cookie 2 and signed an agreement with the store. Before, when I gave the owner copies of my mini comics, we did a trade and I got another comic. But now that he sees my work sells, I have an official contract that says I get a certain percentage of what sells. I raised the price - before, my mini comics were $1 at Desert Island, but since the store would take like $0.40 from that, I put the retail price at $1.50, so I'll get $0.90 for each copy sold. Not much, but hey, gotta start somewhere. I was considering selling The Misfortune Cookie comics for $3 like usual, but compared to the other independent comic prices on the racks, $1.50 was reasonable. Other ones were twice the size and had twice as many pages for $3. Context is everything! When I'm the only cartoonist at an art show, I can sell comics for higher, but not compared with other comics. This is a very curious thing. I both dislike and like it at the same time.
