Ragon

June in Ragonia (2020)

Added 2020-06-29 22:26:13 +0000 UTC

(Sorry for the misfire of this newsletter earlier, Patreon glitched and sent out the draft.)

Hello my dear friends and patrons! I hope this finds you safe and healthy and well.

As you probably know no matter where you are in the world, it’s been another wild month in an already wild year. There’s been too much national and local news to cover here, but suffice it to say so much is changing or needs desperately to be changed. And everyone is passionately arguing about how to ‘appropriately’ ask for change, what changes need to be made, how quickly should change happen, and if there needs to be change at all. It’s a mess, and all I can do is advocate for what I believe and hope something good comes from the mess in the end.

As a result, my partner Zach and I were lost in the news and talking with family for too much of June. This year we’ve been a cycle of trying to work hard from home, stay focused and productive, and then we get completely knocked off balance for two weeks of obsessive news reading and have to work to re-center again. As of today we’re in another push to re-center, trying hard to reinstate a longer work schedule for ourselves and severely limit our news time. And I’m feeling better already.

I just want to remind you, friends, if this is a hard year for you and your art, then please be kind to yourself. Like my lovely friends have told me: you’re not alone, you’re not a failure, and your productivity and creativity is not gone for good. It won’t be this way forever. Stay connected, and do what you need to to get yourself through.

That said, there have been some spots of productivity in Ragonia in June. To start, I want to welcome our five new patrons for June: T.L., Emily, Gustavo, Karina, and Angie! Welcome, friends, and thank you SO MUCH for your generous support!

MAKING IT: POSCA DRAWING

As usual, I started the month with a Making It episode, this time on Posca drawing! Make sure to check it out if you haven’t yet, let me know what you thoughts and if you got to try some of my suggestions.

Next month’s episode will be on BLOCK PRINTING! I’m a beginner-ish on block printing, but I’d love to share the basics for people who’ve never tried it. Let me know i if you have anything in particular you’d like me to cover in the guide!

BOOK PROGRESS

My rough drafts for the boom are due in August, so I used June to draw a rough draft of all the 30 portraits in the book. I’m currently in the process of determining the color palette for each portrait, which is always tricky, but especially when sticking to a very limited color palette. July’s focus will be on the spot illustrations for each character and tightening up the portraits with the applied color palette.
I may have to hustle in July to finish it up, but I believe in myself.

CONVENTION MERCH DESIGNS

I finished these designs this month, and I’m really happy with how they came out. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to share, so I wanted to give a little snippet of each one.

The very last step for these is to convert them to vector, which I wish I’d known before I started and drew them in raster! I’m using the trial of Adobe Illustrator to use the Image Trace tool and then cleaning it up. Some day soon I’ll have to spring for a computer and subscription to Illustrator, I‘m just a cheap bastard who’s been putting it off.

Learn from my mistake, always make sure you know what exactly what kind of file your client needs before you get started.

Even still I’m very excited to be able to add these pieces to my portfolio and to see them on the final products at the convention (some day!) I’ll share the full pieces as soon as they’re announced, but enjoy the sneak peeks in the meantime!

SHOP UPDATE PREP, cont.

Another month and I still haven’t opened my shop, but I’m chipping away at getting ready to open it. As more and more conventions get canceled completely it’s really becoming clear that I need to pivot to more online sales for the remainder of the year.

This month I was excited to get in my first sticker sheets that I designed in March, and I think they came out so cute! I also finally photographed and edited my handmade earrings to be ready to sell online. I I’m have a couple other ideas for how to increase online sales for the remainder of a market and convention-free year, but I’ll share them as I implement them!

BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

As I mentioned earlier, my partner and I have been horrified to learn more about the disproportionate police brutality against, and incarceration of, Black people in America. We are horrified to be reminded of the systemic racism that is still very present, and horrified to see the dismissive and dangerous response of so many, right up to the highest levels of American leadership.

We unequivocally stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Thanks to encouragement of Black protestors and activists, I’ve been pushed to take action, along with so many others around the world. I’m proud to be among countless artists and creators sharing information and resources online, donating money to local BLM chapters, consuming content by Black creators, consuming content about the history of the police, discussing with friends and family, signing petitions and contacting lawmakers around the country. And there’s so, so much more that I need to do on a personal and professional level to promote equality and freedom for all.

I’d love to recommend some of the resources I’ve been engaging with lately, if you’re interested in learning more or participating yourself. Give some of these a try:

John Oliver episode on the police. - If you want an overview of the events of the month and to understand why people are angry.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co - Extensive list of places to donate, petition, lawmakers to contact, and register to vote.

Minority Korner - Maximum Fun podcast, covering current events with a self-described ‘Sexy Gay Blerd’ (that’s Black nerd) host and an equally awesome rotating co-host.

“13th” - Documentary available on Netflix, on the 13th amendment and it’s relationship to prison, labor, and police.

“Dear White People” - drama/comedy TV series on Netflix, on the experiences of Black students at a mostly White Ivy League University. Just a generally excellent show, also.

I also have a saved highlight on my Instagram with more infographics, links, resources, and recommendations. The work is nowhere near done, friends. We can’t go back to ‘normal’, we must move forward toward better. Positive changes are already happening, but we can’t stop before the work is done.

Please share your resources in the comments, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

If you’re hosting a fundraising event with your art or business let us know as well.

And of course if you’re a Black artist or illustrator looking for a shout out, feel free to plug your links in the comments and make some new friends! All my patrons are always welcome to plug their social media or art business in the comments, of course!