Behind the Doodles - June 2016 update!

Hey, MTV! Welcome to my crib- oh wait, sorry. Wrong thing. Lemme try that again.

Hey peeps! Welcome to the first round of monthly behind-the-scenes updates. In these posts I highlight the events of the month as well as list any cool project updates or goals I have coming up. Sound good? Let’s dive in!

June was the cherry on top of the crazy cake that's 2016. In the best sense. I’m not sure how many deets you’ll want, but since this is behind-the-scenes juicy goodness, imma lay it on ya. The biggest change I can report is becoming a full-time cartoonist. For the first half of 2016 I was working a full-time position in a social media agency. At the same time, I kept getting awesome opportunities for Doodle for Food. Though I enjoyed both jobs, I quickly realized I couldn’t juggle both, and so I decided to pursue comics. We’re a month in and let me tell ya, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. After six months of really struggling, I finally feel like I'm on the right path for me.

I also adopted two puppies! They’re named Eliza and Hercules. I post about them all the time on snapchat, but I also added a pic of what they look like (Spoiler alert: they’re really cute):

I also turned 25 this month! Crazy stuff!

Now let’s talk about goals and projects and things.

This month my main focus was finding and settling into a work routine while maintaining at least two comic updates per week. I also researched and purchased equipment to make merch at home. Surprisingly, a LOT of time went into figuring out what type of printer to purchase (Epson Artisan 1430), as well as what type of paper to use. I also invested in more shipping supplies, a button maker and a die cutting machine. Initial tests on the equipment have me very excited to make new designs and merch options. I also worked on commission projects for a few cool people. One of which is a larger project that I’ll be working on until October.

July will be a very busy month. I’m continuing commission and regular comic work while preparing for a few larger projects. I made the decision earlier in the year to get Doodle for Food a proper working site, which is now in the works. I've attached a pic of the design so far. The site will work as a hub for my comics and future projects.

Other than that, most of my time will be spent prepping for Boston Comic Con. I’m designing and printing new merch to debut at the convention. I was also selected to speak on a panel about webcomics! I’ll have more info on that closer to convention time. So far I've completed two of six designs, which I included below.

In my free time from prepping and comicking, I’ll be planning and writing blog posts about marketing webcomics online. This series will be published and can be read for free on my friend Enzo’s site: http://makewebcomics.com. I’ll keep you all updated when that gets rolling!

I think that’s it for now! Thanks again and I’ll see you chickpeas and chickadees next month!