Spring Tabling Tales

So we’re about 1/3 into 2024 and I’ve had two tabling events that were VERY different from each other. Let’s rewind to March…

My first event – known as Carrier Con took place on the USS Hornet across the Bay. Pretty neat, huh? I was pretty stoked, even if I had some doubts in the back of my mind about Veggielore Scrolls even fitting in a more anime and manga-centric convention.

^{The USS Hornet in all its glory with a World of Waifu Warships banner.}

^{I was so tempted by the Garrus plushie on the table behind us….}

I can’t say sales-wise that I did very well at this con. It was very heavily anime, manga, and gaming centered. I might have fared a little better if I had any kind of fan art, but at this point of my art journey, I’ve pretty much cut down on making any kind of fan art merch. But that’s another blog post.

But despite the slim sales, I still had a lot of fun – I mean, how awesome was it to have an artist alley table on an aircraft carrier? Also had some friends and family help out with the set up and engaging with con-goers, so it was basically a geeky hangout. And the cost to get a table was far from painful so – one more plus! My overall consensus of Carrier Con – fun to go to, but not a good fit for Veggielore Scrolls.

My 2nd tabling event earlier this month was at this year’s PLCAF Small Press Comics Expo! I’ve tabled at this event in previous years – two of them as an artist collective with a local drawing meetup. But this particular year I REALLY wanted to table at this event – especially because 1. we actually have COMICS this time and 2. this was at the newest and hottest library/ parks and rec center in our county!

^{Local comic artists and authors unite!}

^{We got a sweet new banner too!}

^{HAETAE setting up her wares for you to peruse}

I made a few minor changes in the displays and set up to keep it simple and clean – i.e. most of the prices on a list and stickers and accessories grouped together in the shadow box frames. We even got some custom printed runners and banners this time!

^{A few of the PLCAF freebies and handouts. Also check out the cute, custom printed Veggielore tablecloth!}

It was a good crowd of locals and definitely a lot of families and library visitors. And with this event being very close to home (I’m seriously just minutes from this venue), I did my task of spamming my family and friends to swing by and buy out our inventory.

^{A little behind the scenes. We were fueled with empanadas and donuts.}

But outside of the panels and artists alley were tables and booths full of freebies – including a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit train) gacha machine of stickers and buttons. Oh, and BART now has waifus with their own cut outs that I forgot to take pictures of.

^{Not gonna lie, the buttons and stickers I got are super cute!}

There were impressive guest panels and signings which I, sadly, didn’t attend due to me staying behind the table. BUT, I was able to get a little signature during some downtime from Gary Whitta after a bit of peer pressure from HAETAE :D. Didn’t have anything Rogue One or even remotely Star Wars on me at the moment (and I regret not bringing my Rogue One BluRay) but I had my freebie PLCAF sketchbook!

^{I was as nervous as Bodhi Rook thinking up a call sign under pressure}

As far as sales, we did a lot better seeing as the focus was on local comic artists and authors. And the biggest plus was that there was no cost to get a table! Still, every event is part of a learning process. Overall consensus of PLCAF Small Press Expo – very fun and a much more appropriate fit for Veggielore Scrolls – much like the BPL Comic Con last year.

^{Until next year, PLCAF!}

But wait! This was the event where we debuted our latest Veggielore Scrolls comic! The three of us put together a compilation of four-panel comics into, what we titled Mini-Ventures with some shorts featuring several heroes and side characters. And, if you weren’t able to attend the expo due to geographical barriers or time constraints, you can still get your copy in our shop! Grab some stickers while you’re there too ;).

How to Draw Daikon Knight(s)

So you’ve read The Veggielore Scrolls comics and maybe even downloaded some of the available freebies. But now you’re wondering “HOW can I add MORE FIBER to my COMIC DIET?!”

Get your pencils or pens ready! Today we’re drawing the ever-valiant veggie- the Daikon Knight!

1. Let’s start sketching the body!

Start with an unfinished curvy rectangle. Depending on how tall or short you want your daikon character to be, adjust the length of the unfinished ends. If you’d like a more husky daikon, adjust the width to your liking!

^{The hard part}

2. FORM FEET AND LEGS

^{If it’s looking like a tooth, you’re on the right track}

Our daikon hero will have a bit of a heroic stance here. Adjust your daikon’s stubby legs as desired. It also might help to sketch a few guide lines to give you an idea of where the limbs will split. My daikon will have pointy limbs, but feel free if you’d like to give your daikon stubby or trimmed limbs. Around this time, you might want to sketch where you’d want to draw the eyes.

3. Head and shoulders

Right now, our daikon is kind of armless and neckless. I usually like to sketch in the ‘scarf’ part of his cape so I get a sense of where I want to start drawing the arms and pauldrons. It also gives the daikon a sense of having a neck.

^{If it’s looking like a tooth in a onesie…you’re golden!}

4. FORM ARMS AND BODY

Now it’s time to add the daikon’s arms now that we can sort of establish where they’ll start thanks to the scarf.

^{It’ll look like a veggie soon enough, kids.}

By now we’ll finally have a complete daikon body!

5. AND I’LL FORM…THE HAIR

As the wise Anakin Skywalker would say, “THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS…” I mean, it should be fun from start to finish, of course. But drawing the sprouts is one of my favorite parts of the Daikon Knight.

^{Confident enough to go sleeveless}

Here’s where you can play around with how you want to style the sprouts just like you would with drawing hair. Add little notches to random sprouts to mimic the little imperfections real daikon sprouts might have. Don’t worry if the sprouts don’t look realistic – this is a sword-wielding daikon in armor!

6. SUIT UP

Daikon Knight is ready to suit up in his armor. Which, in this case is a tattered tabard over chainmail with pauldrons. But let’s start with the pauldrons to give a sense of shoulders and sketch in the sleeves of the chainmail.

^{+5 armor}

And let’s start sketching in the tabard and the rest of the chainmail.

^{I never even knew these were called tabards until recently}

Draw the tabard a little shorter than the chainmail. Give the knight a belt and long, majestic, flowing cape. Daikon Knight has fought many battles, so I usually draw the hem of the tabard and cape frayed and tattered. We’re in the home stretch, kids!

^{He’s almost ready to venture into the Lands Between…}

7. Face and refine

Don’t forget to give your daikon knight a face! Is he smiling? Smouldering? Smirking? Or did he smell something unpleasant? Did he help an NPC’s quest only to come back to them dead? From here, round out any sharp corners (if you want) and make any other changes before committing to inking/linework.

^{Snuck in another sprout}

And remember- your daikon knight doesn’t have to look like mine! Maybe your daikon knight has really short sprouts or the color of their tabard and cape are different. Maybe you’d like to draw some sort of emblem on the front of their tabard. Or maybe you’d rather have a daikon pirate! You’re on your own there, though.

^{I mean, he could also be a carrot (if you want)}

I usually like to add in a few more details after finalizing the ink/line work like fabric creases, notches, or simple cross hairs to suggest the texture of the chainmail.

8. COLOR?!

Congrats! You’ve successfully drawn your very own Daikon Knight! But now you’ve got the tough choice to leave him as is, or color. If you do decide to give this veggie hero some color, feel free to use the example below as a guide. Traditional or digital – color your Daikon Knight however you wish!

^{ARISE YE TARNISHED!}

I hope you had fun drawing the Daikon Knight with me! Feel free to share your drawing with me or with The Veggielore Scrolls! Is there another drawing tutorial you’d like to see?

Algorithms and Alliums

How is it already February and only have blogged like…once since the new year?

January did feel a bit long, didn’t it? And I feel like I’m still rolling out of bed.

^{Just living, amiright?}

I think, since about the last half of last year I’ve been contemplating on my presence on social media – particularly Instagram. I logged back into Pinterest and kept it updated when I remembered, tried to revive my DeviantArt, and I’m not sure what to do about ArtFol (maybe post on there, hah). Though, it’s not to be mistaken whether I would like to keep using them or not. It’s mostly – as with many artists – the constant rat race to chase the algorithms that constantly change and and they’re never in our favor. Reel or not to reel? Tag or not to tag? Does streaming on Instagram even do anything? How about TikTok?How much should I keep screaming into the void? Why does that one corner of my sock keep curling under my toe whenever I walk?

And, lately, my post frequency has dwindled since the tail end of 2023. I won’t lie – seeing my meager follower count chip away due to not posting more than once a week is a little disheartening. However, they’re probably bots. Now that I think of it -there was an influx of xname3498342 type accounts that followed me now and then. And the weirdo accounts who’ve never liked any of my content or followed DMing about commissions. Sorry, Smith Wilson, I can’t draw your grandson as a ninja turtle and neither will I accept a check from said grandson’s savings account.

I see through your old man beards and baseball caps.

Regardless of my follower count chipping away and the scant engagement my posts have been getting, I’ll carry on posting with the occasional stream.

^{Chibis and veggie doodles on stream!}

But besides that- I have been making progress in my goal of drawing more in CSP. New Veggielore Scrolls characters, art, and sticker art are in the pipeline.

^{ARISE YE VEGGIES!}

And, most recently, I’ve drawn some new Valentine’s Day cards that are FREE to download! Don’t be empty handed on your Valentines date ;).

^{Guaranteed to woo your date}

It was about time the Veggielore Scrolls got some new art. And with new art comes new stickers and comics. I recently finished a series of 4 panel comics and – along with my co-creators – will be compiling them in a new anthology zine that we’ll premiere at an upcoming con!

^{Onion Knight catches up on The Vegends of Yore}

I really need to be comfortable with calling myself an indie comic artist these days. That impostor syndrome never seems to go away, huh?

In between the hectic con prep, I’ve squeezed in some traditional doodles, don’t worry ;) Especially with the Year of the Dragon beginning this weekend, I couldn’t pass up drawing a dragon. But I can’t say I’ve drawn Chinese style dragons before.

^{These dragons are so snakey, I love it.}

I’m not even huge on Valentine’s Day (except when it comes to Trader Joe’s limited treats), but I absolutely could not pass up an excuse to draw my Boba Boi. Even if he’s in chibi form.

_{He’s everyone’s Valentine ;)}

I also have this other Valentine-themed sketch of regular Boba Boi and I hope I don’t get distracted too much between now and V-Day to actually finish it. I’ve sort of been falling behind on my goal to get back into drawing figures and daily hand sketching practice. I suppose I could come up with a tiny reward for myself when I hit little milestones. Trader Joe’s has a new flavor of Joe Joe’s so I could reward myself with a box after sketching 20 hands ^^”.

^{Working my way up to 32 heat}

How have you been doing in your art journey so far this year?

Easing into 2024

It’s been a bit of a slow start for me – and I can blame that on the bug I caught near Christmastime as well as the birthday prep and all the other holiday social obligations. Oh yeah, I’ve made another trip around the sun, yay!

^{Shoutout to myself who bought the cake. But also my wonderful fam & friends who celebrated with me!}

However, I did hunker down to start on that one goal I mentioned in my previous post – that is, to draw more in CSP. I had myself crunch to finish up a few comics and drawings for the Veggielore Scrolls – especially with some upcoming tabling events coming down the pipeline. New goal – new comic and some new stickers! Maybe some trinkets if we’re lucky.

^{A wee preview of some Veggielore Scrolls WIPs – Tom the Innkeeper, the Princess, and Shiitake Pilgrim seeks wisdom from Uma}

I also tried to get into streaming again – but nothing extravagant like having a nice Twitch.tv set-up. At least, not yet should that ever be in the plan. Instead, it was just me, my phone, my cheap desk mount, and Instagram. I was lucky to have maybe 1-2 viewers and that’s kind of what I could ever ask for- at least one person interested enough to watch me scribble some veggie-based villagers while I try and fail to sound like a Twitch streamer. I mean, it all sounded good in my head at the time.

^{My glamorous setup}

But I had a good scribbling streak and ended up with a lot of cute ideas for potential Veggielore Scrolls characters. You just might see some of these either in panels or in sticker form…

^{Citizens of Gardendor. Welcome to the ARENA.}

Still, it was fun and even having just one viewer was enough for me to consider doing it again on a regular basis. By the way, if you’re on Instagram, I try to stream in the evenings around 7pm PST.

I also got back into the habit of practicing my weak areas – you know….everything – but most certainly hands. One of my little mantras is that if I mastered drawing hands I’d be halfway decent with everything else. I think I’m learning the hard way that it’s nowhere near true because I definitely need some work with drawing my characters in different poses other than ‘hold a drink with the other hand on hip’.

^{I should be a pro at drawing himbos by now, right?}

I’ll need to make myself a habit tracker so I don’t fall off the rails (again).

And that leads to my first person-shaped drawing of the year….*drumroll*……

^{I mean, I still have several of these red/blue pencils to burn through.}

I could draw any of my boba boi characters, but Zagreus is too fun and too cute to not draw and the limiting red and blue just feel perfect for his color profile. Also I just miss drawing him.

And lastly – guess what! I finally got myself a drawing tablet! Sad thing is…I won’t be able to use it until I get myself a powered USB hub. Turns out the lone port on my ancient laptop can’t provide enough juice. Always something, huh. Until then, it’s back to using my old Surface Pro.

How has your creative year started? Hit the ground running or easing into it? Or the regular pace?

2023 Roundup

It was a year of indie comics and zines and tabling and reconnecting with fellow artists. But also the year I – as well as many others – have contemplated on chasing the algorithms that never want to work in our favor. So while you’re here, have a look at my roundup of 2023!

^{It’s not an end-of-the-year roundup without a top nine, amirite?}

The Veggielore Scrolls Anthology

The sprouted greens tell a story….

This was the year my co-creators and I busted our butts to put together a larger collection of our adventurous veggie comic zine. It was a compilation of our first four comics with the last one debuting in the anthology. I can’t remember the last time I felt accomplished in something that wasn’t work-related and I have to thank my most talented pals for coming along (and even suggesting the idea) with me on this journey!

How the Turns have Tabled

I’d have to credit my friend and Veggielore co-creator for getting me into tabling more. Or, rather, back into tabling – though, mostly for events that leaned more towards the indie comics and zine scenes. It’s still a learning experience for me- from what items to carry, display, and even the sort of smaller things like keeping a fanny pack for payments. There’s always some sort of data to keep in mind too- i.e. noticing our comic sells significantly better in person at cons and fairs than in our online shop. And also the wheel-of-freebies is always a big draw. Of course – this all differs from artist to artist. I’ve also shifted toward making merch of original works with maybe just a smidge of fan art if I’m really feeling it.

Reel it in

Continued making reels…and shared them on other platforms. Now and then I wonder if they’re still worth sweating over as the algorithms are barely ever in the favor of a lot of smaller artists. By November I’ve sort of gotten a bit burnt out of trying to post at least two of them a week. However, most of the time I have a lot of fun recording them because there’s always that little part of me that’s still a wannabe videographer.

^{This was also Boba Boi’s year}

Ballltober

^{I just wanted to add a Zagreus drawing}

I did what I told myself I wouldn’t do again despite my gripes over the whole subject. But I thought I could show some folks that challenges like Inktober can be done without anything expensive and that great art can be made with what’s on hand. I admit, though…I DID buy myself a new ballpoint pen after the challenge was over. But it cost me under $3 so, there’s that!

So what’s next for 2024?

MORE:
– Veggielore Scrolls comic zines! More adventurous veggies on the way!
– Drawing in CSP – I tell myself this EVERY year. But why stop the tradition?
– Tabling at events! I’ve got CarrierCon coming down the pipeline!
– Practicing my troubled areas. So, basically everything.
– Art challenges just for the fun of it and to contribute to the communities I’ve joined.
– Attend art meetups. It’s been 3 years and it’s so nice to draw with friends again!
– Blogging! Kinda makes me feel like I’m doing something.

LESS:
-Being an algorithm chaser. Though, some habits are a little hard to break
– Pressuring myself to post something ALL THE TIME.

MAYBE?
– Stream again? It’s something that I’ve been thinking of going back to. Even when I’d have like, 2 at most watching, it was still fun chatting with folks while drawing. Maybe it doesn’t have to be drawing and maybe have some amigurumi or cooking?

BUT ALWAYS:
– To be grateful for the supportive friends and the new ones I’ve made and to the communities I’m in (even when I show up once in a blue moon)
– Show support for my fellow artist pals however I can.
– Be kind to myself. Slow down and actually take time on a drawing rather than scramble to post on a golden hour (whenever they are these days). Don’t we always tell ourselves this?

So what are YOUR art plans for the new year? Anything you want to do more of? Anything you want to leave behind?