Practice comic

Portfolio and Reel update

A short film idea and it's players

I've grown up in the theatre, in love with theatre, in love with song and story through song. Some of the most beautiful moments in animation have been theatrical moments. Musical theatre moments.

I really want to take a shot at doing something similar.

So, the story is as follows; we have two ladies

To the left, the energetic Jaz, and to the right, the cautious Ariel.

Jaz works at a coffeeshop. She's a bit of a loose cannon, loves children, loves loud. She's queer, takes care of her younger brothers on the weekends and has been doing theatre all her life.

And she has a crush on Ariel.

Ariel works during the day and takes courses for car repair in the evenings. She's been living in the shadow of her brother's achievements her whole life, and while she's a hard worker, it hasn't gotten her very far. As a result, she's stunted as an individual. Now, as an adult, she's finally starting to figure out who she actually is. 

And she's realized she has a crush on the black barista who makes her nightly coffee.

So the story goes, these two starcrossed lovers, divided by a counter and societal restrictions sing about how much they like the other. 

And then they make out. 

it's gonna be a good film.

Sometimes you take what you love and you run with it

It's something I do often. It makes for a more solid platform to build up from, and allows me to skip any and all world building that isn't fun. The characters are already established, along with the barebones of who they are and what their goals are. The setting is established. The theme. All still flexible and adjustable if I need to tweak them, but there. And the there is what's important. It means I can get a running start into this new whatever. I don't have to sloth through a lot of scary questions that might keep me from getting to the good bits.

And besides all that, it's a really great stress reliever.

So without any more babbling, lets just get to the meat of it. I decided to make Ganondorf from Legend of Zelda the good guy.

Fandom, fanart and why I do it

What a validating video, my gosh.

It's really reassuring to see people talking about what's been bouncing around my head or falling out of my mouth for the last three years (even though there's a painful lack of lady speakers in the video). As a story artist, as a character lover and a growing creator myself, fandom has been my foundation. And there's definitely a stigma against it. More than anything, there's a stigma against taking it seriously. It's something I've seen in my peers. If they are apart of fandom--if they create or consume fanwork, if they know of or participate in fan discussions--there's a line they don't cross. They don't take themselves 'too' seriously when they do this stuff, therefore the fan stuff they do participate in is excusable.

The thing is, I live so far past that line they've drawn that I've forgotten it exists. I take fan work extremely seriously because, well, that's what makes me happy. That's what speaks to me. That's what I have fun creating. It doesn't mean it's the only thing I can do (not that it would be a bad thing--as this video proves, there's a market for fanwork and it is important as fanwork) but it is something I do, something I do often, something I find pride, community and growth in.

So yeah, I like discussing this kind of stuff. I like recognizing how this kind of stuff is constructive. I know, deep down, that Tumblr and Deviantart and Fanfiction.net and any other fan platform is shaping how not only media is consumed, but created and explored and celebrated. And that this is important and needs to be recognized and understood by those creating the media. By teachers and producers and directors. Fandom in the twentieth century, on the internet, is a game changer 


And yes

You can take it seriously. It deserves to be taken seriously. Adventure time is a great example of how fan-reaction is successful not only for the show and the show's sales, but also the show's creative process.

If you want another example, Legend of Korra. The Legend of Korra fandom is everything mentioned in the video and beyond. It spans several generations. It is a sequel to a children's show. It is run by people who not only understand and acknowledge their fandom, but participate in it and have hired talent out of fandom. 


This is important! This is serious! This? This is what I do. And I'm proud to say that because of what my experience in fandom has given me.

I've literally been part of the internet fandom since I was eight. I've been participating in different communities for the last thirteen years. This is an important part of my life, as a writer and an artist. This is what has made me realize I want to be the person making the media that's getting consumed. And yeah, it really bugs me when fanartists are dismissed on principle. Fanart has evolved. The bar is set higher and there is such vast quality in the work being produced now, that its literally coming full circle to effect the product it's celebrating.

I could continue to rant about this into oblivion, but instead I'm just going to end it here and make my next post about something fandom related. Because this is my blog, gosh darnit. Not only that, but my fan work goes hand-in-hand with my original work. NOT ONLY THAT but I want nothing more than to be hired to do fanart for the rest of my life. That is my goal. I just want to be working much, much closer with the original artist than I have been in certain fandoms.