The Storm Before the Calm...Or Something

The Week before last, I went out to Columbus, Ohio for the Small Press and Comics Expo, or S.P.A.C.E. It was a great trip, and I got to hang out with my friend Leighton, writer and illustrator of Laser Brigade. I had the best Barbecue ever, thanks to Matt Kish who's illustrated Moby Dick Companion is just incredible. There were so many great artists and comics, and Jeff Smith even stopped in to check the show out.

The weeks leading up to the show were SUPER busy, as I finished up Volume 1 of the Handmade Fairy Tales book, and put together issue 3 of the Life With Girls comic...in case you're wondering where issue 1 and 2 are, I'll be printing them next month. You can pick up both books in my online shop on the Handmade Family website.

The Witch and the Dragon

The Video that I posted a couple of weeks ago, with the girls and the dragon puppet, along with a dose of Calvin and Hobbes, inspired me to give a short story arc into a fantasy setting a try. I'm also going to expand the panels from three to four. I know that doesn't sound very interesting to just say it, but I'm actually kind of excited about seeing how it effects the story, and pacing.

Also, today was our first craft show of the season, Green With Indie, here in Saint Louis. It was a great show, and I got to talk to a lot of people about Life With Girls, and the upcoming Fairy Tale book. It looks like it's going to be an exciting year for us. :)

Green With Indie from redherringjeff on Vimeo.

Life with Girls Fairy Tales Book

It's been a busy week, as I'm painting like a crazy person, trying to get ready for Green With Indie this coming weekend, and Wizard World-Saint Louis in three weeks...and keep up with freelance work at the same time. So tonite, with my strip written but not yet drawn, I was faced with the decision of giving you a quick and potentially very bad strip, or some art. I decided to go with the art.

This is the inked cover of the Life With Girls Fairy Tale book that I've been working on for most of the past year at Handmade Family. Featuring 12 stories and 36 illustrations, it's been a big job filled with delays, but we're in the final stretch now, and it's coming along great. We're all really looking forward to releasing it in the next month or so.

To see more images from it, you can check out the Handmade Family Blog, or my Instagram feed.

100 themes - silence

Being a stay-at-home parent and freelancer is mostly awesome. I get to spend my day with the girls, playing, taking care of the house, going outside. I never have to set my alarm clock, and I actually KNOW my children.

Most of my work, I do at nite, but the kids do still have nap time...usually. I put the kids down, make a cup of tea and deal with e-mail, phone calls, and hopefully get some design work done. Sometimes though, phone calls come to me in the afternoon. Sometimes I leave my phone upstairs. My phone always rings LOUDLY, throwing off the delicate balance of quiet time, ha-ha-ha!

Building a home - animation from redherringjeff on Vimeo.
Being a stay-at-home parent and freelancer is mostly awesome.

Packing a Day Bag

 

I have to laugh when I think of how much used to seem necessary in a day bag...Of course, to be fair, the girls need a lot less now. Seriously though, shoes?!

Packing for Christmas at my parents, we try to get as much of it done the nite before as we can, because...well...the morning of is pretty hectic. This year, we were actually smart enough to write a note about things we still needed. It only took thirty-five years to learn to stop, pick up a pen, and write a note. I wonder what other new things we'll learn this year?

Santa Traditions

Our tradition on Christmas Eve is that we go to Amy's grandparents, then come home, have some family time, open a present from Mom and Dad, and then put out a cheese plate and beer for Santa. There's never been a question about this, partly because Abby's only four, but also because beer isn't really an everyday part of our life. It's special...cookies, not so much. So of course, Santa should have something special, right?

Abby got a new rag doll, made by our friend April from Riley Construction. She loved her immediately, and named her Polly...sometimes Dolly Polly.

Christmas Eve Morning.

I was AWARE of the running footsteps before I actually woke up...

We all Grow up seeing TV and movies of kids being excited for Christmas. Those images pale in comparison to a real, Excited four-year-old. Abby's been watching Christmas movies since Halloween and her excitement is infectious. For the first time since I started working in retail, I'm actually looking forward to the holiday season. The WHOLE holiday season.

There's often drawing time in our day, and it's always an interesting exercise in  speed, accuracy, and a stead/deft hand...Usually there's a two-year-old squirming on my lap as I doodle with crayons and markers, giving me an extra handy cap. I drew the top Santa first one day and as I worked, I thought it would be funny to put a shopping bag in his hand. Abby had other thoughts...

Abby: "Hey, you drew Santa! He needs a sack though. "
Me: "He has a sack, right there. "
Abby: "That's not a sack, it's a purse. He needs a sack in that hand, and a bell in the other. Maybe you should start over on a new piece of paper. "

So I drew the second one, which she was much happier with. I was told on the facebook page that his mustache is wonky, but to be fair to me, I was in a hurry, and someone was getting extra squirmy. :)

Internet Famous

The days leading up to a craft show are a flurry of activity, as we rush to finish projects that we've been putting off.  So I stayed up until 5:30 in the morning on Friday working on things for the Artropy Art and Craft Show on Saturday...As a result, I only got an hour of sleep. I may not remember this conversation with the Ladies from Good. Clean. Soap. totally accuratly. I still thought it was a funny story, though. :)