Last night I was getting all my supplies together to start mailing out the rewards for my Kickstarter thingie back in April, when I realized that instead of needing to do four more to be done, I had four extra! Which gives me the luxury of dumping the four ugliest ones. I would feel bad about being so late, but on the other hand the drawings are pretty good, they’re all sort of different and ALL really strange, I’m not sure what’s wrong in my head but it’s wrong in a good way. Maybe.
Anyway! Here are a few of my favorites. You can see all of them right here, my friends. I hope you like them! Thanks EVER-SO much to everyone who helped with this project, so amazing you guys! I can’t explain how valuable that has been to me, not only as economical development for my nascent career, but just psychological development–it’s amazing to get real, palpable support for what you’re doing, especially something as idiosyncratic as what I do. The next time you hear someone pooping on Kickstarter, remember that it can have real benefits for artists, and that’s an immensely valuable thing.
I just wanted to echo that last sentiment. I'm halfway through my first Kickstarter and it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life to date. I've been toiling for four years in my cave working on my cartooning skills, and when I decided I would try to raise money to finally legitimately print my work, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to raise the $500 for my teeny tiny print run in 30 days. I was flabbergasted when it was met in 23 hours, even more so when I look at the current $1330. The money to print my work is great, but learning that people believe in what I'm going and support it, is invaluable.
Chris, totally! I would say, if I had to choose, the actual good warm feeling of having had that thing funded is more valuable than the actual newspapers I printed with the money–and those are BASICALLY PRICELESS, am I right? But seriously *laugh track dies down* it's a function of Internet-as-community that gets short shrift from people because they see the goofy projects or whatever and choose to slather tar over the whole idea. Frankly, it drives me insane.
First, an edit: last sentence of my comment should read "…people believe in what I'm *doing*"
They see the goofy projects for sure, but I think there is a bias within those who have yet to learn to participate in the community as you say, and I think we both know first hand that it REALLY is a community. Kickstarter had to show me that though. It was the first time I saw social networking move beyond utility (i.e. share links to my drawings, expand networks of cartoonists, connect with friends, etc.) and actually become something organic. For people who lack a utilitarian purpose to engage online, the internet is still seen as a bit of time waster, and beyond that, a timewaster for socially inept people, which is ironic, because you have to be savvy as hell to be able to communicate genuinely and honestly with people when you're limited to the written word. I saw the exchange you had with what's her name who has the bloggy thing, who was all poopy on Kickstarter. Reading your replies to her actually inspired me to consider my own. Obviously it has worked out so, thanks!
So, uh, yeah…guess I could have just said we're on the same page.
How did I not know about your Kickstarter thingie?! Dang.