GTA Expo

I am very excited to exhibit the GTA Expo this weekend, being hosted from 10 am to 4 pm May 1st 2016 at the Toronto Sheraton Center at 123 Queen St. W. This is my first convention I have ever been invited to as a guest or featured artist. It is an amazing opportunity that I greatly appreciate, and the whole thing already has been such a great experience, and I haven’t even done the convention yet.

I first met 2 of the organizers Fareham and Chris in person at the Toronto Com-icon. They were incredibly nice, loved my set up and offered tickets to my cousin who was helping at the table and to me to bring some fiends to the show. They also brought up that the original Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson was going to be a celebrity guest at their show, and it might be nice for me to do an art print of her, something I had in mind to do as well.

All of this is very surreal to me in some aspects, Kimberly the Pink Ranger was on of my favorite Rangers and Power Rangers were a big part of my youth, and now we are both guests at the same Expo. All be it top vs bottom of the totem pole, it’s still incredible to me and makes me feel I am moving forward in my career, and am incredibly grateful for the recognition. I want the beauty of all the synchronicity I’d been experiencing to be reflected in the piece. Recently I have been working with water colours an unusual medium for me. But it just seem the right way to go for a Pink Ranger piece.

For the illustration I knew I wanted to do the more structural costume from the original movie, with the Pink Rangers avatar in that movie I saw an opportunity to do something angelic with the design. First I did a digital sketch, sketching digitally allow me to more easily mirror the image to check for mistakes, as well as it is easier and faster to correct those mistakes digitally. I find for me I end up with a much more accurate final drawing this way. Once complete I size the sketch and print it out.

I taped that printout to the back of my watercolour paper and worked off a light box for most of the painting process, this was nice as in the end the piece has absolutely no pencil lines. The above image was the my set up for my first round of painting, done at my best friend Syn’s place a fellow artist who really encouraged me to try more painting. See her work here synescape.ca.

Over the next few sessions I just began to build up the paint, ensuring to check the piece with the light box off.

My painting set up at home, the paint I’m using is not actually paint, they are Lyra Aquacolor hi-quality, basically a water soluble pastel or crayon. I find them very easy to transport and extremely versatile.

Finally after I felt the colour work was as far as I could take it I went in and inked using a push and Staedtler pigment liner.

Finally I scanned and prepared the piece for printing I will have a limited number of prints available in different sizes at the GTA Expo as well as the original art as well. I do have a few new smaller prints of various new pieces and more new full colour original art.

Finally and most recently the GTA Expo offered me 10 seconds of free advertising on their video screens through out the con. I made a few attempts myself to edit a video on my phone, but as you can see on my You tube channel, they were just a little too low resolution. So again my friend Syn to the rescue, who helped me edit a high resolution video to my specifications and adding even better lettering effects.

Overall I am blow away with how I have been treated by this convention I can not wait until Sunday, I have a bunch of friends coming and this will be the first convention my Dad is coming to as well. I’m sure this will be one of the best shows yet!

GTA Expo

Bazaar of the Bizarre

The next show on the docket is the Bazaar of the Bizarre, a unique Toronto based and traveling marketplace that feature an array of artisans, craftsmen, jewelers illustrators and more. Hosted by Plastik Wrap at The Pia Bouman School of Ballet at 6 Noble St., the Circus Sideshow spring edition of the Bazaar is coming up on March 27th from 11AM to 6 PM. I’m going to be tabling with my best friend Synescape,  always one of my biggest supporters, her unique style and keen eye for design has always been an inspiration and an aid to me when in need.

She always pushes me out of my comfort zone, as she prefers the medium of paint. We have had a few painting dates in preparation for the show. I will have a few more original pieces of art I have done specifically for this show, as well as my usual selection of art prints. These are some original paintings I did for the show, inspired by a nightmare I had in my youth. These are the first illustrations I’ve ever done of  Batman and the Joker.

My Modded Fae illustration are, for the moment only being offered as originals, I will also have a few spots open for portrait commissions in this series. These pieces were inspired from some drawing I did back when I was 16 that were done in black and white with all the piercings filled in with silver gel pen. Here is a look at some of the works in progress.

Synescape is bringing pieces from from 2 new series. Her Live Wire Series feature varieties of wires, cords and connectors that sprout and grow like vegetation.

As well as her Ombre Series stunning silhouettes with sky scapes from morning, evening, and night. You can see more of her thoughts on these series on her blog post here.

These shows are always a pleasure to work and I am looking forward to all the amazing treats to be found this weekend.

Bazaar of the Bizarre

Toronto Comicon Refection

March has been a fantastically busy month. With Toronto Comicon just finished and the Bazaar of the Bizarre coming up this weekend. With several commission picked up at comicon, as well as some current charater design work I am doing, I’m going to be quite busy. I just wanted to take the time for a quick look back over my weekend.

Toronto Comicon 2016 was one of my most successful yet! I feel the work I’ve put in to improving my set up, my selection, and the addition of mutiple sizes of prints has really made my work more accessible and increased my sales overall. I did have to increase some of my prices this year as well, with table and printing costs increasing. But none the less I found no one was taken aback by the cost, and no mater the budget there was something in that price range.

From a personal perspective, I had an amazing time! I have recently Quit smoking and found not having to go out to feed my addiction has given me so much more time at the table and to enjoy the con. As always I am so very grateful to my partner Isaac and my cousin Rachel for their help with my table! I had alot of time to shop and speak with friends and teachers, alot of people from Max the Mutt were around me. I really love the feeling of community at these shows and getting the chance to socialize after months alone in my studio is always reffeshing. The support I receive from so many people is very appreciated!

I feel the convention was well organised, and I was lucky with my location this year. Previous years I have not been in such a central location and I do feel this has an effect on sales. I was very close to Rob Liefeld which was an odd expirience being someone who’s work was so prolific through my youth, I didn’t even go to meet him but being so close in real life was almost surreal. I’m not realy sure if it had a positive effect. I didn’t necessarily notice an increased traffic flown as his line was strategically routed behind the curtins of the outer ring. The guest list was superb both celebrity and otherwise. I was very happy to see many of my favorite artist on the guest list.

I’d say one of the highlights for me was meeting the organisers of the GTA Expo. They recently asked me to be a guest at their convention On May 1st 2016. This is the first time I have ever been asked to be a guest at a convention and it is a great honor! They were so impressed with my set up they want me to do the same at their show and they will provide me the space to do so. As well they handed me some extra tickets to bring a few friends to the show with me, I just can’t help but express my elation at their kindness! Probably one of the Coolest updates of all, they landed Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger as a celebrity guest. Once again my youth dragged into my current reality and thrown in front of me.

Maybe I made the mistake in my youth of telling myself that my world and what was on T.V. were two different worlds that would never meet. But they do, specifically at conventions, a big part of my job. But my brain still just breaks a bit evey time the two meet now and I become a babbling idiot! None the less I look forward to meeting her, I have tried twice to see my favorite charater from Power Rangers Tommy  (Jason David Frank) and unfortunately both visits to Canada were canceled. Despite the fact that in my youth it was a love/hate sort of feeling, I think there would be no denying Kimberly was defiantly my second favorite. I have ideas brewing for a nice piece with the both of them.

Well I was not expecting that to digress into a rant about Power Rangers and meeting celebritys, but I think I’ll leave it as clearly those were the feeling that needed to be expressed. I have lots of pictures of the Comicon posted publicly on my personal Facebook page, please feel free to check them out here. Overall very happy with the start of my con season and know this is shaping up to be an amazing year as I push forward with many projects, the launch of my web comics and Patreon. More show updates coming soon.

Toronto Comicon Refection

New Webpage and Webcomics

Hurray!

I’m super excited to be launching my brand new website beccatr.com! It has been a long time coming, over a year of procrastinating, and nit picking and fretting. I so appreciate the patience of my web designer/ boyfriend Isaac in that time. He has done a fantastic job keeping up with my many requests, and really took the time to build the website really I wanted.

The real push to put it live came for me when I realized the amount of my own comic content that I have been sitting on for years. Some of it only having very limited print runs or with only sporadic periods to work on my own creations having left me with several mostly finished pages. I figured it would be much more appropriate to start putting the content online, to reach a larger audience and to provide regular comic content for those who follow my work. So here is the plan from here.

The websight has gone live with the full preview issue, the first chapter, of my horror story the Twisted Tale of a Tortured Raven for you to enjoy. It has 8 full colour pages, concept art, a print and sketchs. From here on out I will be releasing one full page a week, on Wednesdays, from 3 different stories I have been working on over the past few years. Currently I have over 6 months of finished inked pages to share with you.

To coincide with the release of the new websight I have set up a patreon for anyone who wants to show their support though a monthly donation. It would be greatly appreciated! I can already guarantee 6 months + of weekly comic content no matter what is raised. Donations to the patrion will alow me to devote more time to creating new content and to support the current content as its going up. Depending on your pledge level you can get exclusive content, works in progress of the pages, Early release of the pages, exclusive video content and streams, prints and other projects, and elegability for prints,comics digital downloads and original art. I have tried to provide various different options but I am open to specific suggestion or request for pledge levels.  Any one time donations can be sent through PayPal or etansfer to beccatr.art@gmail.com.

The current release schedule for my comics content is as follows.

First up is and 11 week (March 9th 2016-May 11th 2016) run of Proxy, a semi-autobiographical meta horror comic. This Creepypasta inspired story follows my own torment of being haunted by a malicious entity. Follows my trials as it enters my timeline, violently alters my history, and forces me to draw comics about it. Proxys recommended rating is PG13 for cartoon gore and violence.

 

Next up is 7 weeks (May 18th 2016- June 29th 2016) of the New and improved Raven, this is all newly written content. The Twisted Tale of a Tourtured Raven is a steampunk horror comic with a unique take on death. First you saw her rebirth now know her death. Her task sparks memories that send her realing through her own past life events. This comic underwent some redesign after the release of the preview issue, some were based off some suggestions from people who enjoyed the book and contacted me. Others because my speed and skill improved and I felt a fully inked book would feel more cohesive and “dark” especially for where I want it to go. For now I am debating whether this chapter will now be presented in black and white or colour, I have the time to see if there is the interest in the book to do a colour version. But I will do at least a black and white run of chapter 2. The Ravens recommended rating is R for graphic violence nudity and mature themes and subject matter. This is the NSFW material.

Finally I will run 6 weeks (July 6th 2016- August 10th 2016) of Bolts. One of my oldest concepts for a comic book, I originally began writing when I was 13. This book has gone through various iterations over the years. At its roots it was heavily influenced by 1980s Sci-Fi anime, Bolts is like Star Wars crossed with X-men. As a small resistance group of Psy-humans defends the planet Mars against an invasion from Earth military forces. Bolts recommend rating is PG13.

The Firm scheduling stops here as I hope to complete 2-4 new pages of Bolts for it’s relase. But Bolts will most likely be followed by 16 weeks of the already completed Proxy 2.

Telling stories through comics has always been my dream. But in its day and age there are so many options for presenting comics to the world. I feel this will be a sustainable option for me while also freelancing on the side. It will also alow me the creative freedom and controle I desire, but also allow me to hear feedback and engage directly with those who are interested in the work. Any donations will be much appreciate as it will make my plan even more sustainable.

New Webpage and Webcomics

Proxy 2

The second instalment of my creepypasta inspired horror comic is finished. I'll have copies available at Fan Expo this year. Find me at table A382.

Silent Hill Commision

A commission I did for a big Silent hill fan just like me. 

This top image is a variant with digital edits to change the caricature of the clients face to the Prisoner Brawler from Downpour. Below are the inks and colours of the original commission.   

Spirited Away

This film fills me with wonder every time I watch it. Traditional illustration with digital colour. You can find me August 3-6 at Fan Expo table A382 with Jaded Dragon Studio.