Free Comic Book Day 2015

Saturday, May 1st is the day that everyone in the comic world has been waiting for– Free Comic Book Day! It’s a day where you can go to comic stores around the country and get free comics. What could possibly be more exciting than that?

… a free Comic Con, that’s what! The folks over at The Comic Bug are hosting a one day free Comic Convention at the Culver City’s Teen Center from 12-5 pm! They’ve partnered with LA Weekly, there will be food trucks, comic vendors, an artist alley, and of course there will be FREE STUFF available!

I will be there and I’ll have Corgi Mini-Comics and buttons for FREE! (Limit of 50 mini-comics and 50 buttons, first come first serve!).

I also finally have more Corgi #1 and #2 back in stock!* They will be available for their normal $5 each, and I’ll be doing sketch requests for $10 (Limit of 5). I hope to see you there– it’s gonna be a blast! A hearty thanks to Mike Wellman at The Comic Bug for putting this event together, and inviting me to be a part of it!

*The fine folks at Ka-Blam Comics Printing really pulled out all the stops this time. I got caught and didn’t reorder my books until too late, but they hustled and I got my order within THREE DAYS of ordering! They’ve been really wonderful to work with so far, and I recommend them for all your comic printing needs!

Interviewed By the Tweeks!

As you can imagine, we bought a lot of stuff at WonderCon.  And if you know anything about tween/teen YouTube viewing habits, you know hauls (shopping show & tells) are key. - Tweeks!

The Tweeks reviewed my comic, Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi! Check it out at 2:40 in the video.

WonderCon 2015

WonderCon this year was a real hit! It is one of the best shows I’ve ever had, both comics-wise and profit-wise. I brought more copies of Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #1, and it was a sellout yet again. Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 made its debut, and came within two copies of selling out as well! The amount of return fans I had looking for Corgi #2 was really encouraging, as well as some of the feedback I was getting from new fans.

Two gals made my day on Sunday when they told me they’d laughed so hard after buying Corgi #1 that they kept quoting it all night, and that made them want to buy #2! This sort of feedback is what keeps us artists going. When you’re working on a book for months, you’re so close to it that you forget that it had any humor or entertainment value. Hearing what people think who are looking at it with fresh eyes can really give you a better perspective on what your own work is like!

I’m excited to announce that there WILL be a Corgi #3, and that I’ll begin work on it soon. In the meantime though, I’ve got another comic idea that I’d really like to do first. Stay tuned for more information.

If you missed WonderCon and really want a copy of Corgi #2, check out the following links! You can purchase either a printed copy or a digital download of the book from IndyPlanet. If you prefer using DriveThruComics instead, you can get a digital download there.

Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 on Indyplanet.com!
Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 on DriveThruComics.com!

Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 Cover Reveal!

The front cover for Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 has been revealed! The brand new adventure with Guardian Corgi and her quirky talking animal companion will be available at WonderCon Anaheim, April 3-5, 2015! The book will be 12 pages and full color, and just like last year, the first 50 copies will be signed and numbered. Get them while you can!

If you’re not going to WonderCon, more copies in both print and digital form will be available in my online store, or at other conventions.

Corgi #2 at WonderCon 2015

Get ready to stretch your stumps, wiggle your tailless butts, and iron your superhero capes, because Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #2 is on its way! Here’s a nice splash page preview of the upcoming comic!

I’m bustin’ my behind on it, and am closing in on the finish line. Barring injury, death, or cupcakepocalypse, I’m aiming for release in time for WonderCon, April 3-5 2015 in Anaheim, California. I’m going to do the same thing this year that I did last year– and that’s that the first 50 copies will be signed and numbered for your collection-loving pleasure. So if you want one of those, you have to get your butt to Anaheim. WonderCon is a fun show, so don’t miss it!

Battle Cattle: New Tabletop Game Coming Soon

 

Recently I began working on a very exciting and hilarious product that really… MOO-ved me. Battle Cattle™ is a miniatures game that originally released in 1996, and Phalanx Consortium, a tabletop gaming company, is going to handle the newest edition/reboot of the old cult classic.

When Phalanx approached me for the project I could hardly believe my ears. “Cows? With guns? Say no more, I am IN!” Included here is a sketch and color comp of the illustration itself.

Here is the press release for the product:

Feb 12, 2015: BATTLE CATTLE ™ – Reborn!

Some of you may remember the original versions of Battle Cattle™, which was first printed back in 1996, and others may be seeing this game title for the first time. The Phalanx Consortium is pleased to announce that we are the licensed production house for the rebirth of this cult gaming classic. We have begun work on producing an updated and expanded version of the rules which will be set in a timeline that sees our brave bovine warriors answering the patriotic call of their respective countries in a great global struggle of nations. Their fights will move beyond the simple pastures to battlefields that stretch from one corner of the globe to the other.

As a part of this re-envisioning our talented artists are designing a line of whimsical miniatures so you can fight these epic struggles, in all their three dimensional glory, on your table top. Coming in the next few weeks we will start showing off some of the renders and prototypes of these battle hardened soldiers, so you can begin imagining the clashes to come. Stay tuned for these and other updates as we work toward the launch of an Indiegogo campaign set to begin mid to late spring of this year.

“THE COWS ARE BACK AND THEY’RE STILL PACKING!”

2014 Year End Wrap-Up!

So... I know Christmas and New Years was a good month ago, but better late than never, I say! I had one heckuva set of Happy Holidays, and have been on the road since mid December. My nomadic tendencies aside, I've been working on quite a few projects that unfortunately I can't show yet. That doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything though!

Now that the holidays have passed I can show the fun corporate holiday card that I did for Kung Fu Monkey Productions here in Burbank, California. They're a fun bunch, and really let me have fun and do whatever I wanted with the material!

Then I was off to Georgia for Christmas, and Oregon for New Years where I received this truly amazing Christmas Sweater from my friends. They hand sewed all those little appliqué animals on there! They also don't really know how to sew. Blood was shed and friendships strained in the making of this sweater, but I love it and have been wearing it with glee.

That's all for now!

Branding for Blogs, Youtubers, and More!

(Updated for 2017)

These days almost everyone has a side hustle! Creating content such as streaming video games, selling on Etsy, creating videos, and writing blogs have become so commonplace that you likely know someone within spitting distance who does it. Maybe it's even YOU! And if it is you, you know that all the advice on "how to start a Youtube channel, blog, Twitter, etc" yields the advice of "you’ve GOT to have branding!"

Blog header for Diary of an Aspiring Loser, a weight loss blog

Branding is defined as a "look" for your online & social media presence. Maybe it's a banner on your Twitter, a user icon on Twitch, or title cards in your video. You want someone to see your various outlets online and be able to immediately recognize that it's YOU. Good branding will boost your business and image... bad branding will undermine it.

Banner for Twitch/Youtuber ComboDropper

Design for Twitch entertainers Date Knights

That's where someone like me comes in. What better way to brand yourself than with a cartoon? It could be your cat, what your content is about (games? baking? fishing? even coding!), or it could even be of yourself-- the possibilities are endless.

"Update" art for Date Knights' social media accounts

When a client comes to me, we start by having a chat about how what it is they do, what they create, and how they want to come across to their audience. After we chat I provide sketch options, and after we put our heads together, I come up with the final piece for them to use. I typically work for clients who represent a light-hearted, humorous feel-- with great results!

Banner designs for Powershell programming blog Fox Deploy.

If you're a content creator and you need colorful, stylized cartoons to help solidify your online presence, I'm your gal! Please feel free to contact me at joie@joiefoster.com

DesignerCon in Pasadena

I’ll be at DesignerCon 2014 this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center! I’ll have my standard fare of prints, buttons, and comics at Booth #611. I’ll also have my very first Mini Comic available, and it’s none other than Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi! I hope to see you there!

Alternative Press Expo 2014

Hooray Alternative Press Expo is such a fun convention. I’m stoked to see all of my friends there. Plus, my brand new “A-paw-ture Science” posters are ready to go. Come check me out at Table 114!