AccessArt

Let us inspire you

| rozihath

Hi everyone,

It’s been a little while since I last updated you all, and I have lots to discuss! It’s already feeling very autumnal out there, so if the view out of your window is anything like mine currently is (grey, rainy, a general feeling of blergh), then settle down with your hot beverage of choice whilst I catch you up on what I’ve been up to.

First up, as I briefly mentioned last month, I’ve been working with AccessArt on their new post-Covid resources for school-age children, DrawAble.

The purpose of DrawAble, from AccessArt themselves, is:

…a series of resources to help schools deliver an inspiring and appropriate curriculum for pupils aged 6 to 13 working at home or school. AccessArt DrawAble connects drawing, narrative and visual literacy to provide pupils with a creative bridge to help them navigate from lockdown towards the new normal.

AccessArt DrawAble – see the full website here.

It’s been such a wonderful project to be a part of, and not only has it been a joy to create something for children in the midst of all this chaos, it’s also sharpened up my filming, animation and video editing skills to no end. I’m still no post-production expert (there was quite a lot of cursing software at one point), but it’s been a fun learning curve.

First I worked on an ‘about me’ video, which sits among other creators videos for the Let me inspire you section of the DrawAble site. Here it is!

Check out the full page here!

For the second video, I was asked to create an activity resource based on my practice. The very knowledgable team at AccessArt and I worked together to get the activity and tone right for key stage 2 students (aged 7-11 in the UK), and this led to the 3-panel challenge! Check it out below:

And, you can see the whole resource free-of-charge here. Amazing stuff!

Other artists and creators involved in the DrawAble project so far are Stephanie Cubbin, Lizzie Knott and Lorna Rose, with more being added in the coming weeks. It’s a wonderful resource, so be sure to check it out and spread the word!

I’m so grateful to AccessArt for the opportunity, and hopefully my activity is useful for kids (and grown-ups) in finding new ways to be creative.

In other news, as the nights are getting noticeably longer, it’s time to start thinking about the season ahead! Autumn-winter is just around the corner, and now my Spring-Summer 2020 sketchbooks are on sale for just £3.

These sketchbooks are perfect to fit in your bag or pocket, and have crisp G.F Smith paper throughout. I’ve sketched in mine, stuck photos in and painted in it – all mediums work well and there isn’t any bleed through. I especially love the soft gold paper in the middle, it shimmers beautifully in the light.

Here are some lovely reviews from my previous seasonal sketchbook, autumn-winter 2019:

These SS20 sketchbooks are in short supply, so grab one whilst you can for just £3 with free UK delivery (flat £2 P&P elsewhere in the world) and keep summer going for a little bit longer!

And finally! Now that I’ve completed my work with AccessArt, I’m able to get back to my weekly comics work, and turning them into a complete, printed comic. I’m roughly 75% of the way through inking the additional panels, and then I’ll be working on painting these up and getting them scanned and edited to flow with the rest of the book.

I’m still struggling to think of a title for these, and I’m trying to steer away from my usual one-word titling of previous releases (Moon, Rocks, Njálla, etc.). Better get thinking – and thinking in more syllables!

Thankfully I have some time before printing to iron out these details – fingers crossed the new book will be out in October. So I’d better get cracking!

Until time time, stay safe everyone.

x

Take a loaf off

| rozihath

Hi everyone,

How is it late July already? Time flies when you’re arduously hiding indoors from a worldwide pandemic and mass society-engrained, systemic racism.

In other news, it’s been busy here at HQ! I’ve been working away at the extended version of my weekly comics, which will be made into its own standalone story (see the work-in-progress image at the top). At Good Comics we updated our submissions guidelines for creators and have been working towards our late-2020 releases. AND I’ve been working with AccessArts on their upcoming DrawAble project for September.

See – busy! So, lets start from the top.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I’m really excited to be releasing my weekly comics in the form of a brand new printed comic, for sale later this year. I haven’t released a new book since Rocks last year, so it definitely feels overdue.

I wrote a blog about my techniques and methods behind the weekly silent comics project over on the Good Blog – you can read it here!

The collection is yet to be named, but whilst I’m working away on extra pages and panels to pull the story together, I’m also conscious that most of my previous printed releases are monosyllabic… Maybe it’s time to get a bit more creative? Watch this space!

In other news, we three wise people at Good Comics have been busy rewriting our submission guidelines for comic creators, updating various areas of the site and releasing our newsletter (which you really should sign-up for, we’re very witty).

It was a little complicated to find our submission guidelines before, so we’ve streamlined the process. Generally speaking, we’re looking for great stories by creators who have a distinct art style, and a distinct voice that we’re able to nurture. If you’re making comics and don’t have the funds to release your first book, or you’re needing support in making the leap to self-publishing, talk to us!

Last but definitely not least, I’m currently working with AccessArt on their latest project for young people; DrawAble. I took part in their Draw-A-Bird project years ago, submitting art to be sent to Primary Schools around the UK, so I’m thrilled to be working with them again.

DrawAble, in their words, is “a series of resources to help primary schools deliver an inspiring and appropriate curriculum for pupils working at home and in classroom bubbles due to the Coronavirus.” By working with them, I’m creating my own resources to help kids create artwork and comics in the new “normal”, and these resources will all be available online for free from September.

I won’t give too much away just yet, but I did end up making a dumb comic about bread as an example of how comics can be anything you want them to be:

Maybe there’s a new subsection of my work that will include pun-based comics? Who knows.

And that’s about it for now! Until next time, please make sure you wear a mask when needed, and keep fighting the good fight.

x

Rejsen

| rozihath

Good evening happy campers!

So, the Great British Summer has decided to show up for once with temperatures sky-rocketing to 30 degrees celcibob here in Northampton. How lovely! You wouldn’t normally be able to tell from my 10-months a year cadaverous complexion, but I do enjoy some lovely sunny weather. I’ve been able to go sock-less for the whole day, for the first time since about 2012 (not that I’ve worn the one pair for that long, I assure you)! However, it’s all very well for me to enjoy my day of admin business, comic planning and a quick sunbathe-out-the-window on my day off, I’m sure I’ll be complaining along with the rest of Britain by tomorrow morning when I’ve been moving cages of stock for 4 hours.

Anyway! Last week, and the week before that, I’d been working on a two-page comic submission for the Summer Anthology from Dirty Rotten Comics. Taken from their own shiny website, this is what they’re about;

“Dirty Rotten Comics is an alternative comics anthology, published four times a year.

We are committed to supporting small press artists from the UK who have something pertinent to say. We believe that artistic merit is founded not just on aesthetic quality, but on high-quality writing, risk-taking and commitment. Weird, funny, satirical, surreal; whatever the angle, we are interested in giving exposure to artists of all kinds, regardless of their status or experience.”

Risk-taking? Why, that’s my middle name! She says, sitting in a bubble drawing comics… Anywho, I was pointed in the direction of Dirty Rotten Comics by the Patron Saint of Small Press Andy Oliver from the church of Broken Frontier (interview here). Previous artists to contribute include the athletic table-clamberer Danny Noble, and Jess Milton, both fellow Six UK Small Press Creator’s to Watch in 2015, so I thought I’d best join in the fun! Here it is;

 

Sneak Peek!
Sneak Peek!

For this short-story I decided to focus on something a more reality-based; my other half and our long distance relationship. What a cheesy story, I know right? Ew. Well, we were in the midst of a particularly long stretch of not being able to see each other, and with him being somewhat occupied with heavy music and copious amounts of beer I wanted to tell our story from travelling aspect. Mine, to be precise. Because let’s face it, being stuck on the M6 is far less interesting than being surrounded by the sights and sounds of public transportation. Henceforth, Rejsen was created (for those interested, Rejsen means The Journey in Danish)! Initially I’d planned on a four-page story, but after some umm’s and ahh’s I realised it could be nicely compressed and edited down to two pages, probably making it far more interesting and punchy. The submission guidelines for Dirty Rotten Comics insist on black/white/grey, so I didn’t have to worry about a colour scheme in particular, but chose to instead take a very contrasted approach.

I’m not sure yet whether I’ve been successful in my submission, only time will tell! But for now, above you is a preview of part of page one, and some snapshots of the drawing pre-colouring. I opted to lose a lot of the background detail to make way for the storyline, in-keeping with the love n’ stuff. Thankfully my other half likes the comic (or at least said he does), so half the mission is complete, the rest is down to the judgement of the Dirty Rotten Comic guys! All in all, job well done.

In other news, other top secret business has been progressing well, to the point that I’ll be able to reveal some more secrets from under my invisible hat next week. I did however get confirmation from AccessArt that my Bullfinch had appeared in the post, and I got this snazzy badge to show for it, check it out;

 

Share A Bird Project

That’s about it for now! I’m working on another short comic this week, alongside the top secret stuff which I can hopefully start divulging more information in next week’s bundle of fun. Until then, over and out!

x

Tales from the Broken Frontier Table

| rozihath

Good evening ladies and gents!

So, it’s been a nice and busy week as usual, and I think I’ve just about recovered from the fun that was CECAF this past weekend. I’ve still been busy on some top secret thingies, but all will be revealed soon…

CECAF (Crouch End Comic Arts Festival) had it’s second outing this Saturday just gone, finely crafted from the hands of Sean Azzopardi and held in Earl Haig Hall, Crouch End. The festival coincided nicely with the Crouch End Festival and a lovely sunny day to lure in the masses, and although it was a bit quiet at times it was a great day! I was kindly invited to be a part of the ‘Six UK Small Press Creators to Watch in 2015’ Broken Frontier table, where I stood alongside Kingpin Andy Oliver, Emma Raby and Danny Noble (who shared a table with Matt Boyce). It really was a fantastic day, and sales-wise it was a vast improvement for me compared to TAKEOVER in early May. And we like sales, don’t we?

All my sellables!
All my sellables!
My fancy-pants new stand, complete with special offer!
My fancy-pants new stand, complete with special offer!

I sold six copies of The Red Road, more so than I could’ve hoped for! And the free print for the first four sales didn’t even seem to be a factor, which was pretty awesome. Though, probably confusing for the first four purchasers who I kept handing free stuff to. Huge thanks to Editor in Chief of Broken Frontier Andy Oliver for this fantastic opportunity! As always, Andy’s relentless support of the six of us UK small pressers is incredible, and I’ve been introduced to so many skilled comic’s folk because of it! After 5pm kick-out, we all headed next door to the pub where I filled my face with cheese and bacon fries and wine to end a very happy day with new friends. People have always said how friendly the comics community is, and I can confirm it’s truth.

Even the passing public were lovely, on a quick break I met some guys who have their own web-comics; Doppelganger web-comic by Thibault Kervarech, plus Kordurroi web-comic and Lonely Skeleton by João Duarte Siva. Web-comics is something I’ve never gotten into before, but seeing how people manage to keep up with these new-fangled things, I may have to give some sort of daily comic a go again!

In other news, this week sees the opening and launch of The University of Northampton’s Illustration degree show! Mixtape opens on Thursday evening from 5pm, where I shall be hovering about with free wine helping out with the degree show shop! I’ll be selling comics, zines and prints at the show, so hopefully my stocks of The Red Road continue to dwindle ready for round two’s re-release.

Also, for anyone interested Thought Bubble Festival tickets are now on general sale! The event runs over two days, 14th-15th November and I will be glued to my seat behind the half table all by myself for both days. So, really people who weren’t planning on coming should just pity-attend. Ticket’s can be purchased here!

Finally, I finished my entry today for AccessArt’s Share-a-Bird Project! The project sees entries from artists around the country, voluntarily sending in original artworks which are then dispersed amongst UK schools which join the programme. This is what the website has to say…

THE SHARE-A-BIRD PROJECT HAS TWO MAIN AIMS:

  • To celebrate and highlight the diversity of artists and makers in the UK today.
  • To demonstrate the importance of visual arts education for all.

I picked the male Bullfinch as it’s an all-year-round UK bird that apparently is pretty quiet and unobtrusive. Like myself! Also the colour of the dudes chests is just beautiful.. So here it is! I posted it off today, so hopefully at some point my Bullfinch will be inspiring generations to come at a UK Schools. The project is open to submissions until the end of August, so any creative friends who believe in the cause should definitely join in! My art education in school was boring to tears and in no way prepared me for college. Which I then just about passed. Thankfully it didn’t put me off, but children shouldn’t be discouraged from creativity. Creativity keeps the mind sane! Ish.

Anywho, that’s it for now. Time to dive my face into some cheesecake and hope that this cold-type-illness passes by tomorrow, as it’s going to be another busy week! Over and out.

 

x