New Website! New Directions!

In case you haven't noticed, the website got a new look! I'd been meaning to redo the site for the longest time and finally sat down and worked on it all day. It's been a while since it first launched and my limited knowledge showed, but I think now it's fresh and reflects my current tastes a lot more.

Growth! It's a thing!

The business has been going through a lot of growth lately as I move everything more towards what I want it to be now that I've got experience. So what does that mean?

• I will be phasing out certain jewelry and product. 
• Switching from 11x17 prints to 8x10
• Not as many conventions
• More galleries
• More sketchbook art
• Splitting the blog into two categories: News and personal blogs. 

I loved making jewelry but the effort to make everything was exhausting and I was starting to feel like I had too much product all over the place. So I'm cutting it down to just the ones that do well or that I really like (If there's a certain piece you like, let me know!)

It's more of a cost thing with the prints. 11x17 prints are expensive to buy unless you buy a bunch in bulk and I have too many designs to do that. It's cheaper and easier for me to do 8x10 which means more will be available and I can actually sell them online!

With conventions, I happened to start at a weird time. Suddenly everyone was getting flooded with conventions so I had a lot of options but now it's too saturated and I'm realizing that I'm not getting the return I want to for the stress that I'm experiencing. I love them, but I think I like attending them more. So I'm sticking to only a few I know I can do well at and isn't out of the way for me.

Galleries were always my main goal and with the art scene growing in town, I got very lucky. I get to do exhibits and galleries with Lubbock-Con and now I'm organizing Star Comics galleries. I even have a few other group exhibits I am participating in outside of that. That's also what pushed me away from conventions. I have to be focusing on all the galleries I'm in!

Sketchbook art is kinda a given. I need to practice more and I like experimenting at a smaller size than I'm use to. The more I do it, the better I'm getting.

And last, the blog. I stopped doing as many Vlogs on Youtube because of the time it took to edit, but I still want to share my personal life and experiences and thoughts. I also left Tumblr because I got tired of the format and the fight for Likes and Reblogs. So since this is my website and in part, what I'm selling is myself, I decided to host my own blog here. Posts that are just news and events and updates of that sort will be on the News page and personal posts will be on the Blog page.

We're planning on moving to Seattle next year so I wanted to log our time prepping for that, some of my personal struggles and thoughts, rants, and things I love, but didn't want to bog down the actual business news so this works best!

Lots of changes but I think this will be good. I need a routine and this helps my art and business further.

Thanks again everyone for sticking around and supporting me!

-Sam <3

Goals and Patreon

With con season over, I've talked to a few people a lot about where I want my art to go and things I've always wanted to do. I wanted to be more organized and structured with it, wanted to take classes to better my skills, wanted to get out of my comfort zone. October 1st is the first step towards that.

TL;DR I'm starting a Patreon pls support thx

First, here's a breakdown of the goals I want to set:

• More sketchbook collections (or maybe merge both and get them professionally bound because that would be cool and professional)
• Switch jewelry and brooches to acrylic laser cut
• At least a painting a month
• Livestreams!
• Speedpaint/process videos
• More commissions
• More galleries
• Maybe make one more art event to get exposure to artists. Like a sidewalk art exhibit or something
• Might be cutting down on conventions to work on more art
• More prints!
• Switch to either having mainly 8x11 or 11x17 prints and instead of 4x6 prints, switching to postcards only
• Filling up a sketchbook with actual ideas and drawings

Now some of these are attainable. So far I only have maybe 3 conventions for next year and two of them aren't confirmed. That'll give me more time to do local events and grow things. I'm talking with the lovely ladies at Lubbock-Con about the art scene and how to grow it so another event is probably also possible. And I've been looking at places to do acrylic charms and pieces, that just takes money.

Actually, pretty much all of it is attainable, I just have to be strict and rehaul a lot of things. But something that I figured out might actually help is a Patreon.

Which is why I made one. Yep.

I've seen a lot of artists and Youtubers use it successful and it's kinda been something I've been on the fence about because of the ol' self-doubt. But any support is better than nothing and I think it's something that can help me grow.

So October 1st, we're launching a Patreon!

I tried to think of rewards that were doable for me as well as incentive to get people to join.

• So basic donations will get you access to a Patreon only blog where I'll post sketches and works in progresses and probably post animal pictures.
• $5 gives you a discount code to my Etsy shop, PDF scans of my sketches, early access to any videos, and an invite to a drawing practice livestream where we'll work on a technique together.
• $10 gets you a bigger discount code, early access previews to finished paintings and illustrations, a monthly Q&A livestream, you can vote for what painting I do next, and get a copy of one of my sketchbook collections!
• $20 you get a Patreon exclusive postcard with a letter, a second sketchbook collection, and a free item from my Etsy shop
• $40 allows you a monthly portrait sketch request! You can request a sketch/lineart/quick ink portrait of one of favorite characters or an idea and I'll send it to you in a PDF. It's limited to only 10 spots but it's a pretty good deal.
• $65 is basically a monthly 5x7 full colored commission portrait. Same idea as the tier before where you give me a character or idea and I'll do a full commission of it. I'll scan it to you and also ship you the physical copy! This one is limited to only 5 spots.

And everything is basically an accrual so the higher donation tiers get everything the lower tier does. So say you choose $20 a month, you'll get all the rewards from that tier plus the $10, $5, and $1 rewards. Which is a good amount of stuff.

But this lets me paint more, share my art process, get more practice with the requests, while also allowing me to pay my bills and upgrade from cheap paint and dollar brushes. There's also Patreon goals like if I hit $100 a month, I can do bi-weekly videos. $200 let's me make a print of each monthly painting, more sketchbook collections, and switching to those acrylic charms. $400 (which is a long ways off but omg if I can achieve it) would be weekly videos, being able to buy a nice printer to make my own prints, and a monthly sketchbook of all the sketches and art I did for that month.

For now, I'm just hoping I get supporters but it's nice to have goals and I'm excited.

So October 1st, go here and check out my Patreon! If you'd be so kind as to support it, it would mean the world. I've got some other big life changes hopefully in the works. Life changes are good. They keep me on my toes.

I'll go back to my painting cave now. Deadlines approaching sooooon

-Sam <3

Tis the Seasons

Hello everyone! Anyone else kinda enjoying the chilly weather because I know I am! (My utilities bill is so low right now I want to cry.)

This is kinda an update to let everyone know what's happening!

As the holiday season approaches (my very first one as a shop), things are going to get crazy. Already there's been a slight influx in orders so as we get closer to Christmas, be patient with me. I'm only one person (plus a boyfriend). I'll try to list a cut off date for orders to get to you in time for Xmas once I figure it all out.

The good part is that new product is coming! New art! If you missed out on a Ladies Night poster, we'll have the print version up soon! I've already listed our new Batarang Bat Symbol Necklaces for the Batgirl in you and soon will be putting up some Sailor Moon crescent moon circlets in Silver, Gold, and Black. We're in the prototype stage for those, a Steven Universe Cookie Cat necklace, a new version of Witch Bitch and some other spooky necklaces, and Sailor Moon Compact Necklaces in 4 different versions. Rony has been very very very helpful in getting those designed so thank him when they're done.

I have like 3 events coming up soon. If you live in the Lubbock area, Lubbock-Con and Star Comics are partnering to bring you Nerdsgiving! It's a potluck! I'll be there selling stuffs! Maybe even new stuffs! And then after that, we're off to McKinney,TX for G33K3! We'll be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so there's your chance to save on shipping costs. And then we're back in Lubbock for Lubbock-Con's A Very Merry NERDsmas!

And then I'm going to sleep the sleep of queens until my birthday and the next round of conventions.

Also, there may be a few changes to the website. EVENTUALLY, I would like to change the design but that's on my Good-Luck-Getting-To-That list. But we're going to start a Feature Friday post where I share my favorite independent shops/artists/people/stores for you to check out because there's a lot of wonderful ladies, local and online, that I've had the chance to meet and want to give a shout out to. Look for that this upcoming Friday!

Before I leave you, thank you to everyone that has supported and purchased and shared my things since we've started up! It's kinda been a whirlwind since we launched (shout out to Kelly Sue Deconnick and Wil Wheaton for sharing my Be Terrifying necklace and giving me a small aneurysm with how much traffic they sent my first week) but I couldn't have asked for a better start. Yall help feed me and keep me going and help get me to my goal of doing this full time. So thank you very much <3

See you Friday xoxo Sam

Lubbock-Con presents Nerd Prom 2015!

Fun fact, the entirety of my Junior and Senior Prom was spent mostly at the table with my friends, eating from the chocolate fountain. Chocolate fountains are my weakness. But besides that, prom was pretty uneventful since I didn't really like the music or theme or most of the people. So now, as an adult, it's kind of exciting to get to go to prom again because it's going to be a Nerd Prom!

(And most of my friends will be there)

The other exciting part is I will be a vendor at it! I'll be there with some of my jewelry and prints along with an exclusive print I'm doing only for the event so quantity will be limited if you wanna snag one of these!

I'll even have a few new designs to sell if you wanna see some new stuff first *winkwink*

Tickets are only $5 and going fast. You can pick them up at Star Comics 2014 34th st Lubbock, TX and the event is 21+ because there will be all the alcohols. Check out Lubbock-Con's facebook for more details!

Dig out your old prom attire or cosplay it up and come as your favorite geek couple. Maybe you'll win Prom King and Queen and get some cool goodies.

Prom is this Friday so go get your tickets and stop by!

See everyone there -Sam <3

Labor Day Sale!

On Tuesday, my Etsy shop officially reopened with all new inventory including #Workcomics, the sketchbooks, phone charms and charm necklaces, and stickers! It also conveniently is going to be Labor Day this weekend so I thought I'd celebrate both! Head over to the shop and use coupon code: LABORDAY2015 to get 15% off your order! Yay! So go treat yo self while I finish relaxing the rest of this week before getting back to work.

-Sam <3

#Workcomics Vol.1!

I believe it was almost a month and a half ago when we got the harebrained idea to turn my daily work doodling into an actual thing. A book! A comic book?An art book? Well, all of those combined. We looked at different printers and figured out how we wanted it to look, how much it would cost, what size was it going to be? Well, I'm proud to see, it worked out. #Workcomics Vol.1 is here and in my hands and I'm so so happy

Isn't it cute?! (And the paper is so nice, like omg) And its the color of the actual post-it notes! Not only that, we kept all the creases and folds and tiny cat teeth mark the originals had to authenticate that yes, these were really post-it notes and yes, my cats really like to steal them.

These may be the only run of Vol.1 so they are limited in quantity and over all, just limited edition. Vol. 1 covers from April to June from when I first started it to about when we started getting the book ready for print.

The front cover is actually the very first #Workcomic I ever did and the back is brought to you by Lubbock's very own Star Comics who were gracious enough to sponsor the book so we could get it made. They've been so so so supportive of all my weird ideas and projects (like wanting to start a Ladies Night then wanting to make a baby comic book) so I'm incredibly grateful to them. Thanks, guys!

The books will be available to purchase online September 1st on my Etsy shop when it goes live again and they'll be $10. If you are in Lubbock this weekend, I will have copies at my booth for Hub City Comic Con so you can get them in person! And first! We are limited to roughly 45 copies so get them while you can!

And to celebrate the release, on September 1st I want you to do your own #Workcomic. Doodle at work (don't get in trouble though) either on some paper or a post-it note and hashtag it #Workcomics so I can see. You can tag me on Twitter @Raico13 or Instagram @ Raicodoll. It's like an art day!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and this book! And now, back to prepping for the convention!

-Sam <3

4 Days! Ahhhhh!

I don't know how I did it in high school. Staying up until late in the morning then getting up early. I do it now and I feel like an extra on the Walking Dead. Since the end of July as I get more and more stuff prepped for Hub City, I've slowly been moving my bed time back. Midnight, 1230, 1am, 2am, ?????what is sleep??? Even more surprisingly, I haven't even been drinking coffee. Or soda. Just water. What is happening to me?

Anyways, here's a map of where I will be at Hub City Comic Con

But I just have 4 more days of prep work and it'll be here! And in one week, the Etsy shop will be live again! With all new stuffs! All the charm necklaces will be listed with some new additions like:

(They'll also be available in stickers)

And also new stickers with my face on them:

and then this little guy:

because why the heck not. Donuts and cats are cute.

Stickers sheets, individual stickers, Charm Necklaces, Keychains, buttons, sketchbooks, #Workcomics, all the stuffs! And still more to come because I'm an over achiever and can't stop working. I will update you all with more info later, along with a recap of how our launch brunch went this Saturday at Geek Girl Brunch Lubbock and with #Workcomics info when we get the book back from the printer.

SO MUCH STUFF. IT IS FILLING THE HOLE WHERE SLEEP WAS.

-Sam <3

Geek Girl Brunch Lubbock Launch and Arts!

It's been a crazy few weeks and still got about a couple of weeks to go until Hub City Comic Con! #Workcomics is at the printers and so we're anxiously just waiting for it to be done. Lots of art has been finished, sketch to final, but lots more is still being done. Like stickers!!

Sticker sheets and individual stickers will be available at Hub City and then on Etsy afterwards. I have at least 5 sticker sheets planned, but we'll see how many I'll get done considering my digital cutter is being finicky with me. I also have a few more necklaces planned too and I'll update with pictures later!

I had planned on making multiple sizes of prints, but it looks like the budget is only going to allow me bringing 4x6. Once the prints go on Etsy, you'll be able to choose between 4x6 or 8.5x11.

Lots lots lots to do. I haven't slept. Sleeping is for the weak! (I'm so very tired)

But this Saturday is Geek Girl Brunch Lubbock's launch brunch! We're very excited to launch officially and see all the lovely ladies that came to our Prelaunch. It was a blast last time so it's sure to be fun this time around. We've even started planning the next one already (and I may have started planning Ladies Night too, but shhhhhh).

So there's an update. Lots of plans. Lots to get done. If you're in the Lubbock area, come out to Hub City Comic Con and say hi! My side event info has been updated with our booth number!

-Sam <3

Etsy Shop Updated! Charm Necklaces!

So it's been a crazy weekend. As in work non-stop and may-have-forgotten-to-eat-a-few-times kinda crazy. Hub City Comic Con is coming up quickly and the prep work has gone from pretty busy to why did I do this busy. But progress is happening!

We now have charm necklaces in the shop! Yay for productivity! The full Eevee Evolution set and the Soot Sprites are listed in my Etsy shop! I'm so excited and so happy with how these turned out. I may have cried a bit after a few hours of cursing my printer.

Lots of things are happening! We may soon see the appearance of sticker sheets (fingers crossed) and some new prints. Some things may make a first appearance at Hub City so if you're in the Lubbock area and going, you'll be able to see them first!

Now I'm tired and still have a list of things to do so I will check in with you guys later!

-Sam <3

New Things!

Everything is finally starting to settle down at the new apartment and ramp up when it comes to work. I will have another post soon about all that though! Exciting news though!

First, sketchbooks are coming soon along with new prints in the shop! Working on a lot of new art to get ready for Hub City Comic Con so be on the look out for that update! I will mostly have 4x6 prints but if people want bigger sizes let me know and I'll make it happen!

Second, if you use to follow me on Youtube when I did vlogs, well I started them up again!

Third, after a lot of shopping around to find a place online to get #Workcomics printed, everything kinda left me disappointed. It's apparently hard to find a reasonably priced picture book that is post-it note sized. So we went local and after some back and forth and some amazing support from Star Comics, #Workcomics will be out in print! I'll have my own comic! In paper! With my name on it!

It'll cover 2 months of doodles and comics so roughly 60 pictures! We're getting everything set and I am having to getting a whole lot of post-it notes scanned and cleaned up, but I should have them for Hub City Comic Con at the latest. They'll be available online as well :)

I'm still working on getting some buttons, stickers, and other things made and put online but I'd rather put everything up at once then slowly one thing at a time.

Progress!

-Sam <3