Hello! Apologies for not updating in a few months. I'm finding it increasingly hard to juggle having a creative full time job as well as staying on top of my own personal projects and blogging as frequently as I used to, but I'm hoping to find more of a balance with everything this year. And I have quite a few things to update you on!
This is a pretty large post I've been compiling for aaaaages but didn't get round to posting in separate parts. Ironically being my first post of the new year it basically encompasses the awesome comic events I went to last year…oops!
It's about to start again with the Sheffield Zine Fair this month, so I thought I'd better post this asap! Hopefully I'll keep on top of the blogging for festivals I go to this time round.
Bristol Comic and Zine Fair - Oct 4th
I stayed in my sister's rather mouldy student digs for the weekend of the Bristol Comic and Zine Fair. I booked a couple of days off work the moment the dates for the event were revealed so it's safe to say it was something I was greatly anticipating. And it didn't disappoint!
The fair was held at The Sation in the city centre and had a lot more stalls than I had initially envisaged which was great:
I'd looked up a few of the exhibitors ahead of the event, and made a beeline for 'Bark', a magazine set up by two awesome kids Max and Reuben to raise money to buy rain forest from the World Land Trust. Preservation of rain forests and endangered species is a cause close to my heart too, so obviously I had to leave with a copy of their lovely magazine, which is full of short comics, interesting facts and illustrations from contributing artists.
The Haul:
Here's all the lovely stuff I bought:
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| 'Bark' Magazine. Page spread by Jack Teagle |
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| 'Junkshop Deer and other stories' by Emma Carlisle |
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| Brooch, handmade by Emma Carlisle. Buy one for yourself at her Etsy shop! |
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| 'The Sad Ghost Club' by Lize Meddings |
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| 'The Smell of the Wild' by Gareth Brookes |
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| 'Cat Disco' by Rebecca K Jones |
Lakes International Comic Art Festival - 17th-19th Oct
I stayed with my other sister in Lancaster for this weekend festival that took over the lovely town of Kendal. Although we only planned to go on one of the days we ended up going on both so we got to see everything there was on offer.
* I was chatting to Fumio Obata at his stall and he asked if I had any of my work with me. I showed him my lil comic portfolio that I tend to carry round at these types of events (just in case, you never know…;)) and he said he loved my work, especially 'Bridges' and 'Loneliness', which was really nice of him and it gave me a bit of encouragement (and relief) that people might actually like my stuff!
The Haul:
Thought Bubble Sequential Art Festival Convention 15th-16th Nov
I was excited to find out I'd won the Thought Bubble Comic Art Competition 2014 (see this post)
and was given a free ticket to the event to receive my prize at the little prize giving ceremony they had. Thus it was a bit of a spur of the moment decision to go to TB, as originally this was a festival I was refraining on going to, having been to quite a few already!
But it was actually a really fun day and I spent most of it just walking round chatting to people and trying to get over the shy star-struckness I usually have around artists I'm a huge fan of!
Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of this event but here are a few I took on my phone:
I stayed with my other sister in Lancaster for this weekend festival that took over the lovely town of Kendal. Although we only planned to go on one of the days we ended up going on both so we got to see everything there was on offer.
The layout of the stalls was really well thought out, and it meant it didn't ever get too crowded around the stalls and there was plenty of space. (My experience with ELCAF earlier in the year was one of slight suffocation and claustrophobia due to it being so packed full of people in a fairly small venue!)
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| There were a few talks and presentations going on throughout the day. This was a quick snap of Metaphrog's presentation as they talked about self publishing. |
My favourite part was seeing all the amazing comics that artists had somehow created in a non stop 24 hour frenzy. How they produced such professionally finished work in that time I have no idea. It takes me a day just to do my first rough of a page sometimes!
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| 24 Hour Comics by: Kristyna Baczynski Dan Berry Joe Decie Fumio Obata* Warwick Johnson-Cadwell Sarah Mcintyre Jack Teagle |
* I was chatting to Fumio Obata at his stall and he asked if I had any of my work with me. I showed him my lil comic portfolio that I tend to carry round at these types of events (just in case, you never know…;)) and he said he loved my work, especially 'Bridges' and 'Loneliness', which was really nice of him and it gave me a bit of encouragement (and relief) that people might actually like my stuff!
The Haul:
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| 'Hand Me Down' by Kristyna Baczynski 'Dungeons and Drawings' by Joe Sparrow and Blanca Martinez de Rituerto "Jackie' by Alex Brady |
Thought Bubble Sequential Art Festival Convention 15th-16th Nov
I was excited to find out I'd won the Thought Bubble Comic Art Competition 2014 (see this post)
and was given a free ticket to the event to receive my prize at the little prize giving ceremony they had. Thus it was a bit of a spur of the moment decision to go to TB, as originally this was a festival I was refraining on going to, having been to quite a few already!
But it was actually a really fun day and I spent most of it just walking round chatting to people and trying to get over the shy star-struckness I usually have around artists I'm a huge fan of!
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| The winning and runner up entries for the competition were displayed at Leeds Central Library |
Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of this event but here are a few I took on my phone:
The Haul:
I finally worked up the courage to talk to Dan Berry! He was lovely to chat to and I bought his 24 hour comic that I regretted not buying at LICAF
As I'm currently roughing out some Horror comic ideas, I thought Falcomi Collective's 'HORROR' anthology would be a great source of inspiration seeing how different artists interpret the horror genre.
As you'll probably guess from seeing the type and style of work I usually do, horror is something I haven't really explored before as a genre for an illustration or comic, but it's something that I'd love to be able to give a go. I'm inspired by a lot of folklore, ballads and mythology, some that have a darker tone to them, so that's something I'd like to explore in any horror comics I produce.
I'm definitely going to try and keep up to date with blogging the festivals I go to this year, so keep an eye out!
I finally worked up the courage to talk to Dan Berry! He was lovely to chat to and I bought his 24 hour comic that I regretted not buying at LICAF
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'Nicholas and Edith' - created in 24 hours by Dan Berry |
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Super cute wooden badge by Lize Meddings |
As I'm currently roughing out some Horror comic ideas, I thought Falcomi Collective's 'HORROR' anthology would be a great source of inspiration seeing how different artists interpret the horror genre.
As you'll probably guess from seeing the type and style of work I usually do, horror is something I haven't really explored before as a genre for an illustration or comic, but it's something that I'd love to be able to give a go. I'm inspired by a lot of folklore, ballads and mythology, some that have a darker tone to them, so that's something I'd like to explore in any horror comics I produce.
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'Volume 1: HORROR' by Falcomi |
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