Convention Sign Tutorial Video

Last year I streamed on Twitch about my convention table signs design. These are the stand-up signs that list what an item is and how much it costs (or I also have a few that list tee-shirt sizes, that the Mouse Guard book series starts with Fall 1152, and that I accept credit cards through Square). I came up with a design for making my signs out of bristol board (6" tiles and blank sketch/business cards) that can stand up well, be adjusted to suit different needs, can be easily edited, and store flat. Here is a video of that stream where I create a few new signs and walk through the process:

Direct link to YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Rc8k9UcubVI

2020 Appearances

Emerald City Comic Con: March 12-15

FACTS-Ghent Belgium: April 4-5

Heroes Con: June 19-21

San Diego Comic Con: July 22-26

New York Comic Con: October 8-11

Baltimore Comic Con: Oct 23-25

Hup: Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Cover

Archaia is publishing a Dark Crystal comic series that ties in with the Netflix series 'Age of Resistance' and I fortunate enough to be asked to do some variant covers for it!

The series is made up of three 4 issue arcs, and the second arc is all about everyone's favorite brave spoon wielding podling: Hup!



 To the left you can see my finished Hup cover, but below I'll break down all the steps I took to create the cover artwork.

Layout:
For these Age of Resistance covers, I've wanted to make more of a collage and vignette of characters or scenes from the comic rather than the full body profiles I did of the skeksis and mystics for my last cover-run. I started with pencil drawings of each of the characters I needed to include for this cover: Hup of course, and also a Gelfling bard named Barfinnious and the skeksis treasurer skekShod. All of those were drawn separately on copy paper, scanned in, and then moved, resized, and adjusted to make up a composition using a Froudian circle design as a framing mechanism.

I also did a quick color pass to help me see the characters, predict tangent or value problems, and to make sure Archaia and Henson could clearly see what I was going for.

Inks:
Once Archaia and Henson both approved the layout above, I printed it out at about 10" x 15" (on two sheets of paper that I aligned and taped together) and then taped that printout to the back of a sheet of Strathmore 300 series bristol. On my Huion light pad, I'm able to see through the surface of the bristol, down to the layout to use as my pencil lines while I ink. I used Copic Multiliner SP pens (the 0.3 & 0.7 nibs are my go-to's).

As I inked this I streamed the process on my Twitch Chanel.
And I found out that Victor Yerrid, the performer for Hup, watched part of the stream and was kind enough to reach out and compliment the artwork.


Flat Colors:
The inks were sent in for approvals before I could start on the first part of the coloring step: flatting. This is where I digitally paint inside the lines with flat colors what color everything should be. I had a lot of the color choices already figured out because of the reference material and my inital rough, but this was also an oppertunity to make any changes--especially in saturation (color intensity) and value (light/dark) of the piece.

I also added a few color holds on the lute strings and the leather band on Hup's arm. Color holds are where I can choose to paint the line art  color other than black.


Final Colors:
For the final colors, I use the dodge and burn tools in Photoshop to add highlights and shadows as well as texture. I added a little parchment-wash overlay to mute everything out and called the piece done.

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance: Hup begins this month, and my cover will be on next month's issue #6!







2020 Convention Appearances to be announced soon...

Sharon Petersen Obituary

My Mom passed away last Friday after struggles with Parkinson’s and Dementia—but also after a joyful lifetime of sewing, crafting, and genealogy. She is now at peace.

She encouraged and nurtured in me a love of crafting and making. She pushed for enrollment in art classes, stuffed Christmas stocking full of art supplies, and attended every event where my work was on display. I couldn't have asked for a more supportive Mom of my artistic career.

Below I'm sharing the obituary my sister Lesa wrote for her as well as lots of photos of her life.

Sharon Ann Petersen 

passed from complications of Parkinson's Disease on January 10, 2020, at age 81 in Beaumont Hospital hospice care in Royal Oak, Mich. Born Sharon Winters on May 27, 1938, in Flint, Michigan, she was the daughter of Clair and Marguerite Winters.

Sharon graduated from Flint Central High School in 1956 and studied at the University of Hawaii before returning home to earn her nursing degree at Mott Community College in 1974.

In 1972, she married Eric Petersen and became a loving stepmother to his two daughters, Kirsten and Lesa. On July 4, 1977, the family was delighted to welcome Sharon and Eric's son, David.


Sharon was small in stature but mighty in spirit. Her constant creative undertakings included sewing and embroidering dressings for the interior of Oak Park United Methodist Church in Flint and for the robes of its pastors and choir members. At Oak Park and in the schools Kirsten, Lesa, and David attended, she contributed passionately to every fundraiser, music and theater performance, art fair, spirit parade, and community dinner with her creativity and generosity.


She was a gifted seamstress and loved sewing and quilting, crafting, and making elaborate, beautiful cakes. An expert self-taught genealogist who was active in the Flint Genealogical Society, she often trekked to genealogical libraries in the Midwest as she mapped her family's lineage.


She spent her last years in the loving care of son David and daughter-in-law Julia at their home in Ferndale, Mich.


She is preceded by her sister Nancy, her brother Richard, and her parents.

A ceremony celebrating Sharon's life will be held in May.

The obituary is also on MLive with a guestbook: https://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/flint/obituary.aspx?n=sharon-petersen&pid=195022758