A special Webcomic Wednesday for today! I was recently contacted by Mr. David Soto, creator of the following list, and asked if I’d like to be included in an infographic showcasing the top 100 comic blogs to follow in 2013. Of course I said, “Yes!” I love that Snailbird is known as a place for comic-fans to come and hang out and enjoy the many webcomics and illustrators that I feature. So instead of just three webcomics for you like normal, I’m posting this so you get 100 great comic blogs and resources for your reader.
Plus – a ton of my favorite sites are showcased in this extra long infographic. CBR, Major Spoilers, Lackadaisy Cats, all make appearances. And quite a few that I’ve never head of but am now a fan of. I’ll stop giving it away now – go look at for yourself!
It’s Kickstarter feature time! This time I have two for you to take a look at and both are incredibly important because they address a topic that, I believe, is too often swept under the rug. And that is mental health. So without further ado. Here are two Kickstarters that need your help, right now.
The Hospital Visit
The Hospital Visit By: Aaron Fisher Where:Kickstarter Page Needs: $5,000 Ends: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Description:
“The subject of my son’s film deals with important mental health issues, such as major depression and suicide – there is more information about the film in the link below. Aaron was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and major depression five years ago. With medication and therapy, he has learned to cope with this debilitating illness, and has been quite accomplished – making numerous short films since middle school.” – Danny Fisher.
Live Through This: Life on the Other Side of Suicide
Live Through This: Life on the Other Side of Suicide By: Dese’Rae L. Stage Where:Kickstarter Page Needs: $15,538 Ends: Thursday, March 21, 2013 Description:
“The meat of Live Through This comes from talking to other survivors about their experiences with suicide and then, after each interview, making a portrait. Later, I publish that portrait with an excerpt of the survivor’s story on the website. The idea is to level the playing field and humanize suicide by showing the faces of real people who have attempted to take their lives, but lived instead. Live Through This asks the viewer to look into the eyes of the survivors, and in doing so, it helps the viewer to realize that these people could be anyone.”
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Please consider donating to either of these Kickstarters. Mental health is an incredibly important topic and one that I hold close to my heart. Even if it’s a small donation, it will go far.
I’m a fan of abstract art and illustrations that are outside the traditional work. When Phil Wall first showed up on my radar, it was over at Fuel Your Illustration. His Project Photo Doodle is an epic collaboration of photography and doodle monsters. I really like his style, so it comes as no surprise to me that I love his next project too!
Phil Wall is an artist based in the UK. He’s always looking for fresh new ways to create art and his main focus as an illustrator is on creating limited run postcards and prints. Exhibitions and Press includes; Harvey Nichols, The Laughing Squid, Front Magazine, Creative Boom and DesignTaxi.
Phil says of his new style, “I started this series to experiment in creating forms and depth with structured scribbles and circular ‘string like’ lines. I expanded on the idea by mixing in other techniques and balancing the scribbled forms with more intricate line work.”
Webcomic Wednesday is back folks! And today we have a special feature – today I am showing off some of the comic artists that took part in Hourly Comic Day on February 1st. While I was at work and couldn’t participate myself, I still enjoyed watching what other artists came up with, and I’m sure you will to!
“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.†-J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
UPDATE: ONLY 54 3 MORE SPACES AVAILABLE! 6543 DAYS TO SIGN UP!
So you’ve got an awesome, growing business that you’ve put your heart and soul into. It’s your passion, your dream, your baby. You’re organized, you’ve got clients, but you want more. You want more people to know who you are and what you do. You’d love to get your business in front of a thousand eyes all at once. But how?
I’ve got an answer for you. Sponsor one of my days at SXSW!
You’ve probably already read my blog post about the Send the Coyote to SXSW Interactive 2013 fundraiser, but if you haven’t you should catch yourself up on it. This is the third year I’ll be attending SXSW, and the second year in which I’ve asked folks to help get me there – with lots of lovely incentives of course. This year is no different – except for this.
I love helping independent businesses grow. I love helping established businesses get better. And if you help me, I would love to help you. Which is why I’m offering this Daily Sponsorship deal to five lucky businesses. SXSW Interactive lasts five days, which means that the first five businesses who sign up for this opportunity will be getting their very own day to get lots of exposure at one of the biggest conferences in the US. Here’s how.
How it Works
You donate $175 to the Send the Coyote to SXSW Interactive 2013 fundraiser and in the donation notes section, let me know that you’re in it to Sponsor A Day at SXSW. I will reply with an email within a day or two so we can start talking about specifics. Easy enough?
What You Get
For a $175 donation, you get all of this, which would normally total to about $450.
I will hand out any business cards you send me.
I will slather the SXSW walls with any business flyers you want me to. (Imagine millions of eyes looking over the flyers and being drawn to yours!)
I will write up a short blog post on Snailbird about your business and how awesome it is. (With lots of traffic to the blog about SXSW, this will get you lots of eyes!)
You will receive two twitter shout-outs on @designcoyote – one in the morning, one at night.
When relevant, I will talk your business up to strangers until I’m blue in the face!
You get two months of advertising on Snailbird with a 125×125 ad on the sidebar.
Last year I handed out flyers, put branded bandanas on dogs, and even handed out a few branded snap bracelets for my sponsor. Want me to do the same for you or have other ideas? When you make a donation of at least $175, we can talk more about the details. But first, donate!
How to Sign Up
UPDATE: ONLY 54 3 MORE SPACES AVAILABLE! 6543 2 DAYS LEFT TO SIGN UP!
Simple. Either go to the original post and donate, or click on the yellow “Give” button below and enter at least $175 and you’re good to go! But remember – you’ll want to sign up fast! There are only 5 spots and they will go fast!
Of course, as a sponsor, you’ll also get a nice big banner linking to your site on the SXSW 2013 Resource Site I will build that will display all the notes, videos, and photos I take while at conference. You can check out last year’s site here.
So what are you waiting for? SIGN UP NOW! There are fivefour THREE spots left!
I’ve written about Olga Nunes and her soul-inspiring musical adventure LAMP before. Her music leaves this insatiable wanderlust in my heart and I can’t get enough. So I’m excited to write about the newest leg of her melodious journey is about to begin! And if you’re in San Francisco this Saturday, February 8th, you’re in luck! You could be apart of it!
Join Olga on The Love Letter Scavenger Hunt! It’s “a one-day, whimsy-fueled careen through the Mission, where intrepid adventurers will be given clues to find mysterious lost love letters hidden in parks, alleys,and shops.” As someone who took part in sending bits of poetry to the project, I wish more than anything that I could be apart of this and read the stories myself. This is a project from the heart, and I hope if you get a chance, you’ll go. And take lots of pictures!
You can see a video about the project here: thisletterislost.com and more about Chapter One of LAMP here. You can, of course, follow Olga on twitter and the project twitter page.
For more details about the Love Letter Scavenger Hunt, check out official tumblr flyer.
This is a true musical adventure come to life. Go live the story!
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Like fun projects and helping others live their dreams? Want to learn about geeky stuff through the eyes of a local Austinite? Don’t forget about the 2nd Annual Send Nikki to SXSW fundraiser! Help a coyote out?
7654 3 MORE DAYS TO DONATE! WE ARE FULLY FUNDED BUT FEEL FREE TO DONATE IF YOU STILL WANT THE INCENTIVE!
Remember last year when y’all sent me to SXSW Interactive and I livetweeted the whole thing and shared all my notes and pictures? Yeah? WELL LET’S DO IT AGAIN! This year’s interactive is going to be even bigger and better and once again, I want to go and bring you all with me! Of course that can only happen if you help me again. This year I have some even more awesome incentives to help send me to my third SXSW Interactive. Read on!
The SXSWi 2013 Snailbird Proposal
If you help to send me to SXSW Interactive 2013, I promise you I will bring to you all the latest, greatest news and education from the most awesome conference ever hosted in Austin, Texas. I will create a brand new SXSWi 2013 page (similar to the Design Coyote Resource Guide for SXSW ’12) where I will write up all my notes, post all my pictures, and share all the tweets (both on designcoyote and rescueanimals), and resources I find. I’m even going to revive my #SXYote hashtag for Twitter usage so all you have to do is follow it to see my SXSWi tweets.
This year I have a fun theme I’ll be exploring: Embracing the Geek Life! I will be covering gaming culture (specifically from the eye of a female gamer), the influence of social media on space travel, and the heart and mind of the creative entrepreneur! And of course there will be a bit of comics and illustration thrown in there for fun. Some of the sessions I hope to go to (which is also all the things you get to learn about as well!) include:
We all love learning. And you already know that I love sharing knowledge – on here, on @designcoyote, on I Love Rescue Animals, and on @rescueanimals – so you know that I’m only going to be bring you the best quality and create a stellar resource for those of you who can’t make it to SXSWi yourself. This is your chance to be a part of SXSWi for just a small donation (and some fantastic incentives). I will be sharing a ton of resources for social media, sharing positive causes, utilizing the internet and social media to raise donations, and how to market yourselves online, as well as design tips I learn, the newest technology for artsy folks, and other great education resources.
How Much Will This Be?
The total amount of money I’m trying to raise is $1,150 – which is JUST the price of one SXSWi ticket. Since I live in Austin, all the lodging expenses are taken care of, and I’ll pay for my own food and goodies. I just need help getting the ticket.
What You Get For Helping!
Don’t worry. You won’t be walking away empty-handed either. Besides the shared knowledge of all I learn, you will also get an awesome incentive depending on what level you donate to. These are as follows:
$1 or more: Join the list of other donors on my SXSW page.* $15 or more: The above and an individual shout-out on the designcoyote twitter (2,000+ followers). $30 or more: The above and a pencil sketch of your pet/favorite animal (in The Family Menagerie style). $50 or more: The above and the pencil sketch gets inked and colored with marker. $75 or more: The above plus a 100×100 pixels digitally colored avatar of your choice (in TFM style), as well as a shout-out on the rescueanimals twitter (28,900+ followers). $100 or more Be included on the donors page, receive a twitter shout-out (on both), a sketch of a pet/favorite animal, a 100×100 pixel digitally colored avatar, and 1 month of advertising on either the Snailbird or I Love Rescue Animals blog*. $175 or more:Sponsor A Full Day and I’ll *bring your company to SXSW with me! (Does not include any of the above incentives. $200 or more: Mention on donors page and twitter accounts, marker-colored image of pet/favorite animal, 100×100 avatar, 2 months of advertising on either blog*. $350 or more: The $200 incentives AND a full-colored digital illustration of your choice.
$500 or more: SPONSORSHIP LEVEL 1! You will have a large prominent THANK YOU at the top of the SXSWi resource page, thanks on both Twitter and Facebook (for both Snailbird and I Love Rescue Animals), PLUS 6 months of advertising on the blog and a full blog post thanking you on Snailbird*. $950 or more: SPONSORSHIP LEVEL 2! You will have a large prominent THANK YOU at the top of the SXSWi resource page, thanks on both Twitter and Facebook (for both Snailbird and I Love Rescue Animals), PLUS 12 months of advertising on the blog and a full blog post thanking you on Snailbird AND I Love Rescue Animals (and if you or your company has a blog, I will also write up a guest post about everything I learned because of your generosity that you can use on your website)*.
Interested in donating but looking for some other prize/incentive? Feel free to comment or email me and we can talk! I’m open to hearing your ideas.
*Being included on the donors page, as well as getting posted on Snailbird and I Love Rescue Animals websites, means getting your name and link seen by artsy folks, nature-lovers, and lots of animal advocates, pet bloggers, and other activists. Snailbrd gets on average 5,000 unique visitors a month with 30k page/visits a month. I Love Rescue Animals receives an average of 6,000 unique visitors a month and 40k page/visits a month.
Donate to the Send-Nikki-to-SXSWi Fund!
7654 3 MORE DAYS TO DONATE! WE ARE FULLY FUNDED BUT FEEL FREE TO DONATE IF YOU STILL WANT THE INCENTIVE!
So you can all help keep track of where I am in donations, I’ve set up this nifty Paypal Donation widget. Once you donate, you will receive an email from me/Paypal confirming the amount and I will follow up with a Thank You and a list of the incentives you get. Just click on the yellow button in the Paypal widget below to donate.
***Simply click the yellow “Give” button and on the next page, you will be able to fill in whatever amount you would like!***
****The PayPal widget is slow to reflect actual donations – we are fully funded at exactly $1150, but you are still free to donate until March 8th if you want one of the incentives.***
The Final Plea
Guys, I want to go to SXSWi a lot. It was an incredible experience last year, especially because I got to share it with all of you, and I want to be able to give that to you again. I learned so much, and I feel that this year is going to be even better. So for just one donation, you can help send me to this awesome conference full of great opportunities and in return you get to learn all that I learn and some (you know those incentives are pretty awesome). Pretty great deal, yeah?
So please please help, and share with your family and friends! I will be forever grateful to you and so very honored. Thank you! You guys rock!
Saw this in my reader this morning and I had to share it. You don’t often see artwork, let along game-themed artwork, with a female as the centerpiece.
This particular piece of artwork was done by Samuel Deats, who goes by poojipoo on DeviantArt. Samuel actually lives and works as an Art Director here in Austin, TX at Powerhouse Animation and worked on both Epic Mickey and DC Universe Online! Yay fellow Austinite! Definitely go check out more of his work on his deviantart page.
The artwork was created for this article on the Boston Phoenix called, Why I Play Violent Video Games. Also worth a read!
RT @Tartan_Kiwi: Did a 2 hour paint of Yasha from the DnD show Critical Role about to lay down some hurt on disposable demon spawn No 31.… - Monday Jun 24 - 6:40pm
About Nikki
Nikki is an illustrator, designer, and geeky gamer living in the hill country of Austin, TX.
Snailbird is a blog about art, comics, design, gaming, life, nature, and a little bit of nonsense thrown in for good measure. In short: geekery. Welcome!
Nikki is an illustrator, designer, and geeky gamer living in the hill country of Austin, TX.
