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New secret projects are in their beginnings...

New secret projects are in their beginnings...

24 Jul • This will only take you 7 minutes

Let’s see what I can tell you... :3c

I began working on some new projects this month, and I’m not gonna say much yet. One is a new porn comic, one is a gallery show, and one is a group zine project. You will know about them shortly, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I’m working on pencils for the second half of How Could You. I really wish I had more hours/energy in the day to churn these pages out, but alas… day jobs pay the bills.

Heave and Thaw

A project I’ve finished this month is Heave and Thaw, my contribution to Boyish² Volume 2. The Kickstarter is still going, so check it out if you haven’t yet! I had to make some adjustments to the screen tones. Apparently if your tones are too dense they don’t print well with commercial printers, so I had to go back through and adjust my pages. Ya live, ya learn. Speaking of learning, this is the blog post I followed to figure out the basics of screen tones in Clip Studio. Enjoy!

I’m also grappling with the fact that this comic is now out of my hands. I don’t have the time to make it the most perfect thing I’d like it to be. I’ll admit it’s a little intimidating being included in a book with other artists who have such detailed, beautiful work. Don’t get me wrong, I love my style, and I can appreciate my own limitations in terms of skill and time.

I just hope that Heave and Thaw finds its audience! I hope you love my characters. Okay moment of honesty and sharing my feelings OVER. Resuming being confident NOW. There's too much else going on to be looking backwards, we're always improving. That's the horror and beauty of comics.

You can read the first eight pages of Heave and Thaw for free on my site or as a PDF on itch.io!

Classics Volume 3 Riso Print

Fresh off the Outlet presses! My contribution for Nova and Mali’s Classics But Gay Volume 3. I did a queer impressionist risograph based on Still Life with Asphodels by Henri Matisse (1907). If you didn’t get a copy during the pre-order, you may be in luck yet. Keep your eyes peeled for later this year.

Mail Club & 18+ for June 2023

For July (and June), I’m testing out my riso prints as postcards. They get companion stickers that fit their whole ~vibe. Join the mail club and get these sweet treats! All mail club treats are printed locally in Portland, OR.

And some Char and Emery for the NSFW tiers 🔥 (Full image available for Pin Up, Love Letter, and Lucky tiers.)

I’ll be sending out June and July prints/stickers this week. Did you know it takes me a full day to package Patreon envelopes? That’s why I only send them out every other month (that and the price of stamps has risen like coocoo bananas).

What else did I do this month, hmm…

I updated my portfolio’s links page! I’m still working on it, but I’m gathering friends and other people whose work I like in lieu of social media algorithms. Instead, I give you my recs! I really feel for everyone who is trying to figure out the best way forward in the weird digital landscape of billionaire CEOs and AI and blockchain and crypto and whatever. I really appreciate you (yes you!) being subscribed to my newsletter, which I kind of am treating like a blog? Did you know you can subscribe RSS style?

I’m now taking two classes at the gym, a barbell lifting class (hooray!) and a cardio class (AUOUUUGHHH <- sounds of anguish). I’ve been helping out friends with cat sitting, dog sitting, going to the mechanic, getting groceries… Plus just hanging out and getting drinks and bingsu sometimes! It’s been a busy but nice month.

Oh, and I reposted the Autostraddle she/sir comic on my Tumblr and Instagram. That one really knocks peoples socks off when it makes the rounds. Good luck on your gender journeys! Go read this month’s comic here.

Here’s some sweet treats for you to check out:

Fawnduu has published Big Cats, her lesbian cowboy graphic novel! You gotta pre-order this.
The Evolution of Trust, a fun interactive game and learning experience about being so niceys to each other. I saw this a while ago, and it just came across my path again recently.
Wanna be an HTML webcomic cool guy? Check this out: Rarebit, a free opensource webcomic HTML/Javascript template. I need to check this out and do it so I can become a cool guy haha.
Butch4Butch photography, published by Office Magazine in 2019.
Hey wait a minute, this email links to a post on a blog.
Did you know that book sales only start going to the author after enough books have been sold to equate to their advance? Here’s a calculator to figure out how many books you’ll need to sell before you get any royalties (hint, a lot)
July’s hike is TBD! But I did spend some time in Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest for a wedding. I’ve never been to Utah before. It has no right being so goddamn beautiful.
Don’t forget my new shop :) It’s very beautiful and I don’t have any tabling events this summer, so please enjoy.

Cheers!

Ren

PS: If you want more content that isn’t in this newsletter, I recommend joining my Patreon for some exclusive work every month like comics, sketchbook pages, spicy drawings, and some mail rewards!