Bird Ninja February Newsletter

 February 2024

Holy heck has it been cold this month! We are in the middle of a -40 cold snap and it doesn't look like it is letting up soon. If you plan on going to Alaska Comic Con, be sure to bundle up and plug in your cars. It is cold enough to where I had to bring a few chickens inside!

Shop Update

With comic con close I have ordered a bunch of prints and stickers. Some are new, and some are old designs that I touched up. Here are a few sneak peeks of what I'll have! I will have everything up in my shop on February 1 at 9am, so if you can't make Comic con then at least you can still get some things. I just have to make listings and take photos... gosh that is the worst part of being an artist. We got a bunch of new pokemon stickers, 5x7 prints of both new and old designs, an owl sticker pack, and some new Destiny raid bosses!

What I am working on

Art has been a little sporadic recently. My Grandmother passed away a few months ago and I buried myself in art. It helped, but now I think I burnt myself out because I haven't really been doing much. Plus the cold weather doesn't help, I just want to sleep all day. I have done a few landscape paintings and I plan to make those into big prints that can serve as backdrop paintings. I have also been going to life drawing and drawing the human figure every week. It's my go-to for when I'm not being super creative and it helps me get better at drawing people. I am finally back to drawing art cards after a 2 year break. I helped lead an art workshop about Artist Trading Cards and I'm having so much fun creating them again. I think the work I did for Upper Deck really turned me off to doing art cards, they ended up rejecting over 50 cards and I didn't get paid for any of my work. Unfortunately that is normal for them, and I don't plan on doing anything for them in the future! Lastly, I am still plugging away at my fantasy bird guide. I won't have anything together for AKCC, but I will have it done shortly after.

The evil plans

• It turns out that I am going to Gary Con! I will have stuff available there at my friend's booth, the Forge of Ice booth. If you are in the area be sure to come and say hi! So yea, because that is happening I have a bunch of ideas on things I want to do. 
• As you know I have drawn a lot of bird characters that are dressed up and could totally fit in dnd. So what if I give them a backstory so that they can be inserted into campaigns as NPCs? There are definitely not enough bird characters in dnd so I think this will be a fun idea. 
• Next is a backdrop book. I like to paint miniatures and I think my paintings would be great backgrounds for when I go to take pictures of them. I want to make a collection of backdrops that can be printed out, but I think I could adapt them into phone and pc wallpapers too.
• I have thought more on the art book I want to make and I think it's going to be a 10 year retrospective of how my art has grown. It's going to have my favorite pieces, but it is going to be PACKED with all of the messy, goodness from my sketchbooks. I'm excited to share more about this soon. 
• Another book that I plan to do this summer. I want to do a watercolor journal that highlights all of the tourist spots along the parks highway!  It'll be like a travel guide, but all watercolor and hand drawn... and its an excuse to go on a few road trips this summer.
• Keep doing the usual: Landscapes, birds, the occasional fan art, pretty much anything that I feel like drawing.
• I think that's enough on the ideas. As all artists know; so many ideas, not enough time. Also, I have started playing BG3...

Support me by grabbing art from my shop!

Upcoming Events

Alaska Comic Con: February 3rd and 4th
Carlson Center 2010 2nd Ave, Fairbanks, AK
Get tickets here

Gary Con: March 21st - 24th
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa 7036 Grand Geneva Way, Lake Geneva, WI 53147
More Info here

Arctic Comic Con: April 27th and 28th
Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center 600 W 7th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501
Get tickets here

Events that I plan on doing but not confirmed yet

Gaming Community Expo: August 16th and 17th
Rosen Shingle Creek 9939 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819
More info here

Design Alaska Wild Arts Walk

The Raven Show

Handmade Holiday Market

UAF Pop Con

[insert a few holiday bazaars here]

Find my art in these stores

Goldstream General Store
2591 Goldstream Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99709

Friends of Creamer’s Field
1300 College Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99701

The Comic Shop Fairbanks
418 3rd St #5b, Fairbanks, AK 99701

Alaska Bowl Company 

4630 Old Airport Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99709

Ursa Major Distilling
2922 Parks Hwy, Fairbanks, AK 99709

Wild Starr Creations 

616 E St, Anchorage, AK 99501

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Monthly Chicken Photo: Oreo

Oreo just laid her first egg! She is a full chicken now.

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