The Adventure Book of Strong Women

I am pleased to share with you my latest Kickstarter project, The Adventure Book of Strong Women! This new book is an art and coloring book with bonus comic to celebrate women doing adventurous things for themselves!

I've been working on the concept and illustrations for this book for over a year. I play a lot of board games, RPG's like Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons, watch adventure and sci-fi movies and have always been pretty disappointed in the way women have been depicted. Skinny, cute side-kick with nothing to do? Check. Sexy warrior in barely-there clothing? Check. Sexy nerd that is only a nerd because she is wearing glasses? Check.

I figured the only way I was going to see the type of women I wanted to see: strong, smart, a variety of sizes and sexual orientations, motivation without the male-gaze---well, I was going to have to make it myself.

The book will be softcover, 10" x 10", approx 95 pages with 40 full page images accompanied by character blurbs. Also included is a bonus 8 page comic featuring my newest characters trying to rescue a princess from a dragon, but there's a twist of course. The comic will grow in scope depending on stretch goals within the Kickstarter Project. Also, backers will have the opportunity to vote on additional kick-ass lady content.

Copies of the book will start at $22 with digital content available for $12 plus opportunities for buying original artwork from the book, a commissioned drawing and even a chance to help design your own character in the book!

So check out The Adventure Book of Strong Women on Kickstarter. I'll be sharing more and more images as the deadline for funding draws near. Look forward to seeing you on the other side!

New Wonder Woman Mash Up Coloring Page

Have you seen Wonder Woman yet? I saw it opening night and loved it. Strong woman, check. Humor, check. Saving the world, check. No spoilers but the "No Man's Land" scene was the best. Fun fun fun and I made a new coloring sheet to celebrate! So head over to my Fantasy and RPG Coloring Page and print out your own strong Wonder Woman mermaid to color yourself!

Go/No-Go

I've been working hard on my latest illustration that I'm producing as a limited edition 11" x 17" print that be available for purchase at the Olympia Comics Festival! 

The idea came after I watched the movie Hidden Figures. They kept talking about the "go/no-go" point of getting a ship out of orbit so it could land on Earth. I like to listen to guided meditations and one of my favorite ones talks about the "go/no-go" point in your gut when you know exactly how you feel about a choice or a situation. The way forward on this illustration came together pretty quickly!

Introducing: The Adventure Book of Strong Women

I am pleased to share with you a few images from my upcoming book, The Adventure Book of Strong Women! I've been working on this project a little over a year, picking it up, setting it aside, tossing ideas aside, creating new ones: basically letting it percolate--as it is good to do with all projects. It's part coloring book with a mini comic inside and a loose story floating along the whole thing. It's going to be full of adventure (obviously) with a little humor and a lot of strong women!

I play a lot of RPG games like Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons along with enjoying video games like Skyrim and of course all manner of scifi and fantasy novels and, frequently, I am more than a little disappointed in how women are depicted. Usually for the male gaze and not for female consumption. I figured it was high time for me to contribute to a rising tide of artwork celebrating strong women. I hope you will like it as much as I do!

It's a bit more ambitious than my last two books and I've done a lot of work to find a publisher than can print on quality paper in an odd size (10" x 10"). But I know the results are going to be worth it!

I've got all of my finished concept drawings finished and now I am working on the finals. I plan on launching a Kickstarter to finance this project by the end of May. Check back here or on my Facebook page for more updates!