Katie Bair's Art Emporium and Petting Zoo

Petting Zoo News - Archives

Torpedo Away! Updated: November 18th, 2002 Well, I got all my pages in to the publisher on time, so it looks like my first issue of NHS will be in the stores as scheduled. There was a bit of hecticness associated with this month, as I'm back to being broke again and don't expect to get paid for at least 40 days. (Yes, it's that client again.) So even though I knew I needed plenty of time to work on the comic, I also needed to find some short-term work to keep from starving. In a completely unprovoked response to this, I heard from every return client I have in the span of 2 days. (Even the ones I did work for over 2 years ago!) It's always feast or famine around here, either I have plenty of free time and no work, or no time and more work than you can shake a stick at. It's just weird, I don't bother trying to understand it anymore.	New title, new logo.
I'm not a masochist, really! After a month long break, I'm back in the "Make Katie into a Pincushion" program. This time they're testing chinese hamster hormones on me. (Or maybe it's just sugar water? That's the fun!) I personally haven't noticed any side effects... except for this weird inclination to stuff almonds in my cheeks. Aside from that, other sources of personal torture included my visit to the old Ninja High School community at Yahoo. I wanted to see how people felt about the change-over from the previous artist, and instead found myself drawn into discussions about why I suck, why the new book will suck, why AP sucks, and why Ben Dunn sucks but how much it wouldn't suck if he came back. Of course, I have to keep a friendly "customer service" tone on the board, but at times I really wanted to just say "You sound like a girl who can't stop talking about her ex-boyfriend. He's not coming back. Get on with your life." But alas, I only dispense that wisdom if I feel it will make a dent. Comic and Convention News We finally have a name for the new anthology from Antarctic Press. It will be called "Shojo!" and should be in the stores by April. It's a little early to reserve a copy, but hey, at least I can stop calling it, "The new anthology from AP that doesn't have a name yet."
The most recent convention I attended was AnimeUSA 2002, and it was a lot of fun. It was a smaller con, and a pleasant change from the hectic chaos of Otakon. Lindsey and I only cosplayed on Saturday, and Jodon and Ed were very helpful with all of the "non-artist" duties. (AKA: Coffee Boy, Pack Mule, Chauffeur, etc.) I had so many commissions to do that weekend, that I didn't leave the table almost the entire time, but that's ok, because I got to talk to lots of people and see a bunch of great costumes and art. ^_^ I won a prize at the Karaoke contest on Friday night, and even pep-talked Jodon in to getting on stage too. (Lindsey said her throat hurt, so I gave her a break.) The next convention I'll be attending is Katsucon in Virginia, so if you're in the area, stop on by!	Jodon "rocking out" to Tenchi Muyo.
Commissions and Fanart!

Since everyone was requesting colored commissions at Anime USA, Lindsey and I have decided to go halfsies on a set of Copic markers. We had been borrowing a friend's $300 set that weekend, and that was the first time I had worked with them extensively. They're actually pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it, and since I obviously can't bring my computer and scanner to the convention, they're a good way to provide colored sketches that are more vibrant than using colored pencil. Also, a couple of the people I did pieces for came back a little while later with fanart for me. (Which I thought was really sweet. ^_^) So I'll soon be adding a fanart section to the site to display these nuggets of joy.
Cosplay and Wigs I've got two new costumes in the works for Katsucon 2003, Kiana from Oasis Destiny, and Bunnee (A RAcaseal) from Phantasy Star Online. The most difficult one is Bunnee, my android ranger character, (pictured to the right) but I'm up for the challenge! I'm also revising Shiva to include a bodysuit, so keep an eye out for some more crazy costumes from Petting Zoo Cosplay! Also, I've had quite a few people send in rather interesting requests for wig designs this month. A couple of which I've never seen done before. I can't wait until I can post the pictures of the finished wigs, they're going to be awesome. -_^
Website Changes After receiving a dozen or so emails with the same questions in them, I think I'm going to upgrade from a guestbook to a message board. That way, if someone posts a question, more than one person can see the answer. It will most likely be through EZboard, and will probably have popups for a little while, but that's something I will fix as soon as I'm "not broke". Have a happy Turkey Day! -Katie

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