Weekend Warmup: Old friends, new pen

Heading into inks for Secret Project now. Six pages and one third to go.

On a completely unrelated note, here are Anaé and Sasha, subjected to the whims of my newly replaced brush pen. (HUZZAH.)

PS - psst - want to get a personalized postcard from my next trip to Paris, or even a commission? Check this out!

Paris Fundraiser II: Le Retour!

It's postcard time again! As mentioned here, I am returning to Paris next weekend, this time with Sarah Ehrenholz, to present our comic-and-music collaboration, Noémie hin und zurück/aller-retour. Once again, I am offering you a way to get a piece of the action!

The postcards this time around are extra special, as we just got a ton of them printed with the Noémie logo on the back and a blank side for people to draw their own postcard. Needless to say, if you buy one of these postcards, the drawing will be by ME! (Sarah will also say hello on the back!)

Oh iPhone, my iPhone...

Postcards are 3€, payable via PayPal donation (button on the right), and will be mailed to you from Paris. If you want one but really hate PayPal, e-mail me at clairykin at gmail and we can work something out.

I am also offering three A5, black-and-white commissions, 10€ each + 1,45€ shipping. Also payable via donation on the sidebar (letting me know what you want me to draw - there can be maximum of two characters and a simple background.)

Also, I am bringing my minis to sell at the Franco-German Village Place de la République on July 6. Stocks of Cardialement Vol 1 are currently low, so if you want a piece of that, now may be a good time to grab a copy.

Offer on postcards and commissions expires Thursday, July 4 at 11:30PM!

Introducing ... The Noémie Project

Guys! I know this is not a comic, but as a total departure from my usual going-back-to-France rythm, I am going to Paris again two weeks from now (July 4-8), and I want to tell you why!

Pour mes chers lecteurs francophones, les infos sont par ici ;)

See that girl? That's Noémie. What is Noémie? Who is Noémie? Noémie is the result of that endeavour I had back in October to work on a comics-and-music project with a German musician. She is also, along with Master of Survival, the project that is taking up most of my free comics-making time since January. Let me tell you more about the project that now has her name on it.

I first had the idea for a project involving music and comics in October of last year, after discussing with my friend and former boss what I envisioned doing after my stint at the Info-Café was over. Since 2013 is the Year of the 50th Elysée Treaty Anniversary - which is a huge deal to anyone in the Franco-German world - it was put forth that I should apply for a grant with a project of mine that would contribute to the festivities.

Following that conversation - and as I was on a very tight deadline for that particular grant - I hit up the pool, as I usually do and did some exercising, brain-on-autopilot thinking about what would make a compelling project, but also something that would interest me as an artist, and would involve collaborating with a German creator, preferably outside of my discipline.

It sort of hit me around lap 20 that what had always interested and stimulated me in my writing was music, and that what would be really interesting both for me and for others would be to see what it was like if I actually sat down and let an original story of mine interact on a concrete basis with another musician's songwriting. (I play music myself but don't write it). I ran the idea by my boss, who thought it was excellent, and so I put out a call on my blog, Twitter, Facebook groups and through my church for a young German musician who'd be interested in the project - urgently, since the deadline for the original grant was October 31.

Within a weekend I had found five people, whom I then had one week to meet, mostly after work hours, explaining the details and making assessments of who would be a good fit. Everyone had something to bring to the table. It finally came to the Friday afternoon, hours before my deadline for making a decision so I could go to Brandenburg for the weekend and think about other things, and at 3PM in Friedrichshain I met Sarah Ehrenholz, who had just recorded an album with her brand-new band LYND.

This is Sarah.

My first impression of Sarah was that she was carrying her guitar and was wearing a black hat - it was already cold - or rather, that was my second impression, as moments prior I'd been attempting to get an idea of her stuff via her album on Bandcamp. Sarah's attention had been brought to my project by a mutual acquaintance from my church, who had sent her my ad. As we sat down to crêpes and talked, it transpired that we were at very similar places in our creative endeavours; her folksy, slightly melancholy style of music  alsohappened to be very close to what I imagined the soundtrack to the comic should be like.

On top of this, Sarah had just been in the US for over five years and could hold her own on the topic of identity and culture shock, which was also important for the project. After this conversation, it was quickly apparent to me that I didn't really need to look any further for a good match, and so we became... Claire and Sarah. (If my name was Tegan we would be Tegan and Sarah, but it isn't, so we're not.)

We found out early December that our project wouldn't be funded by the initial grant. Since then, and after some thought, we have decided to go ahead with the project, at least at first on our own time. Currently we are at the beginning stages, but already have a blog up and running, and we want to use it to track our progress. To that extent I have some bad news: as this is a Franco-German project, it is already in two languages, and I will not translate it into English. I already do that with Master of Survival and it is a huge amount of work. I do, however, encourage you to keep tabs on it if you are into makings-of, because there will be some of that as the comic and music progress. Also, you can teach yourself some French and German! As well you should!

Facebook event

Sarah and I were graciously offered the opportunity to bring Noémie to the festivities hosted by the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ/DFJW), which is celebrating its 50th July 6 on the Place de la République with concerts and a Franco-German village.  It is our plan to use the time to involve passersby in what we're doing and most notably to help us write the story, as there are a few factors we've decided to outsource. But we are also planning to have at least one original song to debut while we're there (we're currently writing some songs - and I am writing LYRICS again!! Hallelujah).

On that topic, I would like to announce that I am selling postcards again! All expenses for our trip are paid for by the FGYO, so this is just in the interest of you, dear readers, getting a piece of the action. Details for the purchasing of postcards will be posted soon (but you heard it here first).

With that, let me say that I am very excited about the fact that I am working on this project with Sarah, and I am very curious as to where it will go.

ANNOUNCING: Minicomics for everyone!

Guys, it's my pleasure to announce that all of my minicomics are currently available to order online at Bigcartel!

Never you mind those weird colors from my iPhone 3GS, these be crispy black and white!

See these beauties? They can all be yours for a mere 3€ each, plus shipping. Each copy is signed, sealed and delivered to you by the Deutsche Post. Grab'em while they're hot! Or don't grab them actually, as that would injure your hands.

N.B. The Master of Survival mini is bilingual: flip it over and it is also in French! The Cardialement minis are both in English (mostly), except for a few French and German strips which are subtitled.

If you are more favorably inclined to digital objects, each minicomic is also available as a pay-what-you-want PDF on Gumroad (suggested donation is 3€ for a mini):

• Cardialement Vol. 1
• Cardialement Vol. 2
• Master of Survival #1 (currently only available in English)

As always, if you want to contribute to my endeavours as a cartoonist, but don't actually want anything, please feel free to Flattr this blog or make a donation using the button in the sidebar. I'm on a tight budget these days (also I need a bike) and any help is welcome.

If you DO want something that is not a minicomic - such as a customized drawing - you can also either e-mail me at clairykin at gmail or make a PayPal donation specifying what you'd like in the note to the seller.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Weekend Warmup: Companions' Tiff

Elementary fanart! I started watching the show this week and have not been disappointed, so of course I drew my new favorite pairing as a warmup today. I'm especially pleased with the way Joan draws out the humanity in Holmes' character, which is not an easy thing to do. I won't compare it to Sherlock, since the two shows are really not part of the same universe at all. I highly encourage giving it a try if you haven't already.

I'm still working on the secret project I have mentioned before. Once it is finished, I will be getting back to work on updating Master of Survival, I promise. In the meantime, I am going to put up an additional comic I have also been working on and which I also think will be of interest. Sorry I've been inconsistent these past few weeks, and that Master of Survival has been on a longer hiatus than expected!

Wednesday Workpost: Staffellauf!

In order to raise funds for social projects, my church participated in last week's Berliner Wasserbetriebe relay race in Tiergarten. I was asked to draw a few cartoons to use in the thank-you cards sent to donors. Even though it poured rain the day of the race, it was a success and much money was raised. Hooray!

One of the supported projects is a new church project in Friedrichshain (accordingly called Projekt:Kirche).

[ Arcade Fire - Ready To Start ]

Announcing the "Clairikine Hits Paris" Digital Download!

Hot on the heels of debuting Cardialement Vol. 2 and Master of Survival #1* last Friday comes the Digital Download of Clairikine Hits Paris, my first fundraiser travel comic!

This 17-page-long comic details my 5-day stay in Paris and Noyon, France last February. The France-Germany game   at the Stade de France gets its own 2-page recap, and elsewhere I tell of planes, métros, beers, politics, friends and (adoptive missionary-kid extended) family. The suggested donation is 3€, but if you want to pay more, you can! (If you want to pay less, you also can!) The link to the download is here.

As a side note, the notebook I drew this comic in was also sold as part of the fundraiser to help offset my traveling costs. I plan to do more such fundraisers in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled if you want a piece of it :D

Here is a picture of me seeing the comic on an iPad for the first time (courtesy of benefactor and iPad owner Alex Koppel):

Woohoo woohoo woohoo ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh

* P.S. I am currently working on making the Cardialement and Master of Survival minicomics available to order online very soon. Stay tuned!

Comics Market Action! [UPDATE]

(En français ci-dessous)

Hey dudes! I am thrilled to announce that as part of the OFAJ' 50-year-anniversary, I am gonna be tabling at the Info-Café Berlin-Paris' Franco-German Party flea market this Friday starting at 4PM.

For Berlin readers (and other readers!) who have wanted to buy real, solid, hard-copy comics from me, I will be debuting the BRAND SPANKING NEW LONG-AWAITED SECOND AND FINAL VOLUME OF Cardialement*, as well as THE FIRST PRINTED VOLUME OF Master of Survival**! Cardialement Vol. 1 is still in stock as well and will be present. I am also offering a limited amount of commissions (Barney Stinson fans, this is your chance).

Also present from 4 to 5 PM will be the witty and talented Sarah Ehrenholz, who, I am extremely pleased to announce - for those of you who recall the Franco-German music-and-comics project I mentioned last fall - is officially my partner in multimedial crime! She will have CDs of her sweet folksy music and we will be very happy to talk about our project, entitled "Noémie hin und zurück / Noémie aller-retour", for which we are currently setting the narrative and musical foundations. Hooray! (More info on Noémie will come soon.)

In addition to the actual flea market, there will be live music,  circus and theater performances as well as crêpes, good food and a Biergarten! It is all followed by a massive party at 8PM with Mr. Bondy, La Marche, Rolando Random & The Young Soul Rebels and Son Kapital, followed by DJ Trim. It's basically a huge Franco-German festival of awesomeness, and Franco-German stuff rocks. So make sure you grab a crêpe and a Pilsner and come say bonjour!


En français

Hé les gens! J'ai le grand plaisir de vous annoncer que dans le cadre des 50 ans de l'OFAJ, je tiendrai un stand sur le marché au puces du Bal Pop' franco-allemand de l'Info-Café Berlin-Paris ce vendredi à partir de 16h..

Pour mes lecteurs berlinois (et venus d'ailleurs!) désireux d'acheter des copies dures, vraies et véritables de mes BD, j'ai l'encore plus grand plaisir d'annoncer que je vendrai des exemplaires FLAMBANTS NEUFS ET MEGA ATTENDUS du SECOND ET DERNIER VOLUME DE Cardialement*, ainsi que LE PREMIER VOLUME IMPRIME DE Master of Survival**! Cardialement Vol. 1 est toujours en stock également, et je ferai aussi des dessins sur commande pendant le marché (fans de Barney Stinson, viendez!)

Egalement présente de 16h à 17h sera l'intelligente et talentueuse Sarah Ehrenholz, avec laquelle j'ai le très grand plaisir de collaborer sur un projet franco-allemand musique-et-BD depuis le début de l'année! Le projet s'appelle "Noémie aller-retour / Noémie hin und zurück" et nous en posons actuellement les bases scénaristiques et musicales. Nous nous ferions un plaisir d'en discuter au stand! Sarah vendra aussi sa délicieuse musique folksy. Youpi!! (Plus d'infos sur Noémie viendront prochainement.)

En même temps que le marché, il y aura de la musique live, du cirque et du théâtre ainsi que des crêpes, de la bonne bouffe et un Biergarten! SUITE A QUOI il y aura une méga-teuf à 20h avec Mr. Bondy, La Marche, Rolando Random & The Young Soul Rebels et Son Kapital, suivis par un set de DJ Trim. En gros c'est un énorme festival franco-allemand de ouf, et le franco-allemand c'est super bien. Donc n'oubliez ni votre crêpe, ni votre Pilsner, ni de passer dire Hallo!


* In English/en anglais.
** In English and in French/en anglais et en français.

[ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away (live) ]

Hashtag white college graduate multitalented trilingual Berlin-dwelling EU citizen cartoonist problems.

(On a related note, I am totally for hire!)

[ Placebo - Passive Aggressive ]

Weekend Warmup: Dr. Torres

Two drawing habits I can highly recommend: doing warm-up drawings before you do anything else, and drawing while watching Grey's Anatomy (or some other form of televised entertainment that you find both engaging and of high quality). It follows, therefore, that I drew this sketch of Callie "BAMF" Torres today.

[ The Music - Into The Night ]