Hello/Goodbye January

 Being the last week of January, I think it is safe to say we have all finally shed the post-holiday foodcoma/haze and are ready to really approach the new year. For most of this month I have been giving Awkward Affections some fresh paint. You may have noticed some banner changes and new website additions, but there is still about a yard left on my to-do list. However, me+CSS= a whole mess of Greek tragedy style agony, so it'll be slow going after this. (And friends, don't judge the state of my website. I know, ok? It may be the kid at the science fair that you're embarrassed to be standing next to, but we tried. So stop being such a judge-muffin and look at all this art stuff instead!)

That's right! It's all sorts of wedding production up in here. I have been having fun creating this new set, as well as some extras for the older invitations. There will be more to come in various installments.

For those of you still reading, here is a reward for your pain (and loyalty, of course): Download your very own, free Awkward Affections 2014 printable calendar! Personal use only, please :)

Finishing

It began at the end of summer: I was away (you might recall) fiercely regressing and spending way too many sunny days reading comics. It began while looking at a map similar to this, I said to my brother, "The only thing I know about Hell's Kitchen involves Daredevil," to which he replied, "That's all there is to know about Hell's Kitchen." And then pointing somewhere Midtown he said, "Baxter building is here," or maybe it was "Daily Bugle," but the point is, by the end of the conversation I was looking rather like this:

go on....

It was going to be an epic collection filled with super-headquarters, living quarters and maybe even, uh, battle quarters around New York City! And then I put the idea on the shelf for 4 months. I mean, it was daunting collecting information about multiple universes, with multiple timelines and histories to figure out. I was asking for a massive nerd war over canon vs retcon. Plus the map in my head/heart had no stylistic relation to the vintage themes I had already. But I just couldn't help it -- with my penchant for imperfection and extensive internetting, this map was surely inevitable.

A little disclaimer: I only used locations I could get an address or at least a Neighborhood to pinpoint. There are many cases where a hero will just be "in Manhattan," and I did not want to simply place a dot anywhere. While most locations are fairly accurate (from at least one story line), I did have to guess a few times (namely Yorick and Stark Westchester). And one day, someone with a geekier heart than I will confront me at a show with startling news of a highly important and obvious figure I neglected to add to the map*, to which I will smile, acknowledge defeat, and inwardly thank Photoshop for making the world fabulous. But until then, you will have to deal with what I have.

So this is my last piece for 2013. Hopefully over the holidays I will work on something to dazzle you all, but most likely that will not happen until the scary unknown of 2014 (if ever). I hope you all enjoy a lovely and graceful finish to this year!

Kaz/Awk out



*Give me a direct and important home base for Spawn and I will put it on the damn map. But until then, Manhattan is just too general.

'Tis (kind of) the Season

A Holiday post right after the Halloween one? That is simply revolting consumer madness, right? Unfortunately, friends, this is just what I have been working on. The business boot-camp e-mails I receive (from too many places) are laying on the Christmas pressure, and now we have fallen into the capitalism wasteland here at Awkward Affections. Yes, I still cringe when I see Christmas decorations looming in the opposite aisle from the Halloween costumes, but now, I do so with shame.

Perhaps you will forgive me when you realize most of these cards are more winter oriented than holiday. This could be due to the fact that it was October when I was making them (and I wasn't yet in the jolly spirit) or it could be because I prefer using blue.

Blue adorable/odd characters on their awkward holiday excursions, and blue strange/enthusiastic snowflakes that say it like it is. We have the blue Snow Queen of course (you might remember from last post), and blue Snowman from the previous holiday season, but then we come to something that was truly inevitable and entirely obvious.

It had to be done

Santa on the iron throne might be taking a turn from my normal card style, but I think something unsettling needed to be thrown in with the exuberance of my latest manifestations. I blame the lingering effects of Halloween, but most likely, all the cheer was making me uncomfortable.

So there it is. An early peek at a the holiday madness that we are trying to put off for just another few weeks. Perhaps this will be the last themed post, perhaps the rest of the year will be entirely candy canes and dapper anthropomorphic reindeer. Only time (and my constantly erratic whims) will tell.

As this post sits awkwardly across the blog aisle from Halloween, just know, my dear friends, that I grumble with you.

Awkward's aPOPcathery

Halloween is next week (!) and though I might be a little behind on my own costume, I have been working hard revamping my booth setup for Awk's next show. Black Market SF has titled this event "Night of the Living," so that is clearly a sign to go weird and halloween-y (right?). Awkward Affections may be a little thematically disjointed (bright pop cynicism thrown in with old vintage styles and packaged in hot pink and gold). I have never been great about sticking with a branded theme (call it art kid defiance) but I am making this booth costume tie everything together. I am calling it "aPOPcathery," hoping to blend the vintage weirdness of a witchy/apothecary with (pop) bright colors and bubbly letters. Part of this process is making props that are odd but also fun: there will be hot pink pumpkins, cloche jars containing illustrated oddities and some vials filled with the anatomical remains from my studies (unicorn hairs, phoenix tears, etc).

Here is a quick peek at how I am turning my portfolio books into creepy old leather bound props! I enjoyed this process if you want to learn more.

I used cardboard and measured out the front, back and spine from the book I was covering. You might want to give yourself a extra little room to be sure. This is a ghetto bookbinding shortcut here.

use a strip of paper to bind the pieces together (allowing room for the book to close)

Then crumple brown paper to get a crinkled, leather look

Cover your cardboard entirely with glue and press the crinkled paper down. On the inside you can fold the corners like a present. 

Paint the paper with acrylics: I used purples, reds, burnt sienna and umber

Once the paint is dry, seal with Mod Podge (or another finish)

I added flaps on the inside to slip my Itoya portfolio in and not ruin the actual book

And voila! (ooo)

Factual Friday

Fact 1: 

This month shall be named Batober for my extensive (yet, unintentional) Batman themed birthday week.

1. In my house, "Bat-Napkin" must be sung in key of the Transformers theme 2. you can see Batphone in the reflection of Batring*

 Re-watching Batman the Animated Series, I realize:
i.   That. Show. Was. Heavy.
ii.   I can only watch it in the afternoon (like old times)
iii.   I am almost positive that half of my proclivity for psychoanalysis is because of Batman.

Fact 2:

I get a little disproportionately giddy about pens (writing pens. Drawing pens is a whole other bag of nonsense).

Fact 3:

I am not a writer. I say this because much of my job is responding to/constructing client e-mails (and, uh, blogging, though you wouldn't know it). The problem is, writing (and anything not art-related) requires switching from "Art Brain" to "Everything Else Brain," which is like taking a steam engine from cold to full power just to get to the next town over. Once the switch is made, I process what I want to say, write an introduction, then pace in frustration after every other word (plus, some internet stuff). Actually, if you write to me, expect my side of the process work like this:

This post was meant for Wednesday, but due to my writing affliction, we have it way past working hours on Friday. "Factual Friday" works much better as a title anyway (and lists are so much easier than that full sentence crap).



*saying it before Mikey

About Freaking Time

Needless to say, this map was inevitable and a long time coming. You might assume, sweet readers, that I only make maps because I want them. Well... then, you'd be right. I wanted to make a Middle Earth map for a long time, but the problem was, there were many "Lonely Mountains" and "Realm of Middle Earth" maps in  commercial circulation, and they are done quite wonderfully, in my perspective. So why reiterate something that ain't broke, right? Finally, it hit me at a Lord of the Rings party (whatever, what do your friends do?) you aren't having Mordor Morsels or Gondor Gimlets. No, you want to Shire it up, because that's where the Middle Earth party is at, folks! Staring at the looming, geometric border of Mordor all day could be a bummer, so why not balance that out with the Hobbits and discover just how many places are named after those crazy Tooks.

Fantastic Friday

This week was busy like Jawas after a Droid factory collapse. Yet, looking back on the new listings, I'm finding little to dazzle you with, fair readers. It is amazing how maintaining the business end of...business takes a whallop of time. So here is everything else I have been up to:

First, here is a belated (but necessary) THANK YOU to all of the fabulous people who came out to Urban Air Market this past Sunday. It is difficult to not spend all my money at these events, but fortunately I am stuck behind my booth most of the time.

Stand up straight and stop being so awkward with your hands!

Also, I am pleased to say Awkward Affections prints can now be found at Local Take in SF Castro! This may be a small hurdle (of many), but surreal and exciting nonetheless. 

In other news, the fabulous Sepia Puppy is having a Blogiversary giveaway! You can check out the cool prizes and maybe even score an Awk cuddlefish. Check it!: http://thesepiapuppy.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-first-blogiversary-giveaway.html