Patron Support Thread! (Patreon)
Content
Presented in no particular order...
Der-Shing Helmer is a full-time independent artist and is currently working on two incredibly vivid pieces. One is a science fiction work called "Mare Internum" which is about two astronauts trapped in an underground ocean on Mars. The other is a fantasy called "The Meek" which is about a boiling international conflict and massive fantastic monsters who want to influence its course. I think these comics are really unique, but I primarily support their Patreon because of the awesome and detailed tutorials they post.
I support Evan Dahm's work because I believe he's making some of the most unique and interesting comics of our time. He's working on a book for Top Shelf right now ("Island Book"), but he is also continuing work on his long-term project - Vattu. Vattu is an exploration of colonialism through a non-human lens. (We discussed this work in depth on the Tradewaiters). His Patreon includes tons of interesting previews and development work, lots of work-in-progress photos of his illustrations as well.
Sfé R. Monster is another artist I support simply because their voice is so unique and interesting. They've been working on Beyond Anthology 2 and a number of short stories for anthologies. Their webcomic Eth's Skin is a PNW-style fantasy about a fisherperson who steals a selkie's skin. They show tons of previews and development work on their Patreon, but my favourite thing is probably the sketchbooks they put together. Because they're my friend (full disclosure) I also get to see all the cool stuff they make for Patreon-in-the-mail and it's always *awesome*.
If you love autobio, Samantha Boum has been publishing Boumeries: a daily comic about her life as a mom of two young kids for many years. I can't think of another cartoonist writing currently about being a mom, and the fact that she can do this daily with two young ones kind of blows my mind??? Her style is really unique and I love her work!!
Another autobio I support! Julia Kaye has been writing about her experiences transitioning gender in her comic Up and Out. It's been really interesting so far, and I think the moments she chooses to depict are really sweet. It's a charming comic, if you haven't found it yet I really recommend it :)
(s/o to two Patreons that have been on hiatus but still have my support: Tally Nourigat -- check out her autobio about getting into animation here -- and Amanda Lafrenais -- check out her webcomic Love Me Nice)
I've become really interested in "Glitch Aesthetic" and DataErase is a really interesting artist working in that space. Also a huuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of their apparel.
What The F*** Just Happened Today
A bit of a different tack... but it's interesting the type of work you can support on Patreon! Since the 2016 US election I've found it difficult to keep up with the news. Matt Kiser has been maintaining a blog called "wtf just happened today" where he aggregates the major news headlines related to US politics. I find it really valuable for when I'm at work with my head down, and then I need to quickly figure out what everyone is talking about on my feeds. It helps me feel like I haven't "missed" anything. (If this interests you I also recommend the work of Emily Gorcenski, Sarah Kendizor and Amy Siskind )
... and another shift, Gargron is the creator of Mastodon, a decentralized social networking platform. Twitter is a platform that has made some interesting............ choices........... for their service in recent years. I've been on the hunt for alternatives for awhile, and Mastodon is one of the more interesting ones out there!
New!
(These are people I've been following for awhile but decided to add to my Patronage roster today):
Blue Delliquanti is another artist making really interesting work. Her primary work, O Human Star, explores the implications of future AI. She's also working on a piece for Iron Circus about cricket protein (another topic I'm interested in!) called Meal.
Ngozi is the artist behind "Check, Please!" a comic about university hockey players. Just finished the book 1 and 2 trades that I picked up off of their Kickstarter... really good stuff!! They've been making a splash in the comics scene lately and I want to support their continuing success :)
Naomi Wu ("SexyCyborg") is an outspoken maker in Shenzen. There aren't a ton of makers on Patreon, but I want to support Naomi especially because she is so unique in her goals as a maker, and such an outspoken critic against bias in the makersphere. She's best known for her 3D printed garments and drone reviews.
... And that's it! Whew!!! I hope you found one or two interesting new people to follow and learn about, and I'd love to learn more about the people who are brightening your days :) Have a great weekend!