Xiao Mao's Things

leafscar: New adventures, new mission. I have co-founded and am...

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:38:39 +0800

New adventures, new mission.

I have co-founded and am working on a project in Ghana, West Africa to help protect homeless Kayayo girls. These are girls as young as 12 who migrate from their villages to the big cities in order to find work and often find themselves homeless and vulnerable.

My good friend Edward Oduro is the director of the project. We both see this situation as a problem in terms of women’s rights and health due to the girls vulnerability to sexual assault. We would like to create a space to provide protection and access to health care for them.

For more information visit www.PMFghana.org.

I met Bing last year through our respective webcomics, 14 Nights and her comic, Leafscar. It is so cool to see fellow cartoonists doing great things in the world and I plan to support her all the way!

berlinconfidential replied to your post: berlinconfidential replied to your photo: New page… I...

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:45:00 +0800

berlinconfidential replied to your post: berlinconfidential replied to your photo: New page…

I WANT TO BE CLEAR TO EVERYONE THAT THAT WAS NOT WHAT I MEANT

Ah, so. I guess it’s up to me to create horrible mpreg doujinshi of my characters and release them under a pseudonym.

berlinconfidential replied to your photo: New page arg so embarrassing. BABIES Sorry, no Mpreg in...

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:15:55 +0800

berlinconfidential replied to your photo: New page arg so embarrassing.

BABIES

Sorry, no Mpreg in this comic.

New page arg so embarrassing.

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:32:44 +0800

New page arg so embarrassing.

Do you ever start trying to draw something sexy and end up...

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:02:26 +0800

Do you ever start trying to draw something sexy and end up drawing something horrible instead?

fleebites: Which team are you on? Amazing Brave New World...

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:13:37 +0800

fleebites:

Which team are you on?

Amazing Brave New World fanart. Fleebites is such a great artist!

plasticorc: Panzer IV Ausf. H This is the first plastic model...

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:48:00 +0800

plasticorc:

Panzer IV Ausf. H

This is the first plastic model kit that Kristina assembled! She has way more patience for assembly than me. Naturally, she did a perfect job. The kit is by Italeri, and it is their fault that there is only one headlight. I can’t understand why they didn’t mold another one—it’s not like it would take up a lot of room on the sprue! I painted it, probably in less time than it took to build.

For my part, it’s my first painted tank, so we’re both pretty excited about it. I was pretty restrained with the weathering, but it still made it feel a bit more real.

Now, Kristina’s working on a Sherman by Dragon, a far more detailed model, although it is still 1/72 scale. It will probably be a while before that one shows up here. I just hope I can do justice to the model with my paint job.

I build model tanks.

marinaomi: Click through to see my photos from TCAF (Toronto...

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:02:20 +0800

marinaomi:

Click through to see my photos from TCAF (Toronto Comics and Art Festival) 2012

A photo of me and Mari from TCAF. We kept each other entertained.

Oh it’s this page.

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:36:13 +0800

Oh it’s this page.

Prints

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:18:22 +0800

I have some prints leftover from the cons. I’m thinking of selling them for $10 each. Would anyone be interested? Here’s what I got:

New Page! I totally forgot it was Friday until just now....

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:02:00 +0800

New Page! I totally forgot it was Friday until just now. It’s because you lose a day when you fly West for long enough. Tuesday didn’t exist for me, if that makes sense.

I'm actually a suddenly curious anon! For it occurs to me that you live in China, and you are Xiao Mao (meaning little cat!((i took mandarin last year)) ahh splendid). and I was wondering, perhaps because i don't know much about your background and life, how long have you lived in china, did you always know how to speak the dilect and such forth, and has living their influenced your artwork? I don't mean to pry, or get an autobigraphy out of you but i'm awfully curious! all the best <3

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:40:51 +0800

Don’t be silly, Anon, you’re not prying. My autobiography is really boring, but here it goes.

I’ve lived in China for a year and a half. I moved here because I wanted an adventure and because there were so few jobs in America. I stayed because it’s cheap to live and I can do art full time.

I studied a little bit of putonghua before moving and studied furiously when I first got here. Since I moved away from my friend and language partner, I haven’t been studying much at all anymore.

As for art, I don’t think China has influenced my art at all! Maybe that’s sad, I don’t know.

TCAF: The place to be

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:44:00 +0800

Like the first sunrise after a long Arctic winter, TCAF’s arrival filled me with hope. I’m not even sure where to start writing about it, but take note! This is the Plato’s Apple of conventions, the comic convention in its ideal form. Here are just some of the good things about it:

The Staff - The volunteers worked tirelessly to help everyone. They collected our trash, brought us water (even going so far as Starbucks since the fountain was broken!), recommended restaurants, helped small, lonely nobodies like me carry our boxes up flights of stairs. I tried to pay them back with discounts at my table, but honestly, there is no paying back. I wasn’t a VIP but they treated me (and all exhibitors) like one.

Smart business decisions -I know, I know, we’re all nerds and we’re all supposed to be glad to throw our money down the toilet that represents our fandom of choice, but you know, at MoCCA, I felt they played us for fools because of it. TCAF is free for customers, leaving them more money to spend on graphic novels. Book signings from the special guests were free. Table prices were low. I was even able to make back my hotel room, amazingly.

Beguiling Comics buys some of your unsold books - Huge props to owner/organizer Chris Butcher for supporting us comic artists. He bought 8 (8!!) of my 14 Nights books for his shop after the convention. So if you’re in Toronto and you want a copy and you don’t want to pay shipping, lucky you!

Currency exchange on site! How smart is that?

Special guests that even I got excited about- You’ve probably picked up on this by now, but I’m just about the least nerdy person in the whole comic-book world. My favorite authors have been dead for hundreds of years, I don’t watch TV, rarely watch movies, and am just an all-around curmudgeon. So imagine my surprise when I saw that Konami Konata, creator of Chi’s Sweet Home, was a special guest at TCAF! I actually got a book signed. Congratulations, TCAF, you win.

In general, trying to make a great experience for everyone, rather than be a bunch of snobs. There were lots of webcomic artists, lots of talented but unknown people, lots of support for new creators, support for different kinds of comics. I felt like a part of the show, rather than a sucker who threw away $400 to support someone else’s comics (looking at you, MoCCA).

Later I should make a post about the cool people I met at TCAF. For now, I hope this helps people who want to make good decisions about where to exhibit. I’ll definitely be back to TCAF, if not next year, than some day!

Painted this at Joanna’s house last week. She was the most...

Wed, 09 May 2012 08:26:41 +0800

Painted this at Joanna’s house last week. She was the most awesome host I could have ever hoped for, and hanging out with her and Colleen was one of the most amazing things I’ve done all year. Check out their comics and stuff: http://bombshellcatstudio.tumblr.com/

Page 206

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:44:24 +0800

Page 206:

Hey, it’s after midnight. That means it’s Monday! I’m in the Toronto airport right now, airport code YYZ. 15-year-old me would be nerding out. She was the biggest Rush fan. Oh god….memories.

New Page!

Sat, 05 May 2012 09:48:47 +0800

New Page!:

Guys I am so tired right now. I have to set up my TCAF booth in ten minutes. If you are somehow in Toronto and reading this, good Lord PLEASE come say hi to me at TCAF I have never been so lonely in my life.

MoCCA Fest: I don't recommend it.

Fri, 04 May 2012 01:45:38 +0800

Guys, this post is going to be negative and I’m really sorry about this, but I have to get the word out.

I went to MoCCA Festival last weekend, which is a comic convention focusing on small-press comics in Manhattan. Since many of you reading this blog are comic creators who exhibit at conventions or will exhibit in the future, I write this report to address the issues I had with MoCCA so that you will have an informed opinion if you are thinking of attending.

Cost of the table very high. It was over $400 for a full-sized table. To compare, S.P.A.C.E. was only $55 and TCAF is (I believe) $150. Toronto is also quite a large city, so I wonder why MoCCA charges over twice what TCAF does? None of the people I talked to made back the cost of their table.
Cost of attendance very high. Customers must first pay $15 for one day or $24 for the weekend to even enter the festival. Customers repeatedly told me they were short of money and they rarely had books in their hands. Other exhibitors said they also weren’t selling much. Compare to TCAF, which is free for customers to enter.
Not enough advertising for the event. The whole weekend, I only saw two people with press badges. These kinds of events are critical for small press creators like myself to advertise our new books and for comic journalists to find out about them. I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and how hard MoCCA tries to advertise for their event, I can only look at the result, and the result was not good. In contrast, I was interviewed about my work at S.P.A.C.E., and so was the woman sitting next to me. And TCAF has sent out multiple press releases tailored to different media (I was included in the LGBT-focused press release) to support their exhibitors.
No space for us to put free postcards or business cards. At all other conventions I’ve been to, the front of the dealer room has at least one table where creators can put free things. It’s great advertising because comic fans can look through all the art all at once and take your business card or postcard and look you up online later. At MoCCA, there was a small table, about three square feet, in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. With over 200 creators present, most of the free postcards were falling off the table. It was a wreck. More insulting yet was the fact that the first quarter of the dealer’s room, about 10 tables, was taken up by a display advertising…MoCCA! Though these 10 tables were mostly empty, we weren’t allowed to put postcards on them.
Publishers placed at the front of the room. This is more of a minor criticism, but well-known publishers like Fantagraphics, First Second and Drawn + Quarterly were placed at the front of the room, creating a traffic problem for customers who wanted to see the creators themselves. I had though this was going to be a creator-focused event, so I was surprised to see that publishing houses got the best table positions.
What after party? Another minor criticism, but the scheduled after-party was held at a very small bar which had no space for any MoCCA people. When we arrived, there was already a crowd of about 20 exhibitors outside the bar who eventually decided to go somewhere else. I didn’t see any MoCCA staff at the bar. Contrast to S.P.A.C.E., which had a party before the con where I met lots of wonderful creators and even the administrator of S.P.A.C.E. himself.

In short, I won’t be attending MoCCA again. And if you are thinking about attending, ask yourself these questions: If your goal is to make a little money, or even make back the cost of your table, it’s a bad choice. If your goal is to advertise your work, it’s a bad choice. If your goal is to network and make friends with other creators, it’s a bad choice. If your goal is to funnel money to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art at your own expense, than MoCCA Fest is the convention for you.

On the other hand, S.P.A.C.E. was great and I’m really looking forward to TCAF!

jekoh: MoCCA Con Report later. In the meantime, this is...

Wed, 02 May 2012 01:54:57 +0800

jekoh:

MoCCA Con Report later. In the meantime, this is actually happening: Kristina Stipetic of 14 Nights wearing a dress and apron and making sure dinner’s ready when I get home from work. This is going to be a beautiful week.

(Sorry Donald, but you’ll get her back soon.)

I made cornbread.

New Page

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:54:00 +0800

New Page:

Welcome new followers who came here from MoCCA! This is what you can expect from my blog:

Two updates a week to my webcomic, 14 Nights.

Other artwork sporadically.

Essays or thoughts about whatever is on my mind. Not angry, though. I don’t use Tumblr to vent or yell at people.

…and that’s about it!

MoMA

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:57:00 +0800

Whew, back from The Museum of Modern Art! Boy was that exciting. I had no idea I would see so many super-famous paintings! For those that know me, modernism contains both my most favorite and my most loathed artists. Seeing some works in real life changed my opinions a bit, which I didn’t expect. First, some let-downs:

Starry Night - It looks better in the reproductions! The colors are not as rich as I imagined them to be. There’s actually only one layer of paint and he didn’t gesso the canvas. I still like it but…it wasn’t all I hoped.

Hope - The green and gold parts are lovely. And I still love Klimt but you know, I never noticed just how gaudy those blues and yellows on the left are. He’s experimenting, I understand that, it’s just…what?

This Mondrian -I really like the colors in the reproduced version, but up close I noticed you can see the canvas between the splotches of paint. That really turns me off in a painting.

And now for the positive surprises!

Frida Kahlo - I was always turned off by her confrontational eyebrows, but upon close inspection, I noticed that her painting technique is really very good. The colors are skillfully chosen.

Some Picasso- I was admiring one from a distance, one that had (surprise!) a lot of paint layers, and I didn’t even realize it was him. So I was tricked into liking a Picasso. Still, The Women of Avignon is just as butt-ugly in person as it is in the textbooks. Geez, why people like that one is beyond me.

The Storm- A beautiful painting by Edvard Munch that I’d never heard of before.

Other things:

My heart nearly stopped when I walked into the Russian Constructivism room. I’ve always appreciated Malevich in a grudging sort of way because, after all, he did mentor El Lissitzky, whom I love. But seeing Suprematist Composition on the wall in real life was like…imagine me a tsundere anime girl finally confessing her true feelings. I loved you all along, Malevich! Even if your attempts at realism were total crap! I love your stupid white squares!

And Lissitzky was there, too, of course, but not my favorites of his. It’s okay, his stuff was meant for reproduction anyway.

Oh, the interior design room, what a dream! There were like, 10 Eames chairs! The elegant simplicity, oh, it just breaks my heart. And right next to those no-line-wasted perfections was this abomination:

God, Le Corbuseir, you are such a…twit. There’s such a disconnect between his stated philosophy of simplicity and function and his actual designs…Christ, man, what part of this is supposed to be functional? The little bar at the end that twists inward? Are you supposed to rest your feet on that, because last I checked, ankles didn’t bend that way. And look at that round pillow strapped on there like a bad omen. It wants to roll away but it can’t. Does he expect you to sleep on this faux dentist’s chair? It’s at just the wrong angle for everything, too low to eat or read, to high to sleep. I guess you’re just supposed to…lounge there and appreciate how architecture is a …machine for living and all that. But I can’t hate Le Corbusier because he seems like a harmless nut, honestly.

And in the end I did see four Kandinsky paintings. They weren’t the super-geometrical things that we all love him for, so I was a little disappointed. Still, isn’t it amazing that a person can be so intimately familiar with an artist’s work and yet never have seen it in person? Today it was like I finally got to meet them, all the modernists, and I felt that they smiled at me.