This may be my last time going to a UK convention for a long time.  This summer, I'm moving back to Belgium, and soon afterwards likely to the USA, for I don't know how long.

I know it's rather short notice, but if any of my UK fans are interested in meeting me in person, this May at London MCM Expo (Friday 25th-Sunday 27th) may be your last chance, at least for the forseeable future.

I'll have a table for all 3 days, and will be selling lots of prints as well as doing sketch commissions.  I hope to see you there!
If possible, I'll be selling some of the aforementioned "Friendship is Adventure" shirts, but they'll be marked up slightly due to the extra cost of printing them on demand here locally.  I'll check out the exact printing prices this week.  I'll sign them if you like- then they'll be limited editions.

Hey guys, my friend ~IntroducingEmy is starting a Youtube series for art tutorials!  She is also accepting artwork for redline critiques.  Normally you'd have to pay good money to have a professional give you one!  I highly recommend it: [link]

Emlan made a really great post about the proposed changes, which would make the galleries look very cluttered and unprofessional:
[link]

Please check it out and leave feedback as you see fit.  As you can guess, I'm really not digging this new layout. It's a mess. D:

Please vote on the upper left!  I'm gathering data on my readership for my thesis.  If your read Sister Claire, please take a second to vote on the upper left of the site! Thanks! <3

[link]

Don't forget to nominate your favorite comics for the Harvey Awards!
Click here for the ballot and more info:

[link]

Unfortunately, this nomination process is only open to creators.  This is part of the ballot information:

"All ballots must include requested professional verification information. The Harvey Awards may be voted on exclusively by Comic-Book creators, those who write, draw, ink, color, letter, design, edit or are involved in the creative aspect of comics. Fans, retailers, distributors, and accounting personnel votes will not be counted."

P.S. There's nothing wrong with nominating yourself!

I see some artists sometimes expressing disdain for those who do, or worrying that it's bad to do so.  It's not.  Being successful is partly doing good work, but also being able to promote yourself and make yourself eligible for certain opportunities.  You can't just wait for opportunities and promotions to fall into your lap, you have to make them happen.

That being said, helping others out usually helps you too.  We webcomickers are often overlooked in these major comic awards, so I nominated a lot of fellow webcomic artists I admire for Harveys, even for the categories I'm not sure they wanted webcomics for. (But I think it's rude to delegate webcomics to just one category! So I nominated us for best colorists, best inkers, and best comic strips, too. XD)

www.harveyawards.org
Ballot Deadline April 16, 2012!

GUYS!!! Look what I got today! Adventure Time #3 with cover B (my cover!) and Womanthology, with my page!

It's days like this that make it feel really worthwhile to be a comic artist.  There's nothing like seeing your work in print to make it feel "real." <3
I've gotten reports from other people that Adventure Time # 3 is in stores and they were able to get the version with my cover already!  Check your local comic shop if you're interested in snagging one.

"Womanthology" is also worth a look.  It's a huge tome dedicated to spotlighting female comic artists.  Thanks to a very generous donation by my friend Ted during their Kickstarter, I got one page for myself.  (Hence why I crammed stuff about both "Sister Claire" AND "Nightingale" on the same page. XD)

Edit: Livestream over! You can still click the link to view the video!  Happy Easter!

Starting in a few minutes! Join the chat, come watch me draw live! [link]

You'll need a Tumblr account in order to enter.

The art store is now fully stocked, and all orders have been shipped! They will arrive in the next week or so.
3 winners will be picked at random, and each winner can pick one free print from the Yamiloo store to be mailed out in the finest of tubes.

To enter, simply reblog this post!

To see what prints you could choose from, check out the store: [link]
The contest ends March 31st.  Good luck! <3

"No one wants a boring documentary on Africa. Maybe we have to make it pop, and we have to make it cool. …We view ourself (sic) as the Pixar of human rights stories. …They are getting in touch with the Academy Awards. They want this to be up for an Oscar."
-Kony 2012 filmmaker JASON RUSSEL.
via [link]

Read this first for a very detailed summary of what's wrong with this campaign: [link]
More good reads: [link] [link]

The real situation in Uganda explained by a Ugandan girl:
[link]

Here are some more links about what real Ugandans have to say about the viral video campaign:
[link]

Here are some alternatives to donate to if you want to help Uganda:
[link]

Last night, I wrote a message to Amy Keating Rogers, the writer of "The Last Roundup" who made a statement last night about the changes to the episode uploaded to iTunes.

I wrote to her to thank her for the statement, and for considering the perspective of those who had found issue with the character.Like her, I am caring for a mentally disabled family member, and I told her my personal experience with how ableism has affected their life, and how they were bothered by the portrayal. I also told her how I was introduced to the issue via my mentally disabled friends, whose posts I reblogged on the subject.)

I also linked her to just a sampling of the harassment and death threats I have recieved from people who seem to think I'm personally responsible for the changes.  I think she should know what sort of fans she was pressured into pandering to.

Let me repeat this one last time: I never started any petitions, or sent letters to writers, artists, or heads of Hasbro or iTunes. I merely made a handful of posts on my personal blog. Both Amy Keating Rogers and the MLP animator Kreoss can attest to this.

Here was Ms. Keating's response to me:

"Hi Elena,

I totally understand your perspective.  I think my daughter is going to be a lot like you--speaking up for the disabled--when she grows up.  At 11, she calls out her classmates when they say "retarded." 

I'm sorry that you were given grief for expressing your opinion.  That's really lousy. But hopefully, for both our sakes, this will all die down soon!

Best,

Amy"

a screencap of the email

[link] <~ Store *updated page*

Art store has been updated! Things are a lot cheaper, we'll put the valentines day prints back up at 1/3 price in a week or so. All prints are high quality gloss paper, 5$'s a pop.

Feedback from the last sale was everything was quite expensive, it was more of a test to see how things would work. The store wasn't set up for a ton of orders but we are ready now!

Support the comic, buy a print~ More to come soon.




As well as some others:




Check out the store, if sales go well we'll continue to add more prints of your favorite art at low low prices!

Aside from getting first-looks at behind the scenes content, you could also win a trip to Comic Con to meet Mike and Bryan! [link]

I made a tutorial here! [link]

Edit: She's gotten in touch with me again today, and while she's had a really bad time at the hospital, she should be coming home soon.  I'm so glad she's ok.  Thanks for thinking of her, to everyone who was sending notes about it. She appreciates the well-wishes. <3

Because I made a few posts about how I don't like the name "Derpy."
Apparently Hasbro was pressuring WeLoveFine to remove or rename all merchandise with that character, and iTunes pulled the episode where she had a speaking role from their online store.

I've been accused of starting a petition that I've never even heard of in order to make this happen.

I'm very flattered, but bronies are giving me WAY too much credit for all this.  (If only I had that sort of power to manipulate a giant corporation like Hasbro.) I'm not the only, or even the most active person speaking up about the problematic elements with the character. I just happen to be a very high-profile fan who has mentioned it a few times.
Here are some posts by other folks explaining why it's an issue:
[link]
[link]
[link]

The name recall is more likely more related to copyright issues than anything. Hasbro wants to own all their characters, but I bet they will have difficulty copywriting a slur like "derpy."

I find it a bit ironic that early on when I posted my opinion, I was accused of doing it for attention.  But now, 4chan is promoting the hell out of my deviantart page in an effort to direct flames at me:


This was unexpected, but I couldn't have asked for a better promotion. So, thank you.

And thank you to those speaking up for me and setting the record straight in the comments, I appreciate it.

Tomorrow SisterClaire.com will be offline from 8am to 8pm EST as part of the SOPA strike.

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. We need internet companies to follow Reddit's lead and stand up for the web, as we internet users are doing every day.

January 18th, 2012 is the largest internet protest in history, to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Join in by blacking out your site and urging everyone you can reach to contact Congress now.

They are currently taking nominations for the Eagle Awards!  I would appreciate it ever so much if you wouldn’t mind taking a few minutes to fill out their survey and nominate me.
If you would be so generous, you’d need to scroll down to the bottom of the drop-down list and select Elena “Yamino” Barbarich, or for the “Favorite Web-Based Comic,” select “Sister Claire.”
There are the categories which I can be nominated for:
Q2:  Favourite Newcomer Artist
Q4:  Favourite Writer/Artist
Q19: Favourite Web-Based Comic

(P.S. You can vote for me in all three categories!)
Voting is here: [link]
Thank you! <3

It is with great pleasure (and relief) that I'm allowed to announce a secret I've been sitting on for the last 2 months!



I'm doing Cover # 3 for the official Adventure Time comics!  Words can't describe how excited and flattered I am to have this opportunity!  When I was first offered the job, I had to take a break from my desk to DANCE.  Working on official comics for one of my favorite cartoons has always been a dream of mine.  I'm thrilled to be working alongside with webcomic royalty like Ryan North and Emily Carrol, and the other amazingly talented creators on board. <3

Here's a little teaser!  I'm told the final colors for this cover may be tweaked slightly in the final.  Shannon Watters (editor of Boom! comics) requested a more girl-centric cover, so as you can guess I really had a field day with it.

I may be doing more work for the comics in the future, but I'm not sure I can comment on that just yet. Stay tuned, an official announcement on my involvement will be posted around mid-January!

P.S. I'm sure that my outpouring of fanart for Adventure Time is the main reason I got this gig, so let it never be said that fanart, shippy or otherwise, is a waste of time or effort.

Happy new years!
My year had  a lot of ups and downs, a lot of educational moments, and a lot of wonderful new friends and connections.


I thought now was as good a time as any to try a rune casting.  My result was Berkano (Beork) - "Birch" :  Cleansing, growth, fertility, discipline, patience, fairness, interpersonal skills.
Overall, it sounds pretty positive- I do think I need to have a "cleansing" as far as prioritizing my life and responsibilities.  I want to take my creative practice to the next level by making it more profitable, so I don't have to depend on others (ie. my parents). (My new business partner Jojo is going to help me with that.)  I have big plans for expanding my Sister Claire work, and while it's definitely heading in an exciting direction, it's going to require more self-discipline and organization on my part.
I'm trying hard to learn more.  Learn more about my craft, learn more about social justice, learn more about how to be a successful professional.  My goals for next year are to start making enough money from my artwork to support myself and be independent.  I also want to finish some projects that have been on the backburner for months, some of which are secret.
I'm not sure where I'll live next year, when I finish my master's.  It could be anywhere from Belgium to LA, and thinking too hard on it makes me anxious.  There's not a whole lot of my future set in stone, which is wonderful in a way, but also pretty scary.  Speaking of my Master's, I hope i do well on it- I know I have the knowledge to do it, it's my very un-academic writing which keeps tripping me up.  Unlike most Brits, I never had to do it in the US, so I'm at a disadvantage.  Still, I'm slowly getting better at it, so hopefully I'll be able pass my final written assignments.

Here's to a new year!

Bob Pendarvis is a former SCAD professor of mine, and a really cool guy! He founded the Sequential Art I took major at SCAD, and has always been a really big supported of female comic artists in an often discriminatory and  sexist field.

He is running a Kickstarter for a new book he made called "Ana Teachers Kittens How To Draw," which is targeted at young kids who want to learn how to draw.  I think it's a great idea which will inspire the next creative generation!  There are also some really great donation incentives from high-profile comic artists.  You should check it out!

[link]