Thursday, November 3, 2022
Recap: Baltimore Comic-Con 2022
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Recap: New York Comic Con 2022
We enjoyed being in the city and got to experience wonderful dining at Planet Taco (I had the three "Out Of This World" tacos -- Mars Vegetarian Chorizo, Venus, and Saturn). We ate pizza from three different joints over the course of our stay and I had my first Everything Egg Bagel (not to be confused with egg filling inside, but imagine an egg bagel with everything spices on top).
On Friday night I walked over to Poster House for their First Friday events with free admission. The exhibits "Masked Vigilantes On Silent Motorbikes" and "Air-India’s Maharaja: Advertising Gone Rogue" were on display and I met up with a friend at the museum. We both had dice readings from Maia Lorian. Look for my Instagram (@CarolynBelefski) to be updated with a post solely about my participation at Poster House within the next few weeks. Afterwards we ate at Eataly, our most expensive meal of the trip. It was tasty, but not filling enough. I was so hungry and ended up getting a slice of pizza later on at night.
I got to play ping pong at PingPod. I visited Coney Island and it was a better experience than last year when the weather was drizzling and the town didn't look as vibrant as it could be on a nicer day. I rode Deno's Wonder Wheel for the first time! Luna Park was decorated for Halloween and they had a fog bubble machine. When popped, the grayish bubbles let out mystical fog. I learned that apparently Nathan's does not make the creamy orange shake anymore (so I'm glad to have gotten that last year).
After the show we heard that former WWE wrestler Enzo Amore was at NYCC at a table about a two minute walk away from our booth. I didn't know he was there and missed him, but it would have been great to see him. Reminds me of how last year I found out after the event that MJF, Danhausen, and Orange Cassidy were all there and I missed out on that too. But it also shows how going to all these comic cons is "work" for us and we have to be at our table and represent the books we create. Yes, we get to have a good time and it is sort of a mini vacation, but we are also there to invest in ourselves.
We hope to be back at NYCC in the future. Big thanks to Francis Bonnet, Joe Carabeo, Hannah Mount, NYCC staff, NYCC volunteers, NCS, the kind people at the hotel, and everyone who stopped by the booth.
Our next tour stop for this year is Baltimore Comic-Con (Booth K17) this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Sunday, October 2, 2022
New York Comic Con 2022
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Recap: Maryland STEM Festival Art Contest Kick-Off Event
Monday, October 18, 2021
Recap: New York Comic Con 2021
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
New York Comic Con 2021
Sunday, June 7, 2020
The Big Thank You Search of 2020
Several cartoonists have been working out a creative way to say thank you to all the generous volunteers and workers who are helping everyone during this crisis, and they’re asking for as many cartoonists as possible to hide 6 key symbols in their cartoons today -- Sunday, June 7th.
The icons are:
1. Mask (for medical workers and caregivers)
2. Steering wheel (for people who move our deliveries, supplies, mail, etc.)
3. Shopping cart (for grocery workers)
4. Apple (for teachers)
5. Fork (for restaurants and essential businesses that have stayed open)
6. Microscope (for medical researchers)
Each of these drawings is a symbol of gratitude for these dedicated people who have risked and sacrificed during this crisis. Can you find them all in my Curls comic strip? We are also asked to put a link to a charity we’d like to support and I selected American Red Cross because of all the work we’ve done with Cartoonists Draw Blood: www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Recap: NCSFest and National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards Weekend 2019
Earlier this month I attended the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards weekend (May 17-19). This was my forth Reubens appearance -- and my first that included attending the board member meeting. I had previously been to Pittsburgh in 2013, Washington, DC in 2015, and last year's in Philadelphia (2018 recap here). The event is known as "the Oscars of Cartooning" and took place in Huntington Beach, CA this year.
Part of my duties serving on the Board of Directors for National Cartoonists Society includes gathering items for our goody bags at the Reuben Weekend and NCSFest. I worked with Evellyn and Chelsea at Passion Planner and they were able to donate planners for our bag. Thanks also to Sakura for the art supplies!
I arrived early on Wednesday, May 15 to attend to board duties and the first thing I did was visit the 90 Years of Popeye exhibit at the Huntington Beach Art Center. If you live nearby, hopefully you get a chance to see it within the next few days because it closes on June 2. Look for my "Spin-Itch" art up on the wall! I believe the art will be auctioned off after the exhibit, so stay 'tooned for that information if you'd like to own some cool original art.
After visiting the art center, I ate lunch at Wahoo's Fish Taco. I went back two days later to give them some Curls stickers, so now the Curls "Cartoonist Never Die" sticker is immortalized at Wahoo's Downtown Huntington Beach -- please take some pictures if you find it in the wild. The restaurant also gave me some cool Wahoo's stickers as an exchange.
Other early activities included going to the Children's Hospital of Orange County for the NCS "Cartooning For Kids" program on Thursday, May 16. I helped by arranging goody bags as well as sketching for the patients. The goody bags were stuffed with a sketchbook, crayons, and shirt. It is very gratifying to draw at the hospital and the children loved it. Thanks to Molly Stromoski for taking photos and to Rick Stromoski for organizing. Then later that evening we had a free two-hour live signing at the hotel with boatloads of amazing creators.
On Friday, May 17 I walked to the pier and had breakfast at Ruby's Diner, which is located at the end of the pier. I walked upstairs to check out Jan & Dean's Tiki Lounge after the meal. I attended some of the panels back at the hotel. There were four rooms with overlapping panels, so I dropped in and out of some to get the most out of it. I meet Floyd Norman, an animator who worked directly with Walt Disney. Check out "Floyd Norman: An Animated Life" documentary on Netflix if you want to learn more about him and his life. He was the first African-American animator at Disney and worked on classics like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, and The Sword in the Stone. That evening our dinner was provided at the hotel and they had excellent Popeye themed food complete with a spinach bar, hamburgers, and delicious waffle fries.
Saturday and Sunday was the launch of NCSFest comic arts festival. After the business meeting and chapter chair meetings, I got to set-up at a tent outside on Main Street, which was very close to the pier. It was nice to be outside and exhibit at my first west coast comics event. I often joke that I've sold comics at venues like a bowling alley, fire department, churches, outdoor marketplaces, nightclubs, etc. I've even sold them by the Atlantic Ocean (Asbury Park Convention Hall) and now I hove sold them by the Pacific Ocean (Huntington Beach)... so Curls Studio comics are COAST TO COAST! I think that's phenomenal for sure.
As part of the festivities, NCS created the opportunity to be a part of a group beach towel, which was for sale to the general public. I created Curls art for it and also used the art to create prints.
On Saturday I got to meet a creator who has inspired me since I discovered her Charm School comics in college. Elizabeth Watasin visited my booth and we chatted for quite a bit. I honestly don't know the next time I'll be back on the west coast, but we did talk about SDCC, as it is probably the best reason to be back -- although I think I'll only go if asked to be a guest in the future. It was a personal highlight of even making the journey out to California to see her as an extra bonus. I appreciate her taking the time to hang out with me at the booth -- everyone go check out her stuff!
Then Saturday was the Reuben Awards Banquet. I had a great time, despite people questioning me if I was a wife at the event. Sometimes this industry can be difficult to navigate as a woman, when people don't take you seriously as a cartoonist. I've had episodes of this even tabling at conventions where people think I'm the girlfriend or a booth babe, so it's nothing new. It just shows me that I have to work even harder and make better comics to let people know who I am and what I do.
Even after attending the black tie ceremony for the past three years, I somehow never had a red carpet photo, so I made effort to take one this year. This year's ceremony was very fun and the speeches were great. It was nice to see most of the winners in attendance instead of not being present. Those that were unable to make it had thank you videos and that was great to see instead of blank space when the winner is a no-show. Congratulations to Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), winner of the 2018 Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year.
On Sunday morning I gave a Pechakucha presentation. It was my first time speaking in the format of 20 slides timed at 20 seconds each and I was a little sporadic and excited. My topic was "First Aid for Cartoonists" and I think it went over well because I had a many folks come up to me later and discussions arose from the topic. Overall, we need to take better basic care of ourselves, mostly from sitting all day. After my presentation, I went back to Main Street for the second day of NCSFest. It had rained in the morning and the crowd was lighter than Saturday. The after party was BBQ at Old Crow Smokehouse.
On Monday I had some time in Huntington Beach because my flight was later in the day, so I did a beach walk to feel the sand in my toes and ate lunch at Bear Flag Fish Co.
Although it was my biggest journey and investment to attend to in the name of comics and my career at this moment, I had a great time and hung out with talented people at both NCSFest and Reubens Weekend. I made effort to meet as many new faces as I could and that was a success to me. Having the opportunity to sell comics to the public was helpful to cut the cost of flight and hotel and it was a refreshing environment to be in outside of the typical convention space. Thank you Bill Morrison, Steve McGarry, the board, and everyone who is a participant in National Cartoonists Society for hosting wonderful programming during this year's events.
You can see more photos on my Instagram (@CarolynBelefski). I also plan on doing a day where I show my adventures via the Instagram story feature, so follow along and hopefully you will catch it because the stories only stay up for 24 hours. Hope to see you on the 'gram!
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Recap: National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards Weekend 2018
Last month I attended the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards weekend (May 25-27). This was my third Reubens appearance -- and my first as a national board member. I had previously been to Pittsburgh (2013 recap here) and Washington, DC (2015 recap here). The event is known as "the Oscars of Cartooning."
On Friday I had the honor of drawing for patients and their families at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for the NCS "Cartooning For Kids" program. National Cartoonists Society Foundation also arranged several goody bags stuffed with sketchbooks, coloring books, comics, and more. We've done a few hospital appearances in the DC area too. It is very gratifying to draw at the hospital and the children loved it. Thanks to Molly Stromoski for taking photos and to Rick Stromoski for organizing. Rick said the administrators of the hospital said it was their most successful event they've ever had.
Back at the host hotel there were several panels spread on all three days and I attended all of them: Exaggerating Caricature, The Family Circus Tree, John Hambrock: Walking the Tightrope, Spotlight on Will Henry's Wallace the Brave, From Comics to Animated Series and Beyond, Women Pioneers of Cartoon Art, The Golden Age of Cartooning in Connecticut, Reinventing Rube Goldberg, Salute to MAD Magazine
At the Reuben Awards Banquet I had a good time with Francis, Kristen, Ali, and the gang. I should have taken photos, but I didn't take any after the awards show. Thanks to Francis for visual proof that we were there. It felt nice to be around other cartoonists and meet several new ones.
A post shared by Carolyn Belefski (@carolynbelefski) on
On Sunday, we had a public signing at Philadelphia Free Library called Cartoonapalooza! Flip through the gallery of images on my Instagram post above. If you aren't following me on Instagram yet, I'm @CarolynBelefski (same handle on Twitter as well).
I didn't have much time to explore the city, but I did see Love Park, many statues, and the outside of the Masonic Temple. Food wise, I enjoyed a pretzel, an alligator sausage breakfast po' boy sandwich, and cinnamon ice cream at Reading Terminal Market.
Here is Toast (from the Curls comic strip) spreading jelly joy in the city of brotherly love.
We closed out the weekend with a "Philadelphia Freedom" Farewell Party that included a quiz about cartoons and a make-your-own cheesesteak station (there were also vegetarian options). Hummm, now I wish I had that second helping of cheesesteak!
Huge thanks to NCS for inviting me in be a part of their cartooning family. Thanks to the board and Bill Morrison for leadership and their devotion to cartoons, illustration, and storytelling.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Cartoonapalooza is this Sunday in Philadelphia
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Hi! I will be in Philadelphia, PA this Sunday, May 27, 2018 from 1 to 4PM for Cartoonapalooza -- a free public event hosted by the Free Library of Philadelphia! Hope to see you there.
Parkway Central Library (between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway)
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Event description:
The cartoonists of the National Cartoonists Society are gathering in Philadelphia Memorial Day Weekend for their Reuben Awards Celebration. As part of the festivities, they are going to stage a live drawing event where you can come meet cartoonists from the Inquirer Comics pages and newspapers across America, from film & TV animation, from webcomics and graphic novels. You’ll see New Yorker cartoonists and Hollywood character designers plus editorial cartoonists, caricaturists, illustrators and more! It’s all taking place at the Free Library of Philadelphia with support of The Inquirer. There may never be such a collection of cartooning talent in Philadelphia in one room for years to come. So stop by. Watch them draw. Get a doodle. And be sure to peruse the Free Library’s comic art archives and more! Experience Cartoonapalooza! It’s going to be, ahem, a really big draw.
More details: https://libwww.freelibrary.org/calendar/event/77519
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
A Case For Pencils: National Cartoonists Society
You can read my reply along with answers from Bill Morrison, Tom Richmond, Pat Byrnes, Maria Scrivan, Jason Chatfield, and Luke McGarry: http://afinecaseforpencils.com/post/173043563854/national-cartoonists-society
I don't think I've made much of an official announcement about it, but I was asked last year to be on the national board of NCS! Since the chapters and members are so spread out, I'm looking forward to meeting many cartoonists next month at our Reuben Weekend events.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Recap: MoCCA Arts Festival 2017
Curls Studio is back from New York and had a blast exhibiting at MoCCA Art Festival this past weekend! It was our first time at the show and we had a great time meeting new people and exploring the city.
On Saturday I didn't get out from behind the table to see much of the show, but on Sunday I was able to walk around and view both floors of the show. Some highlights included meeting a polish creator named Wojciech Stefaniec at the Europe Comics table and meeting Arnold Roth at the National Cartoonists Society table.
It was overwhelming to see a lot of talented creators all in one location! I was really excited to experience some interesting folding techniques and inventive pop-up books too.
Curls Studio premiered new products including the Curls Punk Rocker Sticker and Curls Loves Pizza Square Button (available for purchase at the store here). We also had our new book, French Fry Club!
We were able to explore New York City a bit and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an extra benefit while in the city.
Thanks to everyone we met at the show as well as the volunteers and show organizers at the Society of Illustrators.
Our next show is KidsCon this coming Saturday from Noon to 4PM at Fantom Comics in Washington, DC.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Cartooning for Kids 2016
The DC Chapter of National Cartoonists Society had our first "Cartooning for Kids" event at Inova Children’s Hospital on November 15, 2016. National Cartoonists Society Foundation provided the hospital with about 50 goody bags, coloring books, crayon boxes, and comic books. After stuffing the bags, us cartoonists divided to cover three floors of the building. Each of us did different activities with the kids, such as drawing, coloring, giving cartooning tips, or playing Pictionary.
My own personal experience was very rejuvenating. I shared the room with Joe Sutliff and we concentrated on two children in particular, Benjamin and Najah. Benjamin had his much loved stuffed dog named Toby with him and when I draw Toby it caused Benjamin to light up! It was a great sight to see. Najah celebrated her 14th birthday that day, so I draw her with her birthday crown. She was very interested in learning how to create balloon/bubble lettering, so Joe and I showed her how. She also educated me on some reality shows, including her favorite, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding.
Thanks to Rick Stromoski for organizing the shipment of goody bags and thanks to NCS for this initiative. Thanks to our cartoonists Mike Jenkins, Steve Artley, Carolyn Belefski, Sean Causley, and Joe Sutliff for participating. We plan to do more of these hospital visits in 2017.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Recap: New York Comic Con 2016
On Thursday afternoon I did a signing at the National Cartoonists Society booth and hung out with Ed Steckley and Ray Alma.
I was excited to meet new people and recognize new faces and stayed at the booth the majority of the time. I did not attempt to go to any panels, but was able to break away to catch glimpses of Frank Miller, Gerard Way, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Christian, Jerry Lawler, and Joey Styles. Luckily their booths were not too far away so it took little time away from the booth.
We sold out of all the copies we had of our new comic, French Fry Club! And we also sold out of all copies of The Legettes. I still have a very limited supply of the Heart Comics shirts, so if you are interested in getting a shirt, please check them out at the online store: http://www.carolynbelefski.com/store
Overall, NYCC is a tremendous show and we hope to be back next year in our same booth #1162! Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to say hi or who purchased our comics and merchandise. We really appreciate you all. I suspect we'll record a recap podcast soon, so be on the lookout for that audio soon here.
More NYCC photos are available for viewing on the Curls Studio Facebook page. Give us a "like" while you are there.
The next event I'm organizing is the Cartoonists Draw Blood drive with the American Red Cross on Saturday, October 29, 2016. I plan to post more details about that event soon and we hope to see you there!
Monday, October 10, 2016
Recap: Society of Illustrators – Political Spirit Animal
This past Wednesday I participated in an event called Political Spirit Animal at Society of Illustrators in NYC. The event celebrated Wacom's MobileStudio Pro, which was announced that day. MobileStudio Pro is available for purchase next month and I am excited to be one of the first to use this amazing light-weight product.
Here are the guest artists: Tom Richmond, Joe Wos, Carolyn Belefski, Luke McGarry, Jason Chatfield, Flash Rosenberg, Steve McGarry, Ed Steckley
John Fiorelli from Cut & Paste organized the event where the guest artists each drew a different political candidate and attendees were paired with us to create the candidate's spirit animal (the attendees started with our original drawing then drew new layers over it). Then each person had the opportunity to get on mic and explain their creation.
It was a fun event and I got to meet several New York artists there. I was glad to be able to see the Ralph Steadman exhibit in the gallery space (running until October 22) as the cherry on top of this event! Big thanks to NCS, Wacom, Cut & Paste, and Society of Illustrators for being so accommodating and inspiring!
Monday, October 3, 2016
Society of Illustrators – Political Spirit Animal this Wednesday in NYC
This Wednesday, October 5, 2016, I'll be participating in an event Cut&Paste and Wacom are hosting called Political Spirit Animal. With elections coming, PSA is a collaborative drawing game with participants adapting original character sketches of political figures into their matching spirit animals.
Participants are matched in pairs and given a simple sketch (e.g. Hillary, Trump, Bernie). In 30 minutes you adapt and “animalize” the sketch however you like, with guidance from one of our Guest Artists. The Pairs will use Wacom’s super-secret new-fangled Cintiq-like drawing tool (it releases that day) and your software of choice.
Guest Artists include Jason Chatfield, Luke McGarry, Steve McGarry, Tom Richmond, Flash Rosenberg, Ed Steckley, Joe Wos, and Carolyn Belefski.
The event is free and it starts at 7PM at Society of Illustrators (128 E. 63rd Street, New York, NY). You can draw or watch. Space is limited, so if you can make it please RSVP on EventBrite. Hope to see you there.
NYCC 2016 – Signing at National Cartoonists Society this Thursday
If you already have tickets to New York Comic Con, swing by this Thursday, October 6 to Booth 2058 from 4-7PM. I'll be signing for a limited time at National Cartoonists Society.
If you miss us at NCS on Thursday, you can find BOTH Curls Studio and Laughing Redhead Studio ALL FOUR DAYS (October 6-9) of New York Comic Con 2016 at Small Press, Booth 1162.
Check out the NCS Booth throughout the show, as several talented creators will be having signings.