Hello, and welcome again to another Weekly Roundup! In the Weekly Roundup, I provide links and summarized information about the crowdfunded projects, creator opportunities, and resources that have caught my eye over the week. I hope you enjoy!
As a note: I am not sponsored by any company, group, or individual listed below or elsewhere on this site unless otherwise listed.
This has been a tough week for many of us in the United States. Many of us vastly underestimated the nation’s xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and other prejudices held against mentally ill people, disabled people, veterans, the poor, Muslims, and so many others. For many, their worst fears were confirmed. A man who stands for all of these was voted into the presidential office and many of us are horrified, disgusted, and terrified.
I am finding it incredibly difficult to remain positive and be strong. I’m scared for so many of my friends, and shaken that some family members, coworkers, and people around me voted for someone who sees us as Less Than and Other. But I will continue to take my time and do my best. We are not the minority – we are diverse and powerful. You are loved. You are important. And you have to stay here in this world. Together we can face the evils in our society and overcome them. I have to believe that.
You can check the hashtag #drawdrive on Twitter to find creatives who are donating their time and effort for responsible nonprofits that will work to defend the freedoms and rights of our nation’s most marginalized people.
Here is a list of some charities and nonprofits to donate to.
Here is a list of inclusive volunteer positions organized by state.
Here is a list of opportunities recently collected for marginalized voice actors, musicians, writers, and artists. Thank you Cassandra!
If you are a trans person in need of legal assistance, many people are offering services pro bono. Check the hashtag #TransLawHelp on Twitter.
If you need to talk to someone or otherwise vent, please utilize this list of help hotlines.
Take care and take your time. Your work is more important than ever. Thank you for sharing your originality and openness with the world. You bring light to the days of others, and it is so, so appreciated.
Awards
The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity is accepting nominations for writers, artists, and creators who work towards:
…Broadening the range of characters portrayed in comics, adding to the variety of creators contributing to the medium, influence on the marketplace and contributions to the advancement of women, minorities and LGBTs in comic books and pop culture.
Nominations are accepted until December 31, 2016, and the award ceremony will take place in Long Beach, California on February 18, 2016. Think about your favorite creators whose work has helped transform the modern comic landscape and give them a chance to get the recognition they deserve!
Crowdfunded Projects
Active Voice The Comic Collection is running a Kickstarter to help raise funds to reimburse the creator for the initial project costs. Active Voice is a comic collection of stories about the experiences of a Asian-American lesbian feminist activist and her friends in conservative Orange County, CA. Tier options include PDF and softcover copies of the book, additional zines, and signed book copies. The Kickstarter ends November 16.
My Name is Stardust: Children’s Book About Science is running a Kickstarter to fund the production of their 26-page full color illustrated book about the origins of the universe, the planets, and Earth and its organisms. Tier options include PDF and printed hardcover editions of the book and prints. The Kickstarter ends November 17.
Couture, a collection of short comics inspired by iconic moments in fashion history, launched its Kickstarter this week. Contributors include renowned illustrators Jen Bartel, Marguerite Sauvage, Kevin Wada, and more. Tiers include a PDF or hard-cover copy of the book, a postcard, an enamel pin, and prints. The Kickstarter ends November 18, 2016.
Letters for Lucardo: An Erotic Graphic Novel, the first in a planned four-part erotic graphic novel series on the relationships between humans and superhumans, is running a Kickstarter to fund its production. Tier options include PDF and printed versions of the book, a bookplate, and a commission. The Kickstarter ends November 23.
Not Drunk Enough Volume 1! is running a Kickstarter to produce Volume 1 of the webcomic series by Tessa Stone. The volume will have over 150 pages in full color. Tier options include PDF and softcover versions of the book, a special foil cover edition, a NDE liquor guide, a set of prints, and enamel pin, and commissions. The Kickstarter ends November 23.
Monster Prom [a crazy twist on dating sims!] is running a Kickstarter to fund additional production of its multiplayer, cooperative, choose-your-own-adventure and dating-sim-influenced game. Tier options include the game itself, a digital artbook and zine, beta access to the game, . The Kickstarter ends on November 24.
Plume Volume 3 is running a Kickstarter to produce its 3rd volume of the webcomic series in print. Tier options include PDF, paperback, and hardcover versions of the volume, a button pack, prints, a t-shirt, and sketches. The Kickstarter ends November 25.
Creative Opportunities
Did you sign up for Paper Cat Press’s Holiday Gift Guide? Send me a link to your shop and I’ll post it up by November 24.
Check this list for an assortment of different opportunities. Thank you Cassandra!
Animation
Blizzard has a number of opportunities available in a variety of fields, including 3D Animation, Technical Writing, Public Relations, Security, and more.
Here is a survey for Women Professionals in Animation. If you work in animation and identify as a woman, please submit your anonymous information to this survey to inform and assist current and future animators.
You can find a directory of currently open animation jobs at animatedjobs.com! Companies like DHX Media, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and others have a number of open full-time, part-time, and freelance positions available, including social media, editing, and teaching.
Comics, Illustration, and More
Dead Lights Horror Fiction Magazine is accepting submissions of cover and interior horror art through December 15. Interior art pay is $5-$10 and cover art pay ranges from $40 to $80.
To promote their game, Faulty Apprentice is running a character design contest! Design a “Traveling Merchant” character for a chance to have the design featured in the game.
The Ghost PKMN Zine is accepting submissions through mid-December. Proceeds will be donated to facial feminization surgery for Elexa Kendall.
Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic that previously published Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, Jeff Smith’s Bone, and Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet, is accepting submissions for graphic novelists creating works for children and teens. Visit their site for more information. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2017.
Alienworks is looking for an additional background artist for their visual novel The Human Reignition Project.
Jerry’s Art-A-Rama is hosting a number of art contests, some ongoing and some requiring specific materials. Check what’s open and see if you can qualify.
Legend of Rune: A Visual Novel BL/Yaoi Visual Novel RPG is hosting a fanart and cosplay contest until November 12. 4 winners will be selected, with the chance to receive a feature in the official Legend of Rune artbook, the artbook itself, a keychain, and a t-shirt!
Light Grey Art Lab is hosting their 5th Annual Make My Holiday Art Swap. Everyone who signs up before November 16 will be paired up to exchange art with another person.
Little, Brown’s Emerging Artist Award is accepting entries until January 15, 2017. Submitted mockups should invoke the diversity and rich cultural experiences in America. Potential prizes include $2500 in American Express gift cards, round trip travel to New York City, and a one-day mentorship with the Little, Brown book design and editorial team and Jerry Pinkney.
Signups for the Midwest “Mother” zine are open. Artists living in or otherwise from the midwest are invited to apply to the zine celebrating MOTHER 1+2+3/Earthbound. Submissions close November 16.
Picarto is running a competition for “Artist of the Month”! November’s theme is “Fall for Yarni” (Yarni is the thread character here). Entries are due November 25. Be sure to read and follow all submission guidelines!
SCWBI is seeking submissions for the 2017 Tomie de Paola Award. Submit an illustration of yourself as a child in a children’s book expressing and portraying quickly-read emotion. Entries are to be printed on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and due by December 1, 2016.
SCBWI is also accepting submissions for the Student Illustrator Scholarship. Scholarships provide admissions to all conference events, including keynotes and breakout sessions, entry in the Juried Portfolio Showcase, and more. Entries are due by December 5 for the Winter Conference in New York, and due May 1 for the Summer Conference.
SCBWI is also hosting a postcard design contest. Submissions should include a kite and are due by December 1.
The Silent Manga Audition announced its seventh run of its worldwide dialogue-free comic competition. The theme is “unforgettable taste.” Entries are due by March 31, 2017.
Weekly Shonen Magazine and MediBang are hosting a manga contest! Submit your completed comic by January 12, 2017 for the chance to have your work reviewed by Weekly Shonen Magazine editors. Simply post your comic of 50 pages or less and MediBang will translate it. Winners will have an editor assigned to them to help develop your comic further. Grand prize winners will also be published in Weekly Shonen Magazine’s manga app Magazine Pocket.
StArt Faire magazine is accepting submissions for their November issue until November 29. You are welcome to submit ongoing comic series, one-shots, and advertisements for free.
The TsukYam Gift Exchange, a gift exchange of art, fanfiction, and more for the Haikyuu characters Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, has applications open until November 18.
WeMakePDX is hosting a flash gallery open to all, but with limited space. If you are in the Portland, OR area, check it out!
The Witchy Zine is accepting submissions of your best witch-themed art! Be sure to read the guidelines (if you can’t see the image and need me to type them out – let me know!). Submissions are due November 16, 2016.
Check out Arts for LA or College Art Opportunities for more exhibition, residency, and grant opportunities.
Conventions
Akimatsuri ’16 is accepting applications for vendors for their 1-day Vancouver event held on December 17.
Applications for BishounenCon’s artist alley are open until December 1. Vendor applications are also available and due on the same day. Be sure to get your applications in before then!
CAKE Chicago is accepting applications for their artist alley until November 28.
GeekGirlCon is looking for volunteers to help plan next year’s convention. Check the site for open positions, or sign up for the mailing list to hear more!
Rose City Comic Con is accepting applications for their artist alley.
VanCaf (the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival) has exhibitor applications open until January 6, 2017.
Con or Bust has free tickets available for people of color for a number of upcoming conventions, including WindyCon and OryCon. You can request assistance from November 15 through November 25.
Mentorships
Straight from the website itself:
The Writing in the Margins Mentorship Program pairs an emerging author from a marginalized social group with an experienced editor or traditionally published author in order to work closely on preparing an unpublished manuscript to submit for publication.
Apply by November 30 to be considered. Mentoring will occur between February and April for authors of color and disabled authors.
Music
@JkaplanAW is searching for a composer for a future yuri visual novel project. Ideally the composer would be comfortable creating music stylistically somewhere between jazz and classical, making use of acoustic guitar and piano.
Residencies
Check out Arts for LA or College Art Opportunities for exhibition, residency, and grant opportunities.
Scholarships
Cards Against Humanity is funding the Science Ambassador Scholarship, now accepting applications until December 11, 2016. The scholarship will cover full tuition for up to four years of an undergraduate degree for a woman studying science, engineering, or math.
Teaching
Sign up to teach at Skillshare to earn royalties based on the premium member students in your class. See here for additional information.
Translation
Cheritz is looking for a Korean to Spanish or English to Spanish translator for their future game projects. They would prefer an employee based in Korea available to work 9:30am to 6:30pm.
Seven Seas Entertainment is looking for Japanese to English translators for light novel projects. Please submit your resume, portfolio, and/or samples of your work here.
Voice Acting
Check the Casting Call Club and Voice Acting Alliance for more voice acting and audio opportunities.
Writing
Online monthly magazine The Dark is accepting submissions from 2000 to 6000 words in length. Encouraged genres include horror and dark fantasy, but graphic, violent horror is not desired. Payment is $0.03/word for up to 6000 words. Republishing payment is $0.01/word.
Hello Equality is seeking trans and POC writers for their website. Speak on issues related to LGBTQ+ people, feminism, or pop culture topics.
Horror-Writers.net is seeking submissions of horror fiction and articles related to the horror genre.
Random House’s digital-only imprint Hydra has open submissions for completed works in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror categories. There is no word count limit for submissions, but full-length works of 40,000 words or more are preferred. Accepted writers will be assigned to a Random House editor, marketer, and publicist. Response time is usually 2-4 weeks.
StArt Faire Magazine is seeking interviewers, reviews, tutorials, and prose for their monthly e-magazine.
Tor is accepting submissions of fantasy novellas between 20,000 and 40,000 words. The story’s world must be one not modeled on European cultures. Submissions close January 12, 2017.
Tor is also accepting pitches for essays, think pieces, reviews, and similar content with a final length of 1000 to 2000 words.
Trans Fictions Week is accepting submissions to be posted from November 14 to November 20. Submissions should be 2000 words maximum and focus on transgender and nonbinary people and perspectives.
From previous weeks:
The newly launched Argot Magazine is seeking submissions about queer and marginalized experiences. Click here for more on their mission as well as their pay rates.
Book Smugglers Publishing is seeking submissions for an anthology on the theme of Gods and Monsters. Length must be between 1500 and 17,500 words in length. Payment is $0.06 per word, up to $500. Submissions are due by December 31, 2016.
Cooler is looking for part-time writers to manage content and community, write editorial pieces, and make GIFs of ongoing popular TV shows. Contributors will be paid $15/hour and work 5-10 hours/week.
Dead Lights Horror Fiction Magazine is accepting submissions of various forms of fiction and cover art through December 15. Accepted submissions will be paid according to the pay list.
Fiyah Lit Mag is seeking submissions of fiction and poetry for their Summer 2017 issue with the theme “Spilling Tea”. Submissions are due by January 1, 2017. Check here for more information and details.
Handtype Press is seeking submissions from writers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Stories should be at least 500 words and at most 4000 words, with elements of science fiction, horror, fantasy, the supernatural, and/or magical realism. Submissions are due by December 31, 2016.
Applications are open for The Limitless Light: Short Stories of Jewish Magic & Mysticism. Stories should be between 4000 and 10,000 words. Poetry and art will also be considered, if they fit the theme of the overall anthology. Submissions are due December 5th.
Coinciding with the 50 year anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, a print anthology is seeking submissions about interracial relationships. Read this tweet thread for more information on how to submit. Please submit by November 21.
PITCH, a graphic novel anthology that caters to comic writers, is accepting submissions until December 15, 2016. The script should be suited for a 12-page comic. Accepted entrants will receive $70 USD as compensation, as well as retainment of the rights of their story and credit as the writer.
Siren’s Call Publishing is seeking submissions of fiction 4000-8000 words long on first-person horror. Accepted writers will receive $25 and a copy of the anthology. Read submission guidelines here. Submissions are due by December 1.
Check out writingcareer.com for a list of calls for submission!
Resources
Amy Stoddard has released a brush for pine foliage for Manga Studio/Clip Studio Paint.
Becca Hillburn of Nattosoup released blog posts comparing a variety of fountain pens for inking, exploring higher education options (in particular for SCAD), and a 2017 Patreon Backer and Potential Backer Interest Survey. She also released a video on Reed Pen Sizes and vlogs for the #ArtSoundOff challenge.
Becca Hillburn is not only a provider of extensive, honest, and high-quality product reviews and tutorials, she’s a full-time comic artist and illustrator passionate about children’s lit and helping others. Check out her store, her book, or her Patreon and send her a “thank you” message if you can!
I updated my post about the costs of online storefronts and marketplaces. Pricing is now accurate as of 10/31/16 and information about itch.io has been added!
Jetpens posted a Guide to Photo Pens and a post on Quick Drying Gel Pens. They also released a Gift Guide for the upcoming winter holidays, with gift ideas for artists, writers, students, your officemates, and more!
Kibou released watercolored pages for pay-what-you-want on Gumroad. You can see more textures, brushes, and resources on her site Shooting Stars! There are TONS of brushes available for Clip Studio Paint AND Photoshop, so be sure to say thank you!
OMI is hosting a giveaway on her Instagram! Follow, like, and leave a comment here for a chance to win a cool Pokemon keychain. Plus, you’ll get to see all of OMI’s amazing art!
Deals
Jerry’s Art-A-Rama is having a sale with hundred of art supplies on sale for $1 and $2. Check it out!
Liz Staley has a sale in her Etsy store. Use coupon code BYE2016 for 20% off orders of $16 or more, or use GIMME10 for 10% off orders of $5 or more. Don’t forget to check her super helpful Youtube videos!
ZapCreatives has a 15% discount on laser cut printed wooden charms.
Many Twitter users are giving away or offering pay-as-you-want digital media to help raise money and awareness for nonprofits and other groups that help the marginalized. See my timeline or check out the twitter feeds of your favorite artists.
Giveaways
Goodreads is hosting a giveaway for Sparkler Monthly’s Dead Endings written by Jessica Chavez and illustrated by Irene Flores. You can enter to win until November 15, 2016.
Webcomic Radio Silence is hosting a giveaway with prizes such as their perfect bound full-color graphic novel, original artwork, an instrument pouch, bookmarks, and more! The giveaway ends November 20.
Retweet for a chance to win 50 1.5″ printed white acrylic charms from ZapCreatives.
That’s it for this week! Look up for another post next week with these categories and possibly more. Is there something you’d like to see more of? Something you know about but don’t see here? Let me know!
Link to the previous Roundup: Weekly Roundup – October 28, 2016
paper cat press 