On March 29th MSCA president Kevin L. Williams was interviewed by host Andy Mannis for “Bluff City Life”, which aired on WMC TV5 here in Memphis. Kev and Andy discussed the MSCA and our 35th anniversary this year (March 28, 1987).
If you missed the MSCA segment when it played you can now check it out online here.
On Tuesday, April 5th, we got back together for our MSCA monthly dinner meeting at Garibaldi’s Pizza. This was our second meet-up back at Garibaldi’s since we had to stop due to the pandemic back in March 2020.
We had another great turnout- not only some of our usual suspects, but folks we haven’t seen for a while like brothers Marvin and Spencer Cheveallier, former MSCA prez Charles Ettinger, and a new face- Courtney Dunn, from the Brooks Museum Of Art who heard about us from one of the postcards we recently sent out. She brought a few of her sketchbooks to show- which were great. Always love to see other artists’ sketchbooks.
I had Dale Martin sign my copy of “The Dragon Templar” comic. I picked up a copy of the first issue at The Cellar. He and writer Brad Starnes are working on the second issue now.
We had fun hanging out, talking toons, and eating pizza and pasta. Lots of catching up to do as always, sketchbooks to be looked at, drawings to be done, and more freebie swag to be had.
Towards the end of this meeting, member Antonio Johnson brought along his laptop, tablet, and extra monitor to do a tutorial on the art program Clip Studio Paint.
He showed us the basics that can be done, and took lots of questions from the group. A few members use the program and added some of their expertise to the conversation.
A few months back Charles had shown us a bit of how he used the program while on one of our Zoom meetings. He was working on the Memphis issue of our MSCA Zine. I was impressed with the what could be done with it in just those few minutes.
After last night I’m amazed to find out more about what else it can do and support, and for a very reasonable price. I really hadn’t thought about getting a new graphics program (I use Corel Draw and Photoshop), but am really tempted to get it and a new tablet for my new laptop. The question is, since I draw outside the computer left handed, and draw inside the computer right handed, do I just stick with the way things are, learn it left-handed since I’ve got to learn to use the program, or try to get comfortable with either hand- just in case..?
You can check out Antonio’s art at www.adjdesign.com, as well as purchase some of his and wife Tamika’s books, merch and apparel in their shop here.
Since the restaurant closes a bit earlier these days we didn’t have a long time to really get into what all the program can do, but it was a fun introduction to it for many of us. Thanks to Antonio for teasing us with Clip Studio Paint. I hope we can have more demonstrations at future meetings. If anyone would like to lead one, please give Kevin a yell so we can schedule it.
Also looking for guests to talk toons on our Drawing Funny podcast. I can either do a Zoom call or meet in person if needed. Just shoot me an email at podcasy(at)drawingfunny(dot)com and we’ll schedule it. I’d also be happy to interview anyone at our meetings or other events.
I’m glad we were able to have monthly Zoom meetings during the pandemic, but man it’s great to be meeting back in person again.
Don’t forget that MidTownCon is this Saturday from 10-4pm at Black Lodge Video here in Memphis. More and more cons and events are starting up again.
Also, mark your calendars- Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) 2022 is set to be celebrated on Saturday, May 7 at local comic shops across the country and around the world! Check with your local comic shop to see ig/how they are participating, and if there are any requirements/restrictions.
Oh, and Dale Martin has his first show of the year he’s participating in- the Annesdale Snowden Neighborhood Art Walk in Memphis. Dale does a lot of art shows and festivals around the mid-south, so keep an eye out for him and his work.
Stay “tooned” for more MSCA anniversary updates and member news. Hope you all are doing well and drawing funny!
Lin