My first graphic novel, Upside Down: A Vampire Tale (October 2012, Top Shelf Productions), was recently nominated for an Arty Award from the Salt Lake City Weekly, and I just found out that my book won for the Best Graphic Novel/Zine! Hooray! Thank you to everyone that voted and got involved. Keep watching this blog and…
For all of you in Utah, come join me tonight at the Great Salt Lake Guitar Company (in Provo) for an incredible benefit concert! John-Ross Boyce and His Troubles and the Eden Express are headlining tonight’s event, and I’ve been invited to play along with Utah’s finest, including a special unannounced guest. [bandcamp album=2819893109 bgcol=FFFFFF…
I’ve decided to go on a book tour this fall to celebrate the release of my first graphic novel, Upside Down: A Vampire Tale (out from Top Shelf Productions this October)! Thanks so much for all the feedback, suggestions, and responses to last week’s Help Me Plan My Book Tour (Part I). I’M GOING APE Upside Down: A Vampire…
A BOOK TOUR? I recently came across this blog post from comics publisher First Second Books and was immediately drawn in by the opening statement: “So, you’re thinking about going on a book tour to celebrate the release of your next book. How exciting!” I’M PLANNING A BOOK TOUR As a matter of fact, I am…
My first graphic novel is called Upside Down: A Vampire Tale, and it comes out this October. That’s just two months away! Eeek! Comics, drawing, and telling stories have been passions of mine for as long as I can remember, so this book has been a long time coming. I recently got a chance to talk…
My Monster Pack of limited-edition tattoos is down to just two weeks on Kickstarter and I just can’t stop drawing monsters. That’s why we’ve just opened our $10 reward level: for $10 you get a 5-minute digital monster drawing from illustrators Jess Smart Smiley (that’s me!) and Julia Green. TWEET! $10 monster drawings from @jess_smiley and @juliagreenart! http://kck.st/N60Bfs
I’ve been working with the good people at Comic Strip Tees to make this Skate Bird t-shirt, and it’s out today! The shirt features the skateboarding bird from the Comics Grab Bag and you can get yours at ComicStripTees. SPREAD THE WORD Wanna help spread the word? Just copy and paste this Tweet to share the news:…
Salt Lake City’s Alt Press Fest on Saturday, July 7, was amazing! The Alt Press Fest is a one-day independent zine festival featuring artists and authors, music, demos and workshops, held at the Salt Lake City library, home to one of the largest zine collections in the world! I was invited to set up a table,…
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From today’s interview with Gavin’s Underground for City Weekly: “Gavin: What’s the process for you when creating a new comic, from first idea to final product? Jess: One fun way to start is to put three characters you’ve made together, and start an idea map (or idea web) and jot down little ideas about each character.…