This Saturday, April 18, the CraftSanity team will be among the hundreds of comics and zine fans who are expected to swarm a concert venue in Lansing, Michigan, for the second Lansing Independent Comics and Zine Fest (LICZ!). https://www.liczfest.com/

The show attracted more than 600 people in its inaugural year, and the one-man band LICZ! organizer and art enabler, Jimmy “Soup” Coyer, is cautiously optimistic that even more people will turn out this year - especially given the show’s new rented digs – Lansing’s Grewal Hall. (The show is scheduled from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. at 224 S. Washington Square. Abby and Jennifer will be vending in booth 19!!)

We’re glad Jimmy took the week before LICZ! off from his day job so he could pencil in an 8 a.m. CraftSanity Podcast interview with us to discuss Ultra Mega https://www.instagram.com/ultramega.studio/, the community print shop he operates out of his living room, and reveal what it takes to launch a comics and zine fest.

Even if you’re too far away to make the trek to LICZ! Fest this weekend, we hope you’ll tune in for our chat with Jimmy. His enthusiasm for making art tools accessible to everyone is contagious, and we’re here for it!

Instagram links for all three of us:

Jimmy: https://www.instagram.com/ultramega.studio

Abby: https://www.instagram.com/dipper.draws/

Jennifer: https://www.instagram.com/craftsanity

Rhiannan Sibbald, a Grand Rapids based illustrator and muralist, shares how she got her start, how to break into public art, mural tips, and how to get paid for your work!

Zines! Zines! Zines!

Keep up with Rhiannan!

And Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rhiannansibbald/

This week Jennifer and Abby are bringing you an interview with Sean Dempsey! Sean is a self-published comic artist and illustrator who travels all over the Midwest for indie comic and small press shows. Sean shares some tabling tips, how he balances illustration with a non-art job, and how to stay structured outside of art school.

Zines! Zines! Zines!

You can read a free zine of Sean’s advice here https://craftsanity.com/sean-dempsey, or order a physical copy. https://craftsanityshop.com/products/dear-a…t-student-zines

Keep up with Sean!

Check out Sean’s:

Website https://www.smdempseycomics.com/portfolio/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/smdempseycomics/

You can also sign up for the new CraftSanity newsletter: https://jenniferackermanhaywood.substack.com/?r=22e04h&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

This week Jennifer and her daughter Abby are bringing you an interview with Julia Kaye, a cartoonist and storyboard artist. Julia is a published comic artist with two graphic novels. She is known for her “UP and OUT” gag webcomic and her autobiographical comics about life as a trans woman, “Super Late Bloomer” and its sequel “My Life In Transition.” Julia also worked as a storyboard revisionist on “Big City Greens” and as a storyboard artist on “Jellystone!”

Julia shares how she filled in the gaps of her art school education, how webcomics got her a job at Disney, and her self-promotion tips!

Zines! Zines! Zines!

You can read a free zine of Julia’s advice here https://craftsanity.com/julia-kaye/, or order a physical copy. https://craftsanityshop.com/products/dear-art-student-zines

Keep up with Julia!

Website https://www.juliakaye.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/upandoutcomic/#

Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/upandoutcomic.bsky.social

Super Late Bloomer https://a.co/d/fQDkAYX

My Life In Transition! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1524860468?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_RCAHC50FCNJ2RK8FWYKZ&bestFormat=true

Get involved!

Have some advice for fellow artists you want to share? Send a short voice recording to [email protected] and we might play it in a future episode!

This week Jennifer and her daughter Abby are bringing you an interview with Connie Jin, an interactive developer/designer, comics journalist, and illustrator. Connie is working on a graphic novel and is a graphics reporter at National Public Radio! They share their journey with art, how to balance the creative workloads of a day job and a passion project, getting out of a creative slump, and mental health tips for creatives!

Zines! Zines! Zines!

You can read a free zine of Connie’s advice here: https://craftsanity.com/connie-jin/

Or order a physical copy: https://craftsanityshop.com/products/dear-art-student-zines

Keep up with Connie!

Check out Connie's work...

for NPR: https://www.npr.org/people/776502220/connie-hanzhang-jin

website: https://connjin.github.io/

and Twitter: https://x.com/connjie

(This comic for NPR might be particularly helpful to check out if you’re feeling stressed! https://www.npr.org/2024/10/16/g-s1-27725/comic-science-backed-mood-boosters-to-almost-instantly-snap-you-out-of-a-funk)

Get involved!

Have some advice for fellow artists you want to share? Send a short voice recording to [email protected] and we might play it in a future episode!

Jennifer and her daughter Abby interview Genice Chan! Genice is a freelance visual development artist and illustrator known for her concept art for the Netflix anime series “Brand New Animal.” She shares her journey from school, to studio work, to freelancing, and some tips about managing the grind and making sure you get paid.

Zines! Zines! Zines!

You can read a free zine of Genice’s advice here, or order a physical copy.

Keep up with Genice!

Check out Genice's website, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr!

Get involved!

Have some advice for fellow artists, or a question you want to share? Send a short voice recording to [email protected] and we might play it in a future episode!

On this episode of the CraftSanity podcast Jennifer and her daughter Abby interview David Huang, a metalsmith who makes vessels and jewelry and has a unique approach to financing a studio art career. Abby was introduced to David’s work when her college professor gave her some of his articles about making money as an artist. Listen to David’s story and advice for emerging artists!

Zines! Zines! Zines!

You can read a free zine of David’s advice here, or order a physical copy.

Keep up with David!

Check out David’s website, Instagram, blog, and articles about the business side of art.

You can also check out David's article about making art that connects here!

Get involved!

Have some advice for fellow artists, or a question you want to share? Send a short voice recording to [email protected] and we might play it in a future episode!

Lou Tsui is an illustrator, designer, and the artist in residence at CopyCat Studio, a risograph and artist retail space they opened in 2024. They are based in Vancouver, B.C. and have a cat baby named Tongyuen. Abby met Lou last year when Lou came to Grand Valley State University to lead a zine-making workshop. Listen to Lou’s story and advice for emerging artists! 

You can read a free zine of Lou’s advice here: https://craftsanity.com/dearartstudents/ 

Or order a physical copy here: https://craftsanityshop.com/products/dear-art-student-zines 

Keep up with Lou!

https://www.instagram.com/louscribbles/ 

https://www.louscribbles.com/ 

Check out CopyCat Studio!

https://www.instagram.com/copycat_riso/ 

https://www.copycatriso.com/ 

4000 Number 3 Rd, Unit 2045, Richmond, British Columbia