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This has absolutely nothing to do with Girlbot. I just want as many people to see this as possible:

And so resumes the parade of extra material I promised for the fund drive. Here’s the high-resolution PDFs, all conveniently in one post for you…

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Next up: a tale of the mysterious Boybot. Coming…soon!

The NEWW Fund Drive reached $200 earlier this week, and I promised Girlbot development art and thumbnail sketches in return for the support of you lovely people. So here ya go…

One of the very early drawings of Girlbot, doodled before I even started writing the first strips. She’s mutated some since then, but the basic idea remains the same.
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The first set of thumbnails, along with more little brainstormy doodles. Raccoon #1 was originally meant to look more like a real raccoon, as you can see.
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Shortly after launching Girlbot, I decided to make an alternate version of her to make into a big old-fashioned comic strip to enter into a project called the Big Funny. These were some of my brainstorming sketches and notes for that.
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And these are the thumbnails for the Little Miss Mechanical comic.
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This is a big scan of the most recent strip thumbnails in my special Girlbot sketchbook, over a month’s worth. They go from strip #164 to strip #186, which hasn’t even been finished yet. Good luck telling what’s going on in the yet-to-come strips!
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Next goal is $300, when I’ll make a set of hi-res PDFs for everyone to download!

As of this post, the NEWW Fundraiser has earned $134 out of $800. I’m really grateful to those who’ve contributed so far, but $134 just isn’t enough to help me achieve what I want with this thing, my Very First Research Trip. But instead of giving up or having a hissy fit, this is what I’ll do:

The more the fundraiser earns, the more cool bonus stuff I’ll provide for the site.

This doesn’t mean extra incentives just for people who donate, like the wallpaper and sketch cards. These will be available to everyone, even if you don’t give me a dime. Think of it as “Unlocking Achievements” for everyone who likes this little comic I do. The bonus rewards, as I see it, will tick off every $100.

Milestone rewards for…

…$200: scans of development art for Girlbot, including idea doodles and a month’s worth of thumbnail sketches. The thumbnails would go up to the update for August 6th, so it would be a sneak preview of what’s to come, assuming $200 were earned by August 6th.

…$300: a set of hi-res PDFs of all the Girlbot strips so far, for you to read in page form on your computer, iPad, spooky alien device, or whatever. And you can zoom in and see all the little details!

..$400: a bonus comic featuring Boybot, a character completely unimportant to the story of Girlbot, but he’s out there. Somewhere.

…$500: the “Girlbot vs.” series, where Girlbot goes up against robot characters from other webcomics. Will they fight? Fall in love? Completely ignore each other? WHO KNOWS!

…$600: another bonus comic entitled “Girlbot Meets a Pretty Pony,” which is exactly what it sounds like. It would be in page form, between 5-10 pages. Not the sort of story that would fit well in Girlbot proper, but with the same bizarre sense of humor.

…$700: a tour of Girlbot’s home, in illustrations and narrating text. You know you’re curious.

…$800: a solemn pledge to not miss any updates or throw up any last-minute filler i place of actual comics for a full SIX MONTHS, starting at the beginning of September. I do my best to keep the comic going at full speed, of course, but this would be a solid promise of reliable updates, come hell or high water. Other than a couple of scheduled weeks of guest strips and a special comic for the holidays, it’d be all original-flavor Girlbot all the time.

Now, I don’t expect to actually be able to raise $800, but if I could get even halfway there, that would be pretty great. You can’t say I’m not willing to hustle for it!

Right now, we’re only $66 away from the first milestone. *whistles innocently*

As I announced with Wednesday’s update, I’m doing another sketch card fundraising thing-a-ma-thing, but this time I’m going for more money so that I can afford to do an important research trip for a graphic novel I want to start drawing next year, called Saving Halloween. You can still read an early version of the first chapter here, which was originally my senior thesis when I graduated from art school. The final book would be all-new, of course, but research is vital to making it into the best thing it can be. For more of me making a case for why I want to do this thing, check out a post I made about it in my art journal. I would also be attending New England Webcomics Weekend.

So my extra incentive for people to donate to my cause is, obviously, sketch cards! I did some last time for the kind donators, and they came out pretty well. EXAMPLES!

Okay, some things…

1. 100% of donation money and profits from anything people buy from the store will count in the status bar above. I’ll keep it up-to-date so you know what the deal is.

2. There’s a new donation wallpaper! It’s very pretty! It has a raccoon!

3. Anyone who donates at least $5 and gives me a valid mailing address will get a sketch card, customized to their request. The more you donate, the bigger and more elaborate the sketch card will be. I can also do digital sketch cards if you wish, hi-res for good print quality.

4. Buying things from the store — such as some the original comic strip art — will get you extra bonus things thrown in. Whatever I can think of!

5. Even if I fail at this and make a fool of myself, you guys are still awesome. Thanks for reading my comic.

Be on the look-out for rogue robots, especially if you are an old person who needs medicine to live:

Girlbot has been very concerned and wanted me to let you know.

The short version: I had a really good time! If you want a more detailed account of my recent adventures in Portland, I suggest you check out the journal entry on the subject.

Yes, it’s been a long time coming, but there’s finally a new wallpaper incentive for those kind enough to donate to the site. It’s spring-themed, but not in your typical way. You can click the preview image above to make a donation, or go to the donation section of the store. Every little bit helps!

As you’ll notice in the little progress bar I put up on the main page, I met my (pretty modest) goal in two days! You guys are seriously the best. Thanks to everyone who donated or bought a little somethin’ from the store.

You may be wondering if that means the drive is over. Well, kinda…BUT! If there was anyone who was waiting until a little later to throw me a few bucks in exchange for a sketch card, I’m still totally happy to do that for you. I’ll keep the sketch card offer open until the first week, or so, of April, like I said I would. But know that I got what I asked for, and a little more besides.

I’ll be sending out e-mails soon to see what people would like on their cards and such. Some of you were super generous and will therefore be getting extra big, pretty cards so I don’t feel so bad for taking your money.

Once again, thanks to everyone who helped out! It’s nice to know that there are some people out there this invested in what I’m doing in my little corner of the internet. I could use more folks like you.

I put out the call in Monday’s comic newspost for those who read and enjoy this silly little webcomic to possibly buy a few things from my store or donate. This is because, frankly, I’ve been working very hard and stretching myself pretty thin with all my comics work while not actually making very much money at it. And since I’m going to be at Stumptown next month, I hoped that people would be kind enough to help me cover some of the costs I’m incurring with that.

Well, in the last day, I’ve gotten a few very nice donations and a purchase or two from the store, so thanks for that! But I thought I’d make this an official little fund drive to let people know how I’m doing. I did some estimating, and I figured that to cover 1) having a place to sleep, 2) some printing costs, and 3) feeding myself while I’m away, I should try to scrape together $150. Which explains that status bar I put up above this blog here. As you can see, I’m almost a third of the way there already!

This is the deal with donations! Anyone who donates a buck or two will get to download their very own copy of the current wallpaper at whatever size they like, but while I’m having this drive, donations of at least $5 will earn those patrons special custom sketch cards, which range in size from around that of a business card to maybe a small postcard. And the more your donation, the nicer the sketch card will be, I can guarantee. All I’ll need is your address and some info on what sort of sketch you would like. To those who donate for the cards, if you don’t e-mail me with your ideas first, I’ll be sure to e-mail you.

Back to the drive and the status bar, I think $150 is a pretty modest amount, but it would help me out big-time. I plan to keep this going either for roughly two weeks (until some time in the first week of April) or until I make the $150. If I make more than $150, then that’s awesome, but I’m not trying to be greedy. (And if I don’t, I promise not to stamp my feet and get all whiny about it.) If you’re reading this, rest assured that the comic will continue updating whether or not you throw me a few bucks because I’m just swell like that.

100% of donations count toward the goal, and profits from anything sold in the store do, as well. That means that if you buy a print, the price of the print minus the cost of printing will go in the progress bar, but if you donate $10, all of that will count. This doesn’t take into account PayPal fees or anything, though.

Anyway, thanks to those who have helped so far and those who have helped in the past. You’re great folks, and I’m lucky to have you around. Crossin’ mah fingers!