Hey, BOTpeeps! Sorry it’s taken me SOOooOOooo long to update you guys as to what’s going on with me and the comic. While I haven’t found a new job yet or any long-term employment which would allow me to return to writing and drawing JEFbot just yet, I’ve been keeping extremely busy looking for work, taking animation classes, doing freelance jobs and creating some new BOTmerch (including a new tee, prints and more!) for the Phoenix Comicon happening this week. For a while there it didn’t look like I was going to be able to make it to the con this year which is why I’m posting this so late. I’ve been doing PHXCC for four years now, so it would’ve sucked had I not been able to attend, but I’m happy to say it all worked out and I’m now in Arizona writing this post, about to head out to the convention center to get the BOTbooth all set up. Hope to see you there!
BOTBOOTH #774
Phoenix Comic Con
Phoenix Convention Center
100 North 3rd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
As always, I’ll be giving special convention BOTtons away to JEFbot peeps while supplies last, so if you come by the booth, be sure to ask for one. And if you can’t make it to the comicon, I’ll be posting pics and stuff on Facebook and Twitter from the convention floor from now through Sunday. Okay, I’m off to the con!
Have fun storming the castle.
thanks, GB! should be a blast! 😀
Good to hear you’re keeping active! Please come back to us soon! I know the freelance gig can a bitch so best of luck!
thanks, f_f! i can always use a bit of luck – especially at these conventions. and, yes, i gotta keep active or i’ll start losing my mind!!! will hopefully be back making more JEFbot comics soon. 😀
Nice hearing from you Bot, I was getting worried about you! While I am not able to come over to PHXCC (damn you Atlantic Ocean and airplane ticket prices) I will be giving spiritual support from my comfy couch here at home.
Good luck on the job hunt, hope you get something soon. Til then, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Honduras village in 3 weeks! Any CISV plans for you this year?
Helsinki Seminar Camp in like a month. Still havent sent any required forms…
Excited to meet Americans, hoping at least one of them is either a fan of jefbot or on Tumblr… Also excited about cooking for ourselves, although there is bound to be a fire with me in the kitchen.
this all sounds awesome.
thanks for the spiritual support, DAS – must’ve worked cuz it was a great convention! hopefully, flights will get cheaper so i can either make it over to your side of the atlantic or you can make it over to mine. and as far as the job search goes, my fingers are crossed as well! 🙂
I’m so glad you were able to make it to the Phoenix Comicon. I know you really enjoyed it in the past. I hope you come away from it recharged more than exhausted.
So what kind of animation classes are you taking? This is what Taranchilla wants to do when he grows up (more – The dang kid is in high school now and is almost 6′ tall!). But anyway, he has been teaching himself the beginnings of using Blender. Currently it is all about mugs, cups, and fruit. 🙂 But he’s gotta start somewhere!
yeah, it’s one of my favorite cons! wish i could’ve made it to denver this year, tho. *sigh* ah, well. maybe next year. 🙂
as for the classes, i’ve been taking a 2D traditional animation course (where we’re doing TONS of drawings in class and for homework nearly every day,) a storyboard course and just started a “Dynamic Characterization” class a couple days ago that’s already super cool. and mugs, cups and fruit is definitely a great place to start! (i remember doing that stuff in a traditional 2D art class ages ago.) can’t wait to see what Taranchilla creates. 😀
And I’ve got a 3-day weekend!
Not that I’m going to be attending, since that’s 3 timezones away. But still…. 3-day weekend! Bot-booth! Woo!
wooHOO! hope you had an awesome weekend, E. A.! i’m already missing all the fun and excitement of the con.
see he’s not dead 😀
heheheh. yes, the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. 😉
Hope you have a blast and it’s VERY profitable for you!
thanks, JP! it was definitely a good one – looks like i can keep going ’til San Diego Comic-Con now! 🙂
My husband and I loved meeting you today at PHXCC! The Quality Time prints we got from you will be proudly displayed in our living room. So happy to have found you…JEFbot is awesome!!
big thanks, Karen! was great meeting you and your husband, too! happy you’re enjoying JEFbot and the QT prints – send a pic over and i’ll put it here on the site. 🙂
Glad to see you still alive botman. We miss seeing your more often and good luck in your job search!
thanks, Clayton! i definitely still need the luck while searching for a job. hoping good things are on their way!
Hi glad you made it to the convention it’s good to hear that you’re busy trust you’ll find full time work soon!
barely made it to the convention as i had some freelance work that almost interfered, Kris, but in the end it all worked out, thankfully. and, yep, always keeping busy and i’m definitely holding out hope for a full-time job, soon!
Please forgive me, but I’m slightly confused here. What in the HELL does being employed have to do with making comics specifically? I’m sorry, it’s just that I know of people (one person I know personally) who are unemployed, seeking jobs, etc, and in some free time, they manage to doodle, draw a little, fill in the color here and there, etc. It’s not like the entire comic update has to be done in just one sitting. I’m sorry for the confusion here, and if I sound at all insensitive. I do wish you the best of luck with your job hunt, I know how painful unemployment can be, and you don’t deserve to have to keep going through that.
It’s mostly the fact that making the comic is for fun. He does make money from the art/shirts/books but making this webcomic doesn’t specifically make him any money. And when he was putting up three strips a week, that’s several hours per comic that he was working for free for our entertainment. And time that went into this was time spent not searching for another vocation that is more financially responsible. Jeff has been working hard, trying to get into the animation business at Disney or some other animation studio and he does this for us for fun. I am willing to bet that if the Jefbot comic could pay bills and put food on the table, Jeff would definitely do that.
yup. this.
yeah, DJ’s pretty spot-on, Duke – it’s not that i couldn’t squeak out a comic on occasion in the little amount of free time i have between classes, homework, looking for jobs, getting ideas and merch ready for the next con, filling out resumes and beefing up my portfolio for job interviews, (among other things) but right now i have to use my time on projects that will potentially pay the bills which, unfortunately, JEFbot does not at this time. when i had a job, i had much more free time to do the comic as i wasn’t worried about how i was going to make the next car payment, or rent. my weekends were mostly free as was my time as soon as i clocked out of the office for the day, but now i pretty much need to be hustling 24/7, doing odd jobs here or there for MUCH less pay. as much as i LOOOOOVE writing and drawing JEFbot, it’s just not feasible at the moment. hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) that will change soon.
Now it makes sense, thank you both for explaining, it’s much appreciated. 🙂
Sorry you’re kept so busy with everything.
hopefully i’ll be busier with a (really, really cool) job soon, Duke, so i can get back to JEFbot!
So, why you no get on the all-the-other-comics bandwagon? Why you make it hard for people to throw free money at you, where be patreon or even a donation button? WHY YOU NO?! Even if the donations are minimal/almost nonexistant, it’d still be 100% profit and every little bit helps, right?
every little bit does indeed help, Hrmm, but i’d feel even more guilty if i was taking money from readers without giving them something in return – namely, new comics! the best way to support the site (and me) is to buy something from The BOTshop. that way, you and i both get something we’d like. 😀
It was great to see you at the con! Glad I was able to drive a little business your way, and really happy to add another BOTton to my collection. Hope you’ll join us next year in sunny Phoenix!
PS: Any chance you might check out Tucson Comicon in the fall?
great seeing you too, Steve, and thanks for your support! always happy to see you in Phoenix and glad you were able to get a new BOTton to add to your collection. definitely going to try and make it again next year as long as i don’t have a job or boss that prevents it (which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing depending on the job, heheh.)
wasn’t planning on Tucson but i’ll look into it. is it a big show?
Not really. We had about 8,000 attendees last year and they’re estimating between 10,000 – 15,000 attendees this year. It is, however, just down the road from Phoenix.
good to know, thanks!
Regarding my question about a terrier and a stimulant. You get a hairicane.
perfect! thanks?