Rina Piccolo: Comics and More… A Free Monthly Newsletter!
What’s it about? Comics, art, art journalling, and the crazy world of the creative professional. Join me for some fun and inspiration. Hit that subscribe button!
Upcoming Panel Appearance
On Tuesday March 5th at 1pm EST I will be part of a panel with McMaster University Health Sciences Library. This is a virtual event and free to attend, so please register today to reserve your spot! Here’s all the info and links. It’s going to be an exciting discussion. Hope to see you there!
THIS EVENT WILL BE RECORDED. Register HERE.
Crazy Party Room… or Cube?
Here’s another 2D/3D video I created with Mental Canvas (a drawing app that allows you to build and draw 3 dimensional environments; see below for more). I really enjoyed putting this together. Drawing bizarre characters is one of my fav things to do. Hope you enjoy it!
In the past year I’ve been terrible at posting here and in social media. The reasons for this are varied: I’ve had some private gigs in which I worked on videos and illustrations that came with confidentiality clauses, and so I couldn’t post the work publicly. Ah well. The good news is that aside from working on Rhymes With Orange, I've been working on a couple of projects that I will be able to share in the future. Anyhow, hope you enjoy this shorty Mental Canvas piece!
A Virtual Diorama
Most Dioramas are built with paper, wood, paint… I thought I’d make a virtual one using my old iPhone box (I knew that thing would come in handy some day!) The box is real, and the diorama inside it was drawn and built with Mental Canvas. Hope you enjoy it!
An Interactive Sketch!
Here’s a video of an interactive drawing I created in the wonderful Mental Canvas software. Mental Canvas (also available as an IOS app) allows you to draw spatially and create scenes in three dimensional environments. To virtually explore the drawing, you can jump into it HERE. For more interactive stuff, scroll down this page…
Hope you enjoy it! Stay tuned for more…
Yes, it’s interactive! To virtually jump into this drawing, click the link above.
For The Record Interview
Hey folks, my interview with Joyce Grant of the Toronto Star is now online! Joyce is the creator and writer of the feature For The Record, a free journalism teaching resource that runs monthly in the paper and on the web. We talked about how daily newspaper comics are created, and the creative process that helps generate funny cartoon ideas. It was a fun chat… check it out here!
Zombies! A Cartoon Video
Here’s a Halloween video I created using the Mental Canvas app. Hope you enjoy it!
The Mental Canvas Reimagine Drawing Challenge!
Fellow comic artists, I’m excited to tell you about the Mental Canvas Challenge, and specifically this week’s Mini-Challenge which features comics, and graphic novels. (See info below.)
As host of the Mini-Challenge, which launched yesterday and closes August 26th, I’ll be checking in to see your work, if you submit! (Check how below.)
Mental Canvas is a fun and creative drawing software that allows you to draw in a 3D environment. With its infinite canvas (literally, it is) just imagine what comic worlds you can build with it.
And yes, there are cash prizes to be won!
Read below for more information on this week’s Mini-Challenge (Mini-Challenge #3), and for the ultimate Reimagine Drawing Challenge.
As your host this week, and I urge you to submit your work!
This is a small cartoon scene I did a while back based on a Rhymes With Orange cartoon.It’s been made into an animated Gif so that you can see how Mental Canvas works. This is just one way to use the software. Just think of the possibilities.
Here’s more info on how to submit your work: MENTAL CANVAS Reimagine Drawing Challenge
Good luck to all participants— I’ll be watching!
More Interactive Cartoon Art!
This is a still from a “DoodleScape” — a doodle that is interactive, and explorable. Click on the link below and jump in!
Wouldn’t it be great if you can go inside a doodle? Here’s something I like to call a “DoodleScape” — a drawing you can virtually “walk through” and explore. Check it out HERE. Drawn with the wonderful Mental Canvas software.
Hey comics fans, remember my comic strip Tina’s Groove? If you do I hope you’ll be as excited as I am to have Tina back online. And if you don’t, then here’s your chance to get acquainted! Starting today, a selected archive of Tina’s Groove comics will re-run on COMICSKINGDOM.COM.
When I decided to end Tina’s Groove in 2017, lots of readers reached out to ask if I’d publish the archives. I hesitated for 4 years. I really had to mull it over. The reason? To be honest, I HATE my old stuff! It’s downright cringe-worthy! I’m not alone— many comic artists feel the same over their own past works. It’s kind of like the feeling you get when you hear a recording of your own voice. You think, “is that me? Do I really sound like that? Ugh, I sound … stupid!” Can you relate? In any case, I came around, and here we are.
For new readers to Tina’s Groove, here’s all you need to know: Tina’s a waitress. The strip revolves around her work-life (ever work in a restaurant? That’s crazy enough, right?), and her life-life: friends, relationships— you get the idea. The comic strip ran daily for 15 years (2002-2017) in newspapers and online. Fifteen years is a long time — the archives will show you how the drawings and gags developed over time. I’ll be on the sidelines cringing.
Seriously, I do hope you enjoy Tina’s Groove. People tell me it’s a fun strip. I’m happy to go with that and leave you to it.
I’ll be posting on the Comics Kingdom website from time to time to share my thoughts on some of the old strips, and who knows, maybe put up some new Tina drawings!
Lastly, I want to thank everyone at King Features Syndicate for helping to once again make Tina’s Groove available to comics fans everywhere.
Now here’s that link— go check it out! TINA’S GROOVE ARCHIVE
