Local Kickstarter Spotlight – August

Each month GGOrlando turns to crowd-funding website Kickstarter for local projects looking to raise funding.  Here’s some highlights for this month.

Down Right Radical T-Shirts

You have just a couple more hours to contribute to this project, sponsored by local creators Wyatt Garland and Jackson Smith.  Down Right Radical is a thrice-weekly (that’s right, thrice…  I got my MBA bitches, I use big boy words) web comic.  This Kickstarter project is to print a line of shirts based on the comic, entitled “Radical Rooster” and “Swamp Demon Sells Ice Cream”.

Cool Kickstarter Reward:  For $30 you’ll receive one of the shirts, a promotional poster and print, as well as get your face in the comic itself.

The Cartoon Art of Mike Deodato, Jr. – Volume 1

So I don’t know if Mike Deodato, Jr., Marvel Comics’

artist-extraordinaire, actually lives in Orlando or has any relationship whatsoever with our fair city.  But his Kickstarter project shows up under our town, and I’m such a fan of some of his work that I’ll go with it.

Deodato, who has worked on Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, and Dark Avengers, is using Kickstarter to publish a book that doesn’t feature superheroes and spandex.  Instead, this book will feature Deodato himself as a husband and father and the rigors of family life.  In the description he states how he was influenced by the likes of Calvin & Hobbes, and you can definitely tell from the art style featured on the cover which looks straight out of the Sunday comics.  (Editor’s Note:  Can you believe that Calvin & Hobbes hasn’t published a new strip since 1995?!  That kids under 20 may only know the character from those stupid bumper stickers of Calvin peeing on a sports team/auto manufacturer logo?  Sad.)

Cool Kickstarter Reward:  For $150 you’ll receive a signed copy of the book with a custom sketch featuring the character of your choice.  I’d highly recommend his Dark Avengers-era Moonstone.

Mega Pixel Art

Based out of Lakeland, artist Carlos De Araujo wants to bring his artistic stylings featuring classic video game and cartoon characters to next year’s MegaCon.  However, getting a booth at the con isn’t cheap – and that doesn’t even include having actual wares to sell once you’re there.

De Araujo’s interpretation involves detailing characters down to the individual pixel, then blowing up the pixels so you can see that detail.  The profile page on Kickstarter includes, as examples, Goku from Dragon Ball Z, Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3, Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Ryu from Ninja Gaiden.

Cool Kickstarter Reward:  For just $20 you receive a desktop wallpaper featuring some of the designs as well as an 18” x 24” glossy print of your choice.