EVERYONE'S ON STRIKE! // SOLIDARITY IN THE ARTS!
YURR! Habgoblins, hope you all are having a sensational summer! To those who helped with the Emergency Commission Campaign, I appreciate y’all, for real. ANYWAY, let’s get into some updates, upcoming projects, events, and more!
First things first, there’s BRAND-NEW YouTube video on today! Click here to watch it when it goes LIVE today at 1PM EST. I’m VERY close to reaching YouTube Partner, now at 750 Subs. I appreciate the love and support you’ve given my videos over the past month.
DA ART BLOC, SEASON 2 UPDATE
You don’t understand how HYPE I am with the production of the newest season of my art-podcast, DA ART BLOC. Trust me when I say you’ll love EVERY single guest! At the time of this blog upload, I should be recording the last 2 episodes of the season, exciting! While I don’t have a release date yet, you can expect Season 2 to drop Fall 2023.
Want to catch up before the new season? Watch Season 1 here!
THE BLACK SUMMER MARKER IS KING!
Black Summer Market Vendors, July 2023
There is truly no greater feeling than being surrounded by your people. My second time ever doing an art market and I loved it. The Black Summer Market was created by Nay Marie, founder of Adorned in Taji, as way for Black Business Owners to connect directly with the local Black Community. Hosted at the wonderful Nicholas Brooklyn, here in Bedstuy,
This time around, I tried something new (because of I’m always rolling with ideas). At my table, I set up a little trivia show where contestants had to test their cartoon knowledge to win FREE art, from yours truly. However, if they got the answer(s) wrong, they had to eat a JellyBelly Beanboozled Jeallybean (say that 5 times fast). For clarity, the jellybeans don’t taste good, they’re flavored after things like rotten eggs. YUCK!
It was actually a lot of fun, there were some winners AND some losers….AND it was all recorded! I’ll be uploading the “episodes” to my TikTok and YouTube Channel this week. Already thinking of ways to improve it too, so stay tuned for more!
THE HABTOONS PATREON UPDATE
The Erotic Art Tier is here! I’ve been wanting to do this for years, but I finally feel confident enough in my skills to portray positive Black erotica, the likes of which we NEVER get to see. To understand the full scope of what I’m aiming for and why, read this Patron Blog.
From the “Old Masters” to Contemporary favorites, I’ve always admired the complexities and nuances of nudity in art. Western Society often shies away from this, making the human body taboo. As our ideologies become more open, that conversation has been shifting here in America. So, I want to take part and give us a foothold in that arena as Black bodies are often seen as cattle. Hell, we used to be auctioned off.
This tier and its content is only for those interested in that genre, so you won’t see it on Patreon without being subbed to that tier. Don’t worry!
ALSO: The Patreon Art Workshop is being rescheduled. Many of you mentioned schedule conflicts and I want to make sure as many folks as possible can attend. I will have an update on when, but it will be sometime in August. The Patreon Art Workshops serve as a chill space for us to draw and chat, as of right now this will primarily be hosted virtually through my Discord Server. Each session I teach my Patrons on character design, artistic expression, and other useful techniques.
Interested? Sign up here.
THE WGA x SAG-AFTRA STRIKE
The video above goes into greater detail about what’s going on BUT I wanted to talk about it here too; and why I believe more artists and labor unions should follow suit. Can’t see the video? Click this link.
This strike is an historic moment in, not just Hollywood, but history itself. The last time something like this occurred was a little more than 60 years ago. However, this is the largest joint strike to have ever taken place and it’s glorious to watch.
To understand they why, you have to understand the arts.
Art has existed since the dawn of man. Our ancestors used it to tell stories across generations and during some of the darkest times in our history, art was used as vital information to bring our people to safety. From Africa to Europe, and the world over — art has always been with us, to entertain us, inform us, heal us. Through music, dance, visual arts, theater, and beyond.
However, once capitalism entered the ring, things changed. Sure, artists were granted the ability to create the works while generating a (somewhat) stable income. Sure, it’s funded some of the greatest works in our global history. But at what cost? The Art World has been cannibalized by greedy corporations and CEOs that don’t care about “the message”, they just care they it sells. And, with that, comes the plight of a working artist.
Specifically with acting, it used to be that if you worked on a show (writer, actor, producer, extra, etc), you would receive a sizable residual check. This residual check is how many of these hard-working folks maintained their income. A show like Martin would go into syndication, airing on different networks. The more airtime the show got, the more money would come in. You’d have writers (and others) bringing in at least 3k (or more) a month because of this. Great right? Absolutely. Even Background Extras would bring in a sizable bag every month, especially if your face was shown on screen.
With the advent of DVDs, Blu-Ray, and now Streaming…. all that has changed. Where you once were able to bring in a great income and afford health insurance, now you’ve got to barely get by with pennies on the dollar. We often think that out of all types of artists that actors typically make a ton of money, but you’d be surprised. Remember the hit series Orange is the New Black? The show that basically carried Netflix into the streaming age and made them millions? Well, Kimiko Glenn, a series regular featured in over 40 episodes, revealed her residuals from the show, totaling up to just shy of $30. Yes, you read that right.
It’s not just her and it’s not new. We’re talking every actor and show you can think of from Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston to even Star Wars’ John Boyega. This has been going on for decades but only has recently gotten worse, now with the introduction of A.I-based technology. These corpos (corporations) and CEOs only wish to fill their pockets and will cut any corner possible to do so. Just look at this mess that’s been going on with Bob Iger, CEO of Disney.
This sort of mentality is endemic throughout the world of art. A disease that needs to be rooted out because ALL artists deserve to make a fair wage, a living wage. It’s not about making everyone a millionaire; it’s making sure that everyone involved in the production of a work can LIVE and not simply SURVIVE.
It’s been truly sad to see some of my favorite artists and heroes reveal the darker truth of their careers and this industry. Even in comics and animation, surprise-surprise. There was a whole trending hashtag for weeks on Twitter of artists exposing the abusive nature of their work environments, from DC to Marvel and the independent circuit.
I could go on and show many examples, stories, history…because don’t even get me started on the Gaming Industry and other Labor Industries (UPS/Teamsters are striking too). This is a moment of revolution; this is a time for change. If you are an artist reading this, it’s time to band together and push back against the “powers that be”. They’ll try to intimidate us with A.I, they’ll try to demoralize us with shady tactics and empty threats, but they won’t defeat us. The Writer’s Guild, SAG-AFTRA, The Animation Guild, and beyond are a force to be reckoned with.
If you’re NOT an artist, this is your opportunity to get informed, support your local artists (and tip them), and spread the world. I’d recommend following up to date news on the SAG-AFTRA Website, WGA East, and follow trusted sources like Adam Conover.
Stay informed, stay gold
- Hab