Thank You

It's amazing how fast time flies. If this is the day to give thanks, then here's a limitless thank-you for this amazing daughter, and a wish for a great Thanksgiving day from my family to all of you.

SEVEN

Yup. As of today, we have only seven short days remaining, before the Kickstarter campaign for my 2013 Calendar is officially over on Wednesday, November 28th at 12 noon. I've noticed many folks waiting until this Kickstarter is over so they can buy this calendar in stores. Not good -- this Kickstarter drive is the ONLY way to get this calendar. So if you miss out now, then you very likely will miss out on this calendar altogether -- and the bonus rewards that potentially come with it. The Kickstarter is the way to go. Please spread the word.

What does this Kickstarter drive have for you?

1) You score a unique collectible wall calendar, and because the item isn't being store distributed, you'll own something that store buyers won't.

2) One of the reasons for this -- we'll be rushing to focus on getting all Kickstarter orders out in the attempt to deliver by Xmas to as many folks as possible. Because of the compressed timeline, there won't be time to market these beyond the Kickstarter. And before you know it -- bang -- it'll be January 1, 2013. So the Kickstarter really IS the way to be sure you get these items before the holidays.

3) You need Xmas gift-giving ideas? These calendars can make a lot of your coolest art and book-loving friends happy, with one click of a button. If you have an Amazon account, you're good to go. :)

4) We have prints, original artwork and unique opportunities available in addition to the calendars, including the opportunity for you to become a piece of published sf/f art. Yes -- you! And please note that the $40 level scores you a signed calendar, an archival print of the cover art, free worldwide shipping -- AND if we achieve the 20K mark, you'll get a free 12-page bonus sketchbook. A pretty darn good deal, when you need to stretch your dollars.

5) We're currently less than $600 short of 18K! If we achieve that mark, one lucky Kickstarter backer will win this drawing, absolutely free -- and that could be you. Let's try to make this happen ASAP, folks -- so that we can give away another drawing at 20K, on top of unlocking more rewards for you.

6) You can also have your birthday printed in the calendar, which means you can actually attempt to claim your birthday as a federal holiday to your employer. (Successful results may vary.)

7) And the best thing? You'll earn karma and good favor from our celebrity endorser, Samantha The Great -- and the Power of the Pink Trike will be on your side in The Eternal Struggle Between Good vs. Evil. Let's make it happen, folks.

How You Can Become A Work Of Art

I'm pleased to see my 2013 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter doing well so far. If you look at that page, you'll see the $2000 pledge level is called the "Art Muse" level. I've received a number of inquiries about this, so I want to address what $2000 gets you because I'm very excited about this.

In addition to calendars, prints, original art and other goodies, you receive a very unique opportunity -- the chance to model for an upcoming published illustrated artwork created by me. This original new illustrated artwork will be inspired by photographs of you, or the person of your choice. The opportunity includes exclusive initial consultation with me, and it's a very rare opportunity to not only be a part of the making of a piece of published art, but to immortalize yourself (or someone you love) as a piece of artwork for all to see.

So what are the artworks in question?

In 2013, Lone Boy will be publishing a bold new Loteria card deck and game featuring my artwork -- and you can become a part of one of these 54 cards.

I'm planning to make this Loteria deck one of the finest works of my career to date, and I've already started creating the cards.

For reference, here are what the classic, traditional Loteria cards look like for "La Sirena" (The Mermaid), "La Rosa" (The Rose), and "El Pescado" (The Fish).

And now for comparison, have a look at my completed pencils for my new versions of "La Sirena" and "El Pescado".

If you would like to become a part of this opportunity, here's the list of Loteria cards that you can consider immortalizing yourself as:

1 El Gallo – The Rooster

3 La Dama – The Lady

4 El Catrin – The Gentleman

7 La Escalera – The Ladder

10 El Arbol – The Tree

11 El Melon – The Melon

12 El Valiente – The Brave One

13 El Gorrito – The Bonnet

16 La Bandera – The Flag

17 El Bandolon – The Mandolin

20 El Pajaro – The Bird

21 La Mano – The Hand

24 El Cotorro – The Parrot

25 El Borracho – The Drunk One

26 El Negrito – The Dark One (Changing this from a racial reference to a magical thing)

29 El Tambor – The Drum

32 El Musico –The Musician

34 El Soldado – The Soldier

38 El Apache – The Apache

43 La Campana – The Bell

44 El Cantarito – The Water Pitcher

47 La Corona – The Crown

48 La Chalupa – The Canoe

If you want to discuss, please drop me a comment below, and we can chat here, or offline via email. I think this Loteria deck is going to be one of the major works of my career, and it would be a blast to have you as a part of it. :)

The 2013 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter

Great news -- the 2013 John Picacio Calendar will indeed be available next month, and you can reserve yours right now via Kickstarter. In addition, we have plenty of prints and reward opportunities available  at various pledge levels. Note that $25 gets you a calendar. $35 gets you a signed one, plus free shipping. And $40 is a really good deal as it gets you all of the above, plus a free print of the calendar's cover artwork.

And if we reach the next funding goal, then all orders $35 and above will receive a free 12-page sketchbook featuring process sketches and notes from the calendar's artworks.

The campaign will end on November 28th at 12 noon Eastern, and these calendars will not be available in stores. So I encourage you to stock up via Kickstarter right now, so that we can try to fill your order in time for the holiday gift-giving season! Thanks, folks!