2024 Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale

In what is becoming a lovely annual tradition, I’ve once again did all the art for the poster for the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale (see the poster below). And, of course, I’ll be one of the participants in this year’s show.

This is organized by Charlotte Taylor and, as always, she’s bringing together a whack load of of artists from all sorts of artistic practices for the sale. Charlotte is proud of her community (the neighbourhood of Vanier) and she has fought hard to make sure that Vanier is recognized as the vibrant section of Ottawa it is.
The poster has all the details. And the Vanier Artisans has its own page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanierartisans

I’ll be bringing a number of my comics (including the hot off the press edition of SHEBA THE GREAT!) and graphic novels. Plus prints, cards, and a few other odds and ends.

So if you’re interested in meeting some amazing artists and perhaps buying some lovely art for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or “just because,” please drop by. It will be held at the Vanier Community Service Centre (https://cscvanier.com/) on Sunday, November 24th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

It will be loads fun!

Media Release

Ottawa, Ontario November 19, 2024 — The holiday season is here, and it’s the perfect time to support local makers, discover unique gifts, and experience the magic of Christmas — all in one place. Organized by Charlotte Taylor and held at the Vanier Community Service Centre, the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale brings a festive blend of handmade goods, local artistry, and holiday cheer to your season.

“Whether you’re looking for one-of-a-kind books and comics, art, photography prints, or cozy knitted items, this year’s market has something special for everyone on your list,” noted Taylor. “You’ll also find handcrafted soaps, candles, pottery, baked goods, and much more, all created with love by our talented local artisans. And, to help kick off the season, Charlotte Media House will be offering free Christmas photos… so bring your holiday spirit and a big smile!”

Mark your calendars and get ready to experience the magic of Christmas at the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale.

“You really don’t want to miss out on this incredible opportunity to shop local, support small businesses, and get your hands on some handmade treasures,” Taylor added. “The fair is a fun, family friendly way to spend an afternoon and we hope to see you there!”

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, November 24, 2024 (10:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Location: Vanier Community Service Centre, 270 Marier Avenue, Vanier, ON K1L 5P7

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/15YicbRKgG/

Vanier Community Association page: https://www.vanier-association.com/en/event/vanier-artisans-christmas-craft-sale/

Drawing Kids

Given everything that has been going on, when I get a chance to draw I've been looking for fun little pieces to work on. The illustrations below certainly fit that bill!

Drawing kids is a great deal of fun. Very challenging, but fun! Why challenging? Drawing adults allows for more "wiggle-room." In other words, there's more flexibility in how one chooses to render adults. Or rather, I find that there's more flexibility. That's partially based on style, probably mixed in with a bit of my own sensibility when it comes to figure drawing. If you over-render children, they immediately look "wrong." Generally my goal is to try and keep everything as simple as possible while (at least in these cases) still maintaining my own visual style. It might sound easy, but it's really not in practice. In the cases of all these girls, I didn't want to get too cartoony or abstract, so that also influenced how I approached each piece.

In the case of the middle illustration, I also decided to play a bit with colour holds (where I change my black linework to a colour). Why do it? Again, for fun! It's neat to play and see how the art (and, more importantly, the feeling of the art) changes with different visual approaches. I've done it before, something you can see in this little celebration of Mary Marvel.

One of the things I love about art is that there's no "right" way to do it. There are multiple ways and multiple approaches. How one feels about that is a reflection of them, at least in that particular moment. And, of course, opinions change about art, too. Even how I approach colour has changed over time (see this, for example).

I don't know about you, but I find that pretty exciting.

Illustration of young girls balancing books on their heads by Von Allan

Illustration of three girls raiding a bubble gum box and blowing bubbles by Von Allan

Short Story - Bubbles!

UPDATE! While you can always read the short story below, I have decided to start making my comics freely available to all for easier digital reading. Please visit https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html for more information and download links!

This is another older story that I recently re-coloured (to read some other "revamped" short stories, please see here and here). In fact, this is one of the first stories I ever wrote and drew and it went through a lot of evolution. I finally redrew it back around 2015 but I still wasn't happy with the colours, mainly because I was having issues getting the colours "print-ready." With this version, they finally are. This one is a lot of fun and (shockingly!) is loosely based on a real event that happened to my wife and I. Yes!

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 1

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 2

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 3

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 4

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 5

Bubbles a short story written and illustrated by Von Allan Page 6

This story first saw print in the comic book titled STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 back in 2019. Unfortunately, the print edition is out of print (though you might be able to find a copy using Bookfinder). But! This story — as well as a boatload of others — were collected into a beautiful hardcover edition titled LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION. More information about that edition can be found right here.

In addition, there is also a digital comic book version of STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 on Kindle that can be read anywhere in the world. That edition is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QX5LJC.

Concept Art and Character Design with Kids

I've been working on some concept art and character designs for a possible short story. I thought I'd share some of the designs I've come up with so far.

Boy Concept Art and Character Design for Young Carers Short Story Illustrated By Von Allan

Boy and Girl Concept Art and Character Design for Young Carers Short Story Illustrated By Von Allan

Girl Concept Art and Character Design for Young Carers Short Story Illustrated By Von Allan

Muslim Girl Concept Art and Character Design for Young Carers Short Story Illustrated By Von Allan

Girl with Toque Concept Art and Character Design for Young Carers Short Story Illustrated By Von Allan

The Mary Marvel Fan Club!

The Mary Marvel Shazam Fan Club by Von Allan

I have a soft spot for Mary Marvel and the rest of the entire Marvel Family. Plus that wonderful ol’ wizard Shazam! This illustration features two kids inspired by Mary Marvel and was loosely inspired by a story in the old 1970’s SHAZAM! series, specifically “The Haunted Clubhouse” in issue 13 by E. Nelson Bridwell and Bob Oksner.

For a bit more of my art featuring Mary, please visit https://www.vonallan.com/2022/09/mary-marvel-fanart.html.

That 1970’s series is an odd-duck. DC Comics had successfully purchased the old Fawcett Comics intellectual properties and attempted to relaunch Captain Marvel for a new era. It didn’t quite work and I’m not sure why. Legendary Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck had been brought back to draw Cap’s new adventures, but left after ten issues over (as Wikipedia notes), “due to ‘creative differences’ regarding plotlines.” Writer Otto Binder would later remark in an issue of the FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA fanzine (later republished in the FAWCETT COMPANION: THE BEST OF FCA) that he understood Beck’s point of view, noting “My opinion would be that the new stories are a little too whimsical, and downright silly at times. In the old days we treated Captain Marvel lightly with humor and satirical plots; but nevertheless we were quite serious about putting across Captain Marvel’s character, with Billy Batson as the actual main character. We took a great deal of care to keep them both in character, but that took endless discussions, while being immersed with the atmosphere of the times, all of which the new writers are missing I’m afraid. Hence, their attitude toward the Captain Marvel character is well out of character!”

Having read a number of these issues and compared them to the public domain Fawcett issues that “out there” on the internet, I think I can see what both Beck and Binder were alluding to. That said, I’m not sure what the two would have thought of Mary’s adventures. She wasn’t in that many issues of the 1970’s revival series and only featured a handful of times, but I did like the stories that she was in. They could have used more magic realism, though, something that I’d argue was a hallmark of Binder’s stories with Mary, at least in the pages of WOW COMICS.

All that said, I still really love Mary Marvel. She was (and is) a wonderful character, full of compassion, strength, joy, love, and courage. What more could anyone ask for in a hero?

Various Kids

Some inked illustrations of kids of all ages. The first two were done as warm-up sketches a number of months ago. The last one was a bit of character design for a short story and includes some rough pencils, too. Drawing kids can be challenging (they aren't small adults!), but a lot of fun, too.

Photos from the book launch of Stargazer

The book launch for Stargazer took place at Ottawa's Perfect Books on Sunday, November 7th. Turnout was pretty good if I do say so myself and the bookstore seemed quite pleased with the sales. That's win-win, I think! What follows are some photos that were taken from the launch. My wife took the first four and the rest were taken by the "The Phantom Photographer."