Despite the fact that the majority of the work I do is with brush and ink, eventually everything has to get digitized for me to finish and then post it. So when my lovely new Cintiq that was generously donated to me last month developed a problem, it paralyzed my output somewhat. The Cintiq’s not fixed, but I got myself a temporary  emergency tablet, and now work can resume.

That means a new webcomic today. It also means I can continue working on my various jobs I’ve been hired to do. So if you’re waiting on a drawing from me, don’t worry, it’s on its way!

Here’s one I did this morning that I’m sorta proud of:

It’s dark, I know. But I just draw what they tell me to draw! So hit me up if you want a piece of that sweet Bria artwork!

 

Continued tablet troubles mean still no comic today. Maybe tomorrow. Until then, please enjoy this Marty McFly dog I drew for a clothing company out of New York City. I’ll be creating more t-shirt images for them and others in the near future, so keep an eye out for more Bria Shirts!

I can’t take full credit for this. The image was based on a prior design that I was asked to rework and improve on, and intimidating task given that the original was actually a rather good drawing! This is a service I offer, and if you have a design concept you think needs something extra (or needs to be reworked entirely) send it my way and I just might be able to help you with it!

I’ve been so focused on my own artistic practice that I don’t typically post outside content to my site. But since I want to live in a world where artists share each other’s work and give each other support and feedback, I would like to change that.

So today I’d like to talk to you about somebody who really should need no introduction, but who I pretty much never see discussed in the circles Life of Bria typically runs in. I’m talking about Quebecois trans cartoonist extraordinaire, Sophie Labelle.

Sophie’s ongoing series, Assigned Male Comics, focuses primarily on the struggles of a cast of different trans kids and their families. It is this focus of hers on trans children that makes her work truly stand out from the comics crowd. By framing these vitriolic debates we often have with the bigots in the context of kids, it shows in a shocking and powerful light the things people say to and about us, and the hypocrisy of those who neglect to stand up to them. Almost to say “If you wouldn’t say this to a kid, why do you think this is a good thing to say at all?”

But despite this multiplication effect of having such hate directed at a child, overall, her work has an empowering and positive tone. Characters’ family members who previously were unsupportive of their transition make incremental progress towards acceptance, and many comics are simple messages of trans empowerment. She’s also produced several colouring books and zines, again primarily directed at kids (but by no means limited to them) that serve in various ways as empowerment vehicles. Her most recent one being a kind of “toolbox” for trans peeps to use as a reference guide in the face of anti-trans bigotry and cis-heterosexism.

Sophie’s own life experiences of growing up trans in small-town Quebec strongly inform her work and give it a rich authenticity. Sophie can write about a trans kid facing discrimination in such a powerful way because she’s BEEN that kid. Furthermore, because she knows what trans kids want and need and feel, her comics can now serve as a kind of therapy to both kids and adults. Reading them feels like a warm hug in an oftentimes cold, uncaring world.

But because her work focuses primarily on children, she has been the target of one of the most vicious (and unwarranted) hate campaigns I have ever seen. I’ve only ever briefly interacted with Sophie online on a couple of occasions, but in every correspondence I’ve seen of her with her fans, she has been nothing but gracious, kind, and firm in her moral convictions. Just like the positive tone of her comics.

Honestly, a large portion of why I wanted to start with Sophie in my efforts to discuss other artists is that I wanted to do what I can to help her in the face of this haras

sment, and to set the record straight for any of you for whom this is the first time you’re hearing about her. It truly is a testament of how much work there is for us to do in this world if somebody like her can face hatred like that. Is this what we as trans people can look forward to? That if we ever rise to the top we can expect to be hammered back down by the relentless tides of bigotry and regressivism? That absolutely cannot stand, and I for one will not be neutral in this conflict.

So as a a fellow transgirl, cartoonist, and Canadian, Sophie certainly has my support in virtually all things. Everything I’ve seen of hers is nothing short of wonderful, and if you like what I do on here, you very likely will feel the same way.

I’m sticking to my promise to post something every single day. Today I’ve put out a new page of what I’m referring to as my ‘Dino Opera’, No Other. I know this story has a few fairly dedicated fans, but what I’m interested in is if people would like there to be more frequent updates on it? Especially given that the pages read pretty quickly. No matter what I’m going to keep putting up something of it every week, but if there’s a demand for it I’ll spend more time on it and maybe start getting 2-3 pages up per week instead of just the one.

I’ve also cleaned up my Patreon account! I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I’m poor as sh*t, and with the amount of work I put into the site I’m literally working two full-time jobs right now. Not only would it make my life immensely easier if I got paid for one of those jobs, but it would also help me keep feeling like people are liking what I’m doing.

 

I’ve done the math, and if even just a third of the regular readers of the site donated a mere $1.00/month, I could quit my stupid service industry job and then could truly work on the site full-time.

So if you like what I do, please consider helping out.

Also! Thanks to a suggestion of a fan, I now accept Bitcoins!

I’m pretty new to this. So, for now, simply send donations to:

 1NqCSdvvLYHRqFUQB3JY5ZMkmSURehEFLL

 

But, of course, even just you reading this is supporting me. So thank you so much!

Love,

Bria

 

 

I’ve made a new webcomic today! I’ve decided that making these comics needs to be my full-time job. So that’s what I’m going to do: make it my full-time job by putting something up literally every single day.

They won’t always be ‘Life of Bria’ webcomics, sometimes they’ll be pages from my graphic novel, ‘No Other‘. Sometimes they’ll be commission projects that I’m particularly proud of. Or sometimes they could even be a showcase of/interview with another artist I admire.

But, the point is, this is what I will be doing with my time from now on. Even if I don’t get paid for it, I’m going to be doing it. What I’m HOPING is that if I produce enough regular content that people are enjoying, eventually people might decide to pay me for it.

There are numerous ways you can do this: by donating to me directly via PayPal or by interac e-transfer through my e-mail lifeofbria at gmaildotcom. I also have a Patreon that I currently am expanding on, and I will also soon be accepting Bitcoins!

You can also help support the site by hiring me to do an Art Commission, or a True-Self Portrait, or a Custom Card by Bria, or by signing up for online voice feminization lessons.

And, the truth is, if roughly a third of the people who read the site regularly donated even just $1.00 per month, that alone could allow me to make this as my ‘job’.

Regardless, literally any amount helps. Lifeofbria.com will always be ‘free’ to view, and I do this because I like it and I think it’s helping enact an important, positive change in the world. It would just be a whole lot easier to do this full-time if I didn’t have to work a second job on top of it.

Also, SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! I would like as many people to read my comics as possible. Aside from the fact that I know many of these comics can and do help many who read them, so the whole point of this is to reach and help as many people as possible, but also, More readers = More money = more comics for you to read. It’s simple economics!!

Thank you so very much to those of you who take the time to read the site. You’re why I do this.

– Love,

Bria