An extremely talented artist, a very solid professional and an excellent friend, John Picacio, is running a Kickstarter for his new project, the John Picacio 2013 Calendar.
Holy shit, Sam Sykes is plugging another artist.
In truth, I always do stuff like this. I have a morbid fascination with artists. I think extremely visually (I like seeing things on paper or in motion to see how they fit with what I’ve got in my head), hence why fan art and other pieces of art make me squeal with glee (to that end, if you are a fan artist, you should definitely show me your stuff).
More than that, though, artists make me writhe in envy for doing what I cannot. Much like how I’m certain band conductors writhe in envy at novelists (and stir fry chefs envy band conductors; there’s a whole food chain on this, trust me) for doing what they cannot.
I don’t plug just anyone, though. I don’t plug people whose art I don’t like and I don’t plug jackasses.
It’s my pleasure, then, to offer my support of someone at the extreme opposite of that spectrum.
John’s been a good friend of mine, essentially, since I was published. I met him through Lou Anders and he’s been nothing but a real friend who acts with the utmost care and consideration for his profession and, especially, his work. I’d lend my utmost support to him based on his talent and character alone.
But I wouldn’t plug him unless I thought this was something really, really cool.
So please, take a look at his work on his blog. See if you agree with my assessment. And when the time comes, please consider lending your support to John. It’s really awesome to be able to chip in on an art project, as you all proved when you helped out with the funding for the Unsounded comic (for which Ashley says “thanks!”) and this is a project I wholeheartedly believe is worth supporting.