The Journey of EWG - Day 4 of 5
By Eryck Webb and Kristina Webb
Today we look back at the personal difficulties that I faced and how they spurred increased creativity and productivity.
2012-2013: Hardship and Motivation
Fall 2012 and through the end of 2013, was one of the most difficult, and ironically one of the most fruitful years for both the business as a whole and myself as an artist. Creativity flowed in the form of client work, improvements in the business model, and also in personal works. This was the year that Eryck Webb Graphics really displayed a creative presence and showed signs of real stability and progress. New avenues for public exposure and new ambitions were the theme heading towards the 4th anniversary of this business. EWG was presence on the web, continuing to get new commissions daily, offering up fun sales and specials whenever an opportunity would arise, and continuing to offer a variety of commission types within 3 main categories: Character Art, Comic Art and Graphic Design.
2013 saw the face logo became much closer to where it is today. The splash was gone, the circle shape was emphasized and the overall look was enhanced to appear more aggressive and exciting. Eryck Webb Graphics became more prominent as the official name of the brand. This was done by adding a type-logo for the name to the face logo.
Soon the ideal setup would get moved again around Labor Day 2012 when my wife, Kristina, was hospitalized and it became obvious it was going to be at least a year long recovery. For help with the care-taking during her recovery, we moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania to stay at her parents' house. EWG has since been run out of my bedroom / work space at this location. This hardship was ironically one of the best fuels for my creativity over the last decade. The work and the personal projects helped give me something else to focus on in between care-taking duties. It motivated me to provide for my wife and work towards the life we would be getting back to after her recovery.
Almost three years later, EWG continues on concrete as ever and has learned how to thrive through difficult circumstances and less-than-ideal work settings. Not to mention I'm happy to say Kristina is all better and we even took care of her mother for the following year, and are now on the hunt to pickup where our life together left off before the illnesses. We are a little stronger and a little wiser. As my wife and I emerged from this several year challenge a lot stronger, so too has EWG emerged as a more solidified brand and the doors continue to open to accept yet unknown possibilities for new growth and success.
"I've been working with Eryck Webb for almost 2 years now. And it has been the easiest relationship I've ever had. LOL. First as a customer, and now as a collaborator. The last year and a half working with him on TnC Comics has been a blast and gone by so quickly. I enjoy working with Eryck because he makes the process go so smoothly, from answering emails in a quick fashion to doing artwork online to allow the customers immediate input on the art. It's been a pleasure the last two years and I can't wait to add many more years under our belt."
Cory Matthews
TnC Comics
2012-2013 Notables:
● Labor Day, 2012 - Kristina became sick and we moved from our rented house in Ohio into her family's home in Pennsylvania so they could help with the care taking. This is where I setup shop and have been staying/working through 2015. I credit much of the abundance in creativity and production to EWG being 'my escape' during this time and helping me get through a year (2012-2013) of care taking for my wife. Then after she was healthy again, spending a year (2013-2014) taking care of her mom who had become ill. Heading into 2015, I'm happy to say both have fully recovered and are doing well. Now we're in the process of looking for a new house to call home. Perhaps this next home will see EWG have a dedicated studio/ work space to crank out epic arts for the next five years and more.
● Winter 2013 - 'Ungrounded Kickstarter Sampler' - EWG was approached by Patrick Gerard to be the artist on a 4 page sampler for his comic Kickstarter. He also commissioned a couple character art pieces to go with it. The Kickstarter was a resounding success and the book moved forward to become paperback, eBook and hardback editions.
● Winter 2013 - This year was the beginning of Livestream use to provide a more real-time interaction with clients and to help demonstrate and exhibit my workflow and style. The first ever Livestream commission sale was a Fundraiser to help offset cost of Kristina's hospital stays. Later, this evolved into several specials and live sketch nights. Similar to an online convention table, I drew each piece before the client's eyes as they placed orders. A convention commission without the convention. Weekly streams can be seen on the EWG Livestream page here: https://new.livestream.com/accounts/1065426
● Winter 2014 - Chibis - This stylized art form option for character art commissions was introduced as a non-regular, special-only item. This came about because of the encouragement from client and friend Cory Matthews. The EWG style chibis would be a repeat success in every event/ special offered. They personify the true attitude and personality of each character they are done for and continue to be a blast for EWG to create and for the clients to enjoy.
● Summer 2013 - 'Ungrounded' - The Kickstarter ended and work began on the 56 page graphic novel in full color. This proved to be one of my best published works to date and one of the biggest challenges in maintaining quality art and story telling despite other personal life challenges during this time. The Kickstarter was nothing short of a success and I was brought on as the main interior artist and character designer for the rest of the book. Other artists contributed pinups and covers and there was even a cameo by the Bare Naked Ladies, with their consent. Ungrounded was Created/Written by Patrick Gerard with character designs and interior story art by Eryck Webb Graphics. It is available in eBook, trade paper back and hard cover forms! Check the book out here: http://patrickgerard.wix.com/ungrounded-comic
● Summer 2013 - '80sTees.com' -I was commissioned to illustrate a Transformers related piece to use on apparel under their Hasbro license. I also designed and produced a mouse-pad graphic featuring dozens of 80s pop-culture cartoon, live action tv show, movie and video game characters that went on sale around Christmas 2013. The mouse pad was released twice and sold out both times. Be sure to visit www.80stees.com !
● Summer 2013 - 'TnC' (Tia And Cory) - This webcomic series primarily posts on its Facebook page and features a fresh comic-geekdom take on the family comedy. The character designs are by Eryck Webb and it is Created/Written by Cory Matthews. The strip started bi-weekly then went weekly. Interestingly, if I hadn't had the Bump On A Log comic strip going and Cory did not become a fan, TnC may never have even been conceived. This reaffirms the continued importance of putting my own work out there. Read, laugh, like and share on Facebook www.facebook.com/tnccomics or on the web at www.tnccomics.com !
● Fall 2013 - Weekly slot commissions became a regular item (when extra space needs filled on a given week). This became a useful new item for clients who wanted their art faster. This would often be anywhere from 5-10 commission slots available for grabs, and not at a discount price. Their appeal was that they were guaranteed to be finished and in the client's hands by the end of the following week.
● Fall 2013 - Official www.EryckWebbGraphics.com web domain was purchased (It was a .blogspot URL up to this point.) It soon became the main headquarters of EWG, with links and posts on all satellite sites linking back to it.
● Winter 2013 - Chibi Monday - First official Chibi Monday Sale is held. A successful take-off of 'Cyber monday' and held on the same day. It involves a 24 hour chibi-only order special. It is Intended to be an annual occurrence, if workload allows
● All the while regular weekly art commissions and sales continued.
[Day 3][ Day 5 ][5th Anniversary Posts]
[Come back tomorrow for the last in this 5 day look back celebrating the 5th Anniversary of EWG and the journey so far! And please, feel free to share your comments and own experiences along the way!] - Eryck
