WIP: Aspiring Comic Artist

My name is Emilie and I am an aspiring comic book artist. As long as I can remember, I've always drawn. When I was little, it was a way for my mom to keep me quiet while she went to night classes. As an adult with bipolar, it has been my way to stay sane and express who I am when no words suffice. It has been a long road to finding my calling, and like many, I've hit my fair share of hiccups. After two years in psychology and one in physics, I dropped out of the University of Kansas and took care of my sick grandfather in his last few months. Then, I spent a couple of years working and saving for school while I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life. I've always been a good student and never wanted to pursue a path that wouldn't be 'fiscally responsible'. But despite being academically inclined, art has always been there for me. From pulling out watercolors in English class, to those dark lonely nights when you feel like no one will ever understand, I've never felt better than with a pencil in my hand.

So I went back to school, this time community college to better afford my liberal arts major. And I was doing really well. But right now, the only thing holding me back from my dreams is something as silly as money. And it's not for lack of trying. I am a full-time student and a full-time, customer service worker.

I've been working alongside school since I was 17 in attempt to earn my way and pay for my education, course by course to elude debt. My mom was able to help me with the first couple of years at KU, alongside scholarships. And while it has taken me more time to get through school than many of my peers, I've been slowly working towards my degree and teaching myself graphic design, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash, and Inkscape skills.

However, this last year I hit a big setback. Within one year, I got into two wrecks, my insurance dropped me, my car payments sky-rocketed, and I had to drop out of school for another year just to save enough money to drive to work, in the first place. I spent a cumulative 5 months in 2016 on my bicycle and the charity if friends, and due to a mistake on my tax returns, haven't even seen the tax return I was planning to pay for a drasticly needed update in hardware. My laptop for school cannot even run photoshop without crashing or connect to the internet, my drawing tablet was stolen last february, and even now, I type this gofundme plea from a phone using packing tape to keep the screen together and an inability to charge properly.

I need help. If I can just raise enough money for my books and a new tablet, I will be able to start producing more digital work and honing my skills. Once I have the ability to produce digitally, again, I plan to finish issues 1-3 of my 'Dusk to Dawn' comic so that I can set up a booth at the 2018 or 2019 Planet Comic Con. Moreover, the classes I am taking this next semester will bring me that much closer to the school of design at either KU or the Art Institute of Illinois, two schools I aspire to get as credentials on my record. This can also potentially land me future job opportunities as a graphic artist, advertiser, and story teller.

At the end of the day, there are plenty of people deserving help more than me. But if you have it in your heart to help me make my dream come true, every cent will help me get back to school, out of this town, and on the bookshelves, that much quicker. Thank you, for any charity and a liitle of your time.

- M Lee Dowding