Today we have a rather exciting interview with Rebecca Hicks of LittleVampires.com
Rebecca has created a mini empire with her merchandise: LunaSeaStudios sold online and at conventions across the United States. She is a terrific example of booth set-up as she constructs an entire self-containing system to be able to set up and, especially, dismantle quickly!


Ravyn: Thank you very much for meeting with me, Rebecca. I wanted to start out with a question I know many aspiring artists ask when they see someone who has achieved so much, if that is alright. At what time in your life did you realize you wanted to draw?

Rebecca: I don't recall ever realizing that I wanted to draw. I've always just drawn. And written stories. I filled notebooks full of drawings and stories when I was a kid.

There were two points in my life when I realized that I wanted to draw and write for a living. These realizations were hard won, because I had been told my entire life that creative undertakings were a hobby, not a career. When I was a kid I'd be praised for being creative. "Oh, look at this nice drawing my Becky did." Or, "What a nice story you wrote, Rebecca. A+" But when I would tell people that I wanted to be a writer or artist when I grew up, it was, "Oh no, don't you want to be a nurse or a teacher?"

I was also discouraged from being an archaeologist like Indiana Jones, but they were right about that one. I hate getting dirt under my fingernails, hate humidity, and hate bugs. Snakes I'm cool with.

The first time my inner self rose up to say, "Hey, maybe those people were wrong about the writing and drawing thing, even if they were right about the archaeology thing," was right before I got my teaching credential. I was in the university bookstore, overwhelmed with life, I guess you could say. And I wandered to the art section. This is kind of a hard experience to explain, so bear with me. I'm pretty sure I went a little insane for a moment. And by insane I mean completely disconnected from what was happening around me. I could only hear what was in my head. And what I heard was, "I embraced insanity and dove into the luna sea, where all the fishies that I knew were unfamiliar to me."

Yeah, see, that's a moment of insanity. Most people have moments of clarity, I have moments of clarinsanity.

So I bought some art supplies and vowed to stay creative, even though I was about to get a "real job" in the "real world" and all. And I did, as a hobby.

The second realization came after seven years of teaching. My husband James said, "Hey honey, I've got things figured out to where you can take a leave from teaching and try this creative career thing." I realized at that moment how much I wanted to make a go of writing and drawing for a living. I loved teaching, and I still miss working with those awesome kids, but man, that bell that went off in my head when James offered me that opportunity was too loud to be denied.



Ravyn: So many fear venturing into the unknown, it is inspiring to see you dove in head first—after looking, of course. When did you start working with comics? What got you inspired to use your artistic talents and creative imagination that way as opposed to illustrations for a novel, or a traditional solo piece representing a single pose?

Rebecca: I started working in comics before that bell went off, actually. I wrote a comic called Project Elohim as part of my friend Randy's Strange Matter Universe. He published his comic, I published mine, we did some conventions, it was a fun diversion from the "real job" in the "real world." But then I had the idea for Little Vampires, realized I had something that could be more than a hobby, James said, "Hey honey . . ." And here I am.

I never really thought about why I chose comic books, picture books. I've always loved both art forms, and sequential art in general. I spent each Sunday at mass ignoring the priest and studying the stations of the cross on the walls and the art in the stained glass window. Now I'm a recovering Catholic, but I still love me a beautiful church.

I just love stories, and I love telling them with both words and pictures. Even with my solo art prints, I like my picture to tell a story, or at least make people wonder what story is happening in the subject's head, or just off frame.

Ravyn: It seems your husband was a huge help in allowing your creative passion to come forward! Do you feel a strong support group leads to success?

Rebecca: James is a source of positive support in all aspects of my life, for sure. His love just inspires me, daily. And I give him all the positive support and love I can muster. We make a really great team. We're such a great team that we are forbidden from playing certain board games together while with family and friends. We played Taboo with my family, once, and communicated so eerily well that my mom declared that James and I could never be on the same team again.  

Don't even get me started on Trivial Pursuit. We rule at Trivial Pursuit. We are Team Wedge.

So for me, yes, a strong support group leads to success. And though James is my rock, a lot of support comes from my friends and fellow creative monkeys as well. For me, success is being part of a group of individuals that can stand strong on their own, but stand stronger together. I used to worry that I wasn't strong on my own, but I've since learned otherwise. I can give more than I take, and that, to me, is success.

Yeah, I'm living the X-Men lifestyle, yo.


Ravyn: Ah, so you have a lot of wonderful support! You're always there to support others, too, I have heard. What advice would you give a novice looking to start their own comic?

Rebecca: Oh yeah, I'm all about passing on the love. I'm more than happy to help people avoid making the mistakes I did, you know?

My general advice for newbs is don't stop at Ideas, and don't be desperate.

Let me flesh that out a bit.

So you have a great idea. So what? Lots of people have great ideas. Do the work, make the idea happen. I've lost count of the number of times that people have shared their ideas with me. "I have this idea for a novel . . . " Oh, that is the number one way to let me know that you are not a creative person. The sadness is that people who stop at Ideas desperately want to be thought of as creative. But creative people create. They don't talk about creating. They create. That's a verb. Create. Don't talk about doing stuff, do stuff! Stop over in Ideas for a night or two, but then drive onward.

Directly connected to them are the people that don't know what idea to work on. They want approval before doing the work. Sorry, but it don't work that way. Creating something is a risky venture. If you get approval ahead of time, where's the risk? With no risk, where's the real reward? Which idea is the best one? The one that you make real.

So you're past Ideas. Next? Don't be desperate.

When I say don't be desperate, I'm talking to all those people that think success comes overnight, and comes from marketing alone. That bit of advice is for the people that think success is all about getting into the "right" parties with "right" people. There's no point in making connections if you haven't done the work and produced a good product. An example of being desperate would be connecting with famous web comic artists and asking them to link to your site when you've only been producing a comic for a few months and don't take the time to update said comic in a timely manner. Do the work before asking people to promote it. Do the work for some time, and the connections will come naturally. Don't be desperate to be "in" with the cool kids. You know why they're the cool kids? 'Cause they're not desperate to be the cool kids.

As for more detailed advice, e-mail me [rhicks@lunasea-studios.com]! I love answering questions from non-desperate people that have driven past Ideas. Just understand that answers are all you'll get from me. The rest is up to you to make happen.

Ravyn: Great advice and inspiration! The idea is the first step, making it happen is the rest, and do not rush things. I know so many comic artists feel that there are so many comics out there, how can they possibly compete? Any advice? You obviously have made a name for yourself!

Rebecca: I love me some good healthy competition. But art ain't a sport. There is no defined outcome, like in a game. There's no finish line, no high score. Set your own goals, and compete with yourself. If you're not reaching your goals, look around you and let your fellow creative types inspire you to kick your own butt. It all comes down to knowing when to compete, and when to just do your thing. In my opinion, it's ridiculous how easy it is to get caught up in the "I've gotta do better than the other guy" mentality. Every person has their own life and their own unique situations. I'm successful 'cause I'm achieving the goals I've set for myself. And those goals don't involve being better than anyone else. They involve being better than the me of the past.

Ravyn: I think everyone can relate to the desire to be better, but you're right! It's not a contest and working together can be what gets you where you need to be! What would you do if you became one your characters or someone you loved did?

Rebecca: I already am my characters! I'm totally a Little Vampire. I try to be bigger than I am, but am happy being small.

Ravyn: Can you tell us a little about your current project? What is currently at the top of your list of work, and why?

Rebecca: Right now I'm focused on improving my art, so I'm currently working on creating art prints. I'm doing the Little Vampire webcomic for my Little Vampire fans, and am working on taking Project Elohim out of hiatus.

The reason for all of this is, unfortunately, money. There's something taboo about associating art with business, but artists can't eat air. So I'm focused on giving fans what they've asked for in the best way I can afford. I can't afford to print another Little Vampire book right now, but I can do the webcomic. Self-publishing the comic Project Elohim is hella-expensive, so I've had to put that off, but am saving up to do it again. Art prints are a good money maker, so I'm focused on those 'cause they're a win-win. My art gets better, I make a little money to do other projects, and fans love 'em.

My work philosophy is very similar to that of the crew of Serenity in the most awesome TV series ever, Firefly. I just want to keep flying. And that means thinking about the business end of things sometimes, uncomfortable though it is.

Ravyn: Well, we all love your webcomic.  On the topic of prints, can you give any advice for people looking to do prints and t-shirts? What type of things can they do so as to sell prints while still advertising their webcomic?

Rebecca: I'll pass on the best advice I got in regards to merchandise of any kind. Whatever you do, be it art prints, t-shirts, buttons (which are great to start with), have the merch be something that stands alone. People may not know your webcomic, or book, or whatever. Which means they won't know your characters. So why should they buy a T-shirt with a character they don't know?

The trick is to come up with merchandise that is connected to your work, but still holds water away from your work. Don't be afraid to do a little market research (ask your friends and acquaintances). I didn't plan this at the time, but the Little Vampires stand alone, for example. Even if you haven't read their book, the image of the Little Vampire works on a T-shirt because it's obviously a vampire, and there are people that like vampires. But my comic book characters don't work on a shirt because they're not Wolverine.

And, unfortunately, you won't know what works until you try it. There's that risk again.

Examples of ways to advertise your comic within the stand alone work is to include your URL along the edges of buttons, include a business card or postcard with your print (I bag and board my prints, and slip a postcard in the bag), and put your logo on the back of the T-shirt.

Ravyn: Thank you so much for your time and advice. Group members, Rebecca has a huge online shop and loves chatting with fans, so be sure to check out her website: Litte-Vampires.com