Of Scanners and things

Well.. I'm really not one to beg for things.. or ask.. but I think it's time I did.

American Gothic Daily runs on what ever I decide to put into it.. which so far hasn't been too much. My computer I had before I ever started-- a decent Dell Dimension 2400 with 2 gig RAM (I upgraded this in the last six months at $140.00) and 80 gig harddrive. I got a nice 19" LCD flatscreen for it last year too ($130.00) and then recently I bought myself a Wacom Cintiq ($998.00 to be precise.... and boy.. does that hurt my pocket) My Epson Perfection 1200 scanner was a steal at $6.99 from the local Goodwill thrift store. I made out awesome on that deal.

I use Corel 8 Suite for my comic (yes.. I know.. the horror... I should be using Gimp or Adobe like a good girl.. but I've used Corel for so long that I can do it in my sleep) It was a gift.

I've been buying good paper lately-- it comes to about $1.25 a sheet. I get Cartiera Magniani Portofino Acquerello 100% cotton 140lb hot press. It's super smooth, which keeps the texture out. My watercolors and pens ain't cheap... last time I bought paints I spent 275.00. That was two years ago and they're lasting me well so far. Pens on the other hand.. I go through them like crazy. Thank Goddess they're cheap.

And to make uploading and reading comics better (and just about anything else for that matter) I've gotten Hughes Satellite internet service.. the only high speed available out in BFE. Before that I had EVDO/cellular.. and it only worked when the weather was nice and I could get tower reception. $300.00 for equipment and 75.00 a month.

Here's where the begging comes in.

I want a wide format scanner next.

To really improve my comic art.. I need to do what the professionals do. They work on tabloid sized paper (11 X 17) and then scan it on a wide format scanner, shrinking it down to the size you see in comic books. That way-- the reader gets all the detail... the artist doesn't go insane trying to shove everything onto a piece of 8 X 11 1/2 paper. My recent pieces for ROCR have been two pieces of watercolor paper taped together to make the larger size paper.. then I scan them in separately.

This is only going to work as long as there is a seam in the exact middle. The day I go to draw something with a centered center panel.. I'm screwed. I'm going to have to do some fancy photoshop work. This cuts down on my production time... and for an artist like me who has to work for a living Monday through Friday and have a family too.. I dont wanna mess with that seam.

Large Format scanners aren't cheap. A new one can easily cost 1200.00 or more. I'm not going for that... I've found several used Microtek 9800's on eBay anywhere from $170.00 up to $300.00.

So.. if you wanna help me out... please feel free to donate to my paypal account. Right now I just fixed the button so it goes to "skycladstrega@yahoo.com" PLEASE MAKE SURE PAYMENTS GO TO SKYCLADSTREGA@YAHOO.COM My old email address is no longer working and I wont get donations.

If I can't get the cash over the summer... it will have to wait until work starts back up in the fall. My next paycheck isn't until September 15th. :(

*keeps her fingers crossed*
Thank you guys so much-
Aggie