Indie Creators To Entertain You
/In this brave new world where we’re all suddenly adjusting to working at home and generally not getting out, I figured I’d write up a fun list with nothing but great entertainment. Specifically, small independent creators. Most of them are on Patreon and offer great rewards for as little as $1 a month (trust me, as a small, indie Patreon creator myself, $1 is a lot), but a ton of this content is free too. And there’s some resources to get you moving and to keep you in shape at home too. Woot! Let’s jump in.
DnDoggos
Vickie Lee, creator of the webcomic DnDoggos (short for Dungeons and Doggos) is an illustrator, writer, dear friend, and all around wonderful human being. Her real-life doggos star in her webcomic—check out their photos and character profiles here—having incredible adventures and getting into all kinds of mischief. I’ve met the doggos IRL, and let me tell you, being in the spotlight hasn’t gone to their heads one bit. 😜 And Vickie also has some amazing merch available on TeePublic and Etsy, including tees, mugs, various pride designs, buttons, stickers, figurine miniatures, hats, and a whole bunch more. My personal favorite is her rainbow “I Tried” (Natural 1, Critical Fail design)—see my amazing picture below. During this whole Covid-19 crisis, she’s been offering coloring pages (a great resource if you have bored kiddos at home) on her Patreon too, and there’s a Discord server where we can all hang out and encourage one another. Oh! And she also does a doodle stream on Twitch every week where we come together and make requests, usually end up talking about food, and have a really lovely time. So many goodies!
You can find the entire webcomic here.
And her Patreon page here.
You can also browse Vickie’s designs on TeePublic here.
And her other creations on Etsy here.
Emily’s Cartoons
Emily McGovern of Emily’s Cartoons is the mind behind the webcomic My Life as a Background Slytherin, which is a parodic take on Hogwarts life through the eyes of a bumbling Slytherin student who ended up in the house basically by accident. I’m one of her $1 subscribers, which means I also get a bonus cartoon every week. She’s also the author behind the graphic novel, Bloodlust and Bonnets, which is hilarious and so much fun and the perfect pick-me-up for these weird times (definitely not kid-friendly, though).
You can find Emily’s Patreon page here.
DJ Gray
If short fiction is what you’re into, then might I direct you to DJ Gray’s patreon page. She’s got fantasy, sci-fi, fanfic shorts, and more. She is also a good friend of mine and wonderful human being I’m thrilled to know. She also offers polls where you get to help decide the direction of the stories.
Shipwrecked Comedy
And who doesn’t need more comedy in their lives right now?! Shipwrecked created the delightfully nerdy, literary-loving, amazingly ridiculous short film that is Edgar Allen Poe’s Murder Mystery Invite-Only Casual Dinner Party/Gala for Friends Potluck. Imagine Poe, Mary Shelley, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, and more giants of classic literature getting together for a dinner party when murder happens! Here’s the trailer video:
There’s also a ton of bonus videos, which are just as funny as the film—the entire playlist is here—and you can start watching the movie (broken into delightfully bingeable episodes) here. My favorite is Poe’s video where he tells Ralph Waldo Emerson he isn’t invited. Also everything in the series is magic and I love it so much!
They’ve also made a noir-style short film called The Case of the Gilded Lily, which is less nerdy (look, I love my literary nerdery jokes, okay) but still hilarious—the full video is here.
Everyday Superhero Training
Right, now that you’ve spent a couple of solid days on the couch watching and reading, maybe we should stick some fitness in there. That’s where Everyday Superhero Training comes in. Julian and Lydia run geeky workout programs at a gym here in Nashville and also offer remote training. Their YouTube channel has a bunch of guided workouts, and they are serious about both fitness and geekery. And don’t feel like you need to jump into a full-on workout routine now—that’s a formula for failure. Start small and set yourself up for success. And, if you’re looking for a workout community, they lead workouts live every week on their Facebook page.
Find EST’s YouTube channel here.
Inquire about remote training here.
I hope this has given you some fresh entertainment for this weird time we’re all in. Take care and thanks for reading.
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Dana Fraedrich / www.wordsbydana.com participates in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, Audible.com, and others. This page contains affiliate links.
