The Unbreakable OOPSIE.

WARNING: Small spoilers.

Season 2 had just come out and my friend Sandi faithfully binge-watched right through to episode 13. At the 7 minute mark, her eagle eye spotted something familiar.

“JC!!!! Your Foot Rub Coupon is on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Tina Fey's show!”

When she messaged me, the first thing that popped into my head was, “Holy fark-a-doodle…my prayers have been answered!” Okay, not really. I don’t actually pray.

Actual reaction. Love you Sandi!

A few years ago I published a Last Minute Meaningful Gift Guide on my blog, which was basically a set of hand-drawn coupons to encourage people to spend time with loved ones rather than buying stuff; the coupons are “free to use as gifts” and included things like “Coffee & Me,” “Co-chores” and “Foot rub.” Well, the “Foot Rub Coupon” had somehow found its way into a homemade coupon-book prop exchanged between actors Lisa Kudrow and Ellie Kemper on the Season 2 Finale of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. They open the coupon-book and there’s my actual drawing: the coupon is even filled out “From MOM, To KIMMY”. It’s not an incidental prop in the background: it’s a close-up.

On Netflix.

I was thrilled! And confused… how did they? Why didn’t they? You might say I had mixed emotions.

I put feelers out on Ello, G+ and Facebook, pondering “what should I do?” Apart from enthusiasm, the reactions that followed ranged from the likes of ‘serves you right for giving your images away for free’ to ‘lawyer up and sue those fuckers!’ to ‘Tina Fey should give you a shout out, take you out for cocktails, write you into the next season of UKS, hire you to do some animation, and give you a foot rub!’

But Innocent Until Proven Guilty: that’s my modus operandi with my kids and all wayward artnappers. I decided to give the UKS people the benefit of the doubt and just throw the question out there, tweeting directly to the show's account.

Hi @KimmySchmidt, you guys used my artwork in S2, ep 13. Why didn't you ask? #TinaFey #UnbreakableKimmySchmidt pic.twitter.com/tjIRftozY2

— JC Little (@AnimatedWoman) April 19, 2016

I'm not big on public floggings (private ones are ok though, with consent) so I didn't really push the tweet. It wasn't long before a producer dude – let’s call him SirGur – reached out to me privately and forwarded a short note from Tina Fey herself.

“Hi JC,” because we’re on a first name basis, me and Tina, “I saw that your art may have been used in an unapproved way on one of our "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" props and I just wanted to let you know we’re checking into it with our prop department.  We would never want to use someone’s art without their permission.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention and thanks for your patience!  Tina Fey.”

Okay. That was kind of pretty great. And probably the best part about the whole experience, besides the fact that my art got pulled out of a handbag by Lisa Kudrow.

SirGur turned me over to a friendly fellow from Universal Television – let’s call him ProdTodd. ProdTodd offered apologies, gratitude for my patience & understanding, and fair compensation for use of my artwork. I didn’t ask for any of that, but hey, twist my rubber arm! S'cool. All I really wanted to know was how it happened and why didn’t they just ask...? Their explanation was that apparently someone in props found it on Pinterest to use as a “reference” and in the hullaballoo of shooting the last episode, it got put into the coupon book prop and the whole permission thing just slipped through the cracks. It was, as SirGur put it, “a terrible oversight”. It was an oopsie.

AWESOME. I love love love oopsies! I live for human foibles! Honest mistakes rock harder than Steven Tyler at Stonehenge! Give that oopsie-props-person (who likely filled their shorts when they saw the director do a close-up on my coupon) a hug from me. Better yet, send them some animated Hugs.

Now listen up: this situation presented a remarkable opportunity to have a wider discussion on Intellectual Property rights and The Interwebz. Therefore, I pressed my clear wish upon SirGur that it would be truly great if @KimmySchmidt or Tina Fey could tweet acknowledgement of the oopsie, something along the lines of what Ms Fey wrote in her note to me. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes mistakes are made – it’s how we deal with those mistakes that counts. I urged them to do something like that. A little goes a long way when it comes to putting a dent in the systemic disrespect of artists.

The weekend came and went and lo, yesterday afternoon, a tweet appeared.

Thank you, @animatedwoman for your foot rub drawing in the Season 2 finale. Glad we figured out it was you!

— Kimmy Schmidt (@KimmySchmidt) April 25, 2016

Nice. It didn’t totally address my clear wish, but, for the greater good of lowly artists everywhere, I tried. And I think I got most of the way there. It's definitely nice. Thanks SirGur, ProdTodd and Tina.

To those of you who believe, "IT'S ON THE INTERNET, THEREFORE IT'S FREE" I say: Double check that source. If you get caught in an oopsie, do what you can to make things right.

And to those of you who say, “PUT YOUR LOGO/WATERMARK ON EVERYTHING” I say this: My drawing would look terrible with a watermark on it. It's like wearing panties with a skin tight dress, it spoils the look. So when it comes to logos, I go Commando.

Some of you asked me to draw Tina Fey. Well, I’ve already drawn Sarah Palin and everyone knows that’s practically the same thing.

Spot the difference.

Been a crazy week here, but hey, I'm Unbreakable. Love you guys!

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Observations in Black & White.

Here's some observations in black and white that I've been posting around the Internet. Surprise! I call them "Observations in Black & White".

This definitely qualifies as satire and social commentary. I got enough requests for these as posters to make it worth taking the time to upload them to my Zazzle shop. They come in different sizes and paper qualities and the prices start at $11.65.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Buy it.

Zazzle has sales pretty often so keep an eye peeled for those.

I love you madly,

xojc

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Hugs.

This is a film about hugging.

There's been some debate about the difference between real life friendships and Internet friendships. Some folks believe that one is somehow less meaningful than the other; the reasoning being that if you haven't met them in person, it doesn't count.

But there are many people who stand by their Internet friends as more loyal and supportive than friends or family from real life.



I wanted to address that difference, by making this film. For me, the screen is really the only thing that stands between us, and yet it is there nonetheless.

Someday I will hug you in person.

What do you think about friendships on the Internet?

Pass this hug on - click to tweet.

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The Systemic Disrespect of the Artist

Every couple of months someone gets the gumption up to ask me if I'll illustrate their book. Assuming their book theme interests me, I always ask the same questions:

1. Is this a paid gig? ("No...but I thought we could be partners.")
2. Do you have an agent or interested publisher? ("No, but I know lots of people!")
3. How many drawings are we talking about here? ("Uh...what.")

I'd love to illustrate all of them, but I've had to prioritize putting food on the table. Then about a year ago I was approached by someone I considered a social-media friend. In order to protect their identity, I've depicted them as a gender-neutral Alien.

The Alien in question is fairly well known on the Internet. Widely followed and trusted in their niche. Respected. A solid reputation earned over many years of web presence. And also quite like-able.

Collaboration's gotta be a good fit from every angle, ya know?

I weighed the offer: I'd worked with the Alien on smaller projects and it had gone well, the book project inspired me, and it was viable...so I decided to make time for it.

We made a plan: I would do three illustrations for a book proposal that we could shop around. There was already an interested publisher from my side. It was exciting!

We moved forward with mutual trust, respect, and enthusiasm. I began to draw.

The Alien gave positive feedback on the first illustration.

And on the second illustration. Two down, one to go! It was going well. 

Then I sent the third illustration...

...there were some issues with it.

The Alien scrapped it and suggested I try another.

It's crucial to be able to clearly explain to an artist why something's not working. It's equally important to be able to accept criticism constructively and apply improvements for the good of the project. You can't be precious about your ideas.

So I went back to the old drawing board.

A fourth illustration was sent.

And the Alien said...nothing.

No response. It was like they'd vanished into thin air. Either that, or I was suddenly invisible.

I waited, thinking perhaps the email had got lost, or that the Alien was away on a trip. I made allowances. After a few months, I reached out again.

And I heard...nothing.

I worried, maybe they're ill? I thought of contacting the family. But a quick check of the Alien's social media accounts revealed they were alive and well and communicating with the world as usual.

I'm a big girl. I've been working commercially for over thirty years. I'm used to making changes and adjustments in response to client comments. Big clients, like Coca-Cola and Nestlé, with big agencies. I've collaborated on TV series for international co-productions with international broadcasters. It's a point of pride for me to be able to either defend my vision or adjust it creatively to meet revisions.

I've rarely encountered a client or collaborator who's preferred to cut all communication rather than either do the work, or end the partnership. People do change their minds; it's possible that I wasn't a good fit for the Alien's book, after all.

But all I heard was nothing. Which was disappointing and shitty.

A whole year passed, during which time I put this behind me. Then a few weeks ago I was at an event where the Alien surprised me by marching right up to greet me.

The first thing that came out of the Alien's mouth was not an apology. It was BLAME.

What would you say? I found myself slipping into, "yeah, I am really busy..." But I had made the commitment to the Alien's book project and had given it my time and energy. I decided to force the issue.

And then came the apology. I couldn't interpret actual sincerity in the moment, but I've given the Alien the benefit of the doubt for this drawing....

...but not for this one. Because I don't believe it. To blame me for their cowardly behaviour was galling.

My intention here, is not to "out" the Alien. I don't wish to shame anyone, or get revenge. Rather, I want to shed light on what I consider to be at the heart of the systemic abuse of artists: a lack of fundamental respect.

Think this story is trivial? To a greater or lesser degree, it's playing out all around us. Ego, cowardice and a lazy work ethic are no excuse.

Paid or unpaid, the Innerwebs have opened a million doors to mistreat writers, musicians and visual artists. There's no shortage of seemingly "nice" people out there, trustworthy, respectful and professional people, who turn around and truly believe it's okay to treat an artist like this.

Well I say, it's NOT okay. So just don't do it.

And if you're an artist? Then you call that shit out.

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The JOY of Google.

I don't know if you know this but my Mother in Law has been visiting us here in Montreal for about a month. While this may seem like an unbearable punishment to some folks, I actually get along really well with my MIL. She's very special to me and we're close.

Anyways, the MIL is a self-confessed Luddite.

Although The Huz got her a nice laptop at her home in England Land, it never really clicked with her.

It's kinda hard to learn something so completely new like The Internet all by yourself, right?

And Google can be a confusing to a noob - there's so many shiny things to navigate around!

But since she's been here she's had us to help her along whenever she accidentally clicks on the wrong thing.

I think she's really starting to get the hang of it now.

My MIL has a curious nature; so Google is like a vast library full of answers to her many questions.

Questions like: What was the name of that song by that guitarist? What TV series did that actor play in when he was 17? And (this is my favorite) what ever happened to so-and-so that I used to know?

Google has the answers in there somewhere. I think she enjoyed herself.

When I showed her these drawings my MIL cracked up. She really liked seeing herself depicted as a toon, which was very gratifying for me. But at the end, she said, "You've forgotten the drawing where I'm drooling with satisfaction afterwards."

To which my response was, "Oh no, I didn't...!"

Hilarity ensued.

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Pinterest FAIL.

It's a sad day when you can't even stick pins in your eyes.

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The PUNCHING Bag.

This past week, The Internet used me as a punching bag.

Not you. Another part of The Internet.

I'm not going to point fingers or play the blame game. I won't draw you into the battle, so to speak. But I will share this:

• I've learned a lot more about human nature, with its propensity to swarm and attack without questioning.
• I've learned that there is good in people if you give them a chance.
• And mostly, I've learned that I'm stronger and smarter than I thought I was. So I'm actually grateful.

Thank-you The Internet!

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Lil' Web TROLL

Drawing Trolls is fun! Who knew???

Here's a Baby Troll, practising his meanies. He'll grow up to do some great web trolling some day.

And look! He's left me a little present. How cute! Awww...don't you just wanna hug him? He might bite you but hey, cute puppies bite too.

Baby Web TROLL gear is now available in my Zazzle shop.

You can make someone else smile by sharing!

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LOVE Thy TROLL.

It was only a matter of time before a Troll finally turned up here on my blog. If you are that rare innocent who knows not what a Troll is, feast your eyes on this Wikipedia definition.

Plain English? Someone who comments mean things just to get a reaction.

There are ways of dealing with Trolls. Some like to engage in a game of One-Up-Manship. This could produce a large amount of heated comments which have nothing to do with the original blog post.

And there are those who say it's best not to feed the Troll...just ignore it and it will go away.

But I say - TROLLS! You are welcome on my blog!

You will be greeted with LOVE!

You will be OVERWHELMED by it!

Until you are rendered harmless.

And cute.

Trolls are people too, right?

So tell me about your Troll stories!


Love Thy Troll and TROLL Kitten t-shirts are now available in my Zazzle shop.

You can make someone else smile by sharing.

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