#FemiNoir DAY 1 - Octavia Butler

part of a project i launched today as part of Black History Month/a way for me to get back in the swing of drawing every day. so i'll be posting a new sketch each day for the whole of February celebrating a notable Black Woman for her accomplishments.
so to start off- Octavia Butler: Sci-Fi author

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Octavia’s foray into sci-fi started when she was 12 years old, watching “Devil Girl From Mars” on her television and deciding that she could write a better story than that. And write she did. The once shy and reclusive young woman grew into a giant- literally and metaphorically!- in her craft, putting her all into her writings, which explored the injustices that surrounded her as a Black Woman in the Civil Rights era. Poverty, racial discrimination, war, sexuality and power struggles- the sci-fi magazines that she turned to as a introverted youth became not only her greatest comfort, but eventually the tools by which she would make her mark on the world.

She remains the only science fiction writer to have ever received one of the coveted MacArthur Fellowship Grants [known as the ‘Genius Grants’] as well as the recipient of both a Hugo and Nebula award for her writing.

She’s known most for her novel ‘Kindred’- about a young Black Girl in the 1970s who unwittingly time-travels to the violent days of the Antebellum South- and the ‘Patternmaster’ series.

Interesting Fact: Octavia was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 10.

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Artist’s Notes: Octavia Butler was one of the interesting suggestions that was sent my way once I announced FemiNoir- this one courtesy of my former ECU classmate Seth [thanks dude!]. Personally I’m not someone who regularly enjoys sci-fi works [Fringe and Mass Effect so far are the notable exceptions], so I thought someone like Octavia would be a good place to start- by definition she is the type of person that I’m looking to learn about through this project. And now I can add ‘Kindred’ to the list of books that I need to read~

Also- just look at her! She looks like the kind of woman that would take no mess from nobody.

I took visual cues from one of the covers from her ‘Patternmaster’ series, specifically ‘Mind Of My Mind’.
Also, I’m playing around with the way I’ll present these- I like the notion of framing them like collectible cards, but I am concerned the text isn’t quite legible. If you got any suggestions for that, send ‘em my way.

I’ll be out all day tomorrow and working on Sunday so I’m getting a jumpstart today on Days 2 + 3. Until then, enjoy Octavia!