Thursday, September 30

A Fraction of Its Real Value

Ivan wants to sell one of his paintings, an adventurous and dynamic portrait of Ennis' Robo-Cat, who proves he has good built-in vision and intelligence.

Tuesday, September 28

Friday, September 24

Somebody Is Unhappy

Ennis has moved his Robo-Cat from the hallway back into his room, so things should be all better.

Thursday, September 23

A Mask That Everyone Will Like

Today's strip has Ennis trying to figure out the right mask to make his giant 'robo-cat', that is in the upstairs hallway appear more friendly to the residents.


Tuesday, September 21

I'll Take Care Of It

Here is today's strip, where Ennis takes care of Mr. Rhoom's problem.

With my current time and schedule, I can produce about two strips per week.  I hope to make a steady output of three strips per week in the near future.  This one took about four hours from blank page to posting on this blog.

Friday, September 17

Ivan Is Off

Here is the continuation of the Sept 15th strip.  Mr. Rhooms has a thought about the artist, Ivan, that he's keeping to himself (except for your unique ability to hear it).

Wednesday, September 15

I'm Possessed

This is the first full strip with the artist, Ivan, who is nothing if not enthusiastic.  For Ivan, it's all about the creative process.

Tuesday, September 14

68,647 New Yorker Magazine Cartoons

A friend recently loaned me his copy of The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, which has all 68,647 cartoons from 1925 through 2004.  I'm up to 1951.

I notice a huge difference in how people talk now, compared to years past, and there are a lot of years past, here.  People seemed to have been more polite; they weren't better, they were just more politel.  Even the criminals were more polite.  Of course, these are cartoon criminals, so maybe there is a bit of 'translation' going on.

It's fun to see what cartoon ideas still hold up well today, and could be displayed now without explanation.  The great majority show their age.  But humor is humor, and the mere fact that they are drawings to make us laugh, is still enchanting and endearing to me.

Thursday, September 9

The First Full Panel Strip

This is my first full strip just done on my newly bought 11x14 inch paper.  My scanner is too small, so I have to do two scans and combine them in Photoshop. Luckily, it's not too much trouble.










Recently, I had an idea for a laser can opener, and saved it until now.  I knew it had to explode something, and came up with SpaghettiOs.  Wanting to spell it correctly, I Googled it, and found that last June, they recalled some products due to undercooked meatballs; thus the punch line.

Saturday, September 4

Bought Ruler & Bigger Paper

Today's blog feels like one of those where I have nothing of import to say.

It's true, but today I did buy some Bristol paper that is 14 inches by something, that will allow me to create a full length strip of 13 inches by 4-1/16 inches.  And I bought a see-through ruler to make connecting the lines easy.

Now my problem  is my scanner: it only can scan to 11 inches max.  So I will have to put two scans together to make the image for the web. Maybe some day I'll replace my graphics tablet with a new one, but the large ones cost plenty, and the ones that the artists at Pixar use are $2,000 each.  Not in my immediate future.

Thursday, September 2

Penguins Are Easier To Draw Than People

Today I sit down to draw a mini-strip.  I get an idea for it: the hotel manager asks the inventor if he can make a robot that will put his "coat away, feed the dog, fix the faucet, take out the trash, and turn off the light when it's done".  The inventor, who I've just now named Ennis, says, "Your wife is on your case, right?"  ... Ok, so far.

But that's just one panel.  My mini-strip has two panels, so I have one blank panel staring back at me. This is where I start to run into trouble.  In the last panel, something else should be said, I think, and if so, what, and by whom. I think of a few possibilities, but none of them felt good.

So then, I just start doodling, being reminded of a comic strip with penguins that I found yesterday.  I also drew some sketches of the manager's wife: a large woman wearing an apron. But I liked drawing the penguin.  It was easy, so I think, "why didn't I think of just doing a strip with penguins". Surely the world could take two penguin strips, and it would be a heck of a lot easier than drawing people.