Remember, no cash returns. Only credits towards future purchases.

Surprise! Another comic page. A CBM practise page, to be exact. I'll probably have some more to say about this one later, I'm running short on time right now. I scanned it in two pieces and patched them together, which was easy because of the white space directly underneath the third panel. Guh. The joins in the second and subsequent pages are going to be much more obvious. @.@ (I don't understand...it SHOULD work perfectly...shouldn't it?)

If you don't know what's going on, that's fine. Half the time, neither do I. My main problem with scriptwriting is that, most of the time, the characters are just sitting around talking, and nothing actually HAPPENS. Something better happen, and fast!

There's a prototype version of Spill Fector on this page. I didn't like his hair at all. I thought that his nose and eyes would stay the same, however, and they didn't. I really love the drawing of him in the third panel, though. It reminds me of the Batman cartoon series from the 90s. Which I didn't watch, so how I managed to draw in that style is beyond me.

Don't talk to me about simple things...there's no such thing.

Now, I realise this isn't just MY laptop, and it is something I'll just have to learn to deal with, but...I'm a little disappointed that colours look SO radically different on my laptop. Am I going to have to start memorising RGB values and what they "actually" look like? Hmmm. :O

Anyway, this is Spill Fector from CBM. The demon guy. (Sheesh, the next thing you know I'm going to find out that, somewhere out there, a comic character just like him already exists... *sob* Please do tell me if you know of any, this is rather hard when you have read as few comics as I have) I had better try and do an expression sheet for him later on. The ones I made earlier took FOREVER to do. But they sure helped. It's so much harder to draw totally on-model when you're starting from scratch...

Spill Fector also looks like how I picture the main character from "The Dice Man." Jeez, that was a screwed up book. It was oddly compelling, but so very, very corrupt. I have an idea for an illustration for it which, surprize surprize, could also be used as a fanzine cover. Haw! I feel terrible for not actually drawing anything new for the latest cover... :/

Lastly, I find it kind of weird (well, not really) that, after having had my tablet for three years, I still have yet to pick a colouring style and STICK with it. Actually, that's not really a bad thing...

Gert was handsome, well-meaning, but slightly a careless type. Not malicious, I hope you understand.

Another location design rough for CBM. And that's all I have to say about that.

Yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with one of the first years who was asking about my fanzine covers. I told him I couldn't get anybody at that school into the Fall, and then he asked me if I liked Joy Division because he can't get anybody into them, either. I think he is only the second person I've met, not counting myself that likes JD.

He also said that his uncle had several Fall records...yes...RECORDS...as in vinyl...long ago, and he was looking at them once and asked "The Fall? Who's that?" and his uncle said "no no no, you wouldn't be into the Fall." So he never bothered to check them out because his uncle said he wouldn't like them...hee, hee. Somehow I find this amusing.

Nobody knows you, and nobody gives a damn either way.

This was on my LJ, but, dammit. I really like it, despite its flaws. It's just a cover for a Fall bootleg... one of a series of about 7. Just for fun.

This one is probably my favourite. The background and lettering were probably inspired by the cover of the 2002 "Early Singles" compilation, but I was really thinking more along the lines of ALL Fall album covers in general...and how they all have layer upon layer UPON LAYER of CRAP on them. Just random montage (?) shit. So I scanned a collage of price stickers that I did when I was very bored one day and Photoshopped the hell out of it.

Evil, evil Photoshop...

I met a hero of mine, I shook his hand.

The last of the three main characters in CBM...Seth. Seth is almost like the equivalent of Twitch in New Edge, who was afraid of everyone and everything. Seth has lots of complex crackpot theories about aliens and other paranormal stuff...why is it that I always seem to need some kind of really weird paranoid neurotic character in my stories? ;p Also of note (well, to me, anyway) is the fact that Seth is American. He claims he was studying for an English lit degree abroad...but dropped out...if it turns out that the details of this are important to the story, they will be revealed. Um. Yeah.

Anyway, Seth is still rather cool, if only because of his design. I like him. Too bad that all I draw these days is tall skinny ugly men. Let's see some WOMEN already, goddammit.

My temperature's rising, and any idiot would know that.

Here's the last unfinished page of These Days I said I was going to post. Yes, the art style would have changed IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY. I figured it MIGHT work, if Ian woke up after being knocked unconscious from flying into that wall...only to discover that everything looks different for no reason... ;p

I really like this, and I'm not sure why I never finished it. Probably because I hate drawing backgrounds. OH!! My terrible secret is out...

I'm something, I must be, I think so, I'm ready.

Continuing with the main characters from CBM...here's Martin. A librarian and Billy's best friend, although he often gets annoyed that Billy doesn't take anything seriously and would rather crack stupid jokes no matter how bad a situation is.

Martin's way too tall in this picture. Bleh, oh well.

As the water gets warmer my iceberg gets smaller.

I hadn't really planned on uploading this today, but here it is. Another older drawing that, for some reason, I hadn't posted anywhere. Well, I think I remember posting the SKETCH on my LJ, but never the finished version.

This is me and my other half Paul. There are two inaccuracies in this picture: 1) I do not usually like to sing. I have zero confidence in my singing abilities. However, since Kelly seems to know all the words to every song ever written, I have been inspired to learn many more song lyrics and do more singing. Ahem. Singing ALONG. 2) Every inch of Paul's guitar is covered in stickers. These mostly include little price stickers. It's quite impressive. ;)

I remember that when I coloured this picture I was trying to colour like this guy.
(I hope that's the right URL) I could complain about how it didn't work, but I suppose you can be the judge of whether I succeeded or not, because I complain about my art enough as it is. ;p

I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm afraid I want your attention.

This is a layout rough I made for CBM, back in September. Oops...sorry, not layout. LOCATION DESIGN. Right. It was done shortly after I got back from England, referenced from a couple of the photos I took there. A lot of the photos I took were layout reference. Yet, no matter how much reference I gather, it never seems to be enough! Heavy sigh...

I'm probably not going to end up using this the way it is, because it isn't in the style that I want. I'm not sure exactly WHAT style I want to do this comic in, really. Need to do lots of experimenting.

I went to see Wallace & Gromit/Curse of the Were-Rabbit last night, which was excellent. The Madagascar Penguins short right before it was less than thrilling. Watching it reminded me exactly why I hate CGI. It's so ugly, lifeless, and utterly devoid of anything resembling ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. Does anyone remember that? When cartoons were ART? That 2D animation, to slightly paraphrase one of my instructors, just might be one of the highest forms of art there IS? It's a drawing that moves!! You're as much as creating LIFE!!

Similarly, for Wallace & Gromit and other stop-motion animated films, somebody had to make all of these models, AND set designs, by HAND. And it all looks really, really awesome. I feel like no one actually does any real work on CGI. The computer does the entire thing.

Ugh.

Years from now, they will make water from the reservoirs of our idiot tempers.

I've posted drawings of this guy on my Livejournal, but not here. (Edit: He's supposed to have a yellow scarf tied around his left leg, which I often forget to draw... >_<) So here for the first time on Blogger, is the main character from CBM: Billy Dobbyns. Who's English. Ha ha. And of course the story is set in England. That should come as no surprise to you. I'm so predictable. To demonstrate (as if I need to), here's a story.

Gord, my other instructor at school, gave me a new assignment in storyboard, wherein I have to create a character personality based on this design he gave me and then write a story about the character. The drawing he gave me is some vaguely Sherlock Holmes-looking guy. He said "There were several designs I could have chosen from, but I picked this one because he looked English and I thought you'd like that." XD Ha ha. Just for that, I should make him...AMERICAN!

When did my obsession with England start? I think it was about three years ago, when I first got into Joy Division and I was thinking about how good the film 24 Hour Party People SHOULD have been. 'Cause I almost got to see it in the theatre. But never mind. Let me bore you to death by talking about CBM some more.

The story (which I realise is probably not very original) involves demons crossing over into our world through dimensional rifts in overdue library books. Billy is the last remaining member of a guild of warlocks who were supposed to keep the rifts in check...but they were all trapped in books somehow. And he's not very good at magic.

The demons can disguise themselves to look like regular people...the main one is a bespectacled fella named Spill Fector (the worst pun name ever) who I can't seem to settle on a character design for. The epicentre of all the rifts, if you will, is in Huddersfield.

That's about it for now. I have to say that trying to write this story is one of the most difficult tasks I've ever attempted. :/

When we all disintegrate, it'll all happen again.

It's FISH AND CHIPS. HAW HAW HAW. Geddit?! Oh, that's so lame. Seriously though, I am an absolute FIEND for fish and chips. I've never had any as good as Gibson's, in Saskatoon (although the ones I had in Withernsea come very close). So, if you're ever in the area, stop by Gibson's, it's on 8th St. by Safeway. Remember: the hard, crunchy bits are the best!! XD

Anyway, last night I saw Bad Religion at Prairieland Park and that was quite awesome. I wasn't sure what to expect. You see, when I heard they were coming here I HAD to get tickets, despite the fact that I know they're way past their prime. I just remembered how much I used to listen to them (so much so, in fact, that I STILL have a great deal of their lyrics memorised... :S) and how upset I was that they never came here...but that they WOULD go to Alberta, the province next door.

Apparently I haven't been to enough concerts like this (I.e., BADASS SKATERPUNK OMFG(*#%(#!!!!) because I've never seen so many crowd-surfers. I swear I also saw Brian Baker standing around talking to people in the crowd during Anti-Flag. If it wasn't him, it was an old guy that looked REMARKABLY like him. If there was a band I never expected to see walking around in the audience, it was Bad Religion.

I should have been paying attention more...but I sang along too much. I know people that sing along at concerts are frightfully annoying. But when I listen to Bad Religion I CAN'T HELP but sing along. It's kind of strange. The newer stuff was also kept at a minimum, thankfully (because not only are the new songs not as good, they are also LONGER, and therefore there is less time for old, better stuff to be played).

That's about it... :p See you next time..

When he has an original thought, he forgets it right away...

Last page I finished. I quite like this one, although the composition of the last panel leaves something to be desired.

I'm now drawing a practise page of CBM, my new comic. And I'm actually drawing it at the "correct" size. However, it looks too tall and skinny to me and not the same "aspect ratio" as a printed page...hmmm. Probably just my imagination. It's fun. I already can't wait to start ruling off a new page and drawing another one. I think Make Comics Forever (see sidebar link) resulted in this, which is good. I figured if I actually had the courage to post comments there, I had better start drawing comics again.

'Cause, you know, every so often I get to the point where I feel like I'm going to go nuts if I don't draw a comic page. I'm serious. THAT'S how much I enjoy it. I wonder if that means I'll actually draw the second issue of New Edge once CBM is finished.

On a thousand islands in the sea, I see a thousand people just like me...

Okay, here's the story. I draw editorial cartoons for this small newspaper in Humboldt (Canada, not California) at the rate of one per week. Each week I'm given a topic via email and when I'm finished, I email my cartoon back.

This is last week's, wherein I had to draw something to do with Halloween...IF you are Canadian, you have probably seen that list "You might be a Canadian if..." and one of the things on the list is "You have to make your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit."

So...there you go... ;p

(© 2005 The Humboldt Journal, used with permission.)

I suppose I might as well talk about what I DID on Halloween. Kelly, Shane and I went trick-or-treating in the MALL. Ha ha. Yes. That's right. And I would estimate that 75% of the stores we went into actually gave us candy. The lady in the Laura Secord chocolates store was kind of rude to us, but I guess we deserved it - she said "Are you guys REALLY trying to get candy here?! We only give it out to the little guys...sorry." XD

Kelly was dressed as some sort of cabaret singer, and Shane was Ash from Evil Dead/Army of Darkness. (HOLY CRAP!!! His costume was amazing!! Definitely one of the best I have ever seen, period, and he had TONS of compliments on it). I, on the other hand, didn't have much of a costume. I was supposed to be one of my characters...but most people seemed to think I just had a cool outfit, so I suppose I can wear it when it isn't Halloween. ;) Hurray!