Floating

March 17, 2024 | Blog

Robot is stranded on a floating rock.
All by myyyyself…

The past couple weeks have been a blur of prioritizing other people over myself, and I’m exhausted. Of course this happens all the time as an adult, a parent, a husband, an employee. You strive for balance. It hasn’t felt very balanced. It was made worse of course by my complete failure to organize the time I did have for myself, instead falling back on bad habits. Wasting time on the Reddit, or Youtube is easier to justify when you’re mentally and physically wore out. It’s hard to create when you’re in this state, but it’s not impossible.

Random experiences are important for new creative ideas, and putting yourself in the path of randomness can be beneficial. Many years ago I’d sit in a public place, like the food court at the mall, and sketch the people and things I saw as they wandered by. You never knew what you would see. But even without the sketch pad, placing your mind and body in the way of the new and unfamiliar is the point. Maybe creating while tired, if you can convince yourself it’s in the same category, could be something very similar. Your mind does some strange business when it’s not operating at full capacity. It often connects some odd dots. Isn’t that the headspace artists are looking for?

While I consider how to better use the little personal time I have, please enjoy this silly drawing of Robot stranded on a floating rock. It has no connection to anything I’ve written here today, which I guess makes it random, and therefore wholly connected to everything I’ve written here today.

More: |

Drawing, writing, drawing writing

March 2, 2024 | Blog

Digital sketch of a cartoon frog in a space suit holding a laser gun.
Pew! Pew!

Lately I’ve been oscillating between writing a new comic story, experimenting with watercolour, and drawing an adventurous space frog. This is a sketch in Procreate, I’ll ink and colour it later. I’ve taken a break from drawing this frog to work on some title text for it in Affinity Designer.

The comic writing is coming along well, too. It’s not related to this frog, but it’s a fun space story with Robot and Francis the sheep, and some new characters. But it’s taking me a while, so I want to write a single page comic in the mean time just to have something to draw while I finish the big story. This is a thing that happens, where I take on too much and nothing gets finished. Don’t ask about unnamed owl story, it’s first draft is sitting over there begging to also be worked on. I’m surrounded by works in progress.

The good news is I’m more focused on what I’m making than ever before. The bad news is Reddit exists and I have little self control.

So I’m a work in progress, too.

More: |

Chew chew chew

February 11, 2024 | Blog

Crow chewing gum and blowing a big bubble.
PFFFT!

I was sick this week. Some mild flu I guess, nausea, muscle aches, chills. It wasn’t bad enough to keep me in bed, but I didn’t have enough energy to do anything. So I just sat around being bored and feeling like crap for 3 days. Then I slipped on some ice and hurt my wrist. So It’s been a week.

But it wasn’t entirely miserable. Cracker Jack’s high school band played a concert which I always enjoy. I’m making an effort to read more, mindlessly web surf less, and that just feels good. The weather has been milder, which makes morning walks a happier experience.

See? Balance. Namaste, or whatever.

And in case you want to know what I’m currently reading, here it is: The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, and Nemesis by Isaac Asimov.

More: |

Enjoy a break now and then

February 3, 2024 | Blog

Francis the sheep sitting on a rock enjoying a sandwich.
Nom, nom, nom.

This watercolour drawing of Francis the sheep sitting on a rock eating a sandwich reminds of this discarded lyric from Fitter Happier by Radiohead:

Fitter, healthier and more productive
A sheep
On a rock
Eating a sammich

None of this is true. But! Fresh air and a walk is good for creative thought, and it’s generally free, so go get some. And leave the iPhone out of your ears and in your pocket. Let the world be your soundtrack, man. Namaste, or whatever.

More: |

Kurt Vonnegut on authenticity

February 1, 2024 | Blog

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

This just popped in my mind today for some reason. Maybe I need to read Mother Night again. The girls have been telling us stories of other kids doing weird things at school, so maybe the idea of believing people when they show you who they are is on my mind. Or maybe I just need to read Mother Night again.

More:

Nope

January 20, 2024 | Blog

A robot clearly having a bad day with pigeons roosted on their head and back.
Nope.

Some weeks, amiright?

Oscar Wilde on imitation

January 12, 2024 | Blog

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.

Oscar Wilde

I hadn’t read the entirety of this Oscar Wilde quote before. I feel like the last bit, which is always omitted, is kind of contextually important.

More:

Sour face

January 2, 2024 | Comics

Sour face - thumbnail

The original sour candy

Did you ever play the Sour Face game when you were a kid? No? Good news then, it’s never too late. Official rules are included in this comic, so you don’t even need to go through all the hassle and fun of growing up on an apple farm. Go!

Read the comic!

(more…)

Space squid t-shirt

December 14, 2023 | Illustration

I will name him Glorp and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him.

When a three-eyed space squid falls in love with the Challenger space shuttle, you just let them have it. NASA would probably agree. I’m sure they have lots of rules about space ships and alien love affairs.

This silly octopus drawing exists because I needed a new t-shirt. But now that I have that I want calamari. This shirt makes me hungry. And a little amorous. But mostly hungry.

Digital illustration created in Procreate on an iPad Pro.

Shirt mockup with an illustration of a space squid lovingly hugging a space shuttle.
True love.
Illustration of a space squid lovingly hugging a space shuttle. Full colour.
Full colour.
Illustration of a space squid lovingly hugging a space shuttle. Magenta line art.
Line art.
Detail of a space squid lovingly hugging a space shuttle.
Detail of space squid.
Detail of a space squid lovingly hugging a space shuttle. Focus on the shuttle rockets.
Detail of space shuttle.

Suit up

Unique science fiction and fantasy shirts like this one are available on my Etsy shop.

Hay now

December 9, 2023 | Comics

Hay now - thumbnail

What doesn’t kill you makes you itchy

Growing up on a farm is full of unique experiences that cannot and will not under any circumstances be recreated as a wholly (or partially) rational adult. You can’t make me!!

Read the comic!

(more…)