Want to preorder 21 Journeys?

(Sorry to repeat myself, but since selling time is now upon us...)
I collaborated on a comic for Cloudscape's fifth anthology 21 Journeys. To give you a taste, here is a page (though not the beginning) of said story:


At the 21 Journeys IndieGoGo page, you can preorder the book itself for $25 (CAD) -- and if you're feeling generous, for more sizable donations you get more and more goodies with your order. For example, a $100 gets you the entire Cloudscape "library" of all the previous anthologies and a few of the members' publications on top of that (including Xeric grant winners "Lotus Root Children" and "Lords of Death and Life"). So if you're interested, check out what all you can get for a donation that suits you.

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Today I venture to work for the first time after being bedridden for an entire week. This is the longest I've been sick since I was two years old. I feel awful for the wasted time but if I could get through this, I guess nothing's really gonna shake me after. Now I'm on a medication for people with ulcers, which is actually kind of -- kiiiiiind of -- hilarious.

"Because you're the only one who could change my mind!"

I tried to document my trip with sketches (as well as photos -- see previous post) but it kinda fell through...



^ And we're back to talking about TV!!! Loooove TV love it! So yeah, "White Collar" is one of my new favourite shows. (Yeah I only caught on to it over the holidays.)

Now this may seem farfetched, but I feel like I am watching a crime-tastic reincarnation of "Two Guys and a Girl", only without the girl (unfortunately Elizabeth is too nice to be The Girl).
Very similar personalities, and, Peter's name, anyone? Peter Burke, PETE N' BERG, huh? HUH? Caffrey (or Berg) the flake takes the crazy risks and yet it's always the straight guy Pete who gets the shit.

Both shows -- very funny, both sets of costars -- considerable chemistry, and both shows are insanely fun to watch with these certain kind of goggles on if you know what I mean. In case you don't, I mean CAFFREY, HOW GAY EXACTLY ARE YOU FOR THAT FED?! Never mind, you poor lump, you don't have to answer, I'll just go watch the first season finale again. I loved Pete and his Berg and I love Neal and his Pete. This is an awesome show with a lot of very tight pants *| and hilarious dialogue!

[*| Tight pants being actually the one thing sorely lacking from 2GAAG.]

Crazy tangents!

Due to popular demand (okay, due to like two demands) I'm posting some photos from my most recent trip to snow-laden Finland. I know most of you didn't exactly sign up for trigger-happy snow photos but don't worry, there'll be some sketches in the next post!

Last year all the snow photos were from Jyväskylä -- luckily we visited Ruka ("almost" Lapland) on this trip so I don't think these will be too repetitive. Only that very first photo ^up there^ was from Jyväskylä.

Linkage

You might like to see these.

"Horribly Adorable", a kids' book concept by Dave G. Derrick I WOULD BUY THIS!

Nathan Fowkes strikes again -- every day.

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Sorry for not posting what I've been drawing. I am scannerless in Finland! But you will get a batch of amateur photos of snow soon, consider yourselves warned.

"MAYBE IT WAS THE TROUSERS!"

This post has a couple of things...

I have neglected everything lately BECAUSE for the last few weeks I've been slaving over a contribution to Cloudscape's anthology 22 Journeys [Edit:] 21 Journeys. The comic's finally done! (Although I'm still working on the speech bubbles, digitally...) Here's a little sneak peek.



I'm not sure what the collective policy is about artists giving sneak peeks about comics that are going to be published and hopefully bought, so for now, I just thought I'd put up this collage of how the art came out. It's like a WIP from pencils to inks to colours. (Omitting a huge amount of thumbnails, sorry... Those were the crucial step.) Although the colours still need some tweaking of curves and levels and whatnot before printing. Anyway, bear with me.

I find inking just nerve-wracking. What is wrong with me that my hands start to sweat incessantly as soon as I've inked a couple of lines?! I never have that problem with animating and definitely not with life drawing. The colouring was a blast, though, and I'll elaborate on that later. There was a theme with the contributions that they had to look like they were done with natural media AND a limited colour palette -- I coloured it with watersoluble markers.

The story was written by another Cloudscape member, Bevan. I felt incredibly lucky that during my very first Cloudscape meeting (wow, it's already been like a year) I ran into a writer looking for an artist. I have such a hard time coming up with stories, that it was staggering to have him hammer out countless scripts and stories in such a short time. Without a writer I simply wouldn't have a story in this anthology, plus he gave me free reign in the visual storytelling side of things --for better or for worse ;)
Still, I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And with everything I've taken note of, the next one's going to be ten times better!

I had The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch just on a loop for pretty much the whole time I was working on the comic... Go ****ing figure.

I really love it though (everything except Robin Williams). Jimmy Fallon is actually hilarious there, delivers probably my favourite line reading in the whole thing. Neil Innes is awesomeawesomeawesome. It's less of a sequel than a very eclectic bunch of 00's celebrity interviews, and deleted scenes from the first movie, and Force knows why they were deleted in the first place, because they're equally funny. You can't watch just one Rutle movie, they're a package deal.

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HAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAH SHASHHDHASDFCHFJGKHLJ
CONAN, Thank you for the jeggins

Kind of a funny coincidence considering Conan's "testimonial" in The Rutles 2, about how he buttered his legs to be able to wear women's extra small trousers.
And, I loved the band's expressions. Between this and Broadway-Spidey spraying Green Goblin's crotch, this may be my favourite episode so far ...Who'da thunk it about an episode with the Kardashians as first guests?! :l

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By the way, thanks to all three who voted in the poll :P The public has spoken! The old crap is staying!

A case of the movies

I can't whine unless I post drawings -- hence, three pre-whine comic strips that I haven't posted before.




(^ Is Stephen peeing or is he not? You decide)

Sooo, I almost want to take back my recommendation of Nowhere Boy. It is a marvellous movie, but it directly started this weeks-long chain of thoughts that left me uncharacteristically depressed. I know, I'm lightyears away from actual clinical depression (I have to make that distinction since I have friends and loved ones who have suffered from it, and, these guys -- talk about not being able to take a joke *|), but the fact remains that for a week now I have not left home for anything other than my part-time job, and to me that's a first. I couldn't even get myself up for life drawing.
In other words, do go see Nowhere Boy, just maybe not if you're at a stage in your life where you have way too much time to think about s**t. I hope it's over now, though. I hope my brain flushes again.

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