One problem solved.

Picking a new layout theme that allows for wider posts is going to let me posts the strips larger.
Speaking of which, here is Moe #8

Technical problem

I have no idea why previous strips will open as larger, more legible versions. But the last three don’t do that, so I have to manually resize them in the html editor wordpress provides. This makes the strip too blurry.

I’m sorry about that.

I know that I save them as 600 pixels wide, but when I place them into the editor it shows up as 496, or something. I don’t know what’s going on.

Regardless, I’m looking into finding a better way to present and web-publish my strips, even if that means buying my own domain and designing the website myself. Which could be fun, except I have to start teaching again in a week.

Moe #007

Spike gets his name. How did “Spike” come about? Moira came up with it. I just had fun with how Moe and Spike meet and interact and why he needed a name like Spike.

I’m really trying to work on the inking to give the art weight and solidity. I’m also getting more comfortable with the characters that I’m trying more dynamic poses and composition.

Basically, I want to fill the frame more fully and I don’t want “talking heads.”

I’m doing well at maintaining a work week type of schedule. I’ve got three more strips to pencil and ink by tomorrow. Let’s see what happens.

Here’s the strip.

Another strip drawn and inked and posted.

The close up shots tend to go much faster. Trying to maintain a style a very small size (such as, the zoomed out shots in previous strip) requires meticulousness.

The larger shots allow for bolder shapes and ink lines, which gives me a bit more freedom. I was also able to convey Spike’s wrinkled bagginess from wearing clothes that are too big.

My inking still needs a lot of work. But overall, I’m okay with this one.

As always, feel free to criticize.

Moe #005a

New strip. I miscounted. The VERY first strip is actually zero. And my naming system for the computer files started at one. So to make sure they match up, I just improvised.

This is the first of six that I’m working on right now. This past week was just how I wanted to work–I woke up on Wednesday, wrote six strip. That’s enough for a week (minus the sunday). Friday and today has been spent penciling and inking and working on composition. It kinda feels like an actual work week.

I have until Tuesday to finish all six strips. I gave myself Christmas day off. If I can do this, I will have accomplished a big goal I have for myself–scheduling a week to complete a week’s worth of strips.

So…here it is–the introduction of the new character Spike, even though I don’t call him Spike…YET!

Thought for the day.

I’m sitting in my kitchen at the drawing table. The creek is swelling from the cold December rain.

It should be snow.

Tuesday is DoodleDay

After spending last night and this morning trying to remove a wonderful little popup virus from my laptop, I need to feel some sense of accomplishment. So I’m posting doodles. And from now on, every Tuesday is DoodleDay, only because the the “oo” sound makes me laugh.

Doodles are an invaluable part of a cartoonist’s day. Usually, it’s the only thing we can show our wives and children that, yes, we’ve been working.

These have no significance other than they were in my sketchbook. Although, the sleepy Moe is a drawing I intend to use eventually.

Now that school’s out, I can get back to work

The last few weeks have been spent on finals and getting the house ready for Christmas visitors. Now that’s all done, I can get back to the good stuff.

No strip today, but if you love the comics, I have a treat for you.

Go to http://threemeninatub.blogspot.com. Ted Dawson has posted some copies of OLD strips that are amazing. I highly HIGHLY recommend it.

Especially you, Dad. Scroll down a bit and you’ll find some Pogo strips.

New Strip concept and art

Since syndication is my goal, I have three strip concepts I’m working on. You’ve seen Moe. And Hard Knox is also in a gestational phase. But my third is a pure gag strip with no recurring characters or locations. It is simply about the thoughts and opinions people have…or, to be more honest, I have. I merely put them in the mouths of generic everyday people.

The format is based on the Man on the Street interviews. Hence the name of the strip: Man on Street.

Right now, it is simply talking heads with a simple background. And hopefully they’re saying stuff that makes you giggle, laugh, or think.

But I’m wondering if it might actually change into a more formal “man on the street interview,” with a question posed at the beginning of the week and six or seven different responses to that topic.

Mostly, it is a outlet for my cynical bitching about everything, everywhere. That should give me plenty of material to work with.

Here’s the strip:

Latest strip

This one must be read after the previous strip in order to understand it.

There is a lot I want to talk about with this particular strip. The first is my philosophy of cartooning…the harder way is the better way.

When I was thinking of composition for this strip, I purposefully chose to repeat each panel layout to emphasis the banal tone of the conversation. Usually, a cartoonist will play with point of view to add interest to a strip layout. I could have a zoom in and zoom out. I could have an extreme zoom out and resort to sillhouette-ing the characters. I could experiment with frames and angles. But I wanted this conversation to sound mechanical, until the last frame. That’s when Moe turns her head and shows emotion…some sort of deep satisfaction. (Personally, I have never eaten warm Cheerios. But I might after seeing the look on her face.)

Since I was repeating the first three frames, I could have drawn one frame and then used Photoshop to copy and paste. But I don’t believe in doing that.

I drew each frame. I tried to recreate the characters by hand. Did I succeed? I don’t know.

The second topic is the new character. I’m not going to tell you his name because it’s actually the subject of the next strip. But I’m trying to introduce characters quickly in order to establish their presence in Moe’s world.

The cool thing is that my real daughter, Moira (the inspiration for the strip), gets to name all of the characters. I hate trying to name characters. Names always seem forced and contrived. So I let her do it.

I drew him while driving back from Gatlinburg. I called her en route, and asked her to come up with a boy’s name. She did and it’s perfect. You’ll find out what it is soon.

Please leave comments. I need the affirmation.