Kitten Apocalypse

Well, here's a dribble...

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:07:04 GMT

((Cross-Posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

I've been really busy working on various comics stuff (coming to this blog... soon) but here are the few dailies I managed to squirt out, some concept scribbles for another comic, and a piece of Community fanart.

Further Bulletins from the Chicago Area....

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:09:25 GMT

((Cross-Posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

More of the same! Enjoy.

The full flickr set is here.

Now Broadcasting from Chicago...

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:38:24 GMT

((Cross-Posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

Finally, finally settling down after my reintroduction to the USA, I've got some stuff to post! While in Chicago I've been doing some daily strips. Not my forte but I hope they're not too boring? Feedback is appreciated!

The full flickr set is here.

What I'm Looking At Now.

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:40:36 GMT

((Cross-Posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

Today I sat down a wrote out a couple lists (I LOVE lists) of the artists/writers whose art/writing I am particularly excited about right now.

Inspiration, Visual:

-Egon Schiele
-Jillian Tamaki
-Sam Bosma
-Gustav Klimt
-Katie Turner
-Jordan Crane
-Jesse Moynihan
-Richard Haines

Inspiration, Written:

-David Foster Wallace
-Cat & Girl
-Pictures for Sad Children
-Jason
-Jesse Moynihan (again)

Inspiration, DCiGTH:

-Lucy Knisley
-Johnny Wander
-Octopus Pie

I guess some people, knowing only my work on Darwin Carmichael might think I spend my time reading cute comics about cute stuff but really left entirely to my own devices I tend to gravitate towards the weird/fucked-up end of the spectrum. Someday, time permitting, I am really looking forward to making some disturbing comics.

My New Notebook

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:52:04 GMT

((Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com.))

This tickled me too much not to post; my newest sketchpad/notebook, purchased in a stationary store in the lonesome city of Taebaek, South Korea.

Aside from the joy I got in finding this bit of NYC-love in my little town across the world, and how much I love the inaccurate rendering/location of a certain famous building, my absolute favorite aspect of this notebook is the block of text at the bottom of the page, which since it's a little hard to read in the photo I'll re-paste here:

New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education, and entertainment. As host of the United Nations Headquarters, it is also an important center for international affairs. The city is often referred to as New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York, of which it is a part. Located on a large natural harbor on the Atlantic coast of the Northeastern United States, the city consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

The remarkable grammatical soundness/accuracy of this paragraph (not common in Korean products), and it's encyclopedia-like tone led me to suspect what I can now confirm is true: that this paragraph was stolen wholesale from the Wikipedia article on "New York City".

Love it, love it, love it.

Scott Pilgrim Fever

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:22:40 GMT

((Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

Well, I can't get the 6th volume in Korea, but I can at least draw some fanart and look forward to the day I get my hands on it. No spoilers, please.

Oh Stephen Stills. I would have such mad make-outs with you!

OMG

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:05:36 GMT

Hey! Hey guys! Skittles opened his own etsy shop! YEAH HE DID. Go check it out!!

On Artistic Development and Ugly Cupids

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:05:22 GMT

((Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

I try to avoid delving too much into my artistic process on public forums because I feel like those sorts of things are only useful and interesting from people who know what they're doing, but in terms of my experience as a developing artist the above kind of covers it. Minus the stress-tears and hair-pulling. The gap between where my art is and where I want it to be is so vast that any development is just a momentary reprieve from the inner pressure. I wonder if it's like that for other artists out there. Guys?

For some reason I still drew myself with glasses even though I got LASIK two weeks ago and no longer wear them. I think drawing myself with eyes would be weird.

I will conclude this post with some drawings of a deranged cupid. I really enjoyed playing around with his squishy face:

Unicorns!

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:15:00 GMT

((Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

This counts as "research", I think.

On the Forest Floor

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:10:10 GMT

((Cross-posted from http://estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

This took FOREVER and it still doesn't feel finished.

Sweater girl goes on an adventure.

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:51:38 GMT

((Cross-posted from http://estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

So instead of drawing a strip today I drew a lot more images of the girl in the overlarge sweater from my last post.

If you'd like to see more, you can view the Flickr Set, or check them out here:

Note: NSFW!

Dr Sketchy's

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:28:07 GMT

Hey gentle readers! Last month at Dr. Sketchy's I got to do all kinds of exciting stuff. First, I was called up to draw ON some lovely half naked women to break a tie. I lost. But it was okay because I got to draw on lovely half naked women!

Then I won a DIFFERENT contest, and got to do a shot on stage. Don't believe me? Here are pictures.

Celebrities, vague sadess and centaurs.

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:31:20 GMT

((Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com))

More sketches:

I don't have much experience drawing horses so I'm pleased at how this turned out. I hope to use this character some day:

I got the idea for this from dearoldlove.tumblr.com. This is my contribution to their annals:

I am no good at caricatures which is why I practice:

Is it just me, or does he look a little like Cassidy from "Preacher"?:

More ladies on skates.

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:28:04 GMT

(Cross-posted from http://estrangingsea.livejournal.com)

I can see why Lucy Knisley likes to draw these Derby girls so much! It was nice to do some more active poses as well.

Fan shirt contest complete!

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:33:06 GMT

Check out our wonderful fan Ariane, happily sporting her Darwin shirt. Congrats on the contest win, Ariane!

Let's Hear It For the Girls.

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:54:51 GMT

(Cross-posted from http://estrangingsea.livejournal.com)

I don't get a lot of time to draw things not directly related to DCiGTH (which are of course all spoiler-heavy and unpostable) but recently I had the inclination and time to draw a couple pretty girls. Or, at least, that was the intention.

Okay, well, Medusa isn't that pretty but she is mad stylish. The large dark glasses are to avoid turning bystanders to stone, of course.

My Glamorous Summer

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:48:21 GMT

Hey Darwin Readers! Here's a boring update in my life.

For the uninformed, this summer I am working as a supermarket merchandise resetter for my dad's old company. I was going to be teaching a history class at a university in the city, but it paid less.

Yep.

It's surprisingly enjoyable. All I really do is go into supermarkets and set them up. I break up palettes, organize products into the right aisles, and pack up the shelves. It's a lot of lifting and listening to old semi-retired food brokers tell long stories about brokering food. It's nice, for a change, to come home from work and feel physically tired, not psychically. I better not get too used to it!

One thing I can get used to is all the time in the car, and I'm really digging it. I know, it's really not green, and I apologize. But this week I have been setting up an Uncle Guiseppe's supermarket in Port Jefferson (it's going to be freaking awesome, an Italian market that makes its own pasta, pastries, and fresh mozzarella. AND CHOCOLATE! They will have THREE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAINS!!). It's right near the university I'll be attending in the fall, and it's about fifty minutes from my house. I listen to way more music and podcasts, I'

I spent the entire day in the baking section today, and it was torture. All those smells, all those pictures of brownies! Then I went home and didn't have to write a paper.

I have a weeeee tiny bit of other loose ends to tie up at the GC, but I'm giving myself this week off from all school-related things in order to unwind and do some other stuff I have wanted to do for a really really long time but haven't had the chance. I washed all my floors. I took some baths. I'm FINALLY getting to burning all my CDs that I haven't had on my iPod since a Tragic IPod Crash about two years ago. TWO YEARS! It's going to be like opening a time capsule of music! And then I can listen to it driving around Long Island to set up supermarkets!

I have a couple of other little projects going. The new blog. Sometime this summer I will get to open up the back bedroom and clean it out of grammy's house, and reclaim it. I have had a desk from Ikea in a box here waiting to be put in. I'm going to set up an office/art studio in there, and I can't freaking wait. I have a puppet theatre to paint and some puppets to make. And of course Darwinian things. And other stuff I can't remember right now.

Simon and Samantha say hello.

DCiGTH Fan Contest!!!!

Tue, 11 May 2010 03:13:33 GMT

Hey you! Yeah, you! Guess what. DCiGtH is having its very first super-wonderful-amazing fan contest! Don't you want to win it? Yeah you do! So read on for details...

The illustrious Dan Rensing over at Distinct Graphicz generously provided me with a t-shirt to wear to MoCCA last month. It turned out beautifully and we'd like to share it with a special fan. It's only been worn once, and it was washed thoroughly, and I'm not a particularly stinky person anyway. It's just like new! Men's size large! Also the only DCiGtH T-shirt in existence! One of a kind!

All you need to do is blog or tweet a link to DCiGtH with a few kind words. Send a link to your post to dcisgoingtohell (at) gmail.com, and your name will be put in a hat. We'll begin accepting entries on May 12th, and we'll stop on May 31st. Then, in a very official setting, on June 1st, with lots of witnesses both human and feline, we will draw out the name of one lucky blogger/tweeter. Then we will be in touch with said lucky person to get shipping information and the like.

So have fun, y'all!

Bestest,
Jenn Jordan
(seconded by Sophie Goldstein)

Guest Strip: Permanent Link

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:10:38 GMT

Here it is: http://www.johnnywander.com/comics/149

Guest Comic on Johnny Wander

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:48:04 GMT

Yessssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See it here!

I love Johnny Wander, and the excellent people who write, draw and star in it: Ananth and Yuko. They are an adorable beacon of light for the rest of us and I am so so honored to have my art up on their site. If your not already familiar with Johnny Wander then CHECK IT OUT, or you will be MISSING OUT (see what I did there?).

Once again:

http://www.johnnywander.com/

I don't know how to put up a permanent link yet but I will as soon as it becomes available.

Hourlies, 2010

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:43:31 GMT

Hey people, I did some hourlies for February 3, 4, and part of 5. To avoid confusion, I should clarify that I currently live in South Korea and work full-time as an English teacher. School is currently not in session, so right now that involves a lot of desk warming. There, you have been briefed:

Wednesday, February 3rd

Thursday, February 4th

Friday, February 5th

I had a lot of fun working on these. Autobiographical comics have always made me nervous to it was good to jump into it full-throttle instead of the tentative attempts I've been making in my notebooks. Feedback, questions and general commentary is encouraged and appreciated!

Baby Ella

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:33:33 GMT

Cross-posted from estrangingsea.livejournal.com

Hey guys! It's been awhile, but I wanted to post these character studies I did for infant Ella for an upcoming storyline. They were really fun to draw. If you aren't already you can read my webcomic here.

Cheers,
S

So far, so fast.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:10:06 GMT

Today I had the mixed pleasure of posting the first DCIGTH strip I ever drew. It's a decidedly mixed experience, I'd have to say.

After shelving this strip for almost seven months (DCIGTH premiered Jan 1st of this year but Jenn and I started working on it the preceding summer) it was a bizarre experience to bring it out again for coloring. While the difference from my drawing now seems negligible, there are definitely some things I could do better now, like hands and Ella's angry face. Probably my biggest area of growth has been coloring, which I knew absolutely nothing about when we started this strip.

This strip is a lot of work for me and Jenn and it's gratifying to observe progress both for our readers' sakes as well as our own. If I'm not looking back a couple years from now and thinking what complete shit my drawing use to be, then I'll know something is seriously awry.

Thanks for reading, guys. As always your comments are deeply appreciated.

We Work Hard for the Money

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:28:21 GMT

An exchange between Jenn and myself after a long morning of scripting for DCIGTH from our respective computers at work:

Jennifer: hmm.
maybe i should do some like, work

me: What, like, paid work?

I don't understand.

Jennifer: someone in the office was talking about it recently, i don't know

maybe i'll try some

me: I would look it up on the internet first though.

You don't wan to just jump into that kind of thing.

Jennifer: it's true, i don't know if i need protective gloves or something

me: Or maybe a heart monitor.

Jennifer: the more i talk about this the less healthy it seems. i think i'll skip it

Office humor guys. It's the world we live in.

Cribs Post

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:24:19 GMT

Hey gang! My apartment is finally all set up, and I thought I'd post some pics and do a little house tour, since the apartment is on Long Island and not many people voluntarily find themselves out that way. Won't you come inside? (beckons)

The door to my apartment is down some stairs in the back of the house. When you come inside, you see the kitchen:

Go straight through the kitchen, through the little folding door and get to my bedroom:

My awesome map:

Dresser:

A cozy corner:

In the lefthand corner of my bedroom there is a little office nook:

My hero and favorite fictional medievalist, Dr. Jones:

To the left of the kitchen is the living room:

My only complaint is that this apartment has way too much wood paneling. I feel like I live in Ron Burgundy's house sometimes. Stereo, and angel cabinet Steph and I made. It holds my movies.

Simon cleaning himself on the jambox:

Samantha chillaxing with her favorite toy, a piece of string:

Hysterical Teddy Roosevelt wine holder my dad got me:

And books!!

All my books, all in one place! It is rad. Here's another gratuitous bookshot:

And yay some original artwork! =D