Click on over to my youtube channel if you want to see more comic shorts.
Dog Training Funny Dogs
This is honestly what I imagined was going through Sophie’s head when I was training her. She eneded up learning “stay” by playing hid eand go seek. She would “stay” while I hid one of her toys and then she’d go find it. But she knew if she didn’t stay put I couldn’t hide the toy and she couldn’t play the game. Then I thought I could teach more advanced commands if she liked playing Monopoly.
Funny Free Dog Comics: Kitchen Towel Sharks
Oh ya, this was an issue. Thankfully I haven’t had aother kitchen towel shark. I mess up enough towels on my own, but then, every time Sophie would snag one, I’d have to replace them. I now have an entire drawer full of kitchen towels. They’re pretty much like tissues in my kitchen.
Funny Dog Cartoons: Flaunt it while you got it.
You know it’s true. Now some dogs can ham it up much more than others. Some could get oscars. My Gunnar thinks it’s enough to sit and stare at you. He doesn’t put in the work. Sophie, I’m fairly certain, was taking acting lessons in secret.
Funny Dog Comics: Michael Bay Directs Baby Movie
Ya, I said it. I love Michael Bay movies. Especially the Transformers series. I always thought it would be funny if I had different directors direct the strip. Obviously I’ve kind of done that with Tim Burton.
I think I’ll try to work this idea into the graphic novels. It’ll have to be in book three, as I’m wrapping up book two right now. Stay tuned, I’ll be sharing a lot more soon.
Livestream - Make Your Own Comics
Going live again! Still working on doing these events more often. Tomorrow I’ll try and simplify how you can make your own comics. Obviously there’s a ton of material I could cover, but like my last videos, I want to boil it down and also get rid of a lot of the frustrations you may have when starting out.
Hoping none of the glitch gremlins show up. The link below will bring you to the Youtube page where you can set a reminder. Hope to see you there!
Free Funny - Needy Monsters
Beginning to wonder if this was a metaphor for some of my foster dogs. Haven't had any that have wreaked this much destruction, but a few have come close. A lot of these quick toons sprout from common sayings that I catch myself and others repeated consistently. Then my imagination takes it to the extreme, or more accurately, the dark extreme. It's not a technique I consciously farm, but maybe I should.
On that note, I'm going to have more live-streams coming up. Currently getting familiar with OBS, Open Broadcasting Software. The plan is to live-stream drawing comic strips, children's book illustrations and single panel cartoons. So while I figure out the difference between "scenes" and "sources" in O.B.S., I'm also putting together lesson outlines and ideas.
If there's a particular concept or process or technique you'd like to see live-streamed, let me know in the comments or drop me a line. Once I get more proficient at this live-streaming thing, I'll hack together a multi-cam deal so I can live draw in my notebook. Any advice in that arena is also welcome. I've always been a behind the scenes techy and never been much of a fan of being in front of the lens.
Ghost Hunters Comic
One one of my personal favorites for several reason. Firstly, I've always wanted to draw a daily strip that takes place in a creepy house. Still haven't come up with that one yet. Secondly, I was a huge fan of the Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi channel.
I was familiar with that team as, at the time, most of my writing an drawing revolved around creepy places in New England. Never cared if parts of the show were rigged or not, I loved all the spots they investigated. Fuel for the imagination. And I do have a book on the back burner that embodies my love of New England's shadowy history. Has a slight Lovecraftian tilt to it. Hope to get to that one someday soon.
Free Comics - Dr. Frankenstein's Twitter
Have to catch up posting these cartoons here. You can always catch them on my Instagram if you want to read them as soon as they come out. This one was a bit silly and a nod to my favorite comedy of all time, “Young Frankenstein”. Thought it would be funny if the good doctor was around today and had a hard time getting views while bringing the dead back to life.
This is another one I might revisit in the future and render with a lot more detail. That’s the only drawback to Primordial Syrup. Might be only in my head, but I feel that the humor works better the more realistic and detailed the art. For now, I’m cheating, using ink washes to suggest more detail than there truly is. Although the itch to do a laboriously inked, Bernie Wrightson hatched panel is growing.
Did Luke Skywalker have a dog?
Did Luke Skywalker have a dog? That’s how this one started. First a bunch of sketches of Luke with dogs that didn’t fit in the Star Wars Universe. Then one of my dogs stole a Nerf sword, and voila! This cartoon was spawned.
Obviously I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I’ve dropped all kinds of Easter eggs in my Dog eat Doug strip since the beginning. But I generally don’t do a lot of pop-culture references in my other work. It won’t be a regular thing in my single panel comics. So far, this one and the Hellraiser cartoon.
Style wise, Primordial Syrup is still developing. They’ll stay closer to the realistic side of the spectrum, but I’m playing around with the tones and contrast. It’s also a lot more of a finished rendering then my Conjurers webcomic. That one was intended to be a quick style from the get go. Hopefully I’ll be able to produce these more often soon.
In the meantime, back to work on The Conjurers middle grade series. We’re finishing the illustrations, layout and cover for book two right now. A lot more posts coming related to book are on their way.
The Latest Single Panel Comic
Here it is, my favorite so far. This one was in the notebook for a long time. Kind of surprising considering I love drawing city scenes. Especially vintage style shops. Do wish I had the time to do a more detailed rendering. But I spent most of the time getting the eyeball dude right.
It’s one thing to doodle an idea that you think will work. It’s another to get it to work visually. This one had to be realistic enough so as not to come off as silly. And, if I did it too realistically, I think the creepiness meter would’ve been off the charts. Happy with the way it turned out. Although I think it could use some more atmosphere, like exhaust smoke or a few bits of litter on the street. Something that could make you smell and hear the city.
Till next time, when I’ll be posting a Star Wars themed comic. And if you want to view these cartoons sooner, I post them on my Instagram first. See you on the flis-side of T-Day! Have a great holiday!
More Single Panel Silliness - Shank Monkey
For starters, Shank Monkey would make an awesome name for a band. This one began with a bunch of monkey doodles in which the monkeys performed all sorts of menial tasks such as grooming mustaches or applying make-up. And then boom, a little monkey showed up with a knife and shank monkey was born.
Before you ask, yes, there are t-shirts. I had to. Don’t know if they’ll sell or not, but shank monkey t-shirts needed to be a thing. You can get one by clicking here.
Onto the next! I’ll post another Primordial Syrup shortly. In the meantime, back to illustrating “The Conjurers, Book Two”.
The Ups and Downs of writing Middle Grade Books and Webcomics
Read “The Conjurers” webcomic from the beginning here. Or click here for the latest episode.
The Conjurers Webcomic is back! Yep, I’m posting about it again. And I’ll be posting a lot more often. From the beginning, the webcomic was a simple, quick exercise while I was writing the books. It was a small break from plotting, writing and rewriting (and rewriting and rewriting…), and illustrating the novels. Over the years I’ve learned you need creative outlets on the side to keep your main work fresh. At the same time, that outlet can't eat up all your time.
So I compromised. I would do another comics project so long as I could do it quickly and it was related to “The Conjurers”. A webcomic was the perfect medium. I could take secondary characters from the book and send them on their own adventures. It was more beneficial than I could have ever imagined. It helped make two dimensional characters more 3D. I got to see how they behaved when they were the focus of the story. So while the comic was done in a rushed (and admittedly sloppy fashion), the characters became more real and those little details made their way into the books.
In this latest story arc, one such character became even more important. If you’re all caught up on the comics, you know a bit about Latif. She was created strictly for the comic. Cut to writing book three. My main antagonist (one of my favorite characters to date) had a complex backstory that was interwoven with other characters in the book. In order to pull it off, that meant there was a lot more story which meant a much bigger book. Too big. My editor suggested we had to cut her out of the story. That’s the kind of story note you want to ignore or fight or stomp your feet until you get your away. Except that she was right (as usual).
What does one do with a first draft of a book which has suddenly had the main bad guy ripped out? You could toss it. That of course is a bit drastic considering there are two books that come before it. Or you freak out for a few days until suddenly, yo remember that little side experiment you’ve been scratching away at once a week. And you realize your have the perfect antagonist ready to go: Latif.
Yep, the cold, mechanical Dr./Pharmaceutical billionaire that came out of nowhere in a webcomic story that was not related to the books was suddenly the star of book three. Her backstory was not as complex or intertwined with the previous plots of books one and two. Which meant she could fit perfectly into book three. On top of that, she’s my kind of villain, in that she does not see herself as a villain. Latif believes she is the hero.
Now I can’t go on too much more without giving away spoilers. I can say that my former antagonist, Mekinda, will have her story told one way or another. Maybe in the webcomic, or maybe, hopefully, in future books. In the end it’s another valuable lesson that telling stories is not always a clean, straightforward process. Sometimes the biggest hurdles become the sweetest moments of inspiration.
Gardening with Sasquatch
I don’t do a lot of comics with monsters from central casting. Usually I make them up and they have a strong Lovecraft or Clive Barker flare (go figure). However, this idea, I thought, was too silly to pass up. I’m sure the next one will be a tad darker as that is the way it seems the universe balances out my sense of humor.
Also, there’s a new episode of “The Conjurers” webcomic up at gocomics. I’ll have another post about that, as one of the characters featured in the comic ended up saving the third novel. More on that later. In the meantime, I’m in the super early stages of stitching together a promotional tour for book one of the Conjurers. Haven’t had any official meetings with my publisher on that yet, but if you know of any schools or libraries that might want to have me visit, drop me a line.
How to effectively remove the monster in your closet.
This one started as a scribble on a napkin. I’m certain it came from my own childhood experience of watching a shadow creature creep out of my closet every night. I had lots of such hallucinations as a kid, and I’m certain they will inspire more cartoons. Kind of worth the paralyzing terror in the long run.
Once I finish today’s inking, I’ll rummage through the notebook and see which random idea to work on for next week. Lots to chose from. Lots still need some work. The key, I’ve found, is to keep the pen moving. Applies to both cartooning and writing. No matter how ridiculous or unintelligible, keep the pen moving. And when you’re not thinking about ideas, your brain tends to have a small, dark factory, hidden away deep in the grey matter, that keeps on grinding. You won’t even know it’s happening. Then, when you open the notebook, that factory sends a fixed punchline, or scene from a chapter, straight up to the front office.
In the meantime, I’ll have more posts about the upcoming books and the return of “The Conjurers” webcomic. And feel free to share these cartoons around. Always looking for new readers, especially if they’re a wee bit on the strange side.
Fishing Trip in Innsmouth
Indeed, another nod to H.P. Lovecraft. I was quite happy with this comic, even after finishing it, which is usually the moment I want to scrap it and start over. The style of the strip is evolving in a good, dark, gothic sort of way. Enjoyed creating the mood in this scene. Started off with detailed background sketch before realizing less is often more. In this case, I created the swamp with simple shapes and lots of washes.
Not all the comics will be so heavily Lovecraftian. However, when you discover his work in fourth grade, it tends to leave a lasting, grungy stain on your imagination (not a bad thing at all). Not sure what’s coming next week. I’m in the midst of finalizing book two of “The Conjurers” and producing more of companion webcomic (which re-launches this Halloween).
Rest assured I have more Primordial Syrups than Cthulu has tentacles sketched up in my notebook. I’ll have to flip through and see which one tickles my gothic fancy. Let me know what you think so far and of there is any interest in Primordial Merch. Shirts, mugs, wall hangings, blank notebooks and such. Drop me some comments!
Dog Rescue - Comics vs. Reality
As much as the comic follows my real life, I should know by now that reality doesn’t always have the happiest ending. I write the strip months ahead of the publication date. A lot can change in a month, and a lot did.
As most of you know, I have foster dogs in and out all the time. Then came Annie and Louise. And for almost a year, they were sisters. Both had issues, Louise more so than Annie. Louise came from a horrid background and has a severe fear of humans. With dogs, she was normal.
After about six months we knew Annie and Louise had found their forever home. I had bonded with Annie from day one. That had never happened before with any dog. And I was committed to rehabbing Louise. A long and slow process, but worth it.
Then reality strayed from the comic. Weezy got provoked by someone outside the fence. She jumped up and came down on Annie, nipping her ear. Annie instinctively struck back. The two locked up. I got them apart. It was a case of mis-interpreted cues that changed everything. Now, whenever they were outside and Weezy got anxious, both girls thought the other would attack.
This becomes a situation that requires full time management, and with the other training Weezy needed and my Luther’s auto-immune disorder, not to mention the other fosters, the only way for me to help both girls was to have Annie moved. It tore my heart in half.
The rescue, however, had another plan. They knew from the start that we were Weezy’s last chance and had wanted to put her down from the get go. They weren’t willing to move Annie and told us the decision had already been made. If they moved Annie, we were told she would be boarded and would most likely meet the same fate as Weezy.
I’m in this to rescue dogs and to do whatever it takes to save as many as possible. Every dog deserves a chance, and after having Weezy for a year, there was no question that she deserved one. This was not some extreme, out of the ordinary situation.
This happens with dogs and if you’re going to help them you have to be ready to handle it. I had an outside, professional trainer assess Weezy. Their conclusion: there was no reason Weezy should be put down, other than it was the easy way out. Sadly, the trainer had seen this many times before.
The only way I could get the rescue to re-foster Annie was to adopt Weezy. So that’s what we did. I signed the papers and they took my Annie. “Sucked” is not a strong enough word for that day. The only bright spot, and the most important, was that both my girls got to live.
I’m keeping tabs on my Annie. And I’m keeping her in the strip. I’ll miss her forever. Dog rescue is not always easy and I never take the easy way out. My focus now will be giving Weezy the life she deserves, and nursing my Luther back to health.
Nightmare Car Repairs
I’ll probably repeat this several times, but these strips are ideas that strike me as funny at the time I doodle them. Doesn’t guarantee they’ll make sense. This is one of my favorites. The initial sketch was the clown poking out of the engine. Weeks later the mechanic labeling the problem as gasket clowns made me laugh. And there you go.
I liked how the final art turned out. You have to draw lots of comics before the style fins itself. I think I’m getting closer. I want them to be sem-realistic an not too cartoonish. Pretty good balance in this comic. The realism seems to heighten the dark weirdness and the humor at the same time. I’ll keep pushing and tweaking the style bit by bit and see where it goes.
In other news, my other comic, “The Conjurers”, which is a companion piece to the novels will be returning this Halloween! That too is an experiment and so far, I’ve enjoyed where the story has gone. Never been happy wit the art. Then again, I limited myself to one hour for pencils, inks and colors. Didn’t have the time while writing the books. More on that in my next post. Till then, leave a comment or drop me a line and let me know what you think of “Primordial Syrup” so far.
Channeling Lydia Deetz
This is an older cartoon, one of the first that made it out of my notebook for Primordial Syrup. As usual I’d love to redraw it, make it darker and have a much more detailed, grotesque creature perched on her head. Still, I love the mode of this one and the unanswered question of what exactly it is protecting her from.
Quick update for those wondering if these posts are only going to be single panel cartoons. Soon there will be much, much more. Book one of “The Conjurers” launches next July. That means I will be donning my marketers hat. It’s always been a small hat as I don’t have much room on my head for many more hats.
However, this time, I’m putting a lot more effort into that side of the creative business. Now that doesn’t mean I will be drudging on with endless promotions of “buy my book”. The good news it means I’ll be working on all the other fun stuff that comes along with the Conjurers series. For starters, the webcomic companion will be starting back up this Halloween.
For those not familiar, the webcomic was an experiment I undertook while writing the novels. It was only once a week and I allotted three hours max on the art. The characters are straight from the books. So if you’d like to meet the cast before next July, you can start reading here. And for those of you have been more than patiently waiting for the story to continue, you only have a few weeks wait left. And it shall continue between releases of the three books. There is so much to explore in that world, and my dream is to eventually bring on other artists to do some of the exploring.
Enough prattling for now. Much more to come, including giveaways and other such announcements. Soon, I’ll be putting together a book tour. If you know of any schools, libraries or book shops that might want to host an exhausted, but talkative author, drop me a line.
Channeling my inner Lovecraft
This is one of the earliest Primordial Syrup comics I wrote. Sums up the tone of the comic nicely. Still not happy with the finished art. Wish I had made the creature more creaturey, with a bit of “Ancient One” flair. Still, progress not perfection.
In the coming weeks I’ll have more posts on “The Conjurers”. Currently I’m working on the illustrations for book two. Also sketching concepts for the cover. And I hope to have news on book one soon. A release date and maybe some actual photos of an actual book. Stay tuned.
