I have been reading some George Herriman Krazy Kat books, and some of his hand coloured drawings have inspired me to colour some of my strips again, similar to the way I did when I first started Road Apples Almanac.
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I posted a Bonus Comic Strip on Facebook. Why Facebook? Well, it has a character in it that has been part of the back story in my head for a long time, but it’s a story I’m just not ready to tell yet.
So why did I draw this strip?
Honestly, it started out as something else, a gag strip really. So there I was, sketching away and all of a sudden I’m drawing that character peeking over the cliff, so I just went with it. But then I realized I’m just not ready for this yet. So instead of hiding it away in a drawer, I posted it on Facebook. This way you can see it without it messing up my current story arcs.
I hope you like it.
As you can probably tell I’m a big fan of Christopher Baldwin’s Strip LIttle Dee by the references I’ve made to it. So I assume you’ve checked it out by now and noticed that he also does a great strip called Space Trawler that appears Mon. and Wed. that coincidently I have done some fan art for, which appears today.
The great thing about Space Trawler (besides the art and story) is the characters. One doesn’t need to be interested in sci-fi to enjoy Baldwin’s work, the setting and subject does not force its will over the strip, unlike some sci-fi where the focus is the environment instead of the personalities. Don’t get me wrong, Baldwin sci-fi world is excellent, but the array of characters and their personalities dealing with their plight is what keeps readers coming back. The people (or I should say beings) are not one dimensional and have the possibility in all of them to be great and idiotic in any given situation, just like the rest of us.
In short it’s damn fine writing. I think you should check it out.
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Well it’s been One Year… whew, I made it. Wow, I can’t believe it.
A year ago with no plan and no direction I started this strip. I hadn’t drawn in a few years and was very rusty. It was serendipity really. I went to my brother’s church and after the service was over, I was talking to him telling him that I wanted to start drawing cartoons again. That was it, I went home, forgot about it, whatever, it was history. Then Monday night rolls along and my friend’s younger brother Brian calls me out of the blue, and asks me if I’d ever thought about doing a web comic, and that he would be happy to help me with the computer side of things.
Now I’d only had a computer for a year and half at that time. I never used much, it was for my wife’s work really. So when Brian starts telling me about all these web comics that are out there and some of his favorite ones I really knew nothing about it.
So I just started. I grabbed my 4″x13″ aluminum template my friend Ben made for me in the mid-nineties for my comic strip Castor, and started drawing. Since then I have experimented with different sizes, gradients, and colours. In February I discovered Chris Baldwin’s Little Dee and was impressed with his use of Zip-a-Tone patterns. So when my Helmet story arc finished I created some of my I own and began experimenting with them. I now also draw bigger having found the 4″x13″ too restrictive, and have been drawing mostly at a 5″x16″ size. I did draw the peanuts tributes in 4″x13″ and when I was in rush like the Sneak Attack strip, but that is rare now.
All in all it’s been a blast! I have never talked to another cartoonist before starting this strip and now I have been blessed with great Internet buddies like David Scott Smith and Juanele. I got to see drastic changes happen in my writing and drawing, something that only a deadline can do. I was able to let go and not be afraid to change character design and let the characters voice come through (this is still an everyday challenge). I love everything about comic strips, but it’s tough sometimes. I get up for work at 5am, get home at 3:30, play with the kids and care for them till their bedtime, and by 9pm when everything is settled down I draw. Sometimes I just want to sleep and I do, and sometimes I just want to hang out with my wife. Most strips have been written on my lunch break at work, some have even been inked on my lunch break. Whatever it takes I guess, and that’s one of the reasons I try to keep my style simple.
Thanks to my wife for her support; I love you Pauline.
Thanks to Brian for guiding me through this Internet world, I wouldn’t have started this without your help.
Thanks to everyone for reading and giving supportive feedback. Let’s have a fun year two on Road Apples Farm.
Don Ahé