I've received a lot of compliments on the artwork in today's strip which makes me feel awesome! I was very proud of this strip when I scanned into my computer, and I was eager to see if anyone would appreciate the drawings. I gotta say that I'm really proud of all the artwork you'll see over the next couple weeks (that's right - I've got a three week buffer!), so please let me know what you think about the look of the next few weeks of strips!
A few weeks ago I decided that I no longer wanted to use gray tones in the comic strip. I feel like they muddy up the look of my strip too much, and I should work harder to balance the white space and black space so I wouldn't have to rely on grayscale tones to make my comics "pop". This choice to reduce the amount of "computer work" led to several other changes in my drawing process. Here are the main changes:
- I've been drawing the strip smaller. I used to draw 4 3/4" X 16". Now I'm drawing the strip 4 1/4" X 13 3/4". When I stare at the smaller comic panels they don't seem as daunting as the larger panels. I know I can fill the smaller panels up with lots of interesting stuff quite easily! The smaller strips are also easier to ink because I can turn the strips while I ink them helping me keep a nice, flowing line.
- I'm using a Pentel brush pen for the majority of all the linework. I still use the Pitt pens for touch ups, but I'm trying not to overdo the touch ups. I want the art to have more of a "raw" feel than it has in the past.
- I'm using a less-expensive Pentel brush pen to color all the black areas. I used to fill the black spaces in Photoshop, but I think the strip looks better if I do it myself with a brush.
- I'm free-handing the letters. I used to draw lines across the comic strip that allowed me to keep the letters evenly sized and straight. Now I'm just winging it without the lines, and I think the lettering looks even better since it's sort of "imperfect".
Here are some more goals I have for the comic strip:
- I want to explore Andy and Katie some more. I'm worried that we know more about Steve and Emaline now, and less about the main characters!
- I want to start focusing on my hometown of Chillicothe in the comic strip. In my mind, my characters live right here in my town but I've never really explored that facet of their lives. I've been enjoying the Scott Pilgrim series immensely, and I love how Bryan Lee O'Malley references Toronto in his comic. I want to do something like that with Chillicothe. I've got some ideas . . .
- I want to do a better job drawing "fashions" in the strip. I know it might age my strip faster, but I think that it would be fun to see my characters in something besides t-shirts and jeans. Again, Bryan Lee O'Malley (and John Allison of Scary Go Round, too) is excellent at drawing different clothing fashions and hairstyles, and I want to experiment with it, too. We'll see what happens. :)
I love going to the movie theater, and I'm just as guilty as the next guy of nitpicking trivial things and allowing those things to ruin my enjoyment of the movie. I've complained about cinematography, music, bad acting, poor visual effects, lack of believability - the same crap we've all complained about at the movies these days. But lately I've been feeling like we get a little too carried away with our critiques.
Case-in-point, Cloverfield. I had wanted to see this movie in theaters, but the abundance of negative reviews made me wait until it was a rental. Last night I borrowed the DVD off one of my co-workers, and I sat down in front of the TV expecting to make it through only half the movie before turning it off in disgust. Such was not the case.
I thought Cloverfield was a fun movie, and I really enjoyed it. I know there were some complaints about the visual effects and some of the acting was pretty mediocre, but overall I think the movie accomplished what it set out to do: create a fun monster movie shot from a unique perspective. I can appreciate that.
If you would like to tear me apart for my horrible taste in movies, you may do so in the comments section. :)
Permanent Vacation . . .
On July 11 I will begin my permanent vacation from my current employer. I'm excited, relieved, and scared all at the same time. Luckily, I'll have approximately a three-month cushion to look for a new job. Hopefully I'll be able to find one in this economy that won't require me to drive out of town . . .
I found an awesome band via the interwebs, and they have an E.P. that you can download entirely for free. Go check it out at this link: http://www.heartsofpalmband.com/
Kiwanis . . .
I'm speaking tomorrow at a Kiwanis meeting in my hometown. If you're part of Chillicothe Kiwanis, I'll see you tomorrow at noon. I hope I don't bore you with my little talk.
The only problem is Daniel is Polish, and I have no idea what he said about YHT and my other projeckts! I'm sure it was all very nice and flattering, but if anyone knows how I can translate the website let me know. I'd love to read what Daniel had to say!
Another Review . . .
The man known only as Mr. Myth wrote a nice little review about YHT and the recent storylines involving Omar, and Steve and Emaline's breakup. The review is pretty honest without being snarky and petty. You can check it out here.
What I'm Listening To . . .
In true blog-like fashion, I've decided to tell you what I've been rocking out to as of late. A few weeks ago I was on a hardcore Red Hot Chili Peppers kick. Couldn't get enough of 'em. Then, I was blasting the kicking jams of Dave Matthews Band, but only the live stuff. Following my DMB splurge, I've been listening to Patty Griffin's 1000 Kisses on repeat. Awesome guitar work, but it's a very sad album. There's only one happy song on the whole disc and that depresses me, so it's time to spin something new. Not sure what I'll listen to next - maybe some Weezer? Ben Folds perhaps? Only time will tell.
I had a horrible week last week, and I was either too busy or too tired to write a blog. So today I'll do my best to make up for all the crap I missed last week. Let's jump right in, shall we?
Book Sales . . .
May 30 was the last day to order your YHT books and get free shipping, but I'm still offering the YHT Bundle (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and the 32-page comic book) for $10. If you live in the U.S, Canada, or Mexico shipping will be $5.50. All international orders are $8 for shipping. If you'd like to grab all the YHT books, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you an invoice from PayPal! My e-mail is wesmolebash@gmail.com. For those of you who have ordered books right at the deadline, I'll be putting them in the mail this afternoon.
Tall Tale Features . . .
My friend Brock Heasley, creator of the comic strip Super Fogeys, has helped form a new comic collective called Tall Tale Features. There's some great talent over there, so I urge you to check out the site and discover some great comics!
Coffeecovers . . .
One of my dear friends, Mandy Rutherford, has started a small company with a group of her friends and they're selling hand-made coffee covers for to-go cups of coffee. I think it's a pretty cool idea, and it will help cut down on paper waste from all those paper insulating sleeves that slip on your coffee cup to protect your hands from being scalded. The covers have already attracted attention from Pangea Organics who have mentioned the covers in a recent newsletter. A marketing director from Pangea is also taking several coffee covers to New York to hand out to beauty magazine editors. Pretty exciting stuff!
You can check out the main site at coffeecover.net, and you can shop for your own coffee cover at their Etsy store. The coffee covers are inexpensive and quite trendy, so you should definitely pick one up now before they become "cool" and "mainstream". You could tell people you were rocking the coffee covers waaaaaaay before Paris Hilton and Reese Witherspoon. In fact, I think I'm gonna have to get one. I might even talk Mandy into letting me design one. What do you think, Mandy?
Coincidence or Conspiracy? . . .
YHT reader, Eric Hansen, noticed some startling resemblances in the June 8th Luann comic strip to the May 28th YHT comic strip. There are some alarming similarities, but I won't jump to any conclusions concerning Greg Evans' writing practices just yet. However, I will be keeping an eye on you, Evans. I've got friends like Eric who are keeping a close watch on your little "enterprise". ;)
E-Mail . . .
I have a boatload of e-mail to respond to, but I just haven't had the time this past week. If you've written me and haven't gotten a response yet, please know that I will get to you soon! I'm sorry for the delay! I usually try to be more prompt, but sometimes it's just not in the cards.
Today's strip is somewhat based on a true story. It doesn't involve me, though. My sister, actually, spent a little too much time on WebMD. So much time, in fact, that the doctor told her to quit checking the site. WebMD should change it's tagline to "Turning People Into Hypochondriacs Since 1997!". I'm not actually sure if WebMD started in 1997, so don't quote me on that.
Interestingly, I did do some WebMD research for this strip. Basically, I went to the site and looked for the first disease/illness/medical condition that didn't have bug-bite-like-bumps as a symptom. The first condition I found was fibromyalgia. And that, dear friends, is how comic strips are made.
Books . . .
I'm shipping out the next round of books on Friday. Got a lot of orders to Canada this time around, so I'd like to give a hardy "Hello" to all my Maple Leaf peeps!
I would like to take a moment to let all of you know how much I appreciate your patience with the book orders. Because of my work schedule, I can only make it to the Post Office about once a week. So some of you have had to wait a little longer than others to receive your books. So far there have been no complaints, and I really appreciate that! This is a one-man operation, so things move a little slower. But I promise that I've been working hard to keep everything in order so you guys get your books in a timely fashion!
There's still time to order your books and save on international and domestic shipping! The YHT Bundle (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and the 32-page comic) is just $10, and I'm waiving all shipping costs on orders placed on or before May 30! So make sure to get your orders in because the deadline is fast approaching!
