SOME MORE NOTEBOOK DOODLES

Like anyone who enjoys drawing, I have stacks of note books with stuff like this in it.

I notice when other people doodle in notebooks they can get 10 or 15 things on a page. I struggle with this and try to squeeze in several ideas, but I'm never successful. This may be why I have so many note books, because I only have 1 thing per page. I'm a paper waster.

BELATED ANNIVERSARY

Mei and I had our 3rd anniversary back on 11/11. I am just now finding these pictures on the camera. We (she) started a tradition where I hoist her into the air for a photo each anniversary. I did it the 1st year, forgot the 2nd year, and remembered again this year. I hope this isn't a tradition I will dread in the future. She's tiny so that's not the problem. I am getting old and out of shape.


She got a new gigantic purse, and I got those shoes.

NOTEBOOK DOODLES

Today I have a lung infection. I had to go get X-rayed and poked with a needle. I coughed so hard I hurt my neck. I can feel my stomach muscles getting stronger from all the coughing. Anyway, just as a warning, you should wash your hands with antibacterial soap after viewing my post today.

SLIM and SLAM #1

Here's a whole new set of characters. I can't stick with anything! Eventually I wanna do more Blood Count comics but I keep getting distracted. I added some yellow shades to this because people like color.


Here's what it looks like without color:

I hear all kinds of techniques when it comes to chess. One guy told me you have to think 7 moves ahead. That's ridiculous! Who can do that?! And then if the other guy doesn't move like you wanted him to, your plans are down the crapper. I used to know some 3-move winning trick back in the day, but I've forgotten it now. I'm sure it's easy to look up on the googlenets. I remember it was something to do with moving a pawn out of the way so the queen and bishop could slide out.

ANOTHER SCENE FROM OUR MOVIE

Here's one more short part from the wood shop movie my friend Allen and I made. This is a very small chunklet of a more lengthy hammering scene.


The hand in the closeup is mine. The bulk of our movie was recorded on a camcorder, but this closeup hand scene was filmed with my plain old Kodak M1033 pocket camera, on the movie setting. I thought it looked as good as what we did with the camcorder (which may not be saying much.)

The music in the background was written and recorded by my brother Kevin and me. My brother is singing, drumming and playing the rhythm guitar. I played the slide guitar and I guess that's it. I do remember also the words were being made up on the fly, as the tape-recorder cranked. Kevin would sing a line, think of a line, sing a line, and so on. He was really good because every line rhymed and was right on beat, and it even made sense. In one part of the song I whisper-suggested something for him to sing and it made us both laugh, and he had trouble singing the rest. We kept all the laughing in the song. You can hear bird chirping in the background. That's not coming from outside; it was all on that song. We had a budgie back then and he chirped a lot when we recorded. I'm sure it was bird-talk for WOOHOO! ENCORE!

For more scenes from our film masterpiece click HERE and HERE.

SHMOE

This is another pencil drawing on colored paper. I used gray paper on this one. It still works but the white isn't as strong. This paper I'm using is pretty sturdy and thick. Earlier I said go ahead and use construction paper, but Bob pointed out it fades. He's right. Also it's just flimsy. If you're gonna take the time to draw something, don't use temporary materials.

Since this is drawn on nice paper I feel confident in stating it's suitable for hanging over the mantle in any nice living room. Just think how impressed your girlfriend or boss would be if they came to your home as saw a fine piece such as THIS on your wall. You wouldn't even have to tell them; they'd already know how cultured and well-to-do you are.

LI'L GUTBUCKET

Immediately after I finished this I thought of a better way to do the sequence. Also I'm not real happy with that last frame. I'm gonna try to redo the whole thing in the near future.

I thought for the REDO I could have him walking around in an amusement park. He sees signs on all the rides stating: MUST BE 40" TO RIDE. Each time he sees this sign he is saddened because he's too short.

Later he sees this sign at the hoochie coochie tent (my grandma told me they had hoochie coochie tents at the fairs when she was little) and it has a MUST BE 21 TO ENTER sign beside the tent flap. He jumps for joy and runs inside. I figure no tape-measuring would be necessary for that version.

HUMOROUS TABLE SAW ACCIDENT

This is another chunk out of the 15 minute woodshop movie my friend Allen and I made. Allen is the guy you see in the scene, while I did the effects. This scene comes after THIS part I previously posted.

The table saw wasn't actually plugged in. I used a saw sound effect right where he pretends to flip the switch. If you look at the blade it's not even spinning.

PEELED FRANKENSTEIN

You know how sometimes you see a Frankenstein monster with all its skin peeled off? Well, Here's another one.

FLIP THE BIRD

I think I did this drawing more for the joke name than the character itself.

This was made with the "Liquify" tool in my photo manipulatin' program.

1st I drew an aqua-blue colored ball and shaded it with the airbrush tool.

Then I used the Liquify filter in my photo-manipulatin' program. With that you can squish and squoosh and stretch it into any shape you desire, just like clay.


Don't forget to save a copy of your original ball shape on another layer beforehand so you can add new pieces to your creation. His body was 1 piece, the feathers were separate pieces, his legs and toes were separate pieces, and his beak was a separate piece. I changed the hue of the beak to make it orange, and added nose holes, but it's mostly just a smashed up ball shape. Same for the legs, I used the Hue adjustment to change their color after I got them squeezed into the shapes I wanted.

The cheeks, head and eyeballs were all separate pieces. To make pieces blend smoothly together (like the cheeks into the head) I feathered the edges with the eraser tool so they were fuzzy.

I'll try to make a tutorial but it seems so simple and intuitive I don't know if anyone would need it. If you can squash a ball of clay then you can do this. Give it a try!

LIPOSUCTION LOUIE

He had all the fat removed from his face to make himself more attractive.

This is another drawing done with black and white pencils on brown paper.

Unlike painting, pencil drawing is very relaxing. With paint you have to work quickly before your mix starts to dry, and if you mess up you've gotta wait for it to dry so you can paint over it. Something about knowing there's wet paint on the tip of your brush puts you into a more frenzied mood. Painting is fun and I guess it can be relaxing, but there's a lot of setup time and it's messy, and once you start you're in it for the long haul. You have to go until you're done. With pencils you can stop and start and come and go as you please.

BACKWEIRDS

Here's an old pencil drawing. Get some old brown paper bag and cut it into a square, and then get some Prismacolor pencils. Black and White.

Draw with the black 1st, and when that's all done hit the highlights with the white pencil.

IF you don't have a brown paper bag you can actually go get some colored paper at the store. I don't recommend construction paper. When you erase it the paper will rub off. Now that I think about it, those Prismacolor pencils don't really erase anyway. Go ahead and use construction paper if you want; just don't make any mistakes.

If you do you can do what I do and work it into the picture somehow. A bad line can easily become a fly buzzing around the subject's head, or a sore on the subject's head. If you are drawing something pretty then don't use the "flies and sores" trick.

JOHNNY REBB AND THE ATLANTICS - COME ON

Those dreamy eyes! That dreamy wig! Those dreamy dance moves during the guitar solo! Those dreamy nervous glances into the camera at inappropriate moments! Oh, how could the ladies resist?! Actually I love this song so much I forgive him for all of that.

Johnny Rebb and the Atlantics are from Australia and apparently they were a surf band before Johnny joined. I wanted to buy a cd with this song but the only one I found on Amazon was $45.99. Poop! They must want that cd more than me so I'm letting them keep it. They offer a used copy for $75.13 which makes perfect sense. I guess as long as it's available on Youtube I don't really need to buy it.

SCHOOL MASCOT

The reason I am just now thinking about this is because I saw a kid in the shoe store the other day with this on his t-shirt. I remember this project became less and less fun as they asked for it to be less and less pointy. The 1st version had pointy teeth and claws and a mean face. Then they said they needed the teeth to be rounded because it was too mean for middle school. After I changed that they said the claws were too pointy so I had to dull them up. Then they said his expression was too evil so I teddy-beared his face up.
Even though they were only middle school kids why can't they have pointy teeth and claws? Will they get nightmares? I personally think a dull tooth would hurt much more than a sharp tooth. Sharp teeth will penetrate with less surface tension than dull teeth. A dull tooth may require 10 times the clamping pressure to finally puncture and tear the skin. Also razor-sharp cuts don't leave nasty scars.

For that matter, what's with the 20MPH zone in front of schools? If I drive over a kid at 20MPH it will only drag out the crunching pain and torture even longer. Why not go fast and get it over with? And there's also the possibility the kid could even be knocked clear of the car's tire path. See? (joking)

CULTURAL FRANKENSTEIN

I had a bunch of Frankenstein stuff in boxes and Mei said she wanted to help me display it on shelves in a back room of our house. She chose the back room so when people came over they wouldn't think we were freaks. She did all the arranging one day when I was at work. When I came home she showed it all to me and it looked really nice. It's been in there for a while now, and I just now happened to notice this.

Notice how there's nothing in Frankenstein's hand?

That's because it's in his bride's hair. Mei did that. Also the Bride has had her elongated Marge Simpson hairdo poofed out into a nice round afro. I guess Mei thought that was how it was supposed to be. Isn't that pretty?

I guess most people know the thing with the flower and Frankenstein and the throwing of the girl in the water. Right? I assumed it was common knowledge. When Mei saw a flower I guess she figured it must go in that pretty lady's hair. Mei said she'd never heard of Frankenstein. It boggles my mind sometimes when something so popular over here is unheard of in other countries. She's also never heard of the Beatles. She said she did know who Elvis was, but she didn't know his name because they call him Wang Mao (King Cat) over there.

But maybe it's not culture-related. Maybe this could be due to Mei not being a guy. Maybe girls don't care about Frankenstein as much as guys regardless of what country they are from. I left the flower in the afro.

GEORGEOUS GORGE #1: "Free dog food"

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I experienced this mental torture last Summer. I saw a free dog food sign and got excited. Then I found out there was a catch.

This character is the same guy as in a Blood Count comic, sort of. His his nose became less pointy and his pants disappeared, but other than that he's the guy.

CHRISTMAS IDEA

Now that Christmas is coming you will probably be able to buy those Rankin-Bass abominable snowman figures for $1. I am talking about the kind that grow 600% in water. You know those things!

Step one:
Go get one

Step two:
Put it in a bottle with a lid

Step three:
Make an 'abominable fetus' label for the front of the bottle

Step four:
Wrap it up and give it to someone you love

RESIN TIKIS

A friend of mine owns a resin casting company and he cast some of my tiki carvings. I have several for sale now. I can sell them unpainted as customizable masks. They are fairly heavy and I'm not sure how much the shipping will be.

The little white pieces are optional bones to go in the nose of the larger tikis. I guess they'd work in the small ones too for that matter. The bones come in 2 halves so a hole can be drilled in each nostril and the bone can be glued in. Ideally the holes should aim at each other so the bone halves look like one continuous piece. Maybe the best thing to do would be to drill a single hole all the way through.

Size comparison next to a wiener dog.

FAN-TASTE-IC

A companion piece to the last post, Smellebrate. It's meant to go on a kitchen wall. Bathroom walls would be totally wrong for these two pieces.

SMELLEBRATE

I thought maybe it could be hung on the wall of a bakery, or some such place where things smell tasty.

BLOOD COUNT #5

It's the 1st time nobody dies at the end. It also debuts the Count's horde of vampire women.

GORILLUSTRATION

I like his body okay, but I'd like to redo his head. It's not got any personality.

COOLEST VIDEO EVER, ON THE ENTIRE PLANET

IMMEDIATELY watch this video before you do any other thing in your life! If you've already seen it, then you know what I'm talking about. You know never again will you experience another thing so profoundly stunning during the rest of your days here on Earth. If you haven't seen it yet - You're welcome. I feel like I'm about to become an important figure in your life for being the one who introduced it to you.

Also, be sure to watch it all the way through for as hard as it is to believe, the freaking-out intensifies as it goes.

I honestly think there's nothing else this planet could possibly offer to top this. Upon witnessing things like this, old classic cartoon characters would often say "Now I'va seena everteeng!" and then pull out guns and shoot themselves in the heads.

This scene comes from a movie called "Ellam Inba Mayam" made in 1981. The song is "Solla Solla Enna Perumai."

BABOON COCOONS (from the Moon)

When I'm bored I usually draw one of two things: monkeys or frankensteins. It always seems to come down to that. I guess a Frankenmonkey would be the most perfect thing I could ever draw. I don't dare draw it though because then the fantasy would be over.

Today was monkey day. I added some words so it would look like a book cover. The more distant the monkeys were, the less opaque I made them so they seemed like they were fading in the distance.

Here's a single monkey pod.

Maybe when these monkey pods hit the ground they sprout arms and legs so they're mobile, and able to make trouble.

BLOOD COUNT #4

When you think about it there are cross shapes on just about everything, even evil stuff. If you were a vampire I don't believe you'd be as bold or as cool as the movies make vampires out to be. I bet you'd more likely hide in your apartment all day with the lights out, and get the jitters every time you heard a bump.

BLOOD COUNT #3 (part2)

I feel like a dope for obsessing over these bats, but a friend whom I shall refer to as the Apocolyte suggested I try the bats again, but less bats. It sounded like a good idea to me.

BLOOD COUNT #3

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Originally there were bats in the sky but I felt like they served no purpose and cluttered it up, so I instructed them to skeedaddle. I also didn't want people to think the bats somehow played a part in the joke. Since these are minimalist style comics I figured if an entity didn't absolutely have a specific purpose for being there it needed to not be there.

BLOOD COUNT #2

Here's number 2. I added gray to this one to separate some things. It looked cleaner and easier to decipher than having a black table. I know the obvious solution would be to do it in color, but I like black and white comics sometimes.
Click to enlarge.

I don't know if it's true or not, but I read left-handed people prefer to work in black and white rather than color. I don't remember all the science behind it but at the time I read it, it seemed like they did some thorough research. I'm left handed and I can say I do enjoy black and white, but I don't know if it's my favorite.

BLOOD COUNT #1

Here's the 1st comic strip (of 2 completed so far) featuring a new character called Blood Count. (Get it? Wakka wakka!) My goal will be for him to die at the end of each comic strip, but I'm open to the idea of him living as long as he's miserable.

I couldn't decide whether to call him Blood Count or Vlad the Imp. I liked both equally. The only reason I went with "Blood Count" was so the next comic strip (coming Tomorrow) would work. Below is the exact same comic strip with a different title.

WEIRD OLD PUSH-DOWN TOYS

I like these things. I guess they came from gumball machines. They seem 60s-ish if I had to guess. They have springs inside so you can compress them. When compressed, little smart-aleck messages pop out of their heads.
"NEVER"
"DOWN WITH EVERYTHING"
The last guy just says the same thing as the 1st guy.

STRANGE PLAQUE

Here's a weird plaque given to me by my friend. It's a made of fake wood about an inch thick. Neither of us could figure it out. He said it was in his mom's attic. It's very nicely done and all but- - WHY?! Who would make this? The strangest part to me is the fact that is has a hole in the back so it can be hung on the wall. I can't imagine an appropriate time or place where this would be good on someone's wall.

Also it's manufactured from a mold, so there are more than one of these things on the Earth. If anyone knows please inform me. Although it's done very skillfully in a classic style it's almost frightening as it is. Look at their cold dead faces, especially that main guy's. Since there are 3 of them, they look like they're from kind of secretive ancient underworld organization. It's like a scene out of a horror movie. What's most disturbing to me is knowing that baby's gonna be dead soon, since tugging on one arm and one leg probably isn't gonna fix his colic. Even face down it probably won't fix it.

Maybe it's just a single piece of a bigger set? Maybe there were a big series of pictures showing the treatment of colic through the ages? Now that would explain everything, and THAT would definitely look good on a wall!

For the record, Yes, it's been on my wall. It lasted about as long as it took for my wife to see it and shame me into removing it.

BIBO CLOCK

If you look in novelty catalogs like Archie McPhee you already know what this is. If not, it's a Bibo clock. Bibo is a weird little elf guy who has problems. I want to like him but since he wakes me up in the morning I hate his guts.

When the alarm goes off, he chants out non-English weirdness and the light in his forehead blinks. I thought since he was made in Japan he was speaking Japanese, but I played it for a lady who speaks Japanese and she couldn't make heads or tails out of his jibber-jabber. You can see him in action on Youtube.

Side view. If you think that looks like his butt is sticking out...

...You would be right! What's the deal with that?! If you were an elf and you were going to wear an outfit, wouldn't the butt be the ONLY thing you'd really need to cover in the back? Why even bother? It would be like having shoes with no soles.
There. Now I'm not the only one who had to look at it.

CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS!!

I felt cheated out of my Halloween this year. Before Halloween was even here the stores were already selling Christmas stuff. Thanksgiving isn't even here yet for crap's sake!! As I get older I am starting to dread Christmas. It took me a long time to be able to admit it to myself because as a kid it was the greatest day ever. As a kid the gifts poured in, as an adult I get a pair of socks.

In honor of Christmas I am submitting this festive red and green drawing. Print it full scale on card stock, cut it out and put it together! Fill it with red jellybeans or Advils or something. I made pills out of wooden dowels and painted them red. Merry Christmas!
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2 OLD PICTURES, 1 NEW

Here in my city we used to have a thing called Ohio River Arts Festival where painters, carvers, musicians, etc could set up booths and pretty big crowds would come to see. I was 18 or 19 here in this picture. I'm not sure why they quit having these shows; they seemed to be really popular. I remember a lot of people asking how I would go about carving a chicken. I was being serious when I said "cut off everything that's not a chicken" but I later learned that's a joke answer carvers like to say. I was being completely sincere when I said it.


This was an advertisement to draw businesses into the city. I was about 20 in this picture. Some people have commented on my luxurious eyebrows during this time period. Nice huh? I still have thick eyebrows but now they aren't as noticeable due to the graying factor.


This photo shows my sweet wife Mei with the current fatter, balder, grumpier and sloppier me.

THIS IS WHAT I'M WAITING TO SEE