Smithee number two mitten selling warewolf preview

Here are the VERY rough story outline sketches for Smithee Zombie Hunter #2 about a mitten selling ware-wolf. It's like a preview of my progress. I wrote out a script to work out the plot and what happens. Now I draw out quickie sketches for pacing, expressions and poses in pencil. If you can't read my handwriting - the way this goes is I finish a mitten and toss it into the cage I had Billy stay in overnight while I discerned if he was going to go wolf or not. He doesn't think it's funny and when I begin to close it, he points a gun at me and tells me he will kill me if I ever do that again! Then Smithee says "see if I ever knit for you again! Or kill blood thirsty , longhaired, bad smelling, mitten selling warewolf things while keeping you caged up so you don't turn warewolf during the full moon when warewolves power up and kill their room-mates!". I'll probably edit that line down in the final. Enjoy

Now I'm A Deviant!

That's right. After realizing Andy Bohn and Michael Stewart and other established artists are on Deviant art, I thought it might be nice to join so I can connect with other artists. Here is my address:
http://smitheezombiehunter.deviantart.com/
There are some Terrific artists there, let me tell ya! I've gotten some positive feedback on my stuff. and I made a home for Plutonium Casserole there and been accepted by the autobio comics group. I still plan on doing plutonium weekly, so the Deviant site has a few to be posted to catch it up to date. Gives me more time to take way to much time on new ones.
I'm still figuring out what goes where. Maybe make this more personal blog and Deviant more final product.
Not an easy holiday weekend for me. It brings out all that sadness and gloom stored inside along with a mighty dose of self pity. Most of my family has died and those that are still around I am not in contact with. But this year my sadness was more about a friend of 15 years I had to part ways with awhile back. I had finally gotten healthy enough to take care of myself and decide the friendship wasn't good for either of us and said goodbye. But still, I miss him alot. He kinda got me out in the world doing things I wouldn't otherwise.

Digital Pen

The Black Friday bug bit me indeed. I ordered a digital pen called a Kupen Air.
The way it is supposed to work is it tracks what you draw on paper and stores it for later download to computer, or if attached live to the computer - acts like a tablet. It uses infrared and ultrasound in a receiver that is clipped to the paper you draw on. Let you all know how it works. I  borrowed this cartoon from the current plutonium I am working on.

Werewolfs in mittens

I am working on Smithee Zombie Hunter zine #2. It's about a ware-wolf that sells mittens and how Smithee saves the day while keeping the bitten-Billy locked up in a cage! Will Billy turn ware-wolf and kill everyone in sight or at the least become a VERY noisy neighbor?
So, I've been drawing werewolves to get a feel for what I want it to look like. This is one from my note book - not at all meant to be serious. Hope you like it anyway.
It isn't easy writing a comic, but it sure gives me something to smile about when I wake up in the morning - feeling like - finally, I'm doing something I really love to do with my life!
Mittens alludes to learning how to make yarn from dog (or wolf) fur.Billy is complaining about the cold and wants some mittens.And there is this ware-wolf that attacked him in the process....

Andy Bohn sketch

This is the sketch Andy Bohn did. I like the style.

Caffeine and Zombies

Plutonium Casserole #2  - Click to enlarge

I found out that a big soda won't cure the Monday Zombie effect, Darnit!

Meeting some very cool comic artists etc.

I didn't even know it, but my comic guru buddy calls me up and tells me there is a bunch of comic artists and writers at the comic store - do I want to go? So, I grabbed my sketch book that doubles as an autograph book and went. I'm glad I did. Now I and pretty new to the comic book scene and don't follow it as much as my buddy does, so these were all new names to me. And unlike most comic signings, it wasn't crowded, so I had an chance to have A conversation with them. The first person was Michael Stewart. He is about to self publish his own comic.He has some mindblowing full size pencils of his new characters to show off. He is one heck of a penciler. I told him he makes is easy on the inkers since all the detail is there! He was very nice and did a sketch of a lady in my book, even inking it. It as fascinating to watch it go from pencil to ink. He was more than willing to talk art, and even dared to look at my really beginner art in my sketch book. My sketch book is very personal and where I experiment and do my not the greatest stuff. It's kinda like having someone look in your underwear drawer. I wouldn't call my sketch book my portfolio by any means. But I am flattered they were interested. http://www.michaelstewartart.com/  
The next artist I talked to was Andy Bohn. He has put out a couple self published books and was happy to share the ins and outs of the print service he used. He was very cool to talk to. He has a Manga/Anime blended style of art. http://elvatron.deviantart.com/ I didn't have the money for one of his nicer comics, so I borrowed some money from my buddy and got the Zine he had. Since I have a Zine too, I thought might be more meaningfull. He did a sweet manga type character in my sketch book. Very nice. I also helped out his grandparents by taking pictures of them using their camera. They seemed like a easy to get along with family. I was feeling unusually personable tonight and probably made some of them uncomfortable offering to use their cameras to take pics for them.I think it not being crowded help me relax.

Anyway, thanks Andy And Michael. I am always eager to connect with fellow artists, even those way ahead of me! I gave them my contact information and thought I would give them a shout out thru this blog.

Plutonium Cassarole

I took my time and "inked" this in Corel Draw. It's a little wordy and the humor kinda geared towards computer geeks, but here it is. This is more a diary comic than anything else.

Zee Bug

This is an etching I did recently I particularly liked. I did from a new perspective I read about, and that is to not do art out of ambition, itleast not in the final stage.
"Focus on the enjoyment of the act, and try to see your ambitions as something that interrupts your pleasure (of doing the art) in the present". So when I did this, I wasn't concerned with the result, just enjoying the process, and that freed me to relax and explore. I didn't originally plan on the blue, but I looked at it a couple days later and just thought it needed it. And you know what? This is one of my favorite etchings now. Letting myself go from the restrictions of ambition let me try stuff I wouldn't have otherwise.
Oh, this was a car at an informal father's day car show at church.

Distractions!

I am someone easily distracted. Such was last week. They had the movie dogtown on TV that I watched, then I had to dig up the documentary. That got me to searching for the perfect skateboarder picture to etch. etc. etc.

Never did find that perfect image. Perfectionism and art tend to be enemies sometimes.
But, I'm going back towards drawing again, making a comic character I can use that I like. Sometimes I can draw something I like, sometimes alot of nothing I like. But alot of nothing is necessary before alot of something is possible.
I read some people's opinions on doing webcomics and such, they make the good point there is alot of really bad webcomics out there, and they advise waiting till you can actually do it decently. Could be discouraging.
So I've been asking myself what I really want to do and find that difficult balance between too difficult and too awfull. I read about a guy who has been doing  webcomics over 10 years and is just NOW being recognized.
And he posts his REALLY early works that are barely better than a kids drawing. But I don't think he cared what anyone thought, and he knew he was just experimenting. and you can see him get better and better and develop repeatable characters. Now he does it for a living!
Anyway, I'm still here and still moving forward.
Is anybody out there???????