New Blog Header for now Old Blog

Yay, I made a new blog title image for a blog that I probably won't use anymore!

For both my regular readers, I've now migrated over to tumblr. It's definitely more popular than Blogger, so maybe I'll be able to get a little bit more exposure. Plus, many artists I try to follow use it, so that'll make looking for updates a lot easier.

I'll still keep this old blog up as a sort of vault for my older stuff, and so I can still see the updates of those on my blog list.

Goodbye, Phillip's Blog! (Cue sad montage set to The Way we Were.)

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Final Page

If this were animation, this would play during the last panel and end credits.

Well, that's pretty much it for my Animal Crossing fan comics. I'll still play the games, of course (I've started New New Pastel in New Leaf a while ago). And I still may make some AC strips or art on occasion, but never with the same amount of time and detail as I have in the past. The point of this arc was to make a conclusion to all that, and to learn how to make a multipage comic with Manga Studio.

And now that I'm done with all that, it's time to focus on my own stuff.

ONWARD!

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Page 5

Panel six, left to right: Stitches, Poppy, Clyde, Moose, Elise, Cube, Rasher.

Somewhat related note: J00 guys see the new Super Smash Bros. fighter?

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Page 4

IT'S A TRAP!

Idano if I'm too new at comics to bother making gutters other than white, but I've always liked the way black gutters look the few times I've seen. That is, if it's used to enhance the scene, like if it's at night or to give a cinematic feel, like what was done in Marvel Civil War and DC's Blackest Night.

On a side note, are there any Manga Studio users reading this that know of the best way to set up panels where one or more are behind the others and/or blend into the gutters of the page, like what I did in the second panel? It took me forever finagle the panel ruler to get something I liked, and I didn't know if Manga Studio has a more specific way to set up that sort of thing.

Fragile Fanart: Ruffles everywhere

I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog beyond the "Web Comics I rather like" side panel, but I think Shouri's online comic Fragile is one of the best out there. Go, read it. Now.

Anyway, I had to draw some fan art after seeing Jess' shorts on a recent page. I had to! I HAD TO! Look how poofy they are!

Also, Shouri also makes the ridiculously cute Springiette comic strip, so read that too.

Disney Cast Member Thank You Card

Mom discovered not too long ago that giving Disney World cast members (particularly waiters and waitresses) little thank you cards is a thing, and rightfully so cuz some the friendliest and best people you'll ever find are those that work at Disney parks.

Anyway, after printing out cards from the Internet for the past couple of trips, Mom remembered she has a son what likes to draw stuff.  So here's a little personal illustration she asked me to make for our cards when we go on our next vacation. She directed me a bit, which is a very good thing. Had it been all up to me, it would have been another inappropriate sexy Tink drawing.

Reason School Girl Uniform

So far, I've given Reason a full suit for his school uniform while Sammy and Shiina have just a dress shirt and tie, and I realized it wouldn't make much sense for a school to make only the boys wear the coat portion. So here's a quick sketch of what girls suit would look like.

But Shiina still refuses to wear a skirt. You try and stop her.

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Page 3

Penguins can fly!

I hope the next plan involves more cross dressing. ...NO, I mean I hope it doesn't involve it! Of course I wouldn't willingly cross dress, why would you even think that?!

Like I said in my last post, I tried exporting the work on this page from Manga Studio to Photoshop for coloring (well, if you can call grayscale coloring), and it worked out great. There's no real visual difference, but it's so much easier and quicker in Photoshop.

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Page 2

My poor house and furniture!

The good news: I now have two jobs, which means I might actually be able to make a living now. The bad news: I now have two jobs, which takes away a lot of the time I would use for drawing. For a while, I was working seven days a week, but I've managed to get the bowling alley to give me one day off every week that's also a day off my new job, so I should be able to get a decent amount of art done then.

As I use more Manga Studio, I'm finding little, frustrating "inadequacies." I don't wanna use half tones for work made for the web, but you lose some flexibility if you try to use solid greyscale, and the gradient tool isn't worth a d@mn when compared to the one in Photoshop and Illustrator. Manga Studio's still perfect for inking, and there's tons of special tones like those in the last two panels of this page, but I may have to export the work to Photoshop for the simple coloring, even if it's all in grey. But one of the reasons why I'm doing this comic is to figure out Manga Studio's idiosyncrasies before I start a comic on my own stuff, so, like, whatevs.

Animal Crossing Foreclosed, Page 1

Finally!

Man, my first real update in a couple of months. But that time has not been wasted (for the most part), as I was learning to use Manga Studio and continuing my reading on comics making in general. I've got far enough that I felt comfortable to start this six page "conclusion" to my Animal Crossing fan strips.

Looks like my Animal Crossing avatar is screwed because, just like my IRL self, I haven't a penny to my name.

Batcat

He's the hero Animal Crossing deserves, not the one it needs.

Whoa, it's been a while since I've updated! Better post another old pocket sketch to prove I'm not dead yet.

I've got pretty much nothing to show since coming back from Florida. I was so sick when I got back that I was either in bed sleeping or passing out trying to get out of bed, then I was busy with last minute Christmas preparations, then I just got lazy and spent the weeks after that reading/playing/looking at what I got for the holidays (including a Wii U!). Art wise, I've been trying to learn how to use my newly acquired Manga Studio EX4, which I would very much like use for my upcoming Animal Crossing finale comic and original comic series.

As for this particular sketch, I got a little idea during the Birthday Gift Glitch arc to make a few strips about Rover becoming Batcat. Nothing came of it, but I did make this little doodle when it first popped up in my head.

Tink Monroe

They don't make 'em like they used to.

We're back from Disney World, I got a cold of some sort, and I finally finished this piece I worked on the whole time we were there. Like I said in in my last post, I was gonna try my art apps on my iPad, and eventually I stuck with Procreate. It's tough to do decent line art with this and most other tablet art apps. That, along with the fact that Procereate doesn't really have any kind of selection tools, I had to be much more painterly than I usually am. Honestly, I don't think I'm very good at making art that way, but I think this turned out okay. And even though I would have loved selection options, Procreate is still a great app.

As for the image subject matter, of course I was gonna make something Disney related (I was in Disney World, after all). But I also remember hearing on one of the extras on the Peter Pan dvd that many people think Tinker Bell was modeled after Marilyn Monroe. Though she was actually modeled after Margaret Kerry, I can understand how people would connect curvaceous Tink and Marilyn.

So anyway, knowing that bit of trivia, I used this picture of Monroe as a reference for the Tink painting:

And here's the underlying sketch I did in Procreate before painting:

Disney World 2012

 Me gusta.

With another Disney World trip comes another obligatory Tink fanboy comic. Just like last year, we'll be leaving on Thanksgiving day, and also just like last year, I'll be posting random commentary and pictures on Twitter.

But unlike last year, I won't be making more comic strips while I'm there. Thanks to having some activity booked for everyday we're there and the horrible Internet access our resort usually has, I've decided it's just not worth trying to get a comic strip posted. In fact, I won't even bring my Cintiq for the sake of having less to pack.

Having said that, I certainly couldn't go a day without drawing, so what I'll do instead is bring my iPad so I can try out some art apps I've purchased but barely touched. I doubt I'll try to make comics on it, but I'll almost certainly make Disney related stuff, and if any of it is any good, I'll try to post in here.

And now for something completely different, an alternate last panel for this strip:

Cutesy Tiva and Terr

LOL Oms.

Cutesy pocket sketch book drawing of Tiva and Terr from the crazy weird 70's animated movie Fantastic Planet.

Even though the owner/pet relationship between the two wasn't meant to be cute, I can't help but think of it as such. Tiva's just a kid, so you can't really get too mad at her for dressing up Terr in horrible little outfits and doing other such things to him that us humans often do with dogs and whatnot.

But you can get mad at the Draags in general. They suck.

Animal Crossing Foreclosed Title

Music to Tom Nook's ears.

Here's the title for a six page Animal Crossing comic I'm working on. I wanted to practice what I've learned so far in comic writing, but I didn't want my very first attempt to be for Reason and co.'s universe (which is what I'm learning to write for in the first place).

As for why I decided to make it an Animal Crossing comic, there's two reasons. One: I figured it would take slightly less time to make, since I'm using already designed characters and settings that I've drawn plenty of times before, and two: I'm going to make it a semi-conclusion to the comic strips I've been doing for a while. I still might make more in the future (especially when I get into the next one), but it wouldn't be very often now that I'm working on my own comic.

Side note: you'll notice the title is black and white, which is what the comic will be. It takes me forever just to make a colored strip, so I'm certainly not gonna do it for a six page comic. At least not at first.

Tink sketch

Another ever so slightly risqué Tinker Bell drawing, this one from 2010 in my pocket sketch book.

Somewhat related topic, I noticed in what little bit I've seen in the straight to DVD Tinker Bell movies that Disney slimmed down her hips quite a bit, at least as compared to her design in Peter Pan.

So Disney said she's fat.  Well, I ain't down with that.

Six Pound Balls

This coming from a guy who puts gloves on everybody.

I'm certainly no fashionista, but I do know what styles I think look stupid, some of which are:

Pajama pants outside of the house,

Socks and sandals,

And a fedora without a suit to go with it.

I know that last one is more a matter of personal taste, but to me, a fedora without a suit is like wearing a tie over a t-shirt.

I also don't like it when bowling alley customers expect us to help them while they're doing something on their cell phone, but that's another story.

And now for something completely different. Like I said in a recent post, I'll be spending a little less time drawing so I can read up on making comics, now that I'm trying to get one made. After reading the outstanding Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and Alan Moore's Writing for Comics, I'm currently reading Drawing Words and Writing Pictures. It's actually a text book, complete with assignments and homework, but I honestly don't do much of those. I know I'm not taking full advantage of a great resource, but I don't want to spend tons of time learning before working on this comic, and my major concern is learning how to write for comics. Usually, my rule is if the assignment is pretty similar to something I've done before, I skip it.

Anyway, this post is actually my attempt at an earlier assignment where you're asked to make a single panel captioned comic. I figured it'd be fun and wouldn't take too much time, and would give me a bit of a challenge, since I've never done a single panel strip. You may not think about it at first, but there's a huge difference between getting a joke/idea across in a single image and a few. If I had come up with this gag before the assignment, I would have probably made it at least two panels, the first consisting of the dude asking me for the six pound ball before hand.

Shiina on David Violence and Size Comparisons

David always falls for the Batman patented Sucker-Punch-the-Guy-Behind-You move.

Back when I first started getting the idea for this group, I've always had Shiina and David partnered up, even though he could be just another member without being particularly bound to the others. Since they're exact opposites of each other, I figured I could get a lot of comedy out of the classic odd couple act. And since Shiina's the physically one capable of the group, that means plenty of fortuitous violence at David's expense.

I also like that she seems to be the only one who can harm a mostly intangible ghost. Does she have some strange power? Does David secretly like the abuse and let her beat him up? Who knows?!

I also did a size comparison so I know how they look amongst one another. I did a few minor tweaks to Samantha's and Shiina's heights, but for the most part, I like them they way they are now. As my three readers could probably tell with the comics of John and I, I like height discrepancies between main characters. I'm not really sure why, honestly. Maybe it's just from watching cartoons of the Disney trio while growing up.

Princess Daisy at the Beach

Oh, and that green plumber guy too.

A tiny sketch from a couple of years back. I've talked previously of my preference for Daisy as far as video game princesses go. I don't think I've drawn her since this doodle, but she's still my favorite.

David Redesign

He could some cucumber slices for those eyes.

I spent the last couple of weeks changing David's look. I originally had him in a straight jacket to get the idea across that he's a rather nutty guy who acts on impulse, but I ultimately decided that the look separated him too much from the rest of the group. Like the others, he's a high school kid from the same school (or at least he was when he died), so I gave him a school uniform. But, he's been dead for a while, so I wanted his uniform to be of a different design to show that he's from a generation or two ago. As for him being a bit crazy, I figured his actions would get that across.

You can also see from the eraser marks in the turnaround that I was figuring out how tall he should be. At first he was as tall as Reason, but if I want Reason to be tall for his age, I better make sure he's at least the tallest of the group of main characters. So I made David half a head shorter.

I also drew him in various expressions, which was rather fun since he's a lot more comical and exaggerated than the rest of the main characters. I want him to be like Spongebob Squarepants in that the design of the face can change drastically for the sake of making a funny image.