February 12, 2010 2

Introducing the Punk

By in sketches

punkpromo

The Skinny Nameless Punk is a great cartoon character I created with collaborator Rick Gagnon, and now he has his own site. http://mruttan.ca/punk

The strips were printed in Mensuhell, the Quebec monthly fanzine that shut down last year. One of the few features in that mag that ran in English, by the way.

A few of the strips were also up on Geocities. Now that that’s gone down, there’s no place to read them. So, I decided to build a WordPress site, and upload all of the strips gradually, maybe two a week. That’s so I can get some experience producing a webcomic.

It’s really fine work I think, thanks in large part to Rick’s meticulous inks. He took way more care on them than I see in most strips, making each one a work of art. Anyways, I hope you stick around, and check in on the Punk regularly.

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February 11, 2010 0

Untitled, this time.

By in men, watercolour

Untitled-1

Another garish, unlovely watercolour to spoil your morning. But I’m not going to stop doing them. Maybe I will, and then what will you say?

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February 10, 2010 0

Alice, and a Friend

By in sketches, watercolour, women

dodo

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February 9, 2010 0

No Better Things to do?

By in horses, men, sketches, watercolour

dvdguys

I’m actually putting off some important work, but thought I’d screw around with watercolour, because it’s important to keep one’s hand in. These guys are from some things I watch a lot, which are the “making of” documentaries from the Extended set Lord of the Rings DVDs.

I think I like those more than the real films. They remind me of stuff I’ve done, both in front of and behind cameras. Painting sets, etc, running around in armour, yelling. Even writing and working with few of the people from this very project.

Below, your standard horsie. I did some yellow underpainting to get the effect of “light,” which didn’t really come off. Still, I like these, because they’re free and unlaboured.
horsie4

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February 7, 2010 1

Dream, and other Figures

By in dogs, sketches, women

kids

I saw these kids the other night, in a dream. I think their Uncle is Orson Welles. Still working on figures.

A pensive Orc, and Pug Dog:

pensive-orc n' pug

Hmmm. Maybe a pug dog-something else cross. The head is the wrong shape, muzzle too long and the ears should be lower down, for that true pug silliness.

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February 4, 2010 0

Knight Guy

By in men, sketches

Knight-Guy

Practicing with my dip pen.

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February 3, 2010 0

Back into comics?

By in cats, horses, men, sketches, women

Yesterday’s comic was my trying to do that. Get into a working routine that doesn’t take me too long (nobody’s paying for those pages yet! But they’re a lot of effort), and see what works.

That means finding what I’d like to do, and in what style. Also, as I usually do with the sketches that go on this blog, I’m just just putting whatever develops during the day out there, without too much thought beforehand of whether it’s good or not. Not censoring.

Impression of a news reporter, and delinquent boy from tv:
newsie

The character in yesterday’s comic isn’t me! He’s also not someone I know, though there are aspects of both. Don’t think he’s going to be a continuing character. Anyhow, it’s been a while since I did a comic regularly, and for some reason I’ve found them difficult to do. Trying to get out of that. And I enjoy telling stories, no matter how eccentric!

Nerd boy drawn mainly with the Pentel brush pen:
tv

I’m also trying out techniques. Yesterday’s story was drawn with a dip pen, which was a little bit awkward, but I’m getting back into it. Other stuff is drawn with a Pentel brush pen. I also fool around with the pages on the computer a bit. Usually just to adjust the tone of the scan, but sometimes I try to fix things. I’m trying out a lot of what the computer can let me do, so that I can produce images that are funny, fast to produce, and look good.

Struggling with the dip pen (a Hunt #102 Hawk Quill):
catpage

Writing and drawing makes me feel good, and I’m lucky to be blessed with at least a modicum of ability, or inclination, towards these disciplines. The season’s been psychically rough so far, and I’m trying to smooth it out, get things running.

Woman from a “Making of” doc on a DVD, in colour ballpoint and black roller pen:
bangs

Meanwhile, I’m putting up yesterday’s production of sketches. I really do miss sitting on the balcony and drawing people. So during the Montreal winter I’m drawing people I see on DVDs I’m watching, or snapped with the camera, or who have just popped out of my head. Funny, they’re not the most dramatic scenes, but there you go.

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February 2, 2010 0

The Confident Freelancer

By in Uncategorized

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February 1, 2010 0

Self-Therapy Sketches!

By in men, sketches, women

divalady

Awful day yesterday, but got better. Did some drawing late at night with the Staedtler coloured ballpoints. That helped.

waiting

bwdiva

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January 31, 2010 1

More Nora

By in cats, sketches

nora2

Or just some random black and white cat. Nora, my new cat’s been getting bigger. She’s still the smallest of the gang, but it’s often hard to judge. There were some other drawings today, but this is the only one I could find to scan and post.

Also, I’m not intending to slight the other cats, who are beautiful, but the symmetrical black and white is easy to draw.

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January 30, 2010 0

Hardly Used New Cat

By in cats, sketches

catsales

Hey, I can get you a great deal on a small tuxedo cat. Top of the line. All new fur. Very affectionate (if you know what I mean). So just come down to Ralph Weems car lot and ask for Ralph Weems. He’ll set you up with the cat of your dreams!

We used to get Ralph Williams commercials in Calgary when I was a kid. Hadn’t thought of him for a while, but when this outtake came up on YouTube, I remembered him and his loyal dog Storm. A drawing, kind of a memory of him.

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January 29, 2010 3

January Montreal Comic Jam!

By in montreal, sketches, women

…Was better attended than you would think, considering the icy weather.

P1050138

Still, stacks of comics have been drawn, but people (yours truly included) haven’t gotten it together to scan them, or try to print them in a zine.

I bet that that zine would have some sort of currency, since we’re a fixture at L’Escalier bar, once every month.

Here’s a shot of the gang. Our numbers only got greater as the night drew on:
P1050136

I drew a surreptitious picture of one of the jamsters, and she seemed pretty happy with it.

comijamjan2010

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January 25, 2010 1

New Sketches

By in horses, men, sketches, women

dress

Always sketching: busy hands. I added her dress pattern via photoshop.

woman3

Yay, C’boys! One of them is vaguely Francis Ford Coppola, director of the Godfather films:
cboys5

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January 22, 2010 0

Off Model?

By in men, sketches, women

mccabe

Still sketching. Inspired by McCabe & Mrs. Miller. I love the ragged, cheap, but beautiful aesthetic in the film. [look out: spoilers ahoy!] The director said it might have made more money if the Warren Beatty character had been rescued by Julie Christie in the end. But the couple hardly got together at all over the length of the movie.

I enjoyed Warren Beatty’s interpretation of the hero as a ditherer and an idiot. That was probably another anti-commercial strategy. At the end, I wonder if Robert Altman really made him stay in the snow all that time pretending to be “dead.” I’ll bet he did, likely through multiple “takes.”

mrs-miller

I know these people don’t exactly look like the actors. Maybe it’s a matter of talent, but I feel very bored and strictured at drawing from photos. Also doing underdrawing, too, which means I’d be a lousy animator. I’m trying to make the wiggly thing my “style,” but doing a good drawing is also a matter of relaxing a little, and “seeing” the character. In real life, I’m lousy at remembering faces, too. The one below was inspired by Michael Hordern in a TV adaptation of an M.R. James ghost story.

hordern

Once in a while, I hit off a very nice drawing. Other times, stuff goes wrong. Still working on this (that’s like my mantra). I think if I did a lot of drawing and some stories, people would notice the good things, and forgive the occasional awkwardness. Of course, there’s also the fun of writing and reading blog posts ragging on some artist’s drawing mistakes. Don’t know if I’d want to read this about my own.

I’m doing a cartoon story about the ultimate self-confident artist, and what happens to him. I’ve got to get working on that, actually. Bath first, however….

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