July 31 is the anniversary of the release of my first comic strip. If ever I were to envision a new beginning to my projects, it'll be around that time.

And here I've got a vision:

In the future, I'd like to do my art for it's own sake, no longer making money off it, no longer taking commissions on design or illustration. But I still aim to use it in my career and display it for all to see.

Also, I think I've got a way to do that.

Might not work. If it doesn't work, I'll just go with the flow and do something else.

I probably shouldn't brag, least of all here. But, I do yearn for a little bit of excitement.

OK! I've got it down to just a little over $120 I need to get a good start on this business venture I have in mind. I maybe can do it on even less, but $120 would get me 21 pieces of finished product of which I only need to sell half to keep going. The other 10 would be promotional give-aways.

I need some more time designing the prototype, though. Which will give me a slightly better idea of the actual cost per item. But it already costs less than I was originally working with for my business plan -- which means that my company can survive 50% waste before losing profits (not that I want to plan on waste).

I spoke too soon. My numbers just shifted with the new design. I'll wait until I've got this thing nailed down to elaborate... However:

I think the only thing that could hold me back at this point is if the product doesn't sell.

So, what I need is this (in this order):

1. $120 - $250 in capital
2. A few good artist/bloggers
3. Good contract sewers
4. A merchant account that's better than Paypal

I need item #1 as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I've got item #2 lined up.

I've got ideas for candidates for item #3, and I'll put out the call when I get there.

Item #4 can probably wait until I'm selling these things by the hundreds.

The reason this list isn't bigger is because I've got most everything else I think I need.

I have found the greatest path to downtown from my home while job hunting!

New comic up:

http://www.grassdogstudio.com/dr_spin/?comic_id=22&issueid=737

ripworth gave me the text for this:

click to visit larger image model molemen for The Adventures of DR_SPIN From Grass Dog Studio

A foreboding tome indeed:


click for larger image

I can hear the cries of the Strombrellas now. They beckon with their plaintive whining, splines clicking with hunger...

All of my comics have been taking a hit on their schedules lately. I kind of feel like taking another week off to get back on track. But if I buckle down, I should be able to produce this week's comics and get next week's going in time. Expect HFR later today.

It's a difficult page I'm working on and took more planning than I had expected. In a way, partly because my comics don't have a huge readership at the moment, I feel like I should be focusing more on quality than schedule right now. When a comic comes out once a week, it seems to have more leeway on just when it updates, anyway. I've seen some wildly popular comics with extremely erratic update schedules.

But it makes me feel like I'm starting at square one. And when I go through my morning list of comics to read, and I see them all updating like clockwork, it makes me feel unprofessional. And that's not very encouraging.

It can be hard to put discouragement aside and kick some ass, but if I don't I'll fall further behind. So it's bootstrap time!

Let's see how many drawings I can get done today!

The Bellingham School of Comics has been together now for a little over five years, I believe (I think we started in 2004). One of the coolest things about being involved in a group like the B.S. is that you get to watch everyone improve and develop their artwork. Of course, we all view our own work differently and approach the struggle with a different demeanor and demons to deal with.

patlandness hasn't been able to make it to every meeting (but then I'm basically the founder and I haven't made every meeting) and he's often been one of the most discouraged of the members. However, even in his earlier work it was easy for many others to see the makings of a caricature artist. And he's kept at it.

Just last Monday, he finished his largest collection of work, caricatures of all (or most) of his friends. If you know these people and you look at these pieces you'll clearly see what kind of talent this guy has. Pat can capture some of the truly subtle features of a person's face that are hard to name, but that make that person unique.

I'm looking forward to see more work like this!

Even though magazines and newspapers are going by the wayside, caricature should still have a huge place in journalism online. Right now it's probably a bit more like having a booth at a Saturday fair, trying to get families and passersby to tip you for your work. But a good caricature can give a serious blog a much needed sense of humor, a touch of self-deprecation that shows the blogger isn't taking himself too seriously!

Thanks, Pat!

For those who couldn't view the video for some reason, I made this:

click to visit larger image How to make a non-spill ink lid From Grass Dog Studio

New DR_SPIN is up!

http://www.grassdogstudio.com/dr_spin/?comic_id=22&issueid=701

In summary: As the Earth warms, sheep shrink, thus increasing their surface area per mass and therefore reflecting more sunlight back into space...

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/07/science-at-the-bleating-edge/

... happening at the Blue House, if there hadn't been that rule:

http://www.ejb.com/video/20835/Airbag_couch_prank.html

As I will be taking care of family matters today, and looking for a day job, I don't think I'll be posting much. I'll still be at the BS.

I wrote this story in 140-character chunks on Twitter in two long sittings, in March and in June. It required a different way of writing.

It's a kind of nonfiction poetry, where you can't directly develop a major idea and have to insinuate it, sculpt it with tiny arguments.

(You can read the first draft of this essay at twitter.com/BobbyHayes. The Stranger is at /strangerslog. I post regularly at /paulconstant.)

Learning how to write it was fun. It was play. And there are very few times in life when play is not a good idea.

From Paul Constant Reviews Twitter

Found through ed_dirt (on Twitter) through Amanda Fucking Palmer.


If you want to complain in my presence about Twitter, you should probably read that article first and think about it a bit. I welcome complaints about Twitter, but I just won't believe you've thought about it until, you know, you've read articles like that. Which I suppose is a way of saying, "Oh, you didn't know that already? Huh. I've known for ages."

Mind you, I think there's plenty of room for the next revolutionary fad to add more to whine about to the internet.

I now have two of these and I just went outside and used them. They work so very well:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1755282

I'll do some illustrated instructions sometime next week, but the video (despite the somewhat clippy audio) should serve quite well in the mean time.

Finally, a 4th of July in which I feel less shame for my country than last year.

We're going to clean house, go visit our favorite coffee shop for the B.S. of Comics (at 2pm)*, pay our rent, hold a BBQ with a bunch of friends and then blow the hell out of a bunch of paper things.

Nothing unusual, really.

I think that maybe somewhere in there we'll also be paying the hosting fees on my websites, so that you can read comics on Monday...

*Nevermind. They are closed as is right and proper.

ed_dirt brought this up a little while back, and we hashed it out in his journal, so it's old news to him. But if I may, because the conversation has come up in a couple other places in my various friends' lists, I'd like to post this as an example to ponder.

Matt Rosemier and Glenn Z have very similar senses of humor.


Matt's work looks like this:

http://eddirt.frozenreality.co.uk/

Glenn's work looks like this:

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Glennz-Tee-Store-Designs/149088


Based solely on presentation, which work do you think I return to every update? Which work do you think I post on my fridge every week? Which work do you think I (or anyone else, for the matter) am more likely to link to more often in the future?

Why?

Note that my questions have a bit of a slant. It's not a clear cut answer, really. Glenn's stuff is more likely to be sold at Walmart (or Fred Meyer's, or more likely, Hot Topic) for instance...

When comparing yourself to another artist, it always pays to ask yourself "who are our audiences?" first.

Also, it's always better to be inspired rather than intimidated.

The team behind Freakangels have provided us with an incredible how-to:

http://www.freakangels.com/?p=98

Mostly, because it's so concisely written while at the same time covering aspects of efficiency, accuracy and work flow. While reading it, I wouldn't focus too much on the idea of putting the lines layer on top set to multiply, as there are at least two other ways of doing that kind of thing that I use to virtually the same effect. It's good advice, but there are other tips and tricks in there that are quite handy that you might not have thought of. And the glimpse of the process as a whole is quite informative to anyone who's a fan of color comics.

I've finally improved my link styles.

Here's a link.

Can everyone see that? If one person can't, I'll underline it or something.

Thanks!