Thursday, March 12, 2009

The more things change...


There's a thread over on The Webcomic List about how characters have evolved over time. This was my contribution. No matter what is going on, on how crappy everyone looks, once thing is certain: Bud's family is a questionable entity. The two strips were drawn about two years apart.

It's weird to look back at the demo series. (And, yes, I know there's another post out there comparing a past and present strip, making this a doubly-redundant post!) The story revolved around the Pingo's touring the house that they would eventually own, then being taken on a tour of the smarty kid houses. Obviously, this means it touched upon several things the REAL intro strips did. It was never intended for publication, which should be obvious considering how hideously primitive it is.

Then again, I drew way more backgrounds back then. Now, I find it a personal insult if I have to draw a FLOOR. Granted, I needed *something* to distract from the characters. Oh, and it also had about 3 potentially funny jokes in 23 strips. (I gave up before Tiffany got introduced, lucky girl.) It took a long time to get my mind thinking in comic format, and I still make no claims it does it well. But, hey, I AM better at this now than I was when I was just starting out. I can only imagine how awesome the strip will look two years down the road. That's the thought that keeps me going. The present has a chance to suck, but the future is always home to the best-case scenario!

6 comments:

Applejinx said...

The fascinating thing is how you've learned to leave out more and more lines :)

Applejinx said...

Secret weapon being the lines which are THERE but not drawn? ;)

Are there construction lines or do you just know at this point? :)

Christopher J Paulsen said...

I think much of my perspective and proportion wackiness comes from my lack of construction lines. I usually start by drawing eyes and build the figure from there. As time has progressed, I've made an effort to use *more* construction lines with hopes of gaining consistency. It's a good habit to have.

Just Us said...

Hi Christopher,
I just read through all the Precocious comics, and I love it!! It's going on my Daily Comics List! Keep up the great work. :)
Just one question - I don't get the Gary Larson one. I know he did the Far Side, but... huh?

- John

Christopher J Paulsen said...

Hi! Thanks for reading!

The Gary Larson strip is almost a word-for-word ripoff of a Far Side cartoon. (Hence the apologies.)

I'll paraphrase it because I don't have the book around right now. In it, a nature-lover looks on at a woodland scene. He sees row after row of furry woodland creatures lined up, all looking back at him, with mischievous smiles. "[Guy's name] paused, as usual the forest was full of happy little animals -- but this this something seemed awry."

Christopher J Paulsen said...

I guess I should also mention *my* wall o' furry creatures consists of all 13 kids in the Precocious kids' class grinning at their teacher. We won't be meeting most of the *other* kids for a good long while, but they do all have names and identities. The Gary Larson strip was 1)me showing off my class of kids and 2)an excuse to play with color.