More streaming Thursday! (Maybe Friday too)

I was spared by the storm, so now I'm free to plan the rest of my week! I'll be streaming again on Thursday the 1st, at 8pm Eastern time. Streams usually run between three and four hours, so you can pop in at any time and join the conversation! Above is a screenshot from the end of the last stream showing off work done that night. When you watch, you get to see my pale hands drawing and hear my melodious voice narrate and converse with the chatroom. (You don't need a Ustream account to participate in the chatting, unless you want a username.)

I will be drawing art cards the whole time, starting with swag bag commissions reserved through the Chrispstarter Fundraiser. (Two unit left to claim, and plenty of watercolor slots too!) Note: If you ordered a swag bag this week, please check the email associated with your Paypal account, including the spam folder. I haven't heard back from one of you yet. Once the pre-paid cards are finished, I will be open for in-steam purchases or general portfolio-building requests.

If folks are up for it, I can stream on Friday as well. This can be more art cards, larger commission examples or book two bonus art. People who reserve commission time ahead of the stream get priority. I can start this one a bit earlier for those stream-starved Europeans. But you folks gotta let me know if you want this one.

My streaming page is here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sycophant

Power is out. Smartphones are great. (Updated)

Within two minutes of power going out, I discovered my stash of candles weren't where I thought they were and that my flashlight only had 30 seconds of battery life. So I burned scented candles and used my iPhone instead!

Anyway, I hope the outage is quickly resolved, but who knows with this megastorm. Comics are uploaded through Sunday, so no panicking until then.

Really, the only reason I'm posting now is because I CAN. Living in the future is great. Blogging in the middle of a hurricane, listening to music on the iPod. Posting a cat pic for added flair.

Of course, if my battery goes before power returns, I will be completely unable to cope.

UPDATE: Morning is here and things look good upon the initial check. Power returned over the night and there's little damage to the yard. Every dead branch in our trees ended up on the ground, but they're all small ones - so this was more of a landscaping service than a disaster. I saw a larger limb down across the street, but that's it so far. I'm glad I was spared, but that's because the storm chose to focus on the northeast. I wish all those affected a speedy recovery.

This is what I did today.

No, this isn't an official cast photo or anything, but it *is* a collection of all the pics that will be going on the cast page! I thought it would be fun to see what would happen if I crammed them all together.

Before you get too excited, the new cast page bios haven't been written yet, and I have yet to decide how the page will even be laid out. This is a free time thing, and free time is rare.

Anyway, it seems a hurricane is coming at me. If I disappear from the internet, it's probably due to a power outage. I may end up comicking by candlelight, or I may luck out and have the megastorm focus all its energy on crushing New England. Who knows? (To all my friends up there: I hope you are safe and things go well! If my wish comes true, sorry I sent it to you.)

I really hope preparedness wins out and this storm's impact is quickly remedies. I kinda need power and internet to function, y'know?

New Copper Road! 10/28/12

Ursula's adventure into the real world continues, and it seems there are consequences. Vote here to see the new comic! This story will continue on the 1st! Keep supporting Precocious, and these fun things will pop up more often!

Watercolor funtimes!

Tomorrow is mail day, so today became a full-on commission grind day.

Here's Max the board gamer. Oh man, I would *love* to do a Precocious parody of Clue - but I know that would never work in a strip format. So, all you producers out there, time to pick up Precocious and turn it into an animated series. (While we're at it, someone grab Lauren Faust to redo the character designs. THIS CAN'T FAIL.)

And here's our darling sea turtle. I painted it while watching cartoons. I'm totally an adult, you guys!

Oh, wait. That's true. I have to be an adult now and pack up everything tonight for mailing. Noooooooooo.

Cast cards claimed! + Thursday streaming!

Update: All 30 cast cards have been claimed! Guess I have to get working on getting the cast page images colored now.

Swag bags and commission slots are still available, so contribute and continue to get awesome stuff!

And, for those who want to know about my next stream, it will be Thursday at 8pm Eastern time! Watch me draw more artist trading cards, and maybe even the next Copper Road!

You can watch the stream here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sycophant

I saw a turtle

The next watercolor up is all about sea turtles! So let's get sketching! Here are two options:

The main differences are pose, of course, and backgrounds. Up top, we have some ghostly images of coral. Below we have swirly seawater.

Max being Max

Here be sketches for the next watercolor! The idea here is for Max just being all Max-ish and sweet. Well, there were a few ideas and I panicked and ran away from them, mostly because I didn't feel confident in matching those poses to the watercolor paper's format.

For some reason I locked in on Max holding things. We have his dreaded peanut butter delights on the right, and a board game - Murder Mystery (featuring familiar faces on the box?) - on the left. I like the pouty Max on the bottom, but it's probably not right for this project. Sound of Music Max was just me screwing around.

I'll sketch more Max later if needed. Gonna work on cast page stuff for the rest of the night. (No, it won't be ready for a while. It's a LOT of work, guys.)

Watercolors! *unsniffle*

Finally feeling better today! Hooray! Now I have no excuse for slacking off!

And, since I can't slack off, here are the watercolors! Enjoy!

Watercolor inks! *sniffle*

It took me a full day before I realized I had to actually scan these things if I wanted to share them. I blame illness.

This is how wussy I am. I have the weakest cold known to man, and it's turned me into a whiny and useless baby. It's not the actual feeling bad thing - it's more psychological damage done by three days of "Am I coming down with something? This can't be it. It'll surely either go away or become a real illness come morning. What's with this stupid thing!?" Still, I went to Costco today and I DIDN'T FEEL WELL ENOUGH TO BUY A PIZZA. Do you know what a tragedy that is? Costco pizza is the best and I missed a rare chance to get it! (Rare because I don't go often and I'm too lazy to drive across town just for pizza.) This is a real tragedy. I'm so very lightly sick, but it's enough to wonk out my sense of smell and make eating much less fun. Didn't discover this until last night when I had to triple the seasoning on my chicken to get any flavor across. Thank goodness I wasn't cooking for a group, as was originally planned.

Anyway, on to the watercolor inks. Yes, I wanted them completed earlier, but it doesn't really matter *when* they're finished, because the plan wasn't to ship them until Tuesday anyway. If I wasn't such a whiny baby, I would have done them today. Instead, I'll try to knock them out tomorrow.

Here's the happy Precocized Fenris ink. You get the full body for the final, but not much has chanced. With all watercolor inks, it looks a little weird because the paint will do most of the shading.

And here's Ursula reading in her bedroom. I'm going to have to do a printout of this one and do a few tests before I do any final painting. First I must figure out the best color scheme, then I must make sure I am capable of mixing those colors.  (I've had lots of struggles with getting a nice pink so far.)

I have one more watercolor that needs to be sketched, and then things get quiet. (Note: It's not good when it gets quiet.) Well, I guess I can do convention prep...

New Copper Road! 10/19/12

Thanks to all those who came to my streams recently! Part of the bonus of joining in is that you get to see the new Copper Roads early. I'll probably do this again next week - likely Thursday night - so keep an eye on the news section for further details.

For those who missed the stream, vote now to see the new comic! Ursula's day of freedom continues with more temptation. Will this girl survive her study session? Stay tuned...

Di-Va's corruption

Forgot to post the one watercolor I did complete over the stream. Here is Di-Va trying to influence the Ticking Time Bomb.

Turns out painting a character cloaked in shadow with limited watercolor skills is pretty hard, but I think it all came out decent enough. The dark spot at the top center is not on the original, by the way. The paper is warped slightly - what with it being a WATERCOLOR and all - and that part simply wasn't in direct contact with the scanner glass.

The remaining watercolors will be done in the next few days. I was hoping to do them tonight, but I remembered there's this strange webcomic thing I'm obligated to do - and that comic's buffer is down to one. Since Tuesday is a streaming day, and it's a bad idea to wear out my arm too much before a live drawing session, I'm guessing the next two will be completed on Wednesday.

Commission streaming - Thanks for coming!

(Update: This week's stream sessions are over. Thanks everyone! It looks like Thursday, the 25th, will be my next streaming night. Check back later for more details!)

A fundraiser is going on, which means commissions are being drawn on Ustream! (And slots during both streams are still available, so grab them now!) As long as I have commissions to draw, I will keep streaming my work and chatting with everyone!

Streams will be focused on marker work for now, such as the artist trading cards above, as I need to figure out a better way to handle the camera for watercoloring. (I may do some watercolor streams/camera tests if I feel like it, but they won't be scheduled ahead of time. Follow me on Twitter for announcements.) I'd like to settle into a set weekly schedule for streaming, but that first requires experimenting to see which days draw the best crowds.

Streaming will start at 8pm Eastern time for both sessions, and they will be happening here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sycophant

New Copper Road! 10/13/12

Ursula's adventure into the real world continues! New experiences! New corruption! Vote here to see it!

This comic was done during today's art stream, so people got to see it as it was made. I played it fast and loose, which shows, but it was fun and I hope no one got bored when they couldn't see my penciling clearly. I'll be streaming again next week - and sometimes randomly, which will be announced over Twitter - so keep  checking the news section and come play with me!

Commissions streaming - Thursday and Saturday

As part of the current fundraiser (please help out, guys), I have three watercolors and three artist trading cards to finish. Let's do it while streaming!

Streaming allows the client to see his or her art being completed, and it gives me a way to connect with everyone! The stream has a chat room, and I hope viewers use it to talk to me and each other! (It's boring and creepy if I'm just working with people watching me in silence.) We can do a Q&A, and I might let the chatroom decide what my warm-up piece will be. (Warning you now: There seems to be a short delay with the video, so that's why I might not respond immediately.)

Streaming will be happening here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sycophant

Thursday: Starting at 9PM EDT.

While everyone in the world has seemingly told me Thursday is a bad day (normally it is for me too), I have two sessions worth of art to do, so I'll chug along with it anyway. I'll aim for one watercolor (the sketch for which you see above) and two art cards. I'll start with some warm-up work, then do the art cards before closing with the watercolor.

Saturday: Starting at 4PM EDT.

Start time is a bit more flexible here, so be sure the check back. Going early, so those darn Europeans can check it out if they want. I'll be doing the remaining watercolors/cards during this session.

If you want to check out a streaming session, but you can't make it to these, I have an easy solution: Help out with the fundraiser! I will stream your piece for you, when you're available, if you desire it. I want to keep streaming, but I need contributions from the Precocites to do it.

I also do random work streaming when I feel like it, which are announced on my Twitter account.

Good boy

Here's some sketches for one of the watercolors purchased through the Chrispstarter Fundraiser. (Get yours today! Lots of slots left!)

This is, one way or another, going to be a pet/best friend portrait. The above sketch is from the doggie photo. Below is a more Precocious-y attempt.

I was given Max as a guide for working on this character. He's supposed be twirling an exercise ring toy around his finger, although I swapped it out for a ball balancing act in the later sketches due to concern over how it would read in a watercolor. More sketches to come as needed.

New Copper Road! 10/8/12

Introduction over, it's time to fold Ursula into Copper Road and let the loss of innocence continue! Vote to see the new comic!

If you haven't seen the fundraiser post yet, please scroll down and check it out. Lots of good stuff is there for you, and would be ever so grateful to get some support. If anything, keep watch over the front page, because news posts will be showing up frequently over the next two weeks!

...and sweetness

Another Ursula watercolor in the works! This one is Ursula reading in bed. Above are sketches of the various positions one bed-reader can assume.

 I went well beyond the complexity limits on that bottom one, but I like it. It's kinda hard to put a bed in the proper perspective for that pose and *not* draw in the scene.

Corruption

I owe three people comp sketches (and there's one more project for which I'm still awaiting refs), so here's the first one.

Di-va is out to bring Ursula (Ticking Time Bomb) into her group of villains! Will it work? I do kinda like the clock and wires look for TTB's costume, although I'm not sold on the headband.  Ursula's markings interfere with a lot of headgear options

It's 50/50 on if I'll have more sketches tonight. Late night + early morning = blargh. I'll try, though!

Chrispstarter! (Get some fun stuff!)

So it's not quite a Kickstarter project, but it does have lots of the love involved! Here's a way to get some fun stuff and keep me out of a pauper's grave. I've had lots of expenses lately and very little income, so let's fix that problem! Read to see all the options you can take to support me and Precocious!

I will be editing this post as slots are claimed.

SWAG BAG - All Swag Bags claimed - $25

Can't make it to conventions to see me? Let me bring that fun to you! This item nets you the complete Precocious pin set, the full magnet set (or whichever ones you need) AND an artist trading card commission of your choice of a Precocious character! These cards are drawn with ink and marker and are the size of a baseball card. (The Kaitlyn demo card has already been claimed!)

WATERCOLOR COMMISSIONS - 10 slots remaining - $30

Character painting (mine or yours), pet painting or cute animal painting - it's your choice! Pieces are 5.5x8". (Larger paper sizes are available, but limited. Email me if you are interested.) These are one-character, limited background pieces. When you claim a slot, we will work together to develop a sketch. Once a sketch is approved, the piece goes into a queue for completion. I will be doing these paintings during scheduled livestreaming, and we can coordinate times for you to witness the painting of your piece! (A post about streaming times will appear on the front page when slots are taken and/or a weekly schedule is set.)

CAST CARDS - All cast cards claimed! - $5

Want to support Precocious on the cheap AND get original art? For the upcoming cast page revamp (yes, it'll happen - hopefully by the end of October) I am drawing each character's portrait on a 4x6" index card. (What's pictured is the colored result of the cast page drawings. The card will be black ink on white.) If you claim this option, you will get one of those cards, randomly chosen.

OTHER COMMISSIONS - By request!

I can do individual artist trading cards for $10, character badges for $15 and larger quick commissions up to 9x12" - prices on larger commissions depend on what is involved. Ask me!

BONUS COMIC PAGES

For everything $100 raised in this promotion, a double-sized bonus comic will be unlocked! But here's the catch: It's a story, so you're only getting it if all 15 are unlocked. I've pulled back the offer to sell the originals, as you probably want to SEE what I'm doing before you buy it, but this bonus story WILL happen once the donation bar is full!

BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!

Hey, it's ok. Sometimes we can't help out. There are ways to support this comic without financial contributions. Commenting builds a community, and it helps me know you're paying attention. Cartoonists are fragile beings. We give a lot for very little in return, so it's always great to hear from readers. Sharing the comics over social media, using the buttons on the archive pages, helps. Spread the word! Vote for Precocious on TWC every day and give my ranking a boost! Active readers make cartoonists very happy!

CLAIMING A SLOT!

You can grab a slot using the donation button, or send a Paypal payment using my email of chrispco@yahoo.com. Be sure to specify what slot you are claiming in the comment box. I will send a follow-up email to the donation, so make sure you're checking the email account linked with your Paypal. Also be sure the payment includes your current address.

If you want to stack and claim multiple slots, you can do so. Bonus donations are, of course, accepted.

I accept payment by check, if needed, so you can email me and arrange that.

SCHEDULE AND SHIPPING

Shipping is included if you are in the US. International buyers should add $1 for character cards and $5 for swag bags.

I'll let you know when your artwork will go out. I usually make a weekly run to the post office. If you need a piece by a certain date, please let me know.

Thanks to all for reading. More thanks if you choose to take part in this promotion. ;-)

New Copper Road! 10/3/12

Here's a silly bonus comic I did on a whim last night. Don't get too spoiled by this. The plan is still to put up Copper Roads on a weekly basis.

And, yes, one company actually tried this on me, but I... *movie voice* fought back! Vote here to see the new comic!

Guest Week 3 Bonus Art!

As promised long ago, here are the guest art/comics used as vote incentives for Guest Week 3! You can click all the images for full-sized versions.

Pieces uploaded in the order Blogger chose to upload them in. I was too lazy to sort by date. First up is a great image by Erik Amill, of Biff the Vampire!

Here's a comic by Jordyn Jensen:

This one one comes from readers Jeremy and his sister.

The following two comics are by Iron Ed!

I love this artwork from Lucy Lyall, of Spare Keys for Strange Doors!

More guest art by Precocious' part-time coloring, DRB_II!

And this glorious piece of art by Heidi Black, a companion piece to her guest strip:

New Copper Road! 10/1/12

Our long national nightmare is over! Copper Road is back! Thank you all for allowing me a month of playing catch-up after my moving and convention chaos! Things are about to pick up again, and I think you're gonna like it!

Today's update is one of the script ideas that built up over the month off. It might be the only non-Ursula comic to pop up for a while - although there's always room for whims - but that's not a bad thing, is it? Vote to see the new Copper Road here!

In related news, the Copper Road archive has been updated with the three comics I'd forgotten to upload previous. Go enjoy them and get your comment on!

One more also: I'll be posting the incentive art from Guest Week 3 on the sketch blog later. (Edit: And here it is!)