Things that go bump in the night.

No, grills that work in a similar fashion to George Foreman's famous cooker do not go bump in the night - as far as I know. I have a potentially interesting story to tell and this was the only sketch done tonight. George Foreman probably goes bump in the night, though. Maybe he's mad that I didn't choose to use his grill as my source, but rather a grill with the caption reading something like, "George Foreman's grill can't compete!"

As foretold, I am back to work on sketching new strips. Tonight's haul ended up being six strips sketched and ready for inking. Not bad for getting back to the grind. As always, I needed media distraction to get my brain to focus. Neko Case on iTunes is far too bewitching, leading the mind to wander into fantasy. Had to put in some basketball to kill the wandering mind, then some Wire DVDs to get me motivated on strip-making.

I finished two DVDs, which puts on disc two of season 5. I'm too close to the end! I can't wait one more day for the next back to DVDs to come in! I'm not going to be up and running until after the mail comes tomorrow! There's only one solution: Take my Netflix packages to the mailbox at 4am!

I suppose the trek is a bit creepy late at night. The driveway is long, the lighting is non-existent and wild creatures have been known to stroll through the neighborhood. Also, I was just watching a bunch of people get stalked and shot for about six hours. Still, the weather was pleasant the spirits were high!

That's when the horror movie began.

Like a good future-axe-holster, my mind started to wander to my grandparents. Dying sucks in its own right, but it's brutal on spouses. I really do worry that the surviving grandparent might just give up, as is common with long-married elderly couples. So I asked myself, "once my obligations are over, will I just give up on living?" Habitually, I did a pocket check for balance. No cell phone or keys, of course. I was defenseless!

I get out to the mailbox and turn around to send my Netflix packages on their way.

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

The FUCK was that!? I turn aroumd and look out, trying to see the source of the sound - or at least trying to see if any notable blob is scrambing across the neighbor's yard in my direction.

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

It sounds like it's coming from the treeline in the distance. It's not a very recognizable sound...

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

Wait, I have it! It sounds exactly like the "axe murderer closing in on a victim" sound effect you hear in movies. I am totally not making any of this up. Some douchebag is SCORING my death with cliches!

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

I listen to it for a few more repititions. Doesn't sound like it's getting closer. My guess is a heat pump trying to figure out what the hell it's doing at the always temperature-fuckly 4am. So I turn my back to the sound and walk down the driveway.

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

Did it just get louder?

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

Maybe not. I keep walking.

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

Maybe that's a sound an old dog who smoked three packs a day would sound like...

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

Man, no one is going to believe horror sound effects started playing for me!

*snap*

Oh, DAMMIT! There's the token "killer stepping on a twig so the victim turns around to die face-first" sound. I always hoped my life would end up making a good movie, but a Friday the 13th sequel? Man, even the film gods hate me.

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

I am going to keep walking at a leisurely pace, partly due to pride and partly due to horror movie logical fallacy. Victims who pause, look around, get unnerved by sounds and finally start running like idiots ALWAYS get killed, therefore running away from suspicious sounds causes death!

*bhuh* *bhuh* *bhuh*

You know what, fuck dignity! I've reached the loving glow of the side light and, even if said killer was real, I had 'em in a sprint. I run through the gate, close it, run around to the back door, head inside, lock the door, turn on the lights and debate whether this is amusing enough to justify a post.

Well, who reads this but me and people brushing up on my recent history for their monthly visit with me? Only one person even remotely cares, so I'm doing it for me!

The power of hot chicks

How lazy am I? To draw the next comic, I have to trace some stuff on the light table. As today's goal was to catch up on TV I missed and netflix, the light table would have taken me out of viewing range. Result: Fuck the comic!

HOWEVER, the thing I do best when going though TV I don't care that much about is painting. If you are a good reader of this blog and not just someone checking it only before seeing me so you can make me feel appreciated, you'll remember I mentioned two paintings I started in DC that sucked. (Not that blog-cramming is a bad thing. I'll take a token effort over no effort any day.) Tonight, the goal was to fix those ugly things!



The original paint sketch was of a angry girl with her arms crossed. She was loosely based on my image of one of my characters, Meret, who is half-Asian. As that sketch was a proportional nightmare, I decided I needed a model. After a Google search for Ziyi Zhang, I was set!

So far, this painting is looking rather nice. It doesn't come across due to crappy photography, but I'll still take the time to say I love her lips. I got the sexy puffiness while still using expressive strokes - as opposed to my normal fallback of forced black outlines. Go me! Now the bad news: The heck will I do for a background? As of now I'm thinking a very gentle pale blue to keep the high contrast look I've got so for. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.



The original painting sketch for this one wasn't that bad, really. It was just boring. This began as a wide-eyed gal in a hood looking all fantasy mysterious. At first, I tried to give it a push to see if it could be turned into something decent, but I managed to wreck it completely about five paint strokes. Oh well. I flipped the canvas over and went back to find a babe for inspiration. (You can still see some now-inverted parts of the first sketch behind the current.) Since I'm still on the Neko Case kick, she seemed a fitting target. The only big Neko image I liked enough to save was one of her in braids. There we go. Still, aside from the pose and hair, the features came more from the Top Model I was watching on DVR than Neko.

Hey, it's progress of some sort. Whether these paintings ever get *finished* is another thing...

Fox Confessor Brings the ROCK! ROCK! ROCK! Er... alt-country.

Before I left for DC, I purchased Neko Case's album "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood" as well as the New Pornographers (featuring Neko Case) album "Challengers" *plus* their single "Letter From an Occupant." (Bonus: Neko was born in my home town, meaning for one year of my life we might have passed each other on the street. Also, on 9/11 I realized I had been in an airport before so it was very personal to me.) I got one good night of listening and love before I left. Guess what songs keep going through my head as I relax here without any music! (For those not in the know, I normally listen to music as I sleep. Here in DC I filled the void by turning the TV to ESPN. It's just not the same.)

As I near my return to Funchester (today!) the distraction has intensified. I needed my rockin' redhead fix! After pulling a Chibi cat and zoning out while providing "moral support" as my aunt and I ran annoying-but-needed errands, the songs were playing in my head so loud it was hard not to sing along - much less listen to what my aunt was saying. When I got home, I rolled the dice, hijacked the wi-fi again and pulled up YouTube to locate those cravable songs.

Once free for the night, I got to play them over and over as I sketched my own foxy redhead, Autumn, doing her best to emulate Neko's style.

Enjoy the songs with me!







(Edit: Changed the post title to a New Pornographers reference instead of a Charlotte Gainsbourg reference because she has nothing to do with this post other than writing a song with an appropriate title. I was tempted to go for a direct "New Pornographer" reference, but a dude who draws a strip about children just shouldn't go down that path. Just for fun: Had I wanted to go down that path and take a further detour into the badlands, Gainsbourg famously performed a song called "Lemon Incest" with her father. Imagine the possibilities!)

(Edit-again-because-I-can't-freakin'-sleep: Fuck it! I'm going with the Fox/Neko reference for a post title and then tossing it into a drunken blender. I'm not drunk. The blender is. I'm just stupid. Don't ask any more questions.)