This actually spawned from how I thought a potential Valentine`s Day could go down if I were to visit a live lobster site, such as Livelob.com. Needless to say, I have a bunch of latitude in a comic strip that I wouldn`t have in real life. Would I cook the lobster? Who knows…I`m too cheap to buy one.
I am much happier with the techniques I learned the other day. Still taking a lot of practice and reworking, but I think I could get used to an all digital process.
The idea of a lobster working on a computer, honestly (and oddly), is something I`ve toyed with for awhile. Now that I`m drawing, I can actually bring it out.
This is much better than yesterday`s comic. Many thanks to Jeph Jacques, creator of Questionable Content and a great tutorial specifically on inking for comic strips! It also deals with coloring, but I had that much figured out.
Thank you so much, sir. It has made all the difference. Of course, I also realize now just how useful a larger tablet would be…if I actually worked at a proper desk, as well. But one thing at a time: First I have to get a good, steady hand and pressure control for the tablet pen. It`s quite different than a pencil.
I am pretty much fed up with my tablet and PS. It’s likely I’ll be back to pencil and paper sketches. The past few days give a horrible indication of what I am capable.
I have determined that my PS skills are not up to the task of illustrating and coloring three comics a week while maintaining my sanity. I detest the coloring results I am getting, but I insist on learning the software since everyone swears by it.
As a result, I have decided to try black and white comics for a few weeks while I play with coloring. I need more experience, a lot more, and whenever I try to publish a colored comic like today I hate the results and spend hours trying to tweak it. Invariably, since I feel rushed to meet deadlines, I end up frustrated instead of educated. So, I`ll just illustrate my black and whites, publish them, and try coloring on my own time. Since I won`t feel obligated to push a good product, or at least a product I am satisified with, hopefully that will lead to a better grasp of the program.
Besides, I think this series will stand on its own.
And so our hero`s adventures come to an end. Unfortunately, he`s not drawn well. This tablet is still getting the best of me, and it`s very frustrating. It`s not a pencil, and Photoshop is not cooperating either.
I hope you all enjoyed this distraction. I must admit I was ready to kill it off from the get-go if it didn`t go over well. It was actually received, from what I have heard so far, better than I expected. I hope you all enjoy what follows, as we`ll be shifting gears a bit.
Perhaps all puns are bad by definition. These, however, are some of the worst I could come up with. Believe me, I tried.
Against my better judgement I went out of my way to watch “Lost” this week. Did anyone else instantly see the guy who offered Juliette the job and think “G-Man” from the Half-Life series? It`s like all of a sudden “Lost” has returned to its season one roots of oddness and posing intriguing questions. The downside is, at that point, I pretty much saw the rest of the episode coming with the clarity and sharpness of 20/15 vision, or at least what I imagine that would be like.
Oh, well. It`s better than watching another episode that sucks.
He`s almost “home”, but he`s got one last obstacle to face.
Oh, and I have to pick on New Jersey again. You know, because it`s there. Low-hanging fruit and all.
He`s big, he`s tripping, and he`s got a score to settle. Think “Crank,” except good. And 8-bit.
To be fair, I never did see “Crank.” It may very well be an excellent, thought-provoking piece.
