robot-tree: an art blog

Sartorialism and Being a Grownup

2010-01-12T03:23:00.005-06:00

Those who know me have probably noticed that in the last year or two I have taken great efforts towards learning how to dress like a grownup. I added a lot of button-up shirts to my wardrobe, bought a few vests, brushed off my old suits, and began scouring thrift stores in earnest. The reasons for this are manifold: I work in a hat store, which suggests a different sort of dress code. I wanted to look more professional among my academic colleagues. I also got a little bit older, go figure.

This interest in dressing well has manifested in a growing collection of clothing that I own and a dwindling collection of clothing I am confident wearing. As I learn "the rules" of dressing well, I begin to realize that none of my secondhand shirts fit "properly", and that my busted old oxfords are laughable, and that my pants don't fit right. I follow a growing number of fashion blogs, pick up books on the subject, and train my eye to pick out nice garments, but I feel more constrained and uncertain about my clothing than ever, and without an Extreme Makeover sized budget for a brand new wardrobe, I am helpless to remedy the problem.

I guess it goes to show that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I've learned just enough to understand what is wrong, but not enough to fix things. Like a true neurotic, I have found a way to twist my passion for dressing well into a way to stoke my self hatred and make me consistently late to everything.

But let's get back to the instigation for this situation: I suspect that the age factor is the most telling. I turned 26 on the 4th, which puts me squarely in the "late 20's". This has heaped a mountain of insecurity and fear on my shoulders. The pressure to "be a grownup" is greater than ever before. The ugliest part is that I feel like I've been here before, several times. I've gotten tired of everytime some miserable aspect of life rears its head, somebody well-intentioned chimes "Welcome to being a grownup". How many layers are there to this? I fully suspect that as I'm dying someone will welcome me to the world of being a grownup.

And then again comes the backlash. In addition to sartorial blogs, I've been paying attention to a little site called The Art of Manliness. This site is aimed at regaining the finer aspects of masculinity that have been lost to our culture. While this site struggles to maintain a balanced hand in regards to, well... being a man without being an asshole, and it also manages to dispense some handy information, it from time to time features an article on lifestyle choices. The classic example is how men these days need to quit whining and "man up." That entire preceding paragraph would get a "quit whining and man up" response from the AoM collective voice.
So let's bring it all together. I am entering into probably the 6th of 7th layer of the crisis that's apparently just being and adult. I have yet to figure out a damn bit of what I am doing and have successfully managed to dig myself deeper and deeper into a dark hole (deep enough to bury a full grown man in, I would say). I don't have a good job, haven't finished this secondary degree, don't own a house, have a wife, kids, plans for the future, can't pay my bills, NONE of it--but I try to be a snappy dresser.

The funny thing is, to people who aren't in on the whole scoop, it might look convincing. I wear a tie sometimes, in proper context, instead of ironic tshirts and hoodies. I own a pair of goddamned oxfords. Plus: hats. Taking pride and interest in one's clothing is supposed to be a mark of a mature person, so I guess maybe I have a start. To me though, my interest in maintaining my wardrobe and collecting new pieces for it is identical to my interest in collecting new Transformers to add to my collection. So are both of these manly, or childish? I feel like I'm just a major fuckup wearing grownup clothes and trying to fit in. I'm going to stick with it because I want to sharpen my skills as a nice dresser, but it's not going to get my bills paid or satisfy my crushing disappointment with the "grownup" world.

This post was prompted by a couple of things, one of them being the AoM podcast on "Modern Immaturity", another was this little, "A Softer World" style sentence that popped almost fully formed into my head tonight, and that is what I will leave you with:

I will die before I forget the lessons I learned in childhood. Unfortunately those lessons are what's killing me.

New year and new crap

2010-01-06T01:42:00.003-06:00

5 days ago we started a new decade. Yesterday I turned 26. Last night my stereo got stolen. Tonight I'm writing in this blog.
I let a whole semester get by without making or posting any comics. Like every semester, it was "stressful" and "hectic" and "demeaning", but moreso than usual on account of several mistakes on my part and poorly managed time. I know that I never used to have time to draw, I must have used to make time, and I need to get back into that. I have multiple projects waiting in the wings, in addition to working at the hat store, working on this film project and hopefully getting my report written so I can wrap up this master's degree. I notice more and more that I have trouble staying focused. I started this post about an hour ago and have gotten up to to fiddle with other things about 20 times. So I wanna get back on the ball. I want to have things to work on that I am excited about. I want to get things done.
So I'm coming back to this blog to, well, blog. There are things I want to blag about that are too long for twitter sometimes. If I look at this thing enough maybe I'll post some drawings? Maybe soon.

A new thing

2009-06-11T23:58:00.002-05:00

Actlab vid-ay-o

2009-02-04T05:28:00.001-06:00

2009-01-29T01:18:00.000-06:00

2009-01-27T00:47:00.001-06:00

(I worked 14 hours in a hat store yesterday)

2009-01-23T00:38:00.004-06:00

2009-01-21T23:12:00.001-06:00

Dumbchuck

2009-01-21T23:09:00.002-06:00

Donut-Man on the move

2008-06-13T02:46:00.002-05:00

Been trying to get this pose right for quite some time now. As an unconventional superhero, Donut-Man doesn't quite fit with your typical heroic poses, so I've been hard pressed to come up with good promotional images for the man, but I think him hurtling over a wall or the ledge of a building (he is NOT breakdancing) is pretty appropriate. I scanned this in HUGE but I've been reducing my pictures to 72 DPI/PPI for the web as per the directions of the Webcomics Weekly guys, now when you click on that link you can actually see it at a reasonable size. I have never understood why the hell when you click on a link to an image file on blogger the internet browser can't resize it. ANYWAY, so I'm working on DM and ST, hope to have the website soon, over and out.

Transistions

2008-06-11T04:35:00.003-05:00

So I've taken a pretty long break since the end of the semester. Mostly I've just turned my brain off for that time period, but lately I have been trying to make some steps toward getting a website and some comics up. As a gesture, I put some ink on paper and came up with this: a ridiculous conversation between my comic avatar meeting his own new characters. Robot-tree the journal comic is on break right now, as I'm trying to decide whether the new project will work in the paper, and if not, whether I can manage producing Skiptown consistently and Robot-tree strips on the side. Eesh.

So what's up with Skiptown? It's a more plot-based strip which tells the story of post college graduates stuck in the college town they don't have a real place in anymore. Ally returns as a character alongside Joel, who has be retooled since his days in my OU comics. I'm rather attached to James and Porkbucket as characters, so I think they'll find their way in there as well, as well as some new characters. I'm still doing a lot of the planning and plotting for the strip, so I can't say when I'll actually get around to drawing strips. I also have to conjure up a website before then, ahh.

I'm thinking that the 4 panel layout is a bit much. You'll notice that Robot-tree varied in its dimensions wildly, which was unwise for anything designed for print, so I'm trying to fit Skiptown into a template. I think the size above is good, but I think forcing myself to work in 3 or 4 identically sized frames is unwise.

The last couple Daily Cartoons

2008-05-14T18:39:00.003-05:00

So my editor didn't bother to tell me when he quit needing cartoons for the semester, so I kind of quit drawing them.. Here's my feeble attempts to continue the bumper nuts plot line and a total non sequitur:

IRON MONGAAAARRRR

2008-05-14T18:29:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to improve my black and white shading techniques, so I've been setting up action figures in front of strong light. Here's Iron Monger!

I can tell that I messed up his legs (they're complicated!) but I like how I managed to get some things right on accident, like having the left edge of his body be a field of black. I wish I had put his hand over his chest with a halo of light around it, but I'll just have to remember for next time.

rooftop ahoy! Donut-Man 11

2008-05-01T18:06:00.002-05:00

Okay, I have been doing my homework! I've picked up Eisner's Sequential Art and The Best of the Spirit. Did it make any difference? I dunno, I actually was extremely basic with the panels today, but I did use a first person POV for the bottom row, which was Eisner influenced. Hopefully I'll start messing with more stuff in the future.

Oh and also this:

Social action

2008-04-29T15:15:00.004-05:00

2.
1.

In a weird bit of synchronicity, J-Ro has resurrected the topic of Bumper Nuts the same week i decided to address them. Apparently they are trying to outlaw them in Florida, which is both noble and a ridiculous waste of legislature. Let's not get the government involved people, let's make this a grassroots thing.

Donut-Man 10 Director's Cut

2008-04-25T19:57:00.003-05:00

I had some troubles with this one. I've realized that in a comic defined by shadows and noir aesthetics, I don't know how to shade. The version below is the one I sent into the paper. I decided to go back and add some shading and backgrounds to the page, arguably making it better but still far from perfect. I need to get in some more practice and work on my shading fundamentals.

And when I'm really upset I watch Transformers and drink until I can't feel the stupidity anymore

2008-04-23T01:49:00.003-05:00

Today's strip, as well as yesterday's, is about anxiety, which is serious! But I need to joke about it sometimes. I'm no harder on myself and my foibles than J-Ro is in his absurd, very-much-what-I-base-mine-off-of, journal comic. But I digress. Comic-Donovan is in all ways a more exaggerated caricature of myself, and thus his eccentricities take on more intense, "wacky" proportions. Let's watch as he gets the help he needs, or does something really funny we can all laugh at.

Also, a couple art things. I've starting using the hunt quill for everything. This is good and bad. Good because I can get the flowing thick and fat lines I could never master with the brush pen. Bad (maybe) because it makes my work way sketchier and wilder, and (definitely) because it bleeds through the printer paper I draw these on so I'm going to need to buy better stock. Also, you can sort of only make downstrokes otherwise it sticks. This makes things that change direction like Donovan's nose and hair...wisp?... especially difficult. Also, I'm using a hella-ton of ink.

Laughin' at myself and edited Donut-Man

2008-04-20T23:09:00.006-05:00

So I picked up a copy of the paper and was shocked to discover that I had made more mistakes in Friday's DM than I thought! I scanned the inks on the printer at the Daily office, which always provides a much rougher, dirtier image than I'm used to and I can't figure out the right way to change the dern settings. So while I was working on it and moving portions around and erasing with full white, the background was actually a dull gray. For some reason I couldn't see this on my crappy, 6-year old laptop monitor but it was noticeable to show up in print. First of all, wow the printers used for the Daily Texan handle grays well, and second, damn! It's hella ugly. Anyway, I went back and edited the image a bit and I've ensured scientifically that the white background is all white this time, so here you go.
The Robot-Tree for the day looks at my own crippling internet addiction. This arc is going to be serious, folks. Serious.*

*Not actually very serious.

And the final item of business is some totally myspaced pictures of mah new ~~head~~ hair!

Fauxhawktastic! Haha, I'm so vain and glorious.

Donut-Man page 9

2008-04-17T23:57:00.004-05:00

Get it? Glaze? Ham? Glazed-ha oh forget it, the punchline really didn't work in this one. I tried messing with the formatting at the urge of others, but i think I goofed in putting the title at the right side of the top. Not smart.

I really like the art of this page, but not the writing or the formatting. But HEY I finished it in 3 hours, ON CAMPUS. The whole thing! I'm lucky my ink bottle didn't bust in my bag, hmm. Expect a somewhat refinished version of this up soon, I think.

Hair raising

2008-04-15T18:34:00.003-05:00

Hair puns are harder to come up with than you might think.

Talk to the ham

2008-04-10T18:53:00.006-05:00

You want to know why Hamfisto is great? Here's a bulleted list:

He is literally a ham-fisted crime-noir thug stereotype.
He has a list of ham and meat puns that someone probably made up for him once and which he committed to memory. He's not very good at making up clever phrases, so he just repeats these 3-4 zingers.
His real name is Al Hamboni
And there's one more yet to be revealed!

Anyway, I love this idiot. There are some other rogues in the DM gallery which make me laugh just thinking about them, and I'm impatient to get to them, but all in due time I suppose. I wonder if this is how Chris Hastings feels all the time.

And now some shop talk: I decided to put on my big boy pants and try using the hunt quill pen again. I don't know why I quit using it for so long!! The only danger is that using one makes you automatically start shading like Rob Liefield, little scratchy lines everywhere. I went back and filled in some of the shadows to make it more consistent with previous issues. More experimentation in the future.

EDIT: 4-12: I wasn't satisfied with some of the background elements in this one. Since I want to print this one day, I see no reason why I shouldn't go back and fix the strips to my liking. I'll probably edit most of these before print, but here's my final version of page 8:

The madness continues

2008-04-10T00:05:00.004-05:00

Alright, the art in this was meant to be really ambitious, but over half of it was drawn on the bus and the last panel was really rushed. So, to make up for it, I have lovingly shaded it in extra detail just for the blog. You get not one, but TWO lens flares! To imagine what the paper version looked like, just pretend there're no grays. Hideous, I know. Tune in next week for more stupid hair nonsense.

And this is the sketch I made at the beginning of the week when I thought up this ridiculous arc. Fa fa fa fa fa fa fashion!

Party in the back

2008-04-08T18:33:00.006-05:00

Haven't updated this for a couple days, so I've got three for you this time. bam!

It's good to be me this time of year. Most the time.
I'm starting a new plot arc this week, but I haven't planned how long it will run. I'm not limiting it to this week, and it may end in the middle of next week. I'm not stressing over it, it's just nice to have something to run with. I totally am relying on arcs from now on.

Big Trouble references? Why haven't I thought of this before??

Terrifyingly, this is based on the outcome of my real life adventures in hair styling. But for the grace of God and lack of a hair straightener, I would probably try this for a day.

Donut-Man 07: A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES!

2008-04-03T17:15:00.002-06:00

Just when he thought it was safe to pat himself on the back, DM gets jumped by a thug on the roof. Who is this eloquent rogue who can toss our burly hero into a wall like a sack of potatoes? Find out next week!

Throw out your TV (unless you're too busy)

2008-04-01T18:14:00.004-06:00

What? Shading? Huh? I'm trying to vary the backgrounds a bit, and trying to see if the amount of time involved is worth the result. It looks kinda weird with the characters in white, so I may need to shade them too ala Danielle Corsetto's work.

They are wearing my character's hair like hats

2008-04-01T14:10:00.005-06:00

And so today we see the fruits of Michael's labor:

Truly he has dug deep and discovered the dark core that lies beneath the cool, calm exterior of my characters. Awesome. You can see the other switcheroo cartoon nonsense here, Today's Comics - Comics

I really need to link to that page more often.

Switcheroo

2008-04-01T02:20:00.004-06:00

For April Fool's Day I am masquerading around in Micheal Champion's place like a sheep in wolves' clothing. I tried to twist his excellent language based cartoons ad humor per absurdium, heaven knows if I succeeded.

I am ~~dreading~~ eagerly anticipating what he did with my characters.

"I'm all alone. I'm rolling a big doughnut and this snake wearing a vest... "

2008-03-31T02:11:00.005-06:00

Whoever can identify that quote owns my heart. Friend Jaime also owns my heart, because she tells me her insane dreams, several of which were compressed to form today's cartoon. I added the random animals in the first frame; the rest is pretty much straight out of her head. You can't make this stuff up, but I suppose you could try and analyze it. I just wish I knew what it took to get pantless girls, an airborne Cary Grant, AND Scar-Jo in my dreams at night.

Donut Man Band Jamboree

2008-03-27T18:24:00.006-06:00

Down to the wire, it's Donut-Man number 6:

This is a pretty common trope in the vigilante crime-fighter genre: the disbelieving-in-the-face-of-insurmountable-evidence cop, who will deny the superhero's existence just because he doesn't want that wise-ass detective to be right. Next time I'll work in some superstitious thugs who debate whether he was raised by wild donuts or was bitten by a radioactive fritter.
Also: I believe the hand in panel one is the best hand I've ever drawn, and Fingers' face in the last panel is the best expression.

ALSO:

Looks like I designed the band logo for a New Zealander rock band. You'll probably never hear of them because outer space is closer than En Zed, but apparently this came out well cause the guy loved it, and it looks pretty cool. Next time I want a cut though.

Been waiting to do this one for a while

2008-03-25T16:59:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure why, I guess I thought this was a cheap gag? It's a comic about the comic, which makes it meta I suppose. I'm not fully satisfied with the exposition, or the info about the first two characters, (which isn't funny at all), but I am 100% satisfied with the final panel.

I sent in a version that didn't say "dammit", because I'm not sure how tight the cartoon censors are here. I'm hoping a blatant sexual innuendo is far enough under the radar to pass, because I don't have a version that doesn't rely on juvenile come-on lines by a fat man, sorry.

GOM JABBAR!

2008-03-25T01:48:00.004-06:00

Yes, I have finally been forced to dip into the barrel of Dune references. I'm not even that familiar with the franchise, but spice jokes are major internerd currency I've discovered, so hopefully this will get a couple lame chuckles out of people tomorrow.

I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting these everyday, hopefully it will get me back int he habit of thinking up jokes everyday? I'm not sure it will work. I actually had two other ideas today, but the Dune one popped out of nowhere before I could think up a punchline for either of the others. I think I'm going to have to take Scott Kurtz's advice and start developing story lines again, just so I don't have to think up crap every day.

Donut-Man 5

2008-03-23T21:11:00.003-06:00

Bet you were wondering when I would work in a cops-love-donuts joke, eh? Well there you go.
I sent this in to my editor today, hoping he could run it on Monday, but that may be too much to ask. I'm being a terrible cartoonist lately. Alas. I've totally run out of ideas for the regular daily strips. I've been out of ideas for a while now, but been running on fumes sort of, now I don't know what to do.

Problems problems

2008-03-21T15:52:00.004-06:00

So the paper has quit running my cartoons every day, so I've quit drawing them every day. Also, my computer is having issues and can't handle the load of working on the new Donut Man, so I don't know when that will be up. Here are the two cartoons I did get done last week.

Donut-Man 04

2008-03-06T21:18:00.001-06:00

THUCK THUCK THUCK

Thuck is the noise of a donut getting lodged in a man's sternum. And man, check out that pun action!

Two more cartoons, for some reason not in the paper

2008-03-06T21:03:00.003-06:00

I don't get it. I keep sending in cartoons and they run cartoons I sent in two weeks ago or they don't run mine at all. I'm not sure what's happening. I don't even though if Donut-Man is going to show up in papers tomorrow. Anyway, here's the last two from this week, free of A/C demons and bad puns (almost)

I actually had to work on a presentation, if not for that I would've gone to vote for 'Bama

Yep. I like the punch at the end.

This is getting stupid (3-4 cartoon)

2008-03-04T00:03:00.004-06:00

Ugh. I really don't like where this arc is going, so I think I'm going to abort it. It's not like anyone is paying attention to continuity of the strip. I'm totally ripping off Sam Logan's Fridge character/plot device, so I'm going to just do the right thing and abandon this mess like a baby no one wants (oh god that is a terrible analogy I'm sorry).

I'm also disgusted because these strips, which are about how hot and nasty my apartment got sunday night, now make no sense because it's cold and windy and rainy and I've had to run my heater. I'm also disgusted because my apartment management basically said "We'll worry about your AC when it's warm again." Anyway, I'll think up something hopefully funnier for tomorrow.

I guess I'm sitting in a chair and talking to an airvent floating in the middle of a blank white void? Jesus this is awful. Was I even awake when I made this???

Staple 08 and a hot cartoon for 3-3

2008-03-02T19:29:00.011-06:00

Seriously guys, it's like a Balrog is living in my vent system. The hyperbole was absolutely necessary.

So, STAPLE! It was a good time! I haven't really gone to any comic conventions, but I can guess this was like a microcosm of one: we had exactly one girl dressed up in cat ears and bearing too much midriff and there was just enough odor of sweaty nerds to keep one on edge. Overall though it lived up to its name as an independent media expo. Lots of self published guys, many from Austin (I'm going o join the austin sketch club!) as well as a small sample of webcomic guys.

I caught the panel made up of David Malki!, Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, and Danielle Corsetto, which was more entertaining than it was informative. I was hoping I'd be able to pick up a copy of How to Make Webcomics from Kurtz or Straub, but no luck. There were a couple good and a couple dumb question from the audience, mine included in there somewhere, and the panel did the best to answer while Kurtz made fun of them. I briefly stopped by later for a panel consisting of Eric Powell who writes The Goon (is it still a panel if it's one guy?). Despite his industry insight and what not, half the people who wandered in quickly wandered out, myself included. If Kurtz had been up there talking about poop every other sentence it might have been a bit more interesting.

I bought myself the first story of Dr. Voluptua from Josh Lesnick, because what better way to show support for a guy than to buy a comic full of genitalia from him? I am that bold individual, thank you. I got the revolution shirt from Malki!'s table and a new Craig Thompson travelogue thing, plus random small stuff from local guys. I wish more web-guys had been there, because it's always kind of awkward walking up to a table covered with a man's work and flip through it while he watches you intently, only to walk away without purchasing anything. With the web guys at least I knew what I was looking at. But yay for Staple anyway, it only would have been more fun if I'd worn a Vash the stampede jacket, a top hat, and shuffled around handing out crappy photocopied prints of my own comics. Next year!

I also just realized today that I forgot to go to the afterparty, which was a KOOP benefit! Curses! NEXT YEAR!!!!

And finally, today's nonexistent album covers are brought to you by random Wikipedia articles, random wikiquotes, random Flickr images, and my brother. Enjoy:

2-29 Donut-Man 3

2008-02-29T01:47:00.004-06:00

Man I had to rush this in today. Haven't slept much the last two nights, and I had to get a presentation on Godard done for class today. Basically I came home last night after not sleeping the night before, napped for a few hours, got up at 2am and started working on the presentation (read: not really working) and then getting to class by 11am. So I started drawing this at 2pm, had it inked by 4, then had to wait until 5 to scan it, making me miss my film screening. Boo. Anyway, I'm not too proud of this one, but it gets the job done. Hopefully I'll able to experiment more next week.

2-26, 2-27, 2-28 Cartoons

2008-02-27T23:46:00.005-06:00

This is 100% true:

This one speaks for itself.

This is so high concept even I don't even understand it.

in the paper

2008-02-23T17:11:00.006-06:00

Just wanted to show off how good Donut-Man looks when printed. Somehow the flat printing and the graytone newsprint really looks makes this look awesome. I'm not sure you get the full effect from seeing a scan of it, but oh well. They come about 5.5-5.75 inches across, just big enough to read the small print in the second comic.

Also, check this out:

Heartfelt plea, hilarious joke, or descent into madness; YOU decide! This was on the same page as DM02, I'm glad I noticed it. Let's hope it hits its mark, whatever that may be. Talk them ash, youre the only one.

Donut-Man 2 and THE CARTOON TOO HOTT FOR PAPERS!!!

2008-02-21T21:22:00.003-06:00

First: Tada!!

Aw yeah! I'm pretty happy with how this one came out, I got ambitious with the paneling and flow. A friend check it before I submitted it and said it made sense, and he's a screenwriter so I'm going to assume he knows a lot about story and nothing about how comics work. I meant for the meat head in panel 4's line to be a quote from this amazing scene but it looks like I goofed. You'll just have to pretend.

Also, THE CARTOON TOO HOTT FOR PAPERS!!
BOOZE!! LESBIAN(S)!!! THREESOME INNUENDO!! PORKBUCKET!!!
Wait, did I say hott? I meant late. Too late for papers. I got this turned in too late last night and it didn't run in the paper today like it was supposed to, so it looks like the Lonely Man Arc/Porkbucket week will have to wrap up on monday.

Donut Man IS the RAW!!

2008-02-21T04:04:00.005-06:00

Okay, it is way late and I only slept for an hour the last time I slept, so please forgive all confusing mixed puns in the title. This is the raw scan of the next issue of donut man. I'm scanning it tonight and just taking my computer with me to campus tomorrow to finish, I need to adjust a few things but most of it is there. Can you guess what's going on???

Jesus this took a lot of ink. Next time, we fight in a white room at noon.

2-20 Cartoon: Captain Oblivious

2008-02-19T22:44:00.002-06:00

Now, what nobody has asked for, MOAR PORKBUCKET!!

Sad, but probably true.

2-19 Cartoon: More on Nomenclature

2008-02-18T23:48:00.002-06:00

Rugby mates roll deep.

What I'm hoping here is that no one will realize I have no idea what Horse Jugs implies but just assume that it's so unfathomably revolting that I couldn't even fully realize it myself.

2-18 Cartoon: A Man Alone

2008-02-17T18:58:00.003-06:00

A new character! I wish I had a real friend named Porkbucket.

2-15 Cartoon: The Adventures of Donut-Man, #1

2008-02-14T20:16:00.006-06:00

A HERO IS BORN:

I'm using my position at the Daily to force my long overdue brainchild Donut-Man into public view. He's a self-made vigillante super-hero fighting in a film-noir underworld filled with freaks and super-powered ne'er-do-wells. My brother and I have been formulating storylines, weapons, and mostly absurd badguys for Donut-Man for well on a couple years now, so it's time to put those ideas to work. I hope some readers venture to this blog and leave comments, these cartoons take far more time and work than my others, even though I love them all like children.

I hope to have an extra large cartoon in The Daily Texan every Friday. It's going to be hard sustaining a storyline with updates once per week, but if Stan the Man can do it, so can I. The reason it's called the "abbreviated" adventures is because of how the once a week schedule seems so odd for these action type comics.

Previous entires on future DM bad guys are here and here

2008 Valentine 1: You've got the Touch

2008-02-12T19:01:00.001-06:00

Guaranteed to open her matrix and light your darkest hour.

2-13 and 2-14 Cartoons: Baby light my spark and Organ Day

2008-02-12T18:53:00.001-06:00

I actually had several versions of this one, but in the end I had to go with the Stan Bush reference. I'll be posting a full color version of this valentine soon, and the one I have planned for v-day itself.

THIS cartoon runs on Valentine's Day proper. Or should I say, Happy Circulatory Organ Day?

In the spirit of Indigenous Persons Day and Leif Erikson Day, I think we need to take Feb 14th back for the people. All you have to do to participate in Organ Day is have a beating heart. If you don't have a heart, F*** YOU

2-12 Cartoon: Nomenclature

2008-02-11T23:38:00.000-06:00

As I told my editor, this is assuredly the most pointless cartoon I've made thus far. And looking back on the fact that I drew this when I woke up today at a rspectable 3 in the afternoon, I can now say there's a number of things wrong with that first panel. This cartoon also demonstrates why I don't wear ringer type t shirts.

2-11 Cartoon: Oh Possum

2008-02-11T01:50:00.000-06:00

Man that title sucks. There are only so many possum puns in this world. I actually really like possums, I think they're pretty cool little critters in their own scary, creepy way. Tomorrow's comic is going to be based on these little fakers too.

2-6, 2-7, and 2-8 cartoons

2008-02-07T00:58:00.000-06:00

2-6-08: This is total fiction; I would absolutely know what callipygous means without having to be told. However I'm pretty much conflating scrabble with "who's got the biggest vocabulary," and everyone knows you really win scrabble with dumb little words.

Also, that's guy's name is now James.

2-7-08: I have had the worst allergies in this town. My nose is like a guy who thinks every lost backpack is a terrorist attack against him personally. GET THE HELL OVER IT, NOSE.

2-8-08: This is seriously 100% true. And I am so dissapointed.

Dissappointed with REALITY. That's a recurring theme here I think.

2-4 and 2-5 cartoons: Super Bowl and weeeeeeeeeee

2008-02-04T19:14:00.000-06:00

I managed watch the last half of the game this year, but I actually slept through the last Superbowl. Poorly timed nap, what can I say. As for the second cartoon, I had a conversation with some people about why I hate kids with wheeled shoes, but I realized I was probably just jealous.

2-1 Cartoon: Beard to be Feared, part 5

2008-01-31T00:02:00.000-06:00

Maybe I don't need to make a new post for every cartoon, I am now realizing.

I need to have it done early because I won't have time to get it in tomorrow, and I'm getting some feedback on the punchline. I was going for something akin to this Penny-Arcade gag, really but I'm not sure if it's successful or not.

1-31 Cartoon: Beard to be Feared, part 4

2008-01-30T18:50:00.000-06:00

Beard week is almost over!

Apparently bad political advice is the last straw. A bunch of my friends in RTF have been noticing my comic and it's been spreading word of mouth, sort of. I have several readers! Maybe. When they remember. Anyhow, Friday's cartoon will include the address to this blog, so there may be some more traffic here? I dunno, it's not like a hyperlink, you can't just click on a newspaper, but it worked up at OU so maybe I'll see a few people around here. That means I need to tidy up.

1-30 Cartoon: Beard to be Feared, Part 3

2008-01-30T12:16:00.000-06:00

This is actually the beginning of the concept of this storyline. I've had this penciled for like two weeks,while thinking up the rest to go along with it. If you can't tell, my arm in the last panel is supposed to look foreshortened, not like I have some kind of midget arm or something, for some reason the extreme perception looked better in pencil.

1-29 Cartoon: Beard to be Feared, part 2

2008-01-28T19:31:00.001-06:00

The saga continues!

1-28 Cartoon: Beard to be Feared, Part 1

2008-01-28T19:23:00.001-06:00

A five part origin story. Behold!:

1-25 Cartoon: Hip Fashion

2008-01-26T22:15:00.000-06:00

Once again, this is something that actually happened. I assumed that everyone looks like an idiot when they're jogging anyway, so no one would notice a fanny pack. Obviously the two gentlemen who observed me running thought otherwise. There must be a thin line between what is acceptable jogging attire and what is a fashion faux pas, and bright blue fanny packs are firmly over that line.

1-24 Cartoon: Stop the Cycle

2008-01-26T22:05:00.000-06:00

This special PSA was necessary after Wednesday. A.S.I.N.A. is a serious problem folks!

As you can see, that's only 6 seconds in to a 56 second clip. The remaining 50 seconds are me lying on the floor sobbing and asking why they are taping me. It's really not funny at all.

1-23 Cartoon: Nunchuck Abuse

2008-01-22T21:58:00.000-06:00

This was based on an actual conversation I had with Cara, only I didn't have any excuses for her. It's common knowledge that me + any kind of weapon of any kind = me with something bruised.

1-22 Cartoon: Monstrous

2008-01-22T21:51:00.000-06:00

Some of you may know that Monstrous was a rumored possible title for the film now known as Cloverfield. Other's of you may know that I LOVED this movie, and still can't get it off my mind, half a week later. Anyway, Holly actually suggested this cartoon to me just as a self contained gag, but I couldn't help but attach it to the movie. The panda monster is in no way an even remotely clever ripoff of what the monster actually is, but I think the pun, which is really the point of the title, makes it worth it.

The best part is, the cartoon ran opposite a review of Cloverfield itself! Perfect! I just wish the art in the 2nd and 3rd panels had trned out better.

Daily Texan Cartoons, Week of Jan 14-18

2008-01-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

Started drawing for a paper again, and trying to keep up a daily submission schedule. Here's the first week. Note that this character is actually me, not Joel from the OU cartoons. I'll eventually find a way to make them look more distinct.

Donut-Man rogues Part 2

2007-12-05T00:47:00.000-06:00

Got a couple more here.

The Great White Fist: Fish-Fingered Terror of the Far East.
"?"
Is he a genetic experiment gone wrong? Does he just have a shark sewed onto where his arm used to be? Or is his physical form the result of decades of discipline and training? No one can say for sure, but the mysterious master of the martial arts known as The Great White Fist has set himself up as the leader of a guild of fighters in the wharf district of Donut-Man's hometown, operating as a vicious crime syndicate few have dared to challenge. Fist's fighting prowess is legendary, but the full strength and dexterity of his right arm remains untested.

Sleight: Inept Illusionist
"Abracadangit!"
This failed stage-magician-turned-criminal is dangerous primarily because of his poor control over the magic he creates. Inexplicably, Sleight can produce objects from thin air, cause things to disappear, levitate, transfigure, and even multiply, but the results are more than often catastrophic with those in proximity. Despite never pulling off a heist or act according to plan, the chaos he creates generally guarantees a getaway and massive collateral damage. Rather than pulling objects from his hat, Sleight employs the aid of magic rabbit Pocus; you don't want to know what happened to Hocus...

Detachable-Man: The man who has everything.
"*pop*"
How to explain Detachable-Man's powers? Cursed by a gypsy when he taunted her for her cluttered pack-rat collection of junk, Detachable-Man's body became a vessel for countless random items, weapons and tools. By detaching a limb or body part, he can produce any number of things from the opening left behind either connected to the removed body part or the main section of his body. The objects often could not possibly have fit within the part of his body from which they seem to come, leading some to believe his body contains an infinite number of portals to a realm wherein all the items are kept. While every different detachment point creates a different object, there are a few he has been known to use repetitively:
Right arm, elbow: winged, toothed rocket.
Neck: Mechanical spider legs
Right Calf: Ninja sword coming out of shin
Waist: Rocket launcher

He came from the future to kick our past in the ass

2007-12-05T00:41:00.000-06:00

What happens when classroom scribbles get out of hand. Naturally this is ~~ripping off~~ inspired by this comic. I'm just happy, that's about the best dinosaur I've drawn without a reference.

It has....raisins

2007-12-04T00:40:00.002-06:00

I made another picture for my friend Holly. I dunno why, but she seems to be an excellent subject for the worst parts of my imagination:

Kitty-loaves are nutricious, warm, and fuzzy.

Spidey's having a bad day

2007-11-02T22:28:00.000-06:00

So currently the Venom suit is on the Scorpion... a little overkill maybe? Perhaps. Personally I find the idea of multiple powered suit being worn simultaneously to be interesting:

Mysteri-ockto-vultur-rhino-scorp-goblin-sand-venom has potential.

Donut Man's Rogue Gallery Sketches, Pt 1

2007-11-02T19:43:00.000-06:00

Sean and I have spent a couple years developing the universe of Donut Man, a tough costumed vigilante in the style of Batman, or the Punisher. The best part of the process has not been the imagining of the hero himself (as he pretty much wrote himself) but rather the creation of his enemies. Thus begins my attempt to lay out visuals for the never-before-drawn rogue gallery of Donut Man:

The Great Danish: Professional Nemesis

Quote: No place indeed should murder sanctuarize; Revenge should have no bounds.

Not acually from Denmark, the Great Danish is a professionally trained theater actor whose crushed dreams of owning his own theater company turned him to a life of crime and delusion. With a flair for the overdramatic, the Danish seeks the premiere superhero of a given town and creates a persona to act as their "foil". Mistakenly assuming that Donut Man was the main hero of the city, he established himself as a pastry-themed villain whose sole purpose is to destroy Donut Man. He has no true criminal ambitions, of than to prove himself as the greatest villain in all recorded history.

Al "Hamfisto" Hamboni: Muscle for Hire

Quote: You're dead MEAT!

The son of immigrant butchers, Al grew up having to haul around huge carcasses in the family's meat freezer, and then carve into salable cuts of meat. He toughened his hands by practicing his boxing moves in the freezer. When the family business collapsed, Hamboni took to the streets, living as a prize fighter, a bouncer, and eventually a thug. His name became infamous in the underground after he knocked out the toughest thug on the streets by burying his hand in a semi frozen ham, gripping the hambone, and using the hefty hunk of ham as a devastating boxing glove. Hamfisto's talents were soon sought after by unsavory characters with lots of cash, and he now never goes anywhere without a icebox full of meat to use in combat.

Proboschism: Misshapen Mastermind

Quote: Hmrmmrmrrrmmrmrmmrmrmmm.

Proboschism's head consists of two things: his massive olfactory nerve system, and his equally massive brain. It is said that his sense of smell compensates for all his other senses and then some, even allowing him to smell your thoughts. He communicates by humming such complex frequencies that you can hear him inside your head, and rumor has it those who cross him are smelled to death; no remains have been discovered to confirm this.

The Pieman: Mindless force of Nature

Quote: SLoorrrrpszzzplpaulpslupppp.....

Simon Crumb was once a normal man, until he was hit in the face with a radioactive pie. The accident mutated him into the semi-sentient pile of molten pie filling and crust know as the Pieman. The halflife of the radioactive isotope keeps its filling a constant 400 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to severely scald anyone it comes in contact with, but when angered or threatened Pieman can heat up to temperatures able to melt through titanium armor and immolate a human victim in seconds. Not a true villain, Pieman simply wishes to be left alone. Research indicates it can ooze through any opening large enough to allow its filling through. While usually a cherry pie, Pieman can alter the contents of its filling depending upon its environment.

Apple Newton: Maniac Father of Physics

Quote: A body in mortis will tend to stay in mortis, unless its MINE.

History neglects to inform us that in addition to being an early physicist, Isaac Newton was also a twisted madman. The infamous apple which struck him on the head was actually an artifact endowed with mysterious powers. Upon being hit with the golden apple, Newton's consciousness and intellect were transferred from his fragile human body into his wig, which continued to control the body like a zombie. Upon the death of the original host, the wig sought out others, keeping the mind of Newton alive but insane, and taking the apple with him throughout history. Using his superhuman genius, Apple Newton devises immense, compicated machines based upon the functions of simple machines and Newtonian physics. Though consisting primarily of gears and levers, Apple Newton's machines have appeared to negate gravity, generate laser beams, and create artificial intelligence. It is thought that the apple gives Newton the power of eternal wig-life and supreme intelligence, and others have hypothesized that he can only be beaten through the use of quantum physics.

Captain Claymore...

2007-10-16T02:35:00.000-05:00

...doesn't NEED to compensate for anything.

I actually don't think I made the sword big ENOUGH. Y'see, the guy's super strong and/or he's the only one who can wield the thing... I dunno, how many giant-sword related powers can you have? Basically I want him to be in a position to call Inuyasha or Sephiroth a pansy and then back it up.
Are there any superheroes who wear kilts yet? There's one now. Who needs a utility belt when you have a utility sporran? Or better yet, a Utilikilt?Also, Captain Claymore is a bit obvious, I'd really prefer some mouthful of a Scottish word, something like Captain Clahdaughhth or the likes. If only I actually knew some Scottish... or some Scotspersons...

Where I'm at

2007-10-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I know I haven't been in here in a bit, but it's because I haven't done much art lately. I wanted to keep this as an art blog, not a let's bitch-about-stuff blog, so I've started posting on my myspace much more frequently lately. Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am. Facebook ran me off when it started developing all those ~~parasitic growths~~ applications, so I now prefer the slightly more open format of myspace.
So to that end, here's some links:
My myspace profile
My myblog

Where everybody knows your name

2007-09-08T14:45:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I know I keep posting vids, but this one is an especially fun little number that webcomicker David Malki! made.

It's fun cause Malki! is a cool guy, and because it shows all of my favorite webcomic artists hanging out at comicon! Well, nearly all. Sam Logan, why weren't you there?

EDIT: Nevermind, there you are at 13:30. Okay, where's Johnny Allison?

There goes my ego

2007-08-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

That class scene is what this comic is all about. And I'm in there too! Time to get an agent. This movie looks pretty slick, I'm excited to see the final product.

EDIT: Apparently that trailer has been removed. Why? Who can say. But for those who didn't get to see it, the film revolves around Arthur Bennett, a college freshmen who's 'never been kissed.' His buddy tried to help him out/humiliate him by posting an online ad that touts him as a sort of make-out Don Juan, resulting in hilarity and misunderstandings, etc, I'm sure. I play random guy in two scenes, including one where I'm topless for the ladies. But you'll just have to wait until the film comes out for that part.

This happens to him often

2007-07-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

This year's back-to-schoolio comic:

I forgot how to write my name once in kindergarten. Seven letters is a lot! Joel should probably enroll in summer school next year.

Heavy reading

2007-07-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

I hob-knobbed with the fine muggles purchasing the Harry Potter book last night at borders, even though I hadn't signed up to purchase one. It made for some fantastic people watching.

Roll out

2007-07-13T05:27:00.000-05:00

A quick sketch for a school bus transformer. More here:http://www.bwtf.com/forums/showthread.php?p=55684#post55684

Caliban: Discovery

2007-07-12T06:24:00.000-05:00

The picture above is the first of a three part set I've been wanting to draw for a long time. Those who know my literary tastes well know that The Tempest is my favorite play by Shakespeare, and that Caliban, the original wild boy, is my favorite character. When I had to help with the production of act V of the Tempest, I envisioned a history, biology, and future for this creature, whom the play describes as an inhuman savage. I imagined him as part Edward Scissorhands, part Robert Smith of The Cure, part demon, and part sea creature.

The son of a witch and the devil, my Caliban has the spines of poisionous fish, hard metallic scales and black, scarred leathery skin. This picture depicts a young Caliban totally wild, having grown up on the island with no human contact but his mother, now dead, and the various spirits and sprites inhabiting the wilderness. He is drawn by curiosity to the shipwreck of Prospero and his young daughter Miranda. Prospero will take the wild boy in, educating him and teaching him to speak, while Caliban acts as a guide and servant to the old man and girl.

Holly is so awesome...

2007-07-02T02:42:00.000-05:00

...she punches robots in half.

My friend Holly was having a a bad day, so I drew this for her while talking to her. She fights killer cat robots whenever she's not blowing glass and sculpting her porcelain armored abs, I think.

You saw it here first

2007-06-28T05:20:00.000-05:00

So I dedcided to go ahead and draw what is to be the first entry of my webcomic. All I need now is a... umm... website. Here we go!

Is it meta? I don't think it's meta. It'd be meta if he were drawing the comic that he is in. And he's not. But I also cannot make the promise that this will not contain robots. I cannot make the promise it won't contain pirates or ninjas or wizards either.

Hurk! Gah! Hoight!

2007-06-25T18:24:00.000-05:00

Had to post this. F'ing brilliant.

Gonna be big stars

2007-06-24T06:27:00.000-05:00

Man, is it time for another one of these already? Here we go:

This actually happened to me, well, more like the guy sitting next to me. I was there to be an extra, this guy was just trying to do his homework and wandered in to see what the hubbub was about. Next thing you know, he's sitting there typing an essay in the background of a classroom scene while I take notes (i.e., draw a massive doodle of Optimus Prime, a pteradactyl, spiderman and some TIE fighters. I gave it to Mel, although I probably should have scanned it first). Anyway, it was fun, and much easier than the pool-party-playboy-dream sequence. That was rough.

At it again

2007-06-14T00:12:00.000-05:00

Time for another kitchen ~~catastrophe~~ creation!:

The Hot-Dog Biscuit; Part of this complete breakfast.

Back from the void

2007-06-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

I HAVE INTERNETS! Some guardian angel came and liberated the defunct modem and router from their two week incarceration in my roommates' locked room and I was able to get them reconfigured. Calooh callay and all that. Now onto business:

Summer is boring here, man. Worse than last year. So.... that's it! More later. I'm out.

Your circuit's dead! There's something wrong...

2007-06-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

Over a week without internet now... So many posts I've wanted to make, but this is the first time I've been able to get online in a while. I'm using the ethernet at OU, which is inconvenient and unsuited to the spontaneous, fast-paced world of the blogosphere (like I'd know). Anyway, hopefully all that will be fixed soon. In the meantime, LOLBOTS

Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeebeaaard, some caaaaaall meeeeeeeeeee...

2007-05-20T04:28:00.000-05:00

See, the joke is that they don-GAH TALKING TREES!!!!!

hurgblarghlarftofu

2007-05-20T02:43:00.000-05:00

These are thin times; pretty much the only things left to eat in the house are things my roommates haven't been clever enough or hungry enough to figure out how to eat. Thus I find myself making a hot steamy bowl of stir-fried tofu and 2 week old (but remarkably fresh) broccoli:

As is usually the case when food is scarce, i attempted to make up for questionable nutritional content (now THAT would be a webcomic worth reading. are you listening, Jeph Jacques?) of the meal by loading it with as many condiments and spices as possible. I covered it with ginger garlic paste in the pan then coated the whole thing with mayo and balsalmic vinagrette. In conclusion: mayo and balsamic vinagrette are still tasty, and tofu remains the shapeless homunculus that once dreamed of being a chicken breast. Don't try this at home.

I'm stepping through the door...

2007-05-06T23:37:00.000-05:00

So this cartoon, combining my love of David Bowie with my hatred for motivational speeches, wasn't published in the paper due to there not being a paper finals week. However, I had already startd this so I might as well finish it. Note that while I graduated last May, these characters wouldn't really be graduating at this time, since I have conceived them as students and don't have any plans for them afterschool. I'm rambling, it doesn't really matter. Let's just consider this "non-canon" if I ever get around to creating a "canon," and call it good.

Brought to you by McDonalds

2007-04-29T07:23:00.000-05:00

I hold the Gold Medal record for the "Forgetting a Final until after the Due Date and still getting the Professor to give you a B on it" event. I medalled 4 times before retirement.

Note: Names are first mentioned in this cartoon, even though I've known them for a while. Thanks to everyone who helped me toss names around.

Ground Control

2007-04-22T22:51:00.000-05:00

Introducing the scooter! Expect to see more of it.

Detail of the vespa and one of my favorite poses I have drawn.

Kid gloves are off

2007-04-16T04:35:00.000-05:00

Finally up to date with my cartoons, and here's today's:

Bustin some balls here. C'mon guys, get your heads in the game. This is also the first time my cartoon will feature the address for my blog. If you're new here, won't you leave a comment?

Archive: Double Feature

2007-04-15T02:22:00.000-05:00

Combining three cheap jokes to make one mega-laugh experience! Not really. We had some freezing weather in April and debate over a swim center I don't really know anything about.

Archive: Faire Play

2007-04-15T02:20:00.000-05:00

What ho! Yon medieval faire visits peacefyl Norman but once a year. 'Would it were more.

Archive: Spring Break

2007-04-15T02:19:00.000-05:00

Polar bear = party
or
"Glacier? I never even touched her!"

Archive: Oops

2007-04-15T02:17:00.000-05:00

This was my job at the time. Lots of people liked this one, probably because I didn't follow my first impulse to draw it on an actual napkin at work.

Archive: Captain Gore

2007-04-15T02:16:00.000-05:00

He's a hero.

Background Image

2007-04-11T03:34:00.000-05:00

This is a full size, watermark image of the robot tree for use as a background on this blog.

BTW, does anyone know how to make a background iamge for a blog? I can't seem to find any others that do so, though I swear I have seen it before.

Archive: Library

2007-04-11T03:17:00.000-05:00

OU students know the library is the best place to stone-cold nap, but only if you get there first.

The original, more-abstract, dialogue free version is below. Someone told me the joke wasn't apparent, so i changed it for the paper

Archive: Down on the corner

2007-04-11T03:14:00.000-05:00

Our town has a little are called campus corner, where small business Darwinism is rapidly proving that bars and sandwich delivery places are the fittest creatures in this economical niche.

Archive: Supernatural

2007-04-11T03:13:00.000-05:00

I really did sleep through the superbowl, but it was

a nap, not a sleep-in. I also really own Spidey pjs

Archive: Jackson Puzzle

2007-04-11T03:11:00.000-05:00

A cartoon which never ran. I simply needed to get this nerdy joke out.

Archive: DEGREES OF HONOR

2007-04-11T03:08:00.000-05:00

I would totally play this game. Incidentally, Jackie pointed out that the guy must be left handed to be playing the Wii like that. Guess I'll have to remember that for continuity.

Archive: Scary Winter Weather

2007-04-11T03:05:00.000-05:00

The first cartoon of '07! I start off with a bang, artwise, and naturally deteriorate over the course of the semester.