Boog wears braces, but I keep shifting the brackets, lol. I had them low at first, then I moved them up to the gums. Actually, they’re supposed to be in the center of each tooth, which is where I’m going to leave them. Glad you like the kitty circles, Jande!
I shall bring all my candies to Claustria…I shall bring all my candies to Claustria. Wait, what just happened there, ooh look at that last panel….I shall bring all my candies to Claustria……..
Ok, Mark, you must be getting sick of me praising you, but I usually don’t comment unless I have something I want to point out so I’m not just an endless stream of praise.
In an age where elaborate art is achieved with the software of choice, you make it look easy (which is definitely not easy…if that makes sense) by doing it all by hand. I’m going out on a limb by assuming you do it by hand and aren’t spending hours tweaking everything in Photoshop.
The second panel, with it’s mesmerizing pattern, is so pleasing to look at and engrossing because of the consistency of your design work. The amount of skill it requires to ink that by hand might be lost on digital only inkers. Coloring it so that it doesn’t lose its effect is a tough one, too. A little too much of something and it just becomes distracting. You make it work without a reader even realizing that it’s a pretty complex trick you pulled off.
If I were to draw that many kitties …. if I were to draw that many Claremonts (a character I’ve drawn thousands of times) … I can tell you now that they would wobble in shape and size. When I was animating, a lot of paper-flipping was required.
Sorry for the long post. I’ve read several comics drawn by animators that have a “Warner Bros” feel or a “Hanna/Barbera” feel. You brilliantly have a unique “Mark” feel that somehow belongs aside animation comparisons. I’m compelled to point it out from time to time.
Stephen, I got about halfway through inking those cats and thought “what have I got myself into this time?” The concept and doodle stage was a breeze, but then I had to execute the idea. It always seems so much easier until the ink hits the paper.
Yes, I do sketch, draw and ink my work on paper. I will adjust things slightly in Photoshop, but those are small tweaks, mostly just to clear things up. I could do it all digitally but I choose to do it this way, if only because I want to leave something physical behind, plus I love the connection I get with the materials when I’m sketching or pushing ink around.
As for the color of this strip, I can’t tell you how many times I switched and adjusted the background colors to find that combination. That’s one thing I love about digital, these things can be changed at whim, so it really helps.
Animation has stood me in good stead in terms of draftmanship and keeping things in proportion. I’m a firm believer in sketching everything out really rough, and then refining that to a tighter sketch before transferring it to the final art. The tools are really secondary to the desire to constantly improve your draftsmanship. There are no shortcuts.
Seeing how I respect you so much, both as a talented creator and as a man of calibre, your comment is graciously and humbly accepted. I enjoy your work and as a sign of how potent it is, I’m hardly ever at a loss to find something to say about it. It’s a testament to your wit and imagination that you can produce such original observations about life the way you do.
I’ll keep it up if you do, Mark 🙂 I really enjoyed hearing your process. I’ve executed many ideas in the past that had to be put aside so that I could carry it out over the course of the week (thinking, I guess this’ll be a Sunday comic). Yes, Photoshop has become my giant bottle of White Out. I look at old, old strips and some have more White Out than ink.
Are you familiar with the Disney artist Mary Blair? She was a colorist’s colorist. Your process (and results) remind me of her when it comes to color, only she went crazy with paint and paper cut outs (not literally, of course; she produced remarkable pieces). I think she would’ve loved the pattern of your cats with their tails intersecting.
I love Mary Blair! I’ve held many of her color concept sketches for Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland in my hands, and they are truly beautiful. I don’t know much about her process, but I agree with you, her colors sparkle!
Reiterating StBeals Mark, great job on the cats. I have trouble getting my characters head & body shapes the same/similar each time.
See this is why I’m a dog person
NEVER TRUST CATS, NEVER TRUST CATS, NEVER TRUST CATS…
Please excuse me while I go & get the last of my Carob Doggy Chocs for the cat next door. MUST OBEY THE KITTY, MUST OBEY THE KITTY…
The force is strong with her. 🙂
Definitely something on the Dark Side.
Love the cat circles. Pretty Cool! Uh.. Mesmerizing m in fact! :`)
btw, what are the red dots on the young’un’s teeth? Some kind of braces?
Boog wears braces, but I keep shifting the brackets, lol. I had them low at first, then I moved them up to the gums. Actually, they’re supposed to be in the center of each tooth, which is where I’m going to leave them. Glad you like the kitty circles, Jande!
Great idea! I could use some of those cats. I keep remembering all the times I had to struggle for the last beer in the fridge. 8)
Are you sure you want 55 cats in your house, Pensador? That’s a lot of kitty litter!
must read Zombie Boy….must read Zombie Boy…
Heh, heh. Fiendish but effective.
OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY
It doesn’t take much effort with Boog.
I shall bring all my candies to Claustria…I shall bring all my candies to Claustria. Wait, what just happened there, ooh look at that last panel….I shall bring all my candies to Claustria……..
Haha, Claustria has her own kind of mesmerizing charm. I’m sure she would appreciate those candles, Todd!
Eat it fast before the cats attack
Too late, he’s already in catatonia.
I hope this doesn’t spiral out of control, mind control, that is.
I just wonder what would happen if those cats turned around and went the opposite direction. Would she volunteer to give the candy back?
Now that looks wicked! 😀
Wicked, yes, but it has a 99% success rate.
Execute Order 66… wait what?!? It must be the browser I’m using… lol
Yea, must be. Unless your order was to bring more candy…
Stay back pretty kitties!
Takes pussy-footin’ to a whole new level!
Very cool visual! I was almost put in a trance! 🙂
Not only can they steal your breath while you sleep, you better keep a close eye on your wallet, too…
Wow, so cats can be useful.
When they feel so inclined to grant us permission to accept their usefulness, yes they can!
Luckily it was just smarties and not a full size bar.
Boog ate all the best candy on his way home from Trick or Treating.
Must hand over coffee…..must hand over coffee….must…wait…hells no! 🙂
Hypnosis has its limits! I’m with you, Loki-Lou!
Ok, Mark, you must be getting sick of me praising you, but I usually don’t comment unless I have something I want to point out so I’m not just an endless stream of praise.
In an age where elaborate art is achieved with the software of choice, you make it look easy (which is definitely not easy…if that makes sense) by doing it all by hand. I’m going out on a limb by assuming you do it by hand and aren’t spending hours tweaking everything in Photoshop.
The second panel, with it’s mesmerizing pattern, is so pleasing to look at and engrossing because of the consistency of your design work. The amount of skill it requires to ink that by hand might be lost on digital only inkers. Coloring it so that it doesn’t lose its effect is a tough one, too. A little too much of something and it just becomes distracting. You make it work without a reader even realizing that it’s a pretty complex trick you pulled off.
If I were to draw that many kitties …. if I were to draw that many Claremonts (a character I’ve drawn thousands of times) … I can tell you now that they would wobble in shape and size. When I was animating, a lot of paper-flipping was required.
Sorry for the long post. I’ve read several comics drawn by animators that have a “Warner Bros” feel or a “Hanna/Barbera” feel. You brilliantly have a unique “Mark” feel that somehow belongs aside animation comparisons. I’m compelled to point it out from time to time.
Carry on…
Stephen, I got about halfway through inking those cats and thought “what have I got myself into this time?” The concept and doodle stage was a breeze, but then I had to execute the idea. It always seems so much easier until the ink hits the paper.
Yes, I do sketch, draw and ink my work on paper. I will adjust things slightly in Photoshop, but those are small tweaks, mostly just to clear things up. I could do it all digitally but I choose to do it this way, if only because I want to leave something physical behind, plus I love the connection I get with the materials when I’m sketching or pushing ink around.
As for the color of this strip, I can’t tell you how many times I switched and adjusted the background colors to find that combination. That’s one thing I love about digital, these things can be changed at whim, so it really helps.
Animation has stood me in good stead in terms of draftmanship and keeping things in proportion. I’m a firm believer in sketching everything out really rough, and then refining that to a tighter sketch before transferring it to the final art. The tools are really secondary to the desire to constantly improve your draftsmanship. There are no shortcuts.
Seeing how I respect you so much, both as a talented creator and as a man of calibre, your comment is graciously and humbly accepted. I enjoy your work and as a sign of how potent it is, I’m hardly ever at a loss to find something to say about it. It’s a testament to your wit and imagination that you can produce such original observations about life the way you do.
Keep it coming!
Maybe I should get some cats.
They have to give you permission first.
I’ll keep it up if you do, Mark 🙂 I really enjoyed hearing your process. I’ve executed many ideas in the past that had to be put aside so that I could carry it out over the course of the week (thinking, I guess this’ll be a Sunday comic). Yes, Photoshop has become my giant bottle of White Out. I look at old, old strips and some have more White Out than ink.
Are you familiar with the Disney artist Mary Blair? She was a colorist’s colorist. Your process (and results) remind me of her when it comes to color, only she went crazy with paint and paper cut outs (not literally, of course; she produced remarkable pieces). I think she would’ve loved the pattern of your cats with their tails intersecting.
I love Mary Blair! I’ve held many of her color concept sketches for Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland in my hands, and they are truly beautiful. I don’t know much about her process, but I agree with you, her colors sparkle!
If that trick did not work it would have been a catastrophe. 🙂
No kitten.
Reiterating StBeals Mark, great job on the cats. I have trouble getting my characters head & body shapes the same/similar each time.
See this is why I’m a dog person
Even when you draw them all the time, it seems they want to keep changing shape! Keeping them consistent is really hard to do.
NEVER TRUST CATS, NEVER TRUST CATS, NEVER TRUST CATS…
Please excuse me while I go & get the last of my Carob Doggy Chocs for the cat next door. MUST OBEY THE KITTY, MUST OBEY THE KITTY…
Cats have their own agenda!
Hmm… I’ll have to try this with my own cats… there could be lots of candy in my future!
I think Claustria had to use some stronger magic than catnip to get those cats to collaborate! It’s probably a cat/witch thing…
Must… buy… catnip.
Her cats do pack a punch, don’t they?
At first you thought “I’ll simply draw Claustria surrounded by 100 cats forming a hyposis wheel!” Four hours later you thinking “I hate myself!”
That is uncannily accurate, Denny! I don’t know how Escher ever had the patience!