Throwing Shade

 

Nobody called me out on my inadequacies like my own OCs.

The truth is that I actually have ELEVEN pages done as of this writing!

I am posting "An Unkindness" publicly over at The Duck Webcomics just about every 3 days or so.

Mind you, I premiere them at My Patreon first, as soon as they're done. I'm building a decent buffer so far.

I am initializing this project as an exercise in artistic growth from scratch. I am adding new elements to my methods every ten pages or so. Just small details and tricks at first, but hopefully, by the time I hit 100 pages (knock wood), there will be a visible trail of improvement that can be charted.

Content Warning

 Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to crap all over anyone's creativity or muse, but WHY do so many modern webcomickers insist on making comics - particularly fancomics of Corporate IPs and pop culture staples - that are all about trauma and abuse and PTSD and whatnot?

Like, so often recently, I see so many makers of comics wringing their hands and salivating with rock-hard boners just waiting for some specific family-friendly IP to fall into the public domain just so they can use them to make some "DARK", violent and/or bloody story about child abuse, self-abuse, gender dysmorphia, gay sex, alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse or suicide. Or all of the above.

I'd just like to know - what does this help?

If it's about working out the creator's own personal issues, that's fine. I can relate to that, sorta, but why does it have to be filtered through, say, Transformers (who don't have flesh, 'blood' actual genders or even proper sexualities or childhoods? Or Betty Boop or Mickey Mouse or the Smurfs or the Rugrats or whatever? If such traumatic and tragic subject matter has happened to you and you just hafta get it out on The Page, why not just draw YOU? Or an OC stand-in? Why's it so important to express your tragic experiences via some beloved kid-friendly character whose adventures had nothing to do with such trauma?

Do you believe your audience would "feel it" more if it were happening to some kiddie cartoon cinnamon roll? Does the blood-letting and soul-breaking abuse "hit harder" if it happens to a Muppet Baby or a cartoon sidekick? Or is "Put Public Domain Kiddie Character into a Dark Adult Situation" just the hot new trendy bandwagon that everyone's jumping on in order to be taken "seriously" as a creator?

Whatever it is - while I cannot and do not speak for every consumer of webcomics, just as a reader who's been into webcomics since the beginning and a pop culture fan for going on half a century - I can honestly say that this sort of thing isn't as "hard-hitting and impactful" as you may think it is. Most time it just comes off as shock-and-schlock, edgelordy bullshit that comes across as a transparent attempt at seeming "deep".

The HellKnight

 

The HellKnight.

A character that I have redesigned and reworked so many times over the last two decades that I should claim him on my tax forms as a dependent.

He's been an actual knight, a superhero, a supervillain, a codename for a spy...

Now, he's just HERE. This design, like many before it is not permanent and someday, SOME. DAY. I will find a permanent place for this character in my various lores.

Zilla

 A little scribble of Zilla (of The Ravens) done to pass the time while the world spins into oblivion.

Mainly a test to see if Blogspot even takes Procreate record vids.

Still chugging along on the webcomic itself. Currently working on page 6. I am uploading them to My Patreon as soon as they are done and I've set up a page on The Duck Webcomics to debut them to the public in February. I'm thinking thrice weekly for the first week and possibly twice a week afterward.

Buffer

 For once, I am trying to build a buffer BEFORE I release a comic!

I have finished page 5 of 'An Unkindness' and am starting page 6! I am going to complete 20 pages before I begin releasing it anywhere other than my Patreon.

An Unkindness

 I've finished one! Okay, TWO, actually.

Firstly, if I didn't specify in that last post, I have named this comic "An Unkindness" - as in "Of Ravens".

I would have simply called it "An Unkindness of Ravens", but

A) That's apparently a pretty famous book, I've recently found out. 

and

B) The abbreviated title sounds more... I dunno, "Artsy"? I've noticed that a lot of modern webcomics either go that semi-enigmatic route of having a two word title that sounds like either half a sentence, or they go the wannabe modern manga/anime route and make the title of their comic a whole-ass paragraph! I have opted for the former, as the latter pisses me off for some as-yet unquantified reason. So, "An Unkindness" it is.

The script for the first strip is admittedly recycled from one of my previous comics. TWICE, as I remixed that page for a second try with the same comic but with slightly different designs. Long story.

Here we have "The Ravens" (GET IT?!)

Dez Dante, Bug, Jinx, Jellybean and Zilla.

Many of these fine weirdos are also recycled from an earlier attempt at a webcomic. I'll keep usin' 'em til I get it RIGHT, dammit! Their hearse is called "The Pterodactyl". I'd always wanted my own hearse when I was growing up. A combo of my short-lived Goth Phase, My love of the Ecto-1 and my love of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The second page illustrates the perils of starting over in an unfamiliar place with limited funds... or something.

I'm still not quite satisfied with the greyscale look, but the entire point of this comic is to experiment with different methods and/or tools with each page and sort of show my learning curve with the supplies I have.

These comics will be posted on My Patreon first and later, I'll flip a coin or something regarding where to post them publicly - ComicFury or TheDuckWebcomics or some available third option.

 

Sequential Comics

 I promised myself that I would stave off the sequential comics this year - or at least for the first third of it.

Another New Year's Resolution down the drain. I got an idea a day or so ago and it's been buzzing in my noodle since. If I don't at least TRY to run with it, it might affect me negatively. So...

This is just the prototype image for the first prospective page. I have recycled a few characters from another older comic of mine (that went nowhere.)

These characters were originally vampires, but they ran afoul of the goddess, Tiamat, and got burnt to a crisp. (Not to) long story. Anyway, I remixed them and I think I will try to use them again. This time, they're all (mostly) human but they're still.... not quite normal.

We'll see where this goes down the road.

Art vs. Artist 2025

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Two Thousand Two Dozen and Two - plus seven days

 Safari Sogoodi, yeah.

I am still getting the art mojo working in what seems to be the slowest possible way, but at least I'm doing SOMEthing!

Another Velmona shot:

A fair bit of notecard art:

And I've even brainstormed a comic or two, even though I've told myself that I'm going to swear off sequential art and comics.

I just can't help myself.

I've gone back to my old exercises that I used to do to combat art block, like writing haiku:

"Carrion birds feast

The Phoenix burns. Turns to ash.

Eggs bring life anew."

and those little wannabe two sentence horror stories I used to do back in 2022 - 2023.

Not a bad first week of the new year, artistically speaking. Hopefully I can ramp things up with tutorials and digital art practice.

:

Velmona

My first pic of 2026:

A quickie digital scribble of Velmona, a Velma Dinkley/Venom mash-up. 

I haven't drawn this fan-character in over 3 years. I'd just dug out the folder with the original pics earlier and now, I guess I'll be bringing her back in 2026.

Some of the old pics:

I will probably be resurrecting a fair few of my old properties this year. It's definitely time to restructure my artistic output.

2026

 Happy New Year, y'all!!

Let's kick this thing into gear for 2026!

Starting today, I will endeavor to use this thing for posting mostly my hand-drawn stuff. My notecard art and whatever old arts I've done that I have inked and/or colored by hand. Also, I guess I have to post my NSFW stuff here, as most other social media platforms run by corporate overlords and oligarchs seem to be cracking down on agency, free thought and any art that isn't "Family Friendly".

I'll be posting my thoughts, but I will take care to avoid the Cult of Politics or any deep, honest opinions regarding the world we live in. 

The closest thing I have to a New Year's Resolution this year is "It's All About The Art".

The Final Countdown

 A it under 36 hours left in the year and I am still laboring under the end-of-(horrible)-year good vibes. I'm getting some scribbling done. I don't know what 2026 will bring and Caw'thulhu knows that I am trying not to be too cynical, despite past experience.

I don't have much in the way of a prepared New Year's Resolution.

Last year, I resolved to draw more gratuitous nudity in my comics and such. To a small degree, I've kept that resolution. I could renew it, I suppose. Really go whole-hog on the T&A (& D & V, et cetera) this year Maybe finally get the smut-addled internet to notice ANYTHING I do, but that feels like "cheating", y'know? The same resolution twice in a row?

I could resolve to "get better", but that also feels kind of pedestrian. Besides, self improvement resolutions rarely work out - especially for creative types, as we are mostly self-destructive at our core. Deep down, we secretly enjoy it. it tends to fuel our creativity.

I would NEVER resolve to cut down on the coffee! 

Perhaps I should truly lean into divesting myself of my pathological habit of trying to so sequential comics? I mean, I have taken the last bit of November and almost ALL of December off of continuing the comics I had running and while I haven't been "satisfied" with the break, I do feel a bit lighter. I feel that no one was really paying attention to those comics anyway and I was simply continuing them out of habit. Auto-pilot.

While my non sequential art in the last month hasn't exactly gone over like gangbusters I do feel that I have been 'seen' more. Hell, over on BlueSky, I whipped out an old pic I did like a DECADE ago - a fanart of a fanart - a picture of SLB's sexed-up version of Dexter from Dexter's Lab's sister, DeeDee and her two bff's, Leeli and Mimi, all buxom and wearing the catsuits he put them in. I think they were meant to be spies? i'll have to dig up his old series... anyway, that simple pen scribble has gotten more likes and whatnot in the last few days than a lot of my long-running comics have gotten over on places like CF and The Duck.

Not even one of my better works by a longshot and honestly it only fuels my cynicism regarding how The Internet responds to tits, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I'm still getting likes at 3 am for this pic.

So yeah, I guess I gotta draw more smut in 2026... which makes me a liar for what I just said a few paragraphs ago.

I guess my New Year's Resolution is indeed gonna be the same as last year.

Season's Beatings!!

 Merry Christmas, my little birds!

Here's a shot of prettymuch the only X-Mas themed pics I've done this year:

First up is a notecard art I did about a week or so ago. I wonder if these guys would be the Modern Holiday Trinity? Ol' Saint Nick, The Grinch and The Krampus - and they ain't looking too jolly! Somebody's been naughty this year (*coughthepresidentcough*) and their gonna get coal shoved so far up their stocking, they'll be crapping diamonds until Valentine's Day!

Next up is Mrs. Claus - as a D&D style warrior woman!

I like this concept. As is my wont, I am already formulating sequential art stories in my head. I think I'm going to continue tweaking this concept and I may have a short story done by next Christmas.

I wish the best for you all and as I say every end-of-the-year (in vain), "I hope The New Year treats us all better than this one did!"