TaylorCon 2007

Well we have returned from the family reunion weekend. By "we" I mean my wife and I, and by "returned" I mean survived. The most exciting parts went like this.

Friday - Arrived in Boise, ID at 10pm to discover that our luggage had been held in Seattle for "additional screening" by the stupid TSA, but due to my father's speaking engagement at the reunion, we have to leave the airport. After an hour of family history slides, we returned to retrieve the bags. "Why were the bags held for inspection?" I inquired of the nice baggage service lady. "Oh, they just do that sometimes if there's anything in the bag they can't recognize, like a ball of tin foil or something." Apparently, travelling with wads of foil is more common than one would think. In bed by midnight.

Saturday - Woke up at 6:15am so we could be fed and on the road by 8:15. We spent 12 hours touring various spots in and around Weiser, Idaho relevant to family history. One of these spots included the old Rock Creek ranch where we walked 1/4 mile through brambles and thistles to the ranch site. An unfortunate communication gap occurred which hid this hike from our knowledge until it was too late to pack actual shoes. Hence, my wife and I walked in sandals. After the trek, it was decided that pizza should ordered in time for us to enjoy it upon our return to Boise.

The rest of the relatives returned while my father, great Uncle Richard, Becky and I took care of a few more errands before getting back on the road to Boise. It was, therefore, 9pm when we arrived exhausted, dirty, thorn-ridden, and hungry to five remaining pieces of cold Hawaiian Delight and eighteen relatives eagerly awaiting more of the slideshow presentation. In bed by 11:30.

Sunday - We meandered to consciousness around 9:30am and missed the continental breakfast, but received the keys to my dad's rented Dodge Magnum so we could go find food. Driving the Magnum made me think I should be representin' or at least beckoning for people to holla.

The dessert for this weekend? We got to the ticket counter at the airport and found out our flight was over-booked, but if we volunteered to be bumped then we would get two free tickets anywhere Alaska or Horizon flies. Since, starting in October that includes Hawaii, we volunteered, got bumped, and received our tickets and two vouchers to buy food and snacks while we waited for our flight. We spend one voucher on food and blew the other on magazines and candy, returning to Seattle in the front row of seats on the jet.

So, to sum up, there is a God.

Can't wait for TaylorCon '08.

Color!

There are a couple of points to get to today in my rambling and megalomaniacal external monologue. Number one is the comics. It's my nature to feel I owe my readership an explanation whenever I have to shelve the comic that I was promoting for so long. My illustration gig has extended itself to another 20 pictures which will keep me pretty well under ground until mid July. I'll try to update as often as possible, but things'll be pretty irregular until then.

Topic two explains the title of this post: I am still engaged in a Kung-fu-esque stand-off with my new tablet. It has the skills I require to achieve my goals, but refuses to dispense them at my request. "Once you can snatch the pixels from my surface," it offers, "then you will be ready to leave." Through my trials and online tutorials, I have so far produced this work in progress:

It's simple, but then again I have only just begun my journey to enlightenment. And thanks to the advent of blogging and mainstream egocentrism, I can detail this tumultuous process step-by-step for all the person who wants to read it.

Groove ahn.

Blogging on blogging

So, I tell myself to blog more, however I keep losing momentum. I have a few obstacles in the way, the first being that I tend to blog during lunch and it is nearly impossible to predict whether I'll have time to finish a thought. However, I really shouldn't let that stop me since blogs often end abruptly. My second hurdle is not knowing if anyone reads what I write. This fear has been disproven as well (hi Jason). Perhaps it is the medium that gives me pause. Sometimes the process of writing is self-fulfilling, but with blogging, I don't get the same satisfaction I would out of a creative or comedic piece. The internal monologue style lacks a certain luster for both the reader and writer. Thus, my blogs can feel like an extended mumbling session where I'm the only person who knows what's happening, which is creepy. Hence, there can be only one conclusion: I blog when I have something to blog about. And given what I've written so far, it should be clear what that is. The end.

Substitutiary Locomotion

Edit: The comic is finally up, and what a ride it was. You'll notice there are no backgrounds, but maybe I'll put those in at a later date. Still fiddling with how much I can abuse the abilities of the Wacom and still complete the strip in a timely manner. We'll see what we end up with.

Later,
Nate

I was unable to get the comic up last night or this morning due to bill-paying illustration work, so here's a little something to tide you over until my lunch break. This is my work space at my job, specially labeled for your elucidation. Hope you get at least one laugh from it.

Click for larger view.

Groove on.

Better Nate Than Lever

This morning's comic is brought to you by the the letters W and Y. The W is for Wacom because this latest strip was inked and colored thereupon. Is "thereupon" a word? With a Wacom, I can make it one. Such is its power. The Y is for "y did it tak u so long?" in the parlance of our time. The answer to that is: because using a Wacom ain't like dusting crops, boy.

Lazy artists, like me, who don't want to teach their drawing hand and arm to use their full range of motion often cheat by turning the sketchbook or other drawing surface until the line they wish to make is aligned with the easiest motion for their arm to make. While I call it "cheating," it's so widely used that it isn't really regarded as such. However, when one is learning to use a tablet, this practice begins to harm rather than help.

Drawing a downward line (especially one skewing to the right) is like performing tantric yoga. Muscles scream and begin to spasm as my body contorts into previously unknown positions. It's good times, but they'll get better. They will, or they will be replaced.

In other news, I can't do a Google search for something as simple as "peanut casings" without coming across 9 blogs about how great The Name of the Wind is. The book is doing well indeed.

Check ya later.

Summer Update

Hello Gentle Readers,

I know I haven't posted since April (as a good friend reminded me last night), so I thought now would be a good time to fill you in on what's going on. First off, in about an hour, I'm playing in a $200 poker event on Ulitimate Bet. I tried to warm up with a few sit-and-goes (sngs) but that didn't go so well. However, I should know better than to play ultra turbos to prepare for long events. So wish me retroactive luck. Also, the most recent draft of my screenplay is complete and currently in the hands of 3 of my 5 readers. Nate and Pat, your's are going in the mail next week. Also last week my father successfully went through surgery and is now home feeling better. So, all in all, all is well in King-sheep's world. Last night I had the pleasure of attending a summer meeting of the scotch malt whiskey society of the Palouse. It was lots of drink, eat, laugh finished off with a little outdoor poker. When the evening came to a close, I had the opportunity to drink some Chinese whiskey. It came in this blue porcelain bottle that made it look like an ancient artifact. We pulled the top and gave it a whiff. The owner of the bottle leaned back. It smelled like pig shit. But of course I tasted it anyway. It was like drinking wood alcohol with a fish oil aftertaste. Nasty. So I guess the lesson of the day is, beware of foul smelling whiskey in pretty bottles.

Laters,

KS

Huzzah for Closure!

Yes, I've finally finished the all-consuming illustration job! I say "all-consuming" because it's actually eaten years off the end of my life, though the fault was ultimately my own. When one foolishly quotes a production schedule of 10 per week (with 3-4 hours per drawing), and forgets that he already works 40 hours at a regular job, he ends up with extra bags under his eyes.

Just to give you an idea, here are a couple examples of what I've been doing.

How's that for fun? It's been an incredible learning experience, and a real joy (who doesn't like drawing pirates?).

Thus, I feel refreshed and invigorated, and will have a Coming Distractions for you all later today!

Groove on.