Rustbucket & Rose: Episode 2

I had some time to stare at the first strip for a while as I planned out the next strip. When I was thinking through the design initially for RustBucket, I knew I wanted to make him relatably humanoid. One for clarity and two for being able to really hit emotions we recognize. So I went for a retro robot, and like what happens to all of us, I ripped off some of my favorite robots and had to return to the drawing board. Fortunately, as much as I hate this, it’s also a great reminder how easy it is to slip up.

I adjusted his chest to have a grill a’la TractorBot, and legs like Submarine. Gave him a coat of paint and overall I think he’s a lot more fun. I won’t say he’s the most innovative thing I have ever thought up, but he works for the character I have in mind, and that’s all I want. Dave and I came up with some new hooks yesterday for him too that should really push him in some cool direction. I’m gonna hit the first panel again this week so it’s consistent. So glad I work digital some days!

Nuts and Bolts

I’m not much of a handy man…and it’s all my fault. My dad has been involved with hardware and remodeling his entire life. He never ceases to amaze me with his work and his attention to detail. He mixes cases of paint by eye, constructed a 20×20 barn without using a single nail and has rejuvenated countless homes. Yet when I was growing up my head was buried in cartoons and comics.

I was reminded of this yet again as my wife and I battled a bathroom cabinet for 5 1/2 hours this weekend. In my defense, there was a bow in the drywall which didn’t want to play nice with metal rails. Somehow we found a way to laugh about it as we were entangled around the toilet all afternoon. It’s all about the adventure right?

I figured the best way to cap off the weekend was with a drooling grumpy robot. You can’t ever have enough of those in your life.

Atmosphere: Episode 1

I would love to say the strip above flowed effortlessly from my fingertips. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as I found myself fighting for every pixel. There was an abundance of hair pulling, a collapse of confidence, and some swearing tossed in for good measure. I even considered throwing in the towel all together but I knew Greg would never let me live it down.

Drawing cartoons for a living can be a bizarre journey. Some days are smooth sailing while others feel like you’ve never sharpened a pencil in your life. And yet clarity can crawl out from the strangest of places. In my case, after hours and hours, I found solace in a single shade of purple (panel two, inside the helmet). That one silly hue turned into the smallest grain of confidence to get through the image. I guess the moral of the story is there’s always a solution buried somewhere if we’re willing to torture ourselves enough to find it! Ha!

Atmosphere collects several ideas Greg and I have talked about for awhile. We’ve been asked about [echoes] and we promise it has a place in the lineup. In many respects, Atmosphere provides a bit of backstory for the larger adventure. We plan to keep the comics updated every Wednesday or so, as long as life permits. Here’s to hoping the next strip goes a bit easier! Onward!

Hittin’it Old School!

Well it’s been busy getting back to work, hitting the ground running and trying not to trip! Things are going pretty well, even though we nearly killed ourselves re-skinning the site, I feel pretty refreshed and am excited to get back to a normal schedule. I haven’t had too much time to fill the moleskin these days though. That’s one thing I will find a way to squeeze back into life. I picked it up this morning and was re-inspired to hit the ink again and see what not having “undo” can unleash! I’m back to being scared.

On another note, I’m about to submit this snapshot I took this weekend of our dear friend Thorndyke for the contest! Without any other postings of him on the flickr site, I think I’m gonna win! Who’s gonna stop me? Let’s see ‘em!

Thorndyke Photo Contest!

We hope you guys have had a chance to peruse the site and check out all the new nooks and crannies. Over in the updated Extras page, we have our first paper toy, Thorndyke. He’s your typical maniacally motivated desk mate dead set on eating the pens and post-it pads from your desk…so when they go missing, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

As a little incentive to see just how crafty all you CreatureBoxers are out there, we wanted to throw out a little contest. We want to see just where in the world our boy Thorndyke can end up. If you have the gumption to build yourself your own personal Thorndyke, take a picture of him in the craziest place you can think of and upload it to our Throndyke Flickr page (if you don’t have an account and want to play, go to the Flickr main page and set up an account).

On February 28th, 2010 we’re gonna narrow the submission to our favorite 5 photos and post them up on the site for everyone to take one last gander at. We’ll have a vote, we’ll all pick the best together family style. And there will be prizes, oh yes.

Prizes

1st place receives an original drawing by both Dave and I for your refrigerator.

2nd place receives 2 mini prints from the CreatureBox archives.

3rd place will receive a signed copy of 2009’s sold out Palindrone Robot Supply book from our personal stash.

Sound good? Get them scissors out and get crackin’! And no eating the glue guys.