Rustbucket & Rose: Episode 3

These are not easy. Frick! Trying to knock a Sunday strip out in the equivalent of a day’s work is nearly impossible. More like 2 days…how did the old school guys pull this stuff off.

Well, Rose has gotten down to business. Stay tuned for more!

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!

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!

RustBucket & Rose: Episode 1

RustBucket & Rose has been banging around inside my head for going on 8 months now. It’s one of those match ups that just creates itself. I had a lot of fun coming up with all the possible shenanigans these two could get into, and even some back story. But when it came to putting a face to them…well, my skills as a character designer really came into question. But with a little perseverance and a self-imposed deadline, they came through. So here they are in their comic debut: RustBucket & Rose!