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!

Bandits!

I had three things in mind this weekend as I began this post. One: I wanted to draw some hands being expressive. Two: I wanted to do multiple characters in tough poses overlapping as much as I could without making it look like a mosh pit. And three: draw something that represented the severe rub I feel every time we begin to organize our taxes. So to that, I give you a small band of space bandits about to score some spoils!

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!

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.

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!