brig's cartoonooz & stuff ...

May 18, 2009

Ya just can't keep a good squid down!

Squid Row just found a new home... www.squidrowcomics.com ! You can still find Squid over at webcomicsnation.com to be sure... but homebase (the underwater lair) is now on the aforementioned site.

The site went up yesterday, and it includes a blog for the strip... and soon, it will offer merchandise. You can expect to see the site change as I get more comfortable with Wordpress. But for right now I am focused on getting a strip archive up and putting tags on each toon so it can be found if with a bit more ease. This means renaming files... oh my!

So keep your head underwater (I mean keep reading squid)!

This weekend Squid Row got a boost... thanks to the local paper! ...and thanks to the writer that wrote the article, Marc Cabrera... (Thanks Mr. Lost Boy!)

duck in at...

http://www.montereyherald.com/entertainment/ci_12337901?source=email

Yes we cartoonists share our holiday with Cinco De Mayo (hold the pickles)... Not a bad thing, really. Cartoonists and tequila go together, sorta (it depends on whether or not we're on a deadline!)...

Personally, I plan on hugging people. I've got my button... "Hug me, It's National Cartoonists Day!" I will hug and be hugged. Yes, I am out to educate... because, honestly, how many people KNOW it's NCD?.... (sounds like an affliction... "I have NCD, I go to meetings".... or something little kids have if they can't pay attention in school... ("Little Johnny has NCD... he can't stop drawing cartoons during math.") There's medication for that.

So all of you out there, help celebrate National Cartoonists Day by doing the following:

Draw a circle, take a shot....
add a face, take a shot...
draw in some hair, take a shot...
(you get the idea).

Happy National Cartoonists Day.
(I expect A LOT of email well-wishing, people).

May 2, 2009

When I was a kid, we moved around a lot. Dad was in the military and so we would stay for awhile in one place, and then a year or so later, we'd pick up and move. So it seems only natural that I would be accustomed to discombobulation.

Here's the new office.

So I have new office happiness.... which is very much like the new room happiness I experienced as a kid... you get to decorate your space any way you wanted to... and by moving stuff around, it made things fresh, new and exciting.

April 27th, 2009

Have you been to gocomics.com? Then you have seen the future... comic strip animated shorts.

I am conflicted people. As a cartoonist, I love my flat cartoon medium... I use a brush pen and bristol board, still. And although I use newer technology... like photoshop and a wacom pad, I still consider my methods a bit old-school. Call me bananas, but I love pilfering through the printed matter of Calvin and Hobbes, Zits, and others.... and I rather enjoy reading the daily paper with it's funnies.... I know, call me old-fashioned and behind the times. Is it that our attendion spans are too weak to actually READ a cartoon strip? Will 2-D flat cartoons go by the wayside (like newsapers...) in favor of an animated listen-to-the-words-rather-than-read-them format? Will we soon be buying cd's with animated toon strips?

Okay, then there's the other side... our technology has reached the point where we are able to push the limits of our medium. Transforming a somewhat static image into one that breathes and has more depth is an exciting thing, right? Web comic viewing should be more fun... more engaging.

Rebuttal... but what of the viewers input? What have we left to the viewer? When I first heard Garfield speak (when first animated) I was disappointed. It wasn't at all what I heard in my own head. I was disappointed. Now, there are voices in Pooch Cafe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbKC0iHUlp8 (see for yourself) and Cul-de-sac. What do you think?

Do you suppose, that there is room for everybody? Do you think that the newspaper industry can live side by side with the internet... or underneath it? Do you think that Non-moving cartoon strips are able to live and thrive along with the animated comics? or will they falter?

Have I just had too much coffee this morning?
(What would Watterson do?)   

April 26, 2009

Last night I attended a lecture given by local favored artist Johnny Apodaca. The crowded event took place at Sweet Elena's Cafe des artistes.... a Sand City cafe haunt known for it's delicious baked goods and Euro-style dinner parties.

Johnny moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 1972 and was immediately captivated by the spiritual aspects and amazing beauty of the area... he never left. What culminated in his residence has been a journey of artistic discovery and reverence for Monterey's colorful bohemian past. This was the focus of his lecture.

Bio

Johhny's work started with abstract expressionism, which he was schooled in. However, being inspired by the intense beauty of Big Sur, and the surrounding communities, he then moved into plein air painting. His painting of the coastal cypress and California oak, is breathtaking. As his style continued to evolve, his paintings took on more of an abstract quality. And like a circle, his painting has returned, once again, to abstract expressionism, but with his inspiration being the coast here that he so loves.

The evening was topped off with a lovely lasagna dinner, a crisp salad drizzled with a sweet balsamic and oil dressing, and a tall glass of red wine... Sweet Elena-style...  A truly bohemian evening... showcasing a truly bohemian artist.

johnny apodaca painting Big Sur

April 25th, 2009

Okay, I am not a graphic designer... but as a cartoonist in the printing world, I have to know stuff about the printing process. I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to convert some artwork that was provided to me into a CMYK ("K" by the way, stands for key) black situation... that won't print out gray. Sigh. But the web is a wonderful place! I found lots of blogs that dealt with that very issue and I was able to find a solution. My knowledge is expanding.

here's a couple links I went to:
 http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-designing-with-black

Three Men in a Tub: Eliminating Rich Black from Colored Line Art File

Anyhow... all frustration and learning aside... I've been planning my move into the new office. It'll be just down the hall from where I am now, but it will have a few new additions... a closet (YAY! I can hide stuff behind a closed door!) and a sink (huh?) and a fireplace (wha? huh?). The building used to be a railroad hotel at the turn of the last century. So the lovely fireplace and sink (my office plants will LIVE) will be a new and somewhat odd addition. I will lose my bay window which overlooked Oldtown Salinas... it was a great feature, but hey, I have got a closet, for crying out loud!!!

I've discovered a great website for all persons who like to carry a sketchbook... Danny Gregory's website http://www.dannygregory.com/

It has podcasts and photos and things to land at/on. In addition his latest book is incredible and I highly recommend it!

AILnew

No April Fools! 

April 1, 2009

Okay Squid has reached a milestone... It's Squid Row's 500th cartoon strip!

Squid500c_apr_09

For the big ol' fat 500th strip, I wanted to do something different... not just a joke... I wanted to have the gang doing something... with color and stuff. It worked out perty okay, I think... no real funny... just a "hey! look! 500!"

AND... I want to thank all my readers out there! ... if you have time, drop me an' email; I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions you have about the strip! 

March 28, 2009

April 3rd will be my LAST First Friday at #202... I'm moving The Cartoonery.

The good news is that I'm only moving 3 doors down to number 205. Same great building, same great view. The bad news is that I will need to rehang all those paintings! If you have been to my office, you know how high the paintings go on the wall. So I have come up with a solution... A SALE!

Paintings

This coming Friday... I will offer 30% off all paintings... If I don't have to get up on my office chair and rehang them, I'll be happy... too, I have a bit less wall space at the new place... So if you have a painting that you've been eye-balling... this would be the time to do it!

So, here's the info...

Friday, April 3rd, 2009.... 5 E. Gabilan St., Suite 202, Oldtown Salinas, CA... 5pm - 8pm...