Hey guys! I'm currently hailing from a lakehouse in Georgia! It's pretty great over here, and a perfect way to start the summer. I'll probably be drawing some lake-themed Billies while I'm here.
This strip came about after an actual conversation I overheard in real life. I normally wouldn't draw a joke that I didn't even create, but this was too good to lose.
This strip was drawn for the U.S. Department of Interior's Newswave article! The Newswave is a newsletter dedicated to showcasing current ocean activities. I was lucky enough to be interviewed and given a page of the article, because of this older ocean-themed comic strip I made a while back. I was asked to draw another ocean-related strip, which led to this one's creation. I was a little concerned about selling out by drawing this one, even if it was for a good cause. But oceans are something I actually care about, so it came rather naturally. I had a lot of fun coloring the big reef scene in the center. Huge thanks to Lori Faeth for setting me up with the whole thing, and to Ann Tihansky, who interviewed and wrote the article! If you want to read the issue of Newswave, click here. My segment is on page 8, but you should certainly read the whole thing!
I've always found it funny how the average stereotypical coach is some fat guy who clearly can't do all the things he's telling the players to do. The punch line here came about when I learned that the adjective form of 'hypocrite' is 'hypocritical' and not 'hippocratic.'
It's been a while since we delved into Pete's running (and Billy's mentoring) career. I personally like this one.
Also, I discovered today that Billy the Pop had exactly 14441 pageviews. I thought that was kind of interesting.
Here it is! Summer! It's now officially the freest season of the year.
Today in the strip, we talk a little more about paradoxes. This is a really cool one, because it declares that all motion in the universe is nothing but a illusion. Deep, huh? It's called Zeno's paradox, so check it out here.
It's perfect timing for this strip, because it's the last post of spring! That was lucky on my part, because I draw these a long time beforehand and often can't predict when exactly it'll appear.
Well, it's the last day of school. Summer is practically upon me. But today I have to leave middle school behind forever. I'm lucky, because my school is both a middle school and high school, but I know it's going to be a lot different for me. Although a lot of middle school wasn't that enjoyable, I'm still going to miss it, and all my friends, and all the good times I had there. It's always like that with school, isn't it?
If I remember correctly, I drew most of this strip at the Smudge Comic Arts Expo this March. I say "most of" because too many people stopped by for me to get any actual work done! 'Course, it didn't help that I was letting people ask for custom drawings, which filled up most of my time.
Holy kaboly! It's already the last week of school! Where does the time go?
When I draw strips like this, it's always rather difficult because I want it to be a complex as possible. Forests aren't simple; they're a mess of all sorts of plants, trees, landforms. . . so it's hard to make it look realistic. If there's too much empty space in a panel, it bugs me and I have to fill it in with something. It isn't just with forests; it's the same for any background setting I have to do. If any space is too empty, I have to put something, usually shading, there to keep things complex. This has become sort of an OCD for me, always filling in corners or unnaturally white areas with shading. I think it makes the strip look better, but it makes the drawing phase take much longer than it used to.
If you'll look at my older strips, you'll see how simplistic and uninteresting the art was compared to today. While I kind of miss just drawing that way, I like how the strip has changed, even if it's tedious.
Got any questions for me? Leave a comment!
Poor Pete. He's unappreciated in his time.
As I said once before, I like it a lot when Billy uses more complicated words in his speeches. I feel like lesser known words are a key to comedy. These aren't necessarily super complex words, but no one would use them in normal conversation so blatantly. As such, I liked writing this strip.
Hey everyone. I'm interested in what you guys want to know about the strip. Any questions about the process, characters, drawings, anything? Feel free to write a comment and I'll be happy to answer them! Ask away!
I'm sorry if it's hard to read the words in the third panel. I wanted to make them poorly written anyway, but adding the shading around them made it unclear, so I then added a black outline just so they were readable. Of course, if you couldn't read them anyway, they're much clearer on that little easel in the fourth panel.
Hey, I would watch that movie.
I certainly feel this way. When I have a free weekend, I like to have plans made beforehand. If I think I'm gonna have a weekend free, I want to have a weekend free.
Actually though, seeing a movie isn't bad. I'd like that.
If you'll notice, Harley's hand goes out of the frame in the second panel. I always like how that looks. I've only done it a couple times, but I should start doing it more often.
Dang! How in the world is it already June? This school year has gone by so fast!
While I am looking forward to summer, I'm not ready for the heat. Yesterday it already felt like summer weather, and summer hasn't even begun yet. Global warming, man. It's crazy.
Ah, Billy. Always the rapscallion.
Next Comic, Last Comic and Home links are up here!
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