Salty 'Ham Jam

Recent Roundup

2012-02-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

Hey-now!

I've just gone and collected a few pieces from some of the blogs, webcomics, and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

I can't take the time to turn the following names into links. If you want to see more from any of these great Alabama cartoonists -- and find a whole boatload MORE Alabama cartoonists, to boot -- consult the alphabetical list HERE.

Chris Fason

Benjamin Faucher

Sean Finn

Chris Garrison

Andy Gray

Delaine Derry Green

Richard Haigler

Kablooey!!! - afterword

2012-02-09T20:49:00.000-06:00

Over at Zoo Laffs (my weekly webcomic on DummComics.com), I just finished up a 10-part story. It's called Kablooey!!!, and it stars Jakey the Jerk and Sassafras Vallee.

If you missed it, and you'd like to read it from the beginning, start HERE.

For those who DID read it -- If you'd like to see some behind-the-scenes artifacts, I put up a few bits from the "making of" on my sketch blog. Check 'em out HERE.

Samson's V-Day Surprise

2012-02-08T23:13:00.003-06:00

LΔZYDΔWG - Warped Cream

2012-01-15T20:05:00.002-06:00

Some good friends have a label called Step Pepper Records, an independent music outlet based in Birmingham. They give away tons of FREE music on their website, so check it out if you're into instrumental beats, mixtapes, and overall weirdness.

I made a quick 3D promo for the artist LΔZYDΔWG (whose album Warped Cream can be downloaded HERE for free) and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Massive Art Sale !!!!!

2012-01-04T12:41:00.001-06:00

This came from our fellow SHC Scotty White:

Hello Everyone.
I'm cleaning out the dungeon. Check out the available paintings page at www.neuroblast.webs.com. Making space for new projects. Looking forward to an art filled 2012. Sick ideas are on the horizon. Make an offer .. Sale prices good through February.

Later on,
Scotty

Did anyone else hear about Invest Comics' One and Done contest?

2011-12-30T22:55:00.002-06:00

http://investcomics.com/category/one-and-done

Someone showed me a link and I gave it a shot, even though I knew I wouldn't get any kind of payment. I figured, Screw it! If it'll help the CBLDF and the comic community, I can waste some talent coming up with ideas to send in. Besides, I haven't done anything in months.

It just occurred to me about a week ago that I never heard back from them so I figured I'd take a look at who my competition was... lo and behold, turned out I had actually won! I was never notified by accident, though.

They haven't said when the book will be published yet, regardless, here's the strip they chose... not the one I would have went with, but the one I feel was the funniest.

Inflation by ~weezel365 on deviantART

Recent Roundup

2011-12-30T17:27:00.002-06:00

Hello to All!

Derek Anderson

Tom Briscoe

Ryan Brown

Jessica Campbell

Howard Cruse

Christopher Davis

Christmas Caricatures

2011-12-16T09:48:00.001-06:00

I drew some more caricatures recently, at some Christmas parties. To see my favorites and read my full report, check out THIS POST on my sketch blog.

Neglect

2011-12-11T16:17:00.001-06:00

Sorry the jam blog is sort of languishing here, folks. I've had a lot going on lately, so I haven't been doing my occasional Recent Roundups as usual. Help keep the blog alive by posting here sometimes, will ya?

I'll try to get back on track soon. Meanwhile, today is week 2 of a long form story arc I've started, over at my weekly webcomic Zoo Laffs. So check it out!

Daumier at the BMA

2011-11-29T12:35:00.002-06:00

The Birm. Mus. of Art has an exhibition of prints by the 19th cent. French newspaper illustrator/cartoonist Honore Daumier thru the end of the month. Prob. worth seeing if you care about that sort of thing. It's mostly lithographs, a few gilotages(?) and wood engravings. There are also some copies of the original publications the work appeared in.

The show is divided into topics such as daily life, theatre, politics, feminism (Daumier makes fun of those crazy women trying to write books and smoke cigars like men), ancient history, lawyers and politicans, etc.

The work spans many years, from something like the 30s to the 70s. To some extent you can see the drawings getting much more abbreviated and rapid later in his career (I imagine he's saying to himself "They still want more of these things! Always another greasy stone! Oy vey!" (or French equiv.) He lived thru some miserable years for France (and Europe) which he represents in one case with a skeleton contentedly playing double flutes in the aftermath of one carnage or another.

Halloween Caricatures

2011-10-30T15:24:00.004-05:00

I drew some caricatures last night, at a Halloween party. To see my ten favorites and read my full report, check out THIS POST on my sketch blog.

Salty 'Ham Slam 11 - On Reflection

2011-10-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

Our eleventh official conventionette was totally nice. We were at the J again, and we had a chipper group: Frank Cummings, Tim Spinosi, Ben Faucher, Richard Haigler, and Garth Potts were there. And we welcomed first-timers Kinch Raby, II, and Andy Gray. And there was me, Chris Garrison.

Top, left to right: Andy Gray, Richard Haigler (twice), and Benjamin Faucher.

Bottom, left to right: Kinch Raby, II; Tim Spinosi, and Frank Cummings.

I heard our fellow SHC, Kirk Creel, came down with what sounds like a bad case of the pancreatic cancer. Yeesh! So, instead of working on comic jams and caricatures as we sometimes do, we hatched this collaborative card for him:

Crew cut guy by Tim Spinosi; cat that ate the canary by Kinch Raby, II; afro-frog by Andy Gray; pajama kid by Frank Cummings; sickening ducky by Chris Garrison; hooka-pillar by Ben Faucher; coy bunny by Richard Haigler.

Plus, I got some cool guest art in my sketchbook:

Fruit of the Loom Apple Guy, by Kinch Raby, II

Bobblehead Spider-Man, by Ben Faucher

Left-handed '80s rocker, by Andy Gray

As usual, we snacked on Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Chips, Ahoy! cookies. Then, Tim and Frank got into a breakdancing contest. Frank was poppin' and lockin', but Tim started doing the hopalong worm, all around the perimeter of the boardroom, in circles. He continued in this way for an hour and a half, until everyone conceded that he was the winner. For those of you who missed it, you really should have been there!

All tolled, everybody had fun at the slam, and there was much camaraderie. So join us, won't you, for the NEXT Salty 'Ham Slam! (as yet unscheduled) (official members and invited guests only, please)

Oh, and you can look back at previous slams, here:

Recent Roundup

2011-09-24T16:26:00.005-05:00

Yo, Pawty People.

Chris Rosko

Perry Sessions

Jason Shoemaker

Corey Stockley

Carolyn Wass

Hayley "Sio" Williams

Andrew Willmore

Caricatures

2011-09-13T17:11:00.001-05:00

Here are some caricatures that Ed Abernathy and I drew at a wedding reception back in June. (mine are the ones where the folks are drawn smaller)

I think I improved between then and when I did these more recent ones; hopefully I'll continue to get better if I do some more.

Honk if you love Hate!

2011-09-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

I just discovered Peter Bagge's 'Hate' comic a few days ago. How I've missed this comic for so long, I dunno. Maybe I drank too much NyQil back in the early 90's and just woke up last weekend. Maybe that'll explain it, but whatever. I really like this indie comic. The art isn't so awesome that it will make you go 'Holy Moses! I'm ca-ca-ca-crappin' my paaaaaants!!!' but it's a really unique, fun style that goes well with the " 90's, Seattle slacker " stories that grace it's pages. I love the flow of the comic and how the protagonists aren't really great people and how they're actually kinda crummy human beings, and how you don't have this 'cheesy, fluffy Full House endings' to every story. The comics that I've read thus far, are essentially about sh*tty people with sh*tty lives who are kinda hopeless. Just like real life! Anyway, after reading a few issues, I realized this is how I've wanted to do an indie comic, but I just never knew it. So hopefully, my uber-ADD and giant lazy streak won't keep me from actually cranking out a decent short story like the ones you'd find in 'Hate' pretty soon.

Let's Be Frank

2011-09-08T16:31:00.004-05:00

And here's ANOTHER new Salty 'Ham for you to welcome! Introducing Frank Patriot. (Not his real name; all the best cartoonists work under pseudonyms, right?)

Finn for the Win

2011-09-05T18:02:00.000-05:00

New Salty 'Ham, y'all! Check out Sean Finn.

Cartoony Street Art

2011-08-31T17:01:00.004-05:00

This blog, Southern Guise, seems to be showing off a lot of fun street art, from right here in our neck of the woods. Somebody please track these vandals (?) down and tell them to join the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas!

Caricatures

2011-08-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

I went down to the college campus with Ed Abernathy today, and we drew some caricatures. To see all ten of mine and read my full report, check out THIS POST on my sketch blog.

Not Forgotten art show

2011-08-26T10:35:00.005-05:00

Birmingham based non-profit organization Not Forgotten will be hosting an art show at the end of October, in an effort to raise funds to build an orphanage in a northeastern village of Peru.

Birmingham artists are invited to donate a piece of work for the show. If you donate, both you and your artwork will be showcased at their event. If sold, 100% of the proceeds will be given to Not Forgotten, and you will be sent a tax deductible receipt for your donation.

If you are interested in donating, please email Erica at birminghamartforacause[at]gmail.com. She will be thrilled to send you more specific information regarding the event, the organization, and their availability to pick-up your donation.

Salty 'Ham Slam 11

2011-08-24T13:59:00.002-05:00

The eleventh edition of the Salty 'Ham Slam has been scheduled! The exact date, time, and location are a secret, reserved for our official members and close associates only. If you haven't yet received the details by email, contact me and I will send them forthwith: cgarrison[at]bham.rr.com

More info HERE.

Zoo Laffs contests

2011-08-24T13:34:00.001-05:00

Over at my webcomic, Zoo Laffs, I'm having a couple of silly contests, to go with this pinup.

There's a caption contest and a coloring contest. Enter now, while they're still open! You could win some goofy prizes.

inkOUTBREAK

2011-08-24T13:09:00.003-05:00

I've long wanted to find a way to discover the good webcomics and weed out the dreck. And I've also been baffled as to how artists can hope to get their webcomics noticed, among the tons of webcomics that are out there now. Plus, I've wished I had an easy way to keep up with the webcomics I like, without having to keep a lot of bookmarks or get into the RSS whatever-the-heck people do. Well, I've recently discovered inkOUTBREAK.com, and it seems like it might be a pretty good solution to ALL those problems. Check it out!

If indeed inkOUTBREAK is as nifty as it would appear, here are some comics from our fellow SHC's who should maybe consider promoting themselves there: Alien Gladiators, Blondie, Hero Happy Hour, Petey & the Pack, Small World, and Teddy Bear Trauma.

Birmingham Free Press Writes on SHC's

2011-08-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

That scrappy rag, the Birmingham Free Press, is back on physical paper again, after several years of being available in an online format only. When you press a gob of silly putty against your computer screen, then carefully peel it off, you will NOT discover a reverse image on that pancake of flesh-toned, semi-solid gunk. But now that they're in print again, the Birmingham Free Press no longer has that problem.

Their recent edition, which can be found around Birmingham's Southside, features comics by our fellow SHC's Nolen Otts, Tim Rocks, and Stephen Smith. Stephen also contributes articles and illustrations.

And that's not all! The paper has a very nice article about the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas, and makes flattering mentions of Marcus Lusk, Hal Jones, Frank Cummings, Tom Briscoe, Chris Fason, Sam McDavid, Chris Rosko, Don Stewart, Carolyn Wass, John Lytle Wilson, Mark Martin, Howard Cruse, and yours truly. Here's the article now (click to enlarge) --

New Cartooneesta Comics

2011-08-14T16:18:00.006-05:00

Listen up, people! There are two self-published comic books out recently from our fellow Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas.

Mark Martin's "Gnatrat Lives!" -- available HERE . . . and . . .

Tim Rocks' Pete Moss -- available HERE
. . . where you can also read the first three pages for free.

Wanna Be a Zoo Laffs Guest Artist?

2011-07-29T14:19:00.010-05:00

It sure would help me stay caught up on my webcomic Zoo Laffs, if I could occasionally present a strip by a guest artist. Do you want to do one? Drawing comics is fun! Especially drawing funny animals and cute girls. Plus, DummComics has a great following. Your strip will be enjoyed by thousands, and we can put up some links to your stuff or whatever.

You can use my characters -- Alistair Woods, Buckley, Jakey the Jerk, Michael the Armadillo, Perry & Sherry, The Nice Pair, Alex Gander, Onion Puss, HornDog, and Horatio Hamhockefeller -- or, if you think none of them are suited to your gags, you can make up new Zoo Laffs characters.

I'd dig it if your strip carries on in the Zoo Laffs tradition of jokes about girl trouble, revolving around meeting women, maintaining relationships, or suffering breakups. But if you want to buck the trend by exploring other subjects, that's cool too. I won't reject a strip just because it doesn't deal with romantic foibles.

Before you get too into it, email me a rough sketch or scriptlet. This way, if your joke is too similar to one of mine or another guest artist, we can nix it or rework it before you spend much time on it. Email me at cgarrison[at]bham.rr.com.

Don't have an idea for a Zoo Laffs strip? Email me anyway. If I like your work, I might just give you one of mine!

Cartoon Map of Shelby County, Alabama

2011-07-27T14:19:00.003-05:00

Here's the finished version of the map I've been working on for University Graphics / Creative Concepts. ( Shelby County, Alabama ) Click to enlarge:

If you want to see more close-ups, check out THIS POST on my map blog.

Pete Moss

2011-07-22T18:08:00.005-05:00

Finished that comic I've been working on. I'm trying to get it uploaded to Ka-blam/Indyplanet so it will be at least technically available, through their print-on-demand service. I wish though I could figure out some way to fund a print run on newsprint and get it distributed to small grocery and convenience stores (where comics rightly belong.)

It's maybe not such an ideal candidate for that though, since the story turned out slightly seedier than I realized it would, or intended it to. Not sure why that surprised me, since it was pretty much there in the concept.

Anyway here's the cover (the final version does have color, just posting this since I like b&w as well.) The "worksheet" is a filler page.

Recent Roundup

2011-07-14T15:31:00.005-05:00

Hello again, Persons.

I've just gone and collected a few pieces from some of the blogs, webcomics, and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

I can't take the time to turn the following names into links. If you want to see more from any of these great Alabama cartoonists -- and find a whole boatload MORE Alabama cartoonists, to boot -- consult the alphabetical list HERE.

Sam McDavid

Heath McPherson

Mega Comics Group

Melody

Garth Potts

Kinch Raby

Tim Rocks

Ryan Brown on the job

2011-07-06T20:46:00.004-05:00

This summer's being good to us, in terms of new members for the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas. Here's another one! Say hi to Ryan Brown.

Raby! ... and I don't mean maybe.

2011-07-04T13:50:00.002-05:00

We've got us another new recruit, y'all -- Kinch Raby, II, of Hoover. Welcome, Kinch!

Turtle Tote & Friends

2011-06-29T08:37:00.006-05:00

Did a drawing for a messenger bag. Also, one for a t-shirt I recently made.

Shelby County map - line art

2011-06-27T14:51:00.002-05:00

I'm working on an ad map of Shelby County, for University Graphics / Creative Concepts. Here's some line art, inked with colored lines in Manga Studio, so that I can easily do self-lining on the roads and such.

Dillard's Doodles: New Stuff

2011-06-18T15:03:00.000-05:00

Dillard's Doodles: New Stuff: "I recently painted a cartoon map and made caricature of a beloved lizard for The Summer Reading Program at Vestavia Hills Library. The ..."

Gray Matter

2011-06-09T15:26:00.006-05:00

We have a new inductee: Andy Gray of Gardendale!

Hulk vs. PAC-MAN

Shark Fist Shamus

Party at DS Art

2011-06-05T17:43:00.002-05:00

From our fellow SHC Don Stewart:

Mark your calendars for the quarter-century bash at the DS Art Studio, Thursday, June 30th at 5 pm. That’s in downtown Homewood, Alabama, at the corner of 28th and Crescent Avenues. (Come early to beat the rush hour traffic!)

DS Art ® – The Visual Humor of Don Stewart
2805 Crescent Avenue
Birmingham, AL 35209
800-372-7864
www.dsart.com

Recent Roundup

2011-05-20T17:31:00.003-05:00

Heighdy ho!

I've just gone and collected a few pieces from some of the blogs, webcomics, and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

I can't take the time to turn the following names into links. If you want to see more from any of these great Alabama cartoonists -- and find a whole boatload MORE Alabama cartoonists, to boot -- consult the alphabetical list HERE.

Jonathan Hooks

Jonathan Hooks

jenX

jenX

Alison Marceau

Alison Marceau

Mark Martin

Mark Martin

Chris Garrison's Cartooning Workshop

2011-05-11T17:43:00.000-05:00

Calling All Cartoonists!

Forstall Art Center of Birmingham will be hosting a one-day cartooning workshop, taught by me, cartoonist Chris Garrison (creator of Zoo Laffs and founder of the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas). As you draw, I'll help you hone your basic cartooning skills: construction, line of action, silhouette, and expression. As the day progresses, I'll discuss inking, character design, appeal, flair, staging, and storytelling.

You are strongly encouraged to bring your sketchbooks and drawings with you for some informative input. Whether you want to draw superheroes, manga, or breakfast cereal mascots, this workshop will help you to become the BEST cartoonist you can be!

Ages 16 and up.
$75 gets you in, and a very nice set of supplies comes with the deal. And lunch is included!

Saturday, June 25th, 2011
10am - 3pm
at the
Forstall Art Center
(at the Palisades, in Birmingham)

For all the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas reading this: If you think I might be able to help you improve your skills, come take the workshop! Or if you're not into it, but you know somebody who might be, please tell them about it.

Here are some more samples of my work.

Free Comic Book Day

2011-05-11T14:30:00.006-05:00

Free Comic Book Day at Kingdom Comics (May 7th, 2011) went well this year. Lots of super-heroes were there:

And the promoters of the 2012 Alabama Phoenix Festival were selling tickets and T-shirts.

Also, SHC's Chris Rosko and myself had tables with a bunch of other area cartoonists -- folks who oughtta be Salty 'Hams, but haven't joined up yet: Andy Gray, James Hill, Kinch Raby, II, Lysa Shin, and ex-pat Sarah White. Other potential enlistees present were publisher Keven Gardner and writer Cam Crowder. I'll have to bug all these folks about getting on our ever growing list of Alabama talents.

a few page roughs

2011-04-29T19:11:00.004-05:00

Some pages from a project I'm collaborating on. Not sure how far we'll get, we may come to ruin on the usual shipwreck of creative differences.

Anyways, it's more or less a parody, and so far it seems to me I'm leaning a bit on the Don Simpson (Megaton Man) look (although those character proportions are fairly common, he maybe just exaggerated them to extremes.)

Alabama Phoenix Festival

2011-04-27T16:55:00.007-05:00

There's something called the Alabama Phoenix Festival coming up in 2012. I think it's being put together by the folks at Kingdom Comics, but I'm not totally sure. Here's the festival's OFFICIAL PAGE. And here's their FACEBOOK PAGE.

The official page doesn't really explain the festival, but I got this from their facebook page:

The Alabama Phoenix Festival is a fan-based convention featuring comics, science-fiction, fantasy, and much more. We will host a variety of guests, including media guests from film and television, authors, and comic book creators. In addition, there will also be gaming, art show, programming tracks, and expo hall. So come and join us on May 25-27, 2012 at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, located on Hwy 280 just south of the Colonnade.

Although it's taking place on Highway 280 in late May of 2012, the official page says the festival will actually debut on May 7th (Free Comic Book Day) of this year, somewhere in the same strip mall with Kingdom Comics. Various guests will be there, and you can read about them HERE. And that will also be your first chance to get festival memberships and T-shirts. At a special rate, even!

[edit! -- It turns out that the Alabama Phoenix Festival is NOT a Kingdom Comics production. Kingdom is just supporting it and doing the comic book track for them, like they did Imagicon. The backers of APF are Steve Charleson and Tim Stacks.]

Recent Roundup

2011-04-18T16:58:00.004-05:00

Hey hey hey.

I've just gone and collected a few pieces from some of the blogs, webcomics, and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

I can't take the time to turn the following names into links. If you want to see more from any of these great Alabama cartoonists -- and find a whole boatload MORE Alabama cartoonists, to boot -- consult the alphabetical list HERE.

Chris Fason

Chris Fason

Chris Garrison

Chris Garrison

Jamison Harper

Jamison Harper

James Hislope

James Hislope

Ye Olde Cartoonist's iNkwell of Irony (#358)

2011-04-07T18:06:00.011-05:00

My tween-age plans to buy multiple copies of Spawn #4 and resell them years later to fund my anticipated playboy lifestyle have come to naught.

The comics gold turns out to be, rather, the "art" comics I bought during the angsty, idealistic period of post-college-dropout drift. Comics I had no intention whatsoever of profiting from. Other than to rip off their ideas for my own supposed Staggering Works of Artistic Genius.

If I'm to believe the prices on Amazon, it's possible to sell early comics by Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, and a few lesser lights for obscene amounts of money (relative to what I paid for them new.) As an "unknown" seller I might have a hard go of it though, that's the one potential blot in my otherwise perfect ink line of hope.

If only my former self had ditched those silly art-hero illusions and coldly calculated that some obscure 90s cartoonists would be the belles of the ball in 10 to 15 years. And that their early work would soon be desperately sought by collectors who spurned them when the World had not yet wrapped them in the swaddling of its esteem. I could have cleaned out the old Optic Nerve store of every last "Jimmy Corrigan Issue Six" on the racks, while the mass of unseeing Birminghamsters blithely passed them by.

Of course most of what I have has lost value from its cover price. It's not even worth the hassle of Amazon, what with shipping and handling, that I can see. I don't know how some people apparently make money on there listing stuff for a few bucks. A subject for another Cartoonist's iNkwell, perhaps.

I also have some really terrible junk to get rid of. Look for it at the next meeting --- it's terrible, but it's free.

Lobotomix

2011-04-05T15:25:00.002-05:00

Here are some nifty new pieces by our fellow SHC Nolen Otts.

Pat Wachter Bowl 5

2011-04-05T13:23:00.004-05:00

Here's some new poster art, drawn by our fellow SHC's James Hislope and Tim Spinosi.

Or perhaps you'd rather view it this way:

Recent Roundup Redux

2011-04-01T16:23:00.006-05:00

Hey, all. We have so many cartooneestas now that it takes me way too long to put together a Recent Roundup post. So, welcome to the new version. Now, in each Recent Roundup, I'll just pick pieces from SOME of our fellow SHC's, instead of from as many as possible. In this way, maybe I can do them more often.

Now then.

I've just gone and collected a few pieces from some of the blogs and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

I can't take the time to turn the following names into links. If you want to see more from any of these great Alabama cartoonists -- and find a whole boatload MORE Alabama cartoonists, to boot -- consult the alphabetical list HERE.

Derek Anderson

Derek Anderson

Tom Briscoe

Tom Briscoe

Jessica Campbell

Howard Cruse

Howard Cruse

My Very Big News

2011-03-27T02:02:00.002-05:00

Wow! Starting now, I have my own weekly web comic! It's called Zoo Laffs, and it'll appear on DummComics.com (the greatest site for web comics of all). A new installment will come out every Sunday. Click HERE to see my first comic!

*note to parents: DummComics isn't always okay for the kiddies.

Hulk comics by Tim -- update

2011-03-22T17:31:00.002-05:00

Read the whole economic diatribe at sealedtrain.blogspot.com! Yeah!

Dillard's Doodles: Chicken in Charge

2011-03-16T00:39:00.001-05:00

Dillard's Doodles: Chicken in Charge: "A t-shirt design made for some folks that work at 2nd & Charles; based on a shared joke."

So I'm startin' an art blog....

2011-03-13T23:19:00.003-05:00

Finally puttin together my own art blog where I will post my cartoons, sketches and scribblings. ..
I dunno... take a look, throw me some suggestions. Just puttin it out there
Dillard's Doodles

news

2011-03-11T11:45:00.004-06:00

Came across this article recently:

-----
Comics Get Even More Mature

(AP) Jill Tyson
The comics industry has long tried to shake free of the kiddie-lit stigma, but a new Marvel Comics graphic novel promises to take that trend even further. Hulk's Way, featuring the popular green-skinned Goliath (made famous in a 1970's TV series and on the big screen in a pair of recent movie adaptations) will be an homage to Swann's Way by Marcel Proust, a volume from his classic novel In Search of Lost Time.

In the novel, "Swann's Way" refers to the character Swann's ability to navigate the treacherous waters between art and commerce. The graphic novel (a sort of long-form comic book considered more prestigious by fans) will detail the Hulk's delicate balancing act between enjoying his desert cave and warding off the attacks of a general at a nearby military base, said Marvel Comics Assistant Editor Cullen Matthews.

"The whole structure will be based on the [Proust] book," said Matthews. "There will be many details readers of Proust will recognize." For instance, Matthews said, the famous scene where Proust's narrator bites into a French pastry called a madeleine and recalls his childhood, will be mirrored by a scene where the Hulk's alter ego, Bruce Banner, bites into a Moon Pie while visiting the general's daughter and recalls the episode that gave him incredible powers.

But, unlike in the novel, Banner becomes enraged by the memory and cannot stop himself from changing into the Hulk, wrecking his girlfriend's kitchen and alarming her cat.
---

or maybe not..

Salty 'Ham Slam 10 - On Reflection

2011-02-27T21:42:00.001-06:00

Our tenth official powwow was a hoot. We were at the J again, and we had a nice little crowd:
Richard Haigler, Kirk Creel, Ben Faucher, Derek Anderson, Ed Abernathy, Tim Rocks, Perry Sessions, and Nolen Otts were there. And we welcomed first-timer Tom Briscoe. And there was me, Chris Garrison. Pretty good group!

I took advantage of the friendly atmosphere by getting in some caricature practice. I've never really been a live caricature artist. Oh, I've occasionally drawn folks from photos, taking a lot of time to study over them and try different approaches. But I've rarely ever sat in front of a person to caricature them on the spot. I think my results were okay, and I definitely enjoyed it. I'm considering doing more to hone the skill. Anyway, here are my attempts, accompanied by photos from the meeting:

Derek Anderson

Tom Briscoe

Kirk Creel

Ben Faucher

Richard Haigler

Nolen Otts

Tim Rocks (I forgot to get a picture at the Slam, so here's an old one)

Perry Sessions

Crotchety old Ed Abernathy, the seasoned caricaturist, wouldn't let me draw him! Sheesh. What a grouch. However, he entertained us all (as usual) with his brilliant ideas on how to bilk tons of cash from the general public. So I forgive him.

Ben Faucher drew me as I struggled to get it right:

I'll offer this for comparison:

And Nolen Otts offered this lovely, even angelic rendition. This is what my wife thinks I look like:

As long as I'm showcasing drawings of myself, for anyone who hasn't seen it, let me again present my favorite caricature, given to me by our fellow SHC Garth Potts, a while back:

As usual, we snacked on Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Chips, Ahoy! cookies. Unfortunately, Kirk tried to swallow the chuck key from a Makita rechargeable drill, turned purple in the face, and had to be given the Heimlich. Good job, Ben! You're totally on the ball! For those of you who missed it, you really should have been there!

Also, we discussed ideas about organizing a competitive cartooning event. More on that as it develops. (or less on it, as it doesn't)

With all the delving into caricature world, I failed to start a comic jam this time. Luckily, Derek Anderson took the initiative, and drew the first panel of this one:

Lost in Translation credits:
Page 1 -- panel 1 by Derek Anderson; panel 2 by Richard Haigler; panel 3 by Kirk Creel; panel 4 by Chris Garrison; panels 5 & 6 by Perry Sessions.
Page 2 -- panels 1 & 2 (inset) by Chris Garrison, with lots of story help from Tim Rocks.

All tolled, everybody had fun at the slam, and there were plenty of smug smiles. So join us, won't you, for the NEXT Salty 'Ham Slam! (as yet unscheduled) (official members and invited guests only, please)

Oh, and you can look back at previous slams, here:

Slam 1
Slam 2
Slam 3
Slam 4
Slam 5
Slam 6
Slam 7
Slam 8
Slam 9

Salty 'Ham Slam - Reminder

2011-02-21T09:35:00.003-06:00

Hey, SHC members, don't forget -- Our 10th Salty 'Ham Slam is coming up soon. If you didn't receive your email alerting you to the secret time and place, just tell me. And click HERE for more details.

I'm hoping we'll have a good group this time around, but that can only happen if YOU arrive with bells on. Comment below (or email me) to let us all know if you're coming. Perhaps your enthusiasm will be contagious, encouraging others to show up as well.

Read about the fun we had at SLAM 1, SLAM 2, SLAM 3, SLAM 4, SLAM 5, SLAM 6, SLAM 7, SLAM 8, and SLAM 9 -- then imagine that, only better!

Cracked looks back

2011-02-21T08:40:00.000-06:00

Mort Todd posted this news on the TCJ forums:

On a related note, just got the galleys for the two-volume history of Cracked book by Mark Arnold, "If You're Cracked, You're Happy," and it is better than it has any right to be. Along with a foreword by Steve Ditko, it also has tons of great recollections by the unusual gang of non-idiots, from the Atlas-refugees that started it in 1958 after the Atlas Comics implosion, to the young Turks who ain't so young any more.

Probably not something I could afford to buy, but I'd certainly be thrilled to see it on the racks and flip through it with my grubby fingers.

All That Raz

2011-02-19T08:32:00.004-06:00

First, a bit of background: As you may recall, I drew a couple of guest strips for the web comic 1930 Nightmare Theatre, which runs on DummComics.com. (you can revisit those strips HERE and HERE).

Rad Raz, by Jack Cusumano, is another cool feature on Dumm Comics. It runs every Saturday. It's a fun comic, with a very 80's aesthetic. Raz is a little green whatsit, who's completely despicable in both his personal life and his life as a corporate tyrant. If you haven't been following it, and you want to sorta catch up on the evolution of the strip, start by reading the pre-Dumm incarnation HERE. The comic got something of an overhaul when it started on Dumm Comics, HERE. (use the arrows underneath, to navigate forward).

Now here's my news: Jack Cusumano invited me to do a guest strip for Rad Raz! So I did, and it was posted on the site today. Check it out HERE. Again, I tried to honor the spirit of Rad Raz, while at the same time putting my own spin on it.

Gnatrat Lives !!!

2011-02-18T10:31:00.004-06:00

Holy cow, this is totally exciting news!

Our fellow SHC Mark Martin is giving thought to bringing back his cult classic character Gnatrat. He's set up a KickStarter project. If he gets $1200 in pledges, he's doing it, and he's practically already there! Go HERE to read all about it and make a pledge, like me.

Here's a wacky video about it:

FILM HAUS

2011-02-07T18:06:00.003-06:00

Hello good people,
Every Thursday for the next 4 weeks we will be presenting films at the German Club in downtown Birmingham. These are all casual, free events with short films screening before the features and a full bar for your consumption. We will begin the films around 8:30 or so. Feel free to join us!

This week (2/10) we present the amazing Czech puppet film entitled "Kooky." It is a film unlike any other; as if Jim Henson decided to do the Velveteen Rabbit.

Upcoming screenings include Terrence Malick's Badlands, Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train and Takashi Miike's The Happiness of the Katakuris.

• FSDK German Club • 2318 2nd Ave N • 205-324-5949 •

Sgt. Jack's Pals

2011-02-03T11:10:00.004-06:00

Remember The Sargent Jack Show? Did you know our fellow SHC Howard Cruse was a puppeteer on that program? He even drew a comic about the characters he created there! Read all about it HERE.

Tim Hollis on the radio again

2011-02-03T10:44:00.003-06:00

You may recall that our fellow SHC Tim Hollis was interviewed on WBHM's Tapestry a while back. Well now the public radio folks have brought him back, as a guest on a show about . . . stuff! And hey, who better to talk about managing your things than a guy who attached a two-story museum of memorabilia to the back of his house? Listen HERE.

RGB blues

2011-02-02T18:02:00.006-06:00

Working on some biz cards for my dad's shop. Trying to use the Pantone colors he specified, but my primitive Photoshop doesn't have Pantone charts included, so.. go online to find RGB conversion numbers. But then.. the printer prefers CMYK files of course, so my RGB file will potentially have some drastic color shift.

Plus I had to recreate the logo from a composite scan where the hash marks ended up not aligning..

I also have to revamp the website, since it's been sitting around in a token, scary sort of way for eons. But he's providing me the materials for renovation, should just be some simple HTML plastic surgery.

looking for portfolio hosting sites?

2011-01-30T08:09:00.008-06:00

I set up an online portfolio recently at something called mosaicglobe.com. So far it seems pretty good, their free option has ads but they're fairly unobtrusive.

I was just getting sick of trying to figure out how to set up a gallery myself, using Javascript, so I decided to use their generic but decent template.

Right now it's just got a brief intro and some "yo mama" jokes I once illustrated. I recently colored them for purposes of this gallery: http://timrocks.mosaicglobe.com

Here's one:

Actually not sure how to caption this one.. Best I could do is "Yo mama so short-- she gets air just paying her bus fare!" But that sounds really awkward to me.

I would sort of like to sell them as greeting/insult cards if I could figure out how. Maybe some sort of print-on-demand thing. Or maybe I could print up a small number and take them to your weirder stores and see if they'd carry them.

Or go door to door...

Econo-funnies

2011-01-28T08:19:00.002-06:00

Salty 'Ham Slam 10

2011-01-27T12:14:00.002-06:00

The tenth edition of the Salty 'Ham Slam has been scheduled! The exact date, time, and location are a secret, reserved for our official members and close associates only. If you haven't yet received the details by email, contact me and I will send them forthwith: cgarrison[at]bham.rr.com

More info HERE.

The Phantom - for rilz!

2011-01-27T11:15:00.005-06:00

Hey! This guy has been dressing up as The Phantom, right down to the skull ring! He's also been dressing up other folks as other characters from the Phantom comics, and taking lots of pictures. And this is evidently going on somewhere in the greater Birmingham area.

It seems like maybe he's making entire stories out the photos. They even have a white horse. I don't know if he's going to add word balloons and do a whole fumetti thing, but that would be awesome.

Check out his website HERE.

Maybe Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas should have a sister site for real live costumed heros and such. Somebody start work on that right away.

[Update: I guess we don't have to bother with that, because, as it turns out, THIS exists.]

Inking in Manga Studio

2011-01-20T11:20:00.003-06:00

You already know about my adventures in digital inking, if you've read these posts on my sketch blog: Inking in Flash, Inking in Illustrator (calligraphic brush), and Inking in Illustrator (art brushes).

Now I've been trying out Manga Studio. I have to say, I think it's pretty awesome! Here are some examples, with different settings on the brushes. With some more dabbling, I think I could figure out several more nice looking methods, too.

I definitely found it faster, easier, more fun, and more accurate to my intentions than inking in Flash or Illustrator.

I've been using the non-vector style, but it can also do vector inking, and I suspect it would be good for that, too. (But note: You only get the vector option if you pay for the expensive version of Manga Studio.)

I feel bad for not posting anything...

2011-01-12T09:39:00.005-06:00

So, here's some Hero Happy Hour throwaway stuff; it's also my first attempt at completely 100% digital comic creation w/ the Cintiq (12", not the awesome 21" that Mr. Garrison has).

Riverside Update

2011-01-11T11:55:00.003-06:00

Check my Riverside blog for another update on our progress.

My Nightmare -- Again?!

2011-01-04T21:40:00.004-06:00

Remember how I drew a guest strip for the web comic 1930 Nightmare Theatre? If not, go back and read all about it in this recent post, HERE.

And now look: I've done another guest strip for 1930 Nightmare Theatre, and it was posted this morning! Check it out HERE.

The Electric Heartbreaker on DVD

2010-12-30T19:56:00.006-06:00

This isn't cartoon-related, but I'll post it here anyway. Years ago, I co-created a live-action short film called The Electric Heartbreaker. Recently, we finally made it available on DVD, with fun extras and everything. If anybody's curious, here are a couple of clips:

official site

facebook

buy it on amazon ($9.99)

Nolen Noel

2010-12-29T16:44:00.002-06:00

A slightly belated, but lovely nonetheless, card from our fellow SHC Nolen Otts:

Riverside Update

2010-12-27T17:42:00.002-06:00

Hey, folks. There's a new post on my Riverside blog.

Happy December

2010-12-20T10:49:00.003-06:00

From our fellow SHC Howard Cruse:

Happy December
packed as it is
with holidays worth celebrating
and childhood memories
that hopefully make you smile.

If you click the link below, you'll find the cartoon I've drawn
as my contribution to this year's festivities,
as well a bonus link to a video
that the cartooning fans among you may enjoy.

http://www.howardcruse.com/cruseblog/xmas10.html

My Nightmare

2010-12-19T21:54:00.005-06:00

First, a bit of background: For anyone who doesn't know, DummComics.com is a great site for web comics, featuring new strips everyday, by a brilliant stable of artists. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they have one called 1930 Nightmare Theatre, by Ricky Garduno. It's an awesome comic.

It's been running for a long while now. If you haven't been following it, and you want to sorta catch up on the evolution of the strip, start by reading the first few installments, starting HERE (then use the arrows underneath, to navigate forward). Read a few pieces from the middle of the run, starting HERE. And read some of Ricky's most recent editions, starting HERE.

Now here's my news: Ricky Garduno invited me to do a guest strip for 1930 Nightmare Theatre! So I did, and it was posted on the site today. Check it out HERE. Like most of the guest artists, I tried to honor the spirit of 1930 Nightmare Theatre, while at the same time putting my own spin on it.

Inking in Illustrator

2010-12-12T16:30:00.008-06:00

I'm still practicing my digital inking. I tried inking in Flash, then I tried inking in Illustrator with a Calligraphic Brush. Here are my latest experiments -- still inking in Illustrator, but this time using a set of Art Brushes that I made myself.

I get more accuracy this way. I mean, I can really get the ink line to sit RIGHT ON the pencil line, if I want. But I think it has a little less life than the previous two methods I tried. It lacks a certain spontaneity and humanity. Next I'll try inking in Manga Studio.

Burns, Baby, Burns

2010-12-05T17:30:00.003-06:00

You may remember Area 47 Entertainment as the guys who made that Dag Nab Ants video I posted here recently. Jeremy Burns animates videos for the songs created by his brother Chris Burns and him. And now, they have their own SHC page, HERE. Take a look!

The Green Seed - "Crack Kills"

2010-11-29T16:24:00.002-06:00

Hello people,
We recently completed a music video for the Birmingham hip hop group The Green Seed. They are excellent musicians in their own right and really enjoyed the video we made.
It contains pop culture references galore, so feel free to watch and repost!

Thanks for watching and support local music.

Cheers,
Brian Ratigan + Sugartooth

Riverside Update

2010-11-28T12:18:00.004-06:00

I just added a couple of brief posts to my Riverside blog, backdated to when they actually happened.

KoronisFest PSA/Poster Competition

2010-11-23T10:43:00.003-06:00

Here's an announcement from the UAB School of Public Health: They're having a PSA/Poster Competition. Want to do some public health-oriented animation or poster work (or a live-action spot)? Your work could be screened at KoronisFest (at the UAB School of Public Health), and you could win an award and a cash prize. Submissions must be received by March 3rd, 2011. More info HERE.

If you have any questions that aren't answered there, email:

Joan Ohrn - johrn[at]ms.soph.uab.edu

Alabama Jungle

2010-11-23T10:14:00.003-06:00

Our fellow SHC Christopher Davis created these beautifully simple images for use on Alabama and Auburn T-shirts.

Take your pick, and go to his cafepress page to pick one up. And for those rare birds who refuse to pick a side (like myself), he even has T-shirts for fence-sitters!

Sequential Olbermann

2010-11-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

I just posted a short comic about Keith Olbermann's brief suspension, I hope you'll check it out.
Thanks,
Tim

Dag Nab Ants

2010-11-20T09:47:00.006-06:00

Jeremy Burns animated this video for a song by him and his brother Chris "C.B." Burns. I'm hoping Jeremy will join the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas, because this is pretty fun stuff.

Marvelham - by Rosko

2010-11-20T00:28:00.001-06:00

Tongue and Pencil

2010-11-18T10:10:00.003-06:00

In response to Chris Fason's post about Super Art Fight (below), I'll bring up another inspiring event, which also involves putting cartoonists in the limelight.

My buddy Chris Prynoski runs an animation studio in L.A. (and also in NYC now), called Titmouse, Inc. They've started putting on a show called the Titmouse Tongue & Pencil. So called because, while a stand-up performs, a cartoonist draws funny drawings in response to what he says, and the cartoons are projected behind the comedian in real time. Sometimes, the two forces clash, and sometimes they collude. Potential hilarity, either way.

Tongue & Pencil web site.

Tongue & Pencil facebook page, with good photos.

A Tongue & Pencil video - slow starting, but gets pretty good.

In the past, cartoonists performed live by way of vaudeville chalk talks. Maybe now they're wanting to take the stage again. Maybe we should think about bringing something like Super Art Fight to B'ham, or something like the Tongue & Pencil show, or some similar new invention of our own. Thoughts, anyone?

Super Art Fight

2010-11-17T15:05:00.004-06:00

I've dabbled in Live Art a couple times back when Cave9 was still rocking and I have a cartoonist friend (Brandon J. Carr) in Virginia who's started "competing" with http://superartfight.com. Today, he posted this on his Facebook. And it's got me to thinking that that would be really really fun to bring to the 'Ham. Do you guys think we could pull something like this off? Maybe not immediately, but I'm sure that we have enough members with enough connections that setting something like this up would be plausible. Check the links and share what you think.

Nabbed Another'n

2010-11-17T14:20:00.005-06:00

Introducing yet another new Salty 'Ham Cartooneesta: David Wheeler

Ghost Pokers!

2010-11-14T01:35:00.001-06:00

Here's a bit of quasi-animated silliness that I made a while back but just uploaded to my youtubes account.

Recent Roundup

2010-11-10T12:20:00.012-06:00

What's up, y'all?

I've just gone and collected a bunch of beautiful, somewhat recently posted work from some of the blogs and deviantART pages of our fellow SHC's. (You guys should come and post stuff here more often yourselves, just to keep the blog alive.)

If anybody has posted something else that they wish I'd included, let me know.

I can't take the time to turn all these names into links. If you want to see more from any of these artists, find them on the alphabetical list HERE.

Now let's look at some art!

Tom Briscoe

Tom Briscoe

Jessica Campbell

Kirk Creel

Howard Cruse

Howard Cruse

Chris Fason

Chris Fason

James Hislope

James Hislope

jenX

Hal Jones

Lorenzo Kirkpatrick

Heath McPherson

Melody

Mark Poe

Mark Poe

Perry Sessions

Perry Sessions

Jason Shoemaker

Stephen Smith

Pat Snow

Corey Stockley

Corey Stockley

Carolyn Wass

Carolyn Wass

Scotty White

Scotty White

Hayley "Sio" Williams

Hayley "Sio" Williams

Andrew Willmore

Andrew Willmore

Hundreds, If Not Thousands, Dead!

2010-11-10T12:00:00.003-06:00

This isn't really cartoon-related, but . . .

I like this video, recently posted to youtube by The Birmingham Free Press, starring our fellow SHC Stephen Smith. I love how he talks. He has some kind of crazy (Cajun?) accent, which I find very pleasing, and I could listen to him for hours. However, he told me that he's actually from the B'ham area, and might have picked up the accent from his wife. I find that hard to believe; perhaps I just misunderstood his story. Anyway, here's the report:

Tim Continues to Rock

2010-11-10T11:50:00.002-06:00

Our fellow SHC Tim Rocks has recently done a nice overhaul of his official home page.

Inking in Illustrator

2010-11-02T22:20:00.005-05:00

I've dabbled with inking in Flash, and now I'm trying my hand at inking in Illustrator. I'm using the Calligraphic Brush method. I like it okay, I guess. It seems like it's a little more controllable than Flash, but the result sort of feels more cold. I haven't quite made up my mind about it. Neither way is quite as accurate as I might want.

(painted in PhotoShop)

Next I want to try inking in Illustrator using a different technique, before I move on to trying other applications.

Ed Gets Press

2010-11-02T15:22:00.006-05:00

Check it out! Our fellow SHC Ed Abernathy was featured in a story on Fox 6 News.

Deviation

2010-10-31T22:12:00.000-05:00

Li'l Hiatus

2010-10-26T10:45:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of activity here, the last couple weeks. I've been letting the jam blog languish, while I'm busy on some other stuff. It'll probably stay on the back burner for the next couple weeks, too.

If you want to see something here in the meantime, post something yer-dang-self!

Salty 'Ham Slam 9 - On Reflection

2010-10-13T09:50:00.015-05:00

Our ninth official meet-and-greet was da bomb. We were at the J again, and we had 16 cartoonist-types in attendance! I'm pretty sure that's more than ever. Let's see, there was Richard Haigler, Ben Faucher, Frank Cummings, Garth Potts, Ed Abernathy, Tim Rocks, Chris Adkins, Christopher Davis, Lorenzo Kirkpatrick, Nolen Otts, Russell Quick, Tim Spinosi, and Sam McDavid were there. And we welcomed first-timer Perry Sessions. Plus special guest (and prospective new member) Kevin Van Hyning. And me, Chris Garrison. Crazy!

On the way in, the guys ogled a nearby roomful of nubile stretching women. Once the guys made it into our secret lair, they ogled Perry Sessions' binder full of girlie sci-fi drawings. So there was plenty of ogling to go around.

Foreground (left to right) -- Tim Spinosi and Nolen Otts discuss Tim's latest work, while Perry Sessions contributes to a comic jam. Background (left to right) -- Russell Quick, Sam McDavid, and Christopher Davis debate the rape epidemic in the Congo war. But . . . how is that a debate?

(left to right) -- Richard Haigler and Frank Cummings trade adventure stories from their years tracking Bigfoot. Why these two have never teamed up to nab the monster, I don't know. Tim Rocks looks on. Meanwhile, Ben Faucher (that's fo-SHAY) tells Lorenzo Kirkpatrick a few things he's learned about computers. "This is the return key." Way to start with the basics, Ben. Taking it back to 1981.

(left to right) -- Frank Cummings and Kevin Van Hyning admire the originals from this beautiful MAD-inspired piece by Tim Rocks.

Chris Adkins

Richard Haigler

Russell Quick -- apparently too quick to stay in focus.

Sam McDavid tells Christopher Davis where to put his bags. Talk about racist!

Somehow I didn't get Garth Potts or Ed Abernathy in any of my photos. Maybe I snapped these before those guys showed up, or else they just somehow eluded my lens without my realizing it. Sorry, guys.

Oh, some lovable moppets snuck in and stole our cookies! It was hilarious. I tried to run them off with old-fashioned phrases, like, "Shoo!" and "23 Skidoo!" But that only seemed to encourage them.

Lorenzo Kirkpatrick showed us some work from his web-comic, Alien Gladiators. He was planning to wait a while before telling the general public, but I'm leaking it to you guys here, because the work is SUPERB. So go check out Alien Gladiators.

We all went downstairs to see a bunch of work by Garth Potts, which filled two rooms, close to the main doors of the LJCC. Some sports caricatures, and some serious sports-related illustrations. Garth is so prolific, the work spills out into the halls and basically fills up the whole complex. If you missed it, drop by and have a look. I think it'll be up throughout the month of October.

Tim Spinosi brought this:

He said it was the first thing he's drawn with colored pencils in twelve years! Good job getting back on that horse, Spin Man. Let's see some more!

With all the camaraderie and discussion of tools and techniques, we barely had time to draw. But Kevin Van Hyning doodled this in my sketchbook:

And we added a few panels to some comic jams that we've started in the past, but we still didn't resolve the stories on them. Maybe I can get together with a few cartooneestas in the next few weeks to try and wrap up those stories, before posting them in their entirety.

Here's a brief comic jam we managed to do this time:

Unlucky Leprechaun credits:
panel 1 by Chris Garrison; panel 2 by Richard Haigler; panel 3 by Russell Quick, with story suggestion by Sam McDavid. Time was running short, and I thought that last panel about summed it up, so I put a cap on it by writing "End" at the bottom. It was either that or begin a long and complicated action-adventure, a la Tin Tin, in which our chubby heroine sets out to solve The Mystery of the Dead Leprechaun.

All tolled, everybody had fun at the slam, and many hands were shaken. So join us, won't you, for the NEXT Salty 'Ham Slam! (as yet unscheduled) (official members and invited guests only, please)

And you can look back at previous slams, here:

Slam 1
Slam 2
Slam 3
Slam 4
Slam 5
Slam 6
Slam 7
Slam 8

another new category

2010-10-07T14:02:00.002-05:00

You know how I recently added the Game Designers category to these lists that you see, when you click on The Cartooneestas, over at saltyham.org?

All the Salty 'Ham Cartooneestas (61 Entries)

Comic book artists (26)
Comic strip artists (16)
Animators (18)
Caricaturists (12)
Writers (32)
Illustrators (27)
Superheroic artists (13)
Anime-influenced artists (10)
Game designers (4)
Cartoony fine artists (21)

Well, I just added ANOTHER new category:

Cartoony sculptors (6)

If you're a Salty 'Ham Cartooneesta, and you're into sculpture, and you're not already on this short list, let me know so I can add you on that page.

Wass Up!

2010-10-07T13:56:00.004-05:00

There's a new Salty 'Ham Cartooneesta, y'all: Cartoony sculptress Carolyn Wass. Have a look at her SHC page HERE.

Salty 'Ham Slam - Reminder

2010-10-04T11:21:00.002-05:00

Hey, SHC members, don't forget -- Our 9th Salty 'Ham Slam is coming up soon. If you didn't receive your email alerting you to the secret time and place, just tell me. And click HERE for more details.

I'm hoping we'll have a good group this time around, but that can only happen if YOU arrive with bells on. Comment below (or email me) to let us all know if you're coming. Perhaps your enthusiasm will be contagious, encouraging others to show up as well.

Remember, if you're man enough (or woman enough) to run "The Gauntlet," bring something for that.

Read about the fun we had at SLAM 1, SLAM 2, SLAM 3, SLAM 4, SLAM 5, SLAM 6, SLAM 7, and SLAM 8 -- then imagine that, only better!

Inking in Flash

2010-10-02T16:20:00.002-05:00

. . . another attempt, in a somewhat different style . . .

Inking in Flash

2010-09-30T10:24:00.001-05:00

. . . still improving . . .

Inking in Flash

2010-09-29T10:39:00.004-05:00

Since I got my Cintiq, I've been trying to take a little time to dabble in digital inking. I figured I'd start by working in Flash, because I think that's what a lot of other cartoonists do. By watching a few online tutorials and practicing the craft, I think I've managed to achieve a non-horrible level of ability. Check these out:

The challenge is figuring out how to avoid getting those ugly, Flashy-looking lines, that do all kinds of things a computer would do, but real ink would never do. If you click on these and look closely, you can definitely find the tell-tale signs. I think if I tried hard enough, I could get rid of most of those, but the process would take ten times as long. So no wonder so many people allow a certain amount of Flashy-ness in their inking.

After I spend some more time with Flash, I plan to move on and try my hand at inking in Illustrator, and maybe a few other programs.