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4/2/2004 - So, this week's sketches. Not much to look at really. I started out wanting to do some landscapes, but wasn't in the headroom. I was working from National Geographic, so I sketched a couple faces from there, and then did a few frustrated cartoons. Then i picked up The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists, which Bethanne and I bought because Kevin and Barry are in it. And i just started copying all the styles i found interesting (there are plenty which were good which I didn't copy, but simply because they didn't ineterest me to draw them right now). I also hit Dicebox and Scary-Go-Round. Oh, and it's all just paint-brush sketches, no penciling at all this week, which is why it's so sketchy.
i mean, It's tempting to just sit down and do a very pencilled and well drawn drawing of something, but i already know how to do that, and the point of this Friday thing is try to expand my drawing vocabulary. Sometimes I feel I'm doing okay at it even. Even this week, although a bit shoddy, i learned a little here and there with the comics i imitated, because they draw in ways i don't (althouhg, mostly in ways I'm aware of, so not much was won).
So yeah, it's tough, I am so wiped working on the "Little Dee" release, that it's hard to get my mind around doing anything (although I am in this zen peaceful state Sunday morning and write the week of bruno, and have been very happy with the scripts). but yeah, and I know you are probably all tired of hearing my exhaustion about it, as are my friends (the few I've had a spare moment to even talk with), but it'll all be over soon.
And then things will be very very good, or very very more badness yick.
Anyhow, back to it.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040402)
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4/5/2004 - Well, the actual grand syndication of "Little Dee" has begun. This weekend, 1,500 postcards were mailed out, and both websites were made to the point of presentability (much thanks to Jenn's site for design inspiration). I may add functionality to either/both, or extend the InsetSynd design, but this is what's up for now if you're curious.
www.littledee.net
www.insetsyndicate.com
Anyhow, it's almost 2:00 in the morning, and I have to get up in 4 hours for work. And so, I sign off.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040405)
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4/6/2004 - Somtimes I feel so blasé when there's something full or adrenaline happening in the strip, like possibly Stanley's house burning down, panic, drama, all that maybe going on, and I post something totally mundane. but so it is.
But yeah, so I just wanted to mention that any orders for books or the "Little Dee" original strips went out on Saturday. The Dee booklets went to the printer today, and so hopefully they'll be out in the mail in a few weeks (may take longer since they'll all have to be personalized).
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040406)
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4/9/2004 - So, the sketches this week are actually some I did back around the end of my college career, 1994-ish. They're all done on scratch-board, and I'm afraid this is all I've ever done on scratchboard, but i recall it being awfully fun at the time. Oh, and if you're wondering, they were all drawn on just the three sheets, which I didn't re-organize here because I like the flow, but also unfortunately means that some are upside-down or sideways. I think several are based on Kathé Kollwitz drawings, many are from other drawings from my sketchbooks. Oh, and I posted them so large, because what I love about them are the lines, and they have to be this big to see them. So, sorry about the big dowload. :-/
Why not new sketches? Basically, the same as what you all know by rote by now, doing the release for "Little Dee" has been really overwhelming, and so it was me posting these, or me pretending I'm superchris and have a breakdown in the morning.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040409)
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4/12/2004 - I hope everybody received their "Little Dee" originals that i sent out (maybe not yet some of you international folk). Tell me if they don't arrive, they were all sent out over a week ago. :)
Not much new here. I did manage to take a day or so off and go down to Portland with Bethanne. I only managed to see a few people, but for that glorious day I didn't work or think about work. Very very nice.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040412)
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4/15/2004 - See, there's this pie....
Okay, this whole self-syndicating "Little Dee" thing caught up with me tonight. Bethanne and I brainstormed to get the letter ready to send out to newspapers (first batch to be put together today/tomorrow (thursday) night). Then layout, and it just took all night. And now it's late, and so I simply couldn't get Bruno done. I've felt kinda' slacky for having the backgrounds lately not-quite-up-to-par, but am sad that I actually missed a strip, I had hoped very much against that. But so it goes, and instead I have this fun little story for you. I hope that it pleases.
This is just a little dittie freelance job i did back in march for readinga-z.com. The story is, "Crows Eat a Pie." I may have chosen to put in zip-a-tone, but they didn't desire it, and so it was decided against. It has text too, but I didn't write it, and so copyright and all that, so it's just the pictures for you all (which tells the story pretty well, actually: Some crows, this pie, some math involved. Etc.) So yeah, see the entire story here
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040415)
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4/16/2004 -This weeks sketches are from a freelance job I did a while ago. It was to illustrate children's poems, and was very fun to do.
Meanwhile words are not in my head. Got the Little Dee booklet/letterhead/envelope from the printer and they knocked my socks off. Maybe i do got something goin' on here. Just not be sleep yet.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040416)
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4/19/2004 - So yes. Lots happening as ever. I got the last of the printed material back from the printer (Capitol City press, who, after making a slight error on the inside cover, reprinted the entire 1,600 in less than a day because they wanted to so it right, my kudo-good-vibes sent out to them). 200 mailers were sent out on Friday, 500 going on Monday (today), and another 800 this friday (the 23rd).
The booklets themsleves look good. I am not totally pleased with the cover, I re-designed it dozens of times, and this was the best I could come up with, but still, not as good as I was hoping for. But the printing job, oye-vey, another nod to Capitol City Press, I have never seen the strips look so good. I am very pleased.
For those of you who bought one for the fund-raiser, I will be trying to sign and sketch in them as soon as possible, but I'm in the muck of it, haven't even started stuffing envelopes for Friday's mailing (about 15 hours work), plus database work pre-calling, so it may take a week or two.
Wednesday is my last day at the playground-structure place making photocopies. Last Thursday I hit 100,000 copies. That's way to many for all reasonableness. But yes, leaving before the job is done because on Thursday i will be beginnning calling the 1,500 newspapers, with both fingers crossed and the knowledge that i have a decent product and lots of hope.
On other Dee news, I took the Little Dee archives down from the baldwinpage/brunostrip site (the ones i posted in August). But soon enough they'll be up again at littledee.net.
And lastly, and Bethanne and I are looking into taking a small vacation to Victoria (and area) on Vancouver island in June, sort-of a brief recovery from this release. And if anyone is local or knows any special cheap places, museums, whale watching trips, etc, or anything quirky you think we should see, or the like, feel free to give us the heads up. :)
We want to go for a week and keep it under $1.75
Enjoy your week, my little pods. -Christopher
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040419)
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4/20/2004 - Yesterday i had two strips done, and today i can't even finish one. Sigh. So yeah, panic started in today at around 2:00 about the Little Dee release. I'm very afraid and panicky, it's just so huge, expensive, and highly likely to fail, and I'm simply trying not to shut down. i mean, it will get done, but it's taking quite a toll.
And yeah, and so it's getting time for me to maybe go to bed, and instead of pushing the strip, getting it done (which i could) i am going to sleep and dream of friendly happy things.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040420)
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4/21/2004 - Finished yesterday's strip (not too exciting, but you can see it in this week's archive). Today's my last day of work. Very exceited (and hella' nervous). Tomorrow i start calling the 1,500 daily US nespapers. Eek.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040421)
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04/23/2004 - So, sketches this week. The frog is a new one, but otherwise it's all from old sketchbook piles. I am so wanting to do new stuff, but I am glad for my little archive while i try to work through the Little Dee release.
So, the top left is drawn from some old clip art, i did it for a friend's drunken party invitation. Top right is simply a portrait of John Calhoun. Bottom right is of my friend Terri (also see painting based on the same picture, except I added the cat "Saffie" and background). The rest are just silly sketches from classes mostly. Oh, the fellow on the spoon (impressionistic self-portrait) uses actual zip-a-tone. Whew, back in the day.
Oh, and no newspaper fish were biting today, but much was amuck to fiddle with.
My best,
-Christopher
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040423)
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4/26/2004 - The thermometer has been nixed.
On the brighter side of things, Bethanne and I watched Heaven in which Tykwer actually kept a really solid good feel of Kieslowski's filmaking (Kieslowski co-wrote the screenplay before he died). A tad heavy on the Christian symbolism for my taste (though, maybe not for yours), but a really solid film.
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040426)
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4/30/2004 - So, sketches this week. First off, I am so happy to be able to actually do some, rather than post stuff from my college-days-past.
That said, it's a bit of an unusual week in that there are only two, and that they're in color. Basically (since Kip already let it out of the bag), starting on Wednesday I'll be filling in for Jenn Manley Lee for six weeks doing her comic, Dicebox. Being that she is not only a friend but she also does what I view as one of the best comics being done today, it was a real pleasure to agree to do this, and she's been very helpful and easy to work with in tweaking the script I tossed at her. So yes, I hope you'll be looking forward to it, and I'll make sure to link to it again on Wednesay.
That said, these are not characters from her comic, but since her comic is in color, I used these to to play around and get used to using color again.
And thus, this is that. :)
(link: http://www.brunostrip.com/notes/200404.html#20040430)
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