dec 6-27 2005

dec.06.05

Elf hats.

The above strip was indeed inspired by a recent event: doing caricatures at the Exxon Mobile holiday party on Sunday.

I get there - "there" being the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA - about fifteen minutes early, park my car and take the elevator to the fifth floor, where the party coordinator spots me and rushes over.

"Oh good, you're here. Go up to the sixth floor and grab three silly hats from the dressing room, please."

...

"SILLY HATS??"

I look around before I head back to the elevators. Everyone - EVERYONE - looks like an elf. Ooooh, no. I'm not getting paid enough to do this.

I take out my job sheet and read the description more carefully. "Exxon Mobile holiday party. 8 caricature artists. Only JOLLY ones, please - last year we had some problems!"

Well YEAH, of course you had problems - you made them wear f*ing ELF HATS!!

Well, that says it. I walked into right into this one. Had I read the word "JOLLY" earlier, I could have called in dead a week ago.

Anyway, in more valuable news, happy birthday to my mom (sorry to drop the F-bomb on your birthday, Mom; I swear I didn't plan it that way!), and sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have been AB-SO-LUTELY swamped. I've stopped taking jobs for clients who aren't either entertainment agencies or art directors. I pretty much ONLY reply to client e-mails now, and there isn't even enough time in the day to do that! So as always, I'm so sorry to those of you wonderful people who are e-mailing me heart-warming fanmail; thank you SO SO much for your encouraging words, and rest assured that they ARE being read and they DO make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

By the way, I'll probably have some huge news in the next few days. Stick around; whether it happens or not, I'll tell you what it is. Promise. :)

dec.06.05

Cheese!

Quick note from the fine folks at Zazzle, where the GWS tees are for sale...

"From now until December 31 you can visit http://www.zazzle.com/contests/holidaygiveaway/ for a chance to win some amazing prizes! We pride ourselves on delivering vibrant, high-caliber product and hope to provide you with some first hand experience with the quality of our offering. You can enter each and every hour for a chance to win apparel, posters, and stamps from the likes of Disney, Family Guy, Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Neopets, Build-a-Bear, and other top designers and brands. If you need some great last minute gifts, this is the perfect place to visit."

Which apparently means you can win a GWS tee for free, if you so choose. :D

*End plug.*

dec.08.05

Sexy Xmas Elves

Hmmm.... if I made up Christmas cards and stamps with Hazel and Jamie in these outfits, who'd buy 'em?

Thoughts?

dec.13.05

In the Swamps

Hey, y'all! I'm still - yes - SWAMPED, so forgive the mediocre entries and late updates!

Just a note to let everyone know that I'm going to die in about five minutes. And I won't come back alive until... I dunno, January 2? So. Don't call me or e-mail me unless you need something urgent (in which case, adding the words "MONEY" or "COOKIES" to the subject will ensure a speedy reply). I'm going to be keeping my life on hold until 2006. Once 2006 hits, let the e-mails and phone calls fly!!

While we're talking about the phone, anybody who has my home phone number, PLEASE DISCARD OF IT and only use my cell number from now on! Kris and I will be tossing the ol' home phone come February and switching over to cable internet. I may also be switching hosts for the website at that time, so we're gonna try to make it a week-long process and get it all out of the way.

Don't worry, you'll be warned before it happens!

Hey hey, Thursday will mark GWS strip #100, by the way! WOO-HOO!!

Now go buy some tee shirts.

dec.15.05

100!!

And that makes 100 GWS strips! Now I can sleep.

Too bad for Hazel I didn't ask J. Jacques to fill in as a guest writer for this one (if you've been following Questionable Content, you'll get it). I'm still shocked she hasn't come to life off the pages, and killed me in my sleep, especially after the past few strips. Poor gal. :)

dec.16.05

White Shepherdstown (5:30 Thursday night)

I finally escaped the confines of my apartment. Here's the result of my breakout (preceeded by a few photos of Pennsylvania):

dec.19.05

Oooooh, snap!

Some days I worry that Tyler will grow up to be just like Francis Ottoman.

dec.22.05

Happy Everything!

I'm off to spend some quality time with my folks, my neighbors and my brother this weekend!

So Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Jolly Winter Solstice, and God bless everyone who doesn't care what the heck I wish them, and just appreciates the wish for what it is!

dec.27.05

GWS Cast Page!

Alright, I got home late last night, so I'm gonna do the strip later on this afternoon. Until then, please enjoy new color versions of your favorite characters at the in-progress GWS cast page! I haven't written the bios yet, but I thought I'd at least share the images for you guys.

Sorry for the lateness, guys - you know how the holidays are. Either way, I hope you all had a relaxing weekend, and check back later today for a strip!

dec.27.05

Gifts

So I got to enjoy some really cool stuff for Christmas that I think some of you guys might appreciate reviews on, and seeing as I've removed the reviews section of this page, I'm going to gloss over a few of them for your enjoyment. :)

	Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon BRILLIANT reference book for artists!! Mark not only shows very animated headshots of people ages 20 through 80-something (of different genders, ethnicities, etc.) with different facial expressions, he also includes a kissing gallery (anyone who's had to draw people kissing knows just how difficult it can be!), several pages of people's mouths as they make different sounds (attention, animators!), and a few pages of people with different hats/other headgear on at different angles. Absolutely brilliant idea. I've been looking for this book (without knowing it existed!) for years!!
	The Chronicles of Narnia (Disney, PG) Who says a PG Disney movie can't captivate a twenty-something crowd? I wasn't sure what to expect for this movie, so I went in with the expectation that I'd simply enjoy my $8.00 movie. And I was totally blown away. It was BEAUTIFUL. The book by C.S. Lewis was read to my class in elementary school and I remembered loving it, but I couldn't recall the details of the story. I'm kinda glad. Every turn was a surprise to me. :) It's out in theaters now; go see it! Just beware the seat-kickers (I got one this time) and other young movie-goers at the early showings; late showings reccomended!
	Madagascar (Dreamworks, PG) My mom has a thing for putting the latest kids' animated movies in our stockings every year, and often we're in for a surprise. I was excited to see this movie for two reasons; one, because it's got some kick-ass voice actors (Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, and David Schwimmer, for starters), and two, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE giraffes, and one of the main characters is, GASP! A hypocondriac giraffe. Awesome. Well-done, fun movie that has the same kid/adult appeal as Shrek. The extra features were the best; I love seeing all those preliminary drawings!
	Big Trouble in Little China (PG-13) An oldie but goodie. My brother actually got this, not me, but we sure as shit sat in the living room Christmas night in our PJ's and enjoyed it with the same silly excitement we had when we were in grade school and would act out all the characters after the movie was over. If you've never seen this before, pick it up, and if you HAVE seen it before, watch it again; if you're like me, who hadn't seen it since I was like, ten, you'll be in for a big surprise. It's cheesy as hell!! Suggested drinking game: Take a shot every time Jack Burton says something ridiculously macho. Have a stomach pump ready.