oct 30 - nov 24 2006

oct.30.06

Heh.

Yeah, I did it again. I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered that I hadn't updated the ol' site. Nor had I "greyed" the strip that was due. Woops!!

Greyscale version coming later!

And then, we'll discuss mustache rides.

oct.30.06

Mustache Ride.

Okay, if you don't know what Chris's costume is, maybe you shouldn't find out. But just in case you're deathly curious, here's what Wikipedia says about mustache rides.

I desperately wanted to don either Candy's or Chris's costume for Halloween, but couldn't bear the thought of telling my mom (and then explaining to her) exactly what I dressed up as. So instead, I did a terrible last-minute job of attempting to turn myself into Janine from Ghostbusters:

I will never, ever be as cute as Annie Potts. But hey, for last-minute, it wsn't an awful job! Just kinda frumpy. :) (And yes, McPedro has been moved to a prime spot in the living room now.)

Oh, and I recently went to see Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers in concert, which was fantastic AS ALWAYS!

Okay, that's it. See ya Wednesday!

nov.01.06

Cutting room floor.

Well, I had a strip all worked up for today, but it's the first one I've ever fully scripted and then promptly tossed. I worked on it all day long. I was trying to introduce a new character that, well, really doesn't need to be introduced right now, and it feels obviously misplaced. I've been trying to work her in for awhile, but every way I've tried to move her smoothly into the current storyline, it felt too forced.

So I'm going to re-script this one today and post it later. The new character will find her way in when she's ready.

Meanwhile... !

You know me. If I don't have a strip, I at least TRY to have something in its place. Well, I've got these two framed photographs that have been in my living room for far too long, and I'm finally ready to sell them.

(Click either image above to go to its eBay auction!)

The one on the left is a montage of nine 4x5 Polaroids, so eventually they ARE going to change color, but I've found it's kind of a neat (and very slow) process. The photos are incredibly close and crisp images of white roses framed in black mat board. They were shot with some fabulously narrow depth of field (non-photo people: this means some parts are very very crisp, while everything else is blurry as all get-out). The frame is just a cheap black wooden one, and there is a small chunk missing from the top right corner, but it's on the back of the frame and it's hardly noticeable. The entire framed art measures 19.5" x 23.5" and a thick metal chain is attached to the back for hanging.

The second one is a large color photograph I printed a few years back - the actual image measures 14" x 24" and was hand printed on Agfa RC paper. I shot it in Georgetown, so anybody who's familiar with the DC area might appreciate this one. Likewise, anyone who's a big Abercrombie & Fitch fan might appreciate it, too. In the black aluminum frame, this one's 18.5"x 24.5" and matted in white.

You can see details of the roses art here and details of the "Screaming Bags" art here.

Hey, guess what that means! That means that I actually stuck to my word when I said I'd start the eBay auctions in November! Now just wait 'til I can start putting all the old drawings I've found in my closet on the market...

By the way, you may have noticed that the "pending" notice to your right has gone away and that I am DEFINITELY going to the Birmingham International Comics Show December 9&10. Woohoo!!! All you British readers better show up with your best McPedro impersonations!!

Oh, and HAR!! Mangled Stare's GWS crossover is still crackin' me up!!

nov.01.06

The distraction: napkin art.

First is a hilarious rendition of just how fat I am (if you don't know the convention joke, visit the Comic Geek Speak guys sometime), by Ms. Mara Maguire of Black As White. It's true. I'm as big as a planet.

Next one was drawn by Liz Greenfield of Stuff Sucks while we were drinking at the Hilton during NC's Heroes Con this year. Yes, I bought her drinks, but according to Liz, I am not gay because of it.

This has been your distraction from a late strip for the day.

nov.02.06

New website!! And RIP, Bob...

First, some of you may have noticed that the www.daniellecorsetto.com site has changed its face! This is a temporary change, but the rest of the site will be under construction for the rest of the year, and a MUCH better portfolio site will take its place.

Next, I received yet another effing BRILLIANT piece of fan art. At first I didn't even get it. But luckily, Mike the Mighty included the memorial service:

We gather here in this email to mourn the loss of Bob, someone very close to us all (specially Hazel), known and loved by all (specially Hazel) and brought us many moments of joy (SPECIALLY TO HAZEL!).
It was one day in May 2005 when Hazel Tellington rescued him from his plastic prison. After this he brought many moments of joy and happiness to all that knew him, until that fateful night. At the beginning of 2006 he started to show his first signs of old age and couldn't bring as much joy and bliss as he used to...
He tried to bring joy by trying to be useful, and helped out as back massager. A job he did as best as he could until he passed away with one final WRRRRRR...

He is now a part of the Great Proton Pack that we all hope to be part of one day. May he rest in pieces...

*sniff!* And I didn't even know him that well!! *SOB!!*

nov.04.06

Free caricatures!

Just a quick note - I'm rearranging the right-hand column so you guys can see my convention schedule more easily, and also to add a new schedule.

From now on whenever I'm doing a public caricature gig, I'll be posting the dates/times/places to your right. These are jobs that pay me per-hour to draw caricatures of their customers, which means you can stop by with some friends, get a meal/drink, and get drawn for FREE!

So please freel free to stop by if you'd like to get a free drawing of yourself by yours truly. I mostly work in the Baltimore/Washington area, southern PA, north/central VA, and occasionally in Jersey or NYC. And of course, let me know if you're a GWS reader. :)

PS. Yeah, I know, right now the schedule looks awful - I'm still trying to get an address out of the Nov. 11th job, and the Petco in Ranson is so new the street isn't even listed! Feel free to e-mail me for directions if you're interested - I'm drawing people with their pets that day (well, duh).

nov.06.06

eBay-bee!!

Yeah, I know, I'm late with the strip and totally trying to make that OK by putting up stuff for you to buy instead. I'm a horrible influence and the perfect scapegoat for your bad credit. I do apologize.

BUT... you should like these. If nothing else, just click on the eBay links above to look at the close-ups.

I found these originals while I was cleaning, neatly stacked away in their cheap-o glass-and-masonite frames from my first show at Jigsaw two years ago when it was in NYC. So while you're certainly not bidding on these artifacts for their excellent framemanship, the originals themselves are collector's items (well, y'know, if you collect webcomics).

They were both drawn in 2004, the year the strip started, probably within just a few months of the debut of GWS (October '04).

The first one is the original inks I did for an ad I ran in Vampirella Magazine. The final ad design was in black-and-grey just like the comic strip, and the original dialgue was chopped to hell. So you're getting the Kevin Smith-length dialogue with this original. The pencil guidelines I used are still around the edges, too.

Not to give too much away, but this will probably be a rather memorable moment in GWS history circa mid-next year. It features Forever Feminist Hazel griping about her tiny midriff-baring outfit, while Jamie as always basks in another opportunity to show off her "choice fruit." Totally typical.

The second, COLOR one is an original pen-and-marker design for my "Happy New Year 2005" card I did in 2004. I think I have the final image around here somewhere...

This is one of the ONLY pieces I've done in color, especially of the girls!! It's obvious I still hadn't quite nailed Hazel's face yet, but the hair and and the raglan sleeves are unmistakeable (not to mention Jamie was getting easier to draw at that point). And now that I look at it more, there are a LOT of different media in this - marker, graphite, pen, colored pencil, and probably a few others.

And it's one of those all-too-sweet sisterly moments between Jamie and Hazel that we only see when they're not teasing the hell out of each other. Like I said, you should definitely click on the auction to check out the details!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy these guys. Looks like the photos I put up for sale were a little less popular. ;) Which reminds me, those two auctions end WEDNESDAY!! So if you're still interested (and want some wall art for a cheap price), keep an eye on those two auctions as well.

Alright, to bed for me. Maybe I'll wake up before noon tomorrow...

nov.06.06

Cleaned up!

Wow, first of all, SORRY to everyone with dial-up!! Holy crap, I had NO idea how bad this page was blogged up. It's all taken care of now, and it's all in the blog archives for ~~prosperity~~ posterity.

Secondly, I threw up a new gws banner. Not like "puke" threw-up, but "created" threw-up. It's right there at the bottom, sweetie-kins!

Oh, and I just sent in my registration for tables at Staple! and Pittsburgh Comic Con, so I'm gonna pretend I've already got the OK and put those two on the list to the right. Mid-Ohio is coming up soon! Let's hope my car can make it to Columbus!!

nov.09.06

Begging, with benefits.

The class I got the most out of while I was in college was taught by Dana Aldis, who now holds an open figure drawing session on Wednesday nights at the college.

Granted I can draw a human being without looking at one, but I could REALLY use some anatomy practice. So I'm going to start going again (I stopped going when I realized that I could draw our model, Bob, by memory back when we weren't getting any new models), and I'll play show-and-tell with you guys when I do. Here's last night's:

So, two notes: one, just for reference, the model was actually wearing a bathing suit, and two, I got there late thinking that it started an hour later, so I only really got a chance to do a few sketches.

**Attention! Here's where the begging begins! Class participation requested!**

What I'm wondering is... if I keep doing this, would you guys like me to put the pieces up on eBay? I'd imagine the prices would stay low if I'm putting up several a week, I can get model releases from each of the models, and I could REALLY use the money right now.

So instead of asking for help through donations (which I was almost going to do, even though I hate doing it... I'm pushing through a rough spot right now!), I was thinking I could sell a few of these per week, and that way you guys would actually GET something for your donations. What do you think?

Also, what do you guys think of eBay? If you think selling them for a fixed price via the website would be a better idea than putting them all on eBay, tell me about that, too!

nov.10.06

Update tomorrow

Ooooooh man, I'm sorry guys, this never happens, but I literally fell asleep in my notebook while I was scripting the strip tonight. So instead of hacking my way through a strip and making it look awful, I'm going to go to bed BEFORE 1 AM tonight and wake up early(er) to finish it up.

Sorry for the unexpected (shut up!!) delay!!

nov.13.06

Sheldon!

I'm pretty sure most Sheldon readers know this already from Paul and Scott's blog posts, but in case you read Sheldon online and you're not sure where it went, it's right here: www.sheldoncomics.com.

Sounds like comics.com kinda screwed him over by not allowing him to tell his readers where the strip was moving to. Which just goes to show you, webcomics are the way to go! Or something...

Happy reading!!

nov.14.06

Yay interviews!

The guy(s?) over at Fleen did a pretty badass interview of me the other day. It is the ONLY WAY you will ever find out what happened to that new character I was supposed to introduce a few strips back!

If you're like me and you HATE reading in all itallics, I re-saved it in regular text so you can read it easier (neeeeerd). I also fixed it a little - originally the questions were numbered, and without the numbers I come off sounding like kind of an idiot.

So. There ya go. Enjoy!

nov.15.06

Shame on me.

I know I'm going to lose the respect of about half my readers by openly admitting this, but... I did NOT get to see Clerks II in theaters. More embarrassingly, I did not see it until tonight. I know. I know.

But, I hope my FIVE STARS TWO THUMBS UP rating of the movie will make up for it. Best movie I saw all year (I think... when did Broken Flowers come out??). Best.

nov.17.06

I'm not all thorns.

To those of you who were utterly disappointed in Hazel the last strip, I hope this one makes it up to you.

And to those of you for whom this does not make it up to, maybe this will:

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(I'm not the greatest designer, but I try for you guys!!)

As for more surprises... you may have noticed that GWS will hit 200 strips on Monday!! I'm planning a pretty big strip for that day (not necessarily color or more panels, but a bit of a plot twist that could change the strip indefinitely). So be sure to come back Monday for something new!!

PS. If you'd like an 800x600 version of the wallpaper, let me know and I'll do it!)

nov.17.06

Naked charity!

I forgot to mention that there's a "naked webcomics" calendar available through lulu.com that is being sold to contribute to cancer research!! Because nothing says charity better than naked cartoon butts.

nov.17.06

The dark side.

Alright, I've decided. I'm finally going to put Google AdSense ads on the site.

My pal Brian over at FreeMesa.org suggested it to me as a helpful bit of extra income, which, I won't lie, I could REALLY use right now. I figure we can see how it goes, and if it doesn't help me much, I can pull them later on.

To be honest, the reason I went with Google ads (besides the fact that I just plain like Google) is because you can customize the colors (hooray for no "hyperlink blue" links!!), and because it's content based, which is good for two reasons. One, I've actually clicked on Google ads before (particularly on webcomics pages - found one or two great webcomics that way). Two, and more importantly, I've always wondered what kind of ads you'd get if you wrote SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS a few times in the blog.

...

SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS SUPERNATURAL ALIEN SPACE MONKEYS FOUND ON PLANET MARS!!!!!

This has been your Danielle Corsetto 4-year-old moment for the day.

Hmmm... the Google rules say that "publishers are also not permitted to use deceptive or unnatural means to draw attention to or incite clicks on referral buttons." Is... is this considered unnatural? Maybe I'll wait a few days before I actually POST the ads. If you don't see this blog post next week when the Google Ads are placed, it's because I'm paranoid.

EDIT: Dammit, they don't want you to have ANY fun!! Google also requires that you do not include "Excessive, repetitive, or irrelevant keywords in the content or code of web pages." GRRRRRR!! I think my blog topics will just need to start including space monkeys from Mars more often, coincidentally.

nov.20.06

Spatula.

No, Hazel and Jamie are not lesbians. And no, McPedro probably didn't have sex with a plunger... although... that's debatable.

But this IS the beginning of something new. I can't wait to share it with you guys!

Meanwhile... spatula, floor lamp, goggles, snorkel, and plunger. Just in case you guys couldn't tell what all that stuff in Jamie's bed was.

nov.22.06

MY FACE!!

Hey y'all... yes, the time has finally come for ads. *siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

BUT!! The time has also come for a new header (finally!!) and soon, even a links page so you'll know where to find the aforelinked Wapsi Square and Devil's Panties and more!

Also, I'm throwing a few choice pieces up for sale if you're interested. I heard through the grapevine that y'all were partial to seeing some fixed price items up for sale, so here you are! If you see anything you'd like, just e-mail me at girlswithslingshots@gmail.com to make sure it's available first! You can click on the pictures for more info, yo.

Cactus on Brown Paper $50

Calf on Raisin Paper
$50

Desert Scene on Green Paper $50

Ranch Scene on Green Paper
$50

Park Bench in Berlin
$30

2004 Xmas Card Design $30

2005 Xmas Card
Design $50

nov.22.06

Happy Thanksgiving!! Does anybody want a camera??

The comic will be up early Friday sometime (well, y'know, early for me), because I'm too busy worrying about packing for the Mid-Ohio Con right now, so I'm just gonna get it done and stop worrying so much. :)

There'll be a blog update as well. Pinky promise.

nov.22.06

Emo? F'real??

I made an astounding discovery doing this strip. Oh my god. I...... I like emo music.

I know this automatically kicks me out of the Cool People in Webcomics Club, and that Liz Greenfield might have to make an "If you're Danielle Corsetto and you're happy, then you're doing something wrong" tee, but... I kinda like Bright Eyes. I mean, come on... the music's cute, the videos are adorable. And I already liked Death Cab. So, does that mean I... I... I'm almost... emo?

The dangers of doing research to back up your webcomic.

So, right now I may just be en route to the Mid-Ohio Con. If you'll be there, please stop by and say hi! I'm easy to spot. Look for bright turqouise and orange.

If I can fit him in the car, McPedro will be coming with me as well. (The one in the middle.) Oooh yes. My favorite traveling companion. So I should be even easier to spot at the convention. Just look for a big green blob in a sombrero.

As always, I'll be doing sketches all weekend! See ya there!

OH, ps. Most importantly, I don't believe there will be a Monday update. I'm going to need what's left of that day (after traveling home all morning) to finish up Bat Boy. But GWS will be back Wednesday the 29th!

OOOOHH, and pps! I'll be on a panel this weekend at Mid-Ohio, talking about all that other stuff I do when I'm not doing GWS. So don't miss it! It's on Sunday at 1:30pm in Room A!