A Spongy Reflection

I spent the better part of the weekend spongebob-ing. That's right, I did it enough that it deserves to be a verb. When I wasn't inking a SpongeBob comic for Nick Mag (quite possibly my last), I was watching bits of the 50-hour SpongeBob marathon (otherwise known as the "Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend!"), marking the show's 10th anniversary. I also happened upon the latest issue of Nick Mag on a trip to the drug store—the "Ultimate SpongeBob Issue", which includes a SpongeBob poster featuring every single character from the series (there are A LOT of characters). I even caught the VH1 special "Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob Squarepants" last Tuesday. So, I easily spent the better part of a week soaking it all up...like...well...


Here's a teaser frame from my latest comic. Funny, because this was basically me—drawing and inking away feverishly. I find it hard not to identify with the yellow sponge, and I guess I'm not alone. In an interview with Nick Mag, Vincent Waller (creative director on the show) has a great quote when asked why SpongeBob is so popular:

"Because SpongeBob is a kid at heart—he has all the joy and happiness that you have when you're young. And he also has the freedom of an adult. He has his own house, he goes to work—but he loves his job—and he has a pet. I think kids like that. They think, That's me, but with freedom."

How could you not identify with that? I know...I know...his annoying laugh can be grating. But for me, it's always been about the whole package: great design, great voice, GREAT laugh, and an honest personality. Plus, he's funny!

Here's a drawing I dug up from the papers on my desk that I doodled with a brush pen. It's looser than I normally draw, and not quite on model, but I like to think it captures his simple charm.


I've reflected elsewhere about he who is porous (here), when I was getting ready to pitch my first comics to Nick Mag. And here's a quick link to all my SpongeBob related posts.

Happy 10-year anniversary to everyone who has worked on the show! And keep'em coming!

I'll end on a favorite quote:

"The inner mechanisms of my mind are an enigma." —Patrick Star

UPDATE: For those interested, I just did a related/follow-up post of sorts over at the Creative Juices blog: SpongeBob is Everywhere. It highlights the artwork of Sherm Cohen and Robertryan Cory.

Publicity (stunt)

(be sure to click for the larger image)

We just posted the latest What The Doodle? over at FableVision's Creative Juices blog. The word this week is PUBLICITY. I went with the publicity stunt angle. I like to think that the nose hair connects to another nose at some point, but I leave that up to you.

Magneto-mouse

I've been slow to update the blog this month, as I've been busy working on comics and enjoying the sun (Summer has finally arrived in Boston), so I thought I'd dig up a game from the archives. Magneto-mouse is a Flash game I helped develop at FableVision for Scott Foresman. It's a "science game" in the same vein as Goldisocks, which I posted a few years ago. We decided up front to try to give it an 8-bit feel. We also had a fun time with the game instructions—where we were able to include a lot of the curriculum.


The science principles at work here are force and motion, with an emphasis on magnetism. Your objective is to guide Magneto-mouse through an obstacle course of friction patches and duck crossings, using a hovering magnet to repel or attract him. You can collect "turbo cheese" for boosts, too. If you make it to the end, there's a cute surprise. I think a few people have cracked the 1:00 mark, so I challenge you to see how fast you can do it.

Click the link below to play the game.

--> Play Magneto-mouse

Leave your best times in the comments, too.

Note: the preloader seems to be misbehaving,
so wait a few seconds and the game should appear.

Strong Thurmond and The Filibuster

Chris Duffy started up a blog called "The July 4th Project" where cartoonists are contributing their notion of the patriotic, all-American superhero—just in time for Independence Day. Chris says to interpret freely, "You can be sarcastic, political, pro-America, anti-America, whimsical, or nerdy (my favorite)!"

I did 2! Here they are, with a write-up to go along with them.


The frail and elderly Senator Strom Thurmond once took to the skies above Capitol Hill as Strong Thurmond, defender of the Southern delegation! Tourists would cry, "What's that up in the sky? A turd? A stain?" just before he smacked head-on into the Washington Monument. Strong Thurmond often joined forces with The Filibuster, known for his uncanny ability to speak at great length. When armed with a phonebook, no legislation could stand in their way (including the Civil Rights Act of 1957—ouch!). They hold the record for a full 24 hours and 18 minutes!



Draw something up and send it to Chris if you have time before the 4th!

Razor

The WTD? word for this week is RAZOR.


Here's the the sketch that got me started. I played around with a couple different color treatments for this one (alternates below).




I went for pure cartoon pop on the later.
Hopefully it glows a bit on your monitor.

You can check out the other contributions over at the FableVision's Creative Juices blog. If we stay on track, look for another WTD? in a couple weeks.

Me at 100

Here's the color version (see previous post) of my illustration for Phil McAndrew's Draw Yourself at 100 contest. Here's what I had to say before:

I see myself as a mostly bald man with a head full of bushy eyebrows, free to wear pit-stained undershirts, shorts, and saggy socks around the house. If I'm still making art, let's just say I'm not sure if I'll be all there—but hopefully just as enthusiastic about my work.

A couple things to add: extensive nose and ear hair, and it goes without say that my nose will grow long and bumpy like a cucumber (this is what cartoons tell me, anyway).

This drawing is probably a good approximation as well: Glee

See you in 2079!

SpongeBob: Belly Button Lint

After reporting somber news about Nickelodeon Magazine a couple weeks ago, I've got something more upbeat to share. I have a SpongeBob comic featured in the July issue of the magazine, which should be available at newsstand near you soon—if not now. I scanned the spread from The Comic Book (pages 34-35) which you can view larger below, because Nick Mag adds the speech balloons after I hand it off to them.


This was an especially fun comic to work on because I was fortunate to collaborate with cartoonist Corey Barba, best known for his kid friendly comic, YAM. Corey came up with the story concept and wrote it, in addition to providing me with a rough layout to work from. Here's a bit of process, including my pencils:


And finally, inks:


I inked it on paper, scanned it, and sent it off to Wes Dzioba for the splash of color that always brings the comic to life.

Knowing that the magazine is soon coming to an end makes the remaining issues extra special. And this is a great one, packed with comics and cartoons by James Kochalka, Emily Flake, Randall Kirby, Martin Cendreda, Alec Longstreth, Jef Czekaj, Travis Nichols, Scott Roberts and a new YAM comic by Corey! Also, plenty of illustrations including the likes of Hal Mayforth, Clayton Hanmer, and John Martz. Not to mention puzzles and gags! Definitely snatch it up when you see it.

Also, be sure to head over to Nicktoons Comics to read tons of comics from previous issues. And if you want more still, Chris Duffy and Dave Roman have a blog all about The Comic Book.

Wrinkles

I've been drawing wrinkly old men in my free time, warming up for a contest of sorts over at Phil McAndrew's LiveJournal blog. The rules: "Draw yourself at the age of 100! Wrinkly saggy old people are probably my favorite thing to draw and I hope you have fun drawing them too!" The reward (as if having an excuse to draw old wrinkly people isn't enough!) is a package stuffed with all sorts of Phil's artwork and goodies. If you haven't read his "Pearly Whites" comic, do so now—you'll quickly see he has old miserable saps down pat.

Now, onto the sketch dump:


This is the one I'll likely ink up and color. I see myself as a mostly bald man with a head full of bushy eyebrows, free to wear pit-stained undershirts, shorts, and saggy socks around the house. If I'm still making art, let's just say I'm not sure if I'll be all there—but hopefully just as enthusiastic about my work.


More wrinkles and eyebrows.


A case of the saggy upper lip.


One thing I look forward to is not having to make excuses about being a grump!



...and a few more wrinkly faces to wrap things up.

Also, I just joined Flickr. I put up some comics and illustrations—kind of a mess because I haven't organized anything. But look me up if you're in the area.

Justification

Here's my contribution for this week's WTD? (What The Doodle?) on FableVision's Creative Juices blog. "Justification" was what the random word generator spit out—one of the trickier words we've gotten so far.

Jog & Lunge