We love you Matt Boyd

Apparently Matt Boyd of MacHall comics and now Threepanelsoul.com fame was fired from his job for talking about a gun at work. Check the comic out. This is insane. I couldn't find a way to email him either, and I thought about buying the ad slot at the bottom of their page for a few hours just to tell him I think he was served unjustly.

FYI: Ian McConville, who does the art for the two aforementioned comics is my hero. His art is inspiring, and I love his color usage.

P.S. This matter of injustice is an outrage, and I will blog to the world telling them how I feel.

HL2: Episode 1

My previous attempt at posting on a Mac PC at school failed miserably due to lack of a functioning space bar. Take that Mac, your space bars are worthless.

Kathy and I just started playing through Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and I must say that I love it. Play through the game on the hardest difficulty though, it's much more satisfying and intense. I'm even playing it with the game music on, which I am usually vehemently against, but the occasional awesome rock music playing while fighting alien zombies and the Combine make for a sweet action packed ride.

Also, I did pick up F.E.A.R. After we finish Episode 1 it is next on the list. We're both giddy with anticipation of terror.

It is Friday again already. How quickly these days go by now. Enjoy the comic.

-Adieu

IhateMacs,andMTV

IjustnowdiscoveredthespacebaronthisMACcomputeristotallybroken.IhateMacs,andtheyarealwaysplayingMTVonthePLASMAinhere.Itisaportalinwhichadolescentsarevehementlydestroyed.TheywillputanyidiotonashowonMTV.ThumbsdownTV,yousuck.MACkeyboards,youSUCKtoo.

Tra la la'

Well I'm not at my home computer, so I cannot upload my avatar right now, but I thought I'd still post. Well, now I uploaded the avatar.

The weather is stunning, there are birds, and finals have begun to cast their shadow. But you can't worry about tomorrow! Tomorrow will happen regardless. So I will enjoy the present.

I think you can tell a tired writer from the way his lexicon wheezes. The pallette from which my sentences, thought patterns, and general structure are drawn from is dried and narrow. I think the nap I will take after this next class will have some restorative effect.


-Talk to you later!





I mean, -Arrivederci!

Hello all.

I’ve been fairly silent in this space for awhile. I should not let that happen!

I’m reading “Bulfinch’s Mythology”.

Right now.

It’s a very thick and fascinating conspectus of all things myth (at least Western). It begins with a treatment of Greek Mythology, then Arthur and other chivalric tales, and concludes with fables of Charlemagne and suchlike heroic exploits. I’ve not read much, but it is highly praised by several sources and has been around since the 1800’s. I have always loved myth and its ability to paint the ideal. It seems a much freer alternative to allegory and is not bogged down with any of the realism or formalities of novels or non-fictional exposition.

It has always breathed like the breeze that combs the hair of wheat fields to me.

Also, I worked out the other day and am still sore. I’m very weak but my roommates and I are dogged in sloughing off this powerlessness. Keep moving forward!

*As addendum, I would like to qualify Sterling's previous post concerning the drawing books. It is like this.

During the early years of elementary school, it was not an uncommon thing for our class to visit the school library. The library, which now that I'm recalling memories buried for many years, seemed almost glittering in it's promises and mystery. I was shorter then, than I am now, and this had the effect of creating all sorts of amazing possibilities.

"What lies on top of this counter? Can't see. Perhaps it's a portal to another world."

The library also contained a very neat aquarium.

Anyway, I mean this: I would often check out said drawing books, because unlike my associate, I had no innate perception of depth, perspective, anatomy, or any lines at all that could be translated onto a piece of paper by my hand.

So, upon arriving home with this literature, I would share my treasures to Sterling, who soon grew disenchanted with them. My favorite, I remember, was a how-to dinosaur book. I drew a brontosaurus (who aren't even a species anymore). Sterling drew raptors eating it.

Eventually I just got my lessons from Sterling, whose raptors were very cool. I still draw raptors that way. The way I did in 2nd grade. I will have to post it sometime.

what an edit.

-Arrivederci!

Mural Project

I always hated those drawing books when I was a kid. How'd they make those three circles turn into a jaguar? It's magic, kids.

I have completed 99.9% of my large mural project. It is composed of three separate "pieces," however this one (see below) is the only one I really planned out carefully and had a specific master design for. All it needs now is a glaze coating for shimmer effect and protection, and then I'll peel the tape off of the edges, leaving a crisp outline.

I must note, the coloration looks a little funny in these photos due to the strange overhead lighting.

FRIDAY

Sweet hot cakes it's Friday! Enjoy the comic!

Maximillian is growing on me. We'll keep him.

Today is 4/20, so don't do anything stupid - there will be plenty of people out there today taking care of the planet's stupid quota. You can begin adding to it again on Saturday when things calm down. And please, do not spray paint "4-20" on a brand new high school running track. It's not nice.


Have a good one.

Wednesday jam session

My avatar won't load. :(

Today could have gone better. Could have gone worse, too, though.

Anyone else had trouble sleeping since the VA Tech shootings? They released more disturbing news about the psycho today, I can only hope we don't have more copy-cats.

Only 3 more weeks of school, or so I've heard. Must focus.... so difficult. Gotta get some sleep. Get up the next day. Drive to school. Pay attention. Listen to drivel in government. The professor is sliding left, the students can't think and they follow suit. Stare at a powerpoint in geology. Learn how to read a topographic map. Why? Not sure. Take a nap. Finish the math quiz. Turn it in. Drive home. Get more sleep. Eat food somewhere in the middle.

Slaves to routine we are.

Sketches

After finish the Toad comic for today I still felt the need to draw some more, so here's the result of that.

Some Writing,

In which is detailed the link to a video of immense genius.

Do visit it.

More to come later!

-Arrivederci!

Maximillian, Penguin

Hope you enjoy today's comic. We have introduced a new character, that hopefully is here to stay. Tell us what you think.

A baking penguin? There is nothing cuter.

Also, does anyone know how to make custom fonts for Photoshop? I want to make one for the comic, but I haven't looked into that yet.

Another thing, Weird Al's new animated music videos are well worth the time it takes to watch them. They're genius, hilarious, and well-animated.

My boss is out of town for this week, so I'm going to hopefully finish the mural project I've been working on, and if so I will have photos and possible video footage of the massive undertaking in its completed state.

Kick Monday in the face.

Temporary New Banner

As you have most definitely noticed, if you have made it this far down the page, there is a new banner for Blue House Comics. It's not the "official" new banner I've been speaking of since December, but rather just something updated to fill in until I have the time to make a really sweet banner. I was tired of the old one, I didn't feel like it reflected the way my art has progressed since then, nor did it portray much personality in the characters.

It felt empty, it had to go, so this is what we have now, and we'll probably have this one until we launch our own, super-mega-ultra official website some time in the future. Hopefully sometime over the summer.

I'll whip up something for the Sunday sketch later tomorrow.


Adios.

Never Leveled Up

As the comic suggests, I have never leveled up when it comes to the art of drumming. I do have a djembe that I like to pretend I can play, but the truth is I'm just not very good at any kind of drumming.

Real quick: Your brand new TV is obsolete. OLED's may be the future. Just look at how thin that screen is!

An interesting event occurred tonight. Kathy shrieked after entering the bathroom, the kind of shriek that automatically signals, "There is a roach in here."

I grabbed my sandal, and then...

THWACK. The stupid thing exploded. Everywhere. Kathy took a picture (upon my request), because this sort of bug explosion doesn't happen every time. Click the image for full view high resolution grossness.

Also, a couple more sketches.

Some Sketches

We have a new Toad today, and I have some sketches here in my blog. I'm not too fond of how I drew the Toad, but I liked the way these concept sketches came out. The alien fish man thing is sort of an anomaly, but you already figured that out.

Roughly 15-20 minutes for all of them.

The man with the cigar is Kanye.

If there was uncertainty.

I believe that formal education is being replaced by podcasts. If you doubt me, visit the iTunes store and browse their educational podcast section. I downloaded 48 podcasts which included daily poems, British history, Mandarin Chinese lessons, vocabulary building, grammar tips and a substantial number of philosophical works. And you can listen to them anywhere on your ipod! So fantastic.

Coming soon: An apologetic defending the potential for and actuality of video games as being a blossoming new channel for relating a story and therefore as a serious medium of art and literature. It will be unassailable.



-Arrivederci!

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

I picked up the new Ted Leo CD, Living with the Living, at Best Buy after I made sure the employees were aware that their new "Convertible Media Plaza Entertainment Laptop," or whatever ridiculous name they were trying to endorse, from HP is actually a Tablet PC. They all told me otherwise until I convinced them that with a $125 upgrade HP would put a touch sensitive screen into the device so it was actually something other than a $1200 DVD player.

As far as Living with the Living goes, tt's definitely different from Shake the Sheets, but I'm not sure if I think it's better or not yet. Either way it's good, and I suggest you pick it up along with Shake the Sheets, you won't be disappointed if you like music that rocks.

New comic today, sorry for not having one last Friday due to scheduling complications. I hope you enjoyed the animation of the man jumping into the alligator, I had fun making it.

Kick Monday in the face.

None

no comic today.

A Preview of What is to Come

Here's a little test demo showcasing what I hope to add to our site soon. Most likely these will be finished out in Flash and will function as a sort of animated blog/post that we'll update a few times a month, or as time allows. This demo is only 8 frames, but it shows you what could be something (of course being colored and with voices) fun in the future.

COMPUSA

As I'm sure a number of you are aware of, COMPUSA is closing more than half of their retail stores across America. Here in Houston, if I wanted to go to one after they close down, I'd have to go all the way to the Galleria. However, after my most recent experiences at one, I'm not going to miss out.

I bopped into my nearby COMPUSA to see a guy I know that works there about a power supply they sold me that was inferior to the one I already had, which I specifically told them I didn't want to have happen, and I couldn't get my money back due to the store's closure.

Anyways, I'm in there and said employee is telling me about all of this completely broken merchandise that they're selling for slightly reduced prices. A 15" LCD for $170? That's a bit steep, especially when they don't know where the cables are for it. And the one next to it? It'll turn on, but it's 100% burned out. $160. What a steal.

I then witnessed two employees kicking around a laptop wi-fi card (still new in box) around the store floor like an air-hockey puck.

Good riddance COMPUSA.