New Episode: My how you've grown!
Old school. Drawn on paper with pencil, inked with the Kuretake brush pen, grey toned with grey pentel water color brush pen. Cleaned up, lettered and tweaked in Photoshop. I think it will look better if I learn to use better paper.
Now that is definitely a female duck John! ;)
Posted by: Gareth | January 26, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Haha! Great, John! That last panel is probably the nightmare of every teenage girl's parents. Keen observation on the lack of duck teeth. I would probably give ducks teeth, not thinking about. Big buck teeth like Bugs.
Posted by: Lee-Roy | January 26, 2008 at 03:24 PM
^ I second Gareth's comment.
Posted by: Lee-Roy | January 26, 2008 at 03:25 PM
Thanks guys!!!
I worked extra hard on Jessica's design, with lots of input from Sara. She has to be cute, and attractive, but not in an...."Orangina" kind of way, if you know what I'm saying.
Posted by: John | January 26, 2008 at 03:35 PM
Hi John, Excellent strip!!! If I may ask, what brand/size pencil do you use?
Posted by: Larry Levine | January 26, 2008 at 04:07 PM
Nice job on the strip, John! It came out looking great! Nice balance of paper & computer! Big shocker with Jessica, too! How did you decide on the name(s) of the characters, anyway?
I still need help designing my female duck. Every time I draw her she either looks like my guy duck (Steve-O) or just doesn't look attractive enough. It probably has to do with the size/shape of the bill. Have any tips for a sad case like me?
Posted by: Michael J. Ruocco | January 26, 2008 at 04:15 PM
Hey Larry!!! Thanks! I use a mechanical pencil, Hb lead, size .05 most of the time, but I also use regular Ticonderoga #2 quite a bit too. They have these wonderful cheap mechanical pencils at work that have a .07 mm lead that I like to use too. I used to look for the perfect pencil, but lately, that tends to be "whatever is within reach". I like Colerase red, blue and tuscan red too.
Hey Michael!!! Thank you sir!!
The way I name characters is completly inconsistant. Chippy is a name that just randomly popped into my head. it sounded like the name of a cloying cute character, so I went with it. It works because it is the 180 degree opposite of his actual personality. I came up with Loopus becaus the scientific name for wolf is "Canis lupus". Subsitute 2 o's for the u, and it looks like the name of someone stupid. Judy sounds like the name of a meddlesome neigbor lady. Carl sounds like the name of the neighbor guy you can borrow motor oil from. "Tucker and Tyler" came from a George Carlin routine about insipid modern kid's names. Jessica just kind of popped into my head. I drew the girl duck (I haven't even designed her as an infant yet) and that is the name that my brain spat out. She looks like a Jessica.
Designing female animal characters is tough. I looked at a lot of old Warner cartoons, specifically, any of the cartoons where they give Daffy a girlfreind. There is a Frank Tashlin Daffy where a girl duck pops up and due to her purpose in the story, she is supposed to read as "hot" instantly, and she does. Look at girls. What is it about them that will translate to an animal character without crossing into creepy furry land? The cheeks ( on the face) are a big one. Also, I gave Jessica almond shaped eyes. Try varying the bill size. Imply an hourglass figure if you can. Keep trying, observing, and drawing. You'll get it.
Posted by: John | January 26, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Thanks for the tips, John. I'll do a little brainstorming so I can pinpoint what I want.
I remember that Carlin routine. I actually got Carlin's "All My Stuff" boxset for Christmas. It has all of his HBO specials on it. I think he's airing a new special on HBO sometime this spring. Looking forward to it.
Posted by: Michael J. Ruocco | January 27, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Hi John, Your character drawings are so spontaneous & alive I was certain you drew with something very soft like a Staedtler Mars 4B. The Ticonderoga #2 is the same pencil Schulz used to draw Peanuts.
I'm still searching for my 'perfect' pencil, trying to find a perfect blue that's soft but not waxy like Col-erase. I'm also very tempted to try a Kuretake BP after seeing your masterful results.
Posted by: Larry Levine | January 27, 2008 at 09:04 PM
Thanks Larry!!!
I have tried softer pencils, but they smear, and I'm a slob. so the softest I use is a number #2. My old animation teacher, a Mr. Chris Buck recommended the number 2. I read somewhere that Charles Schulz used one too, but I happened upon it because they are always available and I get a good line with them.
I use colerase for sketching in the sketchbook sometimes. I find the different colors "free my mind". That sounds like hippy bullshit, but it's the truth. It's something I picked up from one of those Shamus Culhane books.
I have some Pogo originals that I study quite a bit, and judging from them, Walt Kelly used a very soft non-photo blue, possibly a prismacolor. He'd knock in everything very roughly, and then do most of the actual drawing while inking with the brush, which was a Windsor Newton Series 7 #2. Chris Sanders uses a #1 for Kiskaloo.
I use the Kuretake because it is fast and I can get a big juicy line with it, as well as a little hair-thin line. I highly recommend it!
Thanks again for the high praise!
Posted by: John | January 28, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I found recently that I like the erasers on the Ticonderoga (one just happened to be in reach). I find crappy pencil erasers really frustrating. You know, those hard waxy ones that squeak when you rub then on the paper and leave horrible streaks and smears behind? ARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!
The pencil lead seems just fine in the Ticonderoga as well, but I'm a mechanical pencil guy for the most part these days. I've developed a distaste for sharpening — it totally ruins the work flow and if you have a crappy sharpener, the leads are always breaking. And when lead breaks... HULK SMASH!!!
Posted by: Lee-Roy | January 28, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Usually, the hard waxy eraser is due to the fact that the pencil is so old the rubber has gotten hard. This is the first stage of rubber rot.
This usually happens after about 2 years. The exception? A Mars staedtler number 2 (or is it an HB?) that I picked up in London on my honeymoon. It's red and black, and has a wonderful line. The eraser on that pencil lasted for 5 or 6 years before it became unusable. I still love it and use it sparingly. I have a matching pencil sharpener. Do they still make those? Hey all you folks over in the UK!!! Do you know what I'm talking about?
Posted by: John | January 29, 2008 at 10:53 AM
The erasers on the Ticonderoga are the best, I use 'em when drawing with a Tombow 4B.
Posted by: Larry Levine | January 29, 2008 at 04:50 PM
Typical teenage girl!
It's hilarious that he's still carrying that board around. haha
Posted by: MitchK | January 29, 2008 at 07:52 PM
Hey John, I don't know about those Mars Staedtler No.2, I'll have a look around for you. I use the Mars Staedtler Lumograph 4B's personally. I like the soft smoothness of the lead. They can get a bit smudgey though.
Posted by: Gareth | January 30, 2008 at 02:45 AM
oh, man. whats future-chippy gonna be like?!?! cant waiT!
Posted by: jess v | January 30, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Hey Jess!
I did a few roughs already. My first mistake was to make him too old. My next mistake was to not age him enough. Old Loopus was easy, as you will see when he makes his appearance....soon.
I have a lot of fun stuff coming in this little story line. Stay tuned!
Posted by: John | January 30, 2008 at 01:29 PM