I confess, I have caught Tumblr fever.  I always feel more comfortable with simpler, more intuitive interfaces, and a network of users who is always posting gleefully stupid jokes.

Actually, I caught Tumblr fever in November, and I didn't tell you blog readers.  WHAT KIND OF PERSON AM I??  Sob.

Come visit me over there and you'll see doodles like these with alarming frequency!

Not to mention some occasional shtick!  (There's more to the story below...)

Sweet jeebus, what's that in the sidebar?!

Whatever, feel free to look at these first...

Hawaii bound

It's true. I'm hittin' Oahu and Maui and comin' back two Thursdays from now. Aloha till then, folks!

(And yes, I did just say Aloha like a touristeriffic white-boy dork.)

Last burst of sketchy decadence...

...before careening headlong into my senior film. But it'll be a pleasant careen. I think.

One thing I learned: Next time I make oaths that I'll have more stories in the can and amp up my draftsmanship to the maxxxxx, make sure nothin' else is on my plate first. The above doodles weren't exactly "on my plate," and I'm that much closer to not yet finishing my boards as a result.

BUT... do you like 'em?

Shame on me...

Another pinup. And with a white background, no less! Ah, well, if it offsets the bland in-joke of the last post (edit: DELETED) it can't it be all bad. Plus it's an okay stab at clean-up.

I've been fooling myself with two ideas lately: 1) that story drawing is harmful because it takes too much time away from my homework, and 2) that doodling is harmless. Usually, yes, doodling is harmless. It's obsessing over a doodle until it's a finished piece that's not so good -- especially when there's no story.

I love sharing my stuff and I'm thankful you're all around to see it, but there's only one way for me to blow you away and that's if I focus. So let me cocoon for a while and hopefully I can show off some new, and some improved, stories by the end of the year.

Also, Chris, thanks for pushing me to do small exercises. I'm slowly getting back into the habit as time permits -- plus I've drawn so many pinups that I'm getting tired, and I'm eager to know these characters. Believe it or not, watching Animaniacs with a friend recently made me a little more conscious about how cartoon characters can interact (even Mindy and Buttons' simple antics were highly entertaining).

My history with "dropping the blog," of course, is checkered. But if I know what's good for me I won't start it up till the time is right.

'Bye

I'm proud that I've been contributing to my blog so frequently for the past couple of months, but it's gotta stop. My summer was intended to be extremely productive, with major steps forward in my life and completed projects galore. Now, my days have no direction, and this is due in large part to the nonstop tweaking of one-off doodles. For whatever reason, I'm not content to share sketches. However, blogs are not portfolios -- unless they're portfolio blogs.

The last post contains some of my favorite, and least formulaic, drawings in a while, barring the pink one. So, to whoever's reading, hope you enjoyed them, and thanks for stickin' around. Unless I change my mind (and that's happened before), let's cap this with a few more drawings.

I know I'm gonna catch some heat for this one, someday, somehow...but you only live once.

What Price, Bloggership?

It's happening again...I wanna move.

My amount of readers, let alone co-conspirators, and completed drawings doesn't justify my stay on Blogger. Plus, even a pretentious gasbag such as yours truly gets tired of espousing wishy-washy drawing philosophy when he should just be drawing instead.

Is this the end? Probably not. But here are some "parting gifts" regardless -- reckless, slightly modern, and eagerly awaiting the future.

Movin' Out?

The funny thing about a blog is you need readers.

I've had trouble reconciling my shyness, fear of theft, and desire for exposure when deciding on a format for laying my 'toons out. I'm thinking of switching to DeviantArt, because I know a friend or two there and it's a good way to meet like-minded artists, even if you have to wade through a lot of opposite-minded artists.

Whoever's been paying attention thus far, thanks a bunch, and we'll see what I end up doing.  If you have any protests, suggestions, or bad omens about my relocating, speak 'em below.

Designs for a villain who would be more "flawed" than "wad of pure evil." Also happens to be a dog.

Adventures in color. Trying to capture the aesthetic of 1950s Technicolor films -- bright hues, but strong contrast.

When I realized that the dog above was not so much a hippie as a "mod chick," this dumb cartoon came to me.

Those of you who've heard "Benny the Bouncer," the goofy ragtime piece by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, may appreciate these sketches of Benny...

...and of Savage Sid. Apologies to Sierra Lewis if Vlad somehow managed to slip in.

A sort of cross between Foulfellow and Ed Bighead.  Noticed only after scanning the poor chap that he's missing a right armpit.  Could have fixed that, but I've got a busy day ahead, so I'll let him suffer.