Canned Ham: Risky Business

This one comes from Victoria's Secret:

Try our pants risk free! Details inside.

I'm thinking they need to specify it's financially risk free. I'm pretty sure if I tried their pants...there would be all kinds of risk.

Baby Dos: Week 38

Size Comparison: Green Machine Ride-on toy

We're well into the single digits with our pregnancy countdown. Officially, Baby Dos is due to join the outside world one week from tomorrow. Yow! Our weekly appointments are going well. The baby's heartbeat is strong and my wife's blood pressure is great. The only issues involve the discomfort that you would expect with being 8.5+ months pregnant. We've been fortunate to have a pretty cool spring so the heat hasn't been too bad. Still, sleeping is difficult, muscles are sore, and there's an ever-growing baby that's quickly running out of space. My beautiful wife is amazing though. Through it all, she manages to keep up with our increasingly fast eighteen-month-old son. How she does it, I'll never know.

When will Baby Dos make their debut...who knows? Things could change at any minute but, as of yesterday, the doctor didn't feel like the baby was coming any time soon. Jesse was a week late when my wife was induced and our doctors are saying history tends to repeat itself.

As for the size comparison, I never had a Green Machine. My impression is that they're a Big Wheel with a twist. You still pedal with the front wheel but steering is with the back wheels...so the potential for sweet spinouts is excellent. I'm happy to see you can still get these. I even saw them at Target the other day. An adult-sized Green Machine is on my to-do list.

Operation: Early Bird

For the most part, I enjoy getting up early in the morning. I think that started in college. I could get up, exercise, read, do any number of other things before the campus was buzzing. Even after working the residence hall desk until 2am, I'd still be out of bed by 5:30 or so. Of course, college was a prime napping time in my life, too. Strangely, as my commitments have increased and my time has grown more valuable, it's actually gotten more and more difficult to get up early. I want to change that.

That's where Operation: Early Bird comes in. Over the last month or so, I've managed to get myself out of bed pretty close to the 5:30 am alarm clock. Before, I was setting my alarm for 5:30 but I would hit the snooze button until 6:30. Not cool. To make the change, I started with a realistic wake up time (6:15, maybe) and used that for a week or so. Gradually, I bumped the alarm back in 15 minute increments until I was back to 5:30. As a side note, the change of seasons has probably helped...much easier to get out of bed when it's not a pitch black winter morning.

So, why am I doing this.? Well, there's a couple reasons:

1. Family Time: I'm fortunate enough to have a very flexible work schedule. The earlier I get to the office, the earlier I can leave (within reason). This translates into more family time in the afternoon.

2. Flex Time: I've been trying to go to most of our pregnancy-related appointments. If I get into the office early, I can make up this doctor time without too much hassle.

3. Art: Even with making up the time for the pregnancy appointments, I've got extra morning time. I could continue to come into the office early but I'm not sure I can get away with leaving at 3:30 in the afternoon.

My plan is to take that time and direct it towards artwork. I've broken out some of my art material. I'm starting with my Prismacolor Colored Pencils. I remember really enjoying them before and I was fairly adept at using them. I may venture into some gauche painting and/or artist markers but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I noticed my colored pencils tout the fact that they feature a NEW Complete 90's Color Range. That tells me how long I've had these things. It also makes me wonder if I'm missing Blind Melon Green and Vanilla Ice Blue.


Today was my first art session and it went well. I did a quick sketch of this werewolf guy. It's decent. It also really looks a lot like this guy in my Bible study. Hmm.


Wish me luck.

Safer Roads Through Wheelies

Here's what I think could make roads safer...put more people on motorcycles.

Wha...? But motorcycles are so unsafe, right?

I know it sounds weird. I know it's not practical and I do say it half in jest. At the same time, I genuinely believe some time on spent on two wheels can help us all to be more careful when we're on four.

Here's the thing, there are so many people on the road that really aren't driving. They're talking on the phone. They're messing with their satellite radio. They're shaving or putting on makeup (not necessarily the same driver...but that would be interesting). With all the multitasking taking place in these steel and plastic cocoons, the actual driving has become secondary.

Motorcycles are different. Sure, you can have a nice stereo on your motorcycle but, ultimately, your focus must be on the road, you hands on the handlebars. A bike doesn't allow distractions. It doesn't take much time on a bike before you learn to be proactive, to drive defensively, and really pay attention. When you're hanging out there in the open, the right-of-way quickly becomes less important than safety. That's the first lesson you learn in a riding course...don't assume you can take action just because you're right to do so, you have to take the extra step to verify that you can survive the action. All these are valuable lessons even for those on four wheels. I know my automobile driving skills improved dramatically after only a little time on a motorcycle.

Maybe motorcycles aren't for everyone. Then again, maybe it is for a lot of people that haven't tried it. It really is a beautiful thing. The closeness with a machine. The rush. The pull of the engine. The sheer openness. It takes effort, sure. You may arrive to your destination a little tired but it's incredibly refreshing. It clears the mind.

As for the safety of the actual bikes, the biggest threat are the multi-taskers in their cocoons. While bikers can't force them to pay attention, steps can be taken to increase motorcycle safety. Take the ABATE riding course. Get your motorcycle endorsement. Wear a DOT approved helmet (preferably SNELL approved, as well) and proper riding gear. Be as visible as possible. And, like so many other activities, practice.

And, you can do wheelies...carefully, of course.

Book Review: Making Comics by Scott McCloud

Making Comics
by Scott McCloud
Harper Paperbacks
ISBN 00607809

I've previously reviewed Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud. I thoroughly enjoyed both books. Naturally, I was pretty pumped when his book, Making Comics, came out recently. I was not disappointed. Where the previous two books focused on the past and future of comics, Making Comics focused on the actual craft. This fit in nicely with my current aspirations.

One might think that this would be a step-by-step, how-to-draw book but this is not the case. Really, the core is storytelling via comics. How do you tell a story with artwork? How do you make it not only readable and worthy of reading? H0w do you make you characters interesting and convincing?

Here are some of my big takeaways:

1. How does the artist balance clarity (simplicity, ease of reading) with intensity (the flash that catches reader's attentions). What to include/exclude. Framing. POV. Really, it's like directing a film...on Bristol Board.

2. Facial expressions. Seriously, Making Comics includes pages upon pages about expression, facial musculature, and the ever-so-slight variations on expressions. These pages, alone, might make it worth buying the book. It's really impressive. It prompted me to pull out my copy of Burne Hogarth's Drawing the Human Head.

3. Word use. Details about sound effects, bubbles, even fonts. How can they help/hurt the story.

4. Making the world of your comic feel real. It really is the little details that pulls the reader into this world. Taking a little time (i.e. space in a comic) to really show the world will go a long way.

5. Tools of the trade. Honestly, I was expecting a greater focus on art mediums, materials, techniques but was pleasantly surprised. Don't misunderstand. Having the right tools can make a task a lot easier and, if having something like a t-square means I can spend more time telling the story and less time making parallel lines, I'm all for it. I appreciated McCloud's documentation of what successful artists use...having a few guidelines make the art supply story feel a lot less intimidating. I also appreciated, though, the mentioning that great artists can make terrific artwork with just a few basic tools like printer paper and ballpoint pens. Ok, I wrote more about this, the smallest aspect of the book, than any of the other takeaways. Sorry.

There you have it. I really liked the book. I'd really like to own a copy but we'll see how that works out...I'm terribly cheap.

He's Got a Knife: Exciting Conclusion

So the monster and the man have color. Let's wrap this up already.

1. The Base.

I debated whether or not to have a base for quite awhile. Eventually, I decided I needed something to a) keep the two figures physically together, b) bring the figures together in one scene, and c) help keep the figures from tipping over if they get bumped. I originally thought I'd go with a plain grass or sand covered base but that wasn't enough. I then thought about simulating a sidewalk so I could have it all cracked and dislodged under the monster's feet. I finally decided on the pier idea. It brought the figures together, raised the man enough to make it appear the monster's bulk sunk him in a bit, and it gave something for the monster to demolish.

The base is a piece of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) leftover from another project. I trimmed it to the funky shape with a jigsaw. It was covered in Original Sculpey and baked. The pier is Super Sculpey, rolled flat, and sliced with an X-Acto knift. The individual boards are just pieces sliced smaller.

2. The Sea.

Like the figures, the base was painted in artist acrylics. I had to repaint the base as the water came out looking much too crystal clear Carribean blue the first time. I did some investigation online and found that mixing complementary colors can make a good brown. I had good luck with mixing purple and yellow. This, combined with some grey-blue-green made a decent swamp.

3. The Assembly.

Putting it together. The monster's eyes and teeth are attached with cyanoacrylate glue (i.e. Krazy Glue). I really like this glue for my sculpture projects. I've had good luck in using it to fix broken pieces on other projects and it seems to hold well and it dries quickly.

The monster is attached to the base with three screws from the bottom up and into his feet. These were pre-drilled plenty large to prevent breaking the clay. I then filled the holes with wood glue and inserted the screws. Maybe not the best method but it seems pretty sturdy.

Everything else was attached with more cyanoacrylate. This includes the pier to some dummy supports, the dummy supports to the base, the pier pilings to the base and pier, the random pieces of splintered wood to monster and base, and, finally, the man to the pier.

4. The Clear.

The last thing I did was spray the whole thing with a clear acrylic sealer in a matte finish. This keeps it clean and cuts down on the acrylic paint's tendency to to shine and/or remain tacky.

Then again, the project is a bit tacky all on it's own.

He's Got a Knife: Now in Color

Ok, so I have a modeled monster and man, both sculpted and sanded to a point where they actually look like a monster and a man. Next up? Fun stuff.

1. The Bits.

I sculpted the monster's teeth and eyeballs separate from the beast. These were very basic chunks of Super Sculpey, modeled into crooked cones for the teeth and unevenly squashed spheres for the eyes. I'll add these to the whole later.

2. The Paint.

Let's bring this thing to life with some color. If I had an airbrush, I may have given that a shot. I don't have and airbrush (nor do I know how to use one) but that still left me with plenty of options.

I went with my Liquitex Artists Acrylic paints. Acrylic paints are easy to use, easy to mix, easy to clean, and can be used in a surprisingly number of various ways. It also dries really fast. This can be a mixed blessing in some cases but worked really well for the sculpture as it required frequent handling and turning.

I started by painting the guy. I kept him pretty basic and didn't do much color mixing. Actually, I painted the guy's skin using Testors model paint as I already had a flesh-toned color. everything else is in acrylic. The little man's horseshoe-bald head and goatee were painted using basic black paint and a drybrush technique to keep it loose.

Painting the monster was a lot more fun. The bulk of the body is painted in a dark green that's a mix of various colors that I really can't remember. I started with one of my greens, added Bronze Yellow (a gold-ish, rich tan), some blue, and maybe some other colors until I got something I liked. The tan-ish sections are a standard Bronze Yellow. The acrylic spread and colored easily so a thin coat was plenty to cover the beast.

I drybrushed some Bronze Yellow and some black over the creature, especially on the ends of the scales to add some detail and depth. This also kept him from looking like he was just one, flat color and not a swamp beast that just pulled himself from the muck.

The gills were touched with some red paint that had been thinned with water.

Acrylics...is there anything they can't do?

Next up...let's finish this thing already.

He's Got a Knife: Finishing Touches

By now, I had a monster that pretty closely represented what I wanted from the finished product. Not done yet, though. FYI: I'm out of pictures until the final, final product. Sorry.

1. The Dust.

Here's where I cleaned up the finished product. This involved a lot of sanding and dusting. Not exactly difficult work but definitely messy and a little tedious. Fortunately, the Super Sculpey modeled pretty smoothly so I really didn't need to do much sanding. Just a bit to clean up some of the fingerprints and the sections where I seamed pieces together (i.e. fingers to arms).

One thing to note is that sandpaper does not like Super Sculpey. You're essentially sanding plastic and the sandpaper tends to gunk up pretty quickly. I burned through a lot of sandpaper.


2. The Man.

I haven't discussed the sculpting of the guy much outside of mentioning the aluminum foil skeleton. I went right to Super Sculpey with the man...he was small enough that he didn't need bulking up and I wanted the strength of the Super Sculpey. Even though he was small, I still modeled/baked the guy in two cycles. The first cycle resulted in a body without any hands or feet. Those were added as part of the second cycle. I knew these would need extra modeling and I was afraid I'd mess of the body if it wasn't pre-baked. The hands are pretty basic...one flat and one pointed. The feet are really just oversized bases to allow the figure to stand upright. As for the face, it's pretty vague. I did rough in a nose and eye sockets but left the rest for the painting.