Monkey-Punching

Last night, we went to the Cliff Wright Library, and I took out 11 volumes of the original Lupin the Third series by Monkey Punch. I did this drawing in an attempt to blend styles, but then it didn't work. I took two common Lupin poses from the manga, but in my style, it looks like Elliot/Cain is going to fall over.

What a ridiculous study! Some of the comments are unintelligible and awful.

Bonus Tip

*Have you ever drawn something and thought, "Wow, this is really good! Wait, maybe I should touch this up..." STOP YOU FOOL PUT THE PEN DOWN AND MOVE AWAY FROM IT. Your drawing is in what I call the Quintessential State, and any other changes will ruin it completely. Usually when I do something good and try to add a small change - colouring/shading something, adding a tiny detail - and it usually goes horribly wrong. If you ever make what you think is a great picture, resist making any last-minute changes in pen.

Cameos

In issue two, I needed to fill space during two scenes in the last few pages of the comic. Only two of the characters are mine, and ergo, I am possibly breaking the law. Here's what to look forward to...

Ryusaku and Tatsu Murasame of Tetsujin 28. They appear clearly in two panels, which would be pushing it, if people could instantly recognize them. They actually look like the following...

(If any of my offline friends are reading this, I would like to warn you that you will be forced to watch at least one episode of this series. You guys would love the Murasame Brothers if you could get over the "giant robot" matter.)


Shinzuka Ichinuma and his father, Kuro, from The Outlanders. That is actually a more graphic, psychological series with an intricate plot that I'm still trying to finish. Shinzuka is in three more panels with one spoken line.

Osamu Tezuka's villain character Skunk Kusai. This is a heavily-modified version, based on his appearance in the animated Astro Boy series from 2003.

Issue Two Now Available

Rough draft from mid-March 2009; final panel from Issue Two

My incredibly non-fancy printer is out of blue and yellow ink, so the latest I can get the comics printed is Monday. I tried printing the cover, but it was mostly red and looked terrifying. The comics'll be released in-store hopefully on the same day. The prices are as follows:

(Note: Shipping is included in these prices)

Issue One = $2

Issue Two = $2

If you do not live in Saskatoon and want both issues, they are at $3.25, which is an internet-exclusive offer from now to September 30. If you do live in the area, go to the shop and please save me money on postage.

Here's part one in a series of cartooning tips:

*Write the speech before you draw the speech bubble. I used to do this backwards when I was eight or nine, and as I noted from experience, it limits how much text you can put in. This is worse when you have a really good line and are forced to cut it up accordingly.

*Never limit your secondary antagonists to just being dumb, cliched thugs. Give them each a significant design, and maybe have one of them say a good linne. For more information on what not to do, see every one of Dr. Claw's henchman.

*Don't avoid drawing hands by putting them behind your character's back. (i.e. stiff arms pulled back, with mid-forearm hidden by hips) It's better to draw a bad hand on your first try, than to avoid drawing a hand entirely. In fact, look at your own hand when you draw one.

FIMO Clay Elliot

He stands at 3 cm (11/5 inches). I also made Miles, but he's disproportionate in many a way. I'm still very proud of this, though.

I've got some Gashapon capsules laying around...how do you guys think it would go if I were to make little clay figures of the comic cast? I could raffle them off if the comic gets popular enough in-town.

I might also offer alternative language translations of the comic, mainly French and Japanese. I even translated the title into Katakana: シンデッエリオット

Crossover Business

I've been saving this illustration for a while now, since I wasn't sure how people would handle it. I'm very good with crossovers, but this one could be borderline disturbing to most. I drew Elliot and his brother as Jake and Elwood Blues, but that's sort of an inside joke.

I had a very bizarre dream a few days ago that involved me meeting 14 year old Becky, whom was a freshman in my school and an enormous fan of the comic. Only problem was how she had a fan character (with the same first name) that she inserted into the end of the comic, shackling with Elliot, thus forcing Charmy out. Also, she paired Godfather and King.

Model Sheets

Since Ponyo isn't playing anywhere Saskatchewan, we went to see Night At The Museum 2 and it was wonderful. They had young Al Capone as an antagonist, which I appreciated, because I've been interested in mobsters since I was eight. The only problem was Abraham Lincoln's voice. He was played by Hank Azaria, whom already plays another character in the movie, and his voice was too recognisable. They could have gotten another actor with a natural low voice, like Jamieson Price or the like. Amy Adams was perfect as Amelia Earhart. But still, everything was pretty good.

In honour of this, here are my original Cinderelliot character designs from February 27, 2009...

(Of course, I had been planning CE for about a month before drawing this.) Most notably, you can see my original intent to make George and Mina like birds and mice (a la Disney's version). Speaking of which, 1/4 of Disney's movie was just about the animals, for God's sake...

The Fairy Godfather was a little less enthusiastic-looking, didn't switch from stoic to feminine easily, and smoked. I've been trying to take the smoking out of my more attractive characters, given that smoking is gross and it ruins your overall look.* That aside, he originally had a light Brooklyn accent that would have been hard to put legibly in text. Charmy and King were briefly going to be Italian, with reddish-brown hair, but I changed that to add some diversity to the comic. And then almost went back when I worried the grey marker for their skin would look offensive.

And Elliot's hair! It's frizzy, compared to the insane poofy thing I gave him in the comic. Have you guys ever heard of Hideki from Nerima Daikon Brothers? His design + John Belushi's personality inspired Elliot. Elliot and his brother (who you'll see in #2) are actually called "Cain and Arbrook" in another one of my projects. It's a Cain & Abel pun, except Elliot doesn't kill Miles and marry their sister.

*I once was infatuated with a girl named Carlene, whom was a few months younger than me but tall and mature-looking. In 10th grade she took up smoking and loose sex with university students. No, I'm not bitter.

Kenji Murasame Block

Not necessarily Cinderelliot-related, but I recently made fan art for the Tetsujin 28 series...

Translation: MURASAME KENJI
"Is something wrong?"

One of the good things about Tetsujin was how distinct the syle was; it all looked like a rounded, shiny Fleischer-esque world, compared to the overused shoujo look of today.
Kenji Murasame was my favorite character in the show...he had a bright pink suit, puffy black hair, and a dozen throwing knives on hand. He and his two brothers (Ryusaku and Tatsu) were briefly shown as a small band of thieves, but for some reason, both brothers died before the third episode. That kind of thing always drove me nuts as a writer; I always felt the Murasame Brothers could have had plenty of good scenes if the two hadn't died.

Buon Giorno

Welcome to the blog! I'm "Robotkat" (the androgynous name I use online), a young cartoonist in Saskatchewan. I'm currently working on the second half of a locally-published comic "Cinderelliot" and preparing to work on several others. If you are looking through the archives after seeing the link in issue two, thank you for buying it, and I suggest you buy several more issues.

I'm only going to be posting pictures from the production of my comics, including model sheets and moronic sketches. Unless something insane happens in real life, not much of my personal life will be mentioned. Also, I probably won't swear that much.

My favorite TV shows are Astro Boy, Tetsujin 28, Assemble Insert, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Young Ones.

My favorite book material includes Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbes, Shel Silverstein, Osamu Tezuka, and an obscure novel called "Summer Home" by Cynthia D. Grant.