Finally have gotten into learning Flash. Spent all day fiddling around with it and after 7 hours I came up with this. She’s marching along to the outro music from the Ghostbusters cartoon. What else?

I read nearly 200 pages of the manual and wasn’t really getting anywhere so I decided to just pick something and try it. I’ve found that’s the best way to learn new software, just pick a tiny goal that you can relate to and skip trying to make a red circle and a blue square move across the screen. I learned Corel Painter by jumping straight in and doing the Freak Show comic with it. Probably
not the wisest thing but it kept my interest.

So now I’m getting into Flash hopefully hopefully hopefully, I can realise my life long dream; making a 2D platform game!

You know what I hate? All through my life I’ve had to clarify to teachers, kids, artists, everyone, that my interest in comics has nothing to do with animation. Some people even call static illustration “animation”.I like cartoons but never wanted to make them. But I get it constantly “where did you study animation?” and “how long have you been into animation?”. Never.

What’s great about Flash is that one person really can make a slick animated film without much training. My first big goal is to make a music video for MashfAce.

You’ve been warned.

Done another stand in for Frank over at the Bif and the Sniff.

Here, I have a customised google homepage where it gives me a new japanese word a day and news and all that but I also get a ‘How To’ each day. Mostly they’re lame like how to fold a hankerchief and how to grow a pineapple but this one made me splutter.

How to appreciate Death Metal.

Death Metal has been a secret love of mine for years, none of my mates are into it or ever were but I just love it. So go and
appreciate it like these fine patrons

Wiggedy wiggedy whizzo! Here is a snifter at some of the dopest shit out on the streets. So tempting just to post the whole six pages but I have to ration this stuff out like cornflour 1946.

Yes I hate them ridiculous expensive ‘dirty’ jeans with pre made grass streaks and rust and all the crap on them. Is it male office workers trying to claw back some masculinity? To at least try covince themselves that they have a life and are sliding in grass and crawling under cars? Whatever it is, it’s gay.

Hate the recent Hasslehoff fandom. Like every one 25-30 who grew up with Knight Rider, I have a soft spot for him but I have overheard too many idiots say ‘Aw man The Hoff rules’ and all that jazz. It just annoys me for some reason. I’m too cool for it is what I’m getting at. And that porn name game. FUCK!!! I seriously think it’s on par with the way young girls count how many times moving the ring pull thing on a can before breaks off will give you the initials of your future fellah. Or lads doing the Steo Superman ‘S”. It was amusing once I’ll admit. But so was licking batteries, sharpening ice pop sticks and putting buttercups under your chin.

Wahey chumps! Sitting at home, drawing in my undies, living the dream. Or ‘clinging to the dream’ would probably be more suitable, packed up loads of my essentials and l am looking for a new place. I’ll be posting a gushing housing appeal soon, so make your excuses now!

This is a preview of the 7 page Hate List I’m working on. Got 5 pages drawn and coloured since Sunday which is noice. It’s a goodie. Looking at it now and I reckon I could add at least another page. There’s so much crammed in that I could have stretched it all out to 12. But all killer no filler for The Shiznit.

Got online at “home” finally, and when not checking my emails I have Shareaza downloading more flarn and audiobooks than a man could possibly ever use. I’m amazed that this pc hasn’t imploded with the amount of abuse it gets, on all day and night with around 4 graphics programmes running and various other ones for music and stuff. I have a webcam set up so I can see who walks past my front door. 3 days unemployed and I’ve already become weird.

Now that I think of it, I have been getting a bit grief from the pc, the infra-red connection for the wireless keyboard keeps cutting out. I think it needs new batteries. Man, my local shop is the worst excuse for a local shop in the world. It’s like they want to eliminate people from actually coming into the place and do all future dealings through the hatch. There’s so much empty floor space and all they sell is teabags, milk, oil and maps. Would it kill them to try Pringles and Maltana bread? I don’t think they even sell tampons which would be a good indication of their goodwill. Fuck it.

Here are hate lists 1-3 as requested by someone sad. Click em for enlargements.

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Last Saturday, I was on the bus coming through Tallaght, a couple of stops before the Square. Staring vacantly out of moving vehicles has been a favourite of mine for years. I spotted this ‘Hardman’ about the same age as me marauding across a field, grimly clutching two crazy looking dogs.

‘oooooh! You’re so hard’ I thought to myself. What a pathetic and pitiful display of a man’s insecurities. The dogs were very excited. I felt sorry for them, disturbed fully grown dogs are a lost cause and the owner should be held accountable for not training them right. What a wanker. They suddenly stopped moving in the same direction as if to confer with each other. The Hardman faltered as they swarmed under his legs and he kept trying to walk at the same pace, it was great. Inevitably……

Beautiful. Truly beautiful. A full story told and resolved in 4 or 5 seconds. But nobody else was looking. It wouldn’t hurt him unless somebody saw it. I spotted 2 scanger girls in their 20’s directly below me who saw the whole thing and one of them pointed and laughed. The Hardman probably hung himself that night.

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Found this video yesterday and can’t stop watching it. Nickelodeon has turned some of They Might be Giants tracks into animated shorts and this one is brilliant. Really uplifting and if you don’t like it you smell.

The band also do a deadly podcast so give it a go.

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Here it is in all it’s rushed glory. My first 24 Hour comic. When I got there thankfully the list of random titles was printed out and on the table. Skimming through them I was releived to see keywords like ‘robot’ ‘puppies’ ’sober’, all stuff that I could squeeze 24 pages out of.

The very first one on the list was STOCK CAR NINJA.I picked that one because it was the one title that immeadiatley lent itself to a quick 24 page story. I always try for a distinct ending and not something that just fizzles out, a stock car race, any race, has a clear start, middle and definite end with tension in between. The Ninja part gave me more of an excuse to add action.

I planned my strategy the night before and worked out a way to lash through the pages without resorting to splash pages and keep it visually interesting. Simple dynamic devices such as the use of brick walls in Sin City, a shortcut that can be a design feature. Most of Sin City is just smart shortcuts that work. I flicked through one of them the day before just to see what can be gotten away with. Miller and Mignola are masters at that shit. I don’t mean that in an entirely derogatory way, it’s a great skill that ensures a distinct style and a prolific output.

Roughed out the thumbnails and was pencilling pages before 1pm. Broke off for half an hour to grab a quick pint with Brian and started inking around 4pm only stopping for piss and Guinness breaks. It ended up being 25 pages due to a miscount! Missed the last bus home, which in Dublin city, a major capital of the world is 11-11:30pm which is a fuckin disgrace. Had to get the Luas which decided to terminate at the Red Cow so on to a bus and then a 45 minute walk up from The Square. What kind of shitty public transport system is that? A shitty one.

Ran out of pens when I started work at home, knew I should have stocked up in advance, I went around to Evan’s right before the event planning on getting everything I need but they had NOTHING! That place used to be great for pens and markers.Wankers. Had to leg it up to the Art and Hobby Shop in The Jervis which saved the day with those brilliant Faber Castel Brush pens but they didn’t have the other ones that I needed. Fuck it, it turned out well, millions of things I’d like to fix but it that’s the beauty of it innit. Managed to get a good sleep, food and a few spliffs in between everything, I wouldn’t be into staying up all night drawing. If I had to I would but I find staying awake for 24-30 hours just fucks me up for around 3 days.

Here’s another account of the whole thing.

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Wahey. Last day in work. Not as thrilled as I originally imagined because of ‘The Unpleasantness’ with Hayley but fuck it, I’m glad to get out of here. I have absolutely no interest in it anymore.

Going to see The Subhumans tonight with Brian, haven’t been to a gig in ages. They’re a great band and from all reports and youtubes are sounding deadly. I hope they’re selling cd’s at the gig because all I have are a few ratty cassettes. When I was around 15 I had a stack of copied tapes filled with the best of punk and metal but there was no guarantee that the name on it matched the albums. So I didn’t actually know I was listening to The Subhumans for about a year.

Deadly.

Crazy that you can now download songs, check lyrics, converse with fans and even band members instantly instead of clumsily fumbling your way towards the music you like.
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