The Shy One

Santa No More

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Old School vs New School

Fan Mail

EZ Talk

How to Fix a Cellphone

Inspired by a real life occurrence!  If I had known it works I would have dropped my cellphone more often.  At the moment though, it finally died on me for real.  Huhu :((

And... I've used this scammy tikbalang character for the third time now that I decided to give him a name.  His name is Pedro!  He appeared in two other comic strips -- here and here.

Inflatable

Unfortunately, flooding due to rains has become more and more common where I am residing at.  People still prefer to stay in their own homes than evacuate though.

The Day Kat Didn't Go

The Thinking One

I am not very knowledgeable with sculptures but I do remember that there is a sculpture called "The Thinker" which somehow inspired this comic strip.

Abstract Diorama

This scan came out really choppy!  I swear I should get better inks (or maybe a better scanner?).  Any tools of the trade tips out there?

In case you're interested, a diorama is "a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit."  Just copied that off google.

Also, Happy Halloween to people soon!  I would normally create a Halloween art of some sort but believe it or not, I actually have been sort of busy.  I think I've said this before: I hate the term "busy" because if something matters to you then you'd definitely make time for it.  So I'll probably just restate things: I wasn't able to create a Halloween art because I didn't give importance to it.  -- That just sounds bad.  :(

Also in the subject of Halloween, I don't know if it's a normal practice world-wide but here in the Philippines during November 1st, we visit the graves of our loved ones and normally stay in the cemetery most of the day.  For most of my life, I visited the grave of my grandfather, he died when I was around ten or eleven.  But this year is different.  Though I'll definitely visit my grandfather, I'll mostly spend time with my Dad's grave.  :(  My dad died six months ago, he had a heart attack.  I still miss him, of course, but I was actually prepared when he died.  He had been sick for a while; aside from having a weak heart, he had diabetes and his eyes weren't the best-- he became blind in one eye and would have lost complete eyesight in the other if not for an operation.

Didn't mean for it to be a sappy post.  I rarely post anything personal here; I try to just focus on art stuff.  But sometimes it is good to share things with people, even just virtually.

Monkey Bars

Radio Q&A

It's Neko's turn in the "Ask an Entrepreneur" portion!  You may view Kat's version here.

The Jedi Mind Trick

I first learned about the Jedi Mind Trick when I watched a movie called Mallrats, a 1995 movie starring Shannen Doherty.  No, I was not aware what Star Wars is at that time, which was understandable knowing I am from the other side of the Globe.  Of course now, I know what Star Wars is and has since watched everything in that movie franchise.

I Choose You

I am not a Pokémon Go player but I thought the concept is mighty cool!  How about you?

The Return of the Greek King

Odysseus is one of the most famous heroes in Greek Myths.  He joined the Trojan War, which lasted ten years, and took ten years to get back home to Ithaca, his homeland.

Penelope, his wife, is also a famous figure as she is known for her intelligence and faithfulness to her husband.

Telemachus is the name of their son.

Lastly, I almost titled this comic strip "The Return of the King" but the late J.R.R. Tolkien might sue me.

Don't Wake the Big Guy

There's something about creating cartoons about these four guys that makes me smile.  I dunno, I may be biased but boys get into a lot of adventures and scrapes than girls.  And they are just so humorous and funny that they are forgiven.  If I draw Kat knocking Mutya and LoveJoy out it just doesn't have the same impact.  But these boys?  It just feels right somehow.

Kap's Great Idea

This was titled after "Kristy's Great Idea", the title of the first book in the Baby Sitters Club Series.  I loved that series as a kid... doesn't help that I just listened to a podcast about that book today.

Piggybank

#throwback
:)

Portrait of a Lady

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Note: Medusa is one third of the Gorgons and it is said her gaze turns men to stone.

No Easy Task

Had fun inflicting an activity Kat's kind needs to learn how to do.

Me and My Tools

I am going to tell you a secret.  I never thought that I'll be maintaining a comic strip blog EVER.  I am not the best artist.  I am not the best story teller.  I don't even have a comic book collection except for my beloved Archies. 

But what I do know is I kinda like doodling from time to time.  I know I like stories.  It seems like I could write short, short, short stories.  And it seems like I could post regularly.  Hence the blog.  I do it for fun and relaxation.

This only meant that though I like flexing my "creativity muscle", I never really thought much about my tools.  I am budget conscious and I don't need anything fancy to create artwork.  I make homemade comic strips, not fancy artworks.  So I use whatever black pen is lying around.  I use ordinary colored pencils.  I just buy whatever paper I could find.  My rulers are jagged.  And that's ok.  The greatest pleasures in life could be very, very simple. 

But as I create more art, I also encountered more artists and artworks.  I rarely read other cartoons anymore but suddenly I am looking at calligraphy works.  I am looking at illustrations.  I even started looking at the works of the greatest artists of all time (yes, I am a nerd).  Then I read other blogs some more and stumbled on posts on what other people's tools are (e.g. Stars for Dreams and SnapperDoodle's tools).  And I have to say, I was very, very inspired. 

So I experimented with their main medium: water colors.  I even bought a couple of calligraphy pens and some sharpies to experiment.  And what I realized was that other people's tools are not necessarily the right fit me.  Or maybe just not the right fit for me at the moment.

But then one searching suddenly brought me to another and before I knew it, I was dreaming to buy a highly rated set of colored pencils and one of the biggest splurge in my entire life.

The Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils

And what could I say?  So much ouch in the pocket but when I tried it I literally fell in love with it.  The colors are so vibrant and the texture is just so creamy, if that's even a description for colored pencils.

Sample Colors.  Prismacolor on the left, my regular colored pencils on the right.

I have a long way to go when it comes to creating art but it never hurts to try out new stuff.  Now, if I could only force myself to get a better pens/markers...

Colored Pencils and my ratty journal

P.S.  I am residing in the Philippines so it was quite hard to search for this set!  But to those Filipinos curious, I bought it from our neighborhood-friendly National Bookstore Eastwood Branch.

In Your Dreams

Doll Talk

When I was a kid, my Barbies are always damsels in distress who have to be saved by a price (I did not have a Ken so it is always some other male doll).  Nowadays I find it kind of silly!  Girls should be able to take care of themselves and not have to rely on a prince... not all the time anyway. :)

Arnis Master

Arnis is the Philippines' national sport/martial arts.  I've been living here my entire life and yet I do not know the rules or how to play it... 

You, Me and the Gang

Kat looks like such a nagger in this comic strip... which she probably is from time to time!

Q & A

Kids are kids.  They still have a lot of growing up to do no matter how brilliant one is.

Next

Aftereffect

Eros (Greek) = Cupid (Roman)

Drained

The Case of the Missing Pizza

My favorite baby-sitter is back!  And this time not just baby-sitting Sarah but pet-sitting Stripes and The Lion as well.

Board Walk

Gauze and Bandages

Out of the Hat

Jump Up

Just playing with the panels.

Atop the Bamboo Pole

A Little Voyage

The Horse and the Wardrobe

Shield and Helmet

Starring one of my faves: Hephaestus, the God of blacksmiths, craftsmen artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes-- as per Wikipedia.  All I know is he creates awesome weapons!

Achilles and Hector are heroes in the Trojan War; they are Greek and Trojan respectively.

As for the guys in the last panel, you probably know who they are.  I don't consider myself an Avenger fan but I had it stuck in my mind to have Hephaestus creating some of their weapons; I even considered having him create Thor's Mjolnir (from Norse Myths; definitely not Greek!).

Bucket Committee

Kids...

Balloon Blower

One of those comics wherein you have to look twice or thrice to see what happened there... or maybe more...

Monster Kissing Booth

I haven't posted a Greek Mythology Comic Strip for a loooong time and I'm glad I did one!

You're the best if you could identify the monsters contained herein.  But in case you're wondering who Castor and Pollux are, they are a known set of twin brothers in Greek Mythology-- Castor is mortal  while Pollux is half-mortal... with Zeus being his father!

Obra Maestra

This comic strip (which I did a couple of weeks back), is so timely considering that earlier today, I was in a cafe(?) called Sip and Gogh creating an "Obra Maestra" of my own.  Considering I have not picked up a brush in a long time I thought it went pretty well.  Good thing there are great coaches who help people move the painting further along!

Wouldn't hide this one in the closet.  I admit, I'm kinda proud of it!

Chocolate Caper

My dad is diabetic and we sometimes think he's sneaking to eat chocolates now and then.  So this comic strip is inspired by real life.

Photobooth: Me and my Pet

It was only after I colored this when I realized: I forgot Kap's cigar!