"The Alaska Yeti" (aka "Not-So-Abominable")

In retrospect - a nice byproduct of waiting to put these posts up until a while after they've already run in the newspaper (subscription here) - I think I subconsciously copied the coloration of an old cartoon (the beloved family classic) (no, not that one, also no him either). 

Much as I think the aesthetic detail of gigantic feet are a crucial component of the character, I succumbed to the critique of a suffocated composition, and wound up digitally editing it into the snowbank, thus opening up some visual real estate in the layout of the panel.  

It really looked awesome in print too, so another reminder to support local journalism, and the peripheral talent in our creative community - thank you to subscribers.

Sketchbook Series: "Stovepipe"

This honestly was slated to (not) run as an "edit" as it was a little bit on the lower end of the scale of community standards of taste. Also it appeared in close proximity to another similarly themed pooping-down-the-chimney gag with the "Rude-olph" X-mas panel, so I wasn't intending to give any amateur Freudian psychoanalysts more fodder for their critiques. But I mean, just look at that adorable little butt-crack.

Another outstandingly appropriate yet unintentional and incidental aspect of this was the placement of it in print; not just stuck over on the opposite (black + white) page that another two (color) Nuggets were placed, but of all pages, the Faith section. Bonus it's hilarious location smack-dab in the middle of an article penned by a notoriously bigoted parishioner who presumably would have found the image downright blasphemous. In all seriousness though, it's all about preventing chimney fires and other tips for woodstove safety can be found here.

Bonus Pakalolo-lol-lol-lol

"Rolled" over again... another bonus month at Pakalolo Supply Company as the "Twice Baked Alaska" show is now replenished and remaining on the walls until the end of February. Signed editions (the remaining half-dozen copies) are restocked along with the usual goodies at their storefront + cafe!

"Self-Arrest"

This was actually a demo piece done for an interview for an upcoming episode of a docuseries "The Story of Art in America." It figures that for the filmed demo piece I'd pick a panel that absolutely nobody will get, as nobody outside of the mountaineering community will even know what the hell a self-arrest is.  

Meta: Brought to you by Demo Day 2024 - one of the side-effects of drawing walrus (walruses? walri?) all damn day. Bonus soundtrack here.

Final Friday (Updated)

A quick heads-up I'll be on site at Ursa Major Distilling all evening (4-9pm) for the last day of the last annual retrospective "Ursa X." The awesome marketing/promotional people at the university have really been pumping out a lot of social media posts across all their platforms about, so there'll be some warm bodies even though it's supposed to hit thirty twenty-something-below zero. 

 

Alas no more meatballs (Prik Thai will be in the house), but Ester Caucasians will be on hand - stop on by for some last minute deals: thanks & CHEERS!  

Update: A simply awesome image surreptitiously availed itself as the perfect capstone to this series. Indeed it symbolizes what it's all about, as there's no show without anyone to see it.

One in a Million + NCS Submission (+ Spruce Moose Update)

So sometime earlier this month I evidently passed a million hits. I think that's all time unique visits - excluding mine - starting from the first post on day one: January 15th, 2009. Not that I particularly care about traffic (someday sooner than later I'll maybe get around to using Google Analytics so I can properly parse the whatwhowhenwhere), and maybe even monetize the whole operation. In the meantime Ink & Snow's still a space where I can continually share recent works + random thoughts, document gigs, accomplishments & adventures, provide a bit of education by uploading examples via process posts, showcase unpublished pages, chum the waters and scream into the void. Anyways, glad you're here.

"Antlers Up" (aka "Wiper Threat Posture")

I swear I must have had this idea for years but never remembered to doodle it down and thus get it actually drawn and done. I would remember the setup almost daily during my walk to work over the winter as I routinely pass by someone on campus who habitually props up their Subie's wiper blades, so as to not have them freeze to their windshield during the day if the weather is trending warmer. Also a chance to touch on basic biology with antler dominance exhibited more often by moose in this neck of the woods, but as of late, 'boo have been on my brain.

Another aspect of this particular panel is how after scanning the original line art (digitally coloring the print version posted above), I went ahead and experimented with some Posca markers, which are all the rage with the hipster set in my classes. *Note that we had better results with the vastly cheaper Sharpie knockoff sets. The meta behind this was to point out a couple other things as well: 1) don't get too attached to your work, in part so that 2) you won't worry about wading right in and playing with new toys - the old "see what happens" mantra and MO of my studio sessions. Now, it turned out I absolutely loathed the end result, effectively ruining the precious work of Fine Art I had created (but safely backed up) - even tried resurrecting it with Photoshop (still failing). Lesson being never be afraid to experiment with your own stuff, and this has direct bearing on the recent foray into AI art that was published at the end of last year.

"The Haul Road"

Another in a recent series of hyper-regional reference material, this one on one of the three main roads outta town up in our neck of the woods, aka the Dalton highway. And second in a row of multi-panel compositions, as oppsed to one-pagers, or strips, or the usual gag panel.

It's also a commentary on my fate as a married man now, as all I seem to exist for any more is just carrying crap back and forth from the car to the cabin. The ubiquitous, color-coded props that are the hallmarks of cabin lifestyle: water, canvas, heating oil and spoils from the supermarket (missing in this cartoon are garbage and propane). But, as they say: "Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time."

"Snowshoe Hare Spawning Run"

Directly inspired by the annual wildlife "bearcam" streamed at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park & Preserve in Alaska, just with an arctic twist. 

Speaking of twists, this year's Fat Bear Week competition was marked by trauma and consequently delayed a week so as to absorb the meta lesson in how nature works - let's hear it for Grazer!

"Two Shticks"

Shtick (from the Yiddish) mashed up with the 1908 Jack London classic, then baked by your truly. Figured I'll start the new year off with probably the worst/best gag from 2024... gotta set the bar low so as to look like at least some progress is being made.

Not scanning anything anymore, at least the Nuggets panels – full pagers and poster art is done in the department on a tabloid scanner. You know, the "serious" stuff. Ever since my desktop one broke a couple years back, I’ve resorted to just using my phone camera, which necessitates decent lighting, and changing the resolution/image size to one better suited for editing and printing (for example from 72dpi to 300dpi + 50" to 8" usually preserves the size ratio). Here's a sample of what a line version looks like directly after snapping a picture of it with my iPhone, air dropping it to the iMac desktop (i-yay-yay), opening in Photoshop, and converting it with the threshold setting. Notice the abundance of artifacts left over from the pencil - a real pain to methodically erase in post, and a reminder to work cleaner!