"Sourdough Therapy" + "Leftovers"

 

Yup, I went there. The union with my Significant Otter is usually strictly off-limits as far as any autobiographical connotations, especially as a matter of practicality and preserving harmonious coexistence at the happy homestead. That being said, artists are supposed to draw what they know, and one theory about comedy is how the commonality of experience is always a rich vein to mine. Okay, it's cheaper than therapy, and if you haven't learned how to laugh at yourself, you're probably on your third or fourth marriage.

And boy is matrimony a never-ending source of inspiration. which is certainly reflected in the abundance of rom-com material out there, to the point of it being flogged to death as an eye-rolling trope. Still, the temptation to do my first-ever fart joke was as irresistible as an SBD.

Which brings us to our bonus double-header post this week: in the arena of the family kitchen all is fair in love & war. Or at least when it comes to long-simmering relationship issues that can be as deep and layered as any championship Alaskan cabbage. My advice is to always first clear the air between you.

Dr. Indiginerd

Quick note of thanks to the UAF College of Indigenous Studies for hosting a visit  from Lee Francis IV, aka Dr. Indiginerd. He opened the first Native American comic shop (Red Planet/now ATCG) and the first Indigenous Comic-Con (now Indigenous Pop Expo). We got to hang out for a while inbetween his presentations for Indigenous People's Day, and geeking out about comics in my office was on of the highlights of the semester for me: it's so inspirational to connect with folks in the comics world and share stories.

"Shrew Brain"

One of the best things about doing a single-panel is all the trivia that gets dredged up which trolling the depths of your subconscious. Like this one, for example, which recent research provided a variety of inspirational points of reference for inspiration.

Others included autobiographical experience an keenly honed observational skills that are crucial to the craft. You know, draw what you know.

Also a bonus session sitting right next to a table that had real, actual human brains on display as recruitment for the psychology department at a college major conference. Kind of a no-brainer... on could say it was rather shrewd.

Crumbs: NookieBear + CAT TOWN + Union Pop-Up

A few other random & recent happenings: Probably the best-ever portrayal of my feline side by the amazing Somer Hahm for her CAT TOWN exhibit, now making the rounds of Alaska in The Lemonade Stand mobile gallery.

Not too long ago I did a special commission for the UAF CLA rebooting the Nanook logo, and now remixes of it are spreading across campus, which causes me no end of joy. Stay 'tooned for another exciting possibility with this goofy guy...

Bonus: When I had to give a brief ten-minute presentation to a couple hundred incoming students about the art department, I was so stressed out... right up until I saw this (hat-tip Sarah Manriquez):

And lastly, an old drawing of mine got repurposed as art on a flier for my new union, now that I'm full-time faculty. Couldn't think of any better use for such imagery of what we can collectively accomplish all working together - hopefully some more material will be coming out!

"Half Calf" (aka Alaska Bearista)

This one was doodled out on site, but I neglected to take a reference photo, which, while on the one hand can severely limit your options when it comes to accurately depicting - or re-creating - a specific scenario, but on the other, can be creatively freeing, as you'll just have to make even more stuff up. And since it's a cartoon, that's obviously not anything to really worry about... excepting when it comes to maintaining that illusion of a three-dimensional xspace on a flat piece of paper.

And so when it came to rendering the haunch correctly, as in seating it properly upon the surface plane of the countertop and aligning the legs in a believable way, there was no end of frustration over getting them just right. This can be easily ascertained from just from the sheer number of attempts it took to dial in the damn drawing as evidenced by the dozen or so ghost images left behind by penciling & erasing of initial sketches over and over again.

I also took artistic liberties with enhancing pictorial depth by adding in the bagel case in the foreground. This was an example of my "visual sampling + remixing" approach of sketching in various items to arrange for a better (ie more effective depth) composition. 

Whew. Aside from all that, it's the best one of the year, in my humble opinion. It was actually drawn up at the end of 2023, and ran in print January of 2024. Which in turn means it'll lead off my next submission packet to the National Cartoonists Society's "Reuben" awards (note: Alaska's own Chad Carpenter won one in 2008). I've only done it twice now, the first back in 2011, and the entry process was cumbersome and confusing, but this past year was smooth and easy. But once again I didn't include what were the strongest (ie funniest + best drawn) panels because they were so hyper-regional, and wouldn't be understood by any non-resident. But this next year, I'm actually gonna lean into it, and stop the self-censoring, just be myself, I yam what I yam, and lead off the 2025 submission packet with this one.

PS/Update: I've mentioned it before elsewhere but I really mean it when I say yeah it's super cool to be in a gallery show (like this particular piece was for the 2024 UAF art department faculty exhibition) or a museum - but nothing beats seeing a funny out in the wild.

Cheers Mocha Dan's!

Nuggets Sketchbook: "Mooooose" + "Wheeeeasel" + "Tickle Ivories" + "AK Samonella"

A few from the "Nuggets Sketchbook" series - one of which I forgot to put the designating caption on, but it's stylistically - and obviously - different enough from 98% of all the other panels done in pen & ink, since they're rendered with ballpoint pen. Like the one posted up top here, "AK Salmonella," these were all just taken straight off the pages of the omnipresent sketchbook, with minimal tweaking for the print version.
Join me below the jump for more...

Family Day @ Museum of the North

Whoops I went and totally spaced out posting about this Family Day gig up at the Museum of the North - but that brings up the rumor there'll be a cartooning day (hopefully with a few other friends) at least once, maybe a couple times - especially now since the show's been held over until through next April, making the run last a whole year up on display due to it's popularity.

Special thanks to the staff whose hard work behind the scenes made this possible, and really appreciated the kind invitation to participate in such a great community event.

Honestly I didn't set out any of my cartooning stuff to demo at this gig, put it all back away during setup saying to myself "now, now... this is gonna be serious sketching today, no funny stuff... this is Fine Art." Didn't last long.

Just like the recent Demo Day down at the newspaper, where it took me all day to finally get a walrus done right, the twelfth time was the charm in this instance. But seriously that is a crucial meta-lesson for any folks learning how to draw: the simple trick is to just keep at it until it happens. It will.

In fact here's proof you always get better with practice. These were from 2018 - 2019, while on field trips with Beginning Drawing classes. Of course this little fella had previously been enshrined behind a wall of glass as he was in another long-running display, so it was great to be able to sketch him 360°.

Best of the Show: This dude cracked me up... and I'll have some serious competition in cartooning when he comes of age. Which will be a challenge since I haven't grown up at all. Also, that's not "Muscle Milk" it's "MARMOT MILK."

 

PS: And the whole time this little ditty was running through my mind...

"Ice Cream Farm"

"Well... it made sense to me at the time." Often it can be a real challenge to interpret the hieroglyphic chicken-scratches of hastily doodled ideas, which is part of the reason they get translated into the omnipresent mulch-pile. That opportunity doubles as a chance to exercise the most important skill, revision - at times the apply ultimate edit and just let it rot away. As in, it ain't funny. Then there the times a few slip through the dip-net and you see it in print and wonder what the heck.
"Well... it made sense to me at the time."
*obligatory Alaskan trivia

"Dancing Bears"

This particular panel is much more of an autobiographical piece than the usual ha-ha funny (one hopes) gag, as in it's mostly a moment in my mind that sums up everything about being a cartoonist. 

There's also something of a lineage with the dancing bear, as it's a repeated motif in a couple other instances as well, everything from a tattoo to a classic Baked Alaska feature.

One thing that was like, whoah dude, far out, was when this ran in the newspaper (subscription here: remember to support local journalism for both patriotic, constitutional reasons that are the foundation of a democracy, but also help support the all peripheral talent too) I first saw it while at my usual table at the usual cafe doing the usual sketchbook session. But for the first time in all my many, many years camping out at this cafe, the morning bakers were on that particular morning blasting the Grateful Dead's 1974 album "From the Mars Hotel." Like, cosmic connection, man.

"Podcasting"

Though nowhere near as intricate and belabored an arrangement as "Orca-stra" from a few years back, this particular panel draws upon a similar scenario (bonus points for anyone remembering this classic as well). But again, behold the power of executive editorial decisioning during the process, mainly on account of (like the aforementioned "Orca-stra") I really, really didn't wanna draw a flotilla of damn dolphins, so instead opted for a much more complicated composition involving an entire herd of different marine mammals instead.

And just like a recent post about "Streaming," no, I haven't ever availed myself of any podcasts either. Like many a term bandied about contemporary discourse, hearing it eventually annoys me enough to pay enough attention to it to make fun of it.