tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77444312979172209712024-03-17T10:42:07.081-08:00Ink & SnowAn eclectic and erratic blog by Alaskan cartoonist Jamie Smith, writing about drawing, comics and teaching art from a small cabin in the Interior. Updates on weekends. Mostly.jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.comBlogger2407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-17094679566306027032024-03-17T06:00:00.049-08:002024-03-17T06:00:00.246-08:00"'Doughs"Right about the time I recognized that I had fallen into a predictable pattern - in this instance repeating the Ol' Timer character - I followed some long-time advise routinely given to students in the drawing studio (particularly during the caricature unit and also gag writing techniques) that if you sit back and say to yourself "that's really stupid" that's the time to push it even further, as jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-28009712642250454382024-03-16T12:00:00.172-08:002024-03-16T12:00:00.136-08:00“Baked Alaska” #69 + #70 + bonus doodlesThere'll still be a couple more posts - next two Saturdays at high noon - where we'll upload the last of the doodles.... but for today, jump below the fold and find out what the last two "Baked Alaska" panels are!Somewhat evocative of #9 "Stiff Joints" way back in 2019. You can tell right away that I had no idea how to position the hands, and would need reference sketches from a model. Which I jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-83754547508640319552024-03-10T06:00:00.046-08:002024-03-10T06:00:00.147-08:00"New Tricks"Another in a six-week series of panels that featured the Ol' Timer character, charitably interpreted as being based off of my father (who despite his many faults was not as stupid as this guy). It's also become very clear in retrospect how much I have been listening to myself talk over the years of lecturing to Beginning Drawing students about compositional arrangement of the elements on a jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-33226289304056849892024-03-09T12:00:00.171-09:002024-03-09T12:00:00.464-09:00"Baked Alaska" #65 - #68Time to spark up another episode of "Baked Alaska" as we roll up the final feature panels now that the Alaska Cannabist magazine has folded. Join us below the fold for more... I gotta say that this was one of the top ones in the whole series, definitely of the year, and a way to go out on a high note - ranks second only to "Alaska: The Good Shit" from back in 2019.Another hat-tip (aside from the jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-84160185115391019432024-03-03T12:00:00.010-09:002024-03-03T12:50:28.428-09:00The Return of Cartoon & Comic Arts: ART 220 / ART 420Note that this is a slightly different screen-grab than the similar one recent appearing on the "Teaching Teaser" post from a few weeks ago. The key difference is in flowchart down the right-hand side of the screen that indicates that the progression of the paperwork for this course (and also in tandem with the Beginning level, ART 220) has now moved from off the desk of the Provost, bearing jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-1218551484614971492024-03-03T09:35:00.038-09:002024-03-03T09:35:00.134-09:00"Fairy Godmusher"During one of my usual mid-lecture segues in a recent art class final critique, I likened the creative process to that of mining for gold: First you must use a pickaxe to begin breaking down manageable chunks, then into successively smaller pieces, which in turn go into a (mental) sluice-box, which will slowly refine the material into that lump, or flake, of stuff. This stuff has the connotation jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-14735889773718413932024-03-02T12:00:00.231-09:002024-03-02T12:00:00.150-09:00"Baked Alaska" #61 - #64Well hi there! This post is a little bit outta sequence, which is weird for a sequential artist. In fact, faithful readers will see a bonus run of Baked Alaska's for every weekend during the entire month of March, at high noon on every Saturday.Reasons, and the usual notations below the fold... Basically put, the Alaska Cannabist magazine just folded, as in "when will the last issue run?" "It wasjamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-81270864432802511552024-02-25T06:00:00.037-09:002024-02-25T06:00:00.135-09:00"Ice Reveal"Dedicated to the tireless efforts of the folks from road maintenance who essentially resurface Interior streets to a polished sheen where a Zamboni would feel right at home. I have reached the age of ice cleats and walking like a penguin everywhere when it's icy outside. So yeah, half the year I have to watch my step because if I'm going down I likely won't be getting back up anytime soon. And jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-70732499774155883872024-02-18T06:00:00.063-09:002024-02-18T06:00:00.123-09:00"Sudden Onset Hibernation Syndrome"Decades ago I did a cartoon about glacial surges from the freezer, based on real life examples and personal experiences of poor kitchen appliances. Fast-forward to today and I now know the science behind what the difference is between true hibernation and what is far more commonly experienced - torpor.Once again I am reminded of how - aside from interpreting the hieroglyphics of primal doodles jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-59630027872487540292024-02-11T06:00:00.000-09:002024-02-11T06:00:00.144-09:00"Freshness Packet"Okay I admit to recently scarfing down a bag of jerky, which is disgusting (and horrible for you), but like a Cracker-Jack box it always has a prize: the little bag of silicon pellets for preserving freshness. And that's often how inspiration is found... at the bottom of a bag (or a bottle).Also the canny observer might note the differences between the posted examples: this was one of the rare jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-63065557170156300992024-02-04T06:00:00.000-09:002024-02-04T06:00:00.262-09:00"Hourglass"Last post of the year, so going out on top... easy to do when all you gotta do is flip everything around and start again. One of the nice things about living in the Interior, tempering the long months of bleak darkness and unending subzero temperatures, is the dryness and that defines it as an "arctic desert." This means relatively little precipitation translating into comparatively low levels ofjamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-73637355122736435842024-02-03T07:27:00.003-09:002024-02-03T07:27:26.166-09:00(Teaching Teaser)Long-time readers are more than familiar with my advocacy for comics in the classroom as a powerful medium in both literacy + art. Relatedly, I've been dropping hints as of late about what might possibly be the personal summit of my entire career. But, as can be ascertained from the above snapshot, I'm still awaiting final approval a little bit longer along the academic food chain, so more on jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-43471126929747089192024-01-28T11:57:00.003-09:002024-01-28T11:57:38.018-09:00The Lodge: Ursa Miner @ Ursa Major 2024Here's some sixty-odd sample beavers from the show that random folks left as their contributions to the latest colony - having this piece as a tentpole is so dam inspirational!jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-29697627042904412332024-01-28T06:00:00.262-09:002024-01-28T06:00:00.147-09:00"Alaskan in Hell"Appropriately enough this is one of the very few instances that a swear word has run in the print version in accordance with the newspaper's family-friendly editorial standards of social etiquette. Technically the word "Hell" can appear only if it is in reference to the actual place, and is thus capitalized. If you ever want to hear an Alaskan complain, just add some precipitation (see "cold jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-65544423898597959262024-01-26T06:00:00.055-09:002024-01-26T06:00:00.257-09:00Final Weekend: "Ursa Miner @ Ursa Major"After an amazing opening and a month-long residency it's time to put away such silly things and get on with the serious work of the semester & the season. We got some really nice bonus exposure from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (subscription here) as the focus venue on an article about changing liquor laws. Plus people really went all-in on the Castor Canadensis installation - I now have jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-52467842756336506932024-01-21T07:28:00.000-09:002024-01-21T07:28:00.158-09:00"Live in Alaska"Starting off another year of sagacious insight and amusing commentary on residing in subarctic splendor, here's a grand summation of popular opinion. Also a bonus experiment in graphic typographical emphasis with LETTERING. jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-36484071987590392402024-01-14T06:00:00.267-09:002024-01-14T06:00:00.143-09:00Fifteen Years of Ink & SnowTomorrow will mark fifteen years of posting punny pics + accompanying cartoon commentary. Thought I'd take a moment to say thank you to the regular readers, I always appreciate the eyeballs.Made way back in 2016 during a Visual Art Academy course, this one-pager piece was done as a demo for the Cartoon & Comic Arts class. It was initially conceived on the spot as an emergency last-minute jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-50741323601283298032024-01-07T06:00:00.063-09:002024-01-07T06:00:00.139-09:00"Pigs On the Wing"The first post + panel of the new year: not a Nuggets but more of a personal panel. It's an obscure homage to one of my favorite albums, and this track in particular in on our wedding mix.There was some significant re-sketching as I tried to dial in the pencil version, and then lotsa tweaking again of the line art before the digital coloring phase. Tried to dial it back as far the usual degree ofjamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-63254239676152789402024-01-05T06:00:00.207-09:002024-01-05T08:08:17.737-09:00Opening Tonite: Errata, Et Ceteras & Updated HoursThe 9th Annual Retrospective/Year in Review "Ursa Miner @ Ursa Major" down at the distillery (link) opens tonite - now with extended hours of operation on the weekends: 3pm - 9pm. I estimate between the various pages for different organizations and groups (Ester's, Fairbanks Arts, First Friday Fairbanks, UAF Art Department and Ursa Major's official event page) + my own social media platforms (@jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-33344243975135821962023-12-31T06:00:00.070-09:002023-12-31T06:00:00.140-09:00"Ursa Miner @ Ursa Major" 9th Annual Retrospective Time for the ninth annual retrospective review of the highlights of the year, the seasonal exhibition down at the distillery is happening this first 1st Friday of the new year, January 5th from 3-8pm.I talked a bit about the usual process, especially for the show poster, in an earlier post (backlink here) - but I didn't put up an actual example. Turns out the initial design was geared great for jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-33582588064924952662023-12-31T06:00:00.047-09:002023-12-31T06:00:00.141-09:00"Caroling"This was one of the comparatively few panels upon finishing I pushed back from the drawing table (and then again at the computer) and exclaimed to myself "that'll do." In other words at along every step of the creative process, I was pleased with the result, watching it flow from the end of the pen: from concept to doodle to pencil then ink and finally in print. Usually somewhere along the way jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-50249779018649772832023-12-24T06:00:00.036-09:002023-12-24T06:00:00.140-09:00Xmas 2023 Have a safe and peaceful holiday season from all of us at Ink & Snow!jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-73828187154365013012023-12-23T06:00:00.241-09:002023-12-23T06:00:00.148-09:00"Baked Alaska" #57 - #60Follow below the fold for another quartet of cartoons in our seasonal installment of recent Baked Alaska panels as appearing in the pages of the Alaska Cannabist magazine. This came to me on a mini-road trip that took me past the Felix Pedro monument, not to mention an unending stream of other extractive - either active claims or historical evidence of activity - alongside virtually every road injamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-87555623590078642742023-12-17T12:54:00.105-09:002023-12-17T12:54:00.146-09:00"Bottled Ice"There's a couple layers to this funion: superficially it's a comment on the inherent stupidity behind using those ubiquitous plastic water bottles. They are one of the most prominent examples of how wasteful and destructive our habits as mindless consumers are literally destroying the planet and everything on it. Of course a culture that steadfastly refuses to believe in existential threats jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744431297917220971.post-11122904905298884522023-12-16T06:30:00.179-09:002023-12-16T06:30:00.146-09:00"Virtual (Sur)Reality"I have a long-running joke to any student complaining about my dad rock
in the art studio that involves threatening them with a road-trip and a
mix-tape of my favorite Toto tunes. But the reality as of late is that I've pretty much stopped listening to cassettes in the antique Subie, and since reception is so bad, the radio also. Honestly though the overwhelming, vast majority of voices - abovejamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929486289400863627noreply@blogger.com0