Angry Bear Comics

True Life Tales - 5 "The Civil War"

2007-07-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

(Click comic images to see larger size!)

The "today" mentioned in the first panel was actually yesterday. And, while it may not look like it, I spent a lot of time working on it. It's in two sections because I drew it on two sheets of paper. It didn't line up like I thought it would. Ah well, lesson learned. Next time, I should draw everything bigger on a larger sheet of paper. I keep telling myself to do this, but the lack of a proper working space and a short-term memory gets in the way.

There other thing, which I could have done something about, are those annoying black lines on the sides of the panels. I should have erased them when I did the coloring on the computer. Now that they're uploaded, I'm just going to leave them like they are because to re-upload fixed images would count against my storage limits and they're not that horrible (I hope!).

And, guess what? This is the 100th post! It's hard to believe that there are that many posts here, especially since I've had such a hard time posting with any kind of regularity. But, this is it. I actually did go to a civil war re-enactment, and while it was interesting, it was deeply weird not just for the reason I stated above. With any luck, there'll be another post soon!

True Life Tales - 4

2007-06-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

My favorite panel is the last one because it reads well close up and far away. I also should have tried to put myself in this comic somehow because people are more interesting than things, but I did manage to get the kid who took my car for the joyride but it doesn't really count because he is too small.

Anyhow, thinking about things after my last post, I did remember that I wrote down my experiences with my car getting stolen for the first time. More recently, I wrote about my trip to court when I got that one (unfair, of course) speeding ticket. So, those are two great experiences that I may be able farm a comic script out of somehow. Of course, more overall drawing practice is also in order, but I don't think it will come in the next few days because I am finishing up finals. Maybe another comic this weekend?

True Life Tales - 3

2007-06-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

(click on comic for larger view)

Making comics has not really been my priority during the last few months as I'm sure you can already tell by how often I update. Still, I am committed into keeping this going. The above comic is the result of wanting to do something for myself only and not for school or work. One of the things I have discovered through this comic experiment is that I am having a hard time coming up with ideas to turn into comics. I might be too critical and shooting down ideas before I even try them out. Oh well.

The above really happened to me. I fell down on the street in front of a bus station just three days ago. For some reason, my ankle went out on me and was weak for the rest of the day. The funny thing is that me falling down in public wasn't even the most memorable part of my day. For instance, I later went on a mini-hike nearby some waterfalls in the forest and encountered a man taking his "cat" for a walk on a rope leash! It is not often you see that sort of thing. Dogs, yes. Cats, no. Anyway, after my fall, I did buy a few art supplies that I have already used at work. More comics should be forthcoming as summer break is around the corner and that means more time to draw. I also want to get much better at this comic thing, so I definitely need to keep practicing.

Support

2007-04-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

(click comic for larger view)
I probably should have worked on my graphic design homework, but instead, I drew this comic. I'm mostly caught up on that homework anyway. But, I am having a block as far as what I want to write about story-wise. In any case, I think that this little beach trip is going to end soon. I am not much of a gag writer, and I don't really want to rehash all of the lame jokes that everyone has seen or heard a million times before. I mean, what about airline food? Am I right? Anyone? Eventually, I will work on a good storyline, probably about the same time when heck freezes over. But, on the plus side, two comics on two mondays in a row is quite the accomplishment. I will try to continue the trend.

Decisions

2007-04-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

(click comic for larger view)

Been awhile since I last posted, hasn't it? I suppose the biggest reason is that I have been busy with art projects in school and so I've already used up my creative energy there. And of course, I've really been needing to take the time to write a script rather than do this thing by the seat of my pants, but I haven't managed to find the time for that. I told myself that I need to write before I draw, and then I didn't do either. I am not sure why or how I found the energy to do the one you see above. In any case, I think it works moderately well as a drawing. I especially like the crab I drew--it looks real graphic, in the graphic design sense. More comics when I find the time. Seeing as how it is still early in the term and all my homework is caught up on, I may do another one soon.

Reflection

2007-03-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

(Click comic for larger view)

Okay, so it has been so long since I have posted a comic here, I missed a step I normally take. I forgot to darken the lines in the GIMP before I started adding in all of the color, and the result, which is completely obvious for anyone to see, is that the comic looks washed out especially when compared to the others. For example, Zeb's outlines, which were done with .05 micron pen instead of a brush pen, look super grey and not black, which they should be instead. I was able, using the lasso tool, to select the text and darken that, but overall, I would have to give this comic a C- in visual execution. I am a bit rusty from lack of practice.

Anyhow, this comic also continues the storyline started from a few posts earlier. I spent a bit more time thinking about the story, but I am still at somewhat of a loss to figure out where I should go from here. I am still working it out in my head. My creative ideas want to head in a completely new direction, but I am stuck in this one : a dead end more or less.

Because school takes most of my creative energy with art assignments and the like, I haven't posted here as much as I originally planned, but I think I will be able to post more often than I have been. I totally missed the months of January and February, but I am fairly certain that I can do much better than that, even with a ton of school work. The proof, of course, will be in the pudding so to speak. As of now, I am planning to have the next comic up in a week or two. I might also redo this one to get it to look more like the others. As always, comments are more than welcome.

True Tales - Finals

2006-12-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

(click comic for larger view)

This comic tells the story. To be honest, I haven't done much blogging at all, let alone had the time to do this comic. This comic took me about three hours to do start to finish; and of course, it is not as developed as I would have liked it to be. About every comic I work on takes at least that long. In fact, the better Angry Bear comics are ones that I work on over a period of a couple of days instead of just one sitting, so they can even have as many as five or so hours put into them.

Still, I felt that the need to get back to drawing for fun. Too often, I spend so much time worry about what I haven't done, rather than actually just doing something. I might have also been plain burnt out. What with my design classes, the reading of all the illustrator blogs I subscribe too, the reading of the illustrator books and literary comics I bought, I filled up on too much and simply ran out of motivation. I am hoping this comic represents a return of the drawing muses and spirits.

True Life Tales

2006-11-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

(click comic for larger view)

I always figured that I would try out new stuff here. So while I am still working on the angry bear storyline, I wanted to experiment with something different. This is the closest I think I'll ever get to self disclosure on the Internet. Depending on how this is received, maybe I'll post more like this in the future in between the regular angry bear storyline.

Yes, I do have (more like am associated with) a cat with a brain issue. She has a mystical attraction to my laptop. Whenever I am using it, she wants to sit on the keyboard. Whenever I am not using it, she likes to sit on the closed lid. I continue to develop my skills a little bit with photoshop (at school) and GIMP (at home). I am thinking about posting a tutorial about how I color my comic with GIMP when I get time, but only if people really want it. (If you do, drop me an e-mail or leave a comment.) That's it for now.

Contemplation

2006-10-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

(Click Comic for larger view)

I am getting better using GIMP to color my comic. The biggest discovery was how to use the airbrush tool to touch up the white gaps between the scanned lines and the areas of color. I don't really use layers, although now I think I could because of the courses I have taken in photoshop. But the biggest drawback (no pun intended) is the time it takes to color a comic, something that is fascinating considering how simple the ones I do really are. I've spent an hour and half adding in the color and touching up all the spaces. But I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it.

I'll try to keep up a weekly schedule a little better than I have been lately. Homework isn't quite enough to keep my skills as sharp as I want them, so I need to practice more drawing anyway.

The Beach

2006-10-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

(click comic for larger view)

So it's a couple of days late, but I'm doing my best to divide up my time between schoolwork and my job. I'm trying strike the right balance, but it's not always easy. I think I've got the drawing part fairly polished for what I have time to actually do. There's always room for improvement of course, but I've pretty much reached my vision for how I want the comic to look. I've been told that with practice, one normally gets better, so I am looking forward to that. However, I think the next major improvement in store for this comic is not with the the art but the storyline. I'm going to experiment with that in the future.

Thanks to ongoing classes, I've figured out how to add to a selection and use the gradient tool. I know: big frickin' deal, right? Still, it was fun to use those new tools when I was coloring this one. I'll be sketching out the next one in a few days and trying to get back on track more. We'll see what happens. Anyway, See you soon.

Beachward Bound

2006-10-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

(Click on image to view larger Comic)

It has been decided! We're going to the beach for the next several comics. Apologies all around for not having it up sooner, but scanner and computer problems, combined with a bunch of design classes, has made it hard to find the time or energy to draw a new one. Actually, consider this single panel comic as a placeholder since I already have the next one inked. I still need to work on how to move the storyline ahead, but I suppose that will come with practice. The story needs work as much as the drawing skills. Oh well. Until next time.

Scanner

2006-10-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Aside from my recent problems getting something sketched, I discovered that an interrupted download of a free firewall, which I unwittingly tried to install, corrupted some of my computer files. Consequently, my scanner wouldn't work properly. I've tried to fix it in my limited fashion, but ultimately, what I had to do was uninstall a few programs and reinstall them. It also reinforced the idea, for me, that I need to backup my files. Eventually, I think I should invest in an external hard drive, but for the time being, I will be backing up important files (like these comics)on CD's. Comic will be forth-coming soon. I promise.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I've also enrolled in a Graphics Design program at my local college. That means that I am now getting training in Photoshop software and gaining other skills which should greatly improve my efforts here on the comic. I am excited to learn these techniques and push my skills. I don't right now have the money for a copy of the Photoshop software, but the theoretically underpinning I am learning about it also helps me with GIMP.

Update Postponed

2006-09-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay...I know. I said that I would have something posted last week, but things sort of got messed up personally, so now it looks like it might be a little while longer before I get the new comic posted. I am going to try and have something new posted Sunday or Monday. This is not to say that I promise I WILL have something by then, but I am certainly going to try. Lately, I've been reading a lot of comics, mostly only the kind I like which happen to be the autobiographical genre ala Crumb, Pekar, or Spiegleman. But, once again, this is not to say that I am reading those authors specifically, but authors like them. And no, they're not all male authors either.

One exception to the autobiographical genre in my comic reading pile is the FRANKA comic I ordered from Germany. It took about a month and a half to arrive. It's all in German, even though it was originally written in Dutch, but I really admire the guy's (Kuijpers) visual attention to detail. So, even though I couldn't understand more than a couple of words in German, I "read" the comic fairly well. The pictures really tell the story, something that I think is quite an accomplishment. In any event, although I am not drawing the angry bear cartoon lately, I have been practicing my sketching and developing my visual vocabulary by reading good comics. Until next time.

Vote!

2006-09-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

Be sure to VOTE on the story direction in the side panel. I am planning on updating the comic on Monday or Tuesday, so the polls, as they are, will be closed by Sunday around 7 or 8 pm USA Pacific Time. I continue to experiment with a choose-the-storyline type of direction here. Right now there is a tie, so if you have a preference, vote early (and yes, you can vote as often as you like or able.) Until then.

Places to Go

2006-08-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

(Click Comic for Larger View)
Places to Go

Not too much to say about this comic. I am still stuck for good story ideas, but I figure I will press on with what I have got started here. I sketched this one out in the non-photo blue pencil, then inked the letters, then used a copic brush pen for all of the outlines. After that, I scanned it into the computer and colored it with GIMP.

I must say that my drawing skills have improved somewhat since I first started doing this, but there's always room for improvement. I've not been drawing everyday like I had initially planned on, but I am still trying to keep in practice. The thing is: when I am drawing straight from my imagination, it looks like this comic. The motorcycle, for example, is admittedly crude. Now, if I had a reference picture to look at, I could do much, much better. But drawing things from reference takes time; time I am not sure I really have. Also, I am hoping that drawing it entirely from imagination is exercising some kind of art muscle that will help me in the long run. Right now, I am applying to a graphic design program, so if I get in, I may be able to improve the quality the comic even more eventually. Anyway, I hope you like it.

(Help me out with the storyline by voting in the Poll in the sidebar!)

Motorcycle Scouts

2006-08-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

(Click Comic for Larger View)
Motorcycle Scouts

Congratulations are in order since this is my 50th comic here. I think I've improved, but I could still put a lot more work in developing the story and being more consistent with the drawing. Oh well. These things may come with time. The coloring takes along time to do, and the reason seems to be filling in the little white spaces I tend to get between my line art and the color when I use the bucket tool. This might only make sense to you if you use a graphical manipulation program like photoshop or GIMP.

Sorry for the lateness of the comic. I've been blocked on this story, so I haven't figured out how to get much further. I need to find some inspiration from somewhere. And of course, I still need to practice drawing. I haven't much felt like drawing either, but that's one thing I think I can overcome and force myself to do anyway. It's like developing muscle: you have to exercise regularly to make any progress. Until next time.

Motorcycle

2006-07-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

(Click comic for larger view)
Motorcycle

Well, now that I see the comic posted online, it is clear that the red on the motorcycle doesn't work. Chalk that up to another lesson learned. Perhaps, instead of saving these as JPEGs, I should be saving them as GIFs. Apparently, GIFs are a lossless format, which I think means you wouldn't be seeing that fuzz on the gasoline tank of the cycle.

Anyhow, I could have done something else with this comic, but between writing stuff at work and vegging out playing video games (Gallop Racer 2003), I haven't had the time nor the energy to do it. It would have been more interesting to have a couple of panels here instead of the single one, but I guess I will save that for next week.

R.V.

2006-07-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

(Click comic for larger view)
R.V.

Boy, am I tired. I should have worked on this a little earlier so I wouldn't have been up so late, but I did want to get the comic out on time. I am going to work harder at getting something posted every monday. I think I've got about three in a row here. I've gotten a little better at coloring and character construction, but I am still going to keep practicing. As for the joke of the comic, Easy Rider is one of those movies that I watched in my early twenties during the hey-day of the local video stores. It is "the" classic road movie in my opinion. And, of course, you know...motorcycles.

Bonus Art!

2006-07-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

(Click Art for Larger View)

Zeb and Dana

Somewhat of bonus here. I've been reading several graphic novels, animation design books, and comic tutorials. The end result of all this reading is this little example from my sketchbook. I should have spent a few more minutes working on a background, but on the plus side, I think I am getting more consistent with my character design. What do you think?

I've also figured out how to remove the white little jaggies that sometimes appeared in between my color in GIMP and my scanned-in line art. That is a major, major plus. Stylistically, I've decided that shading is not something I want to explore too much with Angry Bear comics; maybe, I would with something else, but for this comic, I prefer the cartoony look.

Decisions

2006-07-17T01:13:00.000-07:00

(Click Comic for Larger View)

Decisions

I've figured out how to color my comics a little better with the GIMP program. I can get right on top of the black linework with my colors, so you should see the little white areas between colors are gone. I think that overall the comic looks a little more polished, don't you? However, one of the things that I goofed on was the penciling. I pressed a little too hard with the non-photo blue pencil while I was initially drawing the scene. And some of the blue managed to get by the scanner because it was so dark. I tried to blast out as much of the blue as possible, but it is still there, even if you can't see it in the final image.

As for Zeb and his losing his purpose, I have been trying to think of a way to pull the storylines into a tighter focus. While I have been personally going through some tough times, Zeb is definitely not me. I just needed something to try and get the comic moving in a more interesting direction, and this was what I came up with. As always, comments are more than welcome.

On Purpose

2006-07-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

(Click comic for larger view.)
Purpose

As my many readers know, (nearly all four of you!), I missed posting something last Monday. I've been a little at a loss about what direction I should take Zeb and crew next. Writing gags is not something I am really all that good at. Therefore, this comic is the inauguration of a new story arc. Maybe I will be better at story arcs than single comic gags. I haven't gotten this arc all figured out yet, but I've got couple of ideas about where I could go. I am also thinking about posting a new comic based on something entirely different, something entirely fictional. I wrote an episode of it on Friday. Maybe I will post that when I get further along with it. As always, feel free to leave any comment (anonymously if you wish) or feedback.

June 29th Sketch

2006-06-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

I finally finished unpacking everything that I needed to unpack. Therefore, I figured that I would get back to doing some artwork. My supplies and references are back where I can get to them and not tucked away in some box somewhere. As for this picture, I drew it in non-photo blue pencil, inked it with a small size copic brush pen, and colored it with GIMP. The coloring took the longest to do, but it was the pretty fun. I wanted to do something different with color than I normally do. Once again, I attempted to figure out how to do the coloring technique by splitting the coloring layer away from the ink work layer, but I couldn't figure it out. Anyway, now the scanner is unpacked and available for use again, I will try to post on a more usual schedule. Comments of any kind are more than welcome!

Funk Classics of the 70's

2006-06-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

(click comic for larger view)

Whew, all of the things I own are now one and half hours north of where they used to be, which is a long way of saying I moved. I drew this comic early last week shortly before I packed the scanner away. I wonder if anyone gets the essential "joke" of this particular comic. There were a couple of other ways I thought about doing, but I wanted to limit myself to four panels for readability, and therefore I had to pack as much information as I could into a small space. The result of my problem solving is what you see above. As always, comments are more than welcome.

A Hand

2006-06-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

This will count as the official update for this week because I am in the process of moving. I need to spend the next four days packing straight. There is an off-chance that I might post something later this week, and of course I will be sketching, but realistically, this might be it until next Monday or Tuesday.

This was a study of a hand that I did a few days ago. I tried to manipulate the image in a lot of different ways with the GIMP program, and somehow, I managed to delete the interior of the black lined ink pens to create this weird double line effect. Actually, I think it looks pretty cool, but I am not sure I would be able to repeat it if I tried. Until next time.

Technology Gap

2006-06-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

(click comic for larger view)

As you can see, I experimented again with this comic. I had a lot of fun doing all of the computer stuff. And there was a lot of computer stuff to do this time, maybe even too much. Of course, the coloring was all done on computer. But, there was more digital manipulation left to do. For example, each panel was drawn on separate sketch book pages at about eight inches square. After scanning them into the computer, I scaled them down to size, drew the large black borders, and stitched them together in a single comic. (All of this, by the way, was done with GIMP.) I also used the ames guide to do the lettering, which was both a little frustrating because it kept slipping off the ruler, but also fun to use.

I regret not planning out the background when I doing the initial sketch, but oh well. I think I did pretty good on the character construction. Overall, I've been sketching a lot, practicing when I am not busy packing up for my upcoming move. I've got some of these sketches uploaded into the computer, but they're nothing special. I may or may not post them later.

EDIT: If I am going to use this format again, I am going to have to use the largest setting on the ames guide. It looks like the eight setting isn't going to show up in the initial blog post. Therefore, please click the comic to see it in its proper size. Any feedback is more than welcome, and I do mean "any!"