Lateness

Hello all!

Yes, issue twenty-seven is a day late, I admit. I've had the idea in my head since Tuesday, but the strain of going back to work has been difficult. It's been a lot more difficult adjusting to being on my feet all day after sitting on my butt for two weeks. Who says tonsil surgery only hurts the throat?  :P

The BIG news is that the comic now has its own domain! No longer will you, my wonderful audience, need to type in all that drivel to get to your favorite boy and his robot! The new domain name is www.aboyandhisrobot.net (the Ws need to be included). I'm amazing excited because now the site feels for official. Someday I hope to learn how to design my own web site, thus freeing myself from the limitations of iweb*

Speaking of website design, I have been thinking lately about the new items I wish to add. As you can see on the site, there is a "characters" section now, but it's incomplete. I still need to draw character portraits and bios that don't give anything away ;)

Issue twenty-eight is on schedule for Monday morning.  I'll be working on it tomorrow after work, so it should be done in plenty of time!

Later Days!

*I really do enjoy using iweb.  It has a lot of great features, but I've just been interested in branching out lately. 

Sweet Prompt Victory

Well, it's one a.m. and, as promised, issue twenty-six is done and posted! I'm really proud of myself on this one.  Not only did I do two comics in two days, but I put a lot of effort into both of them. I paid a LOT of attention to shading and cross hatching on this one, so it looks very professional. It's good to know that tonsil surgery hasn't slowed me down too much, though time will tell how it affects Kevin ;D

I've been thinking more and more about digital artwork lately, and how much of a difference it would make with my work. Lord knows I have the equipment for it: CS3 Design Premium, a 9x12 Wacom tablet, and a fine computer to handle it all. But even with all this fancy stuff, I find myself unwilling to make the effort.  I have no problem cleaning my drawings on the computer, or coloring digitally, but there's something about putting pencil to paper that a computer could never emulate for me. I wouldn't call myself old fashioned, but it just seems right to me. Plus, I always have a hard copy handy, which makes it all worthwhile.

Issue twenty-seven is on track for Friday, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I will say that Monday's comic may either be early or late, because I will have people over this weekend to celebrate my birthday.  How old am I?  Let's just say I'm as old as the last comic I posted ;)

Later Days!

Back in The Saddle

So it's a day late, but issue twenty-five is done and posted!  I was originally going to post it as a full color piece of work, but I decided that it wasn't in keeping with the tone of the series.  I enjoy the unique look that cross hatching and detailed inking bring to my work.  This is not to say that I'm opposed to coloring (quite the opposite), but the strips themselves shall remain blank and white.

I'm now almost totally healed after my tonsil surgery, though it's still a bit painful to yawn.  I must admit I found it difficult to draw after not doing so for two weeks.  While I'm perfectly happy with the end result of issue twenty-five, I did have to push myself to get it done (hence why it's a day late).  

I'll be headed back to work on Wednesday.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm trying to stay on the positive side and focus on my goals.  It's wasted energy to complain about my job, and I'll never get where I want to be if I continue to do so.  I'm trying to keep myself on track by not thinking about the negative things in my life, and so far it's going pretty well :D

Issue twenty-six is on schedule for Wednesday morning, so don't forget to check back soon!

Later Days!

Still Ill

So here I am.  It's six-thirty in the morning, and the stitches from my tonsil surgery are bleeding.  I have to stay awake because my doctor is going to call me back in an hour to let me know if I need to see him. This will be the second time this week this has happened, and I'm suffering extra pain because of it.  To make things worse, I can't try and sleep this afternoon because I have to pick up my roommate's friend from the airport at three.  

Needless to say, I've been too sick to draw...

I really don't want to do this, but I have to stretch my hiatus from the comic just a little bit longer.  I'll be posting again on the twenty-second of September.  I'm sorry to all my loyal fans (all four of you), but all these complications are making it very hard to concentrate. I'm in pain most of the day, and that's only compounded with the bleeding, the phone tag with my doctor, and not being able to sleep. 

Just so you all know that I'm not totally ignoring the comic, I do have something planned for the next issue.  Thank for being understanding, and I'll see you all again on the twenty-second!

Later Days! 

A Painful Vacation

So I've decided to take a mini vacation.  I won't be posting any new comics this week because of my approaching surgery.  I may have one done for Monday afternoon, but I make no promises.  I will be posting new ones starting the fifteenth, and though I'll still be in pain, things will be pretty much back to normal.  I really don't want to take the week off, mind you, but I also don't want to promise any new work and then not deliver.  This was a hard decision to make, and I hope my die hard fans (because I know there are just so many of you) will understand. 

Later Days!

I am VERY proud of issue twenty-three.  I sat down and really put a lot of effort into this one.  I used a real life reference for the power line (see left), which really added depth to the comic.  Also, I was very careful with what level pen I used for each line, so that the individual detail and items didn't look like they were merged together. I'm so happy with this piece (especially this panel), that I'm thinking about coloring it in later :)

So the website needs more work. I just remembered that I promised everyone a list of character biographies, which I've yet to deliver.  I may work on that a bit tomorrow, but I make no promises.  I have a lot to accomplish tomorrow. Outside of the bios, I've been thinking it's time to add some more extra detail to the site, like new icons, or maybe a new background design.  I only have a few ideas right now, but nothing set in stone.  It may still be some time until I implement any of this anyhoo, especially with my personal submission deadline for CCS approaching.

Later Days!

Phoning it in

Wow!  I really didn't want to draw tonight!  I spent most the evening starring at my sketches wondering what I was going to draw.  While I'm happy with the end result, issue twenty-three was a very quick draw. I blame part of my laziness on the fact that two of my favorite shows just released new seasons on DVD, and I'm dying to watch them!  (For the record, they are Supernatural and The Office).

So I get my tonsils taken out next week, and I'm both excited and nervous.  I'm nervous because I'll be in a hellofalotta pain, but I'm excited because I'll stop getting sick so much.  Not to mention I'll get out of work for two weeks, which leaves me plenty of time to draw!

Update: I'm currently working on thumbnails for my CCS comic.  Yay me! I'll keep you all posted on my progress! 

Later Days!

Monday's Issue, and Back to School

Issue twenty-two is out!  I'm really proud of this one.  I wanted to set a particular mood for this one, being Kevlar's second appearance, and I think that I succeeded beautifully :P

So far I've proven that I can make three comics a week with minimal issues. However, I haven't done much (any) art outside of ABHR.  Most importantly, I haven't done anything for my portfolio for The Center for Cartoon studies.  I've given myself a personal deadline of December first to submit everything needing for my admission, and I still have a long way to go.  Let's take a look at the list of things I'm still missing:

Three page essay

Fifteen page portfolio 

Two page comic (with CCS criteria)

In other words, I have yet to finish all the most important parts of the application.  I'm not worried yet, though, because I still have lots of time.  If I get started this week, I'll make my deadline no problem.  

Later Days!

Much More Like It!

It's two a.m. on Friday morning, and the comic is up!  ON TIME!  Am I excited?  Yes. Considering what a hard time I had at work today, I'm amazed that I got it done this early. It was so busy and hectic that, by the end, I was so tired that I forgot what I was saying as I spoke! Boys and girls, sales is hard!  You have to have the right mentality for it, and I don't :P

I didn't do much in a way of backgrounds for issue twenty-one, I admit. I have, however, been very interested in facial expressions lately. I've been trying to strike a balance between subtlety and exaggeration. It's a fun challenge, because it really gets me thinking about the symmetry between the text and a drawings.  A lot can be left unsaid with the right facial expression.  

So this weekend should be pretty relaxing.  I have nothing planned for the next comic, but I'm sure something will come to this insane head of mine.  Until then, enjoy the new issue, and COMMENT!

Later Days!

An Update and a Rant

The pencils for issue twenty-one are finished, and the inking will be done by one a.m. the latest on Friday morning.  I'm working a closing shift tomorrow (again!), and my roommate is having family spend the night, so it will be hard to find a private space to draw.

It's frustrating because I work my best at night between seven p.m. and midnight, but my job is sapping away that time.  I work more hours now at part time than I ever did as a full timer, and I specifically went back to part time because I wanted to spend more time with the comic.  

I don't hate my job, but it's just not a priority anymore.  My boss told me his passions are his family and his job.  While I respect that, I don't agree with it.  I'm in a place right now where my art has to come first.  I need to create!  I need to express myself to the world!  Also, I want my art to become my job someday.  I don't want to be tied down to anything.  Not a family, not a job, not anything.  It's funny, actually... while most people my age are married and ready to start having kids (or have already started), I relish in being single.  I don't always want to be alone, but my life is already so complicated with everything that's happened to me this year, that I don't want to add any more to my plate.  

(whew) that was pretty long-winded, I must say.  Anyhoo, the comic will be ready for Friday, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, full of pizza and PS3 :P

Later Days!

Issue 20 Is Here!

Issue twenty is finally out, though much later than promised (sorry!).  For some reason I had a hard time with this one.  It took a really long time to ink, but I'm happy with the overall piece, especially the last panel.  Kevin has sort of a Charlie Brown quality to his expression, does he not?  

Anyway, please enjoy the new issue.  As usual, any comments or suggestions can be sent to jessedurona@mac.com

Later days!

Slight Delay... Again

So closing shift stinks.  I started issue twenty at eleven O'clock, which means that now, at a quarter to three, I'm still in the inking process.  At my ripe old age of twenty-five, it's very hard to stay up late with any kind of brain function.  In short, the comic will be posted on Wednesday afternoon, hopefully before one p.m.  

I have noticed I've been a bit lenient with myself in relation to my deadlines.  I set up ABHR to prove to myself that I could do three comics a week, but all I've proven lately is that I haven't taken it seriously enough.  My deadline is one a.m. on the morning of the submission day, so a Wednesday comic should be posted by one a.m. that day.  Maybe I'm being lax because I have no real fan base yet, or perhaps it's because I've been so tired lately.  Either way, I'm putting an end to it this week.  Friday's comic will be on time, and it will be awesome!  I will post a Twitter when issue twenty is up and ready for view.

Side note:  I'm not really being hard on myself.  While the comic can sometimes be late, at least I'm still doing three each week.  I'm proud of myself, I swear!

Later days!

A New Blog, and a New Direction

So I decided it was time to find a better blog, considering that the blog on the website is pretty miniscule.  The layout is boring, the font and colors are generic, and worst of all, there's no place to post comments!  Blogger is the perfect place to host "Writer's Blog," that is until I can learn how to build my own official web site.  

So issue #20 is coming up, and, considering that this is a big milestone, it's time to take ABHR in a more solid direction.  Until now, I've been flying by the seat of my pants, writing and drawing whatever cam to mind.  I haven't really cared about the overall direction of the strip until recently.  To quote some great advice I recently received from a friend, I "need and angle to draw people in and keep them coming back for more."  That is the whole point, isn't it?  While I love creating this comic, what really matters is my audience!  If you guys (and gals) aren't happy with what I'm doing, then you're not going to come back and visit anymore!  

(ahem) anyway, my point is that I've got more of a direction in mind for the comic, and I'm very excited about it.  I already have both Wednesday's and Friday's comics planned out!  Now we'll just have to see if I can get them done on time :P

Later days!

P.S.  Freya is back up and better than ever!  Hopefully my phantom computer problems are long gone!