Hidden Treasure

I sketch on EVERYTHING!!! Paper, envelopes, bills...if there's something to sketch on, and something that writes in the vicinity of where I'm sitting, chances are I'll sketch on it. And because of this, it's fun to find hidden treasures that I've drawn thru the years. Like this...for example.

Years ago, when I was getting bored writing I DIG DUG stories, and the characters for LOST ON EARTH were still floating around my head, I drew this little gem...ON THE BACK OF TWO I DIG DUG COMICS!!! I just happened to be scanning the last of the IDD comics for the ultimate digital archive, and when I took a few IDD comics out of their sleeve, I came across this. How fun!!!

I'm guessing this was an early character sketch of Allen, Dr. Skwidd, and Fishtarr around 2007 or 2008. The IDD comics that this was sketched on weren't dated...but it was towards the end of my run with IDD. Sooo...I'm guessing 07-08ish...in that vicinity. Anyway...as you can see, the 'final versions' of the characters are close to this, but I really wish I had come across this sooner. I really dig the way I drew Allen's torso and boots. And Fishtarr's mask looks a little more 'slick' here. At this point, I'm too far into the process of generating LOE material to change it, but I suppose subtle changes as the strip progresses might be in order. :)

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Pacing

One of the things that I struggle with in my writing is pacing. Specifically how fast the story should go, etc., etc. In my head, I guess I have this equation where I figure a comic strip 'chapter' should take place over the course of 6 days. This would allow daily comic strip readers to read an entire 'chapter' starting with Monday and ending with Saturday. It's the formula I kind of went with for I DIG DUG, however, with LOST ON EARTH, this formula is a little trickier.

For one, you have to write so that anyone who just happens to stumble upon the comic understands what is going on. This strip for example explains that Allen and Fishtarr are trying to get into an Earth market. It doesn't spell out their main objective of stealing Twinkies...but at least you get the gist. You also get a few sight gags in that the costumes really aren't that concealing. Allen simply has a "Matt from I DIG DUG" shirt on, and Fishtarr has some Groucho Marx glasses along with a blue cap.

A daily strip also has be somewhat funny. Or at the least deliver some sort of message that moves the plot forward. Here, for example, costumes are on and the characters are ready to rock. So...tomorrow...what comes next??? It's a hook...or a cliffhanger style of writing.

Where this type of 6-day 'chapter' writing becomes challenging...for LOE...is that LOE is a very long story with no real clear ending. So the old IDD formula has very little effect here. Well...in essence. And that's where my struggle with pacing comes into effect. Originally I just had this very large story I wanted to tell. And so I slowly just began moving my characters from point A to point B to point C, etc. Only recently have I looked at my very large story and tried to break it down into chapters so that I can use that 6-day chapter writing style. And I think (if you were to read all 27 of the current LOE strips) you can see my writing slowly going back to that original IDD pacing. Which...may be a good thing. We shall see how the story goes... :)

Thanks for checking in. More blogging to come...

-dug!

"Maybe I Should Rephrase That"

Fishtarr is slowly becoming one of my favorite characters to write. Which is odd because originally he was just a side character. Someone I created to help with the overall story, but not one I thought would take such a front seat in my writing. At first, he was just there for comic effect. Especially given that he talks in some weird language that we aren't privy to understanding. However, as I continue to write him, it's becoming quite obvious to me that he is a very important character.

I wish I could somehow document my writing form because it's interesting. I literally sit down with a pen and paper and just write comics. And as I write, new character traits slowly appear for all of the characters. After I write about five stories, I reread them, keep a few, and trash the rest, and then write 5-8 more branching off from the two that I kept. I do this for roughly an hour, or off and on during the course of an evening. And through this process, Fishtarr has really become a central, leading character. He is no longer just the background character I had intended for him.

So here he is, ready to take the Earth's Twinkies by whatever means necessary. Allen, realizing that Fishtarr's interpretation of those few words might be a little different than what he meant. You have to remember...despite his silly language and comical appearance, Fishtarr is a bounty hunter by trade and he gets the job done...by whatever means necessary. It's up to Allen and Dr. Skwidd to keep Fishtarr in check so he doesn't destroy the whole human race in the process.

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Back to the Blog!!!

Wow...so after a nearly one year hiatus from blogging...it felt like the time was right to begin again. There are so many prospective cool things happening with I DIG DUG Comics that it just feels like it's time to start being active on the 'ol blog once again. That said...where to begin???

Well...let's just start with the current state of IDD Comics. I DIG DUG is no more. Well, let me rephrase that. I DIG DUG is no longer my main focus. I still draw good 'ol Dug, Matt and Carrie, but it's more for pure enjoyment on my own part. The I DIG DUG comic itself is no longer part of the large 'business plan' model of IDD Comics. I still enjoy the characters, and I still think there's ton of post-graduate stories to tell for these three, but it's just no longer my focus. My focus is now on creating and promoting (and...distributing...somehow) LOST ON EARTH!

I created the three main characters for LOE years ago during a cartooning art camp that I was teaching over the summer. I tucked the image away with the idea that eventually I would do something with them. Well...as I tired of creating new stories for I DIG DUG, I found myself reinvigorated by creating the story, and back stories, for the characters that would become Allen Android, Dr. Skwidd, and Fishtarr. I have produced 27 comic strips of the LOE gang, which I hope to submit to syndication companies in August. The goal being to see if I can (FINALLY!) get a strip nationally syndicated. In addition, I've just completed 7 pages of a LOE story in graphic novel/comic book form. There's also hope that LOE may take off in another medium other than the form of a daily comic strip. Truthfully...I really hope the comic book form takes off because I'm finding it very rewarding to draw and ink in the style of art that I was drawn to YEARS ago when I was in second grade. To be creating my own comic book is something of a dream come true, really...and to hopefully have it mass produced for national consumption would be equally rewarding.

So...that's the state of things. If you were a fan of I DIG DUG, I'm sorry...but aside from an occasional strip, there's not much coming from that department. But I do hope you'll check out LOST ON EARTH and maybe get hooked on that! You can 'like' or become a 'fan' of I DIG DUG COMICS on Facebook. Just search I DIG DUG COMICS, or better yet...click the link on the right side of the blog. Welcome back to the IDD COMICS BLOG. Daily updates starting today. :) Well...that's the plan... :)

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I DIG DUG COMICS CONS

PRESENTING THE I DIG DUG CONVERSE ALL STARS!!!
A few years ago I ran into a former student of mine who had decorated a pair of white Converse All Stars with Sharpie markers. She had all kinds of things going on...and they looked awesome. That inspired me to do something similar, but to use my comics as a focal point for the shoes. Well...I finally did it...and this is the result.

The right shoe features my current comic, "LOST ON EARTH". The outside of the shoe shows Allen, Dr. Skwidd, Fishtarr and Blink, while the inside of the shoe features new characters that will be appearing in the strip soon; Charyssa and Jolt (the evil villains), 'Bot, and Ricochet.

The left shoe features characters from "I DIG DUG". The outside section features the three main characters, Dug, Carrie and Matt, inside their respective shirt symbols. The inside section features the secondary characters that made a ton of appearances in the comic from time to time, Brodie Rock, Smitty and Dave, Not-So-Super-Man and Action Lass.

The backs of the shoes rock the title of each comic strip, while the tongues showcase the main character from each strip.

I really love these shoes, and can't wait to wear them. After adding a little Scotch Guard of course. Gotta take extra precautions to keep these puppies clean.
-dug!

LOE 013 in COLOR

The almost finished color version of Lost on Earth 013 where Dr. Skwidd shows off his mad art making skills...and thinks that it's really Allen.

ELL OOH EE, ZERO ONE THREE! (LOE 013)

Episode 13 of LOST ON EARTH finally brings to light the problems that the good 'ol Dr. Skwidd is having on Earth. The atmosphere of our planet has some kind of negative effect on his intellect. He can no longer think straight, formulate plans, or do any higher level thinking that is associated with his race. Which means if our heroes have any hope of raiding Twinkies off our planet...it's going to be up to Allen and Fishtarr.

Which leads into LOE 014. We're going to go through a long spell where we don't see Dr. Skwidd for a while...BUT...this is where LOE starts to get really exciting for me. Because as Allen and Fishtarr travel away from their ship and onto various locations around the Earth, we're going to see the dynamic of the comic strip change. The strip will slowly transition away from just being a strip with quirky, witty one-liners and more into the realm of a humorous action adventure tale. I've been heavily inspired by Jeff Smith's "Bone" these past few years and I think that entire epic story is starting to play havoc with my writing. IN A GOOD WAY!!!

So...color version tomorrow maybe. All will depend on time!
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A few new faces for LOST ON EARTH

There are some new faces soon to be appearing in the 'pages' of LOST ON EARTH. Well...I suppose soon is a relative term as the 'ol blog here is on LOE #13, and I'm currently writing LOE #24-30. So...maybe it will be some time, but regardless I'd like to introduce you anyway.

Meet Charyssa and Jolt; a few 'evil' faces that will debut in LOE around strip 30(ish). Charyssa is based off of a seahorse, and Jolt a jellyfish, keeping the LOE strip in line with using aquatic life in humanoid form. Charyssa is a mystic or witch or magician or whatever you'd like to call her...but she is evil. She's stranded on Earth, also trying to steal Earth's Twinkies. However her reasons and her goals at this time are uncertain. And I don't mean it's the new mystery of LOE...I mean I really haven't figured it out yet. :) All I've working out is she's mean, she's stranded and she sees our heroes on Earth as her ticket off the planet.

Like I said...you'll be meeting her around the 30th issue of LOE as I begin to swerve the comic away from just being a 'funny little comic', and more into a serialized comic strip with a long story and purpose. I'm combining my two loves of cartooning and superhero comics into my own little comic strip fantasy world. Hope it works as well as I predict.

LOE 013 comes at you tomorrow and I'll probably throw some special images your way as well later this week and into next. Thanks for visiting!
-dug!

LOE 012

Writing comics is tough. Let me rephrase that. Writing a long and winding road story for short little comic strips is tough. The whole process is mind numbing. When I write for LOE, I don't really pause to think. I just write. And as I write, some things work, and others don't come close. Typically I'll write 15-20 strips, and then rewrite 10-12 of those for actual strips. Then as I'm sketching out the new strips, those 10-12 get rewritten and/or condensed down to 5-8. So I end up using 8 strips out of 20 that I wrote. And sometimes through this process long stories get condensed into short stories. For example, the introduction of Sudoku and Dr. Skwidd's passion for it.

There were originally about 10 strips that dealt with Dr. Skwidd and Sudkoku. But after I started sketching them, I just wasn't 'feeling' them. So some I scrapped all together, some I merged with others, and in the end I think I have a total of 4 strips of those 10 that I ended up using. And in that process...I think the comic that I titled LOE 012 should actually be LOE 011, and 011 should be 012. It's hard to know for sure since I reshuffled things (you should see the notes I take on my writing...it's amazing I manage to do ANYTHING!), but I'm pretty sure these last two strips are out of order. Read 'em again...what do you think???

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LOE 011

LOST ON EARTH 011 is in fact a 'filler' comic as I mentioned in the last blog entry. No major revelations...no major progress of the story or plot...just simple comic relief. And it provided yet another contradiction. How in the world did Dr. Skwidd get that Sudoku puzzle book??? I mean...they haven't even left the ship yet, right??? Well, as you'll be seeing soon (either in 012 or 013), there's a reason why the good Dr. has a fascination with Sudoku, and I will elaborate more on that in the coming weeks. For now, let's just talk about that Sudoku book.

As with all stories, there are things that happen that you just have to assume take place 'off camera'. So...let's review what we know about our LOST ON EARTH characters. We know that Allen is an Android, Dr. Skwidd is highly intelligent and Fishtarr is a bounty hunter. We know that they are traveling to Earth to raid our supply of Twinkies, as that is the main ingredient for interspace travel. So given just this little bit of info, we can assume that SOMEONE has had to have already visited Earth to get Twinkies or at least learn about them. And this SOMEONE probably managed to take some of our Earth culture back with them to wherever they came from. Thus, Dr. Skwidd has a Sudoku puzzle book.

Now...before you cry foul and tell me that's too far fetched. That whole last paragraph will become a MAJOR plot point for Allen and Fishtarr once they leave the ship. Who is this SOMEONE that we are assuming has already visited Earth? What is their possible relationship with Dr. Skwidd? And...how will this ultimately affect the LOE characters? See...it's all a mystery when you get the inside scoop from the guy that's writing this stuff. :)

Later!
-dug!