Howdy again folks! I hope the new year is treating you right so far.
Here is an update on what is going on so far for me.
Last night I finished another cartoon, bringing the total number of cartoons drawn in the last 3 months to 2! Slow moving I know but this is a deluge for me lately. I plan on starting a totally brand-new cartoon tonight. I have discovered something that may help my productivity. And please bear with me on this story.

Back in the summer when Emily and I had a baby shower prior to Alena's birth, one of the things that was set up was a picture frame with some markers so people could sign it. I kept the pens, and figured I'd find a use for them someday. Well the other day I inspected the pens further. I'm not sure exactly why. I was shocked to discover that the pens were designed for marking archival material and were filled with fade resistant ink. The more interesting thing was the fact they were double tipped. Fine point on one end, and broad on the other. The broad end was the most interesting as it was long and tapered like a brush. After a little bit of doodling I discovered that I could obtain suitable results with it that looked like brushwork. This allows me to vary the line weight and add better depth to the drawing. Most pens allow for little or no variation in line weight and give you fairly flat results. Consequently I don't like to use pens to ink my cartoons, opting instead to go "old school" using a bottle of ink, brushes, and crowquill nibs.
Using this new pen was like a revelation and allowed me to work much faster. I plan on using it much more in the future, especially since I don't have as much worry that the ink will fade like other marker type pens.
I may just get my 200 page book done this year !
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In other stuff....

I went to see Tim Burton's new film BIG FISH last week and it was great! Quite easily his most polished work and dare I say his best film. Although I have an extremely soft spot in my heart for THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS he didn't actually direct that one. I can highly recommend BIG FISH!

I've been watching some old Marx Brothers films lately in preparation for a costume contest I will be involved in next month. Emily and I will be traveling to Utica with our friends Mark and Lisa for a curling tournament. The theme for this year's tournament is Hollywood and part of the festivities include a costume contest. We decided to go as the Marx Brothers. At last year's tourney we actually placed first in the costume contest so we'll see about defending our title this year! I am going to be Chico, Emily will be Groucho, Mark will be Harpo, and Lisa will be straight man Zeppo. Should be fun and I promise to post some photos when they become available!

Duty now for the future!

----Doug

Happy New Year Folks!

Emily and I attended First Night here in Albany and had a great time with our friends Mark and Lisa. We walked around a bit and the weather was fairly accomodating. We stopped for free ice cream from Ben and Jerry's and then wandered over to the beautifully restored classic Palace Theater to see a performance by the Von Trapp Family Kids. These were the actual great-grandchildren of the Capt. from the Sound Of Music film. Very cute and fun. Then we wandered over to see some of the Albany Pipe and Drum corps. Always a good show. We then quickly set out for what was the highlight for me, an hour with local author David Pitkin who told some of the ghost stories he's collected from the area. I had brought a copy of his latest book, Ghosts of the Northeast, with me on the off chance he might be available after the talk. He did stick around to sell copies of his book and he gladly signed my copy and we spoke for a few minutes. A very nice gentleman with a great way of telling stories. we stuck around for the fireworks at midnight and then had to go pick Alena up from my parents, so I didn't make it home and into bed until almost 230am. and then work by 8am!

Hope your celebrations were happy and fun,

---Doug