sketchbook: cleanin’ out the book

A sketchbook page from earlier in the summer. My sketchbooks have slowly devolved into places where I plan out what my comics are going to look like, but every once and awhile, I’ll doodle like this. Note the comic idea in the upper right corner; you’ll end up seein’ that one sooner or later.

Did I post these hipsters before? I may have. If not, here they are. I have a strong feeling the guy in the center was “inspired” by some drawing I saw somewhere, but the guy on the right is a character I used to draw in college.

sketchbook: happy happy

If you’re friends with me on any of the various social networking sites which make up the way we human beings communicate of late, I’ve probably posted this drawing for you on your birthday in the past year:

It’s just my way of (slightly) personalizing myself in the cattle herd of half-remembered high school acquaintances and third cousins who, once a year, leave you a terse but congratulatory six word message or e-mail.

Here’s the new birthday drawing:

summer journal comics: every boy’s idol

Spinner shirts (and our weird struggles about them) have been featured here and here this past summer.

Strega Nona is, if you are childless or never read it as a kid, a picture book by Tomie dePaola.

Elliot was fairly obsessed with Big Anthony and his troubles with Strega Nona’s magic pasta pot last summer. I suppose that respect has grown into an admiration for her fashion sense.

the final “students draw me” post of the summer

Howdy howdy! It’s been a few weeks, but with the onset of the 2011-2012 school year, this blog’s getting ready to come back to life! I’ll begin posting new teaching comics the Tuesday after Labor Day, which is (as I understand it) the first day many students and educators head back to their classrooms. I’ve been back to school for two weeks already, but… southwestern Ohio, man. What are ya gonna do?

Anyhow, I wanted to post a couple more of these awesome drawings of me before we get back into the swing of the school year and I take up Sundays with chalkboard drawings.

a quick update

Hiya everyone, a real quick update on what’s going on with the comic right now. Today was my first official day back at school for the 2011-2012 school year. Although no students were in attendance, I can safely say the tone set today leads me to believe this will be a really great year of teaching. I’m really excited to be getting back in front of the classroom!

That being said, we’re in Teachable Moments’ yearly lull right now. I seem to go into low content mode for the last few weeks in August with regularity. New comics will begin in September, sometime after Labor Day. To me, this is a more traditional “back to school” timeframe; for as long as I live in Ohio, I’ll never get used to being back in school mid-August.

Hope everyone’s continuing to enjoy their summer!

sketchbook: from my in-laws’ house

I didn’t do as much sketching this summer as I would have liked, but staying at Ellen’s parents’ house seemed like a good opportunity. Ellen’s mom buys a bunch of these gossip magazines where I inevitably end up reading out of boredom (yeah, THAT’s the reason:) I’m sure). My favorite column in them is the page where the magazine publishes pictures of celebrities doing things like buying milk or driving their car under the banner “Stars: They’re Just Like Us!” Imagine that!

Anyway, these are all drawings of celebrities although I’m pretty bad with remembering who they are. The guy on the bottom was dating Jennifer Aniston, I remember that much.

 

summer journal comics: souperman

summer journal comics: elliot’s joke

This is less a joke and more a test of endurance. The actual format is as follows:

Knock Knock!
Who’s there?

Stinky Pinky Underwear! 

I believe the origin for this wonderful gag comes from a picture book called Pinkalicous: Tickled Pink.

I also want to emphasize- Henry LOVES this joke. He thinks it’s the funniest thing EVER.

summer journal comics: more swimming lessons

Less a comic and more a one-panel sketch, this is a follow-up to a comic from last week.

By the second week of lessons, Elliot had developed a fear of jumping in the pool. I felt bad for his swim instructor, a young lady who was clearly very good at her job and stymied by this new bump in the road. He jumped in the pool just fine during the first week… but but the second week, you couldn’t get him to do it!

…also, while I’m here, just a reminder: I’m in New York for the next few days. Posting has been and will continue to be spotty.

summer journal comics: new baby?

Henry’s still squarely in nap territory, but Elliot’s slowly growing out of his naptime.