Bullfinch.

July 2010
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Oscar And 42 Done

July 21st, 2010 | by TL

Hey look, a pin-up of everyone’s favorite cat and squirrel team! This was a sketch I had of Oscar and 42 and I decided to use it as a coloring exercise. I think it came out pretty cool. I also got some solid Bullfinching done last night on the actual comic which was exciting and re-invigorating. I’m not making an official announcement yet on the return of Bullfinch comics but we’re definitely getting closer.

I’m still deciding on the format to use once I return to regular comic updates. Full page, full color comics which take a little longer and would probably only debut on a Tuesday and Thursday schedule or the traditional half pages I usually do three days a week? Any suggestions are appreciated! I really enjoy doing full pages and the freedom it affords me for backgrounds and camera angles, but the half pages are easier to work on and would speed things up. I guess I have to decide between the artistry of full page comics and the more palatable update schedule with more constraint. Either way for starters you’ll probably see more full page stuff at least in the first couple of weeks.

I watched a crapload of soccer during the FIFA World Cup and I’m kind of in withdrawal now that it’s over . And don’t bother with the anti-soccer arguments, I already get bombarded with those from my friends. Yeah I get it, “What the hell is with the stoppage time?!” (It’s not that hard) “I hate the flopping!” (Yeah we all do, I hate it in the NBA too) “Not enough scoring!” (Well, I like a good 1-0 baseball game and I love a good defensive 13-7 football game too). I think the national sports radio scene has covered the hate in detail for decades now. Anyway it’s damn good fun and I like the idea of international competition even if the USA did lose to some African country. So where to go from here? The MLS is easy and often on TV and it features a growing number of international players like Thierry Henry. It also affords me the chance to actually go to a game someday live. The English Premier League is pretty huge too and I kind of like the idea of following players you will see come 2014 in the next world cup.

Or the NFL season will start up and I’ll forget all about this come September….

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The Evolution of Oscar

March 23rd, 2010 | by TL

Posted In: News and Updates!

Most comics, be they web based or otherwise, have a cat in them. It’s an easy character for people to identify with whether they currently live with a pet cat or have fond memories of a cat from their childhood. Cartoon cats are some of the most popular icons of American entertainment. In fact there are more than a few cartoon cats with some of the same personality quirks as Bullfinch’s own Oscar, whether it’s being mean or abrasive or even megalomaniacal. But few take it to quite the extremes as Oscar. Much like his frequent oddball drug abuse, you know mixing live pixies and catnip and such, he doesn’t seem to know when to quit. We’ve seen him go from petty drug pusher to squirrel horde usurper to flat out super-villian in two years. That’s some serious evolution.

Oscar’s visual character development has undergone a similiar evolution as well. As Bullfinch progressed from a four panel black and white comic strip to full color half page comic pages I’ve had to add color and shading and form to my characters. Oscar is one of my characters who makes regular story line appearances but doesn’t appear in every strip. His look is tweaked every few months or so as my art style improves. KC on the other hand changes subtly every day making his appearance changes harder to pin down.

Now that Oscar has fully embraced his path to super-villain, and possibly lost his remaining sanity, we see that he has created a mask and outfit to mark this. His classic red and yellow jumpsuit follows his earlier color scheme and now he’s added his own logo. His mask is more expressive and his face is rounder and more three dimensional with an animated quality to it. (At least that’s what I’m aiming for!) His fur color is a little lighter and slightly muted to offset his costume.

With this little vignette revealing that Oscar and Squirrel Designate 42 have been lost in time I now have an entire story to delve into whenever I get the chance. Keep an eye out for the further adventures of Oscar and 42!

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More Sketchery and promised blogging.

March 14th, 2010 | by TL

Posted In: News and Updates!

This is what happens to Dragons--

After being hit in the face by a Yeti wielding a tree, and humiliated by an Incredi-Yeti. You just grab a beer and some nachos and watch reality TV. This Dragon sketch was in my sketchbook and I wound up working it into a full color image. The inks were all done by hand and not by my wacom but I did paint the colors in digitally with the tablet. This would seem like a good time to put up a step by step coloring process from my photoshop files but alas not tonight.

I’m currently in Virginia hunting for used cars. A fairly large and time consuming undertaking that I do not take lightly. The process is fraught with anxiety and research and, of course, acting. I must pretend that I know a lot more about cars than I really do to fool potential sellers. Be they individuals or dealerships, most folk are out to screw you over either by small or large amounts. These days your greatest weapons are found on the internet, with Kelly Blue Book and Carfax, and to a lesser extent, online reviews. Armed with these tools and a faux confidence ( and my Dickies jacket which lends an air of car mechanic) I wade deep into the uncertain world of hidden car repairs and bad brakes.

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Future Robots Need Caffeine too…

March 6th, 2010 | by TL

Posted In: News and Updates!

Hey look, a free robot sketch! I’ve been experimenting lately with drawing robots and different types of characters. I’ve also been working on some re-designs of some of my characters. Soon the current time travel storyline will be finished and we can return to regular Bullfinch. When the time comes I need to be prepared, but it also gives me a chance to revamp some characters and storylines free of charge.

Much like me this robot prefers Monster to Red Bull. Cause he’s smart, I guess. Once again thanks for all the kind words everyone! I believe my artwork and the comic in general is growing and evolving.

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Bullfinch Digital Revolution

January 12th, 2010 | by TL

Posted In: News and Updates!

Wacom intuous 3 tablet
This image, my friends, is the new Wacom Intuos Tablet which is my new artistic ally. Going digital is something I’ve thought about for a long time but I always put it off in favor of blue pencil and micron pens. Over the last year and a half since I started Bullfinch I had hit a nice stride with sketching in traditional non-repro blue pencil ( an anachronistic tool which was used by comic artists before the digital age because the blue wouldn’t show up under the inks during the print process) and inking with pens and the occasional brush. They were portable and comfortable, but tablets and pressure sensitive gadgetry always flitted in my peripheral vision.
Webcomics Weekend, an event for comic artists to fraternize together in person held in Massachusetts, brought me into close physical contact with one Dawn Griffin . . . . ’s (hee hee) laptop tablet. Dawn does the amazing comic Zorphbert and Fred. Check out Dawn’s comic here! To try one out in person was quite intoxicating. When no one was looking I would research these things on amazon for prices and product reviews. This went on for months until this Christmas when I saw the sale I had been looking for online. Due to my procrastination, I missed it. So two weeks ago I bought the same item at a slightly less spectacular sale price. ( I suck.)
As with my people my initial interactions with the tablet, my computer screen, and the stylus were disorienting. It took a couple of hours to adjust to not looking directly at the area where I was drawing. With a little practice I’ve managed to squeak out some reasonable sketches. Here is example A: A dwarf sketch
This is the digital sketch I did in blue to simulate my usual hand drawn stuff. It seemed to help my brain realize what I was doing. Example B is the “inks” over the pencil marks: Dwarf sketch inked
To be compared with a similiar drawing of a barbarian which was done in my sketchbook by hand: barbarian inks
Having all of this already in a digital file made it a cinch to color: dwarf color
The last two updates of my comic have been done completely digitally. It’s been a learning process but it’s going really well and I’m excited to try my hand at some more complicated comic rendering like full perspective backgrounds and larger page sizes. I also believe I can up the ante on my coloring skills as well with the stylus instead of the mouse. I will keep you informed!