Latest Comic:

For those of you who don't know me in person and hear my ramblings constantly about the state of the world (specifically the area within a few square kilometers of me) I have been somewhat unable to do any comics for a while. First it was my computer. It died. Horribly. And it was a while before I was able to get a new one.

Then when it was all set up I discovered the information lost on the original computer included all of my artistic programs, the main disappointment being Photoshop, closely followed by Final Cut Pro. Long ago I had lent the install disks to someone and they were never returned.

So then began the hunt for software. Eventually got what I needed and up and running. Then the rush began.

You see, the problem with working in a Cinema is that when everyone else has holidays, you don't. So the School holidays held for me sold out sessions of Transformers, Ice Age, and now Harry Potter. Not to mention the hyped up Wolverine and the new Star Trek months prior. And then there's the Proposal. Why it keeps getting Sold-out sessions I'll never know.

When I get done with a shift whereby I'm screaming over the din for the next person to approach the candy bar, not to mention having to clean said candy bar at closing time, I'm really not in the mood to come home and write comics. And on my days off, really the only thing my mind can do while it's re-charging for the week ahead is to absorb itself in some game (be it of the RPG, RTS or FPS genres it matters not) or watch a movie. If I feel really creative I pull out a Warhammer model I have been meaning to paint and "try" to get stuck in. Rarely works.

My attention span has been sliced in half. At least. Sometimes I wonder what I must be like to talk to. I gotta find a copy of Napalm and Silly Putty.

So I'll try to do updates twice a week as I promised so long ago. If it turns out to be too much I'll have to resort to one a week. Let's say Monday and Thursday, like before.

Fingers crossed....

The comic style itself has changed a bit. You might recognize it form the single-strip of Eirlys & Idris, or from strips #111 and #112. It's a style I'm working on for a more serious comic based around an alternate history idea I have.

The sprites (I probably should stop calling them that) are bigger which means I can get more movement out of them and a little more detail as well. unfortunately this means a great deal of effort in creating them. I still have to go pixel-by-pixel and when you're dealing with curved lines here and there, it's not that easy.

Anyway, this has gotten essay-length. So I'll leave it with my customary farewell.

Stay Groovy.

:{>

Well... I will eventually. I have a few things on my plate - my upcoming birthday among them - but will get straight to it as soon as I'm able. Got a few new ideas I want to throw down. Also have a new comic I'm working on, so very far behind on both.

:{>

I'm still one computer down... technically. The computer i s working fine, but I have no Photoshop. And my install-disks have been lost to the void that is my Mac-using-friends-from-uni. Ugh. So still no comic.

That said, the moment I get my credit card (Shock horror) I will have a new computer and hopefully a copy of Photoshop and Final Cut as well. We'll soon find out if my plan comes to fruition. Doing a few hand-drawn illustrations for a friend, might post some of the not-so-crappy ones up when I'm done.

Without going in to too much detail, my Mac has shat itself. There have been some niggly little bits going on for the last year or so, but considering I bought this monolith back in '03 I don't think anyone can really bitch about PCs being better (I could still play most dual-platform games from the last year or so) But as with all items touched by my hand there comes a time when they must explode in a giant fireball or some similar event. And that time is now.

Figures that it would happen when I was thinking about how I could turn my comic into a book, and the possibility of talking to publishers about it. Yep. That's when it dies. Information recovery? Possible. But seeing as it stubbornly refuses to talk to any other computer by ANY means (I have hooked my computers up with BLUETOOTH I was that desperate) nor will it burn any form of CD or DVD, and my Portable hard drive is MIA as well as being partially dismantled due to a friends efforts at "fixing" it. I am also broke, as is befitting the hard-working artist cliche. So taking it into a store for it to be repaired will only get me laughed at by the white-shirts.

So, now that I've bitched for the last two paragraphs, the real reason I'm telling you this is there won't be any comics until I've figured the problem out. It may involve a sledgehammer, three feet of surgical tubing and a gummy shark, but if there's any possibility of getting this damnable thing fixed without having to buy a new computer, believe me, I'll explore it...

Due to certain amusing events, I had completely forgotten about lining up a comic for Monday. I'll have one up by this evening. My work had a staff Christmas party and I was busy getting my costume ready. Not a second to spare, as I was still making adjustments at the party itself.

Stay Groovy
:{>

For those of you who are not "in the know", I have been devising a comic of late based around an historical event that would have taken an alternate path if certain situations had arisen. Primarily, if Russia had not sold Alaska to the US due to the discovery of oil and gas deposits. This idea has been brewing for quite a while and due to some diplomacy and idea-slinging with Claire, I've finally figured out how to start it.

Expect to see some posts here in the next month or so about the comic, where to find it, and what it's called, as I still haven't decided on a name. At the moment the top contender is 'Someday, Tuesday' (Tuesday is the main character's name, see the Sketchgoatee comic #112 for what he looks like, as I added more stubble after comic #111)

I'll try to update twice a week for SG whilst doing the other comic, we'll see how well I can multitask. I'll at least keep the two comic per week thing going until the end of January. If it's too hectic, I may have to drop it down to one per week. Sad, but it might be necessary.

Otherwise, can any readers in the northern hemisphere please send me some of your cold? I'm boiling in Australia right now. I can take the cold. I have Skied in boardies and an Hawaiian shirt (freaks the bogons RIGHT OUT) but I just can't take the heat.

':{>

All of the "Hell" plot arc is now OVER! It's all been posted and ready to load to a computer near you. Though you'll still have to wait for them, I have shortened the waiting times.

Every day from now until the 15th a strip will be posted at midnight, or thereabouts. I hope. I think for some reason SJ is about an hour behind. I'll have to re-check the settings. But regardless, one strip per day ending next thursday. I shall attempt to have something funny up for after then as well, but don't rush me. Getting back to 2 per week after that, and I've got a few good ones to put in already.

Groove on.

:{>

Merry Christmas all!

Plot arc continuing, albeit slowly...

Here's a tip for all you up-and-coming webcomic writers. You can only "wing it" for so long. "Step 1 = enter hell, Step 2 = ..., Step 3 = Profit" is NOT a good way to do things. Plan the vague notions such as Ben enters hell, friends follow, he gets captured, they get captured, he escapes, sets others free, they try to leave, they get stopped, battle finale, they get out, and manage to close the portal. Not what I did. I thought to myself "Hey, I need to go to hell and kill things" and proceeded to write on a strip-to-strip basis after that, which is what I had done with ALL of my other strips as that's the style I have; a three panel stand-alone gag.

With the posts remaining this year and my current scribblings of strips in my little book of doom, I estimate the plot arc to finish sometime mid to late January. about 7 MONTHS after I started it... GAH! Admittely most of that time was dead-air due to my laziness and odd moods.

Managed to lose the sheet of paper with a dozen or so comic ideas from my workplace. So it might be a while before some of those start to show up.

Meanwhile, for those who like the comic and want avatars for forums done up in this style, feel free to e-mail me (sketchgoatee@gmail.com) with a photo of yourself and what size you want it (for example; 80 x 80 pixels) and I'll do my best to make one up asap.

Also I love hearing feedback, so if you liked one of my comics, please rate it and post a not about why you liked it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing a lemming purchasing thermo-nuclear devices by Visa has made someone laugh.

Also, anybody intending to rock up to Canberra anytime between the 1st and 4th of January for the purpose of going to Summernats, can you PLEASE try to keep the burnouts out of Downer? By all means leave rubber doughnuts on the streets of North Lyneham and Dickson, even Watson is fine, but Downer is... um... filled with spike strips... and potholes... and stuff... and... yeah...

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