Color coded mayhem!!
I don’t normally do this because I’m silly and forgetful, but by request I thought I’d share here the beta version of this strip that was up as a placeholder while I got the coloring finished.
I think Felix made an impression on Selkie
Man, I hope everyone is wearing clothes they don’t mind tossing or using for play only…
Presumably they’ll be the washable type of marker.
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2422
Hehehe!
So, part of me is yes tensing up a bit about the potential for things being ruined that you don’t want ruined.
But on the other hand, I’m analyzing it a bit like I do when my brain throws disaster scenarios at me over little things: “Look, Alethia, if you end up passing out right in the middle of the kitchen, you’ve probably got bigger worries than whether you dropped an open milk bottle while doing so.”
So here, there are two parts: First, that bonding right now in the most unfettered way possible is vastly more important than any worries about getting markers on the couch or carpet or clothing. Or cat.
And secondly, if by chance they happen to get marker on a thing that they really didn’t want to get marker on, more than likely it will become a dear keepsake, a memory etched in color. The “wound” of the item’s perfection will become more dear than the item.
Also: Good job, Grandma :3
I have to say, this is exactly how I bonded as a child. Over mutual chaos. Well done.
This is super adorable. Also purple is the best color, Amanda knows what’s up. Hopefully Todd took a mental note of the three things Amanda said she liked, for future reference.
Do you worry about having her pluralize a word that would make another ACTUAL word?
I notice, she said “I wants a…ans…” She pluraled the “want” and the “an”, but if you had had her pluralize the “a”, it would have made the actual word “as”, and would tend to confuse people.
I used to run into that problem with the word “okay”. I would right it as “ok” and Selkiefy it as “Oks”. But some people said they read it weirdly that way, as if it rhymed with “ox”, so I started righting it out “okay”.
I agree that “a” vs “as” would cause readability problems and I’d probably avoid it.
Aww yeah, marker-fight to break the tension!
If Theo was willing to eat fish eyes for Selkie, I’m pretty sure by the end of the week (our time) everyone in this room is going to be covered in marker … and at least for the moment, everything else is forgotten.
I can see Andi looking like a smurf at the end of their night. It’s beautiful.
I have thought before that if I ever end up with my own house and some kids, I would paint one room in a non-white but pale primer, and then at various junctions (say, around the change of seasons) bring the kids in with some paints and let them go at it however they want. (“In this room ONLY.”)
Maybe the first couple goes would be ridiculous chaos. But they’d get used to the idea that they could do whatever they want, and I’d bet that after a few goes it would end up being structured chaos, either of color without form or of actual scenes, and then later on they’d get better and better with how to use the paints and different techniques and such, and it would look better each time.
It’d teach them that impermanence is not a flaw when it comes to art (the Spinelli lesson), and the mere fact that they were free to do whatever they wanted to the room would probably loosen their imaginations and reduce the hold of perfectionism (if it got them in the first place… I know I’ve got it and would likely pass it down despite my best efforts to the contrary). And just be a lot of fun.
Really liking this idea. At one point I wanted to take my kitchen cupboard doors off and have my nieces and nephs decorate one each with handprint art. Ended up putting dark cupboards in before I got around to it tho.
Good idea, but if I may extend the idea further, they make chalkboard paint. You can paint one wall that, and give the kids some chalk, have them go wild, then take a picture of their art, and blow it up to hang on the other walls. But that way, they’ve always got an outlet for their art.
As fun as the idea of chalkboard paint is, it’s really not that practical for a wall to use it on, and on a door: Be prepared to torch-strip it off, as regular sanding just won’t cut it. (You need 4 layers to make it work properly)
That’s actually good to know. I’ve been wanting to get an RV and paint the entire place in it so if I had random ramblings, I could just write it down.
That being said: on a door (flat smooth surface) it works perfectly in 3-4 layers. So it IS useful. Better still would be to find yourself some construction wallpaper (it’s grayish white) and first apply a layer of white wall paint to protect the wall.
That’ll be much easier and cheaper for a complete wall.
I don’t suppose you have any idea as to how to go about turning walls into whiteboards, do you? (No kids yet, but lots and lots of upper division math homework. Abstract algebra, non-Euclidean geometry, formal logic, and then topology and real analysis… whee?)
Orbital sander is def a must for doing a whiteboard wall, sanding a surface of any size flat by hand will take forever. However, you’d probably be farther ahead to simply paint the wall white and screw a large piece of clear plexiglass or polycarbonate over it to write on. Much less work as well, a double handful the tabs they use to attach flat mirrors to walls and voile!
Note: Polycarbonate is the better choice, has a smoother finish. You pay more for it, however.
Because I’m bored today and I’m going to do this project in some form eventually…
These are the potential white board options I’ve found thus far:
1. Hardboard panels, made with MDF. Currently running $13.97 at the home depot website for a 4×8 sheet.
2. Melamine boards – thicker, surface may need to be buffed but a fair number of people swear by them. More expensive than option 1, runs $30 there. Most cheap whiteboards are made with this.
3. Polycarbonate – found under the brand name Lexan but cost prohibitive at a whopping $167 per 4×8 sheet.
4. Plexi-glass – $98 per 4×8 sheet. Thus far, hardboard panels are looking like the most cost effective option.
5. Glass – Didn’t find a sheet that big there, you’re probably going to want to check a secondhand construction place or online auction site for sliding glass doors to deconstruct. If you have a glass on hand you want to use, china markers allegedly work better than dry erase.
6. Prime over metal sheeting and paint with whiteboard, then screw to wall. Avoid aluminum if you want something magnets stick to. Home Depot doesn’t carry it in that size, altho I did find a place with cold rolled steel sheeting 4’x10′ for $70 s&h NOT included. They also had aluminum 4×8 for $73.
…
As it stands, I’ll probably try plexi-glass, I have large pieces on hand, thanks to once owning cats who shredded window shrink wrap.
However, the big warning with plexi-glass is that you need to test your markers and cleaning supplies first. Not all markers are created equal and some will stain it. Some cleaning supplies will also make it harder to clean in the future. Expo low odor markers got a thumbs up, but clean within two hours for easiest removal (and make sure they ARE the low odor variety, their other markers didn’t fare as well.) Red is generally not recommended. Some dry erase markers can actually melt plexi-glass so make sure to test before use. Also my expo black tends to go lighter (readable, but definitely lighter) on both glass and plexi-glass.
For a new large project, hardboard panels look like the win. They’re cheap and easy to replace when they get too grungy. Unless, of course, you already have one of the other options on hand.
There are also a few websites out there that sell whiteboard roles like http://writeyboards.com/collections/whiteboards
However, a 5×7 goes for $140.
My life for ability to edit: voile = voila, because fabric makes no sense in that context.
I had thought about making a room with whiteboard walls, but then I thought how much different markers are from paints. And how often things touch walls. I want a more semi-permanent design, rather than a new one every day or one that slowly gets destroyed over time.
Or, well, I know the paint will slowly get nicked and stuff, I want something where the erosion happens slow enough that it lasts three months before they get to the next version.
We used to have “Paper” wallpaper, if you know what I mean, at all our DIY stores, but unfortunately from 5 years ago they stopped selling them.
It’s just plain “off white” wallpaper that’s suitable for drawings, paintings or to just paint it in whatever color wall-paint you like without spending a ridiculous amount of time and/or cash for that specific color wall-paper.
Anyway: I wanted to do my son’s room with that, so he could decorate it himself, or just draw on the walls. (“In that room only!”) He was 6 at that time. But alas, it was not possible.
On topic of the comic for today: Who has Marker Fights, these days?
I am 33 and I can’t remember having Marker Fights at all. (Only pillow fights, food fights were a big no-no as you had to bring your own lunch to school)
Never heard of one before this strip. Seems like a spontaneous thing that will do this family a lot of good.
I’m loving everything that’s happening at this immediate moment
IKR ? It’s super adorable to see all four of them getting along at the moment . It’s probable not going to last all the night unfortunately .
Perfect, Dave! And I actually really like the non-color because it really makes the shading and the marker colors stand out a ton:) Well done!
Yes, Dave, for this page in particular, PLEASE stick a copy in the archive or something, so we can remember what it was like in black-and-white. It does look great.
I love this!!
Selkie in panel 5 is adorable
I was going to write the exact same thing!
Panel seven.
That is all.
Since this impromptu tattoo-viewing happened DURING dinner (notice, last panel, Todd’s plate is still in his lap), they haven’t had dessert yet.
What a great time to just ACCIDENTALLY have some strawberry shortcake fixin’s in the fridge. Everyone could have strawberry shortcake, except for Selkie, who could spray some whipped cream on top of a steak, to top off them pork chops.
Can Selkie digest milk products? Usually carnivores that can are those that nurse as young, I don’t think her species does.
Nevertheless, even if dairies are digestable by her, I wouldn’t give her whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream products have vegetable oils added, and we KNOW that would make her sick. I suppose Theo and Mari could try to find ones without vegetable oils, and they’d probably succeed if they were determined, but it might be easier to just get Selkie her own dessert. It’s a balance of whether or not that would make her feel left out, I suppose.
With her around, I’d just whip up a meringue. That way she could accidentally consume it safely.
Or they could get a pint of whipping cream and whisk it to the proper consistency. (but don’t whisk it for too long or you’ll end up with something resembling butter.)
There you go. Heck, I was in high school before I knew they made spray whipped cream. Mama made it fresh with the old Sumbeam Mixmaster.
Sarnothi do nurse their babies until the teeth come in enough to get calcium from fish bones. It’s mentioned in the physiology sketch a while back as an explanation for an egg laying species to have mammary glands. So Sarnothi babies can digest milk, but it hasn’t been clarified one way or the other if older Sarnothi can.
Sure it has. The first day Todd took her home, and was gonna feed her. “Plants makes me pukes purple.” HOW ABOUT LACTOSE? CAN YOU HAVE CHEESE?
https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie50/
Todd’s specified in the drive-thru strips to include cheese but make sure it’s real and not vegetable oil. So yes, dairy products are fine.
Two competitive girls in a high stakes competition with each other, in the same room, with the two people/ persons/ items of affection/ objects needing emotional protection/ that they hold dearest in the world. Oh, heck no! There is just no way in the world that this could get out of hand, escalate, and end badly.
Hm… out of everyone on the couch, only Theo looks like he’s for the marker fight. Even Selkie does NOT look enthused about this. Possibly Amanda is about to get a conversation about appropriate and inappropriate.
The lack of enthusiasm on the others’ faces probably has a different thought behind it for each person there.
Andi – “Ohgod, this is going to go horribly wrong, I just know it.”
Todd – “How’d we get… this girl is so volatile!”
Selkie – “Uh-ohs. I’s the only ones heres who’s seen Amandas FIGHT.”
Mari – “Oh dear, this is my fault, isn’t it? How can I keep this from getting out of hand?”
Theo – (gulp) “Guess this is another of those times. Sometimes you just gotta eat the fish eyeballs. Keep smiling, face.”
Excellent rundown. There’s the nuances of subtext for you.
FUCK YES THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. I hope everyone realizes this in time.
That’s so friggin precious.
Selkie’s expressions are just too adorable here
Hmm that tattoo might cause secondhand regret if someday she’s not as fond of purple ponies anymore.
I love drawing on myself with Sharpie marker and I always have, my parents encouraged it, because it helped show how creative I am. And if I don’t like how something turned out, I can change it easily with a wet wipe.
“Grandchildren are cuter than children” is a saying in Japan.
For sure, you can spend your time PLAYING with them, and being a positive role model is their parent’s job, not yours. ^_-
The battle continued for centuries.
Ink was spilt.