In lieu of Director Commentary, I thought I’d share the pencil sketch version of the final panel of today’s strip. I wanted a bigger shot of the classroom kids, but cramming so many kids in the panel made the desks[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Today's edition of the Secret Commentary is empty, because Dave failed to come up with something for it.
I have a request for you guys. I have to submit samples of my work for a student gallery exhibition, and I would like to use a page or two from Selkie. But I can’t decide which ones1 I’d prefer[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I don't have anything special to say about this one, sorry.
There haven't been background kids in this strip or the last one because I was afraid background comedy would detract from the mood. I don't follow the Harold Zoid method of drama.
I have had this scene running in my head for months now, but now that it’s finally out, I feel a bit sad watching it unfold. So, I’d like to lighten the mood with some cute fan art sent to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Sometimes drawing Selkie is a fine balance between "adorable" and "horrifying". Too much realism or detail and she becomes alien and, visually speaking, difficult to relate to. This is why I usually only draw her top row of teeth when speaking. I want her fangs to remain visible on a "day to day" basis so they don't become jarring or unnerving when they DO appear (in the visual language of comics and animation suddenly-appearing fangs tends to signify malicious intent, a trope I try to subvert with Selkie's design); but when both rows of teeth become visible it can create a "baring her fangs" look. I mention this because I personally find the close up of Selkie's mouth here a bit unnerving. She's a sweet stubborn and smart kid, but she also has a mouth filled with razor sharp fangs. She can't help it but it's unavoidable that, to a human perspective, her mouth is a bit scary if you look too closely.
I think plummeting helplessly must be one of the oldest things in dream… lore? Dream icons? Dream things? *shrug* New Fan Art update today, inspired by the dream sequence, by Jade Griffin: Thanks Jade! I have also updated the cast[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Tried to make the shadows and texturing on this one a little darker than the previous "desert landscape" backgrounds. I also think it's kind of funny how panel three could be interpreted as Selkie running away from an action movie explosion.
Two items. First, I want to say to those of my readers that live in the UK, I hope that you and those you care about are safe and unharmed while these riots have been breaking out. I was reading[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
For a brief time I considered having the centaurinas call their dance the Paul Pena, but that would imply Selkie knows about him, and it doesn't fit to me that an eight year old would know who Paul Pena is. I may be overthinking this a bit. ._. For those that don't get the reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioT_1zxsYME http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dnGj5YF8F0
Oh man, I had a busy busy weekend. My cousin got married this weekend! Congrats, Korie and Adam! I’d also like to name drop something, if I may. My aunt is working on a start-up business designing and selling non-piercing[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Before I settled on the concept of ballerina centaurs Amanda Keisha and Heather were, at one point, going to be magical wizard-knights dressed like Sailor Moon villains.
This is the end of the Return to the Orphanage mini-arc. Hope you all had fun getting re-acquainted with Selkie’s various friends, enemies, and in-betweens. There are two more strips left before we start the next long Chapter story though;[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I can't read Keisha's last line of dialog without laughing.
My rule of thumb for Amanda is that she is a jerk and a bully, but she’s also an eight year old kid. When you’re that young, you feel things a lot more intensely than you do as a grown[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Writing Amanda (even sad-face Amanda) makes me think back to my own childhood bullies. My curiosity got the better of me and I looked up my middle school bully on Facebook while drawing this strip. Apparently the kid who shoved me around so much I had to go to counseling is now a medic in the U.S. Army.
