We here in Baltimore are facing a 50% rate hike on our energy bills, starting today.

How can any artist look at that drawing and not want to draw comics all day every day for the rest of his life? (Larger version HERE.) This is the inspiring work of José Luis Ágreda. You can see more of this strip, and plenty more like it, at his BLOG.

I came across José’s stuff at the blog of another exceptional artist, Paige Pooler. Her official website is full of plenty of gorgeous work that will put a smile on your face, and the links to other artists at her BLOG will keep you happily busy, chasing great link after great link, leading to more and more inspiring art, for hours.

Gotta love talented artists…

Left the garage door open last night, with the lights on. I think that’s why THEY came. Either that or one of the weeds we pulled from the garden and inadvertently left in the garage for a couple of days had a nest. But whatever the reason, this morning – tons of baby praying mantids. On the walls. On the door. On the ceiling. Everywhere.

They’re tiny — maybe a half inch long each. I fear for them… the spiders are going to get them.

When something pops up on sitcoms, ads and cheap novels, can we all agree that particular trend is past prime, and issue a Stylistic Advisory?

Today’s offender: Periods used to indicate dramatic emphasis. This has been floating around out there for a few years, but I suggest it’s popped up one time too many.

EXAMPLES:
“Funnest. Bar. Ever.”
“You’re. Not. In. My. Life.”

I now return you to your regularly scheduled ennui.

This has been a test, only a test, of the Stylistic Emergency Broadcast System. The writers in your area, in voluntary cooperation with State and Local Authorities, have developed this test to keep you informed in the event of a Stylistic Emergency, to help you know which stylistic devices to avoid. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be of legal writing age to participate. Objects in the rear view mirror may be closer than they appear.

“We seem to keep making the same mistakes, over and over and over again, sometimes in the same generation. And it makes me mad. Sure, I’m pissed off, because we don’t seem to be learning anything.

“I’m only one man. But Gandhi said that if you sprinkle enough grains of sand into a machine, even one grain at a time, you can stop the machine. This is my contribution. Anyway, if an artist can’t say what he really feels in his Art, then what the hell is the point?”

Do you miss the Ten Second Club? I sure do.

For those of you who don’t know what it was, it was a monthly challenge, where a short sound file (10 seconds?) was posted, and people would animate characters performing that dialog. It was very popular, and frequented by some big names in the animation, video game, and film biz. Names you’d know.It was a great place to get inspired, to learn from each other, to practice the craft of animation and the thought process for creating interesting character animation and acting.

Sadly, the Ten Second Club vanished one day. I think the community has been missing it, and I thought AnimWatch would be the perfect place to try to get it off the ground again. After all, plenty of animators hang out at AnimWatch.

So, fear not! In the spirit of the Ten Second Club, we proudly present the AnimClips Challenge. Our first challenge is online. I encourage you to come and participate.

Here’s a little strip I did for our family.

Basically, we’ve been trying to have an Easter Egg Hunt since, well, the day before Easter. But the usually stable and reliably gorgeous Maryland spring weather has been notably absent. Cold. Rainy. Pacific Northwesty. Dare I say it, Spokanish. *shudder*

Kids don’t want to have an egg hunt when it’s cold enough to snow but somehow drizzly as well, and parents don’t particularly want to stand around and watch in those conditions. So we’ve scheduled and re-scheduled this thing, hoping that things would improve.

It became a running joke at my house that if things kept on this way, we’d be having our Easter egg hunt on the Fourth of July… hence the comic. This strip ran at the bottom of the latest – and I hope, the last – egg hunt invitation for this year. Fingaz crossed. (Yes, that’s my long-suffering wife in this one…)