Just a quick post before I head out to a post thanksgiving turkey party (one of the best kinds of parties) and NOT head to a gig that was canceled yesterday (meh). Here's a bit of what I did today, aside from make stuffing. Did a bit of painting on the Slurmy project. I'm happy with Slurmy. Just not all that happy with Lou at the moment. Turns out the details I cut into the piece were not exactly how I want it to be painted, so it's going to take some more work. Which is fine. No big. I dig the big goofy grin on this worm. Gonna paint some segments on him next. Likely tomorrow while my wife is studying.
This is going to be largely a post for me to sort out some possible venues for merchandise. I've gotten a couple leads from surfing the websites of other folks who are doing this stuff, and so I'm posting them here so I don't forget them. If it's of use to anyone else, that's great. I'm not endorsing these folks, because I haven't done business with them. Just collecting data right now.
ModButtons.com Just what it says. They do custom buttons and magnets. Thinking I might do 4 or 5 designs, and sell them in packs.
Brunetto T-Shirts Custom T-Shirts. The pricing looks good here. Ariana Osborne used them to make the T-shirts for Diesel Sweeties. I have to read Diesel Sweeties again. I haven't read that in a while.
Also, (and here, I am endorsing) if you haven't been reading Ariana, of late, she's been on about POD, and has some really good thoughts on it. Even if she is a bit of a meany about it. But that's okay. A lot of us need a meany to kick us in our collective buttock and remind us what it means to GET EXCITED AND MAKE THINGS (Thanks, Matt Jones).
Last night I did a little work on the shipping design for the Milo Pocket Art. I think it's pretty nifty, and wanted to share it with you guys. The bottom of the box, I'll let be a mystery until you get one in the mail. It's nothing much. Just a fun bit of copy that I'll likely change up every now and again. I sent out a box last week, and at the last minute I drew Milo on there all excited that he was going in the mail, and then I thought it might be cool to have that be a ready made label that I could just pop an address into when I got a sale.
So. There it is. Learning and changing as we go. Think next time I'll make copies and print out labels as I go, because the inkjet ink runs with moisture, and thus I had to tape this one up with strapping tape so it doesn't bleed. Kind of makes it less cool, but I can't redo this one today. Have to get him in the mail.
I'm back. This blog is reactivated. I decided that I like having the comic separate from the blog, even if I decide to pull in an RSS feed to the comic page. Just feels better having two separate entities. Because not all of this is going to be Milo related.
So, this is a tiny sculpt I did this weekend, of everyone's favorite migratory secret agent. I'm doing it for a collaboration with the creator of http://www.flickr.com/photos/zook360/3512851994/sizes/o/in/set-72157617685683269/ Slurmy, the artist known as Zook. (Sorry it took me so long to get on the stick, man.) The scale is pretty tiny to do all that detailed a sculpt of Lou(with my not-so-mad skillz), but it's going to be a cool first crack at it. It's got my mouth watering for a bigger version that I have planned. Picture Lou bristling with guns.
So, this'll be the last post here. I'm gonna leave it up for a while, because some people may not know about it, and I want to catch the stragglers up to speed. I've moved everything over to MiloTheCloud.com and the blog exists there too. The reasoning was that I really hated all the clicking one has to do on blogger. Click to see the full size, scroll through and THEN click to find comics from the past. I've moved to Wordpress and specifically Comicpress which gives a fully customizable setup that's made for webcomics. So you'll be able to scroll easily through all the archives, and look through the blog posts separately if you want to read them.
So, there it is. Goodbye blogger, and hello MiloTheCloud.com. Follow me there, and add your name to my email list, so you'll get newsletters on merch and other happenings.
The colors are not as good on this as I'd like. Photoshop always drains the color out when you convert to jpg. Anybody who knows the magic of how to keep that from happening, I'm all ears.
Hank finally gets the drop on the little guy. I'm sure this will end in tears, or possibly shreds of rubber all over the ground. But not for a while yet. Probably it'll get worse before it gets better. Maybe for years.
So I’m doing this exercise, because I’m building the Milothecloud.com website architecture, and the first steps (in a tutorial I was checking out) involve defining exactly why you’re doing this thing.Which is something that I’ve never actually sat down and considered.I mean, I just draw the comics because I enjoy doing them, and I’m doing the book because I love the story, and I made the first toys because I wanted to see if I could.But the sitting down and defining is a really good thing to do, whatever you happen to be taking on, because it makes you consider if you actually want to do this thing at all.Looking at it in black and white makes you go, “hmmm.That’s pretty big.Do I really want that?Am I prepared to do all of that?”The even better thing right now is that I’m answering, “Hell yes I do!”I’m going to need help with it, and that’s maybe where I’ll have some problems (because I’m a dreamer, and not that good a delegator) but the thought of that doesn’t fill me with dread or make me want to stop.It makes me say, “I don’t know how I’ll do that, but I can learn.”
The thing that made me want to write this down was that I was thinking of who my audiences are, and the thought of the kinds of people that might dig what I’m doing made me realize that there’s something very cool about the age that we live in.Because of Twitter and blogs and message boards about random interests that are shared by niche groups of people around the world, it’s a very interesting time to be a small-time creator starting out.The fact that every time I post one of the Milo strips on http://www.sulliedreputation.deviantart.com someone favs it, or adds me to their watch list, means that the strips are enhancing someone’s life, even if only in a small way.And because of that, people will start to find it, and because of that, they’ll start to find the other things I’m doing, and planning to do on MiloTheCloud.com.
I’m very excited, and I’m glad if you’re lurking out there.Hit me up on twitter http://twitter.com/SeanArcher, or drop Milo a message on the digsby widget and let me know if there’s something that you’d love to see that you haven’t seen yet.I’m not promising it’ll sync with what I’m planning, but I promise to listen.At least until the haters show up and start griping about how there isn’t enough helium in Hank’s body to lift a teddy bear.I’ll have you know it’s super-helium, and the bear is made of a space-age polymer that weighs next to nothing.Your child won’t even know he’s holding a bear!!
Anyway, if you’ve read that whole thing, then cheers to you, and I hope that you enjoy the ride.
This look on Milo's face is something that cracks me and my lady up when we do it to each other. Best used when feigning indignant astonishment and pain. Milo's pain is real though. As is Hank's utter disregard and slight amusement at Milo's distress.
Click to embiggen, (I think, although, it might actually be as big as it'll get right here. I don't know, it's 2 a.m. and I'm only posting this because I set myself these stupid deadlines and I'm trying desperately to keep them and also plan a wedding).
I don't really want this to become a political cartoon, but sometimes you just gotta say something, and Lou is a good voiceless voice. I figure he'll sell his services to the highest bidder, even though he'd probably do it all for free just to prove he can.
Have a nice Friday. I plan to go for a walk.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Click to embiggen.
The end of the storyline. With a healthy dose of truth about balloons. Ingrates, all of them.
Unfortunately the scans I did today (which I was going to work on at lunch and on my break) are corrupted. I tried something different and tried to scan straight to a .psd and it didn't work. I went to open them just now and it told me that Photoshop couldn't open them because they weren't valid photoshop documents.
This is something I happened across, and wanted to share with those who come here. It's about 9 minutes long, and it's worth watching. Very cool, and touching.
Here's Eva. She looks a bit overwhelmed to be meeting the boys. As well she should be. Not gonna say much on this one. I could have worked for hours more on it, and not felt like it was done. But I want these to come out in as timely a manner as I can, so I let go of it.
Better late than never, huh? I'm doing my best to keep to my Monday and Thursday upload. This is technically still Monday, though it's stretching it well into Monday night. (11 pm central standard time). I'm very happy with the sketches I've been doing on Eva, who I think I'll be able to introduce to you folks on the next strip, which'll be a full pager. Want to introduce her in a cool way. Till then, Lou deadlifting a blender.
I'm having a blast drawing Lou. I also like nervous hide-y Hank and his teddy. But frankly I'm as ready to get rid of the teddy as Hank is. Still have a few more strips to go with this though.
EDIT: (I just realized that the teddy-bear has the string on the wrong hand in this one. Damn you, editorial department!! You're supposed to catch these things BEFORE I post them!)
So I'm testing out a new thing. I've installed a Digsby widget in the page, and now you can chat with Milo. Or if I'm feeling like letting Hank have his say, I may give Hank the chat access for a while. Obviously the Hank chats will be more colorful, but I thought it'd be cool to have a bit of fun with the characters and let people chat with them if they'd like.
If it gets out of hand, or people start abusing Milo, he'll go away, so be nice. Otherwise I'll have it be Lou the Cardinal chat, and he'll just sit there logging your IP addresses and compiling a list of people upon whom to visit his chainsaw fury.
I'll hopefully have something for you guys today, but it's not going to be a full strip. This weekend was all music and driving, so there was no time for comic-creation. I drove to St. Joseph, Missouri to sing in the wedding of a friend. The wedding was beautiful, and the reception a blast. I was happy to do it, and my part seemed to go over well. I sang "A Simple Song" by Leonard Bernstein, and it was such a nice space for singing. Only thing is, St. Joseph is 8 hours drive from Chicago, so I'm beat. I drove the 8 hours after working an almost full day on Friday. Left around 7:30 and got in around 3:30. Then I was too wired to sleep, because I'd been drinking caffeine to stay awake.
Needless to say, I wasn't feeling very fluffy or cloudlike. Milo had to go on the back burner this weekend. But that's cool, because I've got the next part of the multi-part story simmering. I think you'll dig it...if you've been digging it so far. And if you haven't, well, then maybe you'll start, because it's going to take a bit of a turn in a couple strips or so. Much as Lou makes me smile, he's not the whole story here.
The fun thing about doing this is that I've really started to think that I've got something that's continue-able. I've just met these characters as you have, and they're starting to really talk to me all day long. I'll see something or someone and I'll hear Milo or Hank commenting on the situation, which-while a bit unnerving-is really cool.
Anywho, might post something later tonight, if I can get my wake up enough to get my pen hand running on my lunch break. Hope everybody's Monday is as sunny and blue as mine looks.
No real story here. Just loved the idea of a tiny cardinal chasing someone with scissors. And it happens to be Hank, because he's Hank. Hope everybody has a great weekend.
Introducing Lou, the cardinal. The new character was initially going to be a grackle, because we saw these gawky hyperactive grackles in Mexico, and I loved them. Only problem is that I couldn't capture the personality in something that has to be drawn that small. My attempts ended up looking either too cartoon-y or too UN-cartoon-y, and I just wasn't happy with them. So I completely changed tack and went for completely the opposite personality. The grackle was going to talk a mile a minute and always be in motion. Lou, the cardinal, is going to be stoic and silent.
I figure you guys are going to get enough yakking out of Hank. Enjoy the matter-of-fact calm of Lou.
This is just a quickie because I felt like there should be a Valentine from this crew. You know, for all the folks who end up going to the grocery store and picking up a sad batch of dyed carnations and a box of sad heart-shaped chocolates. Here's something you can print out and hand to your special someone to let them know that you cared enough to copy someone else's valentine and print it out for them. Or send it to them in an email, if you're REALLY gunning for that pole position in the Lame-o 500.
Or, you could do us all a favor and actually take twenty minutes on your lunch hour to write that person a love letter to let them know how much you care about them. Doesn't have to be on heart-shaped paper, or even have a doily fringe. Just tell them they mean the most to you.
And if you're smart, you'll copy a picture of Hank, and give it to them telling them that he's the official balloon of love this season, and that they should go check out his adventures with Milo at Milothecloud.com because that's what all the really soulful lovers are doing, and they want to be soulful lovers, don't they? No? Well, that's a shame.
Oh, sorry. I got attacked by one of those time-share a-holes while we were in Mexico, and I think it rubbed off on me a little.
Happy Valentines weekend. (that's right, spend the whole weekend, not just the day).
I was out walking and saw a newly formed contrail. It made me think about Milo, and then I looked a little ways off where the contrail was quickly dissipating. Well, quicker than regular clouds at any rate. I wondered to myself if contrails would make very good friends, and then I thought about all those movies in which two people fall in love only to find out that Charlize Theron is dying and Richard Gere loves Winona Ryder anyway, and Michael Keaton is going to make a movie for the baby he's put in Nicole Kidman's belly, and well, you get the picture.
My head is a strange place. But you get these comics out of the deal, so quit your moanin'.
For some reason, the old Wild Kingdom show popped into my head the other day. The phrase, "Brought to you by Mutual of Omaha..." always made me wonder what kind of place Omaha was. In my mind it was full of lions and iguanas and marmosets.
I've never been to Omaha, but Mutual of UMAha now brings you the birth of Milo. Watch along with Jim.
So I'm engaged! She said yes, and she was so surprised. I had such a hard time keeping that secret. I had the ring for over a month before I asked her. There were some moments where we'd be having a conversation and I'd be just about to say something like, "Well, don't worry about that because ... I have...a monkey...that knows just what to do with bowls like that one over there!!! NO of course I don't have an engagement ring hiding in the closet, what do you take me for????"
But I didn't. Instead I sang her a song at night on the beach, and asked her to marry me. And it was a really great moment that I'll remember forever. And of course, while we were there we took a bunch of snaps. But someone decided to sneak his way into one of them. He's kinda fuzzy in the background, but you can see what I mean. That cloud is such a photo hog.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Every cloud has one. Just a single panel tonight. More by the end of the week. Trying to see what kind of schedule I want this to settle into. I'd like it to be twice a week. I'm just not sure which days make the most sense. Might be Tuesday and Friday, or it might eventually be Monday and Thursday. Not sure yet.
First attempt at putting Eva together with Milo (and Hank, who insisted on being in the shot). I started just drawing Eva, and then decided to throw Milo in there to see how he looked. Obviously things aren't going to be this fleshed out all the time. A strip would take me forever if I did it this way. It's nice to see that for my money, she works with him. I just need to get some good practice in drawing her more simply and quicker with fewer lines. I'm also having a hard time conceptualizing how I'm going to establish that she's on a rooftop or a water tower or a radio tower in such a small space. The radio tower would probably be easiest to do in a small space, but it's a dilemma. Fewer lines, more simplicity. Well, anyhoo, here's the first attempt.
So far I've got Hank the balloon, Nimbo the stormcloud, and the omnipresent threat of airplanes. Soon I'll be adding a very important character named Eva. She's going to be based on Rammkitty-stock's photo above. Every good comic strip has a way in for the reader. Sometimes that way in is the main character, like in Calvin and Hobbes, or in Charlie Brown. The everyman is your lead. But in something more fantastical like Milo, that's set in the sky, you need to have a foot (or at least a toe) on the ground, and that's going to be Eva. She's a slightly grumpy teenage girl who likes to climb her town's water-tower, and sometimes the radio tower, because she likes getting away from her family, and likes being closer to the sky.
Liberty Meadows has Brandi because Frank Cho loves to draw statuesque women with curves. I like slightly gawky nerds, so that's what you'll get from me. You'll learn a lot more about her as time goes on, but I thought I'd introduce you to the inspiration. I'd thought about adding the character from the beginning, but when I found this one image, I really had my hopes set that rammkitty would be hip to posing. She just noted me this morning that she's cool with it, so I'm going to get started on some character sheets for Eva, and trying to find ways to work her into the strip. Cheers, rammkitty, and I hope everybody has a great day.
I'll be leaving in a week for Mexico, and I'll take some pens and pencils with me, because I'll be on the beach most of the time and probably needing something other than just a book to do. We decided to do a resort vacation because we DID the "must see everything" vacation this summer in Rome. We're thinking we could use a decompression kind of vacation where you just get out of Chicago for a week and enjoy not freezing and not doing anything you don't feel like doing. Which to mean means lots of swimming, and reading, and walking, and maybe some sketching while I'm there.
I'm trying to decide whether or not to leave the laptop at home though. I'd love to do that, and not answer email for seven days, but I have this feeling that shit will happen that needs my immediate attention if I don't bring it. Totally paranoid, not to mention narcissistic, I know. Plus, it's not like they won't have TV in the hotel, right? Maybe completely disregarding email for a week would be a great thing.
There used to be this place on Clark St. here in Chicago, that was in between shops in an alley, and there was a sign for it with a little man standing up in a canoe, and it was called "The Smuggler." The sign was written poorly, and in cursive, so for the longest time I thought it said, "The SNUGGLER," which was a pretty hilarous name for any kind of establishment, let alone a dive bar in an alley. I always just pictured a place where people could go in secret when they needed a snuggle for a minute. "Sheesh, Jim. I've had a really rough day, and my wife isn't gonna want to snuggle tonight. She's just out for sex. You wanna stop by the Snuggler and see if we can't get our snuggle on?" "Damn right, Leon. I could use me a good snuggle."
Anyway, that has very little to do with Milo, but the memory struck me as I was posting this picture. I was thinking of the things that clouds do, and what behavior they'd have, and this popped into my head. You always see the tallest buildings in any town surrounded by clouds on a hazy day, and sometimes even on a clear-ish day you'll see one or two clouds that are low enough to get a little snuggle in to a tall building. So Milo with the Hancock seemed like a natural way to go. I was going for a Polaroid thing here, and that strikes me as kinda sad because we're fast approaching the day when no one knows what the hell a Polaroid is anymore.
Click for full size, please, to enjoy the full effect.
Here we meet the first of I'm sure many airplanes to buzz Milo. I figured he needed a Charlie Brown vs. the football moment, and well, you see what came out. Also, just as a side note, it's now 1:05 a.m. and I'm done. Only meant to work another 20 minutes past midnight on this and go to bed, but I was on a roll, so I figured I'd just throw down with it.
This strip introduces Hank, a red balloon. Hank's last comment is a topic of discussion at our house right now, as my girlfriend thinks it's too much, that I shouldn't alienate kids by having him swear. I think it's not really an issue. It's not as if I have a daily strip in the Tribune. And anybody who's reading these needs to know that this strip is sometimes going to deal with bigger concepts and sometimes going to have humor that's a bit sharp. That's just who I am. I think on the whole, web comics are for thinking people, and not for those who would tune out because of a "dick" comment. I love my girlfriend for trying to make sure that I don't get myself in trouble, but I also think that if I ever got picked up for a gig where content was an issue, I could probably put together a Sunday Funnies kid-safe portfolio pretty easily.
If you're thinking you don't like what Hank says, just don't listen to Hank. He's kind of a "jerk" himself. See how easy that was?
This page is a place for me to throw out the stuff that matters and have it stick somewhere. I'm focusing on the creation of life as art. It won't be perfect, and it won't be politically correct. And just because I'm often focusing on cute things that are fluffy and white (Milo is all of the above) it doesn't mean that I am always with him in his fluffy cute whiteness. Enjoy that fact. Revel in your own unfluffiness sometimes.
