Chicken Fried!
Well Primate Posseâ„¢, we still don’t know exactly why Stan’s been booted out of the house by his wife, but maybe Hilda is gaining some insight! You gotta wonder if Stan didn’t learn enough the time his wife made him spend a day as a woman so that he’d know what it’s like. This story is told in Stan’s song To Be a Woman (as usual, click the link to listen). It’s hard to believe he’d submit to such humiliation, let alone write a song about it afterwards but, apparently ‘he’ did!
On another note, you may notice that this week’s strip doesn’t have colour. Well, you see, I was drawing a guest strip for the fabulous Vinnie the Vampire webcomic and when I was finished, I really thought it looked a lot better than GITM looks in black and white. It occurred to me that the reason was, at least partly, the use of a lot of solid black. This is reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes, and I don’t need to tell you what an amazing looking comic that was! And VtV too, for that matter ;). So this week, as an experiment, I decided to add some solid black and lo and behold, I really liked the overall look of my inked comic. So I decided to post this week’s comic without the colour. What does everyone think? Is the colour vital to GITM? In many ways, I still prefer a daily comic to be in black and white since I’m a bit of a traditionalist. But anyway, please share your thoughts! And by the way, Tim Green, the creator of Vinnie the Vampire, tells me that my guest strip will appear this Wednesday! Mark your calendars! 🙂
Ha, ha! Little Filly, I love that!
Regarding your blog, while I prefer color (Attracted to shiny objects) I suggest you work with the B&W for a bit. You did a great job with this comic not using color and maybe after a few more comics you might prefer B&W over color. There’s nothing wrong with trying out different styles. 😉
Thanks for the advice, Bill. I really like the colour, but I hate doing it. Worked as a graphic artist for years, and adding the colour is just too much like real work! 🙂
I think the B&W really works with the comic. You might consider only using color when a special accent is required otherwise your inks are great looking.
Thanks for the kudos, J.P.! Means a lot coming from someone with your refined skills! You may remember that on an earlier comic I shared the story of a prof. telling me my inking was terrible (and he was right), but there has been definite improvement. AND, I’ve even been using a brush with ink! It’s hard, but it’s challenging and fun. Lots of refining left to do, but I’ll keep at it! 🙂
Chuckles and Stan may need to find a new couch in somebody’s else’s place soon!
While I like black and white strips, and understand the philosophy of daily strips being traditionally non-color, I don’t see any reason not to go all out in my work online. It’s a matter of personal taste, but I prefer taking the extra time to produce my strips in color. It’s more work, but I think color really brings another element to it.
Thanks for chiming in on the colour thing Mark! I tend to agree with you, which is why I have been adding the colour. I might keep doing some b & w’s for a bit, but I can guess that I’ll go back to the colour. But anyway, I’m sure Stan and Chuckles will try to do better than someone else’s couch. But it’s GOTTA be inevitable!
Yes, this is going to get you in lots of trouble!
But will Chuckles listen? Seems unlikely….
I can think of two men that’ll soon be wearing 20 cases of chicken fried steaks on their heads!
Your inking looks great, Chris and I like your use of black. Try B&W for a while to see what you like best (like Tony did with The Tasmanians) but I personally prefer color.
Coloring for me is hard work also, but it’s definitely worth it!
Haha! I just listened to Stan’s song To Be A Woman. I guess dressing like a woman and wearing lipstick didn’t help him be a better man since he’s still on the couch in Chuckles and Hilda’s house! You certainly know the guitar well, Chris! I love your tunes!
Also, excellent guest strip for Tim’s Vinnie the Vampire. Well done!
Thanks for all the kudos, Joseph! I’m quite proud of those songs! And it was super fun drawing VTV! 🙂
I’ll probably do that, Joseph! I think, overall the strip is snappier with colour. And really, your strip would be hard work to colour, but mine really isn’t. It’s just a pain! 🙂
Chuckles could be in a bit of trouble with Hilda if he keeps Stan around.
I think your B&W looks good Chris. I tried it for a while but I just converted already coloured strips with GIMP which didn’t work all that well. Personally I prefer colour.
It’s true, but Chuckles is always in trouble! But anyway, I think the black and white is okay too, but I’ll probably bring the colour back soon…