Day: May 7, 2009

I have come to the conclusion that no one, and I mean no one, can ink Betty Blonde except for me.  You see, the rough drafts of Betty Blonde have little lines going everywhere, not perfect, straight lines for a guide. A lot of the inking if also very ad libbed, especially places like Mr. Nobody’s hat or Spike’s spikes. It’s pretty confusing.  That’s why I like to do it myself. Also, I think inking is just as crucial to the cartooning process as drawing or jokes are.  Maybe even more so.  I believe the way you ink really influences people’s first impressions of your comic strip.  For example, I find FoxTrot a lot more visually appealing than Calvin and Hobbes even though Calvin and Hobbes is a lot funnier.  There’s something about the chunky lines and constant cartoony style of FoxTrot that draws me in.  Sure Calvin and Hobbes is more artistic, but at first glance it doesn’t grab my attention.  Calvin and Hobbes is an acquired taste (I’m just speaking for myself.)

I lied actually. ‘No one and I mean no one’ is not true. Christian is my back up inker in case of emergencies. He knows my style better than I do.  Also, if I happen to have a favorite aunt or uncle or cousin or devoted Betty Blonde fan (of which there are many 😉 ) or friend or worker or grandparent or interested onlooker in the house, and they feel like inking, then I will relinquish the pen. (generally a Bic z4, with a 0.5 point. Works wonders.) I’m even more willing to give up the pen if the volunteer is stressed. Inking is wonderfully therapeutic, sort of like coloring, especially if you have a Dad that’s willing to share his homemade popcorn and read aloud a history book to you.  I recommend taking it up sometime

Drop on by around 5:30 PM sometime… I’d be happy to hand over the z4. 🙂

On a different but related note: I’ve heard tell that professional cartoonists use brushes or fancy fountain pens with India ink.  India ink. Isn’t that fantastic? I don’t know if it’s actually from India, but it sounds awesome, and that’s good enough for me. You know how some people dream of Ferraris, yachts, and high social status ? I dream of India Ink, an NCS membership, and (just maybe) a Reuben Award. 😛

Kelly’s big accomplishments for April included a couple of piano competitions and her CLEP US History II test.  After a month or so of work on the Thinkwell Precalculus program we have adjusted her schedule for completion a little to mid-year next year.  She likes the program a lot because it is giving her a good review of Algebra II from a different perspective and with some new and different techniques from the Teaching Textbooks Algebra II program we liked so much.  After Aunt Julia came to visit, she called us to encourage us to start into some volunteering.  Cousins Amy and Charlie have both been great at that and have both received and given great benefit by their participation.  One of our neighbor lady’s children attend the local, government elementary school.  She says there are some hispanic children who go to school there.  The lady has been kind enough to offer to see whether they would allow Kelly to volunteer there to help Spanish speaking children learn how to speak English.  We do not know whether it will work out, but we are excited about the prospect.

Christian is well into his Teaching Textbooks Geometry now.  It is hard to get the concept of proofs, but he is moving up the learning curve.  He is studying for his CLEP Western Civilization I test, but we have not decided yet whether he will take the test in May or June.  We will decide after he takes the practice tests from the REA study book a couple of times.  His plan is to work hard to get through Chapter 12 of C++ Primer Plus before the end of the school year.  That is because his volunteer work will be to work with Troy and I on our research project with the Agricultural Engineering Department at NCSU.  We need a server to act as an FTP site and a web server.  Christian will set up and manage that first.  After that, he will use his C++ programming skills to program a computer to control some servo motors, lighting, and pumps for the experiment we are tasked to perform.

Special note for Christian:  Imagine the incredible investigative skills required to crack this case.