xkcd-esque

Last night I had an idea for a cartoon, but oddly enough it didn't feel like an idea I would come up with. In fact, it felt more like the kind of joke you'd see on xkcd. And so that is how I drew it, with full homage to that wonderful webcomic about romance, sarcasm, math and language...

'3D's just the latest gimmick'

Steampunk'd

Yes yes, Happy New Year and all that, I really don't have time to wish you all the love, happiness and success in 2010 (although I still do anyway - I have a feeling it's going to be a brilliant year for you. Yes, you!). Anyway, words cannot be wasted, for I'm locked in literary combat with my friend Chris for our New Year Novel Duel. Read all about my story here at our blog. It's bloody good if I say so myself (and I do as this is my blog), but I'm up against stiff competition. Can't let myself slacken-off. My fiction-writing foe is a crafty sort who's likely to write a bit of story while I'm not looking. Ah-ha!

Anyway, this is a cartoon blog, so I thought I'd connect the two by showing you some drawings I've done to aid me in the writing of my novel. If possible I like to have a picture of something to look at. It helps me get the best out of myself when describing it. And when I'm trying to write about fictional things like ray guns and clockwork carriages I like to draw them so I can describe them. Seeing the image cements it in my head and adds some depth to the world I'm writing about. So here are three designs for things that you'll read about in the novel: a ray gun, a clockwork carriage, and Spring-Heeled Jack's Armour. Click on them for a lovely big view. You'll also be able to see them in the Scrapbook section of the other blog soon. Enjoy! I hope they get you excited for the coming novel, and don't forget to follow my progress and cheer one/both of us on at the Duel blog!