Spoofy Randomness

Month: August 2017

  • To Help Or Not To Help?

    To Help Or Not To Help?

    This is pretty much how that conversation went.  I had mentioned to Meagan about wanting to teach abroad at some point in my life, but actually having the interview took it from dream to reality.  And poor Meagan got caught between her job as a career coach and encouraging people to pursue their dreams and realizing that pursuing said dream means her life just got harder.

    But in the end, she did help me, especially with coming up with questions to ask.  🙂  I actually had four interviews that week; two were also at a school system in China, and I was offered that job but wanted to go to a completely different part of the world (I had spent time in Japan in 2014).  I also had applied to teach in the UAE, but took this job before I completed the interview process there.

    It’s weird, but I’m actually stressing more about having to interview to get a job when I come back than I did about these interviews…

    Just a reminder that I would love your support on Patreon!

    Edit: Color added 4 Sept 2017

  • Noses

    Noses

    Sniffing out the right design

    There is a lot of thought that goes into a new comic.  When I decided to start SR: Not on a Camel, I wanted to make my art style a lot more consistent than I had with SR: On the Origin of Santa Claus or SR: Scouting.  I also wanted to try slightly different art styles in the hopes that it would expedite my comic-making process. This meant analyzing everything from head shape to noses.

    This is also the first practice I had used my new drawing tablet (or really, ANY drawing tablet).

  • Total Eclipse of the Art

    Total Eclipse of the Art

    AND WE ARE OFF ON A NEW COMIC SERIES!

    Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first of the newest selection of the Spoofy Randomness comic brand, Not on a Camel! This will be a series inspired by Mary Cagle’s Let’s Speak English, as I head over to Egypt to serve as the only American teacher at Alexandria International Academy, where I will teach 7-9 science and ICT and will be taught many things!

    As for this comic, I’ve been sitting on the idea since shortly after I decided to make a comic chronicling my adventures.  Lots of people had asked me “are you going to do a blog, vlog, etc about your trip” (it’s always a “trip”, not a “life”) and I realized that this would be a very me way to do it.  Em’s line about it being a dark day when I come back to comics is somewhat true; when I finished On the Origin of Santa Claus, I was pretty burnt out on comic making and didn’t ever see a time when I would come back to it. But fast forward almost three years (the 31st of this month will mark eight years since I started!), and I’m ready to give it another go.  When I realized the comic would start right around the eclipse, I couldn’t resist this strip.  (The comic will normally update Wednesdays starting next week, but will be posted Mondays for Patreon subscribers!)

    I did post this comic right when the eclipse passed over Johnson-Brock.  It was not a manual update, of course; I was busy in my last role as a science teacher there.  I promised that I would help get the eclipse program going so that the new teachers wouldn’t have to worry about it.  Em and Jason came out all the way from North Carolina to see the eclipse (and all us Nebraska people too, of course) and volunteered to help me out at J-B.  Also, a shoutout to Kayla and Ross, Woody and Laura, and everyone else who volunteered their time to make that event happen!

    I leave for Egypt on Wednesday! Here goes!

    Edit 4 Sept 2017: Added color

  • Arrow

    Arrow

    Hey look, SR: Scouting is back! I’ve had this one in my head since 2015 NOAC, but never got around to making it until now. (And yes, I know SR: Scouting is set a few years before SR: On the Origin of Santa Claus, thus before fedora and jacket, but I forgot until it was already inked. We’ll just say Jorocks started revisiting his old style…)

    “Have you seen the Arrow” is the question asked before allowing Arrowmen to enter the ceremonial circle. There is an answer that is revealed along the journey of an Arrowman (that I won’t state here). And yes, Jorocks was a Scout, but did not complete his Eagle (unlike the man he was originally modeled after). He was an Arrowman, though.

    I have a Patreon now! Click the link to the side to subscribe! I’ll be posting comics early on that, amongst other things. And there’s some cool rewards.

    The full text of Jorocks’ rant is here:

    Oh, yes, of course! I absolutely love the arrow! Stephen Amell is amazing! And the creators love the material so much! They have such respect for the original content! I can’t say I’m a big fan of the Black Canary, though. At least the Laurel version, because Sara is awesome! and of course, it is only right that Brandon Routh plays the Atom. I was super bummed that he left Arrow to go to Legends of Tomorrow, but that’s probably a better fit for his type of hero. it’s really amazing that Stephen does a lot of his own stunts, you know? I don’t think I could get up even one rung of  the Salmon Ladder. And the crossovers are amazing! I was super skeptical of them when they were first announced, because Arrow and Flash are very different shows, you know? And a lot of times crossovers are handled very poorly. But the crossovers so far have been amazing! I can’t wait for next year when Supergirl and crew get to take a bigger role! There’s a show I did not think would take off at all! No pun intended, of course. But it’s basically based on a Superman knockoff, but they did an amazing job with it and Supergirl is really her own character, to the point when they brought in Superman, he didn’t overshadow her. Also, Supergirl’s Superman is way better than the Superman in the movies right now. Even when he was just “AOL Superman”, he was still the best. He’s missing the curl, though! Only complaint. But I’ve gotten off track. I can’t wait to go to a con. I’m gonna get a whole ton of Arrow swag. Except those Pop doll things. Those are creepy and weird. I wonder what a musical episode would be like with Oliver Queen. It would be hilarious! But I don’t think Stephen can sing, so that would be a problem. He could just glare at everyone, though. He’s good at that. I wonder what they’re going to do now that flashbacks are done. I mean, that’s a pretty central part of the Arrow story. Ooh! Flash Forwards! We already know that Flash is active in the 2020s! Maybe we get to see the new Justice League of America! That would be so cool! And get Vixen to help start it! Oh man, I should write a fanfic about this! Except I can’t write. Ooh, I have a friend, Nikki! She’s wanting to be an english major! I bet she would do it! But I can’t pay her, and that would be rude. Pay your writers, people. And cartoonists. Those guys bust their butts to draw pretty things.