Greenpath – Page 3 – Spoofy Randomness

Super Santa Science Screwdriver Salary

Percy’s reaction in Panel 1 is often my reaction when asked to describe my comic. It’s unusual, to say the least. Percy’s reaction in Panel 3 makes me laugh, as it plays into so many animes and mangas, but at the same time is pretty much his goal. In Matt’s defense, Jorocks did summon him because he had the tools; it wasn’t as much of a deus ex machina situation. As for Percy’s line in Panel 5, I originally was going to have him say that it was a cheap toy prop, but then I remembered the BBC likes to make money (and apparently I like to give it to them, since I own three different screwdrivers). Jorocks’ rage is one of two ways I considered showing him in the regular comic, but went with his more passive approach as it suits him better. All rules are out for chibi time, though.

Can Panel 5 be considered a recap of the comic? That hasn’t actually happened in the comic yet, but it has off-panel… Hmm…

I really like how Matt’s hair turned out in Panel 4. I may have to alter my way of drawing him a bit. That’s been one of the fun things about doing these chibi comics: I’m learning a few new techniques!

August 27, 2013

Super Happy Chibi Recap Fun Time!

It’s recap time! I’ve gained several readers recently (and hopefully will continue to do so), and I know starting a new comic can sometimes be a little intimidating in terms of archive binges. While I certainly don’t have the largest comic around, it is somewhat sizeable. Therefore, to celebrate the comic entering its fifth year, I shall treat you to a week of comics instead of our usual once-per-week to ease the need for an archive binge. And it will be in chibi form. This is either going to result in fans demanding more adorable chibi comics or I invoke fan rage and have to move to a cave in the mountains. Quite frankly, I’m not sure which is worse.

Today’s comic recaps the first story arc quite well (and also brings in a bit of The Spoofy Life). I couldn’t resist Nikki’s line to Percy. While that arc was the first time the two characters had met, I didn’t want to dwell on the building of the romantic relationship too long; like a typical newb, I had a story to get to! And as Percy states, when I first started drawing Spoofy Randomness as an exercise to teach myself to draw, I expected it to last two months at most. Here we are, four years later and stronger than ever!

Also, Jorocks in Panel 2 makes me want to make a plushie of him.

August 26, 2013

Victorious At Last

Ref: Elevator (or lack thereof) | One of the many bunk comics

It’s about time the little guy caught a break!

This week is the fourth anniversary of the comic (Saturday being the actual date). This also, as previously noted, is the first year where I have really been serious about making webcomics. It certainly won’t replace my real job, but I have been advertising and the like in order to boost my readership and I am considering a Kickstarter next summer for the first Spoofy randomness book. As a result, I have been getting new readers, and the first thought of a new reader when realizing an established comic is “YIKES! I don’t wanna read all that!” (This is why I have yet to finish reading Order of the Stick.) Well, fear not! This week Spoofy Randomness will update EVERY DAY, featuring a recap of everything that has happened in the last four years of drawing. It will be…unusual. *laughs evilly*

August 25, 2013

Picnic

This strip was a little bit of character development and a little bit of personal gratification. After I had come up with the characters in Jorocks & the Quads, I wanted to show them as people, not just members of Jorocks’ band. The once-a-week schedule limits how much time I can spend on side characters, so I settled for this.

Also, I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen Chris wearing a different outfit (excluding the Pitchfork 3 and April Fools’ comics).

Next week has all sorts of stuff going on! It will be the end of The Secret Life of Jorocks Raefish, the comic will turn four years old, and there will be A FULL WEEK of comics, including the start of the next arc, which is looking to be the most clever storyline I’ve written yet!

August 18, 2013

Treasure

Ref: I referenced this last week, but just in case

In case it isn’t clear, yes, Percy did intend to tell Jorocks about it. Eventually.

August 11, 2013

Clues

Ref: Nikki’s distraction | Key | Light | Matt Smith’s involvement/Percy’s money

I tried something new with the speech bubbles, as suggested by Nate Piekos. It’s subtle, but Jorocks actually appears in front of the bubble as opposed to behind it. Priority ranking, or something like that.

We’re in the final month of the fourth year! Not only that, but my birthday is Tuesday, so come back for a bonus SR:Scouting!

On a side note, this week was the first week that I’ve done some serious promoting of Spoofy Randomness. Lots of new visitors have been coming to the site! Welcome! Fell free to leave comments; I love hearing from readers!

August 4, 2013

Backstage

Ref: Class with Timothy | He apparently moved

I realized I was still one band member short (the lack of two members, the other being Ella, was mentioned in the commentary here) when I sat down to make this comic and had to quickly come up with Mindy’s design (apparently she couldn’t make the photo shoot for the splash page). I was quite pleased with the result and the character personality I thought up for her (even though you don’t see it much here).

Obviously, Ella is just saying things to harass Percy. If you’ve ever been on stage before, you know that those lights are BRIGHT! Not to mention the audience is in the dark, so sunglasses wouldn’t help.

July 28, 2013

Impressed

Ref: Jorocks’ work outfit | Biochem

So I mentioned Jorocks being in a band two years ago…and then never really did anything with it. I decided that needed to change. I was wondering how I was going to get Percy to go to that concert, then I remembered that both Nikki and Chris are also from Greenpath.

Also, Percy’s distrust on local bands is not meant to be a slam from me. Personally, I have heard lots of great small bands. However, as Percy isn’t one to be on the music scene he probably would be a little skeptical of how good a few people who just play on the side could be. Sometimes it’s nice to be proven wrong!

July 21, 2013

Oh, Sister!

As many of you know by now, I graduated from Doane College. Great school, except for one thing. The food was horrible. Summer turned out to be even more of a fiasco, as the dining hall closed for the summer. They had two dorms full of students that were working or studying over the summer…and a single kitchen for EVERYONE. Now, I have no problem cooking my own food, but having to fight everyone else for the single oven? Not my idea of fun.

So, rant aside, this strip continues our delve into the background of Mr. Jorocks Raefish. As the primary sidekick for Percy, I realized that we really don’t know much about him other than his ability to sneak up on people, his fear of exploding, and his unusual style of clothes.

Percy’s sentiments about having all guys around may seem a little odd, but I think every guy needs some of those “man moments” every once in a while. This spring, our staff had a picnic to celebrate the end of the schoolyear and the 39 years our amazing principal gave us (she is transferring to a nearby school). Towards the end of the evening, I wound up kicking back in a group of male teachers, and really wound up appreciating that time. I didn’t realize how much I needed the occasional “man moment” until then. Given my career choice as a teacher and the fact that most of my friends are female, it’s hard to come by!

This strip wound up being finished BEFORE last week’s strip due to me not paying attention to chronological order. Luckily I caught it before it was published!

For some reason I’m getting a weird GPF-style vibe from this strip. I’m not sure why.

Come back Wednesday, as I am resuming Sketchbook Wednesdays! I’ve got some nifty stuff to share!

July 14, 2013

Holly and Jorocks, Sitting in a Tree…

Ref: Started dating | Edona colors | Flowers, Band, and Awkward Percy | Sleigh

Holly was originally meant to be quite the bimbo foil for Percy when she was first created. She was actually lifted from a book series I once started writing, where the main character Matthias had a sister named Holly with a similar superficial personality. Oddly enough, Matthias was based somewhat on a Filipino friend of mine (who is NOT the same person Jorocks was originally modeled after). And yes, Jorocks is part Filipino. I’ve known that from very early on, but never saw cause to put it in the comic. Anyway, as the comic went on I found that Holly was getting pushed out of the main picture in favor of other storylines, but I kept her together with Jorocks if I needed a joke somewhere. After a while, I realized that if she remained so superficial, there was no way she would have stuck with him for this long, so I had two choices: end it, or take the opportunity for a bit of secondary character growth AND have an excuse to learn a little bit more about Jorocks! Huzzah!

John’s line in the last panel is to make up for the missed opportunity in From Russia With Love. Originally there was going to be a bit of comedic tension between Jorocks and John, but the arc was long enough as it was, so it got dropped.

This comic also is a reminder that the main cast–Percy, Jorocks, and Nikki (Chris is a year younger)–just finished their third year, despite the comic itself being four years old, mainly because that third year was sketchy at best when it came to updates.

July 7, 2013

Location: Greenpath

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