Oh, where to start?
How about with that “unfinished busyness?” Astute readers (you, you, and, of course, you) will remember this dinner party.
Next: What is Eleanor up to? Did she set this up, or is Count Smetsnuk’s visit just coincidence?
And why did Anya scream? Could it be that this guy is famous for being more than a member of the Chuckleslovakian jet-set?
“The celebrated Anya Langerak? Definitely. She’s famous in the Motherland for keeping Chuckleslovakian culture alive in America, as we saw here.
And poor Jacob. What’s he gonna do about this guy kissing his girl’s hand? You’ll find out next time!
What a delight! Well, for me, not for Jacob. And I clicked back to the dinner party and read through that bit of plotline for a dozen strips or so, also a delight! Of course, it does show that Anya’s selection of party dresses is rather limited — but a delight!
Thank you, Pops!
Anya is such a delight. I really need to tell more stories with her. We’ll touch on some of her backstory in the next few strips.
And her party dress? Why, that’s a Chuckleslovakian Parliamentary Outifit!
Also, I wanted to let you know that this strip was mostly inked with a brush. It’s a slow process, but I’m getting there. Darn thing is hard to control, but worth it. Especially with a certain count’s hair…
Thank you for pointing out the brushwork! Count Smetsnuk (Count Ajax? What’s the proper Chuckleslovakian styling?) looks properly foreign, and I think his hair is the reason why — and your brushwork is what makes it so wild and wonderful. Are you still using pens for most or all of the crosshatch and stipple? (Crosshatch & Stipple would be a good name for a drafting supply store.) And how do you do the flower-power patterns? Zipatone? I really need to blow the dust off my sketchbook and draw stuff again….
I believe it would be Count Smetsnuk. The Smetsnuks are an old established house in Chuckleslovakian royalty. They were strong supporters of King Casmir the Sweater‘s ill-founded revolution against the hated, evil, nasty, bad, foul-smelling Brungarians.
Which, come to think of it, is the first mention of Anya’s coincidental birth date…
I do most of the crosshatch & stipple with a hawkquill pen. It’s like a crowquill, but a lot harder, so it lasts longer and gives a finer line and point. Mind you, that means stippling, then dipping, then stippling, but it’s worth it.
I used to stipple with a Koh-i-Noor technical pen, but it just stopped working after a page or two, so I gave up on it. I wish Castel still made technical pens. I have a 20+ year old Castel with a thick point that I use all over the page.
I’ve been playing with line shading with the brush (see Edison’s jacket in the last panel of last week’s strip). The lines have more character, but it’s much harder to control.
The patterns are a complete cheat. I downloaded them from the Interwebs and converted them to work with the GIMP.
Fun fact-the night time star patterns? I created those for Utopia, Unlimited III (the unpublished one) with a toothbrush and white paint, then made them patterns for webcomics.
And yes, you must brush off the sketchbook and get to doodling again! Then send me some examples! How about a sketch of a Groovy, Kinda character? Or make one up and I’ll put them in!
The count’s hair is AMAZING! And you just made me realize how much hard work you put into this that I just take for granted. So let me say, once again, that I adore your artwork.
Aw, thank you, Tru! Each strip takes anywhere from5-9 hours to make. Count Ajax’s hair is a combination of brush, pen, and sometimes felt tip pen.
I didn’t realize it until after I inked it that he looks like a combination of Brian May and Weird Al.