The kids have both had new colds, complete with really high fevers, keeping them up at night and their foreheads almost too hot to touch, but they seem to be getting back to normal which means that it's my turn.  One of the hardest things about parenting is the complete lack of time for being self-indulgent, by which I mean crawling under the duvet and sleeping for the next 12 hours.  Hubby is being very helpful and doing meals, cleaning, shopping and babysitting, but even when I try to sneak away for a few moments to myself, the older one comes to find me and declares that she's going to stay with me until I'm better.  At least they get along really well, with the older one trying to cheer up the baby, who is distressed by her fever.

I can't use health as an excuse, though.  I had the drawings for this latest strip ready days ago, but the dialogue just wouldn't come and what I did end up with is very stilted and clichéd.  Perhaps it would have worked better as visuals only.  In the end I added the two panels of Greg and Connie (yes, that's who they are) reflecting upon the news they've just received.  My original take on this had Mike hanging up the phone and telling Elly that Connie was on her way, with Deanna in the background thought-bubbling, "I'll put the coffee on".  I'm not sure why I changed it -- in retrospect, this would have been a stronger introduction to Connie and Greg acknowledging that they'd known the Pattersons' marriage had been in trouble for a long time.

I think I might switch to pencil drawings and skip the ink, after sending my husband all over Cambridge buying me all kinds of pens until I found one I liked.  It's just faster and will help me move the story along before I get too far ahead in my notes and too far behind in my drawings.

Should anyone wonder, Elly and April are still in their pyjamas and April's bunny slippers are in homage to Mr B and Butterscotch.  Oh, and that's Dixie next to April -- I Googled sheltie images.  See -- I do research!

Rather foolishly I said I would post a Sunday strip either Saturday night or Sunday at some point.  As it is now Monday afternoon and I've not even started drawing it, I'm running just a wee bit behind schedule.  On the other hand, I spent the time playing with my kids and I think that was by far the better use of my time.  Also, I've a miserable cold (almost certainly from the kids) and so it was much less taxing to read stories and do arts and crafts with the older one while the younger practised rolling over and gurgling happily, than it was to try to focus on drawing.

I will get around to it, possibly today, especially now as I've just installed my funky new graphics tablet and might not have to fuss about with scanning and stuff.  I made up my mind to get a basic one, but upon arriving at the store decided to go for the slightly more professional one, which was twice the price.  I took it to the counter and it came out at the lower price.  I thought about keeping quiet, but couldn't do so, and the clerk called another staff member over to double-check the price.  Her computer also showed the lower price, so they both shrugged and said that perhaps it was on sale: they had to go with the price the computer quoted.

Ah, the infallibility of the stock computer.  Having come clean about the actual price of the item, I figured that right then wasn't the time to mention that my brother-in-law was the software developer for their point-of-sale interface and warehouse management software.

The new rollerball pens smear terribly when I try to rub out my pencil lines, even after leaving the drawings to dry overnight.  I'm not very happy with that, but removed the worst of the smudge marks in Photoshop.

After all that text yesterday, or earlier that evening in the FOOBiverse, time for some silent contemplation.

The problem with spending a little too much time analyzing FBorFW and every little continuity error, oversight, spelling mistake, inconsistent characterization, drawing style, lettering...er...what was I saying again?  Oh yes, the problem with being a bit obsessive is that it renders me terribly self-conscious when doing my own work, even the stuff which isn't intended for public consumption!  I think I'm beginning to come to a decision about how I want to do the artwork and scanning at a slightly lower resolution has resulted in a better-looking image on-line.  I'm not overjoyed with the new pen I bought to do inking, but if it gets to be a major annoyance, I'll break out the proper pen and ink stuff.  Or I'll just touch it up digitally.  How much is a graphics tablet anyway?

Oh.

Well, I guess we can't all be stay at home mums earning $100,000 Cdn (or modern-day equivalent) for at least the first ten years of a contract, but if I were, I sure wouldn't complain.

As for my drawings today...John's jawline is perhaps just a little too chiselled in the first panel.  Add a cape and he could become SuperJohn, corrector of bad teeth.  I still haven't worked out how to do Elly's saggy jaw, perhaps because it just irritates me too much.  I think it would be faster to send her for a facelift.  I'm pretty happy with my various Aprils, though, and a shout-out to aprilp_katje for being the first person to comment on the strip (and to do so positively -- thanks!).

For anyone who's just dying to know, the family portraits in panel four are John and Elly in the frame on the left, and Liz, April (front) and Michael (back) in the frame on the right.  In panel five there's a Josef Weeder original of Merrie (lips of loveliness) and Robin (bowl cut) to the left of the door, and a large group shot of (left-right) Liz, April, Mike, John, Merrie, Elly, Robin and Deanna (Dee's head is partly covered by the lampshade and she's supposed to be holding Robin).  No Jim and Iris, I'm afraid.

Yes, I'm aware that the picture of Merrie and Robin has disappeared from the final panel.  Let's just say that John's sigh is so deep and so miserable that it has overcome images of his grandchildren.

Immediately after the Wedding Reception

I saw this today and had to decide between being inspired and giving up completely.  I decided to be inspired.  I can't make up my mind about colouring all the panels or spending a bit more time drawing backgrounds and additional characters, but for this part of the little script I wrote, there wasn't any need for much in the way of supporting cast, or even such inconsequential things as walls.

I did play around with some gradients on Elly's dress today.  I think I prefer the second panel.

Although they were drawn much closer together originally, I moved them apart after scanning because I wanted to emphasize the distance between them physically as well as emotionally.  That's also why they're in separate ovals.

I couldn't quite work out how to make it obvious that John had an expression of resignation or regret -- although, of course, this story is being told by Elly, so it could have been something else entirely -- so I just added some narration to clarify.  I was going to have him sighing in the final panel, but I did manage to capture the expression this time around, so left it as it was.  He was going to be slouching off with his hands in his pockets, but it seemed to work just drawing as far as his elbows.

Anyway...the wedding reception continues.  The next part will take place afterwards, but I hesitate to refer to it as the wedding night just because I don't want to conjure up images of what Lizthony got up to.

Just what I need: another project which I might or might not ever finish.  Nonetheless, I have been inspired by others and want to try it myself.

It will be a bit tricky trying to juggle the baby (not literally) while drawing, but at least I can mess around with PhotoShop while feeding or cuddling her.  The drawings will be a bit rough, but at least the colouring will be vibrant, with lots of teal and lavender.

 

Well, the animated alien doesn't quite work, but the intention was there!  Feel free to snag.

      

Both are snaggable.  I think I might need to adjust Liz's skin tone a bit, though.  Looks like she spent a bit too long under the sun lamp while everyone else was organizing her wedding.

   

Feel free to snag!