Today was a good day!

 This week has been hectic in that I had to take my girlfriend to the hospital a couple of nights ago. All seems to be well now, but I still have lingering worries.

On the up side, I have been practicing prettymuch daily with the new iPad and I am learning new tricks and treats via YouTube-torials. The best bit? Just today I was at the coffee shop, doodling on it and a passerby said how much he liked what I was doing and asked if I could draw a helicopter. I was feeling saucy, so I said yes and started doodling just as an exercise. I not only need the practice, but I really oughtta get out of my comfort zone more often as far as drawing goes. i suck at vehicles. While I was scribbling, he provided a few reference pics from his phone. It took me about an hour and change, but I got it done just before my Apple Pen ran outta juice.

VI-O-LA:

Not bad for a rank amateur to both the medium and the subject matter if I do say so myself.

He said that he was amazed at how I did all that, so, needless to say, my ego is boosted. If that weren't enough, he gave me $100!!

Honestly, I wasn't gonna charge him, and I'll be honest - not even my best work! This is a drawing I would charge 40 bucks for someone to use on a T-shirt! Had I done this by hand on paper, maybe I would have charged that much. Still, all in all, today was a good day! My only issue is that I got so wrapped up in doing this that by the time I was done, the coffee shop was closing! I've only had ONE cup of joe today!!

Easily remedied. I'mma go do that right now, then, get back to what I was ACTUALLY drawing for myself when all this started.

'YUGE

 A Donald, a duck (PokeMon) and a Donald Duck walk into a bar... and by "bar", I mean 'gene-merging sci-fi nonsense machine'.

Tales From the Spiffee Burger 007: That Guy

 

So THAT'S who Zack's been talking to all this time! But who IS he? Doesn't matter. What does matter is that Cookie can see him too, for some reason, but wisely "NOPES" her way out of the situation.

More new hotness

Well, I’ve gone and added the Blogger app to my phone for the sake of testing.

I’ve gone back to Tik Tok after a hiatus (Help me!!) and I’m wondering if I can cross-post vid to this thing.

-test/screw around with it-

well, it looks as though one has to imbed video via a URL. You can’t insert pics without signing up for the subscription, which is weird and dumb, considering you can’t insert pics do both without URL or sub from your laptop.

Looks like I won’t be using this phone app on this site unless absolutely-I-have-no-other-choice-lately necessary!

I’ll sign out of this entry and see if I can edit it on the laptop.

EDIT:

It was a circuitous route, but I had to actually make a (MY FIRST) post to Youtube in order to have a URL for the test vid. of course, now that all that's done, I realize that I probably could'a just used the URl to Tik Tok where I posted first, in the first place. Whatever. Let's try this.

Youtube: Just an initial test to see if I’m able to do this right. Carry on. - YouTube

Youtube embed code: <iframe width="315" height="560" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IJ8WC3Abcn8" title="Just an initial test to see if I’m able to do this right. Carry on." frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xailenrath/video/7481789491426987295?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7481139702427698718

Now, the funny part is that I have no idea how I can download the vid from anywhere in order to load it here from my laptop! One can't just right-click on a Youtube or Tik Tok vid to download. The video is in my phone/photos, but I can't load it here from there, nor can I load it TO my laptop FROM my phone. If there's a way, I have yet to find it. But I'm a stubborn old semi-Luddite bastard, and I haven't given up yet!

To Be Continued.

iPractice

 Trying to get the hang of the new iPad. I've resolved to do some practicing on some free digital art apps before I commit to buying/downloading a specific one. The free sites are... incomplete(?) because, well - they're FREE! How much did I expect? Still, I have to admit that I am much better at the 'draw directly on screen with a stylus' than I thought I would be!

Here's a few practice runs with Warren and Verolina from Tales From the Spiffee Burger:

For today's practice scribbles, I've been using Canva.com, Magma.com and sketch.io.

Not too bad for a rank amateur, if I do say so myself! I'm even more happy that the iPad didn't burn out after ONE FRICKIN' USE, like the last draw-on-screen thing I got did, 4 years ago.

I think it was a WACOM thing? I'll have to dredge its corpse out of the closet and check, but I think it was. I bought it, and Clip Studio Paint with the Bien money in March of 2021.

I used it ONCE, to make this:

A picture of "not" Tom & Jerry. It was literally my very first attempt and I was satisfied with it. The machine was working fine, I was satisfied with the 'test run'. I turned the machine off and when I turned it on again the next day, it turned ON but would not accept drawing on the screen AT ALL. it became a mirror monitor for my laptop/paperweight. Never found out why.

I had even stopped using CSP. I didn't reactivate that until Photoshop's subscription bullshit got too REAL for our bank account, 2 years ago.

I still have CSP and I think it would do fine with an actual stylus, but I am searching to see if something better is out there.

A lot of folks whose art mojo I admire use Procreate, and that looks fun. The best part is that it's apparently only $12.99 and is a buy-only-once app with no subscription.

I think I may go for that and just keep CSP on my (dying) laptop for clean-up purposes.

Happy PI Day, everyone!

More tech toys!

 Just a while ago, a couple of friends, Karen and Nathaniel, gifted me with an iPad!! I've never used one before, but they say thst they are easy to learn!

Yay! maybe now, I will be only 3 years behind the curve with my graphic arts instead of 9!! I'll FINALLY be able to draw directly onto a screen instead of on paper, ink, clean-up, scan, digital clean-up, then color.

I must do something nice for those two as soon as possible!

Tales From the Spiffee Burger 006: Bingo!

 

Who else did stuff like this at their jobs in orde to make that asshole customers more tolerable?

X Box Vs. Zombies

 My girlfriend has just bought us a new XBox. Let's see how long this one lasts! I figure i should be good as long as I don't buy Plants Vs. Zombies. AGAIN. Our last 2 XBoxes bit the Big One via Red Ring of Death, each with a copy of PVZ in the tray!

My old 360 that I'd had for years, and then the Xbox One we'd only had for like (almost) 2 years. Both, well, ZOMBIFIED!

Fingers crossed. Maybe I'll see if I can just download the game digitally. I DO like it! But I am nothing if not superstitious and unlucky. Maybe it's best just to stay away from the game completely!

MAR 10

 The Internet says that today is "Mario Day" (Mar10 - GET it?!!)

Anyway - 

Guess which Mario BROTHER I like better?

Tales From the Spiffee Burger 005: Regular Customers

 

Cookie doesn't like CLOWNS. Someone in my original comments sectio pointed out that those two should really be eating at Krusty Burger, which mafe me remember that there IS a 'Springfield' in Missouri! Perhaps it's a neighboring town to St. Murphy?

Herakles

 A little fanart for a delightful webcomic called Leon x Lykos on ComicFury.

It's Herakles, the hero of yore, wearing the head of the Nemean Lion as a chestplate! I realize that I've spelled the name wrong, according to the comic and for that, I apologize!

Mond you, this comic is very "Greek". So, if youi've n issue with cute guys running around in net-to-nothing, you may want to zip on by, sans comment.

Out of Order

 I've been on, ast least, a little roll, lately, when it comes to Tales From the Spiffee Burger. The first chapter - "Cookie's First Day" is still in full swing. I realize that with that last post being about Cookie, I've skipped ahead in reposting the comics to this site, so I have to remedy that... sorta.

Firstly, let's post the next strip in the rotation. Spiffee Burger #5: Regular Customers

Yes, Cookie has a mild case of Coulrophobia. Someone in the comments section of the original post mentioned that this couple should really be eating at Krusty Burger. Hey, there's a "Springfield" in Missouri, right? Maybe St. Murphy, Missouri, where this comic takes place is a neighboring city - or dimension?

Now. After the last post, it's only fair that I post part 3 of the "Szechuan Sauce" saga.

Good riddance to that guy! And, we find a bit more about Cookie! Psych major! Plus, a little cameo in the bottom panel from Raylin of WynautWarrior's "Hopebringer" comic!

Now, the Szechuan thing was comics numbers 8, 9 and 10. The next time I post a Spiffee comic, it will be number 6 and I will move forward from there. Confused yet?

One last bit of goodness:

Digging through my files, I found the first 2 bits of fanart for Cookie/Spiffee Burger.

One from ComicFury user Casscade of Cookie looking non-plussed:

Going full-circle with the above, every time I look at this bit of art, I can hear Marge Simpson's exasperated groan in my mind's ear.

Also from ComicFury comes this piece by Microraptor, of Cookie before the Spiffee Burger job, where she worked at a Star Trek themed coffeehouse native to Micro's comic, Cryptida.

Quite nice!