Charles Goatley and his little blog

Jungle River

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:04:00 +0000

Wow... I have been getting sloppy. No posts in about 6 months... I've even been slacking on my webcomic. Time to change that then

Here's a little piece that I've been working on for my comic. I was so pleased with how it turned out I think it deserves to stand out on its own.

Episode 4 of the DAMbots is almost over and honestly I wasn't happy with it - it was long and a little bit dull. I was pleased with the art but the story wasn't there. It was like one overlong montage with nothing really happening - bah! Hence me slowly slipping into obscurity on the interwebs and getting distracted by other things, of which I shall make mention of very soon.

So yesterday I got my act together and wrote the synopsis for Episode 5 and was surprised by how well it all fitted together. If I don't get distracted again it will both look awesome and be a fun story. It's hard to believe that about 2 years ago I came up with the overall story arc for the DAMbots and episode 5 was actually originally going to be the first episode. Let's hope I don't get distracted again!...

IF - propagate

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:05:00 +0000

Wow... It's been a while since I last posted. Mainly because drawing my webcomic in colour is so time-consuming.

Anyway, I've generally been levelling up with my art skills so here's my take on the latest Illustration Friday topic - propagate. My first thought was seeds and that let to pollen and I just had to work in some microscopic imagery in the end.

comic now on sale

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:04:00 +0000

I finally got my act together and issue 1 of Deadly Alien Microbots is printed and now on sale for just 3 dollars, with all the profits I make going to a Leukemia charity instead of my pockets for every copy sold! That works out at little over 1 dollar per copy, but this way you can do some good and read a comic at the same time!

If you're feeling charitable (which I hope you are since it's a New Year and time for all those resolutions) or you simply fancing reading it then check it out here.

The comic looks really great all printed up and here are some photos I took of the thing in my hands. (You'll have to excuse my awful photgraphic skills!):

And for those that have been following my blog, you'll notice the slight change I made from the last final version of the cover. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Merry Christmas from the DAMbots

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:32:00 +0000

It's Christmas time so here is a picture showing how the DAMbots probably celebrate Christmas.

This is a double celebration as the DAMbots were conceived 2 years ago. And if you look here you can find the first ever image I publicly revealed of them, also a Christmassy picture. Looking back, I definitely think I've matured a lot with my art style as well as my vision for the microscropic robots.

Here's to another 2 years...

IF - hatch

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:28:00 +0000

I just went for something quick and simple for this week's Illustration Friday. I hope you like it.

Illo Friday - Crunchy

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Here are some crunchy leaves. I thought drawing leaves would be easy but I was completely wrong.

Sneak peek # 2

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Here's a sneak peek of a panel from the first colour issue of Deadly Alien Microbots, which will be posted onto the website early in the new year. It was hard to choose a panel to show without giving away much of the story.

Anyway, I hope you like as it took ages and ages to paint - well, the whole page anyway. I can tell that this idea I had of doing the comic in colour is going to end in tears...

So, is my radical departure from black and white a good thing? A bad thing? Meh??

The colour of charity.

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:27:00 +0000

I've been toying with the idea of doing my, up till now completely black-and-white, comic in full colour. Here is a test I did for the cover of chapter 4. Yes, I can't believe that I've survived this long but chapter 3 is a third of the way through and number 4 is looming scarily closer. Anyway, regular readers will recognise some familiarity in the image but may also be miffed over why it looks so different to the DAMbots. You'll need to read the comic to find out...

In related news, I'm finally getting around to printing the comic. I've ordered my proof of Issue 1 of DAM, collecting chapter 1 and the Blood and Gorebot mini-episode in lovely hi-definition, and made the decision that I'll not make a single penny (or cent now that I'm in Canada) from the sales. Not only will it be at a super low price but I'll be donating all profits I make from it to a Leukemia charity, which hopefully should come to about 70c per copy. If this proves successful then I'll do the same for all future issues of DAM.

I'll let you folks now about it further down the line, but as always any feedback on the art or my unusual benevolence, or even just to say 'hi' is always welcome.

Forest Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Hi there folks. As promised here's a picture I just painted. It's a bit experimental so please tell me your opinions...

Sometimes I feel like my art style is all over the place as each picture I draw is so different, but then I also feel like I'm coming towards finding a style that's 'my own'. And I definitely think this is more my thing than some of the others I've down.

Charles Goatley and his little mouse

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:35:00 +0000

It seems I have a visitor who comes into my room
And eats away at all the crumbs whenever there's a moon.
He tries to act all tough and strong and thinks he's quite the man,
But really he's a little mouse and I'll get him with my frying pan!!

Drawings and paintings will be coming real soon. In the meantime my webcomic is now on chapter 3!

Purple girl

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Here's a test I'm doing for yet another of my crazy projects in between doing the Deadly Alien Microbots.

high climber

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:48:00 +0000

I thought that it's been a while since I've done any noir so here's a new one to whet the appetite. It's flawed but the overall look came out ok.

Alchemy

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:51:00 +0000

I stumbled across a paint package called Alchemy that helps inspire the creativity of the mind by doing lots of randomness.

I came up with the demon's legs and head randomly, then added the door frame and tweaked the rest in a traditional paint program.

It took a while but definitely something I'll use in the future.

Illustration Friday - Modify

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:13:00 +0000

People are always modifying their environment, usually for the worse.

I was originally going to do something sci-fi but then thought to be a bit more topical, so here's my take on this week's Illustration Friday word - modify.

Pointless scenery

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:43:00 +0000

I wanted to have a go at doing a scenery and also try a different style of painting, so here's a sort of cubist splodgy type thing.

Illustration Friday - Idle

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:47:00 +0000

The lonely octopus idly floats in the ocean waiting for a meal to come within an inch of its tentacles. Just what do they do with themselves all day?

This was a bold exploration in colour shading for me, and a pretty successful one at that. I especially love how the water came out.

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Is it black and white or is it colour? I don't know.
Something I like to do is draw random doodles over and over until an image forms in my head, then I just run with it. The basic shape of the doodle was just a scribble and I saw the thief behind the squiggles.
Not bad, I think. More like this perhaps?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Just playing around with some microscopic imagery. This time, some bacteria being attacked by menacing microbots.

Talisman part deux

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:27:00 +0000

Wow! A lot of love for my previous picture. I'm going to keep at this colour malarky then and see what comes.

A while ago I did a piece for the IF topic of 'talisman'. Well, I wasn't that happy with it so I decided to have a second attempt, and this is the result - something that conveys much more of the concept of nature that I originally wanted. Overall, an improvement I think.

Illustration Friday - Worn

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:08:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last post as I've been busy exploring Montreal, which is very different from the desert this person is worn out from exploring.

Worn happens to be the word of the week for Illustration Friday.

Ballistik blasts up your insides.

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:21:00 +0000

Greetings from Montreal! I've been here a couple of days and loving it already.

Anyway, here's another attempt at digitally painting in colour. This time featuring Ballistik from the DAMbots.

No need for paper

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:32:00 +0000

As I'm leaving the country I'm not going to have access to a scanner for a while so I decided to do a quick test of ArtRage as an alternative for drawing my comic. This picture shows the results, drawn entirely on the laptop, and I think it does a pretty good job of it.

Long story short, no need for me to stop drawing my comic. Everyone rejoice!

100 posts!

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:29:00 +0000

Wow... finally reached the 100 blog posts milestone.

To mark this ceremonious occasion, a parade (of ants) will march past my house. I've also drawn this little painting showing some biological warfare going on inside the body.

electron microscopic DAMbots

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:14:00 +0000

I used the same background for virus and added some other bits here and there to see what it would look like. Not enough contrast to make it work, though.

Cracked again.

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Goatley) — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:07:00 +0000

Here's the second cracked image.
Ok, actually this was going to be the one I submitted for Illustration Friday, but when I painted it I had the idea to do the planet image, which came out better.

I was more interested in exploring light and dark in this than the concept itself, though in the end I thought I'd crack up my initials as well just for fun!

Also, why is it that when I say I'm going to do loads of posts I vanish from the face of the Earth for a month, but when I say I'll not post much, as I did a week ago, I end up posting more in a week than ever before?