CreatureBox

RustBucket and Rose

greg — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:29:21 +0000

I’ve been able to pull off three of the web comics so far for RustBucket and Rose. I kinda just went for it, even though I really should have explored the designs more. That said, after making some adjustments and planning a few more in the future conveniently worked into the story, I’m pretty stoked to be doing the strip on these two characters. Tonight I wanted to do a model sheet for myself, but couldn’t help turning it into this. I think it’ll still work to keep them on model, but I got a fun piece out of it. Now off to sleep!

BTW…Big thanks to Dave for creating the logo for this series! He ain’t cheap, but he’s worth every penny.

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Rustbucket & Rose: Episode 3

greg — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:23:25 +0000

These are not easy. Frick! Trying to knock a Sunday strip out in the equivalent of a day’s work is nearly impossible. More like 2 days…how did the old school guys pull this stuff off.

Well, Rose has gotten down to business. Stay tuned for more!

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Navigator

dave — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:39:54 +0000

I have a terrible sense of direction. If you spun me around twice and pulled a sweater over my head, I’d be lost for days. Fortunately our space age world has provided all sorts of gadgets to help me find my way around. But what if I end up on some distant planet with spotty cell phone reception? The image above was based on the idea of having GPS bots who help map out new planets for all those directionally challenged space explorers. He’ll be making an appearance in the next Atmosphere strip (yeah, I fell off the wagon after one episode – how sad is that?? Thanks tax season.)

In other news, NC got a large helping of sleet and snow this weekend. I have to tell you, there’s nothing funnier than watching your wife slide down the yard riding a large Rubbermaid storage lid. Ahhh, winter!

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Bandits!

greg — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:30:05 +0000

I had three things in mind this weekend as I began this post. One: I wanted to draw some hands being expressive. Two: I wanted to do multiple characters in tough poses overlapping as much as I could without making it look like a mosh pit. And three: draw something that represented the severe rub I feel every time we begin to organize our taxes. So to that, I give you a small band of space bandits about to score some spoils!

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Rustbucket & Rose: Episode 2

greg — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:46:23 +0000

I had some time to stare at the first strip for a while as I planned out the next strip. When I was thinking through the design initially for RustBucket, I knew I wanted to make him relatably humanoid. One for clarity and two for being able to really hit emotions we recognize. So I went for a retro robot, and like what happens to all of us, I ripped off some of my favorite robots and had to return to the drawing board. Fortunately, as much as I hate this, it’s also a great reminder how easy it is to slip up.

I adjusted his chest to have a grill a’la TractorBot, and legs like Submarine. Gave him a coat of paint and overall I think he’s a lot more fun. I won’t say he’s the most innovative thing I have ever thought up, but he works for the character I have in mind, and that’s all I want. Dave and I came up with some new hooks yesterday for him too that should really push him in some cool direction. I’m gonna hit the first panel again this week so it’s consistent. So glad I work digital some days!

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Nuts and Bolts

dave — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:27:11 +0000

I’m not much of a handy man…and it’s all my fault. My dad has been involved with hardware and remodeling his entire life. He never ceases to amaze me with his work and his attention to detail. He mixes cases of paint by eye, constructed a 20×20 barn without using a single nail and has rejuvenated countless homes. Yet when I was growing up my head was buried in cartoons and comics.

I was reminded of this yet again as my wife and I battled a bathroom cabinet for 5 1/2 hours this weekend. In my defense, there was a bow in the drywall which didn’t want to play nice with metal rails. Somehow we found a way to laugh about it as we were entangled around the toilet all afternoon. It’s all about the adventure right?

I figured the best way to cap off the weekend was with a drooling grumpy robot. You can’t ever have enough of those in your life.

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Atmosphere: Episode 1

dave — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:41:43 +0000

I would love to say the strip above flowed effortlessly from my fingertips. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as I found myself fighting for every pixel. There was an abundance of hair pulling, a collapse of confidence, and some swearing tossed in for good measure. I even considered throwing in the towel all together but I knew Greg would never let me live it down.

Drawing cartoons for a living can be a bizarre journey. Some days are smooth sailing while others feel like you’ve never sharpened a pencil in your life. And yet clarity can crawl out from the strangest of places. In my case, after hours and hours, I found solace in a single shade of purple (panel two, inside the helmet). That one silly hue turned into the smallest grain of confidence to get through the image. I guess the moral of the story is there’s always a solution buried somewhere if we’re willing to torture ourselves enough to find it! Ha!

Atmosphere collects several ideas Greg and I have talked about for awhile. We’ve been asked about [echoes] and we promise it has a place in the lineup. In many respects, Atmosphere provides a bit of backstory for the larger adventure. We plan to keep the comics updated every Wednesday or so, as long as life permits. Here’s to hoping the next strip goes a bit easier! Onward!

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Hittin’it Old School!

greg — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:16:13 +0000

Well it’s been busy getting back to work, hitting the ground running and trying not to trip! Things are going pretty well, even though we nearly killed ourselves re-skinning the site, I feel pretty refreshed and am excited to get back to a normal schedule. I haven’t had too much time to fill the moleskin these days though. That’s one thing I will find a way to squeeze back into life. I picked it up this morning and was re-inspired to hit the ink again and see what not having “undo” can unleash! I’m back to being scared.

On another note, I’m about to submit this snapshot I took this weekend of our dear friend Thorndyke for the contest! Without any other postings of him on the flickr site, I think I’m gonna win! Who’s gonna stop me? Let’s see ‘em!

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Thorndyke Photo Contest!

greg — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:45:43 +0000

We hope you guys have had a chance to peruse the site and check out all the new nooks and crannies. Over in the updated Extras page, we have our first paper toy, Thorndyke. He’s your typical maniacally motivated desk mate dead set on eating the pens and post-it pads from your desk…so when they go missing, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

As a little incentive to see just how crafty all you CreatureBoxers are out there, we wanted to throw out a little contest. We want to see just where in the world our boy Thorndyke can end up. If you have the gumption to build yourself your own personal Thorndyke, take a picture of him in the craziest place you can think of and upload it to our Throndyke Flickr page (if you don’t have an account and want to play, go to the Flickr main page and set up an account).

On February 28th, 2010 we’re gonna narrow the submission to our favorite 5 photos and post them up on the site for everyone to take one last gander at. We’ll have a vote, we’ll all pick the best together family style. And there will be prizes, oh yes.

Prizes

1st place receives an original drawing by both Dave and I for your refrigerator.

2nd place receives 2 mini prints from the CreatureBox archives.

3rd place will receive a signed copy of 2009’s sold out Palindrone Robot Supply book from our personal stash.

Sound good? Get them scissors out and get crackin’! And no eating the glue guys.

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Villians

dave — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:23:29 +0000

Weeeeeeee’re back!! Hope you guys like the fresh coat of paint! Wow, I’ve never seen weeks go by so quickly. The time spent with the family was a blast and my wife and I even had a chance to visit Washington D.C. That’s one heck of a town filled with amazing art. I only got tazed once while trying to jump the White House fence.

The days were certainly busy but fortunately we’ve been able to get plenty done during our time away. Aside from the website redesign (which you can read more about here) Greg and I have been planning out some new content. We have some designs and webcomics in the works which you’ll see updated regularly. It seems as though we can’t stop giving ourselves things to do. I blame Greg.

We’re excited to be back and hope you all had an awesome holiday. I guess we should get started on 2010. Onward!

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