Webcomics

Over the last two years, I've become increasingly interested in the art of telling a story through pictures. I've always loved books with lavish illustrations (such as the Dinotopia books by James Gurney), and I've read a few printed graphic novels (such as Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale). Then I discovered the online world of webcomics.

Webcomics are unique in that anyone can make one and put it up for the world to read. They don't need to get accepted for publication by Marvel or any of the other big-name publishers. That means that the author(s) can experiment and tell their unique story without anyone breathing down their neck. And usually, they're completely free to read. The drawback is this: webcomics are usually updated one to three times a week, so once you catch up to the most recent page, you must waaaait.

I'm a visual person. Many of my characters and story concepts come to me in pictures. When I found out about webcomics, I was immediately drawn to the idea of making my own someday, but I knew I would need to focus on improving my drawing skills. Since January, that's exactly what I've been doing, and I rediscovered how much I love art. I start college next week as an art major!

Not only have I been practicing my art, I've also absorbed lots of great webcomics. I thought I'd share my reading list, in case any of you are also interested in comics or visual storytelling. Some of the following may have certain elements that I don't like or agree with, but there's something special in each one that kept me reading.

Favorites:
Winters in Lavelle - Fantasy
The Dreamer - Time travel/Historical/Romance
Inverloch - Fantasy (this one's complete!)

Others I like for one reason or another:
The Silver Eye - Fantasy.
Dreamless - Romance/Mystery/WW2/Defies genre... Warning: It's intense. (But it's complete!)
The Phoenix Requiem - Fantasy/Romance. Warning: Rather violent and dark. (also complete)
Between Places - Fantasy. The story is confusing at points, but the art is beautiful.
Girl Genius - Steampunk. Warning: Violence, and some skimpy outfits.
Bardsworth - Fantasy/Humor.
Seed - Fantasy.
One Question - Fantasy.
Earthsong - Fantasy.


... I just realized, there is a lot of "fantasy" in that list.

Do any of you read webcomics? What are your favorites? Have you ever considered making a comic or graphic novel?

On My Desk Right Now

At this very moment, I have on my desk:
-my MacBook Pro, Phoenix, taking a short break from Maya tutorials
-a black-and-white Maine Coon cat, Flower
-various writing projects (including portions of short stories, novels, and essays) printed out, stacked, and ready for editing
-my to-do list notepad
-a 0.9 mm mechanical pencil (blue)
-a pen from Northwestern College
-my Wacom Intuos4 medium pen tablet (squee!)
-a paperback copy of Dandelion Fire, by N.D. Wilson
-my zippered pencil case, filled with my precious Prismacolors, graphite and charcoal pencils
-a cream-colored spare button
-an empty Ziplock baggie
-The Complete Digital Animation Course book, by Andy Wyatt
-a Northwestern College folder, containing the list of courses I'll be taking next fall
-a printed-out email about a contest held by the Paper Wings Podcast
-a spiral-bound notebook entitled "College"
-some ripped-up pieces of a Kleenex box
-a frayed piece of hem cut from my blue jeans
-my elbows.

What's on your desk at the moment?

In honor of turkeys everywhere...

I was planning to post this on Thanksgiving, but I forgot.  This is an essay that I wrote several years ago, but I thought I'd re-post it for all of my newer followers. It's a true story. Enjoy!

Meal or Menace?

First they attacked my aunt.

She was strolling down a deserted gravel road with her sister-in-law, hoping to enjoy the nature and maybe catch a glimpse of the wildlife that lives on the 200-acre farm. Neither of them knew that they were being trailed. The stalkers prowled on stealthy legs through the nearby rye field, their savage eyes never leaving the two walkers. They snaked their way through the swaying rye and at last darted in front of the startled women. With a scream my aunt and her sister-in-law turned and dashed back up the road toward the safety of the farmhouse. One of the group still pursued them, and his powerful legs kicked up a small sandstorm behind him. He only halted when they had reached my grandparents’ mailbox near the house. With a cluck of satisfaction and a rustle of feathers, he sauntered away.

Who were these attackers? Thugs? Gangsters? Robbers? No. My aunt was attacked by wild turkeys.

These once-rare birds had first been spotted the previous Thanksgiving, when we all gathered at my grandparents’ house for the traditional family feast. The turkeys lay low in the woods, only daring to make their appearance after we had filled our stomachs with one of their unlucky cousins. Nobody knows where they came from or why they suddenly appeared.

My grandma, delighted with the huge birds, adopted them as her feral pets (to join the bunnies and the deer). She dotes on them with corn and birdseed, and she worries about them when it gets cold. Plenty of hopeful hunters have come up to ask if they could hunt on the property, but my grandma won’t allow it. “No one is going to shoot them!” she says fiercely. “My poor babies! Mommy’s looking out for you!”

However, since she started feeding them, they’ve come back every day looking for more. And they’ve gotten pushy about it, too. If you don’t have any food, they chase you. If you don’t come outside, they peck at the house and peer in the kitchen window. Many times my grandma has been startled by a “peeping tom.”

The turkeys’ appearance alone can intimidate a wildcat or send a Rottweiler running off with his tail between his legs. Their heads look like they were dipped in lard, then stuck crudely on their scrawny pink necks. Most of the males have “beards” in the middle of their chests, which they puff out while they strut about, giving the impression of a pompous judge or a wealthy businessman. I don’t know why my grandma keeps feeding those fat old vultures.

Ever since that first incident with my aunt, the turkeys have chased everyone from the mailman to the meter reader. Whenever someone comes over to my grandparents’ house, my grandpa tells them, “Watch out for those turkeys.” Oh, and I would like to add some of my own advice: don’t hang around in your car too long. The bloodthirsty birds will attack your vehicle.

However, there are some advantages to having these crazy birds around. The turkeys keep away trespassers, door-to-door salespeople, and other unwelcome intruders. When I’m safe in my bed, I can sleep peacefully knowing that a rafter of wild turkeys is patrolling the block. I almost feel sorry for any prowlers out there. Almost. I have to say I would love to see those vandals who break the windows of my grandpa’s barn screaming in fear as they run from a pack of man-eating turkeys.

© Rachel H.

Celebrate!

This is a brief message to say...
Thanks to my newest follower, Lizzy, I now have 50 followers on this blog! A great big THANK YOU to all of you!

And this is my 80th post.

When I reach my 100th post, I'll do a giveaway. Just to get some ideas, what kinds of things do you like in a giveaway? (Please, nothing too elaborate here-- I'm not going to buy something like a horse or a submarine and pay to ship it across the country!)

Bits 'n' Pieces of Random Poetry

My computer is sick.
*sob*
I'm taking it in to the Apple Store this evening. Hopefully they can fix it (cheaply and quickly!)

Anyway...
I thought I'd share some of the poetry and song lyrics I've been writing lately. A lot of it is about strange topics, like Antarctica and flipping pencils. Some of these are incomplete. Some of them have tunes that I'm in the process of composing. All of them are random.

First of all, a rumination on poetry itself:

Poetry is what pours forth from your head, your heart, your hand as you sprawl on a window-seat and watch the world change colors and live, live like a sunflower and age as a stone and laugh like a toddler who has found a Daddy Longlegs in a crack in the wall, flow like clouds in a sunset or maybe it's a sunrise but it doesn't really matter, who cares, because your poetry belongs to you, not the library, not uncle, not the public unless you shout it from the rooftops in bold letters earning the right to call yourself
poet.

The Dancer
I lift my hands to the sky
Around and around I fly
My bare feet in the flowers
As my shadow cowers
But I am free,
Free, free.

My eyes are raised to the sun
As I twirl around and run
My heart soars as I leap
Though my shadow fear will keep
But I am alive
Alive, alive.

Kicking up Dust
On a summer Sunday -afternoon-
When I was only six years old
My mother sent me out to play
I went peacefully
But when I got outside
-and this was a sunny day-
I went out to the driveway...

Chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my bare feet
Kicking up dust
   as I danced in the heat
Kicking up dust
I played and had lots of fun
Kicking up dust
   and dirt and sand in the sun.

I was very dusty -it covered me-
Of course I had to have a bath
My mother sent me to the tub
I went peacefully
But when I got all dry
I dashed right back out the door
To the driveway for some more...

(Chorus)

Now that I am older -all grown up-
I know that I should not kick dust
My mother will not clean me up
I walk peacefully
But when I see a dirt road
'specially when it's sunny
I suddenly get all funny...

Final chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my shod feet
Kicking up dust
   as I dance in the heat
Kicking up dust
I play and have lots of fun
Kicking up dust
   and dirt and sand in the sun.

South Pole Dreaming
Waiting for the sun to go to sleep
As I watch with bleary eyes
I think I'll be counting sheep
For a really long time, I realize
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It'll last for months, it seems
How I love Antarctic dreams

Stars above in the velvet sky
Time to sit and wonder why?
The sun has gone on his vacation
And I'm here at the South Pole Station
Dreaming of you...
In my everlasting Antarctic dreams.

It'll be a long, cold summer without you
Cooped up in this building with no room to run
I really don't know what I'll do
I really need to see the sun
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It's lasting for centuries, it seems
How I loathe Antarctic dreams.

Pencil
I walk into the classroom
Take a seat in the back
Wish I could hide in the bathroom
But then I see the guy in a black
   t-shirt in the front row
Showing off how his pencil can fly
Around his fingers
And then I really have to try...

Flippin' it around
It hits the ground
   again and again
What's the use of being prehensile
if I can't flip a pencil?

Stickers
When you're having a bad day
and the world gets you down
I take a smiley-face sticker
And turn that frown around

Stickers, stickers everywhere
On my wall and in my hair
I gotta have those tacky little pictures
I live in a world of stickers

It's just a small piece of life
To brighten the day and cheer the night
Stickers wait in my drawer
And whenever you're feeling poor
I break out my stickers

I've got 'em for every personality
They come from every nationality
To bring some whimsicality...

Stickers, stickers everywhere

On my wall and in my hair

I gotta have those tacky little pictures

I live in a world of stickers.

Midnight

Writing songs at midnight

You prob'ly think I'm crazy, right?

But when inspiration blows in

On the evening wind

And I hear the inklings of a song

I know, here I belong.

Whispers of lyrics chime in my head

How could I think of going to bed?

Now is the time for my ink to run

And my eyes both glint with imagination

As I feel the rumblings of a song

I know, here I belong.

This is the time when the world is alive

When the bullfrogs thrum

   and the junebugs hum

   and the sound of the wind on

   the flagpole clanking

And a lonely dog across the lake

I know I was meant to make

   music tonight...

At midnight.

All poems © 2010 Rachel H. Please don't copy or re-post without permission.

Before I die...

Aaah! I realize that I've REALLY been neglecting my blogs! My life is always so busy in the spring. Here's a quick post of the things I want to do before I die.

This first list is from way back in 2008:
1. Someday, I want to make a movie.
2. Someday, I want to go body flying.
3. Someday, I want to go to Antarctica.
4. Someday, I want to go to college and see what they know.
5. Someday, I want to go on a missions trip.
6. Someday, I want to join a writing group.
7. Someday, I want to go sailing on an old-fashioned ship.
8. Someday, I want to build a treehouse.
9. Someday, I want to go downhill skiing.
10. Someday, I want to memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Someday, I want to read through the entire encyclopedia.
12. Someday, I want to learn how to sword-fight.

It was fun to go back and look at my dreams from two years ago. Some of these things are exactly the same on the list I wrote today. It's freaky. Without having seen this list for two years, I used some of the same wording! And a few of these things mysteriously dropped off the new list. (I guess I just forget them in some cases, and in the case of the movie and sword-fighting, I've done that somewhat already!)

The new list:
1. Build a treehouse.
2. Finish reading the encyclopedia.
3. Get published.
4. Visit the South Pole Station (or McMurdo Station) in Antarctica.
5. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
6. Go winter camping in the Boundary Waters.
7. See the migrating raptors at Hawk Ridge in Duluth.
8. Go to college and see what they know.
9. Take a road trip from Alaska to Argentina.
10. Memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Learn Quenya. (I've started already)
12. Run through the hills of Austria while singing. :)
13. Gallop bareback on the seashore.
14. Get my driver's license.
15. Sail on a tall ship on open seas.
16. Write 50,000 words in 24 hours. (The most I've done is 12,000)
17. Go on a missions trip.
18. Start a trend. :)

Not necessarily in that order!  So, what do YOU want to do before you die?

A Peter Pan Event!

Nina has organized an entire event devoted to Peter Pan! I'm so excited about it! The book by J. M. Barrie has always been one of my favourites. This event is going on RIGHT NOW, and it ends on the 13th. I'm hoping to have a post up in the next couple of days.

Those of you who have been following my blog for ages might remember how much I love altered books. I posted some pictures of my first altered book here and here. Now I'm working on my third project! The theme is simply "Blue."  I connect things with different colors (and I think I have a form of synesthesia), so I thought I'd make a book of those things. Here's the page I did today. You've got circles, ferns, a butterfly, and lots of glazes.  It was so much fun to make! When you take art too seriously, it takes all the joy out of it. Art is supposed to be fun. Do you agree?

Four Fun Facts! (Planting Chums)

It's the final week of Planting Chums, and the instructions this time is simply to post Four Fun Facts about yourself!

Sooooo...

Fact #1 - I climb trees. Even though I'm almost an adult. :) Who says you have to be a kid to enjoy the swaying of the branches in the breeze, and the songs of the birds all around you, and the rough bark on your bare feet? Besides, did you know that tree climbing is an official sport now? It's only a matter of time before it's admitted into the Olympics... (Or so I hope!)

Fact #2 - My room is crammed full of bookshelves (which are all filling up with books). I have three of them, and I live in the smallest room in our house! One bookshelf is devoted to non-fiction and my journals (I've got over twenty of those- I haven't exactly counted them in a while), and another is full of fiction and my novels that I've written, and the smallest one is for audio books, CDs, DVDs, and old used books that I want to turn into works of altered art.

Fact #3 - I never liked Barbies as much as Beanie Babies. Barbies were too girly and grown-up. (Though I did sometimes play with the smaller Stacy doll). Beanies, on the other hand, were: a) animals, which I love;  b) soft enough to throw at my brother and sisters without getting hurt when they beaned me back; c) my brother could play with me- we created a whole fantastic, imaginary world for our Beanies, called (of course) Beanie Land- it had everything from a city of roller coasters to gigantic rooms under the ground, from greedy creatures called "Anenemies" to rockets made out of Tinker Toys... and I'll never forget the time the Nanooks got lost in the Ban-yow Tree! I think the hours we spent adventuring in Beanie Land greatly influenced my writing when I got older. I'm thankful for all the wonderful memories with our Beanies.

Fact #4 - I am having trouble with this last fun fact... Okay, here it is. I LOVE PHOTOSHOP!

Some things I've done with it:

Family Fotos (Planting Chums)

I'm finally ready to put up my Planting Chums post for this week! (Better late than never, right?)

The topic this week is "Family Fotos." I knew at once what I wanted to post, but... These pictures were taken with my mom's film camera, so I had to go get them printed from the negatives. :) Ah, the joys of film...

Welcome to Assateague Island!  Five years ago, my family took a road trip to Washington, D.C., and while we were out East, we decided to visit Chincoteague and Assateague islands in Maryland. (Has anyone read Misty of Chincoteague? This is the place.) We were hoping to see some wild ponies, but they kept their distance, so we walked down to the ocean instead. A lady walked by and asked if we needed someone to take a family portrait, and we thanked her and formed a group by the water's edge. We smiled, and she snapped a picture of us. Nice family picture, huh?

Ah, but the ocean had other plans for us. With our backs turned to the waves, we never saw it coming. A giant wave zoomed forward and attacked us! All of us got very wet feet as we jumped and screeched and tried to get away. And the lady on the beach wound the film and took another picture of us, bless her heart.

After we escaped the angry wave, we all looked at each other and laughed like crazy. And the lady took yet another picture, bless her heart.

These pictures were not staged. What you see is exactly what happened! And we have a record of this hilarious memory, all because of that nice lady on the beach. Thank you, lady, whoever you are!

Fun Games (Planting Chums)

Yes! I'm doing Planting Chums, which a fun event hosted by Hannah at Aspire!
So, the topic this week is Fun Games.


First of all, I'm not much of a game-person. I always used to cry whenever I lost Mouse Trap. (Of course, for some weird reason, I always lost). That's the one where the players spend most of the game building this incredibly intricate "trap" as you move your little plastic mouse around the board, collecting cardboard cheese. It was a fun game until the very end, when you find yourself under the basket at the end of the trap, and your opponent sets off the chain reaction with a silver marble. I remember the feeling of dread as the Rube-Goldberg-esque device teetered and tottered and flipped and spun around. If the marble fell off, or something went wrong, I was safe, but if not...
CLUNK!
The basket fell on my poor mouse, and I was caught. GAME OVER! Muh ha ha ha!
For a seven-year-old, it was traumatic.


And SORRY! wasn't much better. You never knew when one of the other players would decide to send you back to the beginning, claiming "SORRY!" in a gloating manner. It was so frustrating to be so close to the end of the game and then end up at the start again!


And I was never very athletic, so I didn't like outdoor games like Capture the Flag, Dodgeball, or Kickball.


So what games DO I like?


For one, I adore word games, like Scrabble, and particularly Boggle.

My whole family loves Boggle. It's a word-search game that can get very competitive between my parents (who are both excellent spellers), and more recently, me and my brother.

But I think the best game for passing the time is a game that my brother and sister and I made up. We call it... THE RANDOM GAME!

Heh. It's best with two or more players who are in a random mood. In other words, silly. Here are the rules:

-the first person starts out by saying a random word,

-the next person says another random word,

-and so on.

-You can say nouns, verbs, colors, feelings, names, quotes, punch lines from inside jokes, moo like a cow, anything, as long as it's random. :)

-No repeating words,

-and if your word is related to the previous person's word, you get "booed."

-Gameplay goes on until everyone gets tired of it and decides to do something worthwhile.

Like I said, it's random. We love it.

So what games do you enjoy--- or hate? 

Under the Stars (a tag or two)

Melody from Vividry gave me the Music shuffle tag! Here's how it works: Put your music player on shuffle. Then answer the following questions by using the title to each song that plays while on shuffle. 

This might be interesting, because I have so many soundtracks on my ipod… Here goes:

Are you male or female? Remembering Childhood (from Hook soundtrack) 

What do people feel when they are around you? One of Those Days (from Night at the Museum soundtrack) —I'm not sure how to take that…

Describe your current relationship?  O Church, Arise (Keith & Kristyn Getty) 

Where would you like to be right now? Walk Like An Egyptian (Go Fish) - oookay… I guess Egypt it is…

How do you feel about love? Danny Boy (James Galway) - LOL! That's my brother!

What's your life like? Created For This (Go Fish) 

What would you wish for if you only had one wish? Circle Of Life (Lion King soundtrack)

Say something wise: Dubrinium (Pendragon soundtrack) - Is that wise?

If someone says "Is this okay. . ." You say? Presenting the Hook (from Hook soundtrack) - I'll plunge me hook into you, matey!

How would you describe yourself? Here I Am (Spirit soundtrack) - That works, I guess. :)

How do you feel today? Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Newsboys) - That's a good one!

What is your life's purpose? Slaves and Masters (Pendragon soundtrack) 

What is your motto? This One (Michael Pearce Donley)

What do your friends think of you? Jazz Suite No.2 —Waltz (Dmitri Shostakovich)

What do you think of your parents? Alright (Go Fish) - No, really, they're better than just alright!

What do you think of very often? Uranus, the Magician (from The Planets, by Gustav Holst) - Uranus? Why Uranus? In any case, I'm thinking of it now!

What is 2+2? Big Fan (Night at the Museum soundtrack)  - No, I'm not a big fan of numbers…

What do you think of your best friend? Introduction (to "The Prodigal's Sister," an audio book!)

What is your life story? With My Life (Pendragon soundtrack)

What do you want to be when you grow up? The Submarine (Atlantis soundtrack) - LOL! I think my ipod has a sense of humor…

What will you dance to at your wedding? The Banquet (Hook soundtrack) - Does that prove it or what?

What will they play at your funeral? Socca (Equador Mantra) - They're going to play lively South American music at my funeral? Fun!

What is your hobby/interest? That's How You Know (Enchanted soundtrack) - Huh? Know what?

What is your biggest fear?  Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus (Chronicles of Narnia) - THAT'S my biggest fear? Mr. Tumnus? I LIKE Mr. Tumnus!

What is your biggest secret?  River Secrets, chapter 3 (audio book) - What a coincidence!

What do you think of your friends? One of These Days (FFH) - It's only slightly different from the answer to "What do people feel when they are around you?"

What will you re-post this as? Under the Stars (Lion King soundtrack)

I tag:

Hepzibah

Galadriel

Bethany

Gray

(It's totally optional, but very fun.)

Melody also tagged me with the "Which 8 books would you like to live in for a week" tag.

Eight books, huh? Okay…

1. The Binding of the Blade,  by L. B. Graham. (I'm counting series as one book) I'd love to live in Kirthanin! And it would be awesome to see the events happening before my very eyes.

2. Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Who doesn't want to go to Narnia? Of course, I'd probably want to stay there longer than a week…

3. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Another given. Any part of the book would be fine. Except… maybe when they're in Shelob's Lair. *Shudder* I don't like spiders. Especially giant ones.

4. Dragons in Our Midst, by Bryan Davis. I would so want to meet Bonnie and Billy and Prof and the rest.

5. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley. Damar is such a cool place. I'd love to hop on one of the amazing horses and gallop across the desert in my pajamas. :)

6. The Flicker Chronicles, by Me.  Yeah… The Inner Realms are all so colorful. I love color. And I'd love to interact with my characters in real life.

7. Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie. I don't like any of the movies (except for Hook), but I love the book. It has a certain sparkle to it. And I'd love to show Peter Pan a thing or two, and bring his cockiness down a notch. He's not the only one who can fly, after all. 

8. Dinotopia, by James Gurney. Okay, I admit it. I'm a Dinotopia geek. I like books with pictures. Especially colorful pictures of adventurous people living peaceably with dinosaurs on a lost island that no one knows about. How cool is that? And of course, the story isn't half-bad, either.

I just realized that all of these are fantasy. Oops. I was planning on including a few non-fantasy. Oh well.

I'm supposed to tag 8 people for that last one, but I'll be lazy and leave it open. If you want to do it, I tag you.

Curse of the Spider King!

It's here. Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper's book, Curse of the Spider King, now has a book trailer! My teammates from the Nightwing Tribe made it all from scratch, including the awesome score and animation sequences. Check it out! (If the video is too wide, here's the link to the YouTube page.)



If you want to know more about the book, click here to go to the book's website, and here are the websites of Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson.

Endurance and Victory!

Yeah, I did a Star Wars quiz...

I'm Jaina Solo!

Yay! I always liked Jaina as a character, though I don't think I'm much like her in real life... Heh.

You're the temperamental, force-sensitive daughter of Han and Leia Solo, Jaina Solo!
What Star Wars heroine are you?