Money Doe$n't $tink
Fitz on Nov. 10, 2007
Today's update arrived a bit late - but it's here :) It's funny how time flies. The weekend flew by before I noticed. Strangely enough, the past two weeks seemed VERY long. And very busy, too. This week I worked on the comic all week, every day. The previous week, I wrote. I finally got the chance to work on my novel properly. Actually just touching it up, but since I wrote it two years ago, there's just a lot of things to improve. And I want to start working on my fifth one! Not to mention another comic! But all in due time, I guess :)
Aaanyway…
It's a new chapter - and a brand new color theme! I've been DYING to use this one - green, with a little bit of red. Would've made it all green, but the blue-red one turned out so sweet I just had to do something similar again. For some strange reason, I also thought the serial number of dollar notes are in red. Perhaps because it is so on Polish money? I think the dollar is my favorite thing on this page. It's actually not a photo. It's a hand-shaded rendering. I snatched the obverse and reverse off of wikipedia, put it as a texture over a 3d model and rendered it with no shading - because I didn't like the way my CAD software shaded it. Then I shaded it manually and tinted it green. And I heart the manhole cover. Yeah, I know it's a weird thing to say ;) But it was intriguing to see how typical manhole covers differ in different places. New York, LA, Chicago, London… I also a NYC with “MADE IN CHINA” on it :D
Also, if anyone feels like it, there's always plenty of minutiae to fish out! :)
See you next time!
Outlawstar at 6:25PM, Jan. 29, 2008
Man Im loving this comic so far, its so oddly addictive. Great work.
Fitz at 11:13PM, Nov. 19, 2007
Kilroy: That's the whole point :) Basically everything Mick undertakes is futile from start to finish, since the goal is to get a human girl. The funny thing is while everyone knows it, they still cheer for him in a way and feel sorry for him :) And that's what it's all about: suspension of disbelief Jeff: Big money? Yeah that's actually a brilliant point, I didn't think of it that way. And as for the interactions/antagonisms between Mick and Ryan - to me they're the two sides of my own self: the romantic one and the cynical one.
trevoramueller at 1:26PM, Nov. 19, 2007
I always like gifts that people make for me, personally.
Coyotejeff at 2:42PM, Nov. 18, 2007
Sorry Iââ¬â¢m late. Aww the poor little guy. The dollar could cover his whole body so of course he thinks itââ¬â¢s Big Money. I like how his friends attempts at ââ¬Åwiseingââ¬Â him up border on bullying. In my life I have been both the guy in unrequited love and the guy with mixed feelings of concern and disgust with a friend.
Kilroy at 1:36PM, Nov. 18, 2007
Ooh... green. The whole discussion on what a dollar can buy is a bit futile, seeing as all the options involve a mouse walking into a store and purchasing something...
Fitz at 11:43PM, Nov. 17, 2007
Tantz: Yeah the dialogue in this one has to be my favorite. I've been DYING to use the line "Go ahead and buy her Listerine" ;) Most of this comic so far is ideas I came up with looong ago, even before I started drawing the first episode :-O So that's over six months! Abt: Yeah that was the funniest one, I think. But there's a lot more if you look closer. The limited color palette is a fun thing to do, so yeah, you should give it a try. And maybe I should try the whole spectrum sometime? Hm... I was thinking of an episode consisting of colorful hallucinations, so that'd be fun. And very hippie, too. As for the speech balloons, Midge does have a point, and I will most likely rearrange them for better flow of the dialogue. In a dollar store, you can buy stuff for a dollar plus tax :) So in fact they're not really dollar stores ;) Listerine... I got that from a Dresden Dolls' song and I think I had to look it up myself. Or did I know it was mouthwash? Nibbi: Hi and welcome onboard :) Thank you and I do hope you'll stick around for the upcoming installments :) I'll be working to improve the speech balloon placement and try new tricks on the layout, too. JMT: Oh there's plenty of little things to fish out in this one. Abt got one. All the dollar panels in the second row are little games between what's being said and what is shown. Like, Washington is upside down, as if he fell on his head :) And yeah, you're either author or the co-author of that phrase. Alas, that doesn't mean money for any of us ;) And I'll be sure to read it - as soon as I get rid of conjunctivitis, which I got again yesterday :-O
jmt at 11:03PM, Nov. 17, 2007
by the way, i know you were asking for this a few months ago, so I thought I would let you know that my first book has been posted at my web site. http://www.jonnyaxx.com/abracax/cover.htm Let me know what you think.
jmt at 8:36PM, Nov. 17, 2007
nah, the oposite actually, I didn't see any of that stuff in there the first time I read it. I am just slipping! And besides, I think I invented that term for your strip "hunting for Minutiae" So you can cut me a bit of slack yeah? I will try harder this week.
nibbi at 12:12PM, Nov. 16, 2007
Awesome Work! Love the use of colour. Sometimes the sequence of the dialogue becomes a bit hard to read but the originality of your story and the careful way your story is told makes it worth the effort. Instant fac.
Abt_Nihil at 12:10PM, Nov. 15, 2007
Okay, so I'll point out the obvious before I forget: Mint -> Bad breath -> stinks -> sewer Right?? lol Um, anyway, I love your coloring, I should take a hint about working with a limited color palette... I'm used to working with the whole rainbow, and it always comes out dizzying (I think). Or maybe I'm a reborn hippie. I'd actually agree with Midge on the text boxes in the first panel, it took me a second to figure out their order. It's no biggie, just thought I'd second him. So... dollar stores are stores where you can get everything for one dollar apiece? Listerine... I had to look that one up. Which is probably good. Um, the fact that I didn't know the word, I mean :-D
Tantz_Aerine at 8:44AM, Nov. 15, 2007
Great work here :) I love the whole issue over the dollar. Very witty dialogue and I love the colour palette :) Well done! And good for you updating again!!
Fitz at 8:37AM, Nov. 13, 2007
Trevor: I was actually wondering, myself, what you could buy for a dollar - and found some suggestions on Yahoo Answers. One I didn't use and that always makes me giggle was "beggar's boogers". Sadly, I had to cut down on the number of possible picks, so I narrowed it down to three for the impact. As for the intoxicating properties of beer, I know :) I don't drink at all, so two beers can make make me dizzy. And once during a field trip a buddy of mine got heavily drunk with one, which he drank out in the sun on a very hot day. Little gifts can be the most precious sometimes. Like the little figurines my sister gives me for Xmas. Phil: Awww you poor guy, you never owned an American dollar? Poor you! How did that happen? I owned a couple of bucks, myself, when I was a wee little kid, back in the commie days. Glottris: Hi! Glad to see a new face here, hope you'll stick around! :) Nepath: Because your DD Alerter is EVIL! Evil, I say! ;) I rarely turn mine on, I check my favorites by myself. The best way is basically to tune in either late Sunday night or Monday morning every two weeks, because that's my regular update schedule. As for ABC, it's hardly a book for now, with just 13 pages - but oh well, I'll get there someday :)
Nepath at 4:35PM, Nov. 12, 2007
why does my alerter hate ABC!!! It never tells me when you update... Another fantastic page, I love the writing and my favourite panel on this page is the one with the drain cover. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
Glottris at 3:54PM, Nov. 12, 2007
coolest page so far =)
phillip_the_tortoise at 2:21PM, Nov. 12, 2007
im and aussie and all my life i have wanted to own an american dollar..... just cause..... just cause i have always wanted to. so that mouse should count himself lucky!
trevoramueller at 10:19AM, Nov. 12, 2007
Fitz, your coloring job only gets better and better. The conversation on this page is absolutely awesome! I love the mice talking about the worth of a dollar, and how one really wants to get something for this girl (a girl that he presumably can't have), and how the other is trying to keep him tied down to reality. However, let it be known that a beer can get a girl drunk, depending on her tolerance. This applies to both girls and guys, actually. My girlfriend loves it when I buy her flower seeds (which can be about a buck) or a box of chocolates. She loves to garden, and enjoys a good piece of chocolate now and again. It's a very thoughtful gesture, and I don't think that other people always know / appreciate the thought process that goes into finding a gift. This story is fleshing out very very nicely!
Fitz at 8:14AM, Nov. 12, 2007
You guys are incredible! I didn't think anyone would even notice the update, and meanwhile, I got the most comments ever in one night! Thank you! Harry: Hey, you made it here first - and only minutes after I uploaded the page :D A beer for you, my friend! Or any other liquor of choice ;) JMT: Yeah I like it to, it's so NY-specific. I'd probably hate to live in NY, but it inspires me in so many ways! And btw, looks like you got tired of the Hunt for Minutiae, eh? Or did they become too obvious to bother? Hmm... Amy: Thank You! I'm still surprised anyone actually awaits a new update! It's certainly an ego boost and a motivation to work harder :) And I can't wait to see what You have in store for my little rodents. I bet You'll draw them waaaaay better than I do, too :) UsedBooks: Yeah that was what Ryan's comment was referring to :) The bottom left panel was the last one I worked on for this page, and I like it how I managed to make the colors halfway between what they would look like in bright daylight and green. Also, glad to see You here, I didn't even know You were following the story. I seem to have a few undercover readers ;) Ersatz: Yeah it seems like something Wigwam would say, doesn't it? At first, not really smart, but when you think about it, it does make sense. Bocaj: Thanks! Btw, I saw your guest comic last week, good stuff! Shin: I modelled the manhole after some actual pics - with some modifications here and there. There was one saying "MADE IN CHINA" right under "N.Y.C. SEWER". I was wondering whether or not to use it, for the giggles, but in the end, I chose not to. And yeah, I love seeing Mick with a raised eyebrow for once, too. Phanton Penguin: Welcome aboard, then - hope you'll keep coming back when new updates arrive, which happens every two weeks, on Sundays :) Dawn: A rodent who'd actually think of mints can't be a bad rodent, now can it? :) Midge: The dollar was just a scan, so most the credit for the dpi goes to wikipedia ;) As for the speech bubbles, yes, that particular panel was problematic, and I'm not quite satisfied with how I positioned Ryan's initial bubbles, it might indeed be confusing. But the rule is generally that I arrange them in a snake-like, sinusoidal sequence, and whichever comes first in the left-to-right spectrum is the first one to read. My logic was that after Mick's line you'd look at the dollar and then turn your eyes to the lowest speech bubble, in which Ryan says "Well hello". But I'll try and play around with it some more. And I usually don't add arrows, unless the speech bubbles are near the speaker's face. I also don't connect them. I know I should but I just never liked the way it looked, so I decided to drop that. So everything in the speach bubbles is what they say. I think I'll use a different sort of speech bubbles for thoughts if it's ever necessary :) Hope that explains a bit :)
TheMidge28 at 9:03PM, Nov. 11, 2007
Well done! As others have said your work is getting better and better. and what detail on that dollar and manhole...wow! Great job. the only critique I have is the word ballons are very confusing. there placement and use at times has me scratching my head especially in the first panel where both characters are in view and balloons with tails should be used and are but not completely. Were some of them after thoughts?
dgriff13 at 8:47PM, Nov. 11, 2007
your art just keeps improving. Nice new color theme, I like it. yeah, a mint as a gift never goes over well. Especially when it's from a rodent. ;0)
Phantom Penguin at 6:40PM, Nov. 11, 2007
i'm new to the comic, but i like it alot. Love the style.
ShinGen at 4:47PM, Nov. 11, 2007
Bravo on the green use. I like this page a lot. The manhole cover is freakin great and the dialogue made me laugh. ^_^ Excellent page Fitz. Also his confused faced on the last panel is priceless.
Bocaj at 4:25PM, Nov. 11, 2007
Great use of green.
Ersatz at 3:37PM, Nov. 11, 2007
"Besides, what is a dollar?" "Uhh... a dollar?" That's the kind of insightful reply I'd give. :) Excellent page, Fitzmeister!
usedbooks at 3:33PM, Nov. 11, 2007
A burger is the best gift! It says "you're skinny." As opposed to a mint, which says "stop breathing on me." ;-) Great colors, as always. I really like the bottom left panel (the art especially, but the words are good too).
antcomics at 1:41PM, Nov. 11, 2007
Wowwww. I was so happy when there was a new Cheesy page up today. And this one is quite possibly my favorite so far!! Mick and Ryan will be appearing in my BIG 50th Antcomic, by the way... :oD You have such a fantastic, fun, original comic here, Fitz.