Arts and crafts

Oh boy! I really like going to conventions, but it sure feels nice to be kicking off a week that won't be spent either prepping for or recovering from a show.

Do you follow either my Tumblr or DeviantArt? I've been posting some fun recent commissions I've done, including a dinosaur petting zoo (!) and a massive Sam and Fuzzy Team Fortress 2 parody. The TF2 picture will actually also be one of the bonus desktops in our next Book Club Bonus Pack -- something for all you book owners to look forward to!

-Sam Logan

Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Colourized Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!

"As someone who does all their comic work in black and white, how do you feel about coloured versions of works that were originally done in black and white (eg: those coloured versions of Bone)?" -James

I wouldn't say it's something that actively bothers me -- especially with something like Bone, where the publisher wanted to have it in colour to make it more appealing to young children. But my personal preference is generally to read a comic the way it was originally intended to be presented.

I think for most artists, knowing whether or not your art is eventually going to be coloured will probably lead you to make some really different choices with your inking and even your composition. Sam and Fuzzy is a great (albiet extreme) example of this... if I was planning to colour it, I wouldn't use so much black space, or so many iconic visuals that revolve around harsh two tone (or three with grey) contrasts. I'd plan for the colour in the art, and as a result, the art would be totally different!

Because of that, I feel like a lot of colourized comics don't always quite come together... the colouring doesn't mesh perfectly with the lineart because it was an unplanned addition. But hey, there are always occasions where unplanned moves or accidents wind up working really well. There are definitely some specific portions of Bone that look really phenomenal in colour. But I think there are also some really awesome iconic black-and-white sequences that suffer a little.

"Are you aware that you have two different email addresses on your website? Which one are we supposed to send to?" -Jimmy

Either is fine! They both go to the same place. Sam-at-samandfuzzy-dot-com is the more recent address, and on the redesigned site I'm working on, it will probably be the only one.

"So, I'm not going to ask for a detailed and possibly three-pronged Sam and Fuzzy timeline, but I am curious - are you acknowledging that the characters are ageing, or are you working on the idea that they have eternal youth? Just wondering because there's been quite a large passage of time across the Sam and Fuzzy story now...I can't be bothered going back to check how long has passed since he met fuzzy, but Sam must be getting on a bit!" -James

There is definitely an internal timeline that I follow, and characters do age accordingly. I've never worried about super precise dates, but I keep track of the various eras of the strip by approximate half-years. One of these days I should write it all out! I think it would be interesting to look at.

The first Sam and Fuzzy strips took place about four-and-a-half years prior to the current "present". In that time, Sam has spent half-a-year at X-Per-S taxi, half-a-year at Bunton's Books, a year on tour with Noosehead, a bit over half-a-year on the run in the underground, and two years running NMS. (One year pre-Devahi and one year post-Devahi.) He's aged from 25 to almost 30.

The flashbacks with Fuzzy and Hazel take place a few months shy of 7 years prior to the first strips.

Well, that's a wrap for this week. See you on Monday, team!

-Sam Logan

Conscience Cat

I've always had a soft spot for the Conscience Cat shirt. You might have guessed as much, since in my past posts about Rewrite History and Steam Power, I've talked about how the shirts I'm happiest with are almost always the designs that take one of my characters and graphically mesh them directly into some hand-lettered text. Conscience Cat definitely fits that bill. Plus, it's the oldest design of mine that we still sell!

Or at least, it was until Christmas, when it went out of stock in almost all sizes and stayed that way due to problems. Sorry about that! But good news: we finally got some more! They're back on sale now, and if the design still has some life in it, we'll do a better job of keeping it around this time.

And of course, we also have Conscience Cat whiteboards, too. Which just goes to show, there's more than one way to skin a cat. (Or to just print a cat on objects and sell them.)

-Sam Logan