Day 211: a butterfly

30.07.14: "Ridire Dáithí de Burca lead the dTiarnaí ar an Cosantóirí Lú as they charged na Ridirí Brathar ólta at the Valley an Seacláid. His bravery and ultimate sacrifice went down in the books of Ár Stair Fada as the greatest Amadán Mhór of all and glasses are being raised in his name till this day...just never on the day of Déardaoin..."

     I think I broke Google Translate and I probably own huge apologies to any and all speakers of Gaelic. This is a "reward" to my good friend who answered yesterday's questions within the first 30 minutes of the post going up. Here's to you, Dáithí. Or in the tradition of the dTiarnaí ar an Cosantóirí Lú: anseo a thabhairt duit, tá tú fear amaideach!!

Day 210: French fries

29.07.14: another one of those where the idea just popped in there and I was stuck. I send by my previous claim that I am not a good caricaturist, (see day 62) what I do do is look at other people's caricatures of the person I want draw and take bits and pieces from each. This time around, the major influence was Stephen Lorenzo Walkes. His caricatures are amazing, so I hope you check it out.

     Now, can someone answer Jules' question and also say which movie he is from?

Day 209: a zombie

28.07.14: scarier than any zombie-movie; a baby who doesn't know what night is... Luckily for us, Junior is not that bad. There have been some bad nights but not too many zombie-nights. 

     Speaking of Junior, this is the first time he features. Sure he has been here a few times already (day 200, 192, 187, 182 and 178) but has always had to share the limelight with his big sister.

     Also been a while since I shared a double page spread (since day 179 actually), so I give you two. Kind of presents it in a slightly different light, don't you think?

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 208: a pile of tires

27.07.14:  when this idea popped in my head, I was gonna draw Jon Pay or some random gangster, but back on day 202 (and consequently day 205) I was challenged by my sister-in-law to draw more "strong, in charge, powerful" female characters and I thought this would be the perfect chance to draw one of my favorite characters from Cobb City, Sergeant Linda O'Meilly of the Cobb City Police Department. This is a female character in a 1930s world who has not only gotten into the CCPD, she has also managed to rise to the rank of sergeant!! I think she is extremely kick-@$$! And just to show how much I've grown, she is no longer sporting the mini-skirt I had her in in Jon Pay vs. Machine-Gun Kelley. She is now wears a very practical and nice three-piece, pinstripe suite (not wearing the jacket here or in day 84). I really hope I get to use her in more stories!

     (And by the way, I DO know I am using the quote wrong...)

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 207: a crowd

16.07.14: opposite of yesterday, really liking my idea but not giving myself enough time to execute. I kind of hope I redo this one at some point, cause I think it's a cute idea. Cliché and probably been done before, but this is my (two's company, three is a) crowd.

(All characters are © and ™ C. A. Abø 2014)

Day 206: stiletto heels

25.07.14: both kinds of stilettos... kinda... This one of those ideas where I got a little over halfway and realized I wasn't crazy about the idea but it was too late to turn back so I completed it. Hope you like it better than I do... 

     Have a great weekend!

Day 205: a chalkboard

24.07.14: I figured I had already done a "tip of the hat" to Asterix, Lucky Luke and Spirou/Sprint (twice, actually...) so when I saw this chance to so a chance to do one from le Petite Spirou/Lille Sprint,  I could not pass it up. I have to point out though, that this drawing of Ma. Prof. De Calcul/frøken Brøk/Miss. Fraction can only be signed as "after Janry (the original artist)" as this is almost a line for line copy.

     In the Kubert school we were given an assignment to emulate or copy an other cartoonists style as closely as we could. It was a way of trying to learn how the other artist was thinking as well as trying to draw differently to our normal style. (Plus if said artist was every hit by a bus or eaten by a bear, we could draw his or her book and nobody would know...) I had the opportunity a few years later to actually show my three pages to the artist whose style had attempted to emulate. I figured it was a complement as this was an artist whose work I really respected. The artist (who shall remain nameless) wanted to get a hold of my art teacher who had given me this assignment as this was the most stupid and waste of time assignment the artist had ever heard of and that nobody would learn anything from such an assignment, and didn't even want to look at the pages.

     After getting over the shock of the artist's reaction and looking at art history, I really can't get over how wrong I think the artist was. For centuries this is a tested method of learning to draw. Back in the day, apprenticies learned their trade by copying their masters' already existing paintings and sculptures. And by applying proper drawing technics such motion-lines and construction-drawing (as appose to just trying to copy the lines) you are forcing yourself to try to think like the master you are emulating and you will learn so much from doing this. That is way I still enjoy doing this today and why I enjoyed this sketch and the others I mentioned above.

     (As for the artist, I still really enjoy his work but I am in no rush to meet him again...)

Day 204: a pumpkin

23.07.14: I love the fact that this is actually a Disney good guy!! I mean when you are talking Disney you think fairies, stuffed animals and pink flamingos (to mention but a few things). You don't expect Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King of A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Day 203: binoculars

22.07.14: poor, Jon. Trust Gus to enjoy a classic prank like shoe-polish on the binoculars... But after my (evidently) dirty and sexist drawing yesterday, I figured a little innocent, clean fun was due today. 

     (I was going to draw the binoculars of my favorite tiny explorer from day 175 and day 34, but I figured A) I drew it pretty well on both days and B) I believe that would be called a telescope, binoculars...)

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 202: a treasure chest

21.07.14: this is the pirate captains daughter, lovingly named Treasure and this also shows her chest upon which many a pirate and sailor have tried to put their hands... What are you talking about? There is nothing dirty here?!? I am drawing attention to Treasure's chest that men want to grab the valuables within... Her chest! Her chest!? The one under her arm! Oh, you didn't notice that one? Well, now who's got a dirty mind?!!

     Sorry, had to go with popped in to my silly little mind. And besides I haven't done anything like this since day 26 tube socks and day 43 Pom-poms, hopefully you forgive me...

Day 201: a Quonset hut

20.07.14: for those non military personnel out there, don't worry, I had to look up what a Quonset hut was too...

     Actually, this is a shot I have been wanting to do for quite some time. I have a feeling I might be redoing it when I finally decide/write the full story behind it. For now it is Jon Pay and the Cobb City recruits when they had completed boot camp before heading out to fight in the "Great War". For those of you paying attention, that is Charles Urchel from JP vs. Machine-gun Kelley and next to him is Ray Fechs and Wolfgang Manitoba (day 165, 141, 128 and 74). Even if I don't have plans to put them in stories, I believe they will put themselves in some of my stories...

(All characters are © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 200: electricity

20.07.14: static electricity it true love, you choose. And I know the boss is expressing what you are all thing. At any rate, this one IS true!!

     As for the milestone, I am as shocked (no pun intend...) if not way more so than I was at day 100. Things have changed since I started this. If nothing else, we are now a family of four (and a full nights sleep is a thing of the past). I am really (for the most part) enjoy this project, although I must admit it does get tough at times and the result is not always at the level I would like it to be. But, thank you everyone for checking out my doodles for the last 200 days. Hopefully I will make it all the way to day 642...

     On day 100 my cousin accidentally put something in play, so I am repeating it here on day 200: out of all the 200 sketches which are your top five (or if you don't have time for five, I'll take three. I will even settle for your favorite or the one you for some reason remember the most). Hope to hear from a lot of you. Thanks again for sticking around!

     (By the by, my top five are (for different reasons):

Day 176: a Christmas tree

Day 148: a pair of scissors

Day 111: worst enemies

Day 14: mushrooms

Finally I am torn between day 95: a cinder block and day 79: a teapot)

Day 199: a cleaver

18.07.13: I felt I had a perfect excuse to draw Rod (the) Hatcett,one if the baddies from Jon Pay: Prizefighters and Knockerbockers. He is not nice man, but than again, baddies aren't suppose to be, no matter what Wreck-it Ralph says!!!

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 198: cat whiskers

17.07.14: this was the firstcomic-book-/cartoon character I learned to draw and there (probably why) this was the first thing that popped in my head when I read cat whiskers.

Day 197: a trolley car

16.07.14: for me this falls under "it should have been better" but unfortunately Junior has decided to kick our behind these days...

     My actual first trolley car. Beside Jon Pay in the second to last window and thebank-robbers just getting, I wanted to have something happening in each window. Didn't happen. Going to bed. 

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 196: a pound

15.07.14: ...cake. A pound CAKE!! See what I did there?!? And I made it TWO pounds, so there!!!!

     I'm sorry. It's called "lack of sleep"... I had different (wacky) ideas, but as it turned out, so did Jr...

Day 195: a lunchbox

14.07.14: lunchbox roulette. I was amazed at how far back documented history went on the historical game. Granted it has changed throughout time; roman legionnaires used knives much like the bayonets of WWI. The ancient Greeks spun a spoon and the lunch-boxes where gold plate and the Egyptian Pharos spun slaves for five course feasts.

     ...or I simply made it up. You decide...

Day 194: a weathervane

13.07.14: listened to my wife for a change and only drew what was required. Still, I do think there is one or to stories up there...

Day 193: a marble

12.07.14: hey, at least I didn't say the actual punch line... And I drew more than one marble. (But for the record, Jon is right: only some rich guy who has lost his marbles, would pay a PI to find said marbles... Think about it...)

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 192: an ice cream cone

11.07.14: the Boss starts Baby Brothers education, and we start with the important stuff.

     Have a nice weekend everyone!

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 191: a saxophone

10.07.15: too tired to make it any tighter... Saxophone...

Day 190: county fair

09.07.14: this is called "being extremely genius and creative with the theme" (or as some might chose to see it "not wanting to draw the suggested theme at one in the morning and drawing what you want"). Either way inspiration hit and I ended up creating the DaWoods kids. May be a little crude in several ways... Oh, well...

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø)

Day 189: a microphone

08.07.14: whoever did not see this one (or something really similar) coming, does not know me at all!!! And it gave me a chance to introduce Radio WQB2's sports reporter Walter Palaestral (he is ringside for all the boxing matches in Jon Pay: Prizefighters & Knickerbockers including the  main-event, the title fight between ruling champ El Billy Tremendo and ... Oh, sorry... That would be telling...)

     Hop you like it!

(All characters © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 188: an airplane

07.07.14: ...an airplane... And yeah, that's Jon on the wing... It's all I got. Going to bed. 

Day 187: flags

06.07.14: If this one is not self-explanatory, I don't think I am doing this right... Either way there are flags in there and this is how the bday planning is gonna go...

Day 186: a baseball

05.07.14: my boy is 1 month old today!! Seems like we've already had him forever... Sorry, totally irrelevant but I just had to share. 

     I keep saying I am trying to say something or tell some sort of a story with every sketch, but today (or rather tonight) I did my best to tell too much of the story... Doc Monster, I am sure I breaking a lot of rules here but please consider this my commitment to actually draw this script someday!! For everyone else, all I'll say is that it is a signed baseball given as a gift. Other than that I ain't sayin' nottin', so don't ask!!

Day 185: a turtle

04.07.14: even the wife thought this one was obvious but she amazed the poop out of me by quoting and making references to the cartoon that I had forgotten. AND she was able to name all four turtles. How cool is that?!?

     Had not drawn one of these guys since I was a teenager. Took some liberties (but evidently that's okey these days... Just hope the movie doesn't totally bombs...) and was influenced by different defences I found. Bad fun though. 

     Happy fourth to all my American friends and family. 

Day 184: a top hat

03.07.14: okey, train-of-thought; top hat - magicians top hat - bunny in magicians top hat - what bunny do you not expect to be pulled out of a magicians top hat? Usagi Yojimbo, the samurai bunny!!! Oh, come on!!! That does SO makes sense!!

Day 183: a rotary phone

02.07.14: I know they made rotary phones after the candle stick telephone but none of them looked nearly as cool!! Plus any opportunity to draw Jon Pay ticked off, I will jump at!!

(Jon Pay © and ™ C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 182: handprints

01.07.14: started put being the cookie jar but I figured chocolate ice cream left better handprints.

Day 181: a shooting star

31.06.14: too ambitious? And besides, anyone's whose ever been involved with theater know that this scene could never happen!! Seriousely: an actress emptying a tommy gun simple because of a bad review?!? Come on, no actress (or actor for that matter) is that high-strung...