best wishes
The Blockhams in "NIGHTMARE!"
Filed under:
NIGHTMARE!
Something has young Charlie Blockham stirring in the midnight hour...
and only his mother, well-versed in the lore of Michigan football,
can disarm his anxiety and put his fears to rest.
(Click the image to view full size)
I have found that, so far, Charlie is far and away the easiest Blockham to write for.
I've tried to keep the cast appearances relatively well rounded so far to allow the
readers to get to know the family. But the truth is there's already more Charlie strips
in the can than anyone else. He's just fun to create.
Look for more Charlie, this time interacting with his dad, later this week.
THE BLOCKHAMS™ runs every Tuesday here at MGoBlog, and at least every
Thursday on its official home page. Also, don't forget to check out our newest feature,
Friday Roughs, a spontaneous low-end comic based on current Michigan events, available on Twitter and Facebook every Friday.
Follow THE BLOCKHAMS™ on Twitter at @theblockhams and
on facebook at www.facebook.com/theblockhams.
January 24th, 2012 at 11:53 AM | 
Nicely done
Nicely done
January 24th, 2012 at 12:22 PM |
Good question
Good question
The strips are all drawn by hand, first in pencil and then inked (been experimenting with flexible anime tip pens lately, in fact). They're then shot and brought into a digital environment for coloring, lettering, and other considerations.
It's all existing software and techniques, but the exact methodology is something of my own creation, so I'm a little protective of quite how it's done. I stumbled upon a recipe of specific tools and functions during the creation of the Fall 2011 MGoShirts, the unused Night Game concept in particular, that really put a light bulb over my head in process.
As a result, I can typically draw a strip in a half-hour, ink it in another half-hour if I'm lucky (I'm a recovering detail freak, and efficiency can be, well, hard), and then have it all in place in another hour or two. I'm very comfortable in saying I can do these in three hours, and realistically four from concept to published page or pages and social media updates.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:23 PM |
Wow, very interesting. Thanks
Wow, very interesting. Thanks
Wow, very interesting. Thanks for spending all that time to put each one together. You've joined an elite list of websites that are permanently bookmarked in my FF toolbar.
January 24th, 2012 at 1:28 PM |
Thanks
Thanks
It's really not that much time-- Three hours, give or take the story I'm trying to tell... sometimes more, sometimes less. All depends on the subject.
Now, the Friday Roughs, on the other hand, can be fun because it's all on the fly. It's gonna be pretty much a rule that even a half-hour on those is too much time. Granted the end product isn't as solid, but it's all about being timely with something that's currently trending throughout the fan base.
January 25th, 2012 at 8:30 AM |
Do you take suggestions?
Do you take suggestions?
I suppose the potential for legal ramifications may exist, but do you or would you considewr taking suggestions from your viewing public? Just thinking it may be interesting to have a Lloyd Brady character visit from time to time - providing there are no copyright or proprietary impacts of course.
I'm a Michigan Man - win, lose, live, or die...and when I pass on send my spirit to the maize block M in the big blue sky.
Blu2NColOH
January 25th, 2012 at 9:09 AM |
Thanks for the offer
Thanks for the offer
But this one's my own creation, and I've got a lot of things I want to do with it. But I have also, of course, learned to never say never.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:59 PM |
Thanks Six Zero
Thanks Six Zero
My Alabama friends are going to love this...Spartan friends, not as much.
January 24th, 2012 at 6:24 PM |
Huh?
Huh?
What are spartan friends?
Andy, for the last time, I don't want your giant box of pornography.
January 24th, 2012 at 1:24 PM |
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work SixZero.
Blue is Faster
January 24th, 2012 at 5:07 PM |
My son love your strip. He
My son love your strip. He
My son love your strip. He just told me he wished they were our neighbors.
And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know it’s going to be Michigan again. Michigan!
January 24th, 2012 at 6:04 PM |
Love how Charlie
Love how Charlie
has a poster of both his namesake and Denard hanging on his bedroom walls. Like any great work of art, truly appreciate the details.
Brady Hoke - High quality recruits one or two at a time.
January 25th, 2012 at 11:25 AM |
Pillow?
Pillow?
I also like the small touches, such as the small Batman figure in the bottom right corner. I was wondering, what is under Charlie's pillow?
Time circuits on... Flux Capacitor... fluxing... Denard running...
January 25th, 2012 at 5:38 PM |
It looks like
It looks like
a Batman action figure.
"I recently heard from fans and friends that Michigan will be great again one day. In my opinion, Michigan never stopped being great." --Zac Ciullo
January 25th, 2012 at 10:22 PM |
Spartan friends
Spartan friends
Are the homeless that beg you for change in the Costco parking lot.
Trollin' like my daddy!
January 26th, 2012 at 4:19 AM |
This one hits real close to
This one hits real close to
This one hits real close to home. For my kids the story was the mighty Wolverines beating the evil Buckeyes.
In such a cynical, sarcastic society, oftentimes looking for the negative on anybody or anything, if you're fortunate enough to spend five minutes or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it. -Thom Brennaman
February 22nd, 2012 at 6:42 PM |
Wonderful work
Wonderful work
I didn't think it was inked by pen first! That is really amazing that you can sketch it only half hour. I have really enjoyed looking at this work Bathroom Renovation Ideas
How long does it take you to make one of these strips? Do you do all of the illustrating on your computer; or do you make them on paper first, them translate them to the computer?