Mere DAYS after we started our tagline contest, we’re now ready to proceed to the Finalist Round. I’ve narrowed down our 300+ entries to 15 Finalists. But before I pick the winner and send them their Sheldon Original Art, I wanted to put it up for public comment and see which one(s) you guys were leaning towards. So cast your vote, below! And a huge thank you to all who participated. I hope you had fun coming up with taglines!
(And if you want to re-read ALL of the entries, you can go here.)
1.) The Manatee Shirts will be shipping out on Tuesday/Wednesday. Huzzah! All orders which had contained a Manatee shirt will be going out then.
2.) Due to some shortages on American Apparel’s larges and mediums, we had to change the color of the shirt from “Heather Black” to “Black”. Here’s the revised color:
…If anyone had purchased the shirt specifically for the Heather Black look, and would like to change/cancel your order let me know. We’ll happily fix what needs fixin’! 🙂
3.) Because we switched to true-Black as a color, I’m happy to say we can now also offer 3XLs! So, for everyone who had asked for a larger size, here you go!
ON A RELATED NOTE: I totally want to do one of these of Arthur or Flaco…or maybe Flaco/Arthur/Oso in cowboy mode. But the trick for me is getting the characters *juuuuust right* in full 3-D. If a Sheldonista out there is really good at 3-D renders, drop me a line!
This is the kind of ridiculous pseudo-story that’s fun to link to…if for no other reason than to talk about good name-construction. Specifically, what I’ll call the Cryptozoological Name-Construction System.
Basically, it breaks down like this: (Semi-Remote Nation or Region) + (Seemingly Harmless Animal) + (The Word “Fanged” or “Blood” or “Man-Killer” or “Deathmonger”).
Feel free to try it at home:
– “The North-Bolivian Fanged Rabbit”
– “The Lithuanian Blood Parrot”
– “The Nova Scotian Deathmonger Goose”
– “The Welsh Hooked-Claw Badger”
…feel free to submit your own, below! But be forewarned: You’ll be hard-pressed to beat “The Lithuanian Blood Parrot”. I’m proud of that one.
I’m behind on putting the photos up from the Pugs Book-Launch Party, but I wanted to take a sec to thank all those who came out and showed their support: Thanks to you, we ended up giving $150 to SPCA Los Angeles, which was great!
Dipping into the inbox for a minute, I thought I’d share two pics with you:
Sheldonista Erika C. sent in this awesome pic of her pug Boris as Darth Vader. I love the look on Boris’ face: I genuinely can’t tell if he’s acting tough for the role, or if it’s just that he can’t imagine a worse indignity than wearing this costume. Probably a little from Column A and a little from Column B. 🙂
Sheldonista Ryan P. sent in some pics of the recent framing of his Sheldon Original Art:
I thought I’d share this one with you since the double-matted black-and-white look is a particularly nice look around a cartoon. So for all of you who have a Sheldon Original but haven’t yet framed it up — it’s a good look to keep in mind.
Thanks, as always, for all the pics you guys send in!
I am so excited to announce this: The Savannah College of Art & Design has invited my buddy Scott Kurtz and I down for an awesome engagement. On Monday, October 13th, we’ll be visiting various art classes to give spot lectures, critiques, and some hands-on instruction on the creation of sequential art and comics.
Then, on Tuesday, October 14th at 8 PM, we’ll be giving a free public talk at SCAD’s 1,100-seat Trustees Theater on the art and business of Webcomics (…and more broadly, how all visual artists can build their career online).
Seriously: You have got to look at this theater…..
…What an amazing venue! And Scotty and I are pretty fun public speakers, so it should make for a good night all around.
After the talk, we’ll of course be signing and sketching in copies of “How to Make Webcomics”, as well as PvP books and Sheldon books.
Come on out if you’re within drivin’ distance — I almost never get to go to the South, so I hope a lot of Southern Sheldonistas will come out and say “hi”!
(Scott put together that fantastic promo poster, featuring Savannah’s Forsythe Park Fountain. Check out a full-shot of his fantastic background drawing.)
It’s just around the corner: Baltimore Comic-Con, Sept 27 and 28! I’ll be there exhibiting with my “How to Make Webcomics” co-authors at the Halfpixel booth. I’m especially excited, as this is the only time I’m heading to the Northeast this year.
I’ll have all five Sheldon books in tow, as well as shirts, buttons, Glornaks, and original comic strip art! (E-mail me if you have a specific strip you’d like, to make sure I bring it with me.)
And don’t forget to collect your big con-exclusive: The “Baltimore Comic-Con Commemorative High-Five.” Only 85 in stock!
Just a reminder: To make sure we order the right quantity, please have your manatee order in by Friday. I know there’s gonna be one dude or dudette that e-mails me next week and says “OhwaitholdthephoneIwantone”. Please don’t be that dude or dudette. 🙂
(Also, the store will inconveniently be down for an hour or so, Thursday, from 11 PM PDT to 12 or 12:30. So avoid shopping at that hour. College students, I’m lookin’ at you.)
It’s the small things that sometimes get you. Today’s strip, for example? My favorite part is that the elven character is wearing plaid on the cover of the “70-Foot Hobbit”. It’s a tiny little detail that probably only cracked me up.
The Eagle & The Child, by the way, is a real pub. My wife and I shared many a bitter in there, in the back corner where JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and others used to hold their “Inklings” meetings. For a nerd like me, it was nirvana. Also, the bitter was good. If you’re ever in Oxford…do swing by The Eagle & The Child (or The Bird & The Baby, as it’s also known).
Related note: I love how the English always have nineteen names for their local pub. When I lived in Canterbury, I swear my local had 500 different nicknames. You never knew what people were referring to when they asked you to meet up for a pint. 🙂
