Geek Tragedy Blog Archives

	December '07
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31 / DEC / 07 - 0845 CST : New Year, new strip... Hey folks. Just giving you a heads up that first strip of the new year (and the first one after my holiday week off) will be up tomorrow morning. So if you're looking for something to do while you're recovering from all the New Year's wackiness, you may want to drop by and check it out. Also, on Wednesday I'll be posting a little write up here about what you can expect from the GT universe in 2008. Plus there will be a new GT² up on Tuesday, and yet another full strip come Friday. Alrighty, that's it for now. See ya all in 2008! Later, -Ed **** 21 / DEC / 07 - 1447 CST : Half up... Hey folks. Sleep now, colours later. If time, colour last black and white strip too. Okay, bed now. Later, -Ed ** 20 / DEC / 07 - 1504 CST : It starts off small, and then gets bigger... Hey folks. I've posted the next GT² today instead of Friday, and full strip will be going up tomorrow. Just a time issue. Lots of Christmas stuff to get done as I'm sure most of you can relate to. Anyway, please keep in mind that after tomorrows strip I'll be taking the holiday week off from doing the strip. Still, there will be an special Christmas update on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that. Alrighty, I'm all done for now. See ya all tomorrow. Later, -Ed ** 17 / DEC / 07 - 0931 CST : I prefer to think of it as panel recycling... Hey folks. First off, I'd like to thank a couple of people out there who gave me their thoughts on "powerline" networking and how it worked (or I guess I should say, didn't work) for them. Y'all saved me a lot of money and aggravation it seems, so I really appreciate your input. Also, thanks to those of you who have taken the time to let me know your thoughts on how this storyline is progressing, and / or for weighing in on how you feel about the amount of text I put in the strips, and my own personal desire to maybe pull back a bit on that area of my storytelling. And speaking of the strip... Gently used art... First off, for those of you who checked for it any earlier then the wee hours of of Sunday night, you probably noticed it wasn't there. This actually had nothing to do with me not getting it done on time ('cause when that happens I will, as you no doubt know by now, post something about it here to give you a heads up) and everything to do with me neglecting to hit the "publish web" button after I updated the site. Yes, that's right. I've set things up so that even a monkey could update the site, but only if the monkey doesn't neglect to "flip the switch". And last but not least, I wanted to talk about the flashback sequence in this last strip, as well as the future flashbacks you'll be seeing as the story arc continues. Specifically why I chose to use black and white, and why I will be reusing panels from past strips. 1) Black and white : I've seen this technique used in movies a fair amount, and always liked the feel it gives to past events, so I figured it was worth a try. As well, I'll be doing something similar within the "A Girl and Her Fed" project I'm doing the artwork for next year, so I thought this would make for good practice. 2) Reusing / Revamping past panels : Okay, the only** reason I bring this up is that I know a very small group of people out there get all pissy about this sort of thing. And while I personally try to stay away from the practice of reusing old artwork (which by the way, I do simply to allow myself more opportunities to practice my craft, and not because I have some high-horse moral issue with it), in this case I felt it was warranted. So in an effort to address it right off the bat and save myself have to explain in individual e-mails later on, here's my thoughts on it. These are, after all, flashbacks. So in much the same way that when a show flashes back to a previous episode during a current one, they will sometimes reuse old footage instead of reshooting the exact same scene over again. And yes, this practice does make things a lot easier for me, saves me a lot of time, and gets my lazy ass out of drawing the exact same parking lot full of cars, but it also just plain makes a lot of sense. Still, despite the recycling of art work, whenever the script requires it or whenever I can , I will be altering the artwork to make it read better instead of just shoehorning old art in where it just doesn't fit. Also, because I really despise most of my early artwork, any flashbacks that requires me to go too far back in time will be redone completely (though I will use the old artwork as a guide). This way you'll still get that feeling of, "Oh, yeah, I remember when that happened", but you also have a chance to see what was going on off panel, in-between strips, or hidden from view within the panel. So there you have it. Now for the vast majority of you guys, I know none of this really matters, and that as long as you get your GT fix you're happy. But because I know full well that there are a few art Nazi's out there, I figured it would be worth mentioning it this one (and only) time. Alrighty folks. I'm pretty much done here, but before I go I wanted to let y'all know that there will be a new GT² up tomorrow and Friday, and a new full strip posted either Wednesday or Thursday. After that however, as I mention in a previous news post, I will be taking the week of Christmas off (save for a Christmas card style pic I'll be posting on the 25th). Okay, see ya tomorrow guys. Later, -Ed **** 13 / DEC / 07 - 1807 CST : Sleep now, replies tomorrow... Hey folks. Just a quick note before I head to bed. I'm a bit behind one responding to my e-mails right now, but I will do my best to correct that tomorrow. So if you haven't heard back from me this week, you should soon. Later, -Ed 1059 CST : Stop and go... Hey folks. Just stopping by quick to let y'all know that the next strip will definitely be up later tonight. Just grabbing a nap now (yes, I'm an 80 year old man living in a young(ish) man's body), and then I'm going to finish it up. Alrighty folks. I'll see ya when it's done. Later, -Ed ** 12 / DEC / 07 - 0845 CST : Safe, secure and more setting up... Hey folks. In response to the break-in that occurred at my house just over a month ago, I had a shiny new alarm system put in yesterday. Actually I ordered the system only a few days after the robbery, but as it turned out I had to wait three weeks for it to be installed. And even then they were two and a half hours late showing up to install the damn thing, but whatever, at least it's in now. By the way, did you know that not a single alarm company out there offers a "booby-trap" package? And what I found even more surprising was the fact that setting up your own homemade "labyrinth of death" type system is generally frowned upon (i.e. illegal). Oh, sure, everyone is always going on and on about how the Egyptians were such engineering geniuses, and that their pyramids and tomes are filled with such beauty and wonder, and blah, blah, blah. But yet when I want to build just one measly poison tipped arrow spitting death trap, simply as a celebration of that ancient civilization's fine craftsmanship, all of a sudden people get all pissy! Anyway, I've got a bunch of running around to do and have some stuff I need to set up at the house today (and no, sadly I'm not taking about whirling blades or pit spikes), so the strip may not be up till late tonight, or possibly tomorrow. Oh, and before I go, if anyone out there has ever used any type of "powerline" network devices in lieu of going with a straight wireless network, please drop me an e-mail and let me know what you think of them. I'm giving serious thought to picking something like this up, and if possible I'd kinda like to find out if it's worth it from someone who has some first hand knowledge. Later, -Ed ** 10 / DEC / 07 - 2247 CST : I need a moment to setup... Hey folks. I've got the artwork for the newest GT² done, but I won't be posting a strip there till tomorrow...and it won't be the one I originally made up for today. In true Geek Tragedy style I overwrote the strip (a bad habit of mine that I really am trying my best break), and so to avoid having it look like the last panel of this strip, I decided to do a setup strip to come before it. So far I've managed to keep continuity as far away from the squares as much as possible, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to do it once and a while. Oh, and in case you think I'm just giving you a "the internet ate my homework" type of excuse to cover up for my slacking, you can check out the artwork for what will now be Friday's GT² by clicking right here. However, if you don't like spoilers...well I guess you can just take my word for it. Or you can pretend it's a link to naked pictures of Rosie O'Donnell and stay away from the link for that reason. Y'know, whatever you need to tell yourself. Okay folks, I'm outta here. Later, -Ed ** 05 / DEC / 07 - 1242 CST : All good things, like colour, come to those who wait... Hey folks. As you can see the next strip is up, but I've yet to do the colours for it. However, I should have those all done up in the next couple of days. After that, the second part of the story should be up this weekend. I'm doing my best to take my time with this storyline in regards to both the artwork and the panel layouts (and hopefully it'll show). I'm also trying to reign in my natural instincts to overload the strips with horrific amounts of text. Granted, this will most likely mean that the story will run a few more installments than I originally planned for, but I think in the end it'll be worth the extra effort. Oh, and just so you know, for the time being it looks like my update schedule for the main strips will be Wednesday's and weekends, with the GT² strips going up Mondays and Fridays. Let's hope it holds true for more than just one week. Okay, I'm off to shovel the devil's dandruff (aka: snow). Later, -Ed ** 04 / DEC / 07 - 1537 CST : At my own pace... Hey folks. Just letting you know that I'm currently working on the next full strip, and that it should be up Wednesday night. Now I know that the updates aren't happening on their normal days, but I hope that isn't throwing too many of you off. However I am still committed to giving you guys four strips per week, so even if they're not falling on the regular days, keep in mind that I'll still going to be doing my best to give them all to you. Okay, back to work for me. Later, -Ed ** 03 / DEC / 07 - 1013 CST : Short but...uh...short... Hey folks. There will be a new GT² up later today. That's all I got to say right now. Later, -Ed ****