Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Design_catalyst.Sun

We started design work over at Catalyst for this French band called Namaste, but I guess the project got canceled, so I'll be posting some of the sketches.

We had a few designs, this is one of them.

It has to do with their song "Sweet Sunshine," but I can't remember exactly why...!

Reuxben

Monday, December 28, 2009

fun_ntstas.urmom

Hey, have you ever wanted to see jack kelly's note to self comics acted out? Me neither.

So here's "ur mom," in three dee and everything, the first in a series we're going to call note to self: the animated series.

Reuxben

Friday, December 25, 2009

Fun_MerryMerryChristmas

I don't have any Christmas art stored up, so I might update with something else, but for now, have a Merry Christmas.

Hope you had a good time. I realized that having a fuzzy kitty laying on and warming my feet as I watch my favorite DVR'd musical performances from various talk shows while I nibble a bar of chocolate is pretty great as far as Christmases go.

Presents--are they even necessary at this point? Nah.

God bless,

Reuxben

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Fun_Oldboy

I saw this movie called "Oldboy" (main character at left) in the JE Theater after finals. I arrived an hour into it, so I had no idea what was going on; I could only kinda piece it together (yikes). Our pal Spoogleberg is making an adaptation of the comic, starring Wiiru Smissu, I heard.

Usually, I just watch the Iron Giant after finals, but I ran out of time this semester and I forgot my DVD at the dorm, so this was definitely a change up from my routine, boy.

In conclusion: December is for Cynics.

Reuxben

Monday, December 21, 2009

Fun_NyaoAndLater

Such adventures we've had, Nyao! After a reassuring chat with a footballista on the unusually punctual CT Limo, CT's snowstorm delayed us, stranding us in the Vegas after a missed connexn. So we watched and listened to podcasts all night in the airport and then flew back to rest our bones, bound for Diego, where we'd deal with misplaced luggage for the first time ever!

And with some help from 3 songs for 2 dollars, we oneirically rocked this spit, smug in the knowledge that others would prefer you blow $2.

When I got home, I learned we have a new cat! I still miss Mr. Feeny, don't you?

In conclusion: Christmas Is Awesome.

Reuxben

Friday, December 18, 2009

Fun_YaleDailyChews

Aight, homies, here da dill. Next semester I'm going to draw comics for the Yale Daily News every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I will no longer contribute regularly to the Herald. And just to spite those groans of indifference, I'm putting a gun to jack kelly's head if he so much as reaches for anything resembling a post-it note. Et tu, Gerardo? I feel like we just met...

It was all a difficult, heartbreaking decision. I've been with the Herald since Freshman Year, it's hands down the best place for comics, and they're even improving comics' treatment next semester to boot. The reality is that simply not enough people read the Herald for it to be worthwhile. I'm basically dumping my Yale experience down the toilet in the meager hope that I can get good enough at this all to draw for a living. The Herald has been a great training ground, but the readership just isn't there, and I need feedback in order to figure out how I'm doing and what works.

The YDN, assuming it gets its ridiculously inadequate online comics-hosting act together (at least to the serviceable standing it was last board), is much more reliable for feedback. But with the Herald, I'd maybe get an occasional IRL comment, which was nice and everything, but from my editors, I would literally get feedback on things as trivial as how cleverly I hid my signature in the week's comic! There's at least the scent that the YDN actually takes comics considerably more seriously, despite being such a comics-unfriendly environment.

But anyway, I can't bring myself to completely abandon the Herald, as that would feel not only disloyal, but also artistically unwise, so I will submit a comic now and then, but perhaps this semi-retirement will allow me to have some time to actually experience Yale in my upcoming final semester. Among many other taxes, Herald Comics has taken a physical strain on me too, so I am hoping this all adds up to more time for other projects (if not more time for Removal standard comics in print (spot the difference) as well as a less physically-demanding schedule.

So Friday's especially important and controversial since it's not only my old Herald day, but it's also the day I suspect is the slowest at the YDN, despite expert advice indicating otherwise. I hope they know what they're talking about. And I hope you stop by on Fridays. I so enjoy our time together.

Oh...and the top drawing is a group photo I took of me and my "new" editors. Don't we look succulent? I often wonder, if I were to meet myself, would I befriend me? I would probably seem weird and foreign, so no. However, I have actually tasted myself, and I've discovered that I'm disgusting. The others have much tastier names. They serve me up in Commons sometimes, though, if you'd ever like a piece of me.

Also, this is post 400,

Reuxben

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Fun_Feeni-Feeni

Someone once asked about Nyao, so here's this:

When I was developing Zero Like Me, I knew I wanted it to star a depressed guy and his peppy, loyal sidekick who would constantly be trying to cheer him up. The opposite of a sad boy is a happy girl, so I was leaning towards that arrangement. But I was taking a course called Stories of the Strange, full of tales about downtrodden characters meeting fantastic people and creatures. Well, at the time we were studying "Puss in Boots," and that story was basically what I was looking for thematically: the loser main character is nothing without his loyal sidekick to rescue him from his pathetic life, the only one who will stick up for him, help him, and support him to the death, even at personal risk and cost. I thought it was pretty cool how that cat was literally willing to kill people just to make sure his master's fortune went well.

So I thought of my cat, Mr. Feeny, and the way he's always smiling his little cat smile no matter what, but is also always just a little off in his own world, too, and I knew a cat was the perfect symbol but thought it would be difficult to sustain a non-humanoid sidekick. So to keep the feline element, I fused the two by making the sidekick an alien cat being.

Originally she was just nominally an alien, but looked perfectly human; just her costuming bore the cat motifs, which severely restricted her wardrobe to stripes and hoods with ears. So I went for broke and just attached the ears, but decided stripes would be her signature fashion trope, so she can basically wear anything now. I modeled her optimism/apathy after my cats', Oliver and Mr. Feeny, and her costuming just follows two rules: stripes must be somewhere in the outfit, and she always (cough) wears her bell. And she, unlike Zero, can even wear JE gear, too.

Her first name comes from a tweak on a rock singer's name (Nao) as well as the Japanese counterpart of meow (Nya), and Feeni-Feeni is from Mr. Feeny. So there you go.

Reuxben

Monday, December 14, 2009

Fun_zeRock

How many life decisions did you make this weekend? I believe I made two. More on that this Friday.

What's more important right now is that tomorrow's the big launch! Of what? Of The Rollover Motive's debut EP, presumably located here! Aren't they called "Stray Balloon" now? And wasn't the more recent name simply "Rollover Motive," sans "the"? Yes and yes! But I greatly prefer the first version. So to get pumped for that, here's some rock themed artwork, wherein everything digests my dinosaur life.

Also, I've decided to start a rock band. It's like Arctic Monkeys meets The Roots. Basically Gorillaz type action. Only da bess join dis croo.

So besides the two big decisions, I had a pretty eventful weekend in general, actually: I lunched at the Friars' Club in New York and met the author whose book I used in my comedy history paper (he interviewed both old time Yalie Dick Cavett and '94 Yalie/Ex!t Player Allison Silverman). Comics Club launched Escape! and it sold out within 48 hours. I submitted a paper via email just before deadline, but discovered an hour later that I had attached the wrong file (the annotated outline, not the final draft). I learned I missed "Stray Balloon"'s likely final performance of the year. My boss dropped some Bull Tales on me that I'd never seen before (thank you). I bounced between ecstasy and depression and landed in neutral. Two separate young men in an hour's span asked me for input on their aspirations for naked escapades. I wrote a bunch of new comics, some of which could make certain people really uncomfortable, myself included.

All that in one weekend. What did you do? Write a paper? Loser. Study for a test? Loser. Consort with friends? Loser...

In conclusion: order lies within disaster.

Reuxben

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Fun_Escape!Arrives

Just to update what we're looking at here, Escape! is now out in print! You can find some incredible original comics, and a beautiful cover, but we've also collected a bunch of great reprints from the Herald and the YDN.

Free bookmark not included with purchase of free Escape!. Only available while supplies last. Void where prohibited. Please drink responsibly.

All my reprinted comics that were posted on this site with "updated art coming soon" have been touched up so they now look better than originally printed, and are in line with their Removal versions.

But what I'm most excited about is that you may now view certain comics "uncensored." I don't like that sensationalist word, but it's technically true, and it's hecka funny saying that I've been censored. Multiple times.

Imagine that.

The YDN's Zero Like Me gets a section.

So if you're a Rumpus person and you think you're clever second guessing me, guess what, you're not. Yeah, I said it. Just kidding. But seriously, now you can see the original for yourself. Isn't that neat how the depth you're looking for in a comic actually did/does exist?

The Herald's Zero Like Me: Zero Romance also gets a section.

No censorship issues there, just updated aesthetics, but that fool jack kelly does get to print some cut material, too. Might want to drink that all in, it'll have to last for a while.

So take a look at me now,

Reuxben

Friday, December 11, 2009

Fun_Headshout2

The following is a Headshout. I repeat, it is only a Headshout.

Yale Comics Club's Magazine, Escape!, is OUT NOW!
Featuring original comics plus excellent reprints of:
Dead Squirrel Shenanigans
Quiet Glen Mind Police
Confused AKDMKS
Zero Like Me*
note to self*
*The uncensored, updated artwork now in print.

The preceding has been a Headshout. Had this been an actual comic, it would have been accompanied with backgrounds, bodies, and bubbles.

Reuxben

Penny_dm.BigRisky

So, the last Deal of Doggie Mojo is out in the latest issue of the Penny Dreadful.

In "Big Risky," the volume finale, Lillis confronts the Galaxy Police's mighty Admiral Megan Megan.

As I understand it, the story's getting massive edits, so even I don't know how this one's turning up. It may also be changed into a more finite ending, but it was written to continue on, so who knows how this'll shake out.

Ridiculously busy. Full update and pencils coming soon.

Reuxben

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

YDN_zlm.SoArbitrary

That's right, walk away.

Zero Like Me #60:
So Arbitrary
<- Previous...Next->
-First-

Easter Eggs: "Yale" in Panel 2.

Fun Facts: Silliman master's house.

Baa: Quite busy right now.

End of semester thank yous--

Thanks: Reed, Pete, Harrison, Sarah N.

Special thanks: Richard, Sarah M., those people that found me in the JE computer lab, Mr. C.

Updated artwork on this and the semester's backlog coming soon.

Reuxben

Monday, December 7, 2009

Fun_FinalExit

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am no Ex!t fan. Their only real attraction is Jeopardy!, but beyond that I just can't get into it no matter how many times I try; I'd take the Crayon over Ex!t any day. I'm doing a paper for my comedy history class, and I came across an interview with big time Ex!t alumna, Allison Silverman '94, (Late Night Conan, Daily Show, and Colbert), and even she gave the Crayon a vague thumbs up over her own troupe.

Asked how the Ex!t Players differed from Yale's other groups, she responded, "I thought they were the flat-out funniest. There was another group that performed long-form material, but I didn't really understand that method until after I graduated. In retrospect, I prefer long form. But, at the time, short form was my preference." (Mike Sacks, And Here's the Kicker, 234)

But to stay positive, here's a sketch from a meeting about college seminars. I was just in it to push JE to get first dibs on a comedy writing seminar, but it looks like that class didn't even get picked up at all! Anyway, I think it's hilarious that this guy is so JE, and yet he's actually quite agreeable. I'm a big fan of voices, and he's got one of my favorites: it makes me think of Napoleon Dynamite mixed with peanut butter. Haha.

I just wonder why he and this guy do not have accents. I'm from California, so I'm pretty ignorant, but aren't Southerners supposed to have accents? I've only heard one legit "Y'all come back now, hear?" sorta Southern accent at Yale ever. It was so ridiculous, I thought someone was making fun of Southerners, but that was how the person actually spoke! Hilarious! Okay. Better stop talking about Southerners before I get into trouble.

Finally, here's a Zero sketch for the kids, also drawn during the Ex!t show, which brings me to my main point--this time it's for real: never will I ever attend another Ex!t show. No more $2 entrance fees. No more sitting patiently for Jeopardy!, that's it.

It's no real loss, since no one in the gang is particularly fun to draw anymore, although there's that Yugoni (pictured above), who looks just like Genchaka. And that guy was seriously fun to draw. It's got to be the shnauz. Intense.

Reuxben

Friday, December 4, 2009

Herald_zlm.UpInSmoke

It's like there's a nuke in my mouth and everybody's invited.

Zero Like Me #59
Zero Romance #12:
Up In Smoke
<- Previous...Next->
-First-

Easter Eggs: Romance 12 on fallout sign. Mr. K refs two people. The first is one of my elementary school teachers who really did get arrested, but for something entirely different from drug use. The second is one of, if not the first Yale people I met beyond my FroCo(s) and my suitemates Freshman Year. Pretty much since my second week at Yale, he's been so welcoming and supportive personally, even before the comics, and especially this year, but it is a horrid fact that he is weeks from graduation. Also, ref'd a freakishly stylish lad; 98% of the time during class, I couldn't understand a word he was saying, although he seems to like comics, so beyond his killer style, he's all aces.

Fun Facts: I'm considering quitting the Herald, and I was just about convinced to stay on until I met a fan in the JE lab while scanning this, who says that although he rarely reads the YDN even he knows my comics, but only from there, meaning (all jokes aside), people really don't read the Herald. So it seems like a wise business move to blitz the YDN, but the Herald is finally becoming the haven for comics I always knew it was and could be again, so aside from pure loyalty, I feel I should stick around since it is more comics-friendly. I hate to be so upfront, but if you have any input, please give me some advice on what to do and where you read my comics, either by voting in the poll in the top right, or by emailing or something.

Obviously there's the bias that since you've found this site, that means you know I'm at both papers, but I'm interested in that majority who only read me in print. The YDN and the Herald do not put comics online competently if at all, so the only real way to gauge my comics is through my site(s), which I do not actively promote. And way more people read me in print than online, so this site only offers me a sliver of the picture, so I cannot know how valuable the Herald is. I suspect a significant amount only know/read my YDN stuff and I'm wasting my time at the Herald, but I do know there are people who really like the Herald so I'm at a stalemate and I need to make a decision soon.

Baa: It weirds me out when aesthetically powerful people talk to me, and it also weirds me out when people I've never formally been introduced to address me by name, so imagine my panic attack when the smoker chap from today's comic started a quick conversation with me in the YDN office.

Okay, it's time for my semesterly thank-yous.

Thanks: Rachel, Joe and the nice Heralders, Claire, Takeshi Obata, Kim Young-Oh, Garry Trudeau, Aaron McGruder.

Special Thanks: Kirk, Mr. Kanter.

Reuxben

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

YDN_zlm.TechNoLogic

Because all that typing really is furious note-taking.

Zero Like Me #58:
Tech No Logic
<- Previous...Next->
-First-

Easter Eggs: Professor Garcia Marquez lecturing about Borges (a double whammy of torture). Sigh, Myahaha, and Pfft. My horrific Spanish essay translated back into English is today's lecture.

Fun Facts: The time on the computer is when the class is supposed to end, and yet it keeps on going, doesn't it? Also, this is the second of my two mandatory technology-themed comics, so like Spanish, I am now done with them forever as far as I can tell.

Baa: I most definitely want to go back to Japan.

By lunch time: No more Spoonglish ever! Take that, Mom!

Reuxben

Monday, November 30, 2009

YDN_zlm.TrustMe

I bet she says that to all the guys.

Zero Like Me #57:
Zero the Traitor Pt.2 - Trust Me
<- Previous...Next->
-First-

Easter Eggs: "Yale" in panel 1. One of the most fashionable Yalies tipped me off of this place called H&M. Simma down nah.

Fun Facts: There was a football game, there was a bet, and this is how it went down.

Baa: My hands and feet get so cold so easily, it can't be normal.

Why can't the hot chocolate be cheaper at The Game? I mean I'm sure they'd sell tons of slightly cheaper drinks, rather than sell a few expensive ones.

Reuxben

YDN_sls.BernieMac

Draw your sword in the emperor's castle, it's Sick Little Suicide #16, "Bernie Mac," in which I talk about what everyone's talking about.

It's like when an inside joke finally comes back around and now everybody's laughing, but those who laughed first get to feel smug.

Easter Eggs: Please, please, please don't be confused; the reportrix is totally a drawing based on a YDN staffer that I've never even heard of, let alone seen, and NOT an homage to the Pokemon Trading Card Game's TV Reporter crew.

Fun Facts: This is NOT an opinion comic, it is a news article. Therefore I may not use the letters Y, D, or N (together and in that order) on our crew because it will look to the simple-minded Yalie as if my news report--don't you dare call it a "comic"-- is depicting the YDN's equally sophisticated TV news staff as editorializing (that is, giving their opinion) on something, rather than what it truly is: a depiction of an actual reporter reporting news. Sure, I could attribute the crew to the letters E, S, P, and N, because that makes sense given that this is being printed in the Y, D, and N, but I am pleased to announce the Reuxben News Network. Again, I am doing this just so all you marble-sharp Yalies don't get confused and think I am drawing opinion comics, when I'm really writing news articles using scarce words and sentences so thin that they look like the linework that comprises a drawing.

Baa: The first time I dealt with this sports subject, there were cheers. The last time I dealt with this sports subject there were jeers.

So I'm 50-50 at this point, meaning we could flip a coin on this one.

And if you need someone to flip you off, Bernie Mac is available.

Although for the record, it is kind of ridiculous to expect a Disney sports movie the first season of a new head coach. In fact, I know Yale will start winning, at least against Harvard, the second I graduate, cuz that's just how it goes. I only wish I could be here for next season, when we really get to see what the coach can do, since this season doesn't really count, let's be honest; people are just being hysterical.

Reuxben

Friday, November 27, 2009

Penny_dm.TheSpaceBetween

A special advanced screening today, the illustration for the next installment of Doggie Mojo, my prose series in the Penny Dreadful, and it's also going to be the cover. Neat!

In this Deal, "The Space Between (Interlude in B Flat)," Lillis has to tangle with the deadly H.Arms security mechs meanwhile piloting a stolen mechsuit with uncanny natural skill.

Will she make it through the cold, pilotless machines' inhumanly precise security defenses? Will she die? Will there only be one more Deal? I don't know!

This is what it looked like before the bells and whistles.

Photoshop is sorta tricky to work with--the more stuff you learn about, the more you want to start adding on new tricks and techniques, but I love lines so much and I don't want to lose them in the mix.

That's where mangaka get it done; they know exactly what's just enough to let the lines sing uninterrupted, while still adding enough production to elevate the piece. That's why I don't like US comics so much--too much emphasis on color, when the lines are what really matter.

Easter Eggs: Metal Gear Solid chat window, Gundam style model for the H.Arms, pokeball.

Fun Facts: Trying to keep the Toonami vibe.

Baa: I hate the process of going to sleep and I hate the process of waking up. But I love sleeping. It's the space between that's key.

Daily Post Challenge done.

Reuxben

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Fun_GobbleGobble


Yeah, she can cook like nobody's business.

So the JE Thanksgiving feast today was kinda a let down this year, but at least these guys had a good time.

Last year's feast kicked butt though. It sucks being a senior cuz everything you do is the last time you get to do it.

Reuxben

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Fun_ZeroTheMod

One of my absolute favorite parts about comics/illustration is you get to research and draw all kinds of cool fashions and there's no wardrobe budget, just pick what you want and go.

So although I am limited by tiny panel sizes, weak inking skills, and restricted research time, I do enjoy fantasizing about all the cool threads my characters can wear. And this is actually one of the biggest reasons why it's more fun drawing female characters than males: they get to dress up and stylize in all kinds of ways, but males just don't have any real flexibility beyond a jacket, you know?

I try to give each character their own fashion vibe, but Zero's the only one that doesn't have any real flavor. I delve into a sort of Japanese style with some Sartorialist thrown in, but when a deadline's looming, I have to resort to a T-shirt and jeans, which I guess is US style. But then again, as Mos Def raves of Japanese aesthetics over US sensibilities, "Why are they so much better at this [spit] than us? We're not even like second or third..."

Anyway, for today, I wanted try a slight redesign on Zero and thought I might as well dress him up like a British Mod, but I couldn't bring myself to splash a Union Jack all over his helmet, though. So now all he needs is a scooter and off he goes.

Reuxben

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fun_ChineseFoodSucks

I'm here at Yale over the break. It beats spending money to go back to California, having to be in the house, and not being at Yale.

The only downside to being at Yale over breaks is that there's no food. BUT the International Center is giving away free dinners, so I get to eat every day, which is neat. One of my life mottos is, "I'd rather starve than pay for food," so I'm screwed once I graduate. But that motto basically means that I hate paying for stuff, especially food, cuz it feels like such a waste.

So I went on Monday and they had tons of free pizza! No water, so I had to drink soda (ugh...), and not even root beer. So maybe it was because I hadn't eaten a meal since The Game tailgate (I did have two bags of Uncommon bunny crackers Sunday, though), but that was some of the best pizza I've ever had. Aside: Sally's is insanely overrated. Pepe's, Papa John's, even Pizza Hut pwn Sally. I am somewhat of a picky and simple eater, but fortunately I can eat the same thing every day for years. For most of elementary school I had a ham sandwich every day until like 5th grade, when I finally got sick of it.

Anyway, for today's meal, it was me, Johnny Salami, the Gaboozo bruddas, and we exchanged looks of dread as our naive dream shattered--they wouldn't be serving pizza all week. Worse yet, they were serving...Chinese food. I tried to load up on white rice, which was my strategy whenever we went out to eat in Japan, but I did try some of this red-sauced meat stuff. It was pretty all right, but the yellow rice was really spicy, and the white rice was incredibly bland.

So anyway we're all waiting for the inevitable horror to come that is Indian food. I tried Indian food Freshman Year and it still haunts me. As in Japan, when I arrived at Yale I promised myself to try new things no matter what as that is what college is all about, but I fear I've lost some of that adventurous zeal. But if I'm served free food, I feel doubly obligated to try it, even if I've had previous bad experience.

On the way back from food, I cut through WLH 112 and had a drawing session with jack kelly. I drew the picture, he wrote the script. I was feeling pretty patriotic after that gross international meal in a room full of internationals. Hopefully pizza counted as "Amurrca Night," so that Italy gets a chance this week. It's been so long since I had good lasagna.

Reuxben

Monday, November 23, 2009

Fun_BigBuns_MO

Thanksgiving break is here, so I'm going to post some artwork every day this week.

Today is the Making Of...this comic, one that got me some interesting mail. One email said I was "out of control funny" and literally the email right after that one called me a "sack of [stuff]," so yeah.

At right is the thumbnail sketch of the comic, where I loosely figure out where everything's going to go.
Whenever I have to draw real people, I try to get a practice sketch in, and this is lo de Koalabear Onedrop.

Her last name is a reference to my favorite game, Magic: the Gathering. A "onedrop" is a creature that costs one mana, an essential part of White Weenie decks, which win by swarming the opponent with massive numbers of dudes to win as fast and as efficiently as possible. Koalas are cute and are a play on words.

She reminds me of my old high school teacher...

These are some costume designs. I wanted neophytes (Zero) to wear Snuggie-styled robes, regular members (Nyao) to wear costumes modeled after the E Stone society in Toshihiro Ono's Pikachu Shocks Back, and I wanted the leaders to dress like Team Rocket. I love Team Rocket, and you've got to be feeling cool and powerful if you dress like them AND wear a cape.

I wanted all caps to be unique, and so to test my designs, I tried designing a "Be Square" hat based on Dan's old Herald comic's characters.

Up next is a trial sketch of Rivercreek Pacifism. I wanted silly names, but their first names are based on the real people, and the last names are just based on funny sounding words. Coincidentally, "Pacifism" is a card you might use in a White Weenie deck, and it's actually one of my favorite white cards, but it sucks when they use it on you.

A society or movement to appreciate Beauty and Justice is a great idea, but I would have liked it if they just stuck to beauty as their main goal, without justice entering into the picture, because I feel the former weakens and even counteracts the latter goal. I love aesthetics, and even in my graphic novels class, I learned to appreciate some at first really ugly comics styles, so I would actually be quite interested in a society that tries to explore different aesthetics. But when coupling beauty with justice...the justice part just feels kind of frivolous or trivialized, no matter how you slice it. "Justice" as an inferred subsection of "beauty," that's where it's at, but I have a hard time grasping them placed on the same footing because it just feels like they're cheapening Justice by having it so closely associated with Beauty.

Reuxben

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Design_catalyst.PacPrez

This last round of The Game shirts wasn't terribly inspiring. There was even a ridiculous scandal on one of the shirts.

Anyway, these were the sketches for this year's cycle of The Game shirts brought to you by Catalyst Apparel.

They had some difficulty with Yale's licensing department, so we weren't able to cast any new shirts, but I did see someone wearing my old Flag design, which you can also wear year round (the guy sitting next to me in Japanese class was wearing it on the first day of class, even).

Funny thing, though, I saw a Harvardian wearing some kind of Pacman shirt, where the figures were inside a giant H.

This next sketch started as a kind of "wacky idea." What if we made a shirt that made fun of how gung-ho Yalies get about Yale? What's the most ridiculous way to show school spirit? What if we had a shirt saluting all of Yale's men who've become US presidents (all of whom have been at best mediocre presidents)?

So, minus Gerald Ford (Law), I designed this gangsta style shirt with all the Eli's who kept it real from the White Hiz-ouse.

Ok. Daily post challenge is on. Artwork every day until school's back.

Reuxben

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Fun_TheGame2009

So today was The Game, can't tell if it was frustrating, depressing, or just plain sad. But hey, that's what she said, am I right?

In any case, I was feeling a little blue(r), despite the high of seeing someone wearing my shirt, so my friend, jack kelly, tried to cheer me up with a joke: "Maybe if Yale Football didn't suck, they wouldn't have choked." I told him to shut his face. One of those footballers was pretty nice to me when we bumped into each other in Farnam one night. He knew my name!

These last two sketches are actually from tonight's basketball game. Lost that one too, but it was actually pretty close: Yale trailed for about 10 points the whole game, and a late comeback just got cut short.

Baa: My dad once asked if I regret not going to Harvard. Honestly, I more often wonder what life woulda been like at Stanford.
I love Yale and can't imagine life elsewhere.

In fact, when I stayed at Harvard, I was really unimpressed with the place--everything looks like Pierson. And maybe it was because I was decked in Yale gear, but people didn't seem too nice. Not that I'm a good judge of character. Some of them were kinda off-handedly mean while trying to be not mean. One girl said she liked my art and then followed right up with "sorry you go to Yale." That really depressed me for some reason. Like for a split second I really wished I had gone to Harvard so I could poop all over Yale without feeling like I was biting the hand. But mostly, Harvard felt like an overly spacious series of husks. It was literally and figuratively cold and empty over there.

In Harvard's defense, some people were nice. One guy stuck around to watch me draw and he was really nice, acted like I was a big deal (but have you seen the Lampoon's art?!) YDN 06-8 called, they want their art back. Anyway, I greatly regret not pointing him to this site, but I feel really self-conscious advertising this site. That's why I kinda Easter Egg my signature/site into my artwork rather than just slap it on. If you find the plug, then great, I hope you enjoy if you choose to visit. If you don't, then all right then, off you go, and let's not waste anyone's time.

The only exception was that I decided to put out my usual call for a writing partner, except this time I printed posters with pulltabs in the hopes that I can start one of those legendary college partnerships. I like how it's so fate-oriented: the right person has to find the poster, placed in the right spot at the right time to catch their attention. So even if I don't get any bites, the idea itself is a lovely piece of performance-print art in my mind. I saw three tabs pulled and even one poster got torn down, like someone hates my guts. I guess that's a good thing because someone was so moved by me that they took time out of their day to demonstrate. LeSean Thomas once said, "If you ain't bein' hated on, then you ain't doin' $&#%." So there you go.

Reuxben