Why we skew

I've mentioned a couple of times on this blog that I skew everything I draw. I've been doing some thinking about this recently, and I believe I've figured out why.

It has to do with binocular parallax and ocular dominance. Binocular parallax is the phenomenon whereby an object appears different in you left eye than it does in your right eye. This makes sense, since your eyes are physically in two different places.

Ocular dominance is the tendency for your brain to prefer information from one eye over the other. There's a test to determine which of your eyes is dominant. With both eyes open, point at an object a couple of meters away. Now look at where you're pointing with one eye, then the other. The eye through which your finger is more closely aligned with the object is your dominant eye.


This awesome diagram represents an artist looking at a rectangle (B) on his inclined work surface. Due to binocular parallax and perspective, his right eye looks at B and sees A (skewed right), and his left eye looks at B and sees C (skewed left).

Because I'm left eye dominant, I'll draw A and think it looks like B (since that eye's left-skewing tendency "corrects" the right-skewed rectangle). Conversely, someone who is right eye dominant will draw C and think it looks like B.

What do you think? Does my theory hold water? It seems to explain why I always skew things to the right. Test this shit out yourself and tell me if it works!

Toth

I've never been a fan of superhero-type comics, but I've developed an interest in some of the artists. Alex Toth (pronounce like "both") was there at the birth of comic books and also worked in animation and film. How cool are these model sheets?!

Lots of other Toth stuff here.

...prooooobably just a one-shot...

It's safe to say that the crow quill and I are more than just friends at this point. We're totally doing it.

I've invented crossover fan art

Actually, I'm sure millions of anime webcomic nerds have done it 80 million times.

Thunderant

One of the few things that make life bearable on planet 3 is the comedy duo Thunderant, AKA Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. If you don't at least crack a smile at One Man Show or Feminist bookstore then we probably can't hang out.

Ivan Dixon

The very talented Ivan Dixon has drawn a tribute to Offal Funnies. Check it out on his blog!

Various Non-Kermits

What I actually kinda look like (but not quite so surly)

TV doodles

This character is based loosely on a chick from some cable company commercial.

Crow quill again

I wanted to try and ink a drawing using my new buddy the crowquill, so I dug out one of my Scarlett attempts from the other day and had a go.

I gotta say, this thing is great - when it works. It produces ink maybe one out of every 3 times I put it to paper. I read on the internet that dipping it in water helps, and it does, sometimes. Does anybody have any tips on how to get it to flow better?

Icky cartooning styles pt. II

I haven't come up with a name for this style yet, but I hate it so much that I don't even want to show an example of it! This link will have to suffice.

It seems to be some unholy combination of graffiti, anime, Tim Burton and Bill Waterson. Now, some of these things are actually pretty good alone, but when thrown together and combined with a lack of any drawing or design skills, you get something absolutely toxic. God, I get furious even thinking about it! And the worst part is, every kid seems to want to draw like this! WTF!

Alright, now that I have that out of my system I'll get back to blogging about stuff I like!

Icky cartooning styles

There are a few styles of cartooning that I really hate, and one of them I've dubbed the "big perforated shoe" style.

Its earmarks are obsessive ornamentation (pinstripes, wingtip perforations, etc), ugly horizontal hatching on everything, and (often) "bigfoot cartoon" proportions (think yellow submarine).

Why in God's name did people start drawing like this? I can only speculate that artists were trying to rebel against the slick, stylish futurism of the 50s by being ignorant and folksy and old-timey.

The above image, btw, is by Jim Flora, who fucking rules when he's not working in the BPS style!

Didja know she's half Jewish?

Rebecca Dart

Holy Santa clause shit can this lady ever draw! Her webpage is here.

Tarts and lawyers

You see this dapper cat on local news all the time. Sorry if I spelled your name wrong, Mr. prominent St. John's lawyer.

Greatest comic panel ever

Crow quill

Spent yesterday afternoon mucking aboot with a Hunt 102 crowquill nib. Starting to see why it's considered THE drawing nib. Once it's broken in a bit you can get a really nice, almost brush-like line. Ink flows forever too. I still find the point catches on the bristol board too much, but that will likely lessen as I break it in further.