Process: Secret 7s 2014

Remember back to this time, last year? So long ago! I submitted a design to the amazing Secret 7s charity project and was lucky enough to be selected! You can read about Secret 7s and their good work over here and you can read my process blog post over here!

I drew Haim flying through the air for 2013 and when the 2014 list of artists was posted I was immediately drawn to drawing a sleeve for 'Team' by Lorde. If you're not familiar if the song... SPOILERS: it is ace.



And! Some of the covers are just as brilliant! Here is a sad clown!



Here is CHVRCHES!



I spent a bunch of time trying to draw Lorde. She has amazing hair so that was a recurring theme. I even tried drawing in a more 'serious' style for a little bit... although eventually I drew her like I draw everyone - with cute little stick limbs <3 p="">

 
The idea was that I'd draw a 'team' of Lordes - a bit like a superhero team like the X-Men... But, just like always, what I planned and what I actually ended up doing were very different things. I sketched out my original Lorde-skeleton - the template that I'd base all my other Lordes from...

 Looking pretty sassy, Lorde!

Watch out! The team of Lordes are on their way! But as I added in the fourth and fifth Lorde, I felt that I'd like to reference my previous sleeve for Haim - giving Lorde actual arms and actual legs and REAL CLOTHES! So I looked at her outfits and her looks and settled on a design I liked... which was this!

I coloured her in (she wears a lot of dark colours) and decided to carry on some of the other design features from the 2013 sleeve - the pixel background! I effing love pixels! I wish I was really good at 8bit art and the like. Maybe one day I'll get it!

The background and ground were coloured and I'd like to do a special shout out to Lorde's eyebrows and lipstick. I think I did a good job with them on this sleeve.

Lorde was all sorted but I had one more thing I wanted to add... a MAGIC FORCE FIELD!

I used rainbow colours as a reference to the 2013 sleeve but also because rainbows are great. They make everything better. Plus it made Lorde look like she was going to do some cool things!

I submitted my design and the panel selected it! HOORAY! The sleeves were exhibited and then put on sale for Record Store Day! And someone bought it - raising money for charity!

Here's a photo of my sleeve on display next to some other amazing sleeves!

Mega thanks to everyone at Secret 7s and to the person who bought my sleeve! I hope I'll get to take part in next year's event! 

Robot's Return - a new long story!

It's been a while since I did a long story on People I Know. There was A Familiar Face that started in October 2013 and A Wizard's Woes in April 2013 but before both of those, there was Hello Future in September 2012!

Hello Future ended with Robot's head being torn off by Bleepo and ever since, poor Robot has never been the same!

So, months later (starting 24th March 2014) I am finally going to try to get Robot a new head... but obviously, it won't be that simple... OR WILL IT?! You'll have to read it to find out!

This is the longest story I've written and I tried to keep you on your toes. There's a bunch of familiar characters and maybe even a few new ones! I hope your favourite characters make an appearance!

I'm looking to have the story printed if everyone likes it - although it'll probably be split across two comics due to size issues. That works quite well though as the story has two distinct acts, as you'll find out! MWAH HA HA HA HA

Robot's Return will run until the beginning of July on my regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

IN OTHER NEWS: I'm going to work on a longer SPACE BABIES story! If you like SPACE and/or BABIES then you'll probably enjoy it

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Songs That I've Shazam'd

Shazam is a great app that identifies songs that you make it listen to. I was in a shop yesterday (buying a pen, since you asked) and they were playing a song that sounded really familiar... With the power of Shazam, I found out it was this...



FUN FACT: Shazam makes a list of all the songs it has identified for you! Who knew? So, for no reason other than it's fun, here are a bunch of the songs Shazam has identified for me.

Dream of Me by Kristina Train



This reminds me a bit of Heaven Knows by Girl Called Johnny - one of my favourite songs in a long time



Love of the Common People by Paul Young
(This appears at least twice in my list... which says a lot about the state of my memory)



Odessa by Caribou



I Can't Go For That by The Bird and the Bee



Celesitca by Crystal Castles



If you've got Shazam, have a look at the list of songs and if you think I'd enjoy them based on the above then send them along! It's always nice to have new music to listen to!

SPACE BABIES!

Hello!

If everything goes to plan, I should be starting a brand new, pretty intense new story line in People I Know next week. I've been working on it for a while in one way or another and I don't want to say too much about it now... except that it focuses on the plight of Robot who has been without a head ever since Bleepo (the future version of myself's pet robot) tore it off... but, in a shocking twist, I've actually thought about the story so it isn't just about that! Well, not if I've done my job properly!

At the moment, this story will last for more than 10 weeks and it's not the only new project I've been working on. Oh no! I've also been working on a new project in a new world with new characters! I've even tried drawing hands for it!

The project is called 'SPACE BABIES' and is about stuff in space. I've drawn a few one-pagers and have written out a longer story too... but I wanted to show you a bunch of the one-pagers before the robot story begins... otherwise I'd have to wait for a few months before I could say anything!

I'll upload three SPACE BABIES one-pagers to www.timothywinchester.com - one on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There's no background you need to know about it except that it's set in space.

From an artistic point of view, I've really tried something different. So different that I'm actually a little nervous about posting it on my website! The aim of it all is to collect the one-pagers and the story into a cute Risographed comic... Risographing it means I can't use a lot of colours and that I've got to think a bit more how I'm doing everything.

I bought two lovely Posca Paint pens for all my sketchbook tests so that's been additional fun. Here are some photos from it for you to look at! If you click on them, they should appear larger!

I hope you don't mind SPACE BABIES taking up space in your RSS feed or whatever. I also hope I get this Robot story finished in time to start next week!

In other news, I hope you're all well and having a nice 2014. Have I missed anything interesting?

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Taylor Swift is Brilliant

On Tuesday the 11^th of February 2014, my life changed forever…

I went to the O2 along with 19,999 other people to see Taylor Swift on the last ever date of her Red Tour and it was pretty much the best thing ever.

I don’t know how you feel about Taylor Swift but let me tell you, if you don’t think she’s brilliant then you need to sort yourself out. She is an incredible popstar and, although I always thought she was ace, seeing her LIVE was completely mind-blowing.

(((Here is a drawing I did for Julia Scheele's Heroines Zine)))

Firstly, she has a great back catalogue. I’m sure you’re familiar with Love Story, 22 etc… but some of her album tracks are just as incredible. Don’t believe me? That’s cool… but I got you something!

Better Than Revenge is incredibly sassy and I personally think her up-tempo songs are where her song writing really shines. I mean, this song features the undeniably spectacular lyric “she’s not a saint and she’s not what you think – she’s an actress. She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.” Burn!

And then there’s Long Live – the sort of song that would be the opening music if they ever remake Dawson’s Creek. It’s full of hope, the song I would loudly listen to if I ever went on a road trip down the West Coast of California… or, perhaps more realistically, the song I would listen to in bed, reading through a series of text messages that used to mean something to me.

So yeah – Taylor Swift writes a cracking song. Admit it.

But, seeing her perform live (in a massive stadium) really drives home how accomplished she is when it comes to putting on a show. I’ve seen a lot of performances online and on the TV but witnessing them first hand is something else. She knows just what to say to get the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. She brings out a different special guest every show and you feel like you’re seeing two BFFs having an ace time and it’s magical. She’s happy to take some time between songs to tell the audience how to deal with mean people and she does it so well that you really feel like she’s talking to you.

I tried to find a good clip to illustrate how brilliant she is in a huge stadium and probably the best is the music video for Red.

It’s made up of footage of the tour itself and you can see how hard she’s working (although it never feels like hard work) and how much the crowd are loving it (check out all the light up signs). Does it help if I tell you that I cried a little during some of her set? Does it help if I tell you that I was smiling like that creepy moon emoji for a solid hour after the show ended? Does it help if I tell you that I think I might actually be suffering Post-Taylor Blues?

Taylor Swift is the popstar (and BFF) I wish I’d grown up with. She writes a brilliant song, she sings a brilliant song and if you think you’re too cool to listen to her songs then you need to stop being a baby and buy an album! I’d recommend ‘Speak Now’ to start with!

Special shout-out to my pal John who came along with me and to Sally who helped make my dreams come true!  

PS. If you’re Taylor Swift and you’re reading this, could you please do a nice cover of ‘Hysteric’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs? That would be ace.

Things I Enjoyed in 2013

I should probably start this blog post with a grovelling apology about the lack of updates… but I hate it when people do that so I’ll just gloss over all of that and assume/hope you forgive me.

It’s nearly the end of another year so I just wanted to jot down some of the things I’ve enjoyed in 2013. It isn’t a ‘Best of...’ list because I wouldn’t want to upset anyone.

So yes! Here are some ace things that have made this year good fun! Feel free to check them out if you like the sound of them…

FROZEN

It only came out a few weeks ago but I really enjoyed Disney’s Frozen - their reworking of The Snow Queen. I wasn’t expecting that much when the initial trailers came out… but my pals insisted I see it and I’m really glad I did as it was ace! The story is interesting, the characters are engaging and, most importantly, the songs are proper belters - the kind you find yourself singing when you’re walking down the street. Don’t believe me? Check out this one!

If you get the chance to watch it, I hope you do and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!



EDINBURGH
In early August, I got the train up to Edinburgh! I've only ever been for work before - but this time I was going to check out the Festival! I got to see some great stuff - Choose Your Own Documentary, David Morgan and Knightmare Live. It was a very enjoyable few days and I loved being able to pop out of one show and straight into another. And because I was there so early, the tickets were all affordable. Bonus points to the midnight McFlurry I invested in and all the lovely fudge shops! And to John for looking after me! I hope I can attend the festival again in 2014...



THOUGHT BUBBLE
Thought Bubble is a brilliant comic show in Leeds that happens in November time. As usual, I had a lovely time - it was ace to see pals and talk to people who have actually read my comic. Bonus points to the dude with the Hot Dog Princess tattoo! OMG! AND I MET FIONA STAPLES AND GAVE HER MY COMIC! Eeeeeee! If you haven't been to it before, I cannot recommend it enough! Come and say hi in 2014!



POSTAL SERVICE

I've been a fan of The Postal Service since my time in Santa Cruz so seeing them live this year was quite a treat. I was secretly hoping that they'd play some Figurine songs but alas, no luck! BUT! They played some new songs to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album... which made me feel happy and old in quick succession.

BOARD GAMES

I've really enjoyed playing lots of table top board games in 2013 and it's been a great way to make new pals. Looking over at the pile of boxes on my wardrobe, I would recommend:

• Love Letter
• Coup
• Avalon / The Resistance
• Settlers of Catan
• Ticket To Ride
• Escape: Curse of the Temple
• Small World
• BANG!
• London (a lovely gift form my pal Phil)

They are all easy enough to pick up. Avalon and The Resistance are ideal for groups of people too! So much fun! I have an idea for one that I need to start work on too! Maybe we can all play that in 2014?


LOADING BAR
It's a computer / board game bar space in Soho, London and they do a lovely range of smoothies (I'd recommend the mango and passion fruit) and they staff are nice and I'm glad of having somewhere to go in an evening. Especially if there's a group of you who want to play The Resistance or something!

SPX (and New York)

In September, some pals and I went to SPX in the USA! I hadn't left the UK since my trip to Toronto (in 2009?) so this was a big deal for me but I'm so glad I did it! I really need to make a big diary comic about the experience - it was amazing (although bits of it were scary). SPX as a show is really lovely and the people were ace. It all happens in one big hotel so you see the same faces around and get to know people. We also had the chance to look around Washington DC (the most official city I've ever visited) and New York. Bonus points to Phil and Lizz for looking after me, Jenny and Mike for taking the time to hang out and everyone behind SPX - especially MDT and Smarx. OMG! And the pancake place around the corner! I am drooling just thinking about that place...

SECRET 7”

Secret 7" is a brilliant idea that gets people to design covers for mystery singles that are sold to raise money for charity. I saw a lot of my popular and accomplished drawing pals tweeting about it and I never thought my entry would get selected. I remember reading the email saying that I could take part and whooping loudly at my desk. I wrote up a process post about my entry and I still smile when I see it! I'd like to enter it again but I can't help but worry that I just got lucky this time. Or maybe I'm just being a baby? Either way, you should defo keep an eye on it!

YOUTH by FOXES
I just really like this song

MAY WITH MIKE

My pal Mike came to visit in May and I made a comic about it! I saw him again when I visited New York and he took us to a jazz bar. I miss him just from typing this. 

THE SOUND OF MUSIC / THE DROWNED MAN

I went to see  The Sound of Music at the Open Air Theatre with a pal in the Summer and it was so good that we both cried. My favourite bit was when Maria appeared from behind the audience and belted out 'THE HILLS ARE ALLIIIIIIIIVE.'

The Drowned Man is a very intense theatre piece by Punchdrunk. After putting on a mask, you're let loose in a five storey warehouse to follow a variety of characters across movie sets and saloons. I'm not sure I can describe it well enough or do it justice it... but if you have the chance to see it then I hope you'll give it a go! Just make sure you wear sensible shoes.

SUMMER CAMP

Summer Camp - responsible for one of my favourite songs, released a new album this year and it is great. I got to see them in Leeds and in London and besides being ridiculously well-dressed, they were slick as eff. If they tour near you then make the time to check them out.

I think that's about it for now. There are probably some things I forgot but I can always edit this later! What exciting things did you enjoy from 2013?

Stay out of trouble

TWx

SPX SPX SPX!

If everything works out, I should be at SPX this weekend! Come and say hello and ask me why I haven't updated this blog in a while!

Bleurgh

Hello!

This isn't a proper blog post. You don't need to worry about me rambling along about my feelings and the like. I'm just writing down a reminder of some things I need to write about:

• I went to see The Postal Service! They were on stage and they played some music! And getting there was a story on its own.
• I went to MCM Expo and you might have gone to it too! There were some amazing costumes (Groot and Rocket Racoon!!!) and I've got some photos of them. Thanks if you came to visit me there.
• I've been feeling a bit sad about a bunch of things... although I guess there's nothing new there.
• 'A Wizard's Woes' finished! It was an old story that took place over twenty days. I hope you enjoyed it!
• The season two finale of Revenge went out and it was pretty underwhelming
• I went to a talk at BAFTA about games journalism which was interesting. People talked a lot about writing about stuff that interests you and I vowed that I would do that! Except, here I am, writing a list of things I'll write about when I have time. Lame.

More importantly, how are you? What have I missed? Anything exciting?

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Process: Secret 7s

A few months ago, a bunch of my drawing pals were retweeting a shout out for people to draw stuff. It was for the charity/art project Secret 7"s where people design covers for songs by popular musicians and other people buy them for money. There are other things too like screenings and talks and all the money raised is sent to a good charity to do good things.

I wasn't planning on submitting anything for a number of reasons - mainly that anything that relies on being voted in makes me scared. but also because I thought it was just going to be for proper drawing people that use a selection of pencils or can draw hands etc.. But I also *really* wanted to give it a go and it couldn't be that scary, right? And my drawing pals were being encouraging. Thanks pals!

So, after a bit of faffing about and doing some bravery training (looking in the mirror and saying to myself 'you are a brave and sassy dude'), I got to work.

The seven acts that you could design a sleeve for were Elton John, Haim, Public Enemy, Nick Drake, NAS, Laura Marling and Jessie Ware. For me, it was a toss up between Haim and Jessie Ware but I finally opted for the former.

After sketching out a few ideas, I settled on the idea of the Haim gals flying into action. So I drew them out on paper (along with some other stuff I was working on, hence the dog) and inked them with my fancy pen.

My inking, as always, is terrible - the eyes are wonky, the cardigan is a mess... which is ridiculous since my drawings are so basic. Oh. And there was a ghost in my original idea too! SPOILERS: Poor ghost didn't make it through to the final thing.

I was planning on using my original line drawings so I tidied them up. Stray pixels *really* annoy me. I put them into position after this too, along with the ghost.

Having done all that though, I decided to redraw them again using work paths. I think I just really wanted it to look slick... so that's what I did!

I also rejigged their positions and finally decided that the ghost just did not belong there. Look how unwonky those facial features are now! And how smooth their hair is! Hooray!  I'd made the bits and bobs on multiple layers so, before colouring them in (or even flattening them), I deleted all the bits that I didn't need to show up.

I was finally happy with the layout and the lack of ghost. So it was time for my favourite thing - COLOURING IN! Thanks to the computer, staying in the lines is no longer a concern!

I wanted something really bright and cheerful for the background, to contrast with the more muted colours of the Haim gal's outfits. I spent a surprising amount of time deciding what they should be wearing. Who would wear socks and who wouldn't? Would this outfit work on stage? How practical are their shoes?

But I felt like it looked a little flat. I know my style is pretty 2D anyways, but I wanted to give it a bit more of a polish... so after a bit of playing around, I ended up with this...

And there we go! This is the final version I submitted!

I was over the moon when I got the email to say that I was in the actual 700 and it was a super hard secret to keep. I went along to the opening party and bumped into some pals and we had a great time going through all 700 sleeves, trying to work out what act they were for and whether we knew the person behind it.

A lot of my pals went along to look at the sleeves too and didn't seem to have any trouble pointing mine out to me. I was quite pleased because it means I have a 'style' that people can recognise and being selected for the project in the first place has given me a much needed confidence boost. There were loads of amazing sleeves on display and mine was there, right next to them. And it's not everyday you get the chance to say you designed a sleeve for a sassy band like Haim.

And if that wasn't enough good news enough for one blog post, I was sent a tweet by the person that bought it when they all went on sale. HOORAY!

So, in conclusion... if you ever have the chance to submit something but are worried, stop being a baby and give it a go! You might not be as accomplished or as popular as other people, but that's not always the most important thing.

Long Story Alert!

Don't freak out... but I'm updating this blog.

If you're freaking out now then STOP IT - I told you not to! Why don't you listen? Jeez!



So, it's been ages since my last post. Sorry about that. In a nutshell, I've been working really, really hard at my non-drawing job. It's been a very interesting experience - I think I've learnt a lot and I've done all sorts of new things. But it also means that I'm exhausted and a little strung out.

But whatever. You didn't come here to read about my actual life. You just want funny/cute comics. Don't pretend it isn't.

So, as you have been reading, I was ill for a bit and now I'm not. I've started on making new comics but I sort of fancy doing something different. I went through my files and I found a 26 page story I had printed off as issue twelve of People I Know.

Here is the original front cover!

People I Know #12 was made two years ago - in early 2011, and featured two wizards trying to navigate the perils of the heart. I've been thinking about uploading it onto the website for a while so now seems like a pretty good time.

However, there are a few things that I wanted to flag up before it goes online...

For starters - it was made two years ago and, believe it or not, my drawings look different. Maybe not HUGELY different, but different enough.

I mean, you can still tell that they are the same characters... they just look a little more polished.

Another difference is the characters themselves. In the two years since I drew this story, the wizards have evolved as characters - which is only right. They've got names now for a start! Jones is bossy and desperate to assert himself. Curly is easily led and upset, both a symptom of his sad backstory. Both wizards in the current webcomic are students, whilst in the longer story they have jobs. Maybe it's just a Summer job. Yeah - let's go with that.

The tone of the story itself is markedly different from my regular pun-filled comics. This whole story was made to me read in one sitting, rather than across a month. I've tried splitting it up into sections that make it work as a daily strip, but it isn't big on the laugh front.

This probably all sounds like I don't want you to read it, but that's certainly not the case. It's a good story and I'm proud of it. I just don't want any regular readers (or new readers!) to be weirded out by the sudden change in tone and look.If you really can't cope with it then come back in a month and it'll be business as usual. Or don't come back. I'm not the boss of you.

Enough about me, what about you? Have I missed anything exciting? Will I see you at MCM Expo in London?

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Hourly Comic Day - 2013

I'm super behind on Hourly Comic Day but here is the first page so far!

2012: Songs I Liked

It's 2013! This is a post about songs I enjoyed over the last year.

You're probably thinking 'what do you care about music, you just draw silly comics,' but listening to music is probably my number one thing to do whilst making those comics. And don't worry!  I know that a lot of end-of-year lists often involve the writer just trying to score cool points... but I don't think I'll get cool points for this list. Mostly just because I'm a mess that has been wearing the same jumper for the last two weeks and I can't remember the last time anyone even suggested I might be hip and happening. Instead, this is just a nice list of nice songs that I've listened to a lot of this year. That means that might not have come out this year! But they're still on this list because I like them and probably spent a lot of time singing them whilst drawing... or at work... or in the shower.

So then, in no particular order...

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together



Tay Tay has been on my radar since the brilliant 'You Belong With Me,' but unlike in the USA, anything before that wasn't a big deal over here. And if I'm speaking as an individual, anything after that wasn't a big deal either. 'Love Story' popped up in talent shows but the video was lame compared to YBWM. So when 'We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together' appeared with its catchy chorus, charming video and the best telephone interlude since Britney's 'Oops I Did It Again,' it was a great reminder for me to check out Ms. Swift's other songs. Songs I hadn't given much of a chance before... I'm really glad I did because she's got some cracking tunes! And some brilliant videos. Don't believe me? Check out the video for 'Mine.' It's a corker, full of the Swift-staples - a dreamboat, painful flashbacks, meaningful glances. PLUS! She followed this single up with 'I Knew You Were Trouble' - which featured the best 'does this count as dubstep?' moment in any pop song of 2012.


The Magnetic Fields - Quick!



I went to my first proper music festival this year - ATP! I've never fancied going to one before because I don't want to sleep in a tent surrounded by strangers - but that's not an issue at ATP because you get to sleep in chalets! Our one even had a dishwasher (that we didn't use)! I got to hang out with some of my lovely pals and see some lovely bands. Highlights for me were Joanna Newsom (twice!), Feathers and The Magnetic Fields. The latter had a new album out around that time so there were lots of new songs to familiarise myself with and this one - 'Quick' was the one that stood out the most. I went to see them play a full-length gig a few months afterwards and they were even better a second time round. Well done them!


Summer Camp - Better Off Without You



This wasn't released in 2012 but this song is so sassy that it's got enough sass to propel it into this blog post and into my heart. Seriously! So sassy! Unless I've just misunderstood the whole song and it's actually not sassy? Hmmmm. It's a possibility. Well, I'll go with my original sassy reading. A good portion of this year was spent feeling sorry for myself, only for this song to shuffle into my ears and then I'd be sassing it up as I told myself to stop being such a baby. Because I'm not a baby! I'm a sassy, independent dude, wearing a nice knitted jumper, listening to a sassy song with a great bassline. In your face everyone that was a dick to me!


Marina and the Diamonds - Lies



I'm using the acoustic version of this, even though the album version is the one I obsessed over. Why? Because I got pretty sad over the Summer after being stupidly optimistic (that'll teach me) and when everything didn't work out the way I was hoping it would, I fell headlong into whatever sad songs I could get my hands on. Ears on? And this version sounds extra sad. Hot off her then-new album, 'Lies' is the perfect song to have a good old wail to. Well, I didn't actually wail out loud but I did a lot of wailing in my mind whilst dramatically typing/drawing/walking. I'd like to say I'm over it all now but...yeah. Moving (dramatically) swiftly on...


Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe



I apologise to everyone and anyone that has been within a five metre radius of me during one of my 'Call Me Maybe' moments - which is just me singing random lines from one of the catchiest songs ever made, ever. Not even in order! A scrap of chorus will just blurb out of my mouth whilst I'm writing a script or on the bus or trying to find a bargain at the supermarket. It's the sort of song that I would have spent ages trying to record off the radio. But thankfully, I don't need to do that any more thanks to MP3s and the like! Ah! And the video! So good! Good work Carly Rae Jepsen! I hope you don't just fade away into pop obscurity! You deserve many more hits!


Loreen - Euphoria



This won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. I don't need to say any more than that.


Willy Moon - Yeah Yeah



The Olympics were a pretty big deal in London and, surprisingly, I really enjoyed the whole thing (except for the closing ceremony). There was a lot of television coverage of everything and I'm pretty sure this song was used a fair few times in adverts and playbacks and the like. Even if it wasn't, for some reason it is tied to those crazy two weeks when everyone in London was being nice to each other and the trains ran on time and we all had something to talk about that wasn't the weather. I was lucky enough to get to see two Olympic events in the park! I think that was my first time at an actual sporting event and I can't believe I had so much fun. Good work Olympics! I miss you already (except for the closing ceremony)!


Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend



This isn't a 2012 song but I finally got to see Robyn perform live this year! That's a pretty big deal since she released 'Show Me Love' when I was still buying Smash Hits and I was a big fan of that song. Then, next thing I know, she's putting out 'Konichiwa Bitches' and I'm going to nightclubs to dance to it! Time flies, eh? Robyn's live show was incredible. I didn't know what to expect but it still managed to blow my brains out of my head and then everyone danced around them like a creepy rave. I have no idea where she gets the energy from let alone some of those dance moves. Needless to say, I've added quite a few to my dance move lexicon. I bet you can't wait to see me do 'the Drunken Sailor,' 'the Saucy Granny,' or 'the Rise and Shine!' What's that? You *can* wait? We'll see about that!




Off the top of my head, those are my main songs. There are already contenders for the next batch! I've been listening to them all a lot, but not as much as the songs listed above. Still, I guess I can at least just put some videos down without adding a comment. Plus, it'll give you something to look forward to if I write another one of these...


Haim - Forever



They get bonus points for the dance routine


CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share


They get bonus points for being from Scotland


Bastille - Of The Night


 
They get bonus points for the dramatic man-wail


So yeah. I think that's it. I hope you found some nice songs to enjoy. Plus you might have a better idea of what sort of songs I enjoy now so feel free to suggest stuff for me to listen to!

Stay out of trouble
TWx

People I Know: The Book Is HERE!

Hello!

Remember when I wrote about the People I Know book? Well, good news! It has finally arrived! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! Check out my shop if you don't believe me!

So, here are the details:

It is A5 size

• IT HAS A SPINE!!!
• It is FULL COLOUR!
• It has over 250 pages
• It has a soft cover that has a sassy spot varnish on it. Not sure what a spot varnish is? It just means that bits of the cover and shiny and other bits aren’t. It’s cute, trust me
• It includes a lot of comics about from the start of the webcomic up to the end of Boyfriend Week
• It doesn’t have any of the Murder, She Wrote or celebrity-themed comics…
• Also, I haven’t put some of the *really* rude ones in it
• There are some bonus bits and bobs in the back of the book – information on how People I know started, drawings of Halloween costumes and those ‘deleted scenes.’ ALSO! There is a four page bonus strip about… well, you’ll have to read it.

The book is ready to pre-order now and will continue to be so until December the 12^th. Then I’ll go on a mega posting binge! Hopefully that means you can have it in time for Christmas! YAY!

If you pre-order the book from me then you’ll also get a copy of Toby’s First Zine. It’s an A6, full colour comic by Toby the dinosaur. He made it about some of the awful dudes that have broken his little dinosaur heart. I only made 100ish of these though so get in there quick.

BONUS PRIZE! I found some old People I Know comics from before I made webcomics. They are black and white and … uh…  rather different from what you might be used to. But I thought it would be nice to maybe include some into random orders. If you definitely don’t want one then let me know in the ‘notes to seller’ box.

Speaking of the ‘notes to seller’ box – if you want me to doodle in the book or make it out to anyone then please let me know and I’ll do my best!

Right. I think that’s it. It feels really exciting to type this out as I’ve been working on the book for so long now. I really hope you like it as much as I do!

Thanks in advance

TWx

November!

Hi there

Look! It's a blog post! Full of vague details about what I'm up to and the like!

First off, I can confirm the rumours that I *did* get a new haircut and *yes* it did involve losing my beloved fringe. I'd be distraught but someone said it was "sexy" so now I'm just confused...

Next, I'll be at Thought Bubble this coming weekend. If you're anywhere near Leeds then come and visit. Even if you don't stop by my table, there are some AMAZING people there so it's really worth a look! Plus, I'll have some new tote bags!

Unfortunately, the big book hasn't arrived in time. Booooooo. But as soon as I've had confirmation that it's being shipped then I'll activate the pre-order!

Also, I'm preparing to announce the next themed-week. We've had Wizard Week, Jessica Fletcher Week(s) and Boyfriend Week... so what could be next. It should happen a little before Christmas if that helps?

2013 is nearly upon us so I'm putting my thinking cap on about what to do next. So far I've got some sassy ideas for two new mini-comics and a storyline about Christina and how she's coping now that Toby has a boyfriend.

I'll wrap this blog post up with some fan art I've been working on. It's possibly one of the most complicated things I've made for a while - but it was really good fun to do! It's fan art for the new comic book series 'Saga.' It's created by Brian K. Vaughan (the man behind Runaways!!!!) and Fiona Staples (my new favourite drawing person) and is an epic space opera about family and war and cats. I really can't do it justice. The first trade paperback is out now and I cannot recommend it enough.

Anyways. Here is my fan art! I really hope you like it!

Happy 3rd Birthday... and the PROJECT

Guess what!? It turns out that it was my website's third birthday a few days ago... and I totally forgot. Well, I didn't forget but I guess I was just distracted on other things like getting 'Hello Future' sorted and getting more webcomics done. So yes, happy third birthday to my website. I hope you are enjoying the comic!

To celebrate, I figure that now is a good a time as any to write about the PROJECT.

For a long time, I've been thinking about putting together a big book of People I Know comics. Don't believe me? Look at this comic from last year! The main problem was working out how to put together something that felt like something more than just a bunch of webcomics plopped together. Is there a way to give it a bigger story or a new reason? Well, the answer to that presented itself during Boyfriend Week 2012 - it made sense that a People I Know should begin and end with stories about Toby's relationship.

The next hurdle was finding the time to put a book together - I wasn't under any illusions that it would take a while to collate the comics I wanted to include, think about how to design it and all the extra bits and bobs to out in... Luckily, I was allowed to take some unpaid time off work to get it all done and... well, here's the front cover!

Wheeeeeeeeeeee! And there's a back cover too! How mysterious!

So yeah - the book got done. For future reference, there are lots of things to consider when making a book. If you ever make a book, give yourself plenty of time! I sent the files off to the printers and the sample arrived. Here is a photo of it!

The actual book itself will look a little different in regards to the finish and stuff but that's pretty much it. After three years or webcomics, and what feels like three years of planning and preparation, I finally have a People I Know book to be proud of.

It should be back from the printers by December but I'm hoping that it will be here in time for Thought Bubble in November. Fingers crossed. I'll do another blog post later on about the exciting bonus comic and information that goes with it and the comics it includes and even the SUPER EXCITING MINI COMIC I've made for people that get it early on... Oh who am I kidding, I can't keep the last one totally under my hat. Here is the front cover for it! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Wow. This was a pretty epic blog post. So yeah - happy third birthday. Thanks for sticking with me and I really hope you're as excited about the book as I am!

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Hello Future. Goodbye Future

Hello!

For the last few weeks, I've been uploading a longer story called 'Hello Future.' You can read the first part here. The story came to an end yesterday and I just wanted to write a little blog post to say "hooray," and "I hope you enjoyed it" and also "here is what I was thinking."

Hooray!

I hope you enjoyed it!

I enjoyed making it because I had plans and rules for this story - which is something I haven't tried before. Normally I just make whatever I want and see how things evolve. Wizarding Wednesday has been a great example of this and I'm really proud of it.

Firstly, the story had to be interesting to people that have read People I Know before without alienating a new reader. That's always tricky with webcomics. Some people see a huge archive as an obstacle to endure before they can start enjoying the latest comic. Even though People I Know only has 550ish comics in the archive, I wanted anyone who found my website for the first time to be interested in what was happening, without having to gallop through the archive. Yes, gallop. Like a comic-devouring pony.

The story also had to push things along in terms of future story lines. Believe it or not, I do actually think about character development - even though my webcomic is just a series of jokes and tears. 'Hello Future' introduced us to two new characters (Future Me and Little Robot) as well as showing us existing characters in a new light. SPOILERS! Toby the dinosaur spent a bunch of panels kissing his boyfriend. The Evil Sun and the weird green blob both got taught different types of lessons. Curly sort of stood up to Jones. Christina was nowhere to be seen (you'll find out more about that later on). The Robot got his head ripped off! So yeah - now we get to see what effect (if any) that has on future comics.

On a slightly boring note, I also set myself the challenge of making sure that each comic was the same size - in this case: A5 landscape. Sometimes there's a temptation to make a comic longer, thinking the extra space will make it better. So for 'Hello Future' I set the size challenge to make sure I never went crazy and just drew really big comics.

It was also a good excuse to touch base with a bunch of different characters that we don't see much of. Rainbow Chicken, the Sunday Science League and the Sleeping Hag all got some screen time because I'd like to do more stuff with them. And because I don't want you to forget about them! I feel like they all have something different to offer the comic. We've already established that Rainbow Chicken wants to find a gimmick... where will that take us next?

On a personal level, I made this story to give myself some breathing room to work on the PROJECT. You'll be familiar with the PROJECT if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram. I don't want to reveal what it is just yet but the sample arrived this week and I'm pretty excited about it all. I'll do a mega blog post about it soon.

In other news, I hope you're all well and having a nice time. Have I missed anything exciting?

Cornelius and Toots!

Hello!

Remember that one time I said how much I love Cornelius and Toots? Good, because the first episode was great... and the second episode came out today!!!

Wheeeee! Go and watch it over here (YouTube) or here (Newgrounds).

I liked the first episode a lot - it was funny and Toots is adorable. I would even say "adorbz" if I was so inclined... but I'm not. Plus, the animation was slick. I wish I could animate. Boo hoo hoo.

Well, good news because the second episode was just as funny and well put together, if not more so. It involves some of my favourite things: flash-bangs, rivals and crosswords. But that's not all! Because if you watch it, you might just spot something interesting in the background... and by "something" I mean the saucy picture below:

Let me know if you spot it!

It's always nice to see cool people making cool stuff and the latest episode of Cornelius and Toots has really made me want to make cartoons or something. I guess I just need to come up with a nice idea and get to work on learning to animate properly. There just isn't enough time in the world, eh?

Oh! That reminds me! Did I ever post this Cornelius and Toots fan-art I drew? I assume so! But if I didn't, here you go!

Right. I should go to bed. I hope you're all well and having a nice day. I've been busy working on the PROJECT! You might have seen some sneaky peeks on Twitter or Instagram. I'll reveal all soon so stay tuned!

Stay out of trouble
TWx

People I Know - The Shop!

I'm often asked "how do you get your hair so soft and shiny?" The answer is a strict diet of water and cake.

I'm also often asked "do you sell stuff online?" The answer is no.

Well, the answer *was* no... until today. As of today, I'm opening a mini shop! You can find it here!

(((It's a mini shop because it's open from today until Friday)))

In the mini shop, you can purchase my very popular tote bags, mini comics and a MEGA PACK which contains some really cute vinyl stickers. Oh hey, you can look at the stickers here (they're on my sketchbooks)

I haven't run a shop before so my pal is doing all the hard work for me. I'm not being lazy but he has a PayPal and the time to pack stuff.

As I wrote above, the shop will close at the end of Friday (the 28th of September) so don't delay!

In other news, I've been working on the PROJECT which has gone well. I look forward to telling you all about it soon!

Hello Future: What's Going On?

As of today, I'm trying something a bit different for People I Know.

Say hello to Hello Future - here's the first part if you haven't already seen it:

Hello Future is a storyline that will be unfolding on my website for the next few weeks, I'll be updating from Monday to Thursday so you'll get four comics a week. That's one more than three! You're totally winning at comics!

If people like it then I'll collect it together and print it out in time for MCM Expo in October. I really hope people *do* like it! I have a really cute repeating pattern lined up for the inside covers!

I wrote a load of blurb about why I'm doing a storyline instead of gags (although I like to think I've combined the two) but it all got a bit whiney. I'll save it for a concluding blogpost when it's all over. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the story and that you had a nice weekend. I ate a lot of ice cream and got sad about the Olympics finishing... which is odd since I normally don't give two hoots about sport.

On The Download

Hello!

I've been meaning to write this for a while but I think we can all agree that updating this blog has been on the back burner for a while. Sorry about that!

But! I'm here now and here's a little blog post to tell you all about On The Download - the webcomic I've been drawing for the lovely guys over at Hookshot Inc (who came up with the funny title - I can't take the credit for that). It's a website about downloadable games! You probably know all about them! I'm a big fan of Jetpack Joyride and I've previously written about my love of Frobisher Says...

Look! Here is one of the earlier ones! It's about Draw Something! Remember that?

There are six up on the site so far - you can peep at them over here. It should update every Friday and I really hope you enjoy it. I also hope that you've had a lovely day! I went to see some Athletics for the Paralympics. It was pretty exciting and my second ever time at a sporting event! I feel so unfit. I better shovel some cake into my face to make me feel better.