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.

Owl City or Carly Rae Jepsen?

I was busy drawing some things when a thought popped into my head:

Would I rather be Owl City or Carly Rae Jepsen?

I have a lot of thoughts like this and I'm sure I'm not the only one... Normally they leave by brain as quickly as they arrive but this stubborn little bugger won't leave. And, in true Carrie Bradshaw-style, it got me thinking:

Would I rather be Owl City or Carly Rae Jepsen?

Obviously, both come with pros and cons...

OWL CITY

Pros:

• You seem like a nice dude
• You sound a bit like the Postal Service and I like the Postal Service
•  I like your hair
• You're younger than me so that's a thing

Cons:

• Some of your songs have silly titles
• You have an album entitled "All Things Bright and Beautiful" yet you haven't recorded a cover of the titular hymn
• You're not responsible for 'Call Me Maybe'
• This happened and it makes me sad

CARLY RAE JEPSEN

Pros:

• 'Call Me Maybe' is an amazing song
• You're Canadian and I went to Toronto once and had a lovely time
• You're also younger than me - way to make me feel like an old dude

Cons:

• 'Call Me Maybe' is an amazing song that you would have to sing all the time until the end of time
• Your fringe is in danger of becoming your trademark hairdo and I worry about getting it in my eyes
• If I had to perform 'Call Me Maybe' all the time, I still don't think I could remember the verses

And there we have it. I might add some extra pros and/or cons as I think of them. But here, I made this survey for you to fill in. Let me know your thoughts!

Things I've Been Up To

Hello Hello

I know – I suck at keeping this updated! But cut me some slack – I haven’t been slacking or anything. I’ve been doing a bunch of things. Here are some words about some of the things I’ve been up to… although my memory is terrible so they may or may not be in chronological order.

Regina Spektor

My pal Tom took me to see Regina Spektor at the Royal Albert Hall! I saw her a long time ago at a tiny place in Camden (Lock 17?) but this was very different. I’m not *that* keen on the latest album compared to songs like Us and The Call… but seeing them live was impressive. I got a bit frustrated with some of the crowd though – we were stood by some people who were trying to have a ‘comedy’ dance-off. And lots of people in the audience (I suspect it was the same three people over and over) kept shouting out “I LOVE YOU!!!!” which is lovely until it doesn’t stop.

Olympics

In return, I took Tom to the OLYMPICS! I don’t know how it has been where you live but London has gone Olympic-crazy! We were warned that using public transport would be a nightmare but the biggest nightmare has actually been trying to get tickets to see anything. However, I was lucky enough to find myself the owner of tickets to go and see Water Polo! I didn’t know anything about Water Polo before but Tom and I headed off to the Olympic Park anyway… where we had an AMAZING TIME!

The atmosphere was brilliant. If all sporting events are like that then I can understand why people go to them. Oh! And so many pin badges! You know how much I love a good pin badge. I was also excited about visiting the giant McDonald’s – I haven’t been to one in years – but the queue was too long. The queues for everything were silly-long. No McDonald’s or Megastore for me :(((

London has been on its best behaviour too - it looks so nice and there's a really pleasant atmosphere... which makes a nice change. 

MCM Manchester

Also, I met up with the lovely Joe, Philippa and Lizz for MCM Manchester! Manchester MCM? Whichever order it goes in, I was there. There were some amazing costumes – here are my favourites! I hope they don’t mind me using these photos…

X-Men were some of the first comics I started reading so I'll always have a soft spot for the main cast. And look! This dude has done a good Cyclops costume! Wolverine and Gambit are quite frequent sights at comic events but I can't remember the last time I saw a Cyclops - and this man was so nice! Good work him!

HOORAY! It's Link! DOUBLE HOORAY! It's Link in a blue tunic, carrying a bomb! Bonus points for those boots - I want to wear those boots as part of my regular wardrobe. HOORAY FOR HIM!

Look at this! The cape! The mark! The silver leggings! It must be Doctor Doom. I've never read many comics where Doctor Doom features but I've always been a fan of the character design. This cosplayer did a great job of putting it all together. I suspect that capes are very on-trend on Latveria right now...

As good as all the other costumes were, none of them came close to this tiny child, dressed as TOBY THE DINOSAUR!!! Woooooooo! I can't even explain how amazing this is. There simply aren't enough exclamation marks in the world. Gah! So. Good. And. Cute.

Other Stuff

As for drawing, if you follow me on Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook then you’ll have seen all the bits and bobs I’ve been drawing. I’ve been posting some odd stuff as I’ve started inking warm-up sketches and just filling up empty spaces with whatever is in my mind. Maybe I’ll post some of my favourites here…

It's a Creepycorn - a scary version of a Caticorn! You'll find out about them VERY SOON!

It's Link from the Legend of Zelda. I wish he was my pal!

 

I have no idea what this is or why I drew it... but here you go!

I think that's enough of a brain-spew for one blog post. Sorry for the lack of them. Remind me to write about On The Download! That's pretty exciting! Oh. And we totally need to talk about the first thirty seconds of this video:

And we definitly need to talk about the second episode of Cornelius and Toots!

But before that, I should go to bed! I hope you're all well though!

Proof I'm Not A Terrible Person!

Hello!

Sometimes I worry that I complain and moan and bitch too much and that anyone reading this will think I’m a terrible person. I don’t think I’m a terrible person though. I pretty much go out of my way to be nice to people!

With this in mind, I just wanted to put together a mini blog post about the things I’ve been enjoying lately. Or right now. Not only does this prove that I’m a person who likes things, but it also means that maybe you’ll find something to like too? And isn’t that what the Internet is all about (after naughty videos and cute cats being cute)?

So yeah – prepare to be dazzled!

"Summer Music" by Advance Base [Music Video] from Philip Hodges on Vimeo.

This man used to be Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - one of my favourite bands/musical things ever.

 

 

 I went to see Moonrise Kingdom at the cinema! I think it is the first Wes Anderson film I've sat all the way through. It was very sweet and now I want to sew badges onto all my clothes. I *almost* want to go camping!

This was a group performance on The Voice. I watched it whilst doing this emoticon O_O'''''''. They have lovely voices but whoever came up with the theme is... well... I don't know. They could be really brave and smart and I just didn't get it. But anything involving a men having to duck under a floating, plastic apple deserves some sort of mention. I like the song though! Oh - and Bo was my favourite. SPOILERS: She didn't win.

This sassy song has seen me through some typing traumas. So sassy. So very sassy.

Saga – the new comic from BKV (the man that wrote Runaways!)

 Revenge has been my new favourite series. I want to start crossing faces out of photos and doing schemes!

The Case of the Fire Inside - the latest story from Bad Machinery by John Allison.

 Cornelius and Toots is a brilliant cartoon about two paranormal investigators. It has made me want to make cartoons that are good... not like the last one I made. Plus, this reminds me a little of Professor Layton which I'm a sucker for. Well done to everyone involved. More please!

MINI POST: MCM Expo

Hello!

Time for a mini blog post about some things! Woo hoo! Hold on tight as I whine and moan about all the things I don’t like.

Oh. Except that this post is about May’s MCM Expo. There will be whining and moaning, but all of that pales into insignificance when I show you this:

Yes – that’s right. It’s Toby cosplay! The first ever…and possibly the last. Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I pretty much exploded! With happiness! Amazing.

The rest of MCM was a blur after that. I met some cool people and I saw some familiar faces but overall, I found the event quite stressful. It is now HUGE and I felt a little overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong – I’m thrilled to see the Comic Village growing alongside it… but I could have done with a little rest at some point. And maybe some nearby toilets. I was lucky enough to be sharing a table with a friend so we could take it in turns to eat, but the idea of doing it alone makes me sad.

Oh. And I should be at the Manchester MCM in July. Probably.

In other news, I drew this picture of Invincible. But you already knew that if you follow me on Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook. Oh. And Instagram but I have no idea how to link to that...