The Gazebo Effect

Don't be mean to dogs and stuff

2011-11-17T07:03:00.001+11:00

So, I'm thinking about studying Design next year. Or alternately I'll continue to work full time because I've become quite accustomed to having an income. But don't really have to worry about making that decision until I get offered a place in the Design course. And so here is the SPCA poster I had to make as part of my application.

And, thanks to my inability to read the English language properly, it was all done the night before it had to be submitted. And what a fun night that was...

The Rocketeer (apparently)

2011-11-14T21:03:00.001+11:00

It's been about twenty years since I last saw the film, and even then most of my memories of it are focused on young Jennifer Connelly, but thanks to the wonders of Google Images, I'm pretty sure the Rocketeer looks something like this. Although probably with less of a lop-sided head than I've drawn him with.

Drawn as an entry in the weekly Facebook OzComics drawing competition (and to avoid doing real work).

View from the Villa

2011-09-25T22:14:00.000+10:00

The view from the back of the villa in Hoi An, Vietnam. Aproximately. There may have been more trees in real life, but they were way too tedious to draw.

My entry in the Sydney Opera House Graphic 'Air Your Grievances' competiton

2011-08-27T15:53:00.001+10:00

Didn't win me diddly but it was still good to be drawing again. And my 'monkey at a typewriter' technique of learning to use Photoshop seems to be finally paying off. A little.

gz

Silt and the Stylish Affectation

2010-10-05T15:44:00.000+11:00

As you may have noticed, Aaron is no longer a redhead. While laughing at gingers is, of course, hilarious, these days it seems a little easy. Kind of like shooting orange roughy in a barrel. So lets laugh at dumb blondes instead.

Silt and the Really Choice Discovery IV

2010-08-01T15:43:00.000+10:00

And with that I think we might take a break from cartoons where the punchline is a dead body. And I look forward to setting the next strip somewhere other than a damn paddock too.

Silt and the Really Choice Discovery III

2010-06-06T15:42:00.000+10:00

...so, better late than never? Maybe we should just give schedules a miss and I'll just say there'll be a new cartoon whenever there's a new cartoon. Yeah, that sounds committal.

And, for the continuity freaks out there, yes, everyone has grown an extra finger in the off-season. It just doesn't seem right drawing all these digital amputees. Just because The Simpsons do it doesn't mean its the right thing to do. For more information, read Three Fingers by Rich Koslowski.

Silt and the Really Choice Discovery II

2010-04-11T15:40:00.000+10:00

Perhaps unsurprisingly, after declaring the intention to produce a comic a week, I immediately ran late. The lesson there? Never commit to anything ever.

Silt and the Really Choice Discovery I

2010-03-27T15:38:00.000+11:00

And welcome to the first strip. I taught myself Photoshop colouring on this one and i think it's fairly safe to say it shows. I'm not happy with several of the colour choices here, and a small but really annoying voice keeps telling me to do it all again but we're never going to get anywhere if I can't even let go of the first strip. So don't be surprised if, by the next strip, everyone's changed colour. And, if there's time, we might be able to have a crack at some shading as well.

Welcome to Ngaromanga Bay

2010-03-27T15:36:00.000+11:00

Hi there and welcome to what may be the next internet phenomenon after the lolcats, the lightsaber kid, and that guy who does all the of dances. Alternately it may just be a passing fancy like when I thought I'd look cool with glasses. Either way, it's going to happen here.

Ngaromanga Bay has been stewing in my head for a while now; somewhere between Springfield, Royston Vasey and Footrot Flats. And now, finally, the stew's all bubbled up, oozed over the side and somehow made it onto the internet.

Ngaromanga Bay is a small town on the coast of New Zealand somewhere, hemmed in on three sides by some big damn mountains and on the fourth by the vast and unforgiving ocean. Cut off for the most part from the rest of the world, the locals of Ngaromanga Bay have become a little... I believe the politically correct term is quirky. The non-politically correct term is definitely 'mental'.

The plan is that there will be a new cartoon every week, just as long as i can wrestle Photoshop into submission and life doesn't get in the way, which it does have a habit of doing. But lets see how we go anyway.

So please join Silt, Jonah, Aaron, and all the characters I haven't quite decided on names for as they live, love and have zany unpredictable misunderstandings in Ngaromanga Bay.

A Postcard from Public Transport

2006-11-15T21:24:00.000+11:00

The other night there were a couple dressed in their finest swankery (tuxedo for the gent, slinky red dress for the lady) riding on the bus when I went into the city. And the thing that strikes me is that, if you're gonna tart yourself up like that, you really should keep a twenty aside to pay for a taxi. Apart from the fact that the dress didn't really provide anywhere to stash a ten trip bus pass, it's just not a very classy mode of transport. Admittedly I do kinda like the image of several stretch limos pulling up outside an bright and spangly charity gala, followed by the 486 to Chatswood. And a bewildered granny with her shopping getting out.

And if you're too cheap to spring for taxi fare, it's not looking promising for the end of the night either. Especially since the buses stop at midnight. I don't see a dude that can't afford taxi fare springing for a penthouse suite in one of the city's finest hotels. Possibly a quick root in a dodgy alleyway behind one of the city's finest hotels. Romance ain't dead, but someone certainly appears to have beaten the crap out of it.

A Welcome of Sorts

2006-11-15T21:22:00.000+11:00

Hi there and welcome to my blog.

I don't know if you noticed, but it's not very good.

Still, I have my very own blog now. I feel totally hip and with it. I'm one funky grandpa. Between that and my mp3 player, I've totally arrived in the 21st century. A bit late admittedly but still, what'd I miss? There were hurricanes, droughts, and the Lord of the Rings movies. That's about it.

Now the interesting thing will be whether I actually keep up with my blog or I end up just forgetting about it like I did with that goldfish i had.

Let's find out together!
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Rest in peace Sharky (1989 - later in 1989)