25 March 2008

[art] Catching Up with The Year Of Stan

1442. Stan recently went through a period of upheaval moving from Carthage, MO, to Oronngon Oregonniang Oragngjello Orangutan some neighboring town in Missouri, so his output was disrupted. Similarly, we started mashing up warning signs to generate teh_funnay, so we were similarly distracted by that and some design work. Stan's been back on the clock now for several days. Let's catch up with him, shall we?

This one looks like a job for a VMRS graduate. I hate it when this happens:


 


Now we have someone who's a trifle unclear on the concept.


Could be either one, when you think about it (but wouldn't general contracting have sort of a different reputation if they all dressed like that?):


 


 As a native Oregonian, I have a bit of perspective on how California can be all arrogant on us hinterlander berks. Don't feel bad, Colorado; you know that Cali wears high-heels, and with that shape, it'll have nothing but back problems when it gets old. And Texas's ass looks huge in that number (technical note: Stan says the shading was quite an effort on this one, and was worth the effort. We agree.)


 


Looking at the pic, we can only say the part we hope the good Lieutenant is clear on is the at 2:00 part. If he's unclear on the bogey part, this could go from messy to really ugly plenty-quick.


 


This next one just brings to light a heretofore-unknown tragedy some of our friends and neighbors suffer from. Do you know someone who has no humor? They might have funny bone cancer:


 


Herewith, the seven signs of funny-bone cancer. Be aware!:



  1. When you open a knock knock joke, the sufferer goes to the door.

  2. When told the refrigerator is running, checks to make sure that all the doors are properly locked. Schedules trip to Home Depot for extra security bolts.

  3. Sufferers wonder why those nice comics on The McLoughlin Group can't get more stand-up work.

  4. Sufferers think those LOLCats are really saying all those things.

  5. Plans day using The Onion's weather reports

  6. Wonders which one of those British comics was the actual Monty Python

  7. Wonders why Pauly Shore hasn't been given that award the French gave Jerry Lewis


Yes, funny-bone cancer is a tragic disease. Please give and give generously – you'll be laughing until you stop!

Anyway! Moving, on, the next wave in surreal television:


 


Astronomical fun fact: the planet Saturn has a lower average density than water. That means it could be seen to float ... if you had an ocean big enough, and a berk foolish enough to hang out for the splash. 'Strewth!


And staging such a show would actually destroy the Earth ... Paging Michael Bay, there's a movie to be made here!


Now, for our occaisonal exploration of the famous "uh-oh" feeling, let's meet Katie. Katie has a little dream. But, with treatment and proper medication, she might well get over that:


 


Let's all send good thoughts Katie's way. Next, let's check in on our Things I Didn't Know I Wanted To Know That, Now I Know Them, Don't Want To Know Them Any More (I Can't Unsee What I Have Seen) Dept. where we get another version of the "uh-oh" feeling:


 


Fortunately I use pen and ink. and no, Stan, I don't want to know where ink comes from. Or sausage. Or whatever goes in hot dogs. Of this next pastoral scene, I can only say that I'm glad I don't have this problem pretty much ever:


 


And now, due diligence:


 


Pays to check these things out. In the critiquity dept, I notice that Stan's figure drawing is really improving. That chyX0r on the far left is kinda passing modestly hot. Seriously, the practice will tell, and it's beginning to.


Next, in our That's A Poser segment, we explore the far side of sharing a bed with your wife:


 


Good question, Stan, good question. Too bad Robert Stack is no longer with us; he could checkt that out.


And here we pull even with Stan, as he explains indirectly that indeed, we get what we pay for:



Go, little escargot! Oh, look! Here comes a gourmet ... looks like this little guy's headed for the dead-letter office ...


Stan's continued self-discipline, self-refinement of his technique, and barnacle-like resolve to stick to it, is an insipriation to me. I'll put up his stuff as he does it because I like it. You all should follow it too. Here's the link to Stan's album.


Or just link to me.


Yah! That's it! Link to me!


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3 comments:

stan said...

It's awesome that you have had a critique and/or comment for each one of these, Sam. And when you didn't do any for awhile, I never felt like you were "behind", because you've never owed me this attention.

You've "pulled even" with me...now I just need to pull even with the actual day of the year. Let's see, 85 minus 61 equals... :O

----------

A few responses:

Day 47: I was this close to clothing our friend in VMRS blue.

Day 51: I can imagine it now - "At Hooker's Homes, our castles are built for a queen!"

Day 52: I hope it was obvious enough that mean Cali is pointing back toward Wyoming and North Dakota, two of the most rectangular states in the Union.

Day 54: Above and beyond with the hilarious Seven Signs, my friend. Above and beyond.

Day 56: The "Katie" in question, if you'll notice, is actually "Katy". I have to make the distinction here, only because one of my best friends is named Katie, and I have always tried never to exactly name a fictional character after anyone I know. I just needed a believable preteen girl's name that was four letters or less.

Day 59: I'll admit, I was trying to hurry this one through as it was getting late...I cheated. I found this woman's figure on the Internet (no, not on one of those sites) and traced over the lines. Bad cheater Stan!

Day 61: Acknowledging that we've both risen above the obvious, amateurish "snail mail" pun here. In case anyone is nerdy enough to care, the addresses on the envelope are: from Barny Jameson, 327 Filthy St., Maglolia, BG 70100; addressed to: Chair and Things, P.O. Box 3210, New Argus, CT 03003.

fringes said...

The No. 2 pencil was hilarious. I Loved this post. Thanks!

Samuel John Klein said...

@ Stan: what can I say? I'm a fan of your work, and I respect your ethic. Your personal goal of a toon a day is fun to watch. And your style is improving! (not that you were a slouch before, of course).

As far as the woman's figure, there's no shame in tracing. I actually respect shortcuts. If we had to reinvent the wheel every time we drew something, we'd never get anything drawn!

The pitfall comes when we substitute shortcut for learning actual technique. I'm convinced that accomplished artists use shortcuts because they understand what they're getting past and the technique they do know will fill that all in. As long as you took the opportunity to really look at what you were doing, if you taught yourself something about form, shape and proportion, then the shortcut was a path indeed well taken.

@Fringes: thanks for chiming in, love. I think Stan's underrated. He's got an absurd sense of humor I quite enjoy and isn't afraid to try a joke out to see if it flies. Nice fellah, too!