Karen. Is. Lasagne.
This blog post is inspired by The Night Window, by Thomas Newman. Play it as you read! Why not eh. (Fun fact, lasagne is plural/general, lasagna is singular/specific, apparently. Aaaanyway …) Karen. Is. Lasagne. We all know this, right? Lasagne are made with onions (which make you cry) amongst the deep layers, then the layers…
Giveaway #5: polyp elves
As mentioned in the comic, the Rumina character was actually given away years back by a generous content creator – so really I’m just passing on my lighting and materials settings (and some custom body morphs) to make this character into my ‘Rumina’ doll. Two characters included, should be everything you need in the runtimes;…
Oooh, ok, this might not be going so bad … hold on …
OK so just to give the more obsessive-y-struggling people some space – don’t hold you breath, and don’t keep refreshing this blog, but … whisper it … we’re getting there. Comic update Renders: donePages: done (201! Crazy)Bubbles: complete to page 135.Juicy, spunky detail: 80% complete. That’s right. Should be maybe this weekend. Ish. Don’t check…
Votes are in …
Goodness, what an active lot you are!! We had nearly 150 votes in 24 hours, which is quite extraordinary for a Tuesday/Wednesday morning. There are major companies who dream of that kind of interaction. Mwah-ha-haaa … boobies. Anyway thank you, everybody. Funnily enough, there was rather a clear winner for our cover vote, and being…
The Lithium Comic. 05: In Tents
Comic five is here! Wahoooo! In our last comic, we learnt the dark family secret that mean aunt Karen had been hiding. Tsss, that woman. Our young heroes managed to survive the news, but now need to figure out the next tentative steps in this already controversial relationship. Fingers crossed it goes well, eh? Download…
Comic previews …
OK we’re nearing the final few scenes of Lithium 9: speech bubbles are even done up to page like 130 or something, so we’re getting through it! Yay! To celebrate, here are two comic page previews which don’t give anything away. I’ll do them as links so if you really don’t want any spoilers whatsoever,…
New comic will be here tomorrow!
Woop woop! Ok it’s all done, I’m just going to do a final read-through tomorrow morning when I get a chance, then upload. Eeee! It’s a good one hehehehhh 🙂 Nearly … hhrrhrhrhhhhnnnn …. [Warning: may contain multiple examples of bottom things]
Tipping point
You know when you do a piece of work, a difficult project or whatever, and you don’t know if it’s going to be a box-ticking exercise or a profound piece of wonderment straight out of the soul of the universe? And then there’s this tipping-point, where suddenly you know … this is going to…
Let’s do some folding
OK my work has calmed down a tiny bit, and I thought I’d show some working for the upcoming comic. Just to show some of my thinking. Basically, I took Charlie’s Rainbow Brite top from an earlier comic (which was, itself made out of a chopped up swimming costume mesh), and stuck a Princess Peach…
Future things
OK I’ve made a decent start on Lithium #6, but it’s a long comic so don’t hold your breath; things are hectic at the beginning of a new year & this may take a while. I did notice on a forum somewhere (I googled my name, as you do), that lots of people think Lithium…
Almost nothing whatsoever
Just thought I’d pop in to say almost nothing whatsoever! Hooray! Here are a bunch of renders picked completely at random from this ridiculous blog! Hooray! Okay, maybe not picked completely at random. I’m wondering if we made the toxic masculinity points clearly enough with that guy above, whether we need to revisit him?…
Limitarianism 2.0
I was prompted to think more on the topic of Limitarianism after an interesting exchange with Alex (thanks Alex). So here’s a little further thought-wrangling. Steps to improve the world:  Make an arbitrary limit to the absolute wealth that any one human can hoard, let’s start with £1B because if you’re not happy with £1B,…
Awkward moments, silly stories
Okay, I’m enjoying putting this latest thing together. It’s a little silly, and forms a kind of chronological root to the whole STFW / Lithium universe thing. And you can probably see a little resemblance to Lithium’s Jack in the image above. So quick update: I’ve done 106 pages, think there’s maybe 50 to go,…
Free comic: Kinfolk ~ where day and night, in glory
It’s here! The second of three Kinfolk comics ~ 182 pages of sheer … 1795 -ishness. The innocence is palpable, the joy is bubblin’, the language is all over the place, the lore is strong, and the boobies … ohh, the boobies. Read it, distribute it, translate it into twenty different languages if you like,…
Ask the fans: what could happen in Lithium ten?
EDIT: Calm down a bit. OK so listen, I’ve written Lithium #10 (& 11 & 12 …), but it does get right into plot and then steers clear of any sexy situations, which for someone who kinda wants to make sexy comics (as well as funny/thoughtful ones), is a little issue! So rather than struggle…
New character extravaganza!!!
OK I’m having great fun making tons of new people. It’s always nice prepping scenes, though I have to admit I’d been a bit slow with some of the scenes because my ideas kinda outstrip my technical skills! Anyway, characters are easy to make, so here’s a few … You can’t repel boobies of this…
Hair.
I dropped the soap on the bathroom floor this morning, and WOWEE I did not think such a quick splat could collect quite so many pubes. But here we are, I thought, as I tried to redeem the situation and return the soap to its original form, desperately scrabbling against a torrent, nay a WIG…
How to 3D without dying [part 1]
People keep submitting comments to my various feedback forms, asking for 3D advice and tips. Thanks dudes, I think I’ve peppered advice throughout this blog tbh, but I’ll dump a few things here because it’s fun and exciting!!! Software I use: Poser Pro, with the Victoria 4 character (a very old 3D character by Daz),…
The big-boobs little-boobs dilemma
I know it’s an annoying topic, nobody likes to discuss boobs, but it’s a detail that needs to be sorted out. Plus this spacesuit is getting better as I sort the materials. So here’s a bunch of renders … Anyway, question is, do we go for buxom or … you know … believable human? To…
I just re-read Lithium …
… as I tend to do once every few years – just to check where we’re going and that the next comic’s consistent / doesn’t include any plot holes/fauxes-pas that need to be sorted. Anyway, what a lovely comic! I don’t mean like “Wow aren’t I clever” – I mean like it’s far sillier and…
Much faster
I’ve discovered that I can make comics much faster if I just chop all the sex scenes out! Genius! I know right? It’s so simple, why didn’t I think of this before?! All the effort is in posing people, especially when there’s two (or three) in close proximity, so from now on; nobody goes within…
Ooooh we’re getting close …
My oh my we’re nearly … Yes, yes I hear you. I want it too, believe me. It’s been a tough old summer, hasn’t it? Time for some Autumn goodness to cool the blood and settle the nerves. I want to especially send some of the good loving to my American friends – you…
Wrong order, does not compute.
As you may know, if you know me in person, I tend not to … do things in order. Sorry about that. I have basically been working on Lithium #4, and have decided to chop Lithium #3 in half, because it was getting to 110+ pages and becoming ungainly. This is kinda good news for…
One hundred and FIFTY pages!
Okay I’m ploughing through the final Lithium comic, like a … plough through a … ploughable … yoghurt? Also, as I’ve been producing it and going through the Lithium lore, I was pondering this whole thing about the Narnia series – you know there’s all these references to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe…
Too … much … sexy …. hrrrnggggg
I spent most of the day in a delightful market town that confused me greatly. You know the sort of place that blends intriguingly beautiful narrow Tudor side-streets with totally crap mouldy nineties architecture and abandoned shopping trolleys? Like four hundred years ago this was a bustling mecca, and since then it’s pretty much all…
Silliness
I rendered an image but this woman’s eyes weren’t pointing quite at Skylar’s boobies, so I had to re-render the eyes. Anyway I thought it’d be funny to turn it into an animated gif. No reason. By the way, what does everyone think about giving her a name? Trouble is I can’t refer to her…
The morning after … outfit vote!
Having got 80% of the way through comic #4, it turns out it’s been a heavy night for Charlie and Jack, so we need a quick vote for outfits. I know … onerous task, but Charlie’s character does change outfits every 5 seconds, and this is an annoying symptom (having to decide what’s next), but…
Giveaway #2: double Ds
Who’s got two dicks and had a small part in Lithium comic #10? This guy! Girl? This dude! Free giveaway, full characters for poser, based on V4. I’ve zipped it all up – password is twodicks Download → I mean … nobody might really want these characters but heck you can own a real part…
A lovely June day …
It’s sunny, wonderful things are happening all around the world, and … whisper it … there is another free Lithium comic on its way! Yay! Here in sunny Europe, we haven’t even heard anything about the American President for months, which if I’m totally honest, is a massive, massive relief! Phew. Let’s hope those amazing…
Big boobs, small bra problems
OK minor detail but it’s a fun one so I figure it’s the kind of thing Charlie and Jack will have a chat about. Charlie’s lovely pink bra (and it is a lovely 3D model, you have to admit; whoever made it did a great job, which you can see from the close-ups in comic…
Das ist sehr gut!
I’ve just noticed that some wonderful human being, from the great wide web of information-connected human beings, has started translating my comics into German!! Awesome! I was just looking at e-hentai to see if someone had kindly shared Skybloom yet and lo! A great bunch of other stuff on there. Gave me a little warm…
Fast slow fast slow slowfast
OK ok ok hold on hold on I was racing through the comic but my workplace decided it was a good time to shoot cannonballs at me and sure I can dance around like the furry guy in Kung Fu Panda 3, but it does rather put a crimp on one’s ‘extra-curricular’ productivity, it…
Religious abuse, lololol so so so so sexy
Thought I’d take a quick break from real life to update everyone on the comic: I managed to squeeze in a comiccy session yesterday and so we’re up to 120 ish pages and only half a sex scene to create/render. So we’re on schedule for next week – ish. Perhaps. Late next week. Maybe. Also,…
Very … tired … must … … … fap
Oh lordy I’ve done that stupid thing of becoming extremely stressed at work and then not realising it and then everything falls apart and I’m left in the middle going THIS IS FINE without quite spotting that my skin temperature has reached a million degrees and my nose has melted onto my lap. No, no,…
La Femme … how can I love thee, with a face like a haunted pigeon?
Alright listen, I love 3D characters, sure. But having used many over the years, I still keep coming back to Victoria4, or ‘V4’, which was designed in about 2006. And I do give new 3D models a chance, you know, I try different ones when they come out. But they suffer basic things, that I…
Together
Feels good to be together, doesn’t it? Snuggled up in bed, early-morning light giving that blue glow through the sheets. Casual glass of wine from the night before, offered giggling to a mouth already half-full of croissant. Together is good. Heck, I remember when I could travel all around Europe without the slightest hint of…
The Punisher
Although I wrote the Lithium plot a few years back, the very end has been a little flexible and has gone through a few changes. (This isn’t it, don’t worry – we’ve got a few more comics to go yet.) The path Karen’s on needs some careful weaving. I think authors too often write the…
Lithium comic #5 out tomorrow!
It’s done. Something for England to be proud of in this otherwise dark time. I’m doing final checks for story flow and need to do a bunch of tiny render tweaks, but apart from that it’s done 🙂 I’ll upload tomorrow evening (UK time). Have fun sleeping. PS. Get some fluids … … … ……
Blogging! Let’s do some freaking blogging, like it’s 1998! Yeahoooo
Wow, I’ve been busy haven’t I eh? Yes siree. Forgot about the blog for a minute … OK I didn’t but I’ve taken a few more days than normal to get round to writing anything. First-time visitors to the blog would be forgiven for thinking I’m talking total bollocks right now and have no idea…
The musics of the comicses, precious
While reading Oblomov’s updates to their extraordinary STFW wiki (serious props to Oblomov again), I happened across the Music section. For a few years I had wondered about making a sort of STFW playlist on Spotify, but the reason I didn’t, was I’d never remember what music references there had been – but hey presto!…
One hundred pages!
Important news: comic update! Okay so I did something I never normally do today – I pulled a ‘sickie’, and didn’t bother to go to work. I never do that normally, disagree with the whole thing of pretending you’re more ill than you are. Very bad, don’t do it. Naughty. No. But in my defence…
Life in the backyard …
Just wanted to say thank you! Thanks everyone for your comments in the recent vote thingy, some wonderful thoughtful responses in there from a wonderful readership! Well done all. So believe it or not, I am actually going to go with the flow and focus on the comic that pretty much everyone went for in…
Big irrelevant pink dick
I thought this’d be funny, make a big-donged alien creature, maybe have it knock on the airlock door of the colony in Skybloom … and then I thought … nah. Anyone read that comic where a teen girl humps her pet? It’s … [googles] … called Dark Rift by Epoch – anyway I quite enjoyed…
Lithium Comic 11: Shampooing My Sister ~ download it here!
Lithium comic #11 is complete, it’s here, and it’s ridiculously sexy! Hooray! A lovely continuation of the absurd Lithium storyline, includes poopoos, meta commentary, Avril Lavigne lyrics … okay it’s a little crazy, fine. Download it, read it, let me know what you think! 💅 Here’s the download link. 👈 🦄 🌈 🔥 Loading… Or…
Falling down. Looking up.
In the last comic, lots of people were hit in the feels by Mike’s journey. I must’ve had a hundred comments from people saying the same exact thing: this was something ‘other’, way beyond anything that went before. That’s cool, and a huge compliment to my efforts with these comics, thank you. One guy said…
Sponsor – Mentor – Counsellor – Dickhead? Let’s go!
Been thinking recently about my role in other people’s lives. Like I’ve been clear in my comics about my own trauma and the various paths we take to believing we are worthy of love / towards freedom. But sorting out ourselves is not the end of the story, is it? Because we’re not islands but…
An awful lot of gammon
I suppose my problem with racist marches in England, is it’s always people who clearly don’t have any friends who are much different to them. Just a sea of white faces and outfits from Sports Direct. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Sports Direct, but where we see homogeneity, we see a problem….
Lighting tests … Lithium Comic #3’s on the way …
Get ready to meet new characters, find out a shit-ton of plot, and get excited about what the hell is going to happen next! That’s right, comic #3 is on the way. Don’t hold your breath, but I’m about halfway through and it’s … pretty good I think. But then I thought comic 3 was…
Deliciously Awkward things are thinging!
Okay … the benefit of being on a Whatsapp group with a certain member of the Yugen family is that … oh heck just go and read the latest Deliciously Awkward Family Bubbles comics, cos special editions 4-6 are all out, as freshly flagged in: https://www.renderosity.com/gallery/items/3165922/deliciously-awkward-family-comics-out-now And there’s CONTROVERSY! … dun … dun ……
Quick favour …
[UPDATE: This is now done, some very kind people sent me the links, so ignore this blog post ENTIRELY] [Especially that stupid gif] [I’ll leave the article here for posterity, and in case people need to know that I make mistakes all the time, and that’s ok cos our mistakes don’t define us 🙂 ]…
Behind the scenes …
I thought it’d be funny to show some of my slapdash 3D behind-the-scenes work, show the other side of whatever scenes, from the camera’s point of view, so you can see how badly I cheat when creating these things … Perfectly reasonable for the comic, and then from the opposite angle … OW MY FACE…
Final checks …
It’s funny, I always get tons of visits to my blog ramping up towards a new Lithium comic (understandably), then after the mad flurry of the comic release it generally then dies down for a few months. Not many people check my blog after a Lithium has gone out, assuming there won’t be anything else…
How to make friends and love people.
One of the main things while developing characters is to make sure they operate in different environments. OK it’s not, but I guess part of the creative process is plopping people in different scenarios and seeing how they might perform. I’ve been doing the same with Jack, now it’s Skylar’s turn to get wet… Whilst…
Playing with Sophie Shitcrack
Okay, as you may know, before I start another comic in a series, I try and improve the characters with any ‘niggles’ that annoyed me in the previous comic. So development of Sophie is going alright after all; here are some development renders: ^ new Sophie on the left. You can’t tell the difference from…
Lithium Lives on!
Comic 10 was not the last in the series! HOW many TIMES do I have to tell people?!!? I’ve had this since like comic #2; people panicking saying YOU CAN’T LEAVE IT THERE!!!! Listen, sometimes when we say ‘The End’, it means the end of this chapter / this comic, okay? Ongoing series means…
Important walk cycle test…
During the comic-creation process, it’s really important to animate characters in looping movement poses to get a real feel for … for … … ok nothing. It’s not important to animate them, cos comics are static. It’s a totally pointless exercise, I admit. These animations, then, are just for fun. Lots of free walk cycles…
The Lithium Comic. 07: Family Bathtime
Lithium Comic #7 is finally here! OK I’ll be honest; I’m pretty proud of this one. It’s the biggest comic I’ve ever made, and I’m glad I didn’t split it up cos some of the nuanced themes needed to be unfolded in one narrative. It’s a mammoth 265 pages, to keep you warm during these…
Preppers
Oh God I’m SO sick of hearing about Coronavirus that I’ve come out of a break from the blog just to blog about it. It’s that bad. People are sharing the crappest links from clickbait articles (ie. Medium; I’m not even going to link it) and even TV news is being sensationalist to try and…
Mannequin dreams
I had this idea that maybe one of our lead characters would have dreams about the other one, adding to the awkwardness. And that maybe they could be humping an anonymous dummy to begin with, which later in the dream was revealed to be the real life person! Hooray awkwardness!!! There’s a sort of theme…
A whole comic universe, on the head of a pin
Stuck for something to do this weekend? Well, can I interest you in an entire comic universe?! Excellent. This is just a heads-up, as a few people have asked about how to download my comics … I finally got round to updating the 🤌💋 Comics & Downloads page this week, so it’s worth having a…
It’s beginning to look a lot like Chrrrrrr ….
It’s always amusing reading the comments submitted on my comics, it’s been especially entertaining seeing how people change as they get older – 80% of the comments from people in the 18-25 category are half-formed, self-prioritising claptrap straight out of Justin Biebers how-to archipelago of consumer misery. Whining and ego leading the charge of the…
The big blog swap
OKAY! So it looks from the stats of this blog like a good number of people can still get in (you’re obviously playing Google’s game; well done you for being patient). So I’m just popping in to give an update here; an extremely kind fan has offered to build and host a Sindy Anna…
Minor spoilers …
Well, I have to admit I’m having a *lovely* time finishing up this comic! It’s … well, it’s … I was trying to think about a way of blogging about this, but then the list of Photoshop layers kinda summed it up nicely, so here’s a screengrab of some of them >>> Jinkies x Come…
Render tests
I’m ploughing along merrily, and testing lighting briefly as I zap another batch of 3D wonderment into my computer’s poor render queue, and the little machine winces noticeably at me. Don’t worry lil’ fella, it’ll all be over soon. Couple a’ weeks. Have to admit, I enjoy this phase of the comic creation process; you’ve…
Trolls are people too
I’ve had a lot of feedback over the years. I think it’s an important thing to engage with; if we don’t listen to feedback, what we’re saying is we have all the answers in life; we’re saying “Screw other people’s stinky opinions, my ego’s more happy in isolation”. But feedback can help us grow (I…
Middle managers can do one
Okay, get ready for a mini (and fairly overdue) rant. As you may have noticed from my comics, I think about things, I have thoughts, one might even notice … I do have a brain. In fact, in the real world I’m a pretty well experienced thinker, paid reasonably well to be a multi-faceted specialist…
Hey shall we have a competition?
I was thinking, I could give away any / all of my 3D poser characters (along with a list of dependencies), and maybe some custom scenes and then run a 3D competition. Would be really fun to see what people did with my characters, hehehh. So who should I do? I’ve got this little alien…