Today's strip is one of those rare ones that features neither Howard nor Lovecraft. Instead it has my very first attempt ever at drawing a cartoon girl.
Those of you who are regulars to Odd-Fish know my well documented dislike of drawing humans so I'm sure you can appreciate the amount of effort that went into getting this character looking halfway attractive. Hell, it's hard enough for me to get humans to look human!
So I like to think of it as a step forwards, a sign of my artwork, and just as importantly my versatility, improving as time goes by.
Another first on this strip was my attempt to render the patterns of reflected light you get just below the surface of water in bright sunlight. There it is on the whale's back in the last panel. Does it work? I'm not sure. I think I may have to work on the effect more in future strips to get it right.
I've been reviewed by two members of a site bearing the wonderful name Caught Stealing Brains. The general consensus with both of them is that they love the artwork and the characters but find the humour a little too hit-and-miss. One doesn't like puns, which rules out about two-thirds of my strips and the other doesn't seem to like the childishness of the gags.
Fair enough, I say! I can certainly understand that the humour isn't going to float everyone's boat but their reviews are generally positive and I've certainly taken on board their constructive criticism. Why, I've already added a new archives link to the main menu at the top of every page because one of them said he had a hard time finding them.
Thanks for the feedback, guys!And now on to last Saturday's competition, why was the Hammerhead Shark called Stan? I had a lot of wrong, but nonetheless very good answers to this. It seems that Stan is a very popular name for sharks generally with at least seven different references sent to me! The correct answer was because Stan (or Stanley) is the real name of that paragon of parachute pants from the 80s, MC Hammer.
The winner was 'Phil' from Newcastle who was the first of four people with the correct answer. Thanks to all of you who wrote in and better luck next time!
Lastly, Ziggy the cat is now well on the mend and is finally using his foot to weight-bear. He's still limping badly but things to seem to be improving. Hurrah!
