The bad news with this is that we lost the RandomPirateComics.net domain name. We had already brought everything Here There Be Robots related over to this site, so it’s not a major loss.

If you haven’t already done so, please update your bookmarks!

For this page I tried using no digital inking except for the lettering. Most of the lines are the original pencils with the contrast adjusted, and just the main foreground objects have been inked with Micron pens. The final process of adding texture and shading is the most fun, since it lends itself to experimenting until something cool clicks into place.

Hope you enjoy!

Oscar & Rob

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to buy a set of micron pens.

I always see other cartoonists using these to do sketches in their books, so I thought I’d give them a try. I’ve always used brush pens but never quite got the results I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, the brush pens are great for finish work, but these microns lend themselves more to achieving that loose, sketchy look.

Its here (finally).

Its late (very late).

And its grey (why is it grey?)

I’ll be honest with you. Life’s been busy. Busier than I can ever remember, but in a good way.

Back when I drew the first 3 issues of HTBR, I had every Wednesday off from work. It was like gold. One solitary day, without distractions, to really hunker down and produce the best work I could. I could do a lot of research and preliminary sketches to get things just right. My brain was buzzing.

When that work schedule changed, I remember issue 4 being extremely difficult to draw at times. That saying “you can’t rush art” is so true when you only have a few snatches of time to draw, but want to maintain the same level of quality; to give it your best.

I’ve always believed that everything you do, pursue or accomplish comes at the expense of something else. So its our responsibility to strike the balance and put the truly important things (and people) first in our lives.

When my brother Jonah and I started this whole thing out back in 2005, it wasn’t to be rich or famous; it was for fun. So that’s my new goal with this project: to remember to keep it fun. To do it…for fun.

Of course, this will mean that the update schedule will continue to be erratic, I will continue to drop off the map for long stretches of time, but just know that it is for a good cause. Believe me, it bothered me to leave our characters stranded on a ship full of hostile pirate monkeys for the last 8 months because I know it bothered you as readers. Some of you even told me about it at the last Emerald City Comicon, but you were very nice about it and I appreciate that very much. It gives me all the more incentive to do what I reasonably can to keep the story alive, even if it comes at you kind of slow. Like a turtle dragging a dogsled. Across sand. Against the wind. Underwater (What?).

This is one of the reasons for the change in style with page 3. I’ve been toying with different ways to draw the strip, both in the interest of saving time and just to try something different (fun, remember?). One way this technique has saved time is by eliminating the inking process by about 90%. The Photoshop shading actually doesn’t take that long and allows me to achieve some cool affects that just weren’t possible with straight black and white.

So, as always, thanks for reading. And be sure to check in every once in a while to see what happens next.

-Jeremy

…aaaaand, here’s page 3.

I know, eight months is a long time to have to wait for a new page.

I’ll explain more in the blog.

My awesome wife, Brittany, took a bunch of pictures at the con, many of which feature our niece meeting all the people in cool costumes. You can see those over at the official Here There Be Robots Flickr page.

Normally, Jeremy and I take turns running the table and wandering around the convention. This year it was so busy that we ended up having very little time to see the actual convention floor. One highlight for me (and pretty much the only thing I got away from the table to see) was the Kirby Krackle concert on Sunday afternoon. If you haven’t heard these guys yet, head over to their website and check out their stuff. You can stream most of their songs on the site through their player in the upper left corner.

It was also great to hear all the support for the comic. A lot of you were asking if the comic is still being made. Even though Jeremy has very little time to draw these days, the plan is still to keep going with the comic. We have a lot more written than has been drawn, and there are a lot of fun twists and turns ahead for Oscar and Rob. We hope you will stick with us and see where the comic goes.

We know things have been slow around here for a while, but we wanted to let you know that we will once again be at Emerald City Comicon this weekend in Seattle, WA. Just like last year, we are at tables D-11/12, and will have plenty of copies of “Here There Be Robots Volume 1: Marooned” on hand.

A lot of people missed it last time since we ran out of copies so quickly. The plan this year is to have enough copies for everyone that wants one. We will also have whatever remaining stock of the single issues and T-shirts we have left on hand, as well as some new postcard sized prints of the various issue’s cover art.

We hope to see you there!

And here’s page two of our little prologue before we join Rob & Oscar on whatever adventures they may or may not be having 300 years ago. Hope you enjoy the color again ( it only made sense to color this page, too).

Hey, if anyone is still out there after that inevitable hiatus that seems to accompany the end of each issue, here’s the first page of issue #5!

For some reason, the first page of a new issue is always the most difficult to crank out. Having Labor Day off helped immensely, since I have not had a day in which I could take a few hours and just draw in a long, long time. It was fun, which is what it should be, right?

Anyway, hope you enjoy the page and I’ll do my best to keep more coming on the most regular basis I can.

Take care!

Just another filler for you to enjoy while you wait for issue #5 to begin. I don’t want the site to appear abandoned or anything, so I’ll try to at least post goofy things like this in the meantime.

Hope you like!