ICECUBES the comic strip #200
ICECUBES the comic strip #200

ICECUBES the comic strip #200
ICECUBES the comic strip #200

12 3324

ICECUBES the comic strip. #0200

Well here is #200 folks! Hooray for ICECUBES! :) I want to dedicate this ICECUBES strip #200 to my Grandfather who a long time ago told me that there were jobs in the world where people drew for a living. He was an engineer himself and did technical drawings professionally. I inherited some of his tools and used his ink dip compass to draw the sun in this strip. No computers, just real ink. Leroy Brown

12 thoughts on “ICECUBES the comic strip. #0200”

  1. Congrats on number 200!!

    1. Thanks Bearman. Thanks for being a fan.

  2. Wow, way to go! That is a ton of comics. Congratulations!

    1. Thank you Chris, thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe, ICECUBES is probably going to be members only in the near future.

  3. Great milestone, Leroy. Congratulations on strip # 200!!!!

    1. Thanks Thomas! 200 seems like a lot, but then sometimes I wonder, what only 200? It seems like a lot of work… Hope you are well ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Yay Leroy. When are you going to compile all the individual strips into a book?

    1. The book is coming, the book is coming! Announcement next week ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Leroy, Congrats on your 200th strip! Your grandfather should be really proud! And what a vibrant and colorful strip you created for the occasion, appreciated much by yours truly even if not by the denizens of your strip!

    1. Thanks so much Mark. And I really appreciate all the support and good wishes coming from your end. Definitely will be coming to see you one day soon! Cheers ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Congrats on reaching the big 2-0-0!

    1. Thanks Michael! Really appreciate the congrats… seems like a lot of work, feels like it should be #2000!! ha ha! ๐Ÿ™‚ Oh btw, love Jim Corn!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Positions.

ICECUBES When I’m planning out my strips I try to draw the characters in different poses to see which ones work best. It’s a good idea to try things out before drawing the strip and to experiment. Often times I come up with unusual results and that goes into the strip. The funnier the better! ๐Ÿ™‚ Be sure to take the poll! This coming week will be the last week. If you want a third comic on Fridays remember to support ‘ICECUBES’ by clicking on our sponsors!

Pencils.

ICECUBES I like how these pencils look. Sometimes the pencils look better than the finished ink job. I hate when that happens! Oh well, you decide. Notice how I always extend the drawing beyond the panel in order to get a balanced feeling. You can click on the image to get a better look. The finished comic strip is here.ICECUBES

Gestural drawing.

ICECUBES
It’s all in the gesture! That’s where you get the energy and ‘funny’ into your drawings. So I always spend time practicing each drawing on a sketch pad by drawing big circles and blobs for the heads and bodies of my characters. This helps me ‘anchor’ them into place and make them feel real. Be sure to always get a good under-drawing happening before committing to the final. No amount of style can make up for a poorly balanced drawing.
ICECUBES
ICECUBES
So get crazy and start making ‘gestural drawings’!
๐Ÿ™‚
$9.99 Domain and Email

Backdrawing.

ICECUBES When drawing on the outer edge of your panel, it’s important to extend the drawing as if you were drawing the whole character. Even if parts will get cut off it is a good idea to draw them to get a feeling for where things are supposed to fall. For example in this drawing, Peckinpaw is off to the side and his shoulder is mostly cut off even though I drew the shoulder. Without the shoulder I wouldn’t know where to put his arms and hands. Also note that his left arm is drawn even though I won’t see it because of the book in front of it. That way I know exactly where to put his fingers. I call this ‘backdrawing’ or drawing in the round. ๐Ÿ™‚
ICECUBES
click for larger image

Drawing tools.

ICECUBES Here is a picture of my collection of metal drawing nibs. I have gathered these throughout the years and although I only use a very specific type for drawing and lettering, I like keeping them. The ones I use on the strip are in the little plastic box in the foreground. The techniques I use to draw are very old fashioned to some. Although I do use a tablet for doing commercial work, the plastic ‘sliding’ feeling of drawing on a tablet won’t work for the strip. I like the feel of drawing on paper and inking with nibs.

Comic strip blocking.

ICECUBES ‘Blocking’ just means blocking out how the action gets laid out on the page. In this case I was trying to work out the way Peckinpaw tripped and fell by making the gesture and movement read well in the limited amount of space of the 13″ x 4″ strip. Some artists call this the storyboarding stage. It’s real important to do this before you start drawing the real strip or else you will be erasing and restarting a lot. I always try to avoid a lot of erasing because it can introduce smudges that are hard to get rid of. It can also mess up the surface of the paper making it harder to ink. You can see click on the final published strip here.
ICECUBES
ICECUBES