AMERICAN GOTHIC DAILY IS MOVING

ANNOUNCEMENT:

American Gothic Daily is MOVING!!!! http://americangothicdaily.com

easier to remember yes??

:D

Aggie

Recipies

A friend of mine is slowly becoming certified organic. Like me, she owns over an acre and a half of land -- but unlike me, she's motivated to work it. Next year I think I'll garden-- simply because the cost of food is rising.

She's getting her young daughters involved and what ever the girls make in profit goes into their college money. They have invested in a wide variety of chickens and some turkeys so that the bug problem is easier to deal with. These recipes are for the rest of the little pests the chickens wont get:

Aphid Control: 1 cup blended and pureed onions with 1 cup water. Lasts in fridge for 6 wks. Use in a spray bottle.

Dormant Oil Spray: 1/2 cup mineral oil, 1/4 cup fish oil, 1/2 cup liquid detergent, 15 cups water. will last 6 months in a cool place. Spray on plants.

Oily Garden Repellant: 1/4 cup chopped garlic, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoon mineral oil, 1 oz. of oil based soap like palmolive. Blend in blender Spray on plants.

Vegetable garden repellant: 1/4 cup garlic, 1/4 cup hot pepper, 1 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup wood ash, 1/4 hydrated lime. Puree garlic, pepper and onions. stir all together and spray on plants.


Now.. if you ask me... some of the best books of all time are:
"Cheaper and Better: Homemade alternatives to storebought goods" by Nancy Birnes.
Any of the "The Tightwad Gazette" books by Amy Dacyczyn. I found used copies of these in my local Goodwill thrift store, and when ever I find more of them.. I buy them and give them to friends. They really made the reevaluate how I was brought up. My mother and grandmother had grown up in very poor rural Indiana, but when the 80's came along-- we suddenly had money to spend and we stopped living so frugally. I was in for a shocker when I got out on my own and discovered I couldn't afford $200.00 snake skin boots on a minimum wage job.

There's so much talk right now about America being in a recession. I remember the late 70's when we were saving left overs in old bread bags. We couldn't afford fancy ziplock bags. We ate a horrible beef stew on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights with a can of corn thrown in on Wednesday to perk it up. Entertainment back then meant going to the library and getting a week's worth of Sci-Fi books. We had no cable, no satellite, no Atari yet. (yes.. I'm showing my age). My family now don't know what "poor" and "recession" really means.... it's going to be an interesting decade if we really do hit recession like I remember the gas crunch era.

Aggie

Romance Novel pages for you to enjoy

The first two pages of the AGD novel are available on my Deviant art account.

I wrote it two years ago.. way before I started the webcomic. That is why I have script well planned out foooooreeeeeeeverrrrr. It's gonna take me years to get AGD the webcomic done XD

Good for you right??

Boy.. I have a lotta work cut out for me!

Aggie Janicot

This weekend's sketchbook

SciFi channel had on this weekend a whole rash of fun movies: Ginger Snaps Back, The Mummy (from like 1992-- not the Brendan Frazier ones), The Insatiable, My Boyfriends Back... so I sat around and watched tons of campy vampire-werewolf-zombie-mummy movies. During that I worked on the current AGD update and did some sketchbook work... the first is "AnglSarumon".. a joke on our friend Saru. The next was inspired by some dreadlocks I saw on a Sci-fi commercial.... playing with the angles and messing them all up. The third was of an Asian character-- I just really liked his heart shaped face for a male. I usually dont draw those. The last is classic comic male cheese... working on the planes of the face.

Aggie

A Tribute to White Face Squirrel

White Face Squirrel had guts... probably too many. He would go right up to my sleeping dog Dagmar and eat out of her dog food bowl.

He was a huge red Squirrel- a bright orangy-red, with a pure white face. I don't think he was old.. it wasn't the kind of white face from old age.. but a pure white patch that made him very distinct.

When I went to get the mail, I found him dead in the road about four feet away. Poor guy. I'll miss him.

In typical Pagan fashion, I left him there... knowing that he would feed the other creatures of the earth. This is our local gang of turkey vultures, having a wonderful time with White Face.

I'll miss you and your silly antics in the lawn.

-Aggie

Luke and Millia

I've spent my Saturday making sculptures of Millia and Luke's heads for fun.. Luke's nose is waaay too big, and Millia's cheekbones are uneven... BUT they do what I want them to do... work as models for shading and continuity. I'm going to make Carl and Steve next I think. They will be more challenging because of all the wrinkles and more complex faces.

It's been fun doing something else but ink, ink, ink and paint for a change.

Aggie

Kel... for Reinder

I've been having way too much fun with clay this weekend.....

Character Sketches

This is the vampire Empress Dagu. Every vampire story needs royalty.. and of course, in the future, our clueless vampire's apprentice is going to blunder he way into vampire court. Predictably, there ain't much our Prince Luke can do but stand back and gasp... try to keep her out of trouble... try to keep her from getting skinned....

How that turns out... you'll all have to wait until this first story is over. I will tell you this... people die.

ha ha right? People die in every Paranormal romance story :P

Enjoy-
-Aggie

Kathy Lee Gifford... you can eat my shorts

Kathy Lee has me pissed off today... Here's her shallow little apology at youtube.


here is the crappy little comment that started it all, also on youtube. Notice the Ancient Egyptians weren't "nasty"... even though they were Pagans too. Damn she's a twit.

Of Scanners and things

Well.. I'm really not one to beg for things.. or ask.. but I think it's time I did.

American Gothic Daily runs on what ever I decide to put into it.. which so far hasn't been too much. My computer I had before I ever started-- a decent Dell Dimension 2400 with 2 gig RAM (I upgraded this in the last six months at $140.00) and 80 gig harddrive. I got a nice 19" LCD flatscreen for it last year too ($130.00) and then recently I bought myself a Wacom Cintiq ($998.00 to be precise.... and boy.. does that hurt my pocket) My Epson Perfection 1200 scanner was a steal at $6.99 from the local Goodwill thrift store. I made out awesome on that deal.

I use Corel 8 Suite for my comic (yes.. I know.. the horror... I should be using Gimp or Adobe like a good girl.. but I've used Corel for so long that I can do it in my sleep) It was a gift.

I've been buying good paper lately-- it comes to about $1.25 a sheet. I get Cartiera Magniani Portofino Acquerello 100% cotton 140lb hot press. It's super smooth, which keeps the texture out. My watercolors and pens ain't cheap... last time I bought paints I spent 275.00. That was two years ago and they're lasting me well so far. Pens on the other hand.. I go through them like crazy. Thank Goddess they're cheap.

And to make uploading and reading comics better (and just about anything else for that matter) I've gotten Hughes Satellite internet service.. the only high speed available out in BFE. Before that I had EVDO/cellular.. and it only worked when the weather was nice and I could get tower reception. $300.00 for equipment and 75.00 a month.

Here's where the begging comes in.

I want a wide format scanner next.

To really improve my comic art.. I need to do what the professionals do. They work on tabloid sized paper (11 X 17) and then scan it on a wide format scanner, shrinking it down to the size you see in comic books. That way-- the reader gets all the detail... the artist doesn't go insane trying to shove everything onto a piece of 8 X 11 1/2 paper. My recent pieces for ROCR have been two pieces of watercolor paper taped together to make the larger size paper.. then I scan them in separately.

This is only going to work as long as there is a seam in the exact middle. The day I go to draw something with a centered center panel.. I'm screwed. I'm going to have to do some fancy photoshop work. This cuts down on my production time... and for an artist like me who has to work for a living Monday through Friday and have a family too.. I dont wanna mess with that seam.

Large Format scanners aren't cheap. A new one can easily cost 1200.00 or more. I'm not going for that... I've found several used Microtek 9800's on eBay anywhere from $170.00 up to $300.00.

So.. if you wanna help me out... please feel free to donate to my paypal account. Right now I just fixed the button so it goes to "skycladstrega@yahoo.com" PLEASE MAKE SURE PAYMENTS GO TO SKYCLADSTREGA@YAHOO.COM My old email address is no longer working and I wont get donations.

If I can't get the cash over the summer... it will have to wait until work starts back up in the fall. My next paycheck isn't until September 15th. :(

*keeps her fingers crossed*
Thank you guys so much-
Aggie

Having Fun at Your Friend's Expense

Every year Hogan hosts the Halloween Caper... a chance for webcomics to crossover and be stupid.

Key word: stupid.

I like stupid fun-- so here's a look at myself (Mary-Sue-ing but of course), Aura (aka Fading Aura of "If Then Else"), Hogan of the Cameo and Crossover Archives and Deccy of EOU.... and the dog is a surprise. :P


Aggie

Characters

These are characters for other people's projects.
The elf is Elka, a GURPS/AD&D character from long... long ago (like some 15 years ago). It was nice to resurrect her and redraw her now that my skills have improved. I'm going to let Hogan borrow her (yes.. this sort of scares me).

The short haired one is "Mouse" for Net/Matt Summers -- author of Superfreaks and a host of other webcomics.

Luke image

I was goofing off and drew this image of Luke. I think I made his face too fat... but it is kinda pastel and cutesy. He's such a bish.

Odds and Ends nudity

Here's some happy happy nudity. The nude fox anthro is from Turnsky's sketchbook. The Millia-Luke cheese was me bored one afternoon. The nudes were from my old sketchbook-- glad I found them.. I wanted the two Goddesses sketch as a reference for a painting I'm working on.. and the Gorgon is from earlier in the year.

Viking Era

I drew these some time ago, and I thought I would put them back up so they could be seen.

Fairies

The Nashville Zoo has a fun collection of huge bugs and I loved looking at their different wings and patterns. I was also rather fascinated with the poison frogs.. so I got a little inspired.

Life in the fast lane

The last three weeks have been a blur....

Reinder came to visit from the Netherlands and we spent the first week going to the Frist Museum and the Nashville Zoo... playing Tennessee tourist. Our second week, members of the Hugbox flew into Nashvegas and we had a Squareone Comics Collective get together for a few days: Lissa and Erin, Saru, Dotty and Robby, and Aura. From there we caravaned to St. Louis for the Comic Genesis Cookout.

This may be the last year for the cookout, as the hosts Ryan and Beth Kolter are expecting a baby. It was good to go to it, even though many regulars didn't show up this year. We spent the day drawing in sketchbooks.. filling up as many as we could. Rein and I have some of our work scanned and featured at the Comic Genesis Forums and the Square One Forums. The rest of the time was spent at the pool and driving around a lot, eating at a lot of restaurants.

One thing we did do was go shopping at Nordstroms. Lemme tell you.. Rein looks hawt in Hugoboss tailored pants and shirt. Yay for him that the Euro is strong right now.

After the Cookout, we returned back to a quiet week of rural countryside, hitting several state parks... spending the days hiking and swimming in Tennessee waters. On Saturday we hit Adventure Con in Knoxville- and oooooooooh did it give me food for thought.

Most of it negative of course: "Goddess my art sucketh". "I should have followed my childhood dreams and went to art college sooner". "Why did I give up comics for so long?" "I hate teaching art" VS "I love teaching art- I only work 180 days a year". "I need to go back to school." "I need to work harder on my art." "I need to just give up because it's kinda pointless.....I should just be happy teaching small children to paste noodles."

So here I am, contemplating a total change ...getting the right paper, the right inks... the right tools... going from something I do half-assed on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper on my lunch breaks to doing it on the big 11 X 17 tabloid card stock. It would mean a giant step in quality for the reader.

*sigh*

Time to hit Google and Ebay... looking for an affordable tabloid/A3 scanner....

Love to all-
Aggie

Color at Feral

This week I've pulled out the watercolors again and revisited the Krakatoa/Wild Wolves page done for the Feral storyline at Reinder's comic http://rocr.net

I originally envisioned it in color when I drew it, and because of the time crunches I often face as a full time career gal I had to skip the color job. This last week I've gone back to them and watercolored them in. He thought they looked so good he's made them into a tower ad and is running them on Project Wonderful.

I have to admit.. I'm pretty happy with it too-- but I am going to invest in some better paper. I miss watercolor.. and you'll all be happy to know, AGD is coming back in color over the summer.

Though we are trading comics back soon, I still want to work on Feral, so you'll see me there too. I've totally slacked off on EOU as of late and I never did find time for Superfreaks (which makes me feel bad). This last year, selling and buying a new house, moving, remodeling and settling into my new job has all been more than I realized. Real life has really cut into my comic schedule-- I so miss it..

BUT

I'm re-evaluating my priorities, changing things up a bit.. debating the things I really want to work on. This summer, I want to get back to AGD.. get the AGD novel ready to publish and start a whole new project with Reinder. So I'm plugging away at a buffer, getting AGD up to speed again.. cutting away the things that really don't matter. See y'all soon- Aggie

Coming Back in June!

Reinder and I have had a wonderful time switching comic art duties.. and now it's time to get back to it. We've been talking, and I'm going to take back AGD in two weeks, long enough for him to finish the scripts I've given him and for me to start building a buffer.. so here's a preview of the first AGD I'm back on.

Luke's funeral will go off without a hitch.. but what happens afterwards... OH BOY!! With Luke officially dead, Patrick now thinking that his romantic rival is gone, Millia contracted to be Luke's apprentice and a killer still out on the lose-- things are only going to get more adventuresome from here on out!

How a comic can be written

There are several of us who are experimenting in comic writing on Feswork's Webcomics Beacon.

You can hear the podcasts there.. or just as importantly, see the resulting artwork at the blog.

Spent the weekend painting

Had a very good and productive weekend. Spent much time working on my yard and kitchen cabinets, then this morning I was rather inspired to paint, which I've only done once since moving to the new house. I did all this work this morning on a large five foot by six foot canvas.

See? Aggie can do more than comics....

Brigit

The Feral

Reinder writes all of his stories almost off the cuff... we've discovered a lot about our different creation styles... he writes spontaneously and plans out his drawings carefully, down to measuring out gutters and making thumb nail sketches. Me? I write everything carefully, taking notes, writing novels, making up character sheets, delving into character psychoanalysis and personal motivations... then draw something off the top of my head, no planning.. barely any wire framing. Sometimes I don't even plan for text bubbles.. and it shows in my sloppy execution.

The Feral is a character I've bugged the crap out of Reinder about. She's just this character he came up with as a catalyst for the story, but there is something about her I really like. What is this woman wearing not more than a shift doing out in the woods alone with an expensive hurdy gurdy? Those things were not cheap back then (in fact, a 13th century one is shaped like a shoe box and isn't like the lute backed model shown). She never speaks.. is that because she is mute? or is it because she doesn't know the language. I love the mystery around her.. and so I drew her today off a whim.. what I envision her like.

Kel found one of her dresses.. and I'm guessing the Feral has several laying about the place. I drew her here in sideless surcoat with ties at the ribs clinching it tight over her coteharde (I accidentally wrote houpeland.. getting them mixed up this morning). I put a hem guard on her skirting and a band of braid. I imagined her at some point traveling to where she is now, a stranger on a strange road, carrying her things in a sailor's bag (there were Norse examples on the Osaberg burial ship) and a Danish open fire skillet, which is nothing more than a long handle attached to an iron disk. No woman of the day would be complete without a head covering, and I drew hair pins too.

It's one of the things I do miss about the SCA... all of the garb research. I used to be quite the garb junkie, making everything from linen and woolen tunics to late Renaissance gowns. I did very well in the arts and sciences competitions back then, one year making a copy of Eleanor Toledo's three color brocaded gown. Right now my sewing machine sits dormant.. and one of these days, maybe I'll get back to it.

-Aggie

New Website Buttons

My new website buttons have just been finished by Turnsky of Foxfire Chronicles. He's open for commissions for all sorts of art... very talented gentleman.

*is so excited over her website coming together... its-a gonna lookie verra nice.

*grins*
Aggie

Reinder and I

This is what happens when Reinder inks one of my fairies. Not too bad :D

Turtle Brooches

Don't know why.. but I was obsessing over turtle brooches the other day.. so I drew Kel in a set.

Switching Forums

Yesterday Erin set up the new forum for AGD so I can slowly pull the plug from Comic Genesis. The new forum is available HERE.

Like the old one.. I'm not expecting a lot of traffic.. but it's nice to have it anyway. I know everyone checks the chatterbox on the front page the most-- it's easy, quick and convenient and no one has to sign in to access it. That's okay. The forum's main use will be as a source of fresh content for the front page of Squareonecomics.com -- the collective we are building. The front page will sport live feeds from blogs (creator driven content) and forums (reader driven content) so that there is always something new and fresh on the main site.

Have fun with it!
Aggie

Meteorite for Ryan

A few nights ago while driving home from town, I saw a meteorite crash to the earth about two cow fields away from the road. I was so stunned and shocked, I didn't think to get my camera out. Didn't think about collecting the sucker either. The biggest concern was "OH crap.. I just about drove off the road!"

So I was telling Ryan about it in #squareone chat and he just about wigged. A total science geek, Ryan has created and written Reasoned Cognition, a comic explaining science. He just about has me convinced I need to go back and find the rock to donate it to science.. or him.

I've heard these things can be worth something, and this one was a good size... or at least it looked like it to me. I dont know if I will go search for it though... trespassing in Tennessee is about the stupidest idea you can come up with. Just about as dumb as insulting someone's trailer park mama. Both will get your ass full of lead.

Aggie

Changing things, getting ready for move

Someday soon... the next month or two... American Gothic Daily will be moving to it's own domain and hosting, getting off of Comic Genesis. That's why the chatterbox has gotten smaller, it's going to fit on the new website differently. You can see a preview HERE, the work of Polerin.

I suck at web design. Polerin on the otherhand, is quite the little CSS and HTML guru.

The blog will be changing too. It used to be so plain and I want to use it more. Not only as an archive of fan art and other images, but for just good old fashioned blabbing. I've brought back the archiving system.

Take it easy guys-
Aggie

Update schedule due to resume!

My update schedule is due to resume after a 30 day hiatus. I know I've not been the best at updating AGD lately (or any of my other comics for that matter) but I am working on it and have an update right here in my grubby mits as we speak!

It will run Monday, and then after that.. it looks like AGD will run on a weekly schedule for a while. While it's not the old five-days-a-week gig it once was (disappointed sigh) I do hope to get back to that by summer.

In other news, life is just as messed up as it ever has been and every time I hope for some peace and quiet I have to deal with some sort of insanity. After the horrid Christmas vacation from hell things improved quite a bit. I found out I had vitamin D and folic acid deficiencies and since I've started taking them in pill form, I've felt sooooo much better. I've gotten the last of my boxes unpacked, my storage unit emptied and my workshop/mini-barn almost completely organized. The studio is looking great and I'm now settled into my new house just fine. I have started painting the kitchen cabinets a bright China red and planted tulips in the flower beds.

It's been go- go- go- go and sometimes I look back and wonder where the time went. Just yesterday it was my birthday in January and Valentine's day just sort of snuck up on me, smacked me in the back of the head and ran off giggling. It's amazing how fast 30 days goes by when you are kept busy with real life.

So anyway, enough of my whining. I hope you all enjoy the new AGD updates coming up.

Take care folks,
Aggie/Gothia