Meet Harold, another of the new characters from my new webcomic here at the Haven for Scofflaws. Yes, he's bent on world domination, but we like him anyway, right?
Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts
Robot Smoke Break at the Clink Clang Detective Agency
by David Finley
Phew, it's been a while Scofflaws, and I'm sorry! I've been out on one long smoke break with my robot buddies. Rest assured the case has been solved and the baddies are behind bars.
I'm not going to weigh you down with details and excuses, but I will say I am committed to getting that web comic started up here shortly. I'll start posting hints and concept arts about the strip here soon.
For now, enjoy this picture of robots smoking. You know they do when we are not looking.
Phew, it's been a while Scofflaws, and I'm sorry! I've been out on one long smoke break with my robot buddies. Rest assured the case has been solved and the baddies are behind bars.
I'm not going to weigh you down with details and excuses, but I will say I am committed to getting that web comic started up here shortly. I'll start posting hints and concept arts about the strip here soon.
For now, enjoy this picture of robots smoking. You know they do when we are not looking.
Dammit Son! This is where Daddy Works- Vader and Luke have Issues
by David Finley
Today's picture brings us more insight into the complex relationships of Fathers and Sons. Darth Vader just doesn't know what to do with his rebellious son, Luke Skywalker. Luke has gone and blown up the Death Star, and now Vader is afraid he might lose his job!
It would be enough to make him pull his hair out if his head wasn't a big mass of scar tissue!
You can purchase a print, tshirt, or phone case at Society6. (click here)
Today's picture brings us more insight into the complex relationships of Fathers and Sons. Darth Vader just doesn't know what to do with his rebellious son, Luke Skywalker. Luke has gone and blown up the Death Star, and now Vader is afraid he might lose his job!
It would be enough to make him pull his hair out if his head wasn't a big mass of scar tissue!
You can purchase a print, tshirt, or phone case at Society6. (click here)
Happy Father's Day Jerk!- Luke Skywalker
by David Finley
Here's a little more experimenting with trying to draw like I did as a child. It's much harder than it looks, but it's a lot of fun. I've got a few more of these I plan on doing. So, hopefully, you'll see those here soon.
Here We see Darth Vader getting a Father's Day gift from his son, Luke Skywalker. Luke's pal R2D2 is on the scene as well.
Here's a little more experimenting with trying to draw like I did as a child. It's much harder than it looks, but it's a lot of fun. I've got a few more of these I plan on doing. So, hopefully, you'll see those here soon.
Here We see Darth Vader getting a Father's Day gift from his son, Luke Skywalker. Luke's pal R2D2 is on the scene as well.
Mr. Cat is a Murderer
by David Finley
Oh the humanity!
Gus Gillwater is out to get his revenge on poor unsuspecting Mr. Pants, the cat. That's what you get for giving in to late night munchies, I'm afraid.
(Original sketch can be seen here.)
Oh the humanity!
Gus Gillwater is out to get his revenge on poor unsuspecting Mr. Pants, the cat. That's what you get for giving in to late night munchies, I'm afraid.
(Original sketch can be seen here.)
Fish Noir and the Importance of Eating the Right Things
by David Finley
Diet Tip #623: Avoid eating foods capable of revenge.
Diet Tip #623: Avoid eating foods capable of revenge.
Curse Words are Okay
by David Finley
I just can't help myself. My love affair began with them in elementary school around third grade, or so. The other boys in my class would whisper words from the less savory alleys of the English language right into each other's ears. The dirtier the word, the more respect you earned because there was always a risk the other person would tell on you.
If that happened, you could conceivably lie your way out of the situation, but one, you would lose the respect points you earned for cussing in the first place, and two, I think we knew instinctively our lies should be saved up for better things like impressing women.
As a young lad, I wielded cuss words carefully like a jedi padawan carrying his first lightsaber. At first, I would only say 'hell', 'ass', or 'damn' because in certain cases those words are not even considered real cuss words.
Much to my delight, these words were even in the King James version of the Bible. Because of this, I felt like I had an iron clad defense if I was ever caught. Surely no one would argue with the Bible.
Perry Mason would be so proud of me.
My Grandma always used to say that using swear words to express yourself was the sign of a small mind. That statement sounds ironclad at first, but I thought it was baloney even then. I did!
Maybe, it's because I occasionally overheard my Grandma cussing herself. Also, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't call Mark Twain a small minded person who lacked the ability to express himself. And, what about modern comedic geniuses like John Cleese, and Steve Martin, who pepper obscenities throughout their comedy routines all the while seeming quite expressive and intelligent?
Take that, Grandma!
Next, is the moral argument. People say we shouldn't cuss because it is morally wrong. Forgive me, but that also is silly. For one, I'm pretty sure none of these words were around when the Ten Commandments, or any of the Bible was written.
These words have benign origins with meanings like female dog, Richard, donkey, a pair of birds, or child of unmarried parents. Certainly, these terms are not how you would wish someone to describe you, but morally wrong? No.
Try again haters.
I think the real issue is cultural and perhaps even financial. Despite a lack of any real evil contained within their letter structure, these words are considered taboo and harsh by society. People tend to judge you when you swear. If you're on the radio, they'll charge you a lot of money to say those words. Plus, the program in question might lose sponsors because swearing doesn't fit the wholesome image they are trying to create for their product.
In this sense, cussing is a lot like showing up to a five star restaurant shirtless, and wearing flip flops.
What about the benefits of cursing? Some of you didn't even know there were benefits did you?
Studies by really smart people have shown cussing to lower stress and increase endurance to pain. Basically, they got people to submerge their hands in ice water, and the cussing people were able to withstand the pain significantly longer. There's more to it than that, but I'm sure you get the picture.
Also, swearing can be a great tool for comedy. This is my favorite use of these words, and the real reason I'm writing to champion them now. Sometimes nothing else will cap off a punchline like a good cussword.
Cursing has really taken a bad rap, which is unfair because it's helped us out a lot. Maybe we should cut these words some slack. Because, they're just words. They only have as much power as we give them. I understand people really enjoy being offended and acting self righteous, but these words would quickly lose their zing if we stopped giving them so much power over us.
Then again, would I even still enjoy these words so much if they were no longer a bit naughty?
Thanks for reading, Scofflaws!
-Dave
The Sweet Candy Delight of "Cuss Words"
I love cuss words.I just can't help myself. My love affair began with them in elementary school around third grade, or so. The other boys in my class would whisper words from the less savory alleys of the English language right into each other's ears. The dirtier the word, the more respect you earned because there was always a risk the other person would tell on you.
If that happened, you could conceivably lie your way out of the situation, but one, you would lose the respect points you earned for cussing in the first place, and two, I think we knew instinctively our lies should be saved up for better things like impressing women.
As a young lad, I wielded cuss words carefully like a jedi padawan carrying his first lightsaber. At first, I would only say 'hell', 'ass', or 'damn' because in certain cases those words are not even considered real cuss words.
Much to my delight, these words were even in the King James version of the Bible. Because of this, I felt like I had an iron clad defense if I was ever caught. Surely no one would argue with the Bible.
Perry Mason would be so proud of me.
The Counter Argument
My Grandma always used to say that using swear words to express yourself was the sign of a small mind. That statement sounds ironclad at first, but I thought it was baloney even then. I did!
 |
| Potty Mouthed Mark Twain |
Maybe, it's because I occasionally overheard my Grandma cussing herself. Also, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't call Mark Twain a small minded person who lacked the ability to express himself. And, what about modern comedic geniuses like John Cleese, and Steve Martin, who pepper obscenities throughout their comedy routines all the while seeming quite expressive and intelligent?
Take that, Grandma!
Next, is the moral argument. People say we shouldn't cuss because it is morally wrong. Forgive me, but that also is silly. For one, I'm pretty sure none of these words were around when the Ten Commandments, or any of the Bible was written.
These words have benign origins with meanings like female dog, Richard, donkey, a pair of birds, or child of unmarried parents. Certainly, these terms are not how you would wish someone to describe you, but morally wrong? No.
Try again haters.
I think the real issue is cultural and perhaps even financial. Despite a lack of any real evil contained within their letter structure, these words are considered taboo and harsh by society. People tend to judge you when you swear. If you're on the radio, they'll charge you a lot of money to say those words. Plus, the program in question might lose sponsors because swearing doesn't fit the wholesome image they are trying to create for their product.
In this sense, cussing is a lot like showing up to a five star restaurant shirtless, and wearing flip flops.
The Good Side of @%#$!
What about the benefits of cursing? Some of you didn't even know there were benefits did you?
Studies by really smart people have shown cussing to lower stress and increase endurance to pain. Basically, they got people to submerge their hands in ice water, and the cussing people were able to withstand the pain significantly longer. There's more to it than that, but I'm sure you get the picture.
Also, swearing can be a great tool for comedy. This is my favorite use of these words, and the real reason I'm writing to champion them now. Sometimes nothing else will cap off a punchline like a good cussword.
Cursing has really taken a bad rap, which is unfair because it's helped us out a lot. Maybe we should cut these words some slack. Because, they're just words. They only have as much power as we give them. I understand people really enjoy being offended and acting self righteous, but these words would quickly lose their zing if we stopped giving them so much power over us.
Then again, would I even still enjoy these words so much if they were no longer a bit naughty?
Thanks for reading, Scofflaws!
-Dave
Fighting Racism Through Art
Words and Images by David Finley
Taking on Racism
I never felt like I really had the right to talk about racism with my art. After all, I am a white guy. But, that changed when I found myself trying to come up with Saturday Night Live style comedy sketches with some friends of mine. An idea came to me about an infamous racist organization's (I won't say their name, but they dress up like ghosts) rally where all kinds of hate was being spat out via a bull-horn, until the party is ruined by a confused pac-man running through the crowd eating them all. It made us laugh.
Of course, my friends and I didn't have the costuming budget to make something like that happen, so I started thinking of other ways to communicate the same joke. Was their a single image that could do the same thing?
As silly as it is, I got nervous about making a drawing like this public. What if I offended someone? However, that also got me excited. So, I made the drawing public.
It didn't offend anyone, or at least not yet it hasn't.
In fact, people seem to really enjoy it. The rebel inside me is a bit disappointed, but it is still nice to speak out openly on such a hot button issue.
-Dave, Grand Poobah of all Scofflaws.
P.S. I made my "End Racism" design into a shirt. If you feel so inclined to join the cause and wish to purchase this shirt, please visit my shop by clicking the picture below.
Taking on Racism
I never felt like I really had the right to talk about racism with my art. After all, I am a white guy. But, that changed when I found myself trying to come up with Saturday Night Live style comedy sketches with some friends of mine. An idea came to me about an infamous racist organization's (I won't say their name, but they dress up like ghosts) rally where all kinds of hate was being spat out via a bull-horn, until the party is ruined by a confused pac-man running through the crowd eating them all. It made us laugh.
Of course, my friends and I didn't have the costuming budget to make something like that happen, so I started thinking of other ways to communicate the same joke. Was their a single image that could do the same thing?
As silly as it is, I got nervous about making a drawing like this public. What if I offended someone? However, that also got me excited. So, I made the drawing public.
It didn't offend anyone, or at least not yet it hasn't.
In fact, people seem to really enjoy it. The rebel inside me is a bit disappointed, but it is still nice to speak out openly on such a hot button issue.
-Dave, Grand Poobah of all Scofflaws.
P.S. I made my "End Racism" design into a shirt. If you feel so inclined to join the cause and wish to purchase this shirt, please visit my shop by clicking the picture below.
Illustration Friday: Return
by David Finley
I once joked with my sister, saying if I was ever to get publicly attacked by a lion or a bear, I think it's really funny to yell, "Not again!" just as they pounce on you.
Not only would it be good for Youtube views later, but it would create an intrigue around the whole thing that went beyond the moment. I like to think people would wonder who this poor man was that was repeatedly stalked by a bear.
The drawing above was made for the Illustration Friday topic: Return. This was one of those rare moments when an idea for the challenge popped immediately in my head.
I made the drawing in Adobe Illustrator and added textures in Photoshop. Comments are welcomed here.
Thanks for looking!
-Dave, Grand Poobah of the Haven for Scofflaws
I once joked with my sister, saying if I was ever to get publicly attacked by a lion or a bear, I think it's really funny to yell, "Not again!" just as they pounce on you.
Not only would it be good for Youtube views later, but it would create an intrigue around the whole thing that went beyond the moment. I like to think people would wonder who this poor man was that was repeatedly stalked by a bear.
The drawing above was made for the Illustration Friday topic: Return. This was one of those rare moments when an idea for the challenge popped immediately in my head.
I made the drawing in Adobe Illustrator and added textures in Photoshop. Comments are welcomed here.
Thanks for looking!
-Dave, Grand Poobah of the Haven for Scofflaws
The Art of Contrasts
Hey Gang.
Today I'd like to talk about writing a little bit. I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but it is something I'm interested in.
Most of the stories I write are humorous and character driven, so I tend to lean on the art of contrast to inject humor into my narrative. I could throw joke after joke and gag after gag into the mix, but eventually that would fall flat.
It's better instead, to establish a character's desires, motivations, and personality traits, and subsequently give them a situation to react to. When that situation is in extreme contrast to the personality of the individual, a great deal of humor can result.
This tried and true method is regularly used in movies and television:
Think of happy and innocent Buddy the Elf going to a jaded New York city in the movie, "Elf".
Or, as a more subtle, but incredibly funny example, consider the peculiar and almost selfish childlike nature of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean as he interacts with a more rigid and manners-oriented British society.
When I was writing and directing the "Blacksocks" episodes, I had the task of establishing the main character, Blacksocks, as a swarthy pirate. He is a man who doesn't take kind to insult, and is very interested in accumulating treasure. However, the fun and humor of the situation arose because Blacksocks, who is both salty and unsavory, works in a common office building.
At our jobs, we have people we like to work with, and those we don't. Blacksocks is no exception. He works with a guy named, Brian, who fancies himself a comedian and who likes to tell jokes at the expense of Blacksocks. We've all been picked on. The humor comes into play because a pirate would react differently to such heckling. Here's an excerpt from the script:
INT RECEPTION DESK
A DELIVERY GUY IS BY THE RECEPTIONIST DESK WITH A CRATE ON A
DOLLY. BRIAN IS LEANING AT THE RECEPTIONIST DESK FLIRTING
WITH THE HER. HABIB'S BALLOON LAYS POPPED ON THE FLOOR
BESIDE HIM.
DELIVERY GUY
Are you Captain Francis Seagravy
Blacksocks?
BRIAN
(sarcastically) No, he's one of the
other pirates we have working in
this building.
BLACKSOCKS
(Now irritated) I be Blacksocks.
DELIVERY GUY
I just need your John Hancock
here... annnnd here.
BRIAN
John Hancock? More like your Francis
Drake!
RECEPTIONIST
Brian!
DELIVERY GUY
And you can pay the amount specified
here.
BLACKSOCKS
(Rumages and counts out three gold
coins that he drops in a small bag)
Here be one... and two... and three
for yee.
BRIAN
(In mock pirate voice) Sorry
"Matey", but he don't be accepting
Doubloons. (Covers eye again and
hooks finger) ARRGH!! (laughs)
BLACKSOCKS
..............
BLACKSOCKS PAUSES, THEN PICKS A STAPLER OFF OF THE RECEPTIONIST'S DESK AND STAPLES THE BAG OF COINS DIRECTLY TO BRIAN'S CHEST ABRUPTLY ENDING BRIAN'S LAUGHTER.
BLACKSOCKS PICKS UP THE HEAVY CRATE AND WALKS AWAY WHISTLING.
A DELIVERY GUY IS BY THE RECEPTIONIST DESK WITH A CRATE ON A
DOLLY. BRIAN IS LEANING AT THE RECEPTIONIST DESK FLIRTING
WITH THE HER. HABIB'S BALLOON LAYS POPPED ON THE FLOOR
BESIDE HIM.
DELIVERY GUY
Are you Captain Francis Seagravy
Blacksocks?
BRIAN
(sarcastically) No, he's one of the
other pirates we have working in
this building.
BLACKSOCKS
(Now irritated) I be Blacksocks.
DELIVERY GUY
I just need your John Hancock
here... annnnd here.
BRIAN
John Hancock? More like your Francis
Drake!
RECEPTIONIST
Brian!
DELIVERY GUY
And you can pay the amount specified
here.
BLACKSOCKS
(Rumages and counts out three gold
coins that he drops in a small bag)
Here be one... and two... and three
for yee.
BRIAN
(In mock pirate voice) Sorry
"Matey", but he don't be accepting
Doubloons. (Covers eye again and
hooks finger) ARRGH!! (laughs)
BLACKSOCKS
..............
BLACKSOCKS PAUSES, THEN PICKS A STAPLER OFF OF THE RECEPTIONIST'S DESK AND STAPLES THE BAG OF COINS DIRECTLY TO BRIAN'S CHEST ABRUPTLY ENDING BRIAN'S LAUGHTER.
BLACKSOCKS PICKS UP THE HEAVY CRATE AND WALKS AWAY WHISTLING.
In the scene above, Brian tells joke after joke, but that's not the humor device for the scene and it isn't intended to make the audience laugh. It is used instead to build tension that will be released when Blacksocks reacts to the heckling. Don't be afraid to make the characters, or even your audience uncomfortable. Tension and release is a great writing technique, but we'll have to cover that another time.
If you're writing comedy, or even just want to add levity to your drama, look for "fish out of water" situations that contrast the nature of your character. They don't have to be as extreme as the examples above to work, either.
Thanks for reading!
For me there must be contrast;
for humorous effect I must have solemn background;
- Mark Twain
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