If you've followed this blog at all in the last few months, you may have noticed that I abruptly stopped updating nearly a month ago, after so very nearly a year of daily or five-times-weekly updates. Indeed, I was nearing the anniversary of starting my daily content project. I was actually preparing to announce a great slowing down of my post production around September 16, when I last published this blog. As the weeks went on, I found myself sitting down to write or draw my posts after work, trying to produce something, anything before midnight. I felt like I do on those nights that my mind is racing and I keep telling myself "I have to sleep tonight. I have to!" Almost without fail, I'll eventually sleep, but it's rarely satisfying.

But then my personal life took a happy and rather distracting turn and I pretty much forgot all about Whatnot Studios. Creatively, I'd also like to focus on longer, more involved projects than nightly work on a blog can really allow. This experiment has been richly rewarding, though, and I hope that I will be able to keep up some of this momentum and continue producing work in some of my favorite demonstrated directions.

Keep an eye out here. Posts will become more frequent again. Thanks for reading!

Labels: whatnot

Two days ago, my website turned 11 years old. My first website, Newt's Pond (Newt being a handle I used in the ZZT community), launched June 10, 1998. I wrote a bit more about that in 2006.

Since September 2008, I've been posting one or more posts every single day. It's been a great deal of fun, and it's immensely satisfying looking at a month's archives and seeing I wrote or drew at least 30 different somethings that month. The Daily Content Experiment has been quite rewarding.

Still, I'm about to scale back. Starting immediately, I will not be posting on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), though I will continue to post something every Monday through Friday. This is for two reasons: first, I want to make time for other, larger projects (this weekend, for instance, we're finalizing Legends of Minigolf: the Flamingo's Challenge), and second, to improve the quality of the daily posts.

This updating schedule will continue till at least the one-year anniversary of the commencement of the Daily Content Experiment.

Labels: whatnot

Labels: whatnot

Many years ago, I had a dream. It seemed distant and impossible to attain, but I hoped that one day, I'd be able to afford that most precious and prestigious things: a domain name for my personal website. Yesterday, I purchased the domain name www.whatnotstudios.com and then went and spent as much on a pizza that I ate.

That doesn't make it any less satisfying, though. Though I've rechristened the site "Whatnot Studios," the changes to the design and content will be minimal (though I intend to take another stab at redesigning the header graphic). The daily content updates will continue, though as I begin work on some projects (which I will be announcing in the near future), many of those updates will take the form of development notes and concept sketches.

If you have any bookmarks or links to this site (or are subscribed to the feed), I'd recommend switching to this new URL. I'll eventually phase out the whatnot.bombdotcom.net URL.

Oh, and here's a picture of a fish:

Labels: whatnot

2009 is already well under way (nearly 1% expended). So far, I have mostly spent it recovering from a week of constant festivities and trying to cram in as much time as the office as I can bring myself to. As such, today's post will be one that requires not much work from myself. I bring you what I consider to be my ten best posts from 2008.

In previous years, that may have constituted nearly half of the year's content. But since September 18th, I have made one or more posts every single day. If I have a resolution for this new year, it's to continue to produce new content every single day, to expand its scope, and to strive for higher quality.

Starting tomorrow. Here's the list.

• The Importance of Tolerance. Short film from February 23, 2008.
  
• Christmas With Family. Comic from December 23, 2008.
  
• Bags!. Comic from October 7 , 2008.
  
• Mr. & Mrs. Vapor. Short story from November 25, 2008.
  
• $50 Cash Reward. Comic from March 31, 2008.
  
• OMG Cool Penguin. Drawing from November 12, 2008.
  
• Hanging Out: The Game!. Mock advertisement from October 2, 2008.
  
• Notation. Short story from August 18, 2008.
  
• Muffins on Strike. Comic from November 27, 2008.
  
• Questions for People. Mock advertisement from October 25, 2008.
  

Special mention to Impending Doom because it was so much damned fun to draw and to The Inner Monologue of a Man Receiving an Ugly Sweater for being my most commented post of the year.

Labels: whatnot

If you read this website with any frequency, you may have noticed that every so often I change out the two images flanking the Whatnot logo in the header. Usually, I draw up something seasonal. So earlier this week I took down the pilgrim/Indian-drama/tragedy masks I threw up the kind of bland wreaths that presently adorn the page.

I sketched out several other ideas, inventoried below, but they either failed at expressing their ideas (note that I spent about two minutes or less on each of these) or were only one hlaf of the picture.

A menorah and a Christmas tree, pining (ha ha) for each other in some idle pondering about interfaith relationships.
This chipper Christmas elf, having cobbled the most traditional of elfin Christmas toys, was supposed to be complemented by another, sadder elf who had produced something much less simple and joyous, like the concept of self doubt. Thinking about it now, perhaps I should've drawn the kanji for such an idea.
Two snowpersons, obviously longing for each other, but both too anxious and shy to act on their feelings. Right.
According to Mormon theology, Jesus and Satan (and indeed all men) are brothers, something the Christian community at large finds completely risible (which I can't say that I'll ever understand). Hence, matching stockings for Jesus and Satan. Imagine God the Father dressed as Santa.
Doing a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer header would've been so tired and lame, I couldn't even bring myself to finish his forelegs.
This Abominable Snowman is kind of a badass. He deserves his own primetime show on Fox.

Labels: Christmas, whatnot, winter