The Substitute Pen's First Appearance!

Those three colors of the word "MOE" are actually our favorite colors. When I said "ours," I meant Moe's and mine. The color of the pig is the same color as my old piggy bank. I was originally going to have the background color of the picture the same color as the background of that panel, but since it was taken in the panel with this color in the background, I decided to have that background color in the photo for consistency. Most of the smoke and Thidwick's blanket in the last panel were drawn with my substitute pen. Now I've got my new pen.

Why Is It Getting Light?

I forgot Nerm's stripes and whiskers in the last panel. Why do you think it's getting light already? Comment and tell me your choice:

A. because I didn't want to waste so much black ink from my Sharpie permanent marker
B. because the Nermians can darken the daytime sky by themselves, even if it isn't night yet
C. because the Nermians are so close to the North Pole, their night is only as long as a fireworks display
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

The Fireworks Continue

Hmmmm...maybe that's really the tooth fairy going up to that giant tooth in the sky! Nerm's sentence in the middle panel ("Nermian fireworks can be shaped into different objects in explosions") is like, full of questions! For instance, "I wonder how?" "Are they really called explosions?" "Nermian?" "Is shaped the right word in this sentence?" Comment on today's post and see if you can think of any more!

Plink, Plink! I Like That Sound!

I was originally going to have the "pow" in the second panel, since light travels faster than sound, but I changed it, for some reason.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...BOOM!

I had to think a little bit to get the lines getting smaller with the "EEEEEE" in panel 3 right. Finally, I started off with just using my Precise V5 Rolling Ball pen (the two of those pens I have are both out of ink currently, not in this strip though, so I'm using a substitute pen that's a teeny bit thicker).I could draw one of them near the middle a bit thicker. Then I could draw another one like that, only even thicker. Then I could draw the last two normal with that pen, and then trace over them with my big fat Sharpie Permanent marker.

I Have an Announcement to Make...

The Nermia story sketches are now complete! And, now, I have an announcement to make...

Each year on the December 31st post (unless it's a Sunday, then it's the January 1st post), I am going to put a picture of Moe with a crystal ball on my blog, and it will be called "Moe Predicts." It will be Moe "predicting" what will happen in some of the strips in the following year. Be on the lookout on the New Year!

So THAT'S What Kind of Animal He Is!

I like Nerm's line, "Please call me 'sir.'" TOTALLY not Peppermint Patty in some of the first strips! By the way, to get a good likeness of a tiger, I went to Google and did an image search for "tiger." This is the picture that I found perfect to use. First I sketched out the entire tiger visible, then I sketched a few more pictures of the tiger in some of President Nerm's poses. When I drew his image in a strip, I had to take a look at my sketches to get the picture right. Now I can draw it totally from memory, although I keep forgetting the whiskers. And, of course, I love drawing his bushy eyebrows.

The Tooth Fairy Wins the Elimination Award (Forever!)

I added more black to the "smoke" again, like I did in this strip. That can only be done in the Sunday strips, adding more black to the "smoke." I like the conversation that President Nerm and Merlin are talking about in panel 6. How can Mr. Nerm hear Merlin if he's just thinking words? And is something wrong with Nerm's hand in panel 5?...

NOW What?

I like how the "smoke" from their feet and paws all come together. You can actually see the part where I stopped drawing them separately, and then started drawing one big smoke thing. Look at Merlin's ears in the second panel.

Extra Joke II

Here's another example of an extra joke. Like I said yesterday, read the strip twice, once the main gag, and next the extra gag. I just love this extra gag. Usually, the extra gag isn't in my sketchbook. Sometimes, when I'm not busy and I don't really have anything to do, and I've already done the daily strip, I'll doodle in my sketchbook. Sometimes, I rough out strips in my sketchbook too.

Extra Joke

Sometimes, usually not to waste so much space, and sometimes for consistency, and other times for both, I'll throw in an extra gag. The main gag's words will be printed in nice, big, legible letters. The extra gag's words will be printed in sloppy, small, illegible letters. (Okay, just the "small" part.) You're going to have to reread this strip, first the main gag (big letters), and then the extra gag (small letters).

I'm Hungry!

The original rough in my sketchbook only had Thidwick saying LET'S ALL EAT LUNCH TOGETHER!! When I was writing it, I realized, oh, there's no room for the word together. So I switched it to now. And, that pig (obviously) is based on the way my old piggy-bank used to look like.

Hey, How WILL They Eat?

Do you know why Thidwick said, "Let's just say this?" Well, if you don't remember this strip, you probably wouldn't.

Jeez. How Long did THAT Take?

I, uh, think you should watch the teeth, guys. One of them just fell over. CATCH IT BEFORE IT BREAKS! Will the kids save Nermia? Or will that evil tooth fairy get revenge? Comment when you have a chance and tell me what you think is gonna happen next!

Lots of Teeth II

I like the way I drew Thidwick in panel 4. Merlin jumping up in panel 6 wasn't originally in my sketch. Neither was Moe fainting. I put Merlin jumping in because I thought I drew his head to high and small. My first thought was to just keep it that way, and draw a normal body, but then I thought, "That just won't look right." So I had Merlin jumping up...it also better shows us how he's feeling, doesn't it? And I put Moe fainting because his original expression just didn't fit the strip's joke very well. The original expression had him looking at us with a 3/4 view (like the one in panel 2, only reversed) through half-closed eyes. You can find a similar expression (only with Julia instead) in the last panel of this strip.

And That's a Fact!

That's a fact, by the way. I needed my mom's help on what Thidwick should say in the middle panel. I had to write it all down (not on the strip, though). When I finished, I said, "That will make it funnier." Hey, did you notice the white stuff around Thidwick's head in the first panel? I accidentally drew Moe, so I had to put some stuff that covers it up. You can still tell that Moe was under there, though.

I Think She Means "Scaredy-Dog"

The tooth fairy must know about the "two kids and two pets" stuff. But all Moe and Thidwick are concerned about is the alarm?! Merlin and Bob seem mad, too. What do you think they're thinking? Also, notice how one of the cloud formations looks like grapes.

She's as Small as A Bug!

Why is that alarm still going?!?! It would probably be easy to confuse the tooth fairy with a bug, since she's got wings and she's so

tiny!

Alert! Alert!!

The heads looking up at the alarm-setter-offer wasn't originally in my sketch.

Peculiar Castle

This will be the last appearance of the stick until near the end of the story. I'm about halfway done with the November Nermia strips. Happy Halloween, by the way. If the characters were celebrating Halloween, they might go as:

• Moe: Buzz Lightyear
• Thidwick: Linus
• Merlin: Snoopy
• Bob: Woody

Hey, everybody needs a match! Linus and Snoopy go together (Snoopy takes away the blanket) and Woody and Buzz go together. (Have you seen Toy Story or Toy Story 2?)

Merlin is the Winner!!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Yay! Merlin wins!

The white "1" in the "trophy" wasn't originally in my sketch. But it was in my mind. Until I drew this strip, I was thinking, "How in the world can a dog make a trophy out of his ear, and put a space that looks like a 1 in the middle?" I added it in to make it funnier. Also, when I sketched out this strip, this was the only gag (or joke) I had in my mind. Can you think of any other gags that would have worked out?

Official Logo Box

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 8: Let's see...Merlin's in the lead!

All those "logos" that I've been doing are really just sketches for an official logo. Here's the official one! Moe's outfit may change due to the weather/holiday/season/whatever. Or, if he just has normal clothes on, they will match the colors of the shirt in the strip. Otherwise, he will be in his normal orange-and-red outfit. (Finally, a text color other than white!)

Some More Perspective

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 2: Right!

Another day, another strip, another perspective drawing, another blog post. I think I should have put shadows under the skateboards and the racetracks...in panels 1, 2, and 4. (In Sunday strips, the logo box is panel 1 and the "drop panel" (the panel next to the logo box) is panel 2.)

A Little Perspective as a Side Dish...

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Here comes the last obstacle! Are you excited?
Panel 2: There it is!
Panel 3: Skateboard Racetrack!

I had to do four or five perspective sketches for the last panel.

How Could he Miscount 3 Obstacles into 7?

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: No wait! I miscounted!
Panel 2: There's only one more obstacle!
Panel 3: What brought that on?

I like what Merlin's thinking in the last panel.

Blanket Keep-Away? Never Heard of It!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: 5.

Comment on this post and tell me what you think the next obstacle will be (seriously, though, not something like "Keep Away with a Blanket.")

WAAAA!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Just five more obstac...
Panel 2: WAAAAA!!!
Panel 3: That's okay. It was just a fake computer.

This is like what happened to my dad's computer, although it didn't break like the stick's "computer" did. The little magnet that held the screen onto the rest of it just broke off. I'm glad it didn't break all the way.

Only the Stick is Dissy!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 2: Uhhhhhhhhhh...
Panel 3: What's that sound?

Comment when you have a chance and tell me what you think of the story so far!

Spinners!

I bet he feels like he's in a rainbow in the last panel, doesn't it? I tried to make this noticeable, but I failed. Since he's getting his security back, and he loves his security blanket, I decided to put as many hearts in his dialogue & put hearts in his eyes. (I forgot to color them both.) And, to top it off, I tried to turn the shape of the talk bubble into a heart. Eat your heart out, Charles M. Schulz!

How Come we Never See the Buttons on a Far View of the Shoes?

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 3: Um, okay...

By the way, Merlin pulled Bob's tail in the middle panel. And I'm working on the November strips for the Nermia story now. Soon I'm going to put all the Nermia posts on my sidebar over there. →

Obstacle #2

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Here comes obstacle 2!

Notice that I've made the first letter of most of the words of the obstacles Big and Bold.

Happy Halloween, Not!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 2: Halloween? Never heard of it!
Panel 3: But we do have Christmas!

The curve of the top of the stick determines which way he is facing. (No curve means he's looking at us.)

What a Beautiful Sunset Sunrise!

Oooh, we finally have a break from that "Automatic Stick Translation" stuff! So Moe finally fell asleep, huh? I had to think a little bit to get a good font for the Z in the first panel. By the way, in case you couldn't read it, the bold word in the last panel says dawn!

Moe=Brr! Rest=ZZZ

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: What we have keeps us warm!
Panel 2: Thidwick has a blanket...Merlin and Bob have fur...I have a leaf...
Panel 3: All you have is your clothes!

I needed to ask my mom if any clothes were made of fleece to make this strip, and if fleece blankets could keep you warm. Thank goodness the answer was yes to both of them, and the strip worked.

Brrrr...

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 2: Here. This should keep you warm. It always keeps me warm!

My original rough had a big Z in all the panels, indicating that Thidwick, Bob and Merlin were asleep.

What a Beautiful Sunset!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panels 1 and 2: How should I know?
Panel 4: Not now! Are you crazy?!
Panel 6: Oh.
Panel 7: I guess we could get 50 winks of shuteye.
Panel 7: Not really...
Panel 3: We sticks have to sleep longer than people do.

To make the sunset in panel 6, I started off with drawing the sun. (Really? Amazing, isn't it?) Then I colored it yellow. I drew a yellow glow around it. Then I drew some orange around it. Then I drew some red around that. Then I drew some pink around it. (To do the pink, I just colored red lightly, because I don't have a pink colored pencil.) Then I put some gray (black lightly) around the borders of the yellow glow and the orange glow. The result? A beautiful sunset!

Finally, the End of The Maze!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Yes! We finally made it!
Panel 2: Just six more obstacles!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Good news! We only have to go 136 more yards!
Panel 2: Aren't you excited to get closet to the castle, guys?
Panel 3: Guys?

Striped Z. What do you think? I wonder what they're dreaming about...

POST #100!!!!!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: About 103 yards.
Panel 3: Whatever 1000 minus 103 is!

That's 897 yards! You don't believe me? Try it on your calculator.

And now, in honor of my 100th post, I had to think of something to celebrate. I tried talking with Moe himself, and he came up with a funny idea, and here it is:

He's lighting a cake with 100 candles on it! (How long do you think it took to do that?) All of the characters must be more than enough wind power (okay, breath power) to blow all of those out!

Obstacle #1

Oooh! Tomorrow's strip is my 100th post! I've gotta do something to celebrate!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: Our first obstacle is coming soon!
Panel 2: The Maze!
Panel 3: This will be the longest!

That's a huge maze! I'm guessing it's around 1000 yards across...that's about 3000 feet! The original last panel was going to be something like an above view, with Moe, the stick (I love it that we just call him "the stick"), Thidwick, Bob and Merlin all as faint dots, and an entire view of the maze. But, normally, I can't draw this very well, so I had to switch it to this, to still show how big the maze is, but not draw all of it.

So What WILL it Take?

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 2: Probably about an hour...
Panel 3: That is, if the obstacles weren't there.

So what will it take, like, 3 hours?!

It Must be Cold Up There!

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 1: To the tooth fairy's castle.
Panel 2: It's right on top of that mountain.
Panel 3: We're going to have to get through lots of obstacles to get there!

Watch out, Moe! You almost stepped on the stick! (panel 1)

Return of the Stick II

"Automatic Stick Translation"

Panel 4: Hey guys!
Panel 5: I've been listening. I know a way you can stop that tooth fairy!
Panel 6: Follow me!
Panel 7: The tooth fairy isn't very smart.
Panel 8: I bet we can trick her or distract her, and get the teeth back!

Boy it's been a long time since I had Moe trick Julia. I like Thidwick's expression in panel 8: it looks like he's thinking "Wow, I didn't know that!"

Two kids and two pets ...in two strips

It may be obvious (or maybe it won't) that I did not use my lettering guide for the second panel. Comment and tell me if you think Moe faints well enough to get on the "Top 10 Best Fainters List," and where he would be.

Bugged-Out Eyes!

This question mark's font name is called "sketch." Look at the exclamation point! It extends out of the thought balloon!

Speaking in Code

All right...the "http://moeattention.blogspot.com" is back now. Soon the "http://" will go away.

New Joke

My original joke was going to go something like this:

1st panel: (same)
2nd panel: Merlin: "It looks like it was written around 600 BC..."
3rd panel: Merlin: "It's written in strange symbols!"

Why were they going to be written in strange symbols, you ask? Because that's the way people wrote around 600 BC. At least, they're "strange symbols" to us, because that's not the way we write.

Dog and Fire Hydrant? ...You Know the Drill.

Hey, did you ever know that Bob has pads on his front paws (hands)? Did you ever know that Bob has pads on his hind paws (feet)? I always love it when Merlin's ears stick up like they do in the second panel.

The Nermia Story Continues...

I like the

?

in the first panel. If you zoom it up, you can see that I've put little lines in between each little "block," I guess you could call them.