#25: Explorers, Importers, and Celebrators

Hello you unstoppable people,

It’s time to break off those barnacles and set sail with a new set of cartoons.

This week you’ll find a voyage gone wrong, some unexpected flotsam, and a birthday celebration.

Kicking the curb,
Chris

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Caption: "Aye, we reached X, but it be nothing but empty space and trolls."

There’s a little turmoil in what was formerly known as the Twitter-sphere. It’s not the space it was, and the space it is isn’t quite clear yet.

It has also changed its name from Twitter to X, or 𝕏, based on a mathematical symbol. And the first thing I thought when I saw the new name was: X marks the spot. Especially when you’re a pirate.

However, from what I understand, the treasure there is limited.

A little artist’s note: Pirates! Treasure maps! This cartoon has it all. What it doesn’t have is much in the way of background. It’s not that I didn’t have elaborate plans for one, it’s just that after I had drawn the foreground, I realised that the background wasn’t really needed.

Also of note in this cartoon and the others this week is the use of more, closer lines. It’s something I’ve added to my style, which I think work quite nicely. Especially with my love of the little details.

Caption: "Leave it. It's the old iPhone model."

It’s time for another new iPhone!

It happens every year and it has done for the past 15. It’s always a moment as Apple in their wisdom releases their next big thing, which is largely an iteration on their previous big thing. And we all kind of care about it.

Maybe sharks do too?

A little artist’s note: Somehow, this the first shipwreck cartoon I’ve released, although not the first one I’ve attempted. The goal here was simple. Simple sharks. Simple ship. Simple flotsam. About the only thing that didn’t end up being simple was the waves. How many is too many? How many is too few? In earlier drafts I had many more waves but the detail made the whole cartoon feel like I was staring into the sun: blinding. In the end, this amount of wave lines was the compromise, which I think came out okay.

Caption: “Thanks everyone for coming. Now let's all make unrealistic promises to see each other more often.”

Sound familiar?

You know how it is. It’s a birthday and you see the person and you really enjoy your time together and then you make promises to catch-up again and then before you know it a year has passed. This cartoon poses that conundrum.

It also suggests it might be the same for kids.

A little artist’s note: There is sooooo much going on with this scene, and it’s one of those moments where I think I spent more time on the background than I did on the foreground. The people, all kid-like, were easy. But the fence, box, piñata, and everything else were very heavy on the details.

There was also the challenge of drawing people who look like kids without having an adult there for reference. I would say the results are sort of there!?

Thanks for reading MiddleSquiggle!

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