Not actually anything to report, just a new bit of art to post. There is a nice fresh rant on my blog, if you wanna check that out.

CTRL ALT Petite

First post of the new year like whaat? Heh. Not actually much to report. Not a whole lot of extra brain space for internal reflection. Working 40 hours every week, and back in school full-time. Not too shabby this semester. Last quarter was rough though, pretty much whipped me out (but still got straight A's, BITCHES). This go around it'll be work that's more trying, every shift is 11+ hours. I'm not complaining though (at least not here), I'm glad to have gainful employment, and to be going to school at all (although the crippling debt I'll be in at graduation is... less than exciting). Plus, my friends pretty much rock, my family, though perhaps... less than, er, functional/normal, is still super supportive, and as always true to themselves, be it good or bad. And of course, the beau. Yeah, I tend to mope about this or that, but I'm still was happier than I can recall having been before. I'm genuinely confident with who I am for... probably the first time ever.

I really just don't give a fuck.

So I realized the other day that I seem to be more productive artistically when I'm feeling content, rather than in times of turmoil, as is the stereotypical expectation of us "creative types". When I was going through my issues earlier in the year my productivity came to a near standstill, but now I've got so much I want to do I hardly have time to get everything done and still maintain some similance of a social life. Not a problem I mind having, of course.

I spent a decent chunk of last month rearranging the furniture in my apartment. I think I just needed everything to be right where I wanted it to be, even if it seemed like it didn't make sense (luckily each item has shifted to another place that suits it), I suspect out of some need to make my space more formally my own. Everything is where I want it, because it's mine and that's where I decided it ought to be... a need to express my independence? Perhaps. Or maybe I was just bored. Hard to say.

I'm moving in October, decided not to renew the lease on the current place due to financial practicality. I'll be moving into a place nearby I've fallen in love with, it's cheap, there's tons of trees and outdoor paths, an amazing fitness center (free yoga classes) & pool, and a fenced in doggie play area. My best friend will be moving in as well- Oh, the antics to be had!

It's hard to say whether it's the moving, increasing creativity, or the financial need for it, but I've been feeling more and more "thrifty" of late. My biffl and I went earlier in the week, and I got a few items, although not nearly the treasures I was hoping for. I really wanted to find some unique items for the new place, a la Thrift Core, but I have the feeling that takes more time and energy than I have to put into it at the moment. Jacksonville's underwhelming supply of thrift/vintage/antique shops doesn't really help matters either.

Hopefully I'll be (re)starting school soon. Toured The Art Institute of Jax with my boyfriend (there I said it) last weekend, and I had an interview with an admissions adviser this past Saturday. I'm looking into the Web Development program. It's funny, they asked me why I wanted to get into web design and I was kind of at a loss. I guess the most accurate answer is "It's one of many things I enjoy doing, and let's be honest here I'm not going to become a screenwriter or video game programmer with a degree from AI and no industry connections to speak of." Although I thought that might be discouraging to the kid (yes, fresh out of high school) behind me who went on and on about how much he loves Call of Duty and wants to get paid the big bucks to make games... so I think I wound up going with something like "I've been doing it for nearly a decade now and it's something I enjoy doing." Which isn't untrue. Obviously. It just seems to make so much sense. I know how they're made, I know how to market them, I could work anywhere I pleased, and I'd be making 30g a year minimum. Not to mention the fact that the internet isn't exactly falling out of style anytime soon... sorry, I had to pause for a second, that just seemed like one of those lines in a movie where it cuts to the following week and the apocalypse has taken place. Guess I'm not living in a flick. Neat.

Sometimes I wonder though...

Happy 154th birthday, Nikola Tesla! I didn’t have time to do a brand new comic, so I found a piece I did a while ago and posted it instead. Let’s face it, I’m never going to really finish this thing... It’s the type of drawing you can keep tweaking indefinitely.

I feel like there’s a back and forth, but for the most part things seem to be going in a positive direction more than negative, and fairly consistently for once. The financial situation is always a bit of a stress on the back of the mind, but I’ve got a roof and power, and something to eat (even if is it mostly rice), so I can’t complain. I also have a bunch of people close to me making things a whole lot more tolerable. It does get kind of old, being broke all the time. I sometimes feel as though I complain about it too much, but I’m not trying to complain, just explain why it is I haven’t been able to do this party, or partake in that group activity.

I’ve also noticed lately that I’ve involuntarily become a huge asshole to anyone I don’t like. It’s like I somehow lost the faux niceness that’s kept me socially agreeable for so long. Someone says something stupid, and before I can stop myself I’ve got some snarky comment coming out of my mouth. On some level I do wind up feeling bad, but for the most part... I really just wind up amusing myself, and ideally, those around me, although obviously not the target of my sharp tongue.

I suspect I’ve completely lost my ability to tolerate stupidity.

Yeah, been a while. A lot's been going on, but I think I'm finally getting back on track. I am temporarily without Photoshop, which may delay new comics. I have one for you today, and granted it's not "technically" a Lil' Tesla, but the subject matter is... probably at least mildly amusing to anyone who might be interested in the childhood misadventures of a 19th century inventor/electircal engineer. Perhaps.

At any rate, I'm staying on my own, piecing my apartment back together, etc. I have some amazing friends who have been super supportive, as has my family. You know who you are, and you know where to find me if you need me. Pretty well through everything at this point, but in the thick of things it was tough to discuss... MOVING ON, the ol' Crimson Beretta team has reformed, and is now "Ctrl Alt Petite", so if you have any interest in gaming news/reviews, be sure to visit the For Gamers page, check out the site, and sign up for the forum.

So the most recent comic actually came into being as the result of a real(ish) incident. The "Aww!" reaction of my best friend and I seemed so natural, until I stopped to actually analyze the situation... we're lame. Oh well, we're also executives in the business of not giving a fuck. We didn't even need a bailout (too soon?).

I was binge reading xkcd the day I wrote this.

Okay, perhaps "mediocre color" would be more accurate. Next time, look for backgrounds! ... Maybe. Probably not. I find my words coming less freely this time around, but I can't really pinpoint why exactly. Could be some of the personal issues I've been having lately, or it could be the fact that I was up until 5am finishing the most recent comic. I'd wager it's the latter. That, or my unrelenting lack of focus in general. At any rate, I did want to make one note on something that's actually relevant, which is the panel with Lil' Lovecraft speaking. I thought in writing it that it was relatively self-explanitory, but it seems like it may not be, so I just wanted to expand on that a bit. Basically the parentheses are meant to show what he is actually saying, while the horrors spewing forth are what is being perceived by Nikola and Robert.

Again, it's not necessarily meant to be "laugh out loud" funny, this is just something I needed to do. I am, however, currently exploring the option of taking on a writer, if anyone is interested. Comedic writing is, shall we say, not my forte. Obviously.

Why does my Cthulhu always look emaciated?

Well, the site is finally up. Only a small handful of people are likely to find themselves reading this, but just for the sake of information, I'll go ahead with a bit of an introduction, and some information as to how this whole thing came to be. Originally, I just wanted something easy to draw, to get back into practice, so I decided on a simple webcomic, since it would also mean at least something of an obligation to keep going and make some self-enforced "deadlines". What can I say, I crave structure. So I played with a few concepts, finally coming back to the Nikola Tesla tribute comic I had been wanting to do... bearing in mind that the original was a genuine, serious, telling of the incredible life and times of Nikola Tesla.

I had, in trying to come up with a feasible style for my proper Tesla comic, done in my oh-so-familiar absent-minded way, a small doodle of what Tesla would have looked like as a child, being that many of his exploits reach back into childhood experiences. I can't pinpoint the moment I thought to myself "Hey, I should do this webcmoic about Nikola Tesla and Robert Underwood Johnson as kids", but now you've at least got a glimpse of events leading up to it.

SO with the comic established as something I was definitely going to be doing, and my new job with web.com, I had a hankerin' to build a website, and webcomic to launch, so with a "what-the-hell-let's-get-a-domain-and-do-this-right" (as opposed to simply posting the comics on my deviantART page) securely in my back pocket, I set to work. The site was initially meant to function just for the webcomic, but then I had space to fill, so I added Tesla-related links, and began the long-winded intro, and well, here we are.

Looking back, it all seems inevitable...