Martin Whitmore

Hot damn! Fresh off the sketchbook, I have for your greedy eyes the finished inks on the Group Commission! The ink really breathes some new life into the drawing. I’ve tightened up all the sketchy details, and added some finishing touches that really polish it all up nicely.

I’m going to add in some additional design elements that have changed from the pencils to the ink stage (like the “Schwing” logo, and the title on the “Ritual Sacrifice for Dummies” book) in the coloring process. Let me know what you think of the piece so far! Any suggestions as to the colors for the final? I should hand this drawing out on paper with a box of crayons and see what everyone comes up with.

Would anyone who’s getting a print when I’m finished be interested in getting a black and white version to color themselves? I should put together a coloring book someday. Of course, you’d never give it to your kids…

And our adjective-adjective-noun combinations, for your enjoyment: Hindu Plumbing God, Giant Silver Squid, Cthulhu’s Sushi Emporium, Cthulhu’s Last Supper, Ethereal Moonlit Pedalwheeler, Mysterious Wide-eyed Hierophant, Bicycling Cumming Nuns, and Deliriously Cthonic Baccante. How many can you find? (It shouldn’t be too hard!)

Welcome, Fundable Faithful!

I’ve finished up the pencils for the entire drawing, and I wanted to share with you! It looks pretty fantastic. Make sure to get a good look at it - there are lots of neat little details all over the place. Hopefully more will be added along the way, but we’ve got a great start on it! Can you all see where your contributions are? Hopefully it’s obvious at this point, but let me know if you need a hint on any of them.

All the Fundable Contributors got a full list of the 3-word phrases…. Does anyone who’s *not* involved out there care to take a guess as to what some of them are? I can’t imagine you’ll get any of them exactly right, but it ought to be entertaining to see what gets bandied around. Heh!

So tell me what you think of it so far, and we’ll keep moving forward! I’ll keep you updated on the progress of the inking.

I continue working on the group commission piece, and it is quickly becoming apparent that I have completely lost my mind. This drawing has taken on a life of its own, and terrible themes are emerging. (O_O) The darkness is scratching at the backs of my eyeballs, and I am about to begin work on the foreground of the image. The foreskin will have to wait until later. I will get to that.

I am perfectly happy to draw this commission any damn way I please. However, I would like to remind some of you who donated that you are not properly abusing your privileges by berating me constantly and undermining my sense of self-worth. I have not been abused nearly enough since this project began. Do you know how many times I’ve cried while working on it? None. By now I expected to be a broken shell of a man, living only to draw a picture under the leering eye of the unwashed masses; but my dignity remains intact. I hold my head up high. While I appreciate the feedback I’ve gotten via e-mail, and from those of you who’ve seen the drawing in person, I demand more abuse. Thank you sir, may I have another?!

Hurts so good.

We made a brief side-trip to spend time with some old friends in Youngstown last week.

I can still sing the theme song all the way through. (No.)

…however you spell it, it reads as “AWESOME”. That’s right, folks, you will be getting a badass Steampunk Cthulhu in your group commission. When I tell you that I am moist with excitement, I am certainly not exaggerating. …and who is our Titan of Tin and Tentacles squaring off against? Well, none other than the God of the Gaskets, the only guy to call when Nirvana’s toilet is backed up, the Potty-sattva himself - the Hindu Plumbing God! When your pipe dreams are clogged, he can set you on the Sevenfold Path to cleaner drains.

I hope you people are writing this down, because this is comedy gold right here. I also hope you’re enjoying the process while you watch your combined dreams come true. I’m really glad that you people are all so twisted that I can produce things like *this* from the input you give me. I think it really says something about a world in which I can create art that includes an Eldritch Steampunk Lovecraftian horror doing battle Godzilla-style with a Drain Deity. …I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but, there I go! :::sniff::: It’s just so damn beautiful!

As always, feel free to sneer, jeer, cheer, applaud, moan, groan, and give me feedback in whichever other way you feel appropriate. And remember: Concubines are the gift that keeps on giving!