The Penguin

Just practicing drawing the female form. Generally I'm a pretty pathetic hand at it, but at least I got two good sketches out of it: faces belly dancers A lot of times with me it's more of a confidence thing than anything else - I keep thinking, "Wait - does that look like a dude? Need to make the boobs bigger..." For me, the ideal would be to craft an unmistakably feminine form without relying on exaggeration to make my point. Faces are especially difficult; the "big eyes and button nose" combo will only take you so far.

Hello, gang. I have just acquired a Wacom Bamboo tablet, and I've been itching to try it out. Here's a couple of sketches I managed to churn out with my new toy: Sketch #1 Sketch #2 (Neither of these sketches, by the way, have anything to do with anything). Yes, brave readers, Rick has indeed entered the Information Age. Hell has not just frozen over; it is experiencing a veritable ice age: Hell mammoths! So there you have it, kids - my first digital scribbles. Enjoy. Rick Out.

Hey gang, just real quick - I'm thinking of posting some sketches regularly, hopefully, um...weekly? Bi-weekly? Maybe Monday-Thursday-Friday. Or maybe whenever I damn well feel like it. Anyway, I think regular sketches will help spice up this blog a little bit. Keep an eye out. They will be accompanied by long, rambling explanations; if y'all are good and eat your veggies, I might even color a couple of them for you. No promises, though. Rick Out.

Howdy gang. Just another monthly update, to make it look like I keep up on this blog. Maybe someday I'll get back to regular posting. Maybe. Meh. At any rate, not much to report. I'm busy with my Portfolio class for my graphic design degree, and I'm actually doing some cool stuff. Aeolus #3 is slowly, ever so slowly getting done; just bummed out with the amount of work involved: doing all the penciling, inking, scanning, and computer-editing yourself is a beast. I mean, I did it all for the first two, but this next one is twice as long, and I've got a serious motivation deficit going here. Let's see, what else...have to do the next page for Fight or Flight ; looks like we may have a hard copy in the works at some point (not promising anything, here). Have some other projects I want to start, maybe, kind of. Just ideas bouncing around in the old noggin, things I'll get momentarily excited about. Perhaps it's better just to let them gestate for ...

Yes, faithful readers, the Schlaack is back. After a slight recess (involving a nervous breakdown - lots of fun, if you've never had one) as well as working at my summer job (no internet access), I guess I'm back in the Blogsphere. A quick update on things so far: Aeolus #3 is in the works - slowly - and at 20 pages, it's a doozy. I can't give any dates, because I'm working in fits and starts; but it's coming along. Fight or Flight is stalled. Hopefully I can squeeze out a couple of sheets this month. The amount of work involved in creating a single sheet (usually four pages) is monumental, and the results are inconsistent. I'm talking with Skippy (the author) about signing on another artist to do the backgrounds at least, and take some of the weight off my back. There are rumblings in certain Dark Corners about a new project coming out from Dark Corner Productions...I'm not sure how much I can (or should) say about the topic. Just keep your eyes peeled...

A DCP Comic Book Release Announcement! Presented by: Rick Schlaack Listen up, yokels! Announcing the release of Aeolus #2 from Dark Corner Productions... Aeolus #2 Copies are $3.00 (US ) a piece. And be sure to check out Aeolus #1, of course; otherwise Aeolus #2 won't make a whole lot of sense. Then again, it might...but it's best to be on the safe side. Aeolus #1 Also just $3.00 (US). And remember, if it's quality comics, it's gotta be... Rick Out.

Rick here. Just working through these grim last days of winter. Classes have been grinding me into the ground - I'm not really sure why; the workload isn't that heavy - and I'm currently plugging away at Aeolus #2 . Work is getting tough, too - between the patrons, stressed-out coworkers, and carts full of books and DVDs piling up in the back room, I'm ready to rip somebody's head off and wear it like a hat. Then again, maybe not. A hand puppet would be better. And if I have to smell another drunk, I swear ta God... On the other hand (playing the Pollyanna game, I s'pose), I am working more hours. And more hours means more dough. On top of that, I've gotten my comic books on the shelves at the library; I've already had somebody call up and ask when the next one's coming out (mid-March, it looks like). If I can generate enough interest, perhaps I can build up a customer base here in Howell that will help pay for DCP's Lansing efforts. Provided, of...