A few people expressed concerns about not wanting to enter the competition we're running on this blog (the one with the £100 cash prize, you remember, right) because they felt like outsiders- because they haven't joined in with any of the previous things on this blog, some feel that perhaps they've missed the boat, and it that it's too late to start joining in with this stuff. Poppycock, I say! The doors are always open! 

For those who feel a little like they're out in the cold, I have set up a mini-activity! Feel free to join in, especially if you've never done one before! Primin' the pumps!

SLIME CHALLENGE



That thing above is an enemy from the popular japanese videogame Dragon Quest, called a 'Slime'. It was designed by Akira Toriyama, who is the genius artist behind comics such as DragonBall, Dr Slump, and my favorite electric car, the Q-Volt. I'm always impressed by the Slime as a piece of design, because although it's just a very simple drawing of a quasi-human face- no more than four ellipses and two dots make up its whole design- it's somehow managed to become an incredibly iconic  character.


I took this picture in an eight-story-high sex shop in Akihabara last year- it's Dragon Quest lube.
Testament to the wide-ranging and enduring popularity of the characters!

Newspaper cartoonists will tell you that it's very difficult to draw the shape of Charlie Brown's head exactly as Schulz would have drawn it- the same is true of Toriyama's distinctively-shaped slimes, I think. The blueprint for the character can't really be studied. Because the character is so simple, its charm and charisma is all conveyed through the artist's own hand, his instinctive feel for shapes and line. So, it would be very difficult for an artist to draw a slime exactly like Toriyama's, since the design of it is innate to his own intuitive way of drawing- his 'line'.

I tried to draw Toriyama's slimes, myself. I took the formula of one ellipse for the mouth, one for each eye, two dots for the eyes, and one holding line for the whole body, and began to improvise on that theme. Try to ignore the shading and highlights, which I added later.



After a lot of freeform experimentation, my slimes eventually started to settle down, into the following:



They're not as cute and charismatic as Toriyama's! But, I had found a way of drawing the character that I could reproduce comfortably and consistently, that I guessed was as innate to my own way of drawing as Toriyama's famous slimes are to his. I had found- forgive me for this cheesy phrase I've coined- my PRIME SLIME.

Reader! What I want to know is- what does YOUR Prime Slime look like? Non-livejournal using readers are welcome to join in too, of course

Here's a short FAQ about our competition, for those who didn't get to check the comments to the previous post:


Q1: Hey James, what happens if the winning entry uses a character I designed? Do I get a cut of the winnings?

A: I've thought about this conundrum, and this is best I can come up with: Since all the characters are based on my designs anyway, it's hard for any one person to claim intellectual ownership of the character's likeness; however, I fully understand that the author of the appropriated work may feel an entitlement to part of the winnings.

The best I can offer is that if you're not ok with someone using your character, please post your cat girl / lion lady in response to this comment and it'll be added to a roster of off-limits characters. Otherwise, your consent will be assumed. I know this might not please everybody, but it's the simplest and most effective solution!

If the winner wants to share out some bucks with the people whose characters he uses, that is totally ok too but in no way obligatory

Q2: Do we have to use characters people made, or can we just make more of our own interpretations of the original cats & lions?

A: You are free to make more of your own interperatations if you wish!

Q3: Are we limited to one entry?

A: You can enter as many times as you like! It's concieveable you could try for both the grand and the booby prize, if you wanted.

Q4: What if i'm not a LiveJournal user?

A: My livejournal allows anonymous comments from non-livejournal users, so anyone can enter, so long as you leave me your name and email address/url with your entry. You can also email me, if you prefer!

Q5: Should we worry about making the comic short enough to fit on a flyer, or whatnot?
A: I am totally ok with you making it as long as you like! If we choose to use it on a flyer but it's 700 pages long, we'll just put a URL linking to the rest of the story.

If you have any more questions, ask away!

It's my friend eleanor. Some of you might remember her from this comic strip I made for her when she was ill, starring columbo. Dialogue written by korean grade-schoolers



Here's a picture I did of her from life, although I made her look kind of weird:




She is new to livejournal, but I think her blog is going to be very good. You can see it at rabbitland  . Please have a look at it! Don't be mean to her (that means you Daphny)


Update: ARE YOU PLASTER ASSES GOING TO ADD THIS CHICK OR NOT

Here is one of her drawings, to give you a flavor of what the blog might be like in the future when she starts properly adding to it