Nina-Ru & the Chibis

What's the opposite of "diplomatic"?

2011-12-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

I suppose...I must be super non-threatening that Celao feels comfortable committing... pronunciation errors.
*sigh*

Not for the faint of stomach

2011-11-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

No, this doesn't happen every Thanksgiving...maybe 2 out of 3 times? And we've never had an incident where the mystery meat cause illness.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T23:36:00.000-07:00

While waiting for dinner tonight...

The world according to Tevan is absolutely delightful!

Locked in my own perspective...

2011-11-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Once I got past my self-pity trip, I have to admit that yes she was darn cute, my pretty Sophie-bee, all autumn incarnation!

Edible dissonance

2011-11-05T08:57:00.001-06:00

Marcelo and I saw a bumper sticker the other day. There were super cute chibis of a cow, sheep, chicken and pig topped off with a scolding "DO YOU REALLY EAT THESE?" I answered without thinking "All of the above" and Marcelo chuckled.
It reminded me of when I was a kid and I'd get attached to the animals on the ranch who often turned into food for our family. I struggled a little with some cognitive (or culinary?) dissonance ...but somehow quickly got over it.

Literary tragedy

2011-11-04T17:49:00.001-06:00

This tragedy is seconded only by the time baby Tevan took several bites out of "Women Who Run With the Wolves"--not only where there teeth marks but quite a few of the pages pulped together, so there are parts of the book that are just no longer readable. *sad sigh*

Vegetarian sympathies

2011-11-03T13:13:00.000-06:00

...and Harmonydawn thinks I've got good deadpan delivery.

Reimbursement for services rendered

2011-10-14T18:26:00.000-06:00

It's been fading for a while now but there was a time when getting mentioned on Facebook was a greater prize than, say, a date to a movie.

Catherine and Owen in all their ancestral glory

2011-10-12T13:46:00.001-06:00

Inter-generational judgmentalism...which can only be expected, really.

First things first

2011-10-06T22:19:00.001-06:00

Keep away

2011-10-03T17:02:00.004-06:00

It was inevitable: I'd kinda been dying to toss Catherine's head around ever since I realized it wasn't attached.

Henry and self responsibility...

2011-10-02T21:45:00.000-06:00

Henry was particularly awesome at taking responsibility for his own actions. Rock it, Henry!

Marcelo in jest this morning...I think.

2011-09-30T07:52:00.000-06:00

The other day, Becky asked...

2011-09-29T09:37:00.000-06:00

Side note: I'm eagerly waiting for Becky to dye her hair again so she can match her chibi.

Words to describe my feelings around death...

2011-09-23T13:41:00.000-06:00

This came up in a conversation with my mom in August. I struggled with my words and this is what came out. A friend said that he felt like calling Ines to tell her about this great woman he knew who had just died...then he remembered that it was her. Everyday, I have things running through my head that I'd like to bring up in conversation with her and get her opinion, but she's gone. I'm grateful to have known Ines and to have had her for my comadre.

Oh, and the popsicles: that was the last thing we did together. She brought over papaya popsicles and we enjoyed each other's company the night she left for a road trip. I never had papaya ice cream before, but it has become a regular tradition around here since. *smile*

Comadre Ines

2011-09-23T10:08:00.000-06:00

I shouldn't have waited so long to chibi Ines. Taking a leap in incorporating her into the comics, I don't wish to offend anyone. I think this is my way of trying to communicate my love to her and it's another way to keep her alive for me. So, here's my initial quick drawing of her chibi, with much love:

Ines Marques da Silva
March 12, 1977 - June 24, 2011
Godmother of Estevan and Sophie

No good idea shall go unpunished...

2011-08-26T09:47:00.003-06:00

Well, that's insightful (referring to Henry VII).

I read Wolsey's quote in an Alison Weir book and I had five light bulbs go off in my head...and then I short circuited. "No good idea shall go unpunished" is something I hear my dad say (quoted frequently at staff meetings at work) and could almost have been tailored for Wolsey. Lovely.

Hmm, what else: many thanks to young Sophia who was kind enough to let me get this idea on paper this morning. It was a noisy struggle on her part but deep down I know she's super supportive of my divided attention.

Spice gauge dissonance

2011-08-09T10:54:00.002-06:00

Conche and I don't see eye to eye on our spice gauges. What for him is a 1/10 is a 7/10 for me.

Motivational speakers

2011-08-08T12:48:00.001-06:00

It was that or the 109th viewing of "Cars" or the 32nd viewing of "Madagascar" or the 19th viewing of "Avatar." Needless to say, between the two of us, we got the boy to go out for the night. Welcome medicine, I think.

The best part of my day today...or pretty darn close!

2011-07-22T23:09:00.001-06:00

Good therapy: conversing with Harmonydawn. Sometimes it's like getting the bestest prize ever from the bottom of the cereal box. Or like that one fortune cookie that summed up your life in a nut shell. But if nothing else, she got me to laugh when I least expected it today. *giddy-smile*

Am I okay? Not so much...

2011-07-21T22:39:00.001-06:00

Sketches at Oak St.

2011-07-16T17:28:00.003-06:00

Kids took me on a walk today and gave me five minutes of art-time. Haven't sat and just sketched in a while.

All Done Bugs

2011-06-19T08:49:00.000-06:00

*Note to self: regularly check the dollhouse to see what Sophie has stashed away.

Concidering Eve in the garden...

2011-06-17T21:12:00.002-06:00

Patio furniture

2011-06-14T17:15:00.001-06:00

I haven't not been drawing and busy and stuff...

2011-04-27T21:44:00.000-06:00

Although they are rough, sometimes the drawings seem much cuter in their unfinished forms, and maybe it's pencil vs. ink. At any rate, a few sketches for an upcoming Guerrilla Toons.

"Ever After" sketch for magnetic paper doll

2011-04-17T16:28:00.001-06:00

A project I've had in mind for a while and might bring up from the back burner.
Hmmm, decisions, decisions...

Sibling revelry

2011-04-02T08:52:00.004-06:00

Parental inspriation

2011-04-01T07:25:00.002-06:00

I would like to thank my dad for creative encouragement and for helping with finding an appropriate title. *smile*

Introducing: 'The Obscure Afterlife of the Tudors'

2011-04-01T06:28:00.006-06:00

Since I started working on the comics, I've gradually found myself thinking in chibis. They populate more and more of my mind, taking over the mental imagery.

And enter the Tudors, a Welch upstart family that took over the English throne for a century plus and threw their dramatic weight around. I found myself wondering how the different family members would relate to one another after death, how their grievances would play out, how they would interact without the pressures and traumas of their actual lives. I've also wondered at the nature of afterlife in general, of course, and I think that one form of afterlife exists as the imagination of the living, "living on in the memories," "living on in the pages of history books," etc, etc. This is my obscure take on the afterlives of the Tudors.

Before I knew it history was cohabitating with my imagination, and here, most humbly…er, no, somewhat humbly, I present the resulting love child.

Urgent disclaimer: I suppose, since I am of a semi-modern 21st century mind imagining all of this, my own vocabulary has seeped into their conversations. What I guess I'm trying to say is: don't be expecting me to adhere to the language of their times; they took up residency in my head, so they get to speak with my vocabulary, limited and vulgar as it is (my inner Eleanor is reeling at the thought). I'm fairly disgusted by liberal licence taken to fictionalize history for the entertainment of the current masses...but that doesn't stop me from hypocritically taking licence myself. Wow, it's refreshing to admit to hypocrisy. *deep breath* Okay, then, on with the show!

Dora and Eurico drafts

2011-03-31T19:24:00.005-06:00

Dora and Eurico from "O Auto Da Compadecida" (a Brazilian miniseries which you can read about here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0271383/)

This was done as a test for a request from Marcelo for a bumper sticker with the characters. I'll keep plugging away at it--feeling much better about tackling it these days (*mumble mumble* something about greater self-confidence...).

The coconut crab and the honey badger...

2011-03-26T07:00:00.005-06:00

Ladybug

2011-03-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a "yes"

2011-02-27T09:24:00.003-07:00

Lull in productivity...

2011-02-02T20:54:00.007-07:00

In a serious funk...though, obviously, not too serious as to not post something, but in a funk nonetheless. No ganas to even crack open the box of markers. Sad day.

Horoscope

2011-01-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

We Got Lucky

2011-01-26T06:32:00.001-07:00

Gasp In-box!

2011-01-23T21:11:00.004-07:00

Onions

2011-01-19T07:15:00.001-07:00

Eleanor's Current RPM: 42

2011-01-12T07:29:00.003-07:00

Eleanor's children send her spinning in her grave. Again. They were such decent, upstanding children, but oh my, see how low they have fallen--roller derby! And who could have foreseen that Nina would be such a bad influence?

Being Specific

2011-01-05T06:49:00.005-07:00

From two consecutive conversations with Mama Jeanne and then Alicia--thank you, ladies.

We got a "dusting" (Becky is rolling her eyes and is detailing why 2.67 inches is not a dusting), recently, but nothing major. Universe, we I would like major. Snow. ~~Now.~~ Sometime within the next three months but not after April 1^st. With no casualties and the minimum of fender benders. Danke.

P.S. yes, Carl can get his determined self out of the ranch in just about anything under 3 ft. of snow. Determined, I tell you!

Recovering

2010-12-31T03:49:00.005-07:00

What I mean to say by this is: thank god Christmas is over and we are headed into a new year. And I mean this in the most kindly-yet-glazed-over-still-recovering-from-Christmas sort of way.

Before this year closes, I want to thank my friends and family for their support and patience--very important since I've been a complete dingbat since I started the comic some three hundred and fifty something days ago. Special thanks to Celao for his particular close-to-home patience; Carl who offered me a monthly gig for extra practice; Alicia for technical advice and a life preserver in the sequential doldrums; Eliaz for helping me handle the multiple personality disorder known as Photoshop; and the lovely Harmonydawn for being my best friend and dispensing kick ass, sage spiritual advice and the best hugs ever.

Family photo time

2010-12-11T09:21:00.008-07:00

Hey, it's December, aka: family photo time. Takes some organizational skills. Good thing Marcelo wants that job...

Oh, no. Wait, wait, wait. We can't use this for the Christmas card. One more time, guys, and smile this time, dang it!

Aw! That's better. Thanks guys!

Reporting From the Not-So-Rainy Northwest...

2010-11-27T19:07:00.002-07:00

Side Effects of Therapy

2010-10-24T11:01:00.002-06:00

My imagination has been taking some interesting turns this last year and it's been fun.

Sophie's Mural

2010-10-21T19:31:00.002-06:00

I almost did document it, but I was on the warpath and couldn't stop for the camera. Sophie contributed actual art for this comic, however. Not wall art, but some well supervised, old fashioned crayon and paper art that she then allowed me to scan.

Only Sigourney Weaver gets to say that...

2010-10-19T09:57:00.003-06:00

Estevan has difficulty pronouncing this but the other line he's memoriezed from 'Avatar' is: "Where are my g*dd*mn cigarettes? Guys, what's wrong with this picture?" Dad, between laugh attacks, asked if I'm thinking about censoring the movies Estevan watches...to which my inner smart ass replied that at least I don't let him watch Cheech and Chong.

Help me to accept the things that I cannot change...

2010-10-17T18:24:00.001-06:00

Fuzzy Dice

2010-10-05T13:16:00.002-06:00

I was completely surprised by the gift of fuzzy dice...man.

New Schedule

2010-10-04T16:52:00.001-06:00

Harmony let me know of the philosophy of there being two kinds of people in life: those who have a zombie-plan and those who do not. I don't but Harmony says her zombie-plan includes me and my family, and I feel really safe knowing she's looking out for us. She didn't specify further.

Spilt Rice

2010-10-03T09:25:00.005-06:00

Everyone, this is Brandy, my sister-in-law. I've been wanting to cartoon this for a year and a half. I'm not sure if she'll like this or not--but I've dressed her up in greens, her favorite color, and hope she doesn't mind much.

Note: my family sometimes calls me "9" and it has to do with how my name is pronounced. People get funny about the pronunciation and spend ridiculous amounts of time correcting each other. I've given up caring and answer to both "Ni-nah" and "Nee-nah".

Fence Climbing...

2010-09-11T12:24:00.002-06:00

You bring up my childhood, or any subject relative within five degrees and my dad will trot out his collection of horror stories. I was apparently a hellion and the cause of the premature aging of at least five relatives. When I comment on my own children's falls, bruises or random acts of chaos, he rolls his eyes and says something about karma. I asked him recently what he'd done to karmicly deserve to raise a wild child like me and the subject got changed suddenly.

Intercultural Miscommunication

2010-09-08T07:44:00.001-06:00

Celao Napoleon

2010-09-06T17:00:00.002-06:00

News Report: Boxes

2010-09-05T10:38:00.002-06:00

Moth

2010-08-30T15:15:00.002-06:00

Carl J. Judson Sr. and Eleanor Meredith's wedding anniversary

2010-08-09T22:44:00.003-06:00

My paternal grandparents were married 69 years ago. Today's date felt especially significant when my aunt mentioned this anniversary this morning. Not sure what either of them would think of being "chibied" but this is my favored way to honor dates these days...So, blessings to Carl and Eleanor, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren!

8/9/10

2010-08-09T22:42:00.002-06:00

Thinking about Jim Reidhead who once upon a time on 8/8/88 brought the significance of numerically aligned dates to my attention.

Amanda

2010-08-08T23:15:00.001-06:00

2010-07-11T09:25:00.002-06:00

Um...Alicia's nicer than Lucy, though.

Guerrilla Painter Girl!

2010-07-10T17:10:00.002-06:00

2010-07-04T08:58:00.002-06:00

"Africa" Song

2010-07-03T10:18:00.001-06:00

Not a comic, really--just an acknowledgment of a passing event. We often find ourselves listening to Shakira when Celao checks out the noticias on TV...and we find ourselves humming along...and then dancing. Tevan has even started requesting the "Africa" song.

Lost in Denver with Becky...

2010-06-29T14:34:00.003-06:00

2010-06-15T19:01:00.002-06:00

Harmonydawn says stuff sometimes that strikes me as hilarious--especially the stuff that wasn't at all intended to be funny, just everyday comments.

2010-06-12T08:33:00.001-06:00

2010-06-07T11:38:00.000-06:00

2010-06-05T16:29:00.001-06:00

2010-06-03T18:55:00.001-06:00

*happy dance* Made an official title image for FRSA!

Playin' dress up...

2010-06-02T21:21:00.002-06:00

Liz and Amsbry Chibis

2010-05-25T13:24:00.002-06:00

I got a comission for chibis! Yay! These are of my cousins, Amsbry and Liz. They are nearly inseperable sisters and best friends (figuratively "inseperable"--currently, Liz is studying in Boston and Amsbry is teaching english in Korea). My aunt Becky asked me to draw them up for the girls--I enjoyed this very much. I chose outfits of fictional/mythical characters who reminded me of some of the things I love best about my cousins. Clockwise: Alice and Bella, Dorothy and the Scarecrow, Artemis and Athene.

House and Holmes...alrighty then.

2010-05-04T12:32:00.002-06:00

It will all be worth it IF...

2010-05-02T15:56:00.001-06:00

Artist's note: Yay! Go get your own. I'm not sharing. *nom nom nom*. . . *nom nom*. . .

Movie Mesh: Amelie and Neo

2010-04-29T12:14:00.002-06:00

That's right, folks. Break out the dictionaries. Your second year of High School French wasn't that long ago...

When Celao and I watch movies, we frequently insert lines from other movies into what we are watching. The less related the better. We could be watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and one of us will be triggered by some line or some prop in the movie, and out comes "This conversation...is over!" or "I know what it is you saw." Or we get creative with "I am Ben's uncontrollable reverse-aging gene." I have no clue if this sort of stuff is only funny to me...I don't get out much, you see.

New Shoe Smell...?

2010-04-28T22:06:00.001-06:00

phew I'm not the only on who gets distracted...

2010-04-27T14:52:00.000-06:00

Celao and Nina chibis

2010-04-27T14:39:00.000-06:00

In honor of my 9th wedding anniversary, I made chibi magnetic paper dolls (what else could you expect of me these days, seriously?). The first two are of me and Celao from 1994 when we first met. We are represented in our super cool school uniforms and our even more super cool street clothes. We had a wedding that was kick-butt-put-together in less than 24 hours, and given that, we didn't look too shaby. And last, obviously, we are in our present, parenting costumes, which we wear all the time now.

Celao, te amo! Gracias para la familia que tenemos ahora. Espero muchos anos mas contigo y nuestros cueridos hijos!--9

Goerrilla Painter--Don't Look at Me Like That.

2010-04-26T06:57:00.000-06:00

Thank God For Dictionaries...

2010-04-18T09:35:00.000-06:00

Dysfunctional...

2010-03-28T10:19:00.000-06:00

Hmm. Greek mythology. I love it. But I used to love it more before it sunk in how dysfunctional they were. And I mean that in the best way: *ahem* I'll never call my own family dysfunctional again with out really reflecting on the Olympians first.

Also, before I knew it, Ares was lookin' like Marvin the Martian, but that's actually totally fitting, really.

12,960,000 Seconds of Waiting

2010-03-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

So, yeah...we're Twilight fans around here. And it's sad. But the upside is that we like the parodies even better--that's definitely a plus, huh?

Tired.

2010-03-19T18:13:00.000-06:00

'nuff said.

Awkward Conversation

2010-03-17T13:55:00.000-06:00

Politically Incorrect Moment . . .

2010-03-16T08:13:00.000-06:00

Artist's disclaimer (see how it came first? *nervous glance around*): Marcelo and I were sitting down to watch 'Run Lola Run' the other night . . . and my inner-Loki came out. If I enjoy politically incorrect humor it's against my will (and living with Marcelo for nine years would push almost anyone's tolerance for politically incorrect humor beyond even the most staunchly set boundries). So, my inner-Loki took over my speech facilities and blurted out "Hah! Celao! Run Chola Run!" and we both were incapacitated by laughter for five minutes. And then my inner-Loki collaborated with my inner-Artist and . . .

. . . and here's the result: a parallel universe version of 'Run Lola Run' set in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with a cholita heroine and a thrilling climax in La Cancha. Oh, and a techno-cumbia score to back it up *smile*.

My Long Lost Friend Amanda

2010-03-14T12:59:00.001-06:00

Amanda is a friend of mine who I haven't seen since High School. Though I don't have a clear visual memory of what she looked like, I have some strong and lasting impressions of her. She was sweet and graceful and was one of the first people I remember thinking of as lady-like. She seemed delicate but she had a inner core of strength and marched to her own tune in the face of peer pressure and peer snubbery. Thinking of her motivates me to honor my own nature; I'm grateful for the strength Amanda has given me, even through the distance of seventeen years and several states.

FRSA: Say Hello to My Little Friend!

2010-03-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

David asked for a chibi of himself for his facebook profile...but he didn't necesarily opt to be in the comic...but Ernst had no problem so we figured we'd act first and ask questions later. Thanks, Ernst. Say hi to your momma for me.

FRSA: Whip It meets Juno?

2010-03-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

There's a part of me that takes things very literally at times. It can be comical and it can be down right sad.

Special thanks to Marcelo for letting himself be a subject in Free Range Sequential Art. You rule, Celao!!!

FRSA: "Yes" & "No"

2010-03-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to sequential art self therapy 101 (or 303 or 909, I get confused by the room numbers). Disclaimer: I'm not really a fan of Marianne Dashwood but Carmen (aka: my doppleganger) would seem to be. I think she likes the way Marianne can pull attitude and get away with it...okay, now having put that into words, I've changed my mind and I like Marianne very much. My inner Giberson-girl is very much pleased *smile*.

FRSA: Skin Tone...

2010-03-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Artist's Disclaimer: Although Young Alicia and I have had conversations about chibi skin tone (anglosaxon, caulcasian chibis, not Marcelo chibis (*smile*), this conversation is one I've had in my own head and in no way reflects the attitude Alicia takes with me in general. Alicia is a sweet individual and if she pulls attitide, I think we both take it in humorous spirit...um, okay, that's all.

Free Range Chibi Experimentation I

2010-03-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

Free Range Sequential Art IV

2010-03-04T13:11:00.001-07:00

Constable Tibbit's father...

2010-03-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Mom: this is as close as I'll likely ever be to being a book critic...

Scarlett O'Hara Chibi II

2010-02-15T09:05:00.001-07:00

More outfits for the Scarlett Chibi. I know the green dress is generally the favorite but I like the mill dress the best. Her hair kind of looks like a special bread roll *smile*.

Scarlett O'Hara Chibi

2010-02-14T10:09:00.001-07:00

I made this for Alicia for her Yule present. She had mentioned once or twice (or twenty times) that she loves Gone With the Wind. Every once in a while she gets a new outfit for Chibi Scarlett, who currently resides on Alicia's filing cabinet at work as a magnetic paper doll. The pieces of hair go behind the doll's head to go with the corresponding outfit (I don't like putting hair fashions on top of the doll as in traditional paper dolls). Eventually I'll get around to drawing up Rhett, Melanie, Ashley, etc.

Chibi Carl and Sarah

2010-02-13T17:31:00.001-07:00

A Yule gift for my dad and my stepmother. Alicia gets credit for the idea, too; she helped me come up with outfit ideas and kept an ear out for verbal mannerisms to have in word bubbles to go along with the chibis. Some of the clothes are typical of Carl and Sarah or their interests, while others are inspired by comical stories that have come through the grape vine.

Every once in a while I make an additional outfits for the Carl and Sarah chibis (the one for Carl with Chester and the one of Sarah and the wolves were gifts for Valentine's Day). These were attached to magnetic sheets and cut out, which is a long process which requires some modification--which has made me decide not to make so many outfits at once anymore.

Free Range Sequential Art III

2010-02-13T07:41:00.001-07:00

Free Range Sequential Art II

2010-02-13T07:36:00.001-07:00

Free Range Sequential Art I

2010-02-13T07:31:00.002-07:00

Chibi Liz

2010-02-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Money was tight this year for Yule presents, so one of the things I came up with was magnetic chibi-paperdolls. This was done for my aunt Becky and is of her daughter Elizabeth. Liz has had quite a few awesome halloween costumes over the years (often with help from Becky), and I drew on my memories of those costumes. The only exception is the Elizabeth Tudor costume which was part of a project I had the honor of helping Liz with once when she was in elementary school. What these costumes are is likely obvious but just in case: (clockwise) Elizabeth Tudor, Winifred Sanderson, Cinderella, and Scarlett O'Hara.