THE THEME TO THIS WEEK'S LIVE SKETCH SHOW IS....

It was another great turnout at last week's Live Sketch on Ustream! 60's and 70's cartoon characters proved to be a popular theme. You can see a sampling of the sketches I did below:

One of my viewers, Rico DuPont, guessed my trivia question and won the Jabberjaw sketch above. There will be another trivia question this week, and another original sketch awarded as the prize! And speaking of this week….

This week's show is already planned, and should be even more fun that the previous two! And that's because this week's Live Sketch theme is…

Well blow me down! It's Popeye week! That means I'll draw the one eyed sailor and any characters that relate to him--Olive Oyl, Bluto, Swee'pea, Wimpy, Geezil, Castor, Alice the Goon, Eugene the Jeep, The Sea Hag, Ham Gravy, and other any related characters from the Thimble Theater cast!*

(*Thimble Theater is the comic strip that originally starred Olive Oyl and her family back in 1919. In 1929, it introduced Popeye. The comic has subsequently gone by both "Thimble Theater" and "Popeye").

Now, I'm changing things up a bit this week. For one, I'm not just taking suggestions for characters like before. I'm now taking suggestions for characters AND scenarios. You want to see Popeye punching Bluto in the gut? Done! You want to see Alice the Goon pushing Swee-pea in a baby carriage? Done! You want to see Wimpy chasing Eugene the Jeep with a meat grinder in an attempt to create the most magical hamburger of all time? Done! Just think of any situation with any single or combination of characters, and I'll do it. Just be creative, like Popeye-creator E.C. Segar would be! And if you're unfamiliar with the characters, these two links should help: 

POPEYE.COM

WIKIPEDIA LISTING OF POPEYE'S CAST

Again, here's how to contact me during the show via Ustream's chat window. You need to log in to Ustream to use the window, but registering is easy. It only takes a username and an email address. Once you've entered that info, you can chat with me and make suggestions.

These more elaborate sketches will take me longer than usual, so this week I'm expanding my show to AN HOUR AND A HALF! So from 8:00-9:30 pm Eastern time, I'll fill you guys so full of Spinach-enriched Popeye drawings and trivia that you'll be able to Punch Bluto clear around the world and back again! You can find my show at THIS LINK.

In the meantime if you have any questions, e-mail me at: fourpanelhero@hotmail.com and I'll do my best to answer 'em. Can't wait to draw some Popeye for you guys on Wednesday! See you then, ya swabs!

--Jay

MY 2ND LIVE SKETCH SHOW IS BROADCASTING THIS WEDNESDAY!

My live sketch show on Ustream last Wednesday night was a big success, and I want to keep up the momentum this week! So once again, from 8 pm to 9 pm Eastern time this Wednesday night, I'll be broadcasting from this link.

This week's theme will be 60's and 70's cartoon characters! Just as a frame of reference, that includes almost any Hanna Barbera character (Tom and Jerry are out because they were created in the early 40's), as well as shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle, Archie, Pink Panther and countless others! Use your imagination, and don't be afraid to ask me if a certain character qualifies! I'm pretty open, and even if I'm unfamiliar with the character (hey, it can happen), I'll do my best to accommodate!

As before, you're invited to contact me during the show via Ustream's chat window. You need to log in to Ustream to use the window, but registering is easy. It only takes a username and an email address. Once you've entered that info, you can chat with me and suggest stuff for me to draw. Just like last week, I'll have loads of useless trivia and my own brand of quirky humor to inject (or infect) into each sketch I create!

Then sometime on Thursday, check back here, where I'll post all the sketches I drew from the show!

I look forward to hearing what people come up with during the course of my show! So be there this Wednesday from 8-9 pm Eastern time and let's see what gets drawn!

--Jay

USTREAM SUCCESS AND MSU SHOW

My Ustream show was, by my own modest expectations, a hit, and more importantly, just a blast to participate in! The theme I chose was Jim Henson creations, and these nine drawings are what were suggested to me by those who contacted me during the broadcast....

 

A Skeksis and a Podling from "The dark Crystal"...

 

 A Firey from "Labyrinth"...

 Dr. Teeth from "The Muppet Show"...

 The Swedish Chef and Rizzo the Rat from "The Muppet Show"

 Pepe the King Prawn from "Muppets Tonight"...

 Rowlf from "The Muppet Show"...

 Mushmellon and Sam from "Sam and Friends" (Jim's original Muppet show from the 50's)

 Janice from "The Muppet Show"...

And a Doozer from "Fraggle Rock".

So nine drawings within an hour, without using any reference material...not bad. But I think if I drew fewer sketches within the hour and concentrated more on each one, they'd be even better. We'll see what happens next week. I'll be braodcasting in Ustream again next Wednesday from 8-9 pm Eastern time, and the theme will be...

Cartoon characters of the 60's and 70's!

Now, that's a wide field to play in. Almost any Hanna Barbera character is fair game (with the exception of Tom and Jerry who were created in the early 40's). Rocky and Bullwinkle, Jabberjaw, Pink Panther, Captain Caveman, Johnny Quest, the list goes on and on. So start doing your homework now, and have your ideas ready for next Wednesday! Here's a link to my Ustream site, and here's a refresher for how you can participate:

You need to log in to Ustream to use the window, but registering is easy. It only takes a username and an email address. Once you've entered that info, you can chat with me and suggest stuff for me to draw.
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Also, this weekend I'll be at the MSU Comics Forum on MSU's campus! I'll be selling copies of "Dead Duck", and copies of my new sketchbook. I'll also have prints and original art for sale, and will take commissions as well! And most significantly, FREE BOOKMARKS! Okay, maybe not most significantly, but I have a buttload of Dead Duck bookmarks looking for a good home. Their like kittens. The longer they mill around in my closest, the faster they reproduce. So please, come see me at the forum and take them off my hands. You can find out more about the forum HERE.

Thanks for sticking with me, guys! Hope to see you this weekend, and next Wednesday as well!

Much love,

--Jay

Ustream, I stream, we all stream for…me to draw stuff?

First blog of 2011 and fast breaking news to report! I've created a Ustream account for myself, which I'll be using to broadcast live tomorrow night. I'm going to take suggestions for sketches live on air, and draw as many of them as I can within the hour. After that, I'll sign off and post the drawings here on my blog. Want to participate? Here's what you need to know:

From 8 pm to 9 pm Eastern time on Wednesday night, I'll be broadcasting from this link. 

You're invited to contact me during the show via Ustream's chat window. You need to log in to Ustream to use the window, but registering is easy. It only takes a username and an email address. Once you've entered that info, you can chat with me and suggest stuff for me to draw.

 I'd like to have a "theme" for these sketch sessions, just so I'm not jumping all over the map with ideas. Because this whole Ustream idea came from me taking ideas for Muppet sketches last week, this episode's theme will be Jim Henson. That means anything Henson related is fair game: Muppets, Fraggles, Sesame Street, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Storyteller, Sam and Friends (I'm especially partial to Sam and Friends suggestions), and any other concepts under the Henson banner. I'll do my best to accommodate, and get as many done in an hour as I can.

Once the show is done, check back here, where I'll post all the sketches I drew from the show!

I suppose that's everything you need to know. Now, this is my first time trying something like this, so things will get "glitchy". I've done my best to position the camera (generously lent to me by Mouseguard's David Petersen) above my workstation, and I can only hope the live drawings will come through nice and clear online. I also hope I don't fill my narration with "ums" and "uhs", but it's pretty inevitable. If I continue to broadcast---it's my intention to make this a weekly event---things should go smoother as it progresses. But for now, I'll just cross my fingers on the hand I'm not drawing with and hope for the best.

I really hope to hear from you in the course of my show! If, in the unfortunate event that nobody chats with me, I'll still be drawing Henson stuff anyway. I'm a fanatic for the guy's work. I won't be short of subject matter, I assure you. At any rate, catch you tomorrow night at 8 pm Eastern!

--Jay