New 5-eBook Bundle!

Jan22
by on 22 January 2024

I just wanted to let you know that, after getting some feedback from my wonderful readers, there is now a discounted 5-eBook bundle on Gumroad! You save $5 in the process and get high resolution pdfs of ALL 5 Long John eBooks for immediate download.

Just to remind you that the Long John eBooks are basically just digital versions of the physical books and have all of the content that is found in the physical books. So, if you’ve been wanting to download digital versions of the all the books so far for your tablet, phone, or desktop/laptop computers, this is the best way to get all of them now!

If you can, leave a review/rating on Gumroad! That would help spread the word about the books in Gumroad’s algorithm that promotes a book on its storefront. In related news, if you’re a GoodReads user, some kind soul has put the first four books on that website and I would heartily encourage you to leave reviews there, too! Every bit helps (and thank you!)!

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Sketch Fridays #98 – New Year’s 2024

Jan19
by on 19 January 2024
Sketch Friday #98 – 2024 New Year’s Card

It’s been a few weeks, so we can finally unveil this year’s New Year’s card that went out to friends and family. This was fun to do (though I stupidly deleted the Procreate file that had the time-lapse saved with it) because I really enjoy drawing exaggerated, cartoony versions of me, my wife, and our animals as much as the serious, chiseled-jaw grimaces found in Long John.

I think the stars of this year’s drawing are the cats––Martha and Rose––as they are flung forth by the bursting arrival of 2024. Martha is the one desperately grasping to my hoodie while Rose tumbles through wide-eyed through space seemingly been caught unawares.

Martha (left) and Rose (right) in their corporeal forms.

As of June, our cats (yes, named for characters from the British sci-fi television series, Doctor Who) are fifteen years old and still have as much energy, ability, and attitude that they had as kittens. Only recently does it feel like they’re starting to get just a little rickety, maybe taking just a few more seconds to consider before making huge leaps. But only just.

As much as they seem like team players in the drawing, they are actually quite skittish and solitary. They are so solitary in fact there are many friends who have still never seen them. So, like with all art, I enhance the truth a little to make the message more clear. Who knows how many more new years we’ll get with our girls, so I’m glad that, even this long into the game, they can still steal the show in a New Year’s card.

And just so he doesn’t feel left out, here is a picture of our dog, Rusty.
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Sketch Fridays #97 – 2023 Holidays

Dec29
by on 29 December 2023
Sketch Fridays #97 – 2023 Holidays

With the day job––and life––being very busy since September, I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and just draw. When I do, it tends to be very loose, observational, and further experimentation on the iPad and its incredible art program, Procreate.

Since the day job started winding down and the holiday season descended upon the world, I finally had a chance to breathe a little. Family visited for the holidays, which resulted in one of my favorite pastimes––extended periods of everybody sitting together and just talking. Though we intermittently look at our phones, tick tack away on laptops, or get up to refill drinks or get more snacks, the conversation is always going. I’m not as participatory as others, but I love to listen and at least have my presence be a part of the interaction.

The original illustration without any Photoshop trickery.

I haven’t had much joy in the doodles I’ve been making digitally lately. As was the case, I usually am trying to doodle during these conversations, which meant my iPad is on my lap as we all talk. At one point, my wife was invested in something or other on her phone, and the angle and the way her hair fell was striking to me (plus, she was sitting still, which makes observational drawing much easier). But my iPad was charging and all I had were the archaic tools of a sketchbook and pens.

I’m not the best at likenesses and I kept my tools to a brush pen, a calligraphy pen, and a corrective pen which, for me, results in relatively messy––but energetic––work. But I found a lot of joy in the act of putting ink on paper again, which is a good sign because I soon need to dive back into Chapter 6 of Long John.

I added some shading and color overlay in Photoshop, but as a drawing on its own, it captures the tone and feeling I enjoy most about the holidays: comfort and tranquility.

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