Early

The Illustration Friday theme this week is 'Early". Some folks don't handle early so well. Particularly if the sun isn't up yet.

Ahead

The theme for this week on Illustration Friday was 'ahead' but perhaps I should have labeled this 'paranoia' instead...

Detective

This week's Illustration Friday contribution. I recalled that detectives used to be called Gum Shoes and thus my inspiration.

Rescue

So much for good intentions. Sometimes we're almost better off duking it out with the sharks...

Expired

Expired is the Illustration Friday theme for this week. Don't you love it when you go to pour a glass of milk and you get lumps?

Mud

You know, I'm sure his mother won't notice. This brought back memories. Now all he has to do is leave is shoes stuck in the mud and the memory is pretty much complete.

Clumsy

My apologies to all the waiters out there. I'm sure that some of you are very light on your toes...

Renewal

I know it's a new year and time for resolutions and the like, but sometime a new tie does not a renewal make. Good try though.

Entangled

This as supposed to be an Illustration Friday submission but Christmas got in the way. Actually my drawing sometimes gets in the way of Christmas not the other way around. THis was mostly done in Illustrator with some Photoshop embellishments.

Hatch

Only a mother could love something this ugly.

Unbalanced

Another challenging Illustration Friday theme. My first inclination was to go with some deranged individual, most likely a woman with a hormone deficiency. (Just kidding ladies, after all a postal worker would do just as well.) But then I rememebered that I try and avoid the obvious and so I came up with this fellow, someone for whom being unbalanced is an occupational hazard.

Skinny

I don't care what they say, you can't cut out carbs all together.

Flying

Here we go with my interpretation of this week's Illustration Friday theme. Frugality is the mother of invention I always say...or was that my mother?

By the way, did I mention that I created an iPhone app and it went live this past week? It's called Piranha Pool. If you want to check it out, just click on the image over on the right hand side of the page. It's guaranteed to make you smile. Thanks.

Germs

Some people just can't quite come to terms with the reality that germs are a fact of life. If they could actually see them, they'd really freak out. They're coming to get you...

Pattern

Ladies don't you hate it when you get home with that new outfit only to discover that you should have followed your gut feeling that it looked all too familiar.

Welcome

Call me cheap but when ever I go to a restaurant with a Maitre'D, I get nervous about the bill. Hard to feel truly welcome in those circumstances. My Illustration Friday effort for the week.

Strong

And there's nothing stronger than the smell of overripe garbage. My Illustration Friday offering for this week. This of course is hot on the heels of my last post where I said I didn't draw women as often as I should. This should offer a little redemption...

Wrapped

As you've probably ascertained by now, the majority of my cartoons have male characters. What can I say, guys are goofier than the ladies. And we're certainly clumsier. If you've ever seen me attempt to wrap a package you'll understand the motivation for this Illustration Friday toon. My wife , on the other hand, can make a package look spectacular.

Impatience

If they can get past this, their relationship might stand a chance. My Illustration Friday contribution for this week.

Idle

Some people just have too much idle time on their hands. This is my Illustration Friday contribution for the week. I actually had a number of idle type images in my archives but as I try to do for Illustration Friday, I drew up something fresh. Keeps me sharp and addsd to the archives as well. Darn I'm clever!

Shaky

And that's why coffee is evil... My Illustration Friday offering for this week.

Worn

Yeah, I'd say they're worn. Good news is he now has flip flops...

Drifting

Not much to say about this one. Pretty self explanatory for my Illustration Friday image for this week.

Craving

This was an Illustration Friday theme that I could really sink my teeth into. Some cravings are just harder to control than others... right ladies...?

Adapt

Sometimes adaptation just isn't in the cards. I guess he should have listened when his mother tried to each him how to do laundry. My Illustration Friday contribution for the week.

Cracked

It's been a few weeks since my last Illustration Friday submission. My first th9ught of cracked had to do with eggs but I didn't want to do Humpty Dumpty. I think this might put someone off eggs forever...at least for breakfast.

Parade

This si your basic parade of one. However "Her Majesty" might not like to be referred to as basic. My Illustration Friday image for this week.

Fleeting

And what can be more fleeting than a good thought? My Illustration Friday toon for this week.

Apart from my pencil rough, this toon is completely digital. The image was roughed out using a non-photo blue pencil, scanned, then the final image was drawn using my new Cintiq tablet.
I'm trying Corel Painter Essentials which came with the tablet. The drawing was then vectorized in Adobe Illustrator where it was tweaked and colored.
I've had the tablet for over a month but am only gradually getting used to it. Eventually I'll be doing all of my drawing on it.

Subtract

I was never very good at math either and I have 4 fingers. Did I count my thumb? Oh, now I 'm confused. Did I mention that I was never very good at math?
And no the stool is not the same one as in the last toon I did. This one is from Ikea.

Intricate

Busted! Some guys should just stick to things like fishing and burping the alphabet...
My Illustration Friday offering of the week.

Breezy

My latest Illustration Friday contribution. Just between you and me, I don't think there's anything more pitiful than a man with a toupee unless of course it's a man chasing his toupee.
Oh yeah, comb overs are right up there as well.

Time

It's been a few weeks since I contributed to Illustration Friday. That's what going away on vacation will do for you. There is a price to pay for taking time off - major catch up which explains why my image is pretty basic with no background.

Clandestine

I wonder what happened to selling watches on the sly?

Rambunctious

Can they get any more rambunctious than this. (Extra points by the way for spelling rambunctious correctly)

Balloon

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I contributed to Illustration Friday. Perhaps the themes just didn't tweak my interest. These things happen. Which brings us to this week's theme - balloon. This is my interpretation of a birthday balloon gone bad.

Vacancy

Here's my take on this week's Illustration Friday topic. This is your proverbial artist's or writer's block.

Repair

That's gotta hurt. And like they always say, you need the right tool for the job. My latest Illustration Friday submission.

Late

The sad thing is, she's two hours early for her flight and she's still late. My Illustration Friday take for this week.

Strings

An interesting topic this week for Illustration Friday. So who's pulling your strings?

Sugary

I struggled a little with this week's Illustration Friday theme. To say struggle, usually means that something didn't immediately pop into my head and I had to do some thinking.

But when all else fails, draw a bear. Okay maybe not all else but a bear is always a good solution and nothing is more sugary than a handfull (or facefull )of honey.

Packed

Another Illustration Friday entry. I thought that packing is one of the worst parts of traveling, that and making sure your socks match. Poor girl looks a tad tired...

Other stuff

Up till now, I've pretty much used my blog to post my Illustration Friday topics. I think perhaps it might be time to branch out and post other stuff as well as muse a little. (I like that word muse)

The image I posted today is actually a request from one of my Toonaday subscribers. She's a teacher in Brazil and apparently she's been asked to teach a science lab where the students are more knowledgeable than her. My advice to her is to lock up all the chemicals and hide the matches.

It actually brings back memories of when I taught junior high and was occasionally given teaching assignments that I knew little about. Can you say "scrapbooking" boys and girls?

I've posted the final image as it will appear on Toonaday on Sep 28 as well as a scan of the original blue line and ink drawing so you can see the transition.

While I'm musing, many thanks to those of you who take the time to comment on my work. Unfortunately many of you have no contact information available so I can't email you to say thanks. Hopefully this will suffice.
Carpe toonem
Ron

Clique

So another Illustration Friday topic is here. And what, I ask you, can be more cliquey than a bunch of dogs getting together for an afternoon of sniffing and hanging around their favorite fire hydrant? Do they allow cats in their little group? I think not! And look, they have their own matching T-shirts. I understand there is also a secret handshake. Or is that pawshake?

Island

You think he has problems now? Wait'll the tide comes in...

Clutter

An interesting Illustration Friday topic this week. One thing I've learned over the years is that if I come home from work and my wife is in this predicament, never, ever ask what's for dinner...

Memories

This theme stymied for a while but after I had cogitated (don't get to use words like that too often) for a bit, I remembered the warning about old memories coming back to haunt you.

Routine

My contribution for this weeks Illustration Friday theme.
So what could be more routine than spraying on the old pit juice. (Yeah, I know mostly it's roll-ons nowadays, but sprays make for a better cartoon).

Poof!

Like they say, smoking is hazardous to your health. My take on the Illustration Friday theme for this week.

Sour

Here's my take on the Illustration Friday theme of the week - 'sour'. I couldn't help but be reminded of all of the concoctions my kids made for me in the past that I had to grin and swallow. Sugar is alway a good thing to add to lemonade...