[dc]T[/dc]his week (give or take) marks the first year anniversary of Clattertron, at least in concept.
Clattertron.com is not exactly a year old yet, I believe that will be in April or so. But, last January I began blogging with a humor focus on danieljhogan.com, followed by my comic strips, both of which I eventually moved here.
Regardless of the actual timeline, the past ‘year’ has been educational. Heck, Clattertron wasn’t even Clattertron at first. It had a different name, which I am glad I changed (it was dumb, and not very search engine friendly. Stephanie told me right away it was dumb, and I was a fool not to listen).
Even after (roughly) a year, I’m still tweaking this site and what I want to do. The comics are here to stay, as is the humor writing. The trick is finding a good balance between the two (and balancing everything else in my life). In some ways, I am still figuring out my ‘style’ and ‘voice’ with the comics and the humor writing, but I’m happy with what I have cranked out so far. Very few creations are a home run right out of the gate, aside from notable exceptions such as Firefly and ALF.
When it comes to the comics, I am pleased with how my skills are developing. Just compare my first strip, drawn last spring, with my latest, drawn last weekend.
They just needs more Game of Thrones jokes.
Yes, my latest comic is slightly less terrible than the first. Mom must be so proud. I picked up a new book on cartooning which is helping a bunch (learning basic principles, that sort of thing).
I’m glad I forced myself to go beyond simply drawing stick figures (nothing against stick figures though). The comics are a good challenge, and I love drawing crazy characters and writing dumb jokes.
You never know where a project like this will lead, either. Stephanie, who loves my ‘silly drawings’ asked me to draw our Christmas card this year. She liked the card so much, she had me draw the Save the Dates for our wedding¹ (which, being a cheapskate, I was happy to do).
Now, she wants me to draw the invitations and the programs. She also wants the two of us to create a children’s book to give our nieces and nephews next Christmas.²
I don’t plan to stop the humor writing, if anything, I want to do more this year. Several of my humor posts, especially those related to the NHL Lockout, were my most viewed this past year. Although, I think my most viewed items ever were my Game of Thrones comics (Giving of Thanks, Roast of Thrones) and my Cat Shaming comic (which mentioned the NHL Lockout).
What will 2013 bring? I have a finished novel I’m shopping around to agents (no luck so far). My drawing gets better with each strip. And I’m getting married in September, which I’m sure will give me all kinds of inspiration for comics and blog posts. 2013 will be interesting.
Especially since I will finally play Ocarina of Time all the way through.
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¹ The Save the Date drawings are embargoed until after they get sent out. Stephanie doesn’t want to spoil the surprise.
² Nothing too long or elaborate, but it is a fun idea. We can always make mini-comics.
