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About Mud Walker and Wooden Iguana

The Wooden Iguana comic book began largely because people tend to tell me their life stories. I don't know why they feel compelled to tell me these things, but they do. And, make no mistake about it, these are some fascinating stories. I'd kicked around the idea for a particular book when I finally got around to reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay ... and if you haven't read that ... GO! GO NOW! But what Michael Chabon's book was missing was the comic book itself. He talks about the origin of comics in an engaging way, even for the non-comic book geek, but there was no art inside the book, just words. I began working on a novel and hoped that I would be able to convince a publishing company to hire a comic book artist to insert some comic book pages into the story. A story about a couple of regular people, one a comic book script writer, who decide they're agents of Karma.

Then, life played a funny trick on me and I found myself out of work, away from a job I loved more than anything: teaching first year college students how to write academic essays. I know, I wouldn't want to take the damn class either, but I tried to make the class as interesting as possible for my students. Some thought I was a great teacher ... some thought I was Satan incarnate. Regardless, I was suddenly without that all-consuming passion. The book languished ... I didn't want to write a book about some self-appointed agents of Karma when I wanted nothing more than to serve some instant Karma up myself.

Now ... I'm using The Wooden Iguana to introduce a few characters. Disparate folks who have - seemingly - nothing in common. The common thread for this short series is simply the telling of some life stories. Many of these characters will gather again in the main comic book, and the novel: Mud Walker.

For now ... please enjoy these lies more accurate than truth ... The Wooden Iguana



August 25, 2007

Own Issue One Sketchbook

AUCTION ENDS AUGUST 27 ... CURRENT BID IS ONLY $25 ... COME ON FOLKS ...
let's raise some money for a good cause!!

Want your very own copy of the first issue of Wooden Iguana? How about the Sketchbook used to create it?

I have donated the original sketchbook (much as losing it pains me) and a laser-print copy of this issue (a nice, colour laser print ... for those "in the know" about graphics, it's a 300 dpi version ... not just a printout of the webpages) ... anyhow, I've donated the sketchbook and a nice print copy of issue one to iSurvive.org to help them raise some funds. iSurvive is a wonderful resource for people struggling to cope with abuse issues. There are people there from all over the world ... they've got resources for review, various categories in their forum for people to post and discuss their issues and even a chat feature. They're a non-profit organization who has recently changed their software ... and believe me, they help a lot of people. They have to pay for the software, for bandwidth ... a technician to help keep everything running ... and I don't know what all else. I do know that they serve a very valuable function to a lot of people.

And I'd like to do a little bit to help them continue.

So ... while letting that sketchbook go is a really hard thing for me ... that's got some pieces that I'm extraordinarily proud of in it ... it's all going to an excellent, excellent cause.

If you're interested ... you can see some photos of the sketchbook here ... and you can address any questions to me: red DASH monkey AT coyotethunder DOT com.

If you want to bid, you can send your bid to: isurvive_org AT yahoo DOT com . Please, please, put Auction Bid in the subject and please, please please don't spam them. They're a good organization, good people.

Auction ends August 27, 2007.

You can check the current status of bids in the Open Forum section of the iSurvive site ... or you can email me for an update.

Good luck!!!

Posted by Mud at 12:03 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

August 11, 2007

AUCTION-Y GOODNESS!!

Want your very own copy of this first issue of Wooden Iguana? How about the Sketchbook used to create it?

I have donated the original sketchbook (much as losing it pains me) and a laser-print copy of this issue (a nice, colour laser print ... for those "in the know" about graphics, it's a 300 dpi version ... not just a printout of the webpages) ... anyhow, I've donated the sketchbook and a nice print copy of issue one to iSurvive.org to help them raise some funds. iSurvive is a wonderful resource for people struggling to cope with abuse issues. There are people there from all over the world ... they've got resources for review, various categories in their forum for people to post and discuss their issues and even a chat feature. They're a non-profit organization who has recently changed their software ... and believe me, they help a lot of people. They have to pay for the software, for bandwidth ... a technician to help keep everything running ... and I don't know what all else. I do know that they serve a very valuable function to a lot of people.

And I'd like to do a little bit to help them continue.

So ... while letting that sketchbook go is a really hard thing for me ... that's got some pieces that I'm extraordinarily proud of in it ... it's all going to an excellent, excellent cause.

If you're interested ... you can see some photos of the sketchbook here ... and you can address any questions to me: red DASH monkey AT coyotethunder DOT com.

If you want to bid, you can send your bid to: isurvive_org AT yahoo DOT com . Please, please, put Auction Bid in the subject and please, please please don't spam them. They're a good organization, good people.

Auction ends August 27, 2007.

You can check the current status of bids in the Open Forum section of the iSurvive site ... or you can email me for an update.

Good luck!!!

Posted by Mud at 09:06 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 31, 2007

Coming Soon

While Issue two is still not yet underway, there is a big announcement coming about issue one soon ... stay tuned ... I believe August 6 is the announcement day (but it's not up to me wholly) ... so watch this space ... this is gonna be kewl!

Posted by Mud at 12:05 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 20, 2007

Page 32

Notes:

Copic, Copic multiliners and pencil.

The conclusion of issue one ... since issue two has not yet been scripted, much left roughed out ... it will be a while before you see new-ness here. However, I do plan to put roughs and various character sketches here to tide you over.
comments/what.gif

Posted by Mud at 03:10 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 19, 2007

Page 31

Notes:

This page was done solely in Photoshop after I tore up an endless number of sketches, none of which looked anything like what I had in my head. While I don't do a ton of drawing digitally, I adore my Wacom tablet and it really came in handy here.

Sorry for the late updates. Last week was a serious kick in the pants as downsizing took its toll once again. Then, there was the scanner which didn't wanna talk to the computer (turned out that Photoshop had simply stopped listening to the scanner and had to be re-loaded). Then, the networking issues ... blah blah blah.

Posted by Mud at 03:07 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 18, 2007

Page 30

Notes:

Sorry for the late update. Last week was a serious kick in the pants as downsizing took its toll once again. Then, there was the scanner which didn't wanna talk to the computer (turned out that Photoshop had simply stopped listening to the scanner and had to be re-loaded). Then, the networking issues ... blah blah blah. Hopefully I'll get the last two pages done by the end of the weekend.

The usual mix here ... Copics (warm and cool greys), Copic Multi-liners, Pigma Microns.

Posted by Mud at 11:23 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 10, 2007

Page 29

Notes:

The usual mix here ... Copics, Copic Multi-liners, Pigma Microns ... the newspapers were done in Photoshop. If you've never seen the UK Photoshop Creative mag, it is amazing. I found an issue whilst on vacation last year and it is just amazing. They had the best tutorials, one of which was creation of an old newspaper. And, they include the images you'll need for their tutorials on a CD. The best thing is that the tutorials are excellent, well explained ... and still leave plenty of room for your own creative touches.

Posted by Mud at 02:00 AM | Comments (2) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

July 06, 2007

Page 28

Notes:

This is a photo I took of Potato Creek, doctored in Photoshop.


Posted by Mud at 07:45 PM | Comments (1) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

Page 27 - The Quarry

Notes:

Done Pigma Microns, Copic Special Black (which ran out on me, dammit), Copic Multiliner and then the last two panels included some Photoshop work as well for the sky and lake.


Posted by Mud at 07:41 PM | Comments (1) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 30, 2007

Page 26

Notes:

Done in pencils, Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner and then a bit of a cheat ... colour bits were done in Illustrator after I got incredibly cranky with the entire page and decided that I hated the globe I'd drawn ... after I went to Illustrator for a clip art globe, I also snagged a rainbow as well. I was simply too tired of obsessing over this page to do anything else. Frustrating because I did like the globe I'd done in pencils ... but I was simply too tired to colour it and the rainbow the way I wanted to ... I finally decided it was more important to let this page go than to be a perfectionist about one detail. *sigh*

Only 6 more pages until the end of issue one!

Posted by Mud at 04:11 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 26, 2007

Page 25

Notes:

Done in pencils, Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner and both warm and cool Copic Greys.

Only 7 more pages until the end of issue one!

Posted by Mud at 01:01 AM | Comments (3) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 23, 2007

Page 24

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns and Copic Multiliner.

Only 8 more pages until the end of issue one!

Posted by Mud at 04:06 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 19, 2007

Page 23

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns.

Posted by Mud at 02:18 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 14, 2007

Page 22

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner.

Posted by Mud at 06:22 PM | Comments (1) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 12, 2007

Page 21

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner.

Posted by Mud at 03:35 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 07, 2007

Page 20

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner and Special Black Copic.

Posted by Mud at 01:05 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

June 05, 2007

Page 19

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner and Special Black Copic.

These last two pages are two of my favourites, I think.

Posted by Mud at 03:39 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 31, 2007

Page 18

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner ... little bit of plain cool grey Copics for effect here and there.

Posted by Mud at 02:31 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 29, 2007

Page 17

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner ... and water colour pencil to get the wash effects.

Posted by Mud at 01:00 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 24, 2007

Page 16

Notes:

Done in Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliner ... and water colour pencil to get the wash effects in the first panel and some of the shadows in the bottom panels.

Posted by Mud at 08:50 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 22, 2007

Page 15

Posted by Mud at 04:20 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 17, 2007

Page 14

Posted by Mud at 02:19 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 15, 2007

Page 13

Notes:

My favourite character is this baseball cap dude.

Posted by Mud at 12:18 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 10, 2007

Page 12

Notes:

Copics and Prismacolors ... and a pink Sharpie. Hey, I don't like pink and Copics are expensive!

Posted by Mud at 10:16 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 08, 2007

Page 11

Posted by Mud at 12:15 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

May 01, 2007

Page 10

Posted by Mud at 12:13 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 26, 2007

Page 9

Notes:

Can you find the two Wooden Iguanas?

Posted by Mud at 12:11 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 24, 2007

Page 8

Posted by Mud at 12:10 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 19, 2007

Page 7

Notes:

Really getting into the Copics here ... the baby book is a direct quote from "Devon's" baby book and the photo is a manipulated scan from my own second grade yearbook.

Posted by Mud at 12:07 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 17, 2007

Page 6

Notes:

Pigma Microns and the much beloved Copic Markers.

Posted by Mud at 10:06 PM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 12, 2007

Page 5

Notes:

Another one primarily done in pencil.

Posted by Mud at 11:04 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 10, 2007

Page 4

Notes:

This one started as a practice sketch, but I liked it so much that I wound up scanning the pencil sketch and using it. The shading was done in Photoshop.

Posted by Mud at 07:58 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 05, 2007

Page 3

Posted by Mud at 11:56 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

April 03, 2007

Page 2

Posted by Mud at 07:52 AM | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

March 27, 2007

Page 1


Notes:


Pigma Micron, Letraset Pantones and some Prismacolors.

Posted by Mud at 10:49 AM | Comments (2) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

Prologue

Posted by Mud at 10:39 AM | Comments (2) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1

Cover

Notes:


The cover is pretty varied. The sand was done in Photoshop, much of the background was done in Illustrator. The rocketship was a piece of playground equipment that many kids of the 70s remember fondly. That was sketched in pencil, scanned and then coloured in Photoshop. A little bit of everything here. :)

Posted by Mud at 09:47 AM | Comments (3) | Wooden Iguana, Issue 1