I think I've settled on a new coloring style for Shortpacked! Ever since I left the painted look and tried some It's Walky!ish coloring, I've been sorta experiementing a little. I've decided that I want to emphasize the line-art more (which I want to spend more time on) and so de-emphasize the colors. I sort of miss the black-and-white days. Those could sometimes look pretty sharp. So I've softened the colors, using a less bold palette, and the shadows won't be so overwhelming anymore. Besides, these guys are under retail store lighting all day, not harsh sunlight. I'm pretty happy.

The other day, I sold another page of original strip art. Hurrah! And this one wasn't of Batman or somebody half-dressed. I feel legitimate. The awesome person who bought it also wanted to have a printed copy of the final strip, which I obliged. Which makes me wonder -- is this something other people would want? You know, the printing out of favorite strips for a price? Ugly Hill and a few others do it, so I figger there's a market out there. Just wondering what youse guys thoughts were on the idea.

Also, my super friends Graham and Jenni got engaged. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. I've known the two for 8 years, which is about 2 months longer than they've been dating. Eight years ago we were all wacky IRC buddies. I remember calling up Jenni (who I had never spoken to before) at the behest of Graham to ask her if she was mad at him. Apparently he wasn't sure. Man, and I had the biggest phobia of phone conversations back then, so that was a big deal. But I believed in these guys, so you gotta do what you gotta do. They're my best pals in the world; they're why I moved to Columbus, after all. So I guess "Congratulations" is kind of a subpar word to use. "Wiigii"? I dunno.

Man, everyone around here's growing up.