I’m starting to get ahead of myself now with these comics. Traditionally I script them in advance of drawing them but recently I’ve also begun drawing them ahead of time, too. This means I’m starting to get a few comics ready before they need to go up, so hopefully I will be able to avoid the annoying delays that have plagued the strip of late.

I’m being pestered by a few people to do another interlude story and this seems like a fitting cliffhanger on which to leave the action for the moment, so next week you can expect a new interlude story. Be sure to tune in for the wacky adventures of Doctor Nob!

I’m starting to get ahead of myself now with these comics. Traditionally I script them in advance of drawing them but recently I’ve also begun drawing them ahead of time, too. This means I’m starting to get a few comics ready before they need to go up, so hopefully I will be able to avoid the annoying delays that have plagued the strip of late.

This is a story that came about because of pestering for another interlude story. I was toying with the idea of doing a sequel to Nob Trek where Nob Mouse and Co would be flying around the galaxy in the NSS Cheesy once more but then I hit on the idea of crossing a Dalek with Oscar the Grouch and this little tale just fell into place. When a story hits you like that, you just have to go with it or you’ll lose it and never get it back.

I’m indebted somewhat to my girlfriend, Jennifer, for the resolution to the story. She suggested having a TARDIS-like ship that was the same size on the inside as it was on the outside, and then having someone get stuck in it when it was in a small shape. I took that idea and played around with it for a while, then came up with the idea of having Nob Mouse squeezing himself inside a post box, only to find out that his efforts were in vain because it was the wrong post box. Sometimes the simplest jokes are the best ones.

This episode should have been uploaded last night but, unfortunately, I’ve had problems with my telephone line that resulted in my internet connection going up the spout, so to speak, which is never good when you’re working to a deadline; even if it’s a self-imposed deadline such as the weekly comic update.

Some readers may be shocked by this week’s episode but hey, that’s all part of the fun that is The Life of Nob T. Mouse. I hadn’t intended Doctor Franky to play a major part in this storyline so it was inevitable that she would depart at some point – and this seemed like a fantastic way to achieve that goal!

I’m not 100% happy with the artwork on this episode but I didn’t have the time to go back and do it all again. Perhaps at a later date I’ll be able to but at the moment, I don’t.

I’ve been looking into producing a new series of mugs and t-shirts now the new series of comics is well under way. I’ll have more news on these as I work out the designs but right now I’m thinking about a series of mugs with readers’ favourite characters on them, plus a ‘group photo’ mug that may also become a t-shirt. These are rough ideas right now so expect them to change as they develop. As the old phrase goes, watch this space for more information!

It takes a little longer to produce each comic but the new technique I’ve been using to draw the strip seems to work very nicely. The images are sharper and the colours seem a little more vibrant because instead of inking each frame, merging it with a border and then colouring it I’ve instead produced the borders as one layer, inked each frame in one layer and then coloured in a third layer. The advantage of this method is that both the outlines and the colours are effectively painted onto transparency rather than a white background, so they’re not tinged with white.

I’ve also begun trying to add more confidence to my line work and I think it shows. Instead of drawing lines in small, peacemeal steps I’ve begun inking in whole curves in one stroke. I think as I develop this technique I’ll be able to produce some very effective work and it will add greatly to the look and feel of the series. As the saying goes: watch this space for further developments!

This new drawing style is working well for me but it is certainly very time-consuming and I’ve noticed that the nib on my pen is starting to wear down. I think I have replacements but if not I know I can get some. I think I may have to make some form of compromise between the new and old colouring styles, since the new style means a lot of scribbling to get the colours in.

I’m working on getting the whole of Pie Noon sketched out ahead of time because that saves me a lot of time on my weekends which can be devoted to inking and colouring. I’m aiming to have the whole story completed in no more than 25 episodes but don’t hold me to that because I’m not entirely certain at the moment. It’s safe to say that it won’t be continuing into the autumn if I have my way and nothing stops me from drawing the strip.

The new colouring technique is working out very nicely now and I’m starting to see a benefit in terms of speed of production for the strips. This one took about three hours to put together, including inking and lettering; which is a decent saving on time over previous efforts. I’m very pleased with the result, too.

As I mentioned on my blog, I’m planning to producing a trial run of three-panel strips once Pie Noon is completed. I’m not sure if these will start immediately after Pie Noon or after one or two more stories are run but a trial of three-panel strips is planned for the future. Whether they will constitute the start of Series Three or not will remain to be seen, of course. If they’re unsuccessful then chances are I’ll just put them into Series Two, chalk the idea up to experience and move on.

Time, as they say, will tell.

I’ve had the final panel for this story going ’round my head since I started work on this version of Pie Noon last year. I think it’s pretty good, all things considered, and it’s pretty close to what I envisaged in my mind all those months ago.

We’re nearing the end of the story now and while I’ve been approached to do another interlude story I think under the circumstances I’m just going to press ahead and finish this story before going off on another wacky adventure with these guys. However, do stay tuned because after ”Pie Noon” finishes there’s a fun expedition planned for the crew of the N.S.S. Cheesy in Nob Trek: The Next Excursion!

Those of you who visit YouTube may be interested to know that I filmed my computer while I inked and coloured the first panel of this week’s episode. You can see the results here.

I was a little apprehensious about this particular episode because of the decision to switch from Letter-o-matic’to Eurocomic fonts, the first being a free font from Blambot and the latter being a paid font that can be used outside of free comics. As I’m a professional comic artist I need a font I can guarantee being able to use of saleable items. I like the look of Eurocomic but I’m equally happy to go with a more rounded, ‘happy’ font for The Life of Nob T. Mouse if people think that would be better. Personally, I feel it looks good like it is.

Speaking of changes, there are several coming up for Nob Mouse and friends. The first, and possibly the most major, is the imminent arrival of Series Three. This is taking Nob Mouse in a new direction, going from weekly long form comics to a thrice-weekly, three-panel comic format. I expect to be making irregular long form stories still but the main bulk of Series Three is intended to be three-panel affairs. When this particular change will occur is not yet decided but it’s unlikely to happen immediately after Pie Noon ends, so don’t adjust your set just yet.

The second change is a change to the way the site is set up. I intend to redesign the entire website at some point but I’m not yet decided on how exactly it will look. It may end up being something like my own website or it may mix this with the design on my site. Watch this space to see how it all pans out and be sure to let me know what you think when it’s done.