Over the last few years, I've received a few questions about myself
and/or the comic.
Since some of the questions seem to come up time and time again, I decided to get up off my ass and put
together this FAQ. I should also say that because there are many ways to ask the same thing, some of the questions
below have been paraphrased by me to represent the general gist of what is being asked...
Q: What is the Mr. Chuck Show?
A: Mr. Chuck is a dog who has his own TV show, which is appropriately titled, the Mr. Chuck Show.
The "show" is supposed to be for kids, but the comic is most definitely not for kids. Ironic, heh? In general, the comic is about
the things that happen both on and off camera. The majority
of the time, the strip tends to be more about things that happen "behind the scenes". If you really have to
make a comparison, you can sorta think of it as "a comic strip version of the Muppet Show".
Q: Why do you draw this comic?
A: For fun and profit. By "profit", I mean "fun".
Q: How long have you been doing this comic?
A: I started working on the idea in the spring of 1997, and put the first strip on the net on December 12th, 1997.
For the first year or so, the strip was weekly. Around Thanksgiving of 1999, the strip went to twice weekly. In
April of 2000, I started updating it 4 times a week (the current schedule). My goal is to eventually have it
update 5 times a week, M-F. Maybe early next year (2001).
Q: Do you draw the comic by hand, or on the computer?
A: By hand. I draw the strip in pencil (2H) on 400 series Strathmore Bristol and ink with various sizes of Zig pigment ink pens.
The artwork is scanned in as black & white at 300 dpi to the latest version of Paint Shop Pro. From here, I generally
"clean" the artwork (adjusting the background to pure white, and removing any smudges) and reduce the strip to 1500
pixels. At this size, I color and add text. When
everything is right, I reduce the strip down to 600 pixels, the size you see on the web site. I used
"cut-n-paste" some in the first year of the strip, but now, the only thing that isn't hand-drawn is the text.
Keep in mind that this description is simplistic, and leaves out many of the low-level details necessary to
create the final product.
Q: How long does it take you to do each strip?
A: Using the process described above, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. In general, I spend about 30 to 45 minutes
on drawing and inking.
Q: Have you ever taken any art classes?
A: Isn't the answer obvious?
Q: What font do you use?
A: I can only assume that the reason someone asks this is so they can use the same font on their comic.
In any case, this is one of the few things that I won't divulge. I believe that the lettering of a comic
is an imporant component that adds to the uniqueness of the comic, which is why I'd rather not see the font I
use showing up everywhere. Having said that, I do realize that the font I am using is a "public
domain" font, and there is nothing preventing anyone from using it. At some point I do plan to make a font based
on my own hand-writing, which would gaurentee that it would remain unique to my comic..
Q: Is Ned a bear or a dog?
A: Ned is a dog.
Q: Is Ned your alter-ego?
A: Definitely not. Although, oddly enough, he is the one that I seem to understand the most.
Q: Why doesn't the pinkish dog have a name?
A: He does. You just don't know what it is.
Q: Did you add Kim to the strip because you're a sell-out?
A: If I said no, would you believe me?
Q: When are you going to draw Kim naked?
A: How do you know I haven't.
Q: Why have some of the characters "looks" changed over time?
A: For this question, I have provided a long answer and a short answer.
Long Answer: Obtaining the "right" look for a character is one of my biggest challenges. Often times,
my first "take" on a character falls short of what I had in mind. As I learn nore about how
to draw the character, I will often tweak the look. Several "tweaks" can result in a
profoundly different look.
Short Answer: Because I suck.
Q: Why do you do so much "bathroom" humor?
A: Because it's funny?
Q: You used to have more comics in your archive. Where did they go?
A: I removed the first year and a half from my archive because I felt that the strips no longer
reflected the current direction/spirit/quality of the strip. In reality, those strips should never
have been posted. And as for pulling in new readers, I thought that the strips did more
harm than good for the new readers. At some point, I may make them available in a low-key way for
any readers who feel they really need to see them. I will also be re-drawing several that I thought
were pretty good.
Q: Why don't you update more often?
A: Basically, I have selected a schedule that I can consistantly keep up with. I have just a few "golden"
rules that I follow for creating/publishing this comic and updating according to a set schedule is one of them.
Frequently missing updates (especially without an explanation) is just plain unprofessional.
I've heard other artists make excuses, but think about this: How long would you have a job if
you didn't show up every few days, and especially if you neglected to give an explanation to your boss?
I approach my comic with this same seriousness.
Q: How did you get your comic on Keenspot?
A: I was invited to join by Chris Crosby. Beyond that, I'm as clueless as anyone else.
Q: Are you making money from Keenspot?
A: Yes. it's not a lot, but it is the thought that counts. Don't worry though, I haven't quit my day job yet.
Q: Are you jealous of the popularity of other Keenspot comics?
A: Yes. I often sit around all day thinking about how I'm going to get even with them for being so popular.
Q: What don't you post a picture of yourself?
A: Ok. Here are two pictures of me. One was taken a long time ago, and one was taken more recently.
I'll let you figure out which is which.
Just in case you plan on stalking me, I look a lot like the picture on the left. Except younger.
IF you've read down this far, then I'm pleased to let you know you've successfully reached the bottom. Congratulations.
