April 26, 2011

  • I realized something sad about me…like, really, really sad.

    It happened while I was drawing an outline of some pictures I was going to use in a blog post.

    04.25 (1)

    Yes, I have to hand draw my little cartoons before I create them in Paint…not because I’m dedicated to art or anything. I just suck so badly at this stuff that I actually have to practice drawing stick figures. Oh, by the way: did I ever tell you why I started drawing my stick figure persona in the first place? I probably didn’t because it’s not an interesting story. Basically, I wanted to include myself in some of my Paint pictures, and stick figures were the only things I could draw somewhat decently. And I chose to make myself orange because I thought using yellow was too obvious…and because yellow made it look like I’d drawn someone with a severe case of jaundice.

    Anyway, while I was going over a few of my sketches, I noticed something about the stick figures I’d drawn of myself. I call them “me-stick figures.”

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    See anything strange about the me-stick figures? Of course you do! It’s glaringly obvious: all of them are wearing triangle dresses. Okay, maybe I’m using the term “glaringly obvious” rather loosely, but you still understand how this is a problem, don’t you? No? Hmm…well, I can’t blame you for that because honestly, I didn’t find anything worth freaking out over either. Not initially.

    At first, I thought it was kind of funny that I’d even bothered to draw the me-stick figures in dresses when these were only rough sketches. Perhaps I’d gotten so used to drawing them this way that I automatically drew triangles on every circle with long hair.

    I should have left it at that and gone back to drawing half-assedly, but for some reason I decided to dig out some of the outlines I’d done for previous posts. And sure enough, all of the me-stick figures were drawn with triangle dresses. The stick figures that represented other people, however, weren’t much more than circles and lines because I didn’t draw clothes on any of them. Even the female stick figures weren’t wearing triangle dresses like the me-stick figures were–which effectively killed off my original theory that I had been mindlessly adding triangles to every long-haired circle. I was now back at square one: how come I only drew triangle dresses on the me-stick figures, and left the other ones flapping nakedly in the wind?

    Wait, naked? Who said anything about being naked?

    And then it hit me:

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    No…no way. It couldn’t be that! Anything but that!

    I grabbed a piece of paper and began drawing a me-stick figure. I drew the head and some hair, and then a line for a torso:

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    But almost as soon as my pencil hit the paper, an alarm suddenly went off in my head. Next thing I knew, I was looking at this:

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    What the hell? My line turned into a triangle dress!

    I really could not explain why I apparently had a compulsion to draw dresses on me-stick figures–then again, I wasn’t putting much effort into figuring it out because I was too busy congratulating myself for averting an imaginary disaster…

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    And then it hit me…

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    Of course, “why do I even care?!” was a question I already knew the answer to. What started out as a simple character that was used to illustrate some of my blogs had become something much, much more. It turned into me. That stick figure was me, and when I attempted to draw it with a torso instead of a dress, it felt like I actually drawing a naked picture of myself. There was just something uncomfortably X-rated about it.

    But you know what was really weird (I guess I should say “weirder” since this whole post is already pretty weird)? Even though the other stick figures weren’t drawn with clothes on, I didn’t get a “naked vibe” from them. They instead gave off a “basic sketch to be detailed later in Paint” vibe.

    Now that I was fully aware of why I drew the triangle dresses, I started realizing how sad it was of me to have viewed this orange stick figure as some kind of self portrait. How did that make any sense? We look nothing alike!

    04.25 (9)

    You see what I mean? There isn’t any a shred of similarity between the the real me and the me-stick figure (by the way, I’m pretty proud of how well Mr. T.V. Head turned out)! The only way you’d know that the stick figure was supposed to be me in Paint form was if I made that known. Otherwise you’d all be thinking “That’s the worst Oompa Loompa drawing I’ve ever seen!” or something.

    After doing a bit of thinking, I came to a conclusion:

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    “Butt-ass naked” is the best phrase ever.

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    What was so X-rated about a me-stick figure that wasn’t wearing a dress? It didn’t mean it was naked! It could just be wearing really tight clothes. And even if it did look like I’d drawn a bunch of naked stick Sylvias, why should I care? It wasn’t like there were any boobs or va-jay-jays hanging out all over the place, right? What was there to be concerned about? Nothing! And to prove it, I was going to draw a naked me-stick figure right then and there!

     

    04.25 (12)

    Head? Check! Hair? Check! All that was left was a torso, arms, and legs.

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    Still waiting on the torso, arms, and legs!

     

    04.25 (14)

    …Still waiting!

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    No longer waiting!

    FAIL FAIL FAIL! LAME LAME LAME!

Comments (26)

  • Hahaha. Nice. <3

  • Once again you have me laughing my ass off into my tea first thing in the morning…thanks for the good times!

    From a artistic point of view and as a long time reader, that triangle dress is definitly your signature because every time I see one of your comics I immediately associate it with you and your character.  I don’t think that is a bad thing at all, in fact it cements you in your own pop culture in a way! 

    But I hear you though. Once you start drawing something over and over one way it’s near impossible to stop.  I have an uncle that worked for Disney for years and even though he does his own work now, it is always tinged with that Disney vibe, even when the content is…ehem…titillating….(titillating, also a most awesome word to say).

  • The triangle dress is pretty much a trademark of your series^^

  • You always make me laugh. I understand this post too well! Probably happens to writers too. By the way, you look so pretty in that picture with Mr TV head ^^
    xxx

  • You look cute in that little red dress =P

  • Sweet failure!

  • LOL!!! I love it!!! I think you look lovely in your triangle dress. It’s er… sliming? Yeah, we’ll go with that. Now I will never see a stick figure the same way O.o

  • It’s your trademark!  No wonder it’s hard to change it.  It’s just not a animated version of you without the triangle dress.

  • I’m glad your sense of creativity hasn’t been killed. I think of something to write about as I walk from point A to point B on campus, but usually by the time I’ve sat back down, it’s off my mind, and I’m on to something else as a distraction. -_-;.

    This was amusing

  • I love the stick figure idea. It is very cute. Very you.

  • you are so cute lol

  • Haha, this is awesome! =D

  • aww, I was hoping at the end of this entry there’d be some stick figure porn! ;) hahahaha

  • LOL… too funny. Try a rectangle for those long summery dresses :)

  • lol, sometimes that stuff just happens.  Little things can just, bother us.  This was great post!  Thanks for the laugh and reminder that I’m not the only strange being out there…

  • You’ll probably need years of therapy to overcome this problem.

  • Butt-ass naked!

  • Lol. 

    I do think the triangle dress is sort of iconic now though.  You have to do it otherwise your character will no longer be recognizable.  If Charlie Brown didn’t have that little squiggle of hair, he wouldn’t be Charlie Brown anymore… same with his ugly yellow shirt with the black zigzag.

    Btw, butt-ass naked is sort of redundant, no?  Wouldn’t “butt-naked” or “ass-naked” have sufficed?

  • wtb more watermelon slice dresses! 

  • Girl yo stick figures way better than mine ever be. You wanna see me draw on paint or on paper?? no no no you don’t I think your blog is really cute.
    butt ass naked is a term I use… I love it yeah

    Mercedes

  • LOL, too funny. Haven’t laughed like that in a while!

  • “Emergency swerve maneuver” made me die laughing. xD

  • So funny!  Embrace your inner triangle dress self! 

    I think it just means you’re solid with yourself the way you are, and that’s a good thing.

    What would happen if you tried a different style of dress – do you think you would still automatically swerve?

  • Can you draw yourself with a skirt ? 

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