Hairy Apologies...

Huge apologies to anyone still habitually visiting this blog. I've neglected it for some time due to... well, too many reasons really. I hope to get back to updating it a bit more often soon, but for now, I want to post a message to go with the long-overdue latest page in the Hairy Steve online comic. It goes like this...

Dear Hairy Stevite,

After a seriously long delay, the newest page in the Hairy Steve comic is now up on the site. As ever, we hope you enjoy it.

Below the previous page is an apology and explanation for the slowdown in the project coming to fruition. Unfortunately, the obstacles appear to have increased over the past weeks rather than cleared, and this latest page has taken an eternity to complete as a result. Things definitely look more settled on the horizon, although I don't anticipate being able to return to the page-per-week rate any time in the near future. These pages take me between 2-3 days to turn around, which is obviously a significant chunk of my working week. When we started publishing Hairy Steve online, that working week was far less frenetic than it is now, which was great for the Hairy Steve project, but less great for my family's living standards.

The funding from our backers has been invaluable to get things off the ground, and the monies are firmly in place for the fulfilment of all pledges once the pages are all completed. But they were never intended to be sufficient to fund the entire project. And whilst profit (or breaking even) has never been on the agenda with this, we still have to finance its creation, and that is done through our time and love for the job in hand covering the losses. Other work, properly paid work, has to be a part of that, and lately, thankfully, that has increased significantly, and has to be given priority for the time being. The last thing I want to do at this point, with only a handful of pages remaining, is to rush the project or cut any corners in quality. I hope you'll agree that is not an option.

So the only alternative is continued patience on everyone's part, and I thank you all in anticipation of that. We're edging ever closer to the climax, and although I don't even know how it will all end myself (I've asked Jamie to feed me the script one page at a time), I know it will be worth waiting for, based on everything Jamie has ever written in his life before (no pressure, Mr Smart!). And I want to do that justice, to the best of my own abilities.

Thank you, once again, for your patience.

Steve, the drawing guy.

Hair we go...

Having recently uncovered the secret of creating time-lapse videos of work unfolding in Photoshop, many of which I've admired in the past, I thought I'd test it out for myself on my entry to last weekend's Caption Competition. The challenge was the "anything goes" category, on the theme of 'Hair', and once I'd come up with my idea, I turned on the recording software and lost myself in Photoshop, finally completing my cartoon forty minutes later.

The result was then dropped into Windows Live Movie Maker, and speeded up by x16, music and closing credits added, et voila, one animated short, charting the process of a drawn gag from start to finish. And although it subsequently caused a little controversy over the legitimacy of posting an entry to the competition this way, it still managed to poll enough votes to win, for which I was surprised and delighted in equal measure.

I hope you enjoy it. I'll certainly be recording and posting more if you do...

Your Last Chance...

As I write, there is literally only 24 hours left for you to claim any of these great perks by supporting the Hairy Steve Campaign. It's been wonderfully successful and inspiring so far, and I can't quite believe it's already nearing the end, and I'll soon have no more Hairy Steve enthusiasts to 'Zombify'.

The hard work really starts now, with a race to continue bringing you the remaining pages of the comic on schedule. I hope you'll be forgiving and understanding if our target ever falls a little behind - the last thing we want to do is rush things, sacrificing any quality in order to hit self-imposed deadlines. That said, it won't be for want of trying if we have the odd hiccup.

Meanwhile, as I've said, if you'd like to grab yourself any or all of the above, and give us a last-minute push, you have less than one day in which to do it. By the time you next have breakfast, it could be too late. You don't want to have your porridge sprinkled with regrets, do you?

Do you?

(please note - some things in the picture above are approximations. i.e. the comic hasn’t been printed yet, obviously, so this is just a mock version, but everything else is real, three-dimensional, and waiting for you. PLUS, every single contributor gets their name in the comic credits, on the 'Thanks Page'.)

Badges already...

These are so exclusive and hot-footed from Badgeland that not even I have any of them... yet! But we've had them specially made as a thank you for the fabulous support so far for our Hairy Steve campaign , and they will added to the goodies that all funders who have contributed over $20 receive. Jamie's got them all securely stored in his safe right now, and I'm waiting to find out if I have to actually make a donation to the campaign to get mine. He's thinking it over.

Meanwhile, more zombies have escaped from my drawing board, and made their brain-sucking way to the Hairy Steve Gallery. This one will be joining them soon, along with several others. The Army mobilises...

Hairy Steve - the continuing story... um... continues!

Page 3 is now up and running! Well, more falling than running, if you know what I mean. If you don't, then have a look at the latest page.

Meanwhile, the latest in our Zombie funders has now emerged from the shadows. We shall be publishing more of these very soon on the campaign website, and it's not too late to walk among them, whilst becoming part of this exciting project, and receiving lots of other stuff into the bargain, including original artwork by Jamie Smart and me. All details HERE.

Heeeeeeere's Jimmy!...... (with permission)........

Page Two of Hairy Steve is up... EARLY!!!

We couldn't wait. www.hairysteve.com

And here's the very first of our Zombified backers. Step into the light, Cathal...

Hairy Steve unleashed...

That's it - after a short delay caused by the unexpectedly rapid outburst of enthusiasm, good will and financial support, Hairy Steve has today been officially launched to the world, and you can see the first page at hairysteve.com . Up above, you can see me trying to look mean and moody alongside the beast himself (no contest!).

After five years since the first page was drawn, it's a tremendously exciting moment for both Jamie Smart and me, and not a little nerve-wracking, since I still have two thirds of the comic to draw, along with a whole heap of artwork for the 'perks' people have generously contributed to in order to help fund this thing, and be a part in its creation.

So the pressure is on, but with the warmth and encouragement that has enveloped Jamie and me like a warm blanket, it's good pressure, and a challenge I'm really looking forward to, every line of which I intend to enjoy to the max.

And it's not too late to play your part if you want to get on board. We may have reached our initial target already, but so long as people are happy to contribute, we'll be more than happy to work on those perks, and are already thinking up new ways to keep this whole fun hairball rolling along, gathering as many others into it as we can. The enthusiasm we've garnered so far has been addictive and a really positive force for moving forward. I can't stress enough how vital that has become.

I'm particularly going to enjoy turning some of you into zombies as one of the perks of funding process. Below is an example of just how I'll be doing this. If you'd like that to be you, the Hairy Steve webcomic will tell direct you to how to go about it, or you can head straight to our Campaign HQ for the full details of all the different ways to join in.

Thanks again to everyone who has done so this far, and I hope the fun keeps rolling along!