#protip

As a student I had trouble drawing nature for comics. Sketching from reference helped, but I still couldn’t find the right level of pen & ink abstraction for water, vegetation, or natural phenomena. Careful underdrawing wasn’t enough to make the panels work. My eye was undeveloped.

Joe Kubert recommended I get some photos, xerox them at high contrast, then study the patterns that resulted. Sketching from these sharpened my instincts. You can do the same thing digitally with Threshold (Photoshop) or Binarization (Clip Studio.) Play with the slider for different densities.

Here’s the tea: You’re probably paying way too much for your rubbish clearance. ☕️

For years, we’ve been conditioned to think of waste management as a "fixed cost." You sign a contract, the bins get emptied, and you pay whatever they ask. But here is the secret the big haulers don't want you to know: They are charging you whatever they think they can get away with.

Between "administrative fees," "fuel surcharges," and those random annual price hikes, your monthly bill is likely bloated with fluff.

But what if you could flip the script? 🔄

Stop Paying. Start Saving. 💰

Instead of begging a waste company for a quote, why not make them compete for your business?

That’s where the reverse auction comes in. It’s exactly what it sounds like: you post your requirements, and local waste haulers start a bidding war to see who can give you the best price.

No more guessing games.

No more hidden junk fees.

Just honest, market-driven pricing.

The results? Our users are consistently seeing up to 18% savings on their monthly bills. 📈

Why You Need This (Right Now)

Think about what you could do with an extra 18% in your budget this year. That isn't just pocket change—it’s money you can put back into your business, your projects, or your life.

The industry is stagnant. It’s time to shake things up.

The 4-Step Move:

Post your needs (bin size, frequency, etc.).

Watch as local providers bid to win your contract.

Compare the best offers and check out the provider ratings.

Lock in your lower rate and enjoy the extra cash.

Join the Movement 🚀

Don't let the big waste giants treat you like a cash machine. It’s time to demand transparency and pay what the service is actually worth.

Ready to start the bidding war?

Check out the service here: [TrashTracker Service Page]

Want to read that Jimmy Olsen book? It’s won just about every award it was up for, and it’s still one of the best comics I ever worked on. The new printing is available through any comic shop or book store. Or you can get a signed and sketched copy direct from the artist, here: https://helioscopepdx.etsy.com/listing/4311530238

everywhere

As a depressed younger artist, my storytelling sometimes suffered. I just couldn't conjure up the feelings & images that the story needed. Over time I found some strategies for staying professional even when I wasn't feeling it.

1. When too down to do justice to the stuff that needs energy, do other stuff. Taxes, erasing, booking travel, laundry, scanning.

2 Break down the job you can't handle into smaller jobs you can. Is the thought of a whole book too much? Thumbnail a page or a scene. Design a character. Ink backgrounds.

3. Bring in a helper. A collaborator or assistant doesn't just lighten the load. Their enthusiasm can be contagious. Increased momentum helps, too.

4. Learn to recognize your green kryptonite. For me, it was drawing tight pencils for someone else to ink. I was working with great people, but I just hated drawing a pic for someone else to redraw in their own line.

5. Embrace tools that make your job easier. I used to be anti-photoref. I drew a perspective grid for every gun or vehicle and constructed it anew. Using photoref and 3d models meant I could save all that time and energy, and use it for making better storytelling choices. Your energy is finite. Spend it wisely.

6. Understand the emotional goals for a page. "I need reader to feel scared along with Jimmy" vs "I need the reader to laugh at him being scared." I'll write those goals on a post-it as a way to remind myself what I'm aiming for. This helps when I have to steer towards a feeling via pure technique.

7. Improving my technical chops over the years helped a lot with this. When basic drawing was no longer a hurdle, I had more time and energy to conjure up feelings.

I recognize there's some danger in talking about this stuff. It's easy to believe that the only acceptable public face is that we're always excited, always operating at 100%.

Yeah. Right.