jephjacques

QA Dump #37

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:54:35 -0400

How tall is Tai?

Short

Hey, I just want to say thank you for Faye teaching “dangerous” skills to a, what, twelve year old? I’m a big fan of letting kids learn how to do a wide variety of things, even dangerous things, in a controlled environment where you can help teach them safely (instead of having them fuck around on their own.) Anyways, I thought it was really cool at the time, and meant to say thank you, so thanks!

She’s gonna put out an eye

How did Marten and Steve become friends?

Mutual admiration at a urinal

Hey Jeph. Thanks for doing the comic/QA sessions. I recently got a vasectomy and although the smell of cooking bacon will always remind me of cauterizing vas deferens, I think the worst part was the tugging on the vas deferens. No pain during the procedure and I had an easy recovery, but I could feel that tugging in my abdomen/urethra and it made me feel a little nauseated. Just wanted to make my ‘first post’ to you as awkward as possible.

Yeah the tugging was definitely unpleasant. In hindsight I should’ve asked for a valium or ativan or something beforehand, I was way more nervous at the last second than I was expecting.

THAT BEING SAID, it was still totally worth it! No babies for me, woo

I know you’ve said in the past that you have quit drinking for various reasons. I’m re-reading QC and I’m at the part where Faye deals with her drinking problem. Was this inspired by personal experience? Did writing that part of the comic help you deal with your own issues?

Nope, that actually happened before I quit drinking in real life. I dunno if I’ll ever do a story about quitting booze in the comic, maybe someday.

which would you say is the more difficult part of your comic the scripts or the artwork?

Depends on the day. Sometimes writing takes 30 seconds and is a piece of cake. Other times it takes 8 hours and I want to die. Artwork is generally “easier” but I also hate my art a lot more than my writing, so there’s that.

Hey jeph, big fan of your work. Going through the archives and seeing the gradual transformation of your art style, a question formed in my head; if someone were to take your most recent strip (by the time of this writing, #2186), go back in time to 2003-2004, told you that your art was going to dramatically improve in the future and showed you that strip, how do you think the you from 8-9 years ago would react to that?

“Christ, I’ve only improved that much? I better start practicing more.”

Hi! I started a comic of my own a few months ago, and I’m just wondering, I keep having these periods of like MASSIVE CRUSHING self doubt, any advice on how to move past/work through that feeling?

Welcome to being a cartoonist! That feeling never really goes away entirely, at least for me, but you do become more confident over time.

What’s your setup for Deathmole like? Mostly interested in how you program the drums, but your pedalboard interests me as well. I’d search, but my employer’s firewall knows better than to return tumblr search results… I can only imagine what “Deathmole Pedalboards” would turn up in tumblrporn.

I don’t use a pedalboard as such, since all of the guitar sounds and effects are modeled digitally. I use an AxeFX Ultra for amp modeling, and do the vast majority of effects within Logic itself.

As for drums, I used to use one of the included kits in Logic, but I recently switched to EZDrummer, they have a bunch of really good sounding kits. It’s all sequenced in Logic using a combination of a MIDI keyboard and good old fashioned pointing and clicking with a mouse.

Think I’m gonna make this shirt maybe

Sat, 19 May 2012 18:38:48 -0400

Think I’m gonna make this shirt maybe

New Deathmøle- Corruption

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:18:26 -0400

New Deathmøle- Corruption:

Happy Friday! Have a new Deathmøle track. I’m really pleased with this one.

yesssssssss

Thu, 17 May 2012 05:57:19 -0400

yesssssssss

There, all the jokes about Diablo III being down have been made,...

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:50:50 -0400

There, all the jokes about Diablo III being down have been made, you can stop now

New Deathmøle Track- Ghouls

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:21:48 -0400

New Deathmøle Track- Ghouls:

Happy Friday! Have a rad new Deathmøle track.

QA Dump #36

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:11:15 -0400

I recently got a pipe and was wondering if you have any recommendations for pipe tobacco?

I recommend not smoking because it is bad for you, but if you’re gonna, I really like Lane’s “1Q” blend. As far as tinned tobacco goes, Dunhill’s stuff is good, especially their “breakfast blend” (or whatever it’s called, it’s something like that but I can’t remember the exact name).

Have you considered selling Worry Hats in your store? I know I would buy one; I tend to worry too much. :(

We’ve been looking for a supplier for a while, once we find one they’ll be on sale.

How’d you come up with the name Questionable Content in the first place?

It just popped into my head one day. It was probably inspired by Something Positive.

Jeph, if your characters were real and you were part of their social circle, who do you think you would spend the most time with? Do you think you would be close friends with any of them in particular? (Assuming they didn’t know that you were their creator and overlord, of course)

I’d probably be super-buddies with Hannelore and Marigold, my real-life friends trend towards the nerdy end of the spectrum.

Any possibility of the entire cast getting anime’amafied as a print like the one from way back of the all the characters in the coffee shop?

It is on the extremely long list of things I should do at some point.

This has been bothering me for a few days: Why is Faye TIG welding without any safety gear other than the shield? At the very least she should have gloves and fireproof arm coverings (you can get nasty sunburns or real burns without them)

she is just THAT EXTREME

Do you Game, Make Deathmole Music, and Draw QC all on the same computer or do keep one sacred for “work”?

Music and comics are all done on my big ridiculous Mac Pro, but I have a dedicated PC for vidja gamez.

What’s your method for…How to best put this…Handling the effectively infinitely expanding nature of the comic? Do you just think of the current arc(or maybe even just the next day), or do you try to keep a big picture in your head? Is there even a big picture with an actual endpoint, or is it just a “It ends when I can’t take it anymore or die” thing?

I don’t think about it much! It pretty much takes care of itself, most of the time.

I’ve been wondering about this for awhile: did you choose to use Papyrus on the “Panda House” sign across the street from CoD just to torment those of us who have violent convulsions at the first sight of that horrible and overused typeface?

Nah, it’s just a commonly used font in signage around here (unfortunately).

I’m confused, do you like slipknot? a few years a go in the comic you bashed them, and then you tweeted this “WHY ISNT SLIPKNOT ON THIS LIST YOU SUCK” that confuses me.

I was being sarcastic in that tweet, I think Slipknot are utterly awful BUT THAT’S JUST MY OPINION, MAN

I get that the last panel of the most recent page is supposed to be a joke, but what Faye did was actually pretty irresponsible. Having The-Dad-Whose-Name-I-Can’t-Remember ignore that because of a drink makes me feel like making this face ==> :| and also this one ==> :S

Yes god forbid Faye do anything irresponsible in the comic

Hey Jeph, I was so upset to hear you couldn’t make it to TCAF, I was hella looking forward to getting a chance to meet you and thank you in person for how awesome QC is. Do you have any idea when you’ll be able to come to another event / festival / convention / thing in Toronto? Hopefully you’ll be able to come by before next year’s TCAF. Thanks for being so awesome though!

Missing TCAF was a profound disappointment, I will do my best to not be sick for it next year.

hey I wondering how is it that you pick guest comics. is it just from people you know or do people submit them to you?

It’s pretty much just people I know.

I am experimental (heavily pedal-based) guitarist who is interested in the potential uses of a seven- or eight-string guitar. What kind of guitar can you recommend to me that would be kind of an entry-level instrument?

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:49:52 -0400

I’ve had good experiences with ESP’s LTD line of instruments, and the new Schecter 7 and 8 strings are supposed to be pretty good too.

Today’s comic, via Pusheen

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:35:08 -0400

Today’s comic, via Pusheen

I made a print for TCAF this weekend!

Thu, 03 May 2012 04:08:24 -0400

I made a print for TCAF this weekend!

What's with Marigold's hair in panel three of today's comic? I know it's a cartoon and not exactly subject to the rules of reality, but I can't imagine what physics are going on behind her back that allow the bottom to look like that

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:10:24 -0400

ANIME

uncalar: With compliments to Jeph Jacques @jephjacques and...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:14:50 -0400

uncalar:

With compliments to Jeph Jacques @jephjacques and Danielle Corsetto @dcorsetto. McPintsize!

QA Dump #35

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:52:59 -0400

Why pipe instead of cigar?

Cigars smell bad, pipes smell good

what do you think about spencer krug’s bands?

pretty good!

Hi Jeph. I was wondering, you mention you being unable to sleep quite often (The dreaded sleep madness) and I wanted to know, does it ever affect the comic? Like do you write a script after not sleeping for while and it turns out freakin’ bizarre?

Not really, it just makes writing and drawing more unpleasant

I decided to go back and re-read all of QC from the beginning. On comic 328 when Sven was introduced you mentioned that you were glad to introduce another male character. Is your cast mostly female on purpose?

Not really, I just like drawing girls more.

I was totes serious about that guitar offer, today

If/when I get people together, I’ll get in touch.

Of all of your main characters, which ones are the most “brain smart”? A.k.a. Which are the ones that got crazy high test scores in school and could be brain surgeons if they so choose to?

Hannelore, maybe Raven

On the merch page for the Yelling Bird plush toy, where did you get all those vintage Ackbars?

Those are Jeffrey Rowland’s, he collects them via eBay and other sources

If I bring you cookies and promise they’re not poisoned, will you eat them?

It really depends- I always appreciate the sentiment when people bring me snacks at conventions, but I usually don’t have time to actually eat them.

Hey Jeph, I’m a relatively new reader (found you sometime last year from xkcd) and I’ve come to realise one of the main selling points of Questionable Content is the way in which is portrays people with mental disorders and depression in a realistic and understandable light. As a person who is attempting to write a character with cyclothymia, what advice do you have for portraying a character with such a disorder in a way that avoids representing them as a crazed lunatic?

Portray them as a person first and foremost. This applies to every kind of character!

I was thinking about saving up for a custom extended range guitar, and seeing your Siggery, I was wondering, how much did that set you back and how long did it take from first putting in the order to the date you received it?

I actually found that randomly on eBay for about $1800. I imagine his stuff is more expensive new. When it comes to custom guitars, the price really depends on what you’re ordering. $2000 is probably a good ballpark starting point, though. Order times can be anything from 3 months to multiple years depending on the maker and how backed up they are on work. My custom Creston took about six months, my custom Anderson took about 3 because they’re a much bigger shop.

Could you post pictures of your tattoos, and what they mean?

Too much effort, people tend to steal my birds. Sorry.

how often do you put out the books as i would love to keep geting tham i just spent the last week reading all of the comic and now i have fnished i dont know what to do with my time i fell like mer bear lol any way love your work cant what for more

Current schedule is 1 per year although I’d really like to cut that down to every 6 months until I get caught up. Volume 3 will be out in September if everything goes according to plan.

Some time back, someone asked: “Your female charcaters have gotten more curvaceous as time goes on, have you ever had the urge to draw them in a more r-rated setting?” to which you replied “nope”. Though the recent sketch of Faye and Cat-Bread (bread-cat? or ???) would seem to imply a reconsideration, or was this a one-off just for the sake of it?

I didn’t draw that!

Have there been any examples of Dora being controlling in the comic? I can’t recall any off the top of my head and I can’t reread the comic at work. I just am wondering if I’m missing something.

Her entire relationship with Sven, her entire relationship with Marten

i just got myself a drawing tablet (a bamboo capture), any tips on learning how to use it?

practice

What edition of D&D do you play? And do you ever DM?

4th edition although I’d love to try 3.5 and Pathfinder. I’ve DMed a couple games, it was fun and I’d like to do it again.

Hahahaha what (nsfw)

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:57:19 -0400

seriously what

Artwork for potential QC charms by Printsess!

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:02:50 -0400

Artwork for potential QC charms by Printsess!

New Deathmøle Track- Perennial

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:49:04 -0400

New Deathmøle Track- Perennial

Demo version of the next Deathmøle song. Still gotta add bass,...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:46:12 -0400

Demo version of the next Deathmøle song. Still gotta add bass, make the drums more varied, and shuffle some guitar parts around, but it’s getting there.

CHUG ON THAT BASS STRING, BRO

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:12:43 -0400

Tips for playing and recording an extended-range guitar:

1: Turn the gain down! Heavier strings get muddy if you’ve got too much distortion going. Listen to the guitars on a Meshuggah record- it’s crazy how little gain they actually use, most of the “heaviness” is in the instrument itself and the way they play.

2: Keep the mids! I’ve always been a fan of scooped-mid guitar tones, but if you do this with an ER guitar, it’s gonna sound like shit. They’ve just naturally got more midrange than a regular guitar (I think it’s the extra mass in the neck) and if you fight the guitar’s natural tone, it’s not gonna sound good. I still boost the bass and highs quite a bit, but I don’t dump the mids nearly as much as I do with regular guitars.

3: They’re different animals than regular guitars. 7-strings are fairly similar and you can use a lot of the same chords and voicings as with a 6-string, but 8-strings occupy this weird space between a regular guitar and an electric bass, and you have to use techniques from both instruments to get the most out of it. It’s also really easy to just constantly chug on those two low strings, but Meshuggah are way better at this than any of us will ever be so it’s best not to rely on it too heavily. Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders is really good at using the full range of his 8-string, even on his rhythm parts.

4: The heavier the strings, the better. I use the low A string from an electric bass as the low string on my 8. The low string on my 7 is a G bass string (insert tired “lol g-string” joke here). The tighter you can get those low strings, the better it’ll sound. That’s also why my Siggery has a fanned fretboard- the longer 28” scale on the bass side keeps low nots nice and tight while letting the standard guitar strings stay loose. It’s also surprisingly ergonomic.

5: Accept the fact that you will probably look stupid playing an ER instrument. Let’s face it, they’re kinda goofy looking. BUT THEY’RE SO FUN OH MAN

QA Dump #34

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:28:17 -0400

Not really a “dump,” just a couple quick questions. More of a QC poot, I guess.

Why couldn’t Station make a copy of himself, send it to a server in Hannelore’s apartment, and sync the two copies every time he’s overhead?

Station requires a vastly larger amount of storage and processing space compared to your average AI due to the whole “being a space station” thing. He wouldn’t fit on a server.

I listened to a really interesting interview on NPR about the effects of zero-g on astronauts who spend extended amounts of time in space stations. I was going to ask you about how Hanners adjusted to Earth gravity after spending almost her whole life in the Station, but then I went back and realized that they simulate gravity by spinning it, soo… I guess my questions are 1) Why do some areas in the Station not have simulated gravity and 2) is the gravity comparable to Earth’s? (I’m a dork.)

The central spindle of the station does not spin, allowing for work in zero-g. The outer hub spins at a rate high enough to simulate standard Earth gravity.

Got a print done for C2E2!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:18:32 -0400

Got a print done for C2E2!