Random Coyote Productions posts
Posts: 904
Files: 1747
BOHICA Blues Today: "Force the Issue"
And that's pretty much how it went for all of us. So many people thought it would be no big deal to adjust to the Atlantic crossing; we are now in the same time zone as Stockholm, Budapest, and Tripoli.And so people were talking about how they were going to "power through it" and just force themselves to stay up, and then by nightfall they'd be so tired they'd fall asleep insta...
DIP Wednesday: Deployment In Progress, KFOR Edition
Some pictures of my current circumstances: KFOR, Kosovo Force. Above, the flag pole near the administrative center of Camp Bondsteel.Our living conditions, called "seahuts". Each seahut has about 4 rooms, with a maximum of four people per room. I am in a room with two others, so I have a bit of room. Morning is always foggy.Nighttime over the rear flight line. A piece of Kosovo from the ai...
Wrong Kind of Fun Doodles
"You bes' not be having FUN, boah!"Not a problem for this dude. He is NOT having fun. Is it upcoming holiday stress?Deal with your inner demons before becoming problematic to others, dude. Try to find ways to laugh at your troubles. That always helps!Later!
BOHICA Blues Today: "Who Dares, Hurts"
I have seen something like this play out over and over again: a unit is getting ready for a Big Event such as Annual Training or a deployment or other mobilization, and every time, they start taking it easy with the troops on some of the PT (Physical Training, ie, exercise and sports). No "roughhouse" PT, nothing that will risk a sprain, break, or other injury.It makes sense, right? The fo...
WIP Wednesday!
Well, lookit that. A work in progress! Almost like it is planned or something. Above, the crude pencils, as scanned into the weird office scanner I am using in the KFDOR TOC (Tactical Operations Center).And the version that is still penciled but has the initial inks (applied digitally).Cleaned up and ready for color and detail! One of the disadvantages of having a small panel with camouflage is th...
Being Resilient Doodles
Hang in there... try to calm down... don't strangle that person, no matter how much they may deserve it...II mean, imagine how much resiliency this person needs, right? I mean... SASQUATCH! And he's HUNGRY!Find creative ways to handle your stress, okay?Okay, I guess that works, but... no. Just no.Until next time!
WIP Wednesday!
So, this is my first comic done 100% in Kosovo. I am working with a different scanner, and it is set for scanning basic black-and-white documents as Adobe .pdf files. There may be a setting to save as graphic-style .jpg, but I am hesitant to mess with the settings because everyone else in the office seems to need them set the way they are.So I scan things to my work email as .pdf's, then save ...
Halloween Highs
Ready to get coked up on SUGAR!? Watch out for them Pixie Stix!Ohhh, yes, that's... ummm... pretty scary. Clowns are still considered kinda scary, right?But you're DRESSED as a Blobfish...! It's a fantastic costume!That's a fantastic costume, dude! You nailed it!Until later!
BOHICA Blues Today: "Spicy Season"
This is exactly what happened to me, and it does seem to dovetail nicely with Army logic. I've been in Kovoso for about 10 days now and it is has been noticeably colder, wetter, and foggier-- nothing at all like the conditions I was preparing in at Ft. Bliss.The absurdity came to me as I was sitting in a hot, stuffy, humid warehouse, trying on thick, oversized and heavily insulated Danner boot...
WIP (Sorta-Kinda) Wednesday! Vox Noctem: "Who Rescued Who"?
This is the other story that came to me for Vox Noctem. I still don't know if I will ever be able to finish this project. If so, then this counts as a "work in progress" towards the building of the book, but if not... well, at least it gets shown somewhere. Remember, the theme for this anthology is "Rescue", so whatever came to mind of the writers when they thought of that word...
Going to the Dogs Doodles
Dogs, dogs, dogs! Above: Good King Butter decrees... food for everyone, especially dogs!His "Granddog", Princess Sweet Pea, agrees with this. Not that she's biased, of course.There we go-- that's what the King is talking about! Dig in!On the other hand, if this happens, time to complain to the management. Until next time!
WIP Friday!
It happens from time to time!So this last week I made it to Kosovo, and settled in. I've had some really weird sleeping hours and struggles to stay awake when I should be, and struggles to stay asleep when I should be. But it is evening out. In the meantime, though, I was able to make someprogress on comics.The intermediate image that is both pencil background and partial inks. I like includin...
Farm Dog Doodles
Would a Farm Dog eat "The Farmer's Dog" dog food? Or would that be cannibalism for him? Life is always a party down on the farm.Everyone gets a big hug!The farm has its dangers, too-- even GOTHIC HORROR ones. Until next time!
BOHICA Blues Today: "Hail to the Slacker"
So yes, it is true-- JD Vance was also an NCO, as I mentioned in the Tim Walz cartoon. Vance was a member of the US Marine Corps, while Walz was in the US Army.Vance was also a Corporal, which in the US military system is "pay grade Enlisted-4", or E-4. There is a sort of mystique about servicemembers of that grade. They seem to have a network of gossip and inside knowledge that feels like...
WIP Wednesday!
A really big feature this time. Let's see where it takes us from the primitive pencils above. As an aside, this is the first comic I have done while mobilized for active duty.This is an early version of the scanned-in pencils where I have just begun to do the inks, but I have not yet deleted the pencil sketch background. I work in this mode for quite awhile, actually, but I rarely show this ph...
Something Stinks Around These Doodles
What could it be?Well, Cavemen weren't noted for their personal hygiene, but I don't think that's it. Well, if he CAN'T do it, then he's not the problem.Found the culprit! Until next time!
BOHICA Blues Today: Grooming Substandards
Active Duty Army posts have barbers on them, and even a lot of the larger Reserve and National Guard posts do too. My home station in Boise, Idaho, is home to a brigade of National Guard, as well as an Air National Guard squadron, and some Reserve units as well as a few other government facilities. So even though it is mostly "weekenders", there is a sizeable full-time staff there, includi...
WIP Wednesday!
Oh, wow; epic haircut, there, SSG Specter... Above: the initial rough, crude, pencils.Initial inking after being scanned in.Cleaned up inks, ready for color.The first "splash" color, using the Paint Bucket tool in PhotoShop. And as always, my patchwork application of camouflage. Final camo, shading, hair color, etc. ...and a background that emphasizes the line-of-sight from Juni to Ken Spe...
Goin' To Prison Doodles
You must have messed up bad, 'cause it's prison time.Was it for this crime against humanity?Even poor ol' Charlie Brown has to bite the pillow to get through this one.Well, even if they give you the death penalty, they'll still look out for your health. (MSD = Musculo-skeletal Disorder). Until next time!
WIP (Sorta) Wednesday! "Vox Noctem: Rescue"
So I mentioned some time ago my plan to make an anthology comic book with the collaboration of some local artists and writers. The idea was going to be "Vox Noctem", which would mean either "night voice" or "voice in the night", depending on how you're doing your Latin. The idea was, I would announce an overall theme, and people would come up with comic stories base don...
Getting the Kids Involved Doodles
I mean, if a pregnant lady punches you, it IS "two against one" and not fair. "Anything interesting happen during deployment...?"They did warn us that some of the biggest discipline issues they had to deal with at previous KFOR rotations was things like this, so... a dull deployment is a good deployment, mmmm'kay?Make sure things never get this exciting. Oh, well, on the bright...
BOHICA News! 41st Edition! All the latest!
Welcome new member Wayneas a Sergeant! Above are all the paid tier members, while below is a growing number of unpaid tier members! I'm glad to have you all along for the show!I got my final authorization for deployment, so I will be leaving my home town somewhere around October and heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, for a quick orientation and probably some shots (ohhh, boy) and then I will be off...
Medically Necessary Doodles
DO whatever is medically necessary for them! Like... get some Ranch dip, maybe.Yes, this constitutes an emergency. Okay, that is NOT "medically necessary".Look, just find the root cause of the problem and try to deal with that, okay?Until next time!
WIP Wednesday!
The crew arrives at Ft. Cavasos in Texas, and of course what's the first thing they do? More of what they already did! Juni and Ken talk about the expectations facing them in this excerpt. Coming together with some solid inks, now!The inks get cleaned up a bit and prepped for color. Heeeere it comes! I'm no longer making the line between hair and face so solid, and filling it in later with...
Bad Results of Drinking Doodles
Before deploying, we had an uptick in alcohol-related incidents. So what does the Army do? More mandatory briefs on the dangers of alcohol consumption! Above: "ASAP" is the "Army Substance Abuse Program", and it is where people are referred to when they are alcoholics or on other substances. It starts innocently enough, of course...Then things go badly......and then... hoooo, boy! ...
Weekend Safety Brief!
Alright troopies, the weekend is coming up, so time for your safety brief.If you drink, call a cab or rideshare. Look both ways before crossing the street, even on one-way roads.If you swim, swim with a buddy.Let people know where you are going hiking, camping, or backpacking.If you "love", use a "glove". And of course, avoid distractions!That is all. Dismissed!
WIP Wednesday!
Juni is also spending some time on the flight talking with her NCOIC, Staff-Sergeant Specter. What could they be discussing? There will be a special guest star!The initial "dirty" inks. Dirty, dirty inks!I've started the clean-up, and adding color barriers where I want to keep Juni's hair and skin colors from mixing. A lot more color detail and of course the patchwork assembly of ...
Ready for Briefings Doodles!
They never stop! They just... never... stop...How it feels... that slow, creeping loss of cognizance. I think the 35F intel briefings are the best, but I am biased. Just keep your eyes on the prize at the end of the weekend. Until next time!
WIP Wednesday! Back on Track
So, Juni and Emma get on the plane to begin their big adventure. Where will it take them?Well, the first stop is some crude-ass inks. Actually these didn't turn out so crudely; I had little clean-up to do beyond the panel borders. Am I getting better, or just lucky?Ahhh, there we go-- nice clean inks. Almost ready for that colorin' that pulls it al together!It starts out kind of flat and d...
Grumpy Doodles
Just getting through the day, and.... arrrrgggh! After a long, difficult, day, it can be best to unwind...Or you can vent to someone, I suppose. Just try not to be butthurt and it will all be over soon. Later!
