It's a Good Idea

I would totally do backflips and swoop and dive if I had bat wings. And I would probably fly away.

Until tomorrow, all.

--m

The Nicest Compliment I've Gotten This Year

This would also work if you were a zombie trying to pick up a human, but I'm ignoring that for now.

Whilst comicing is important, and a highlight of each and every day for me, I'm working on a super top secret evil plan with a good friend of mine. Expect more on this soon.

--m

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Some Aurelia sp. Had a few of these drawings in the notebook, not to mention video I took ages ago, and also the internet for references.  Freehanded comic (again!? gasp!) and there are officially birds chirping outside my window. A pattern begins to emerge.

--m

P.S. some more changes to the site (twitter?) and a links page.

101!!

My 101st post, of course it's a TRS. I think I have food poisoning of some kind and really just want to curl up in a blanket, so this still feels appropriate.

Beware the bean salad, folks.

--m

ETA: well, I guess just 100 posts, but there was a comic that got taken down, so really still 101st.

Humboldt and I

Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, actually travel in shoals, but after 2.5 hours of work on one squid I was not up to drawing more. This was all freehand (fun!) using primarily this image as reference. The dots are bioluminescence, which there is a lot of in the ocean.

Just wait until I get my auxiliary gills.  Just wait.

--m

It's a Pun, Get It?

Old TRS post. Plane was delayed by 2.5 hours so I got home at an ungodly time and fell into bed. Drew a lot on the trip, so comics forthcoming.

--m

I Dream of Rocketships and Jetpacks

I was rereading old Exploding Dog tonight, so you get some of that madness. I always feel vaguely inadequate after reading this comic, so I'm probably going to have to boost my ego by playing Minesweeper.

Thanks to Maker Faire this weekend, I have the beginnings of my evil robot army. Jetpacks and rocketships are next on my list. Still stalled on the phylum-change serum.

--m

P.S. My trackpad art still leaves a lot to be desired, but I think I'm improving. Tomorrow I'll be home and real art (derisive snort) will resume.

Logical Consequences Strike Again

These are harlequin shrimp (family: Gnathophyllidae, I think these guys are from the Pacific) and they are nomming on a sea star leg at the Shedd.

Vacation is going well, ends on Tuesday (back to comics, yay!).

In the meantime, an ASW tribute for you!  Mouse-over text: logical consequences strike again

--m

Invert-i-nerd Goes on Vacation

That's right, Octopod Adventures is hitting the road!

Tomorrow I leave for California (SF and Pacific Grove) and there are plans for tidepooling, going to two aquariums, japanese food, adventures, etc. I'm pretty stoked.

So, I might not be updating as frequently, but you can expect at least one ASW: Inverts tribute.

--m

Excel Fail

Riddle me this, Bat-Reader: which is more productive--banging your head against a wall or trying to make figures in Excel?

(Trick question. They are equally unproductive.)

Today Excel crashed no less than six times. I lost work on at least half of those crashes, despite having auto-save set to every ten, then six minutes.

I am an angry, angry hippo.

--m

I Graduated!

So all you get is a photo of me at the Shedd for my "graduation ceremony."  (Read: I skipped my graduation ceremony and went to the Shedd Aquarium with my dad instead.)

It was an awesome day, and I'm about to go play board games with my bestie to celebrate.

And for the other people I know who graduated: congrats. We did it. :)

--m

P.S. I don't know what's up with that crazed look in my eyes either, FYI.

Tonight We Dine on Barnacles (in Hell)

Mouse-over text: "Tonight we dine on barnacles (in hell)." A Softer World invertebrate tribute again.  They're just so much fun to do.

From Sucia Island, WA. These little snails could totally form an army. You can never trust those mollusks. Sneaky phylum, that one.

I can't remember the genus or species on the snail, but I believe the barnacles are Balanus glandula.

Photo credit: M. Rock

So Close I Can Almost Taste It

And graduating tastes like glitter and cupcakes and awesome sauce.

Tomorrow I'm off doing the final reading of my undergraduate career at a big shindig downtown that my school has, so I'm scheduling tomorrow's comic.  (Hint: it's another ASW tribute.)

--m

P.S. my 'hawk is back

This Year I Give You My Heart

...liquefied and partially strained.

This was designed as a computer background for V-Day on TRS many moons ago.  (Original title: Just Like Mom Used to Make)

Finals are still going on, so out of the vault it comes!

Hope you are all doing well in the meantime!
--m

Continued Excellence in Failing

An old TRS, but this is what will happen to me if I don't finish my paper for my biomechanics class tonight.

So, enjoy the old comic.  Regularly drawn comics should return soon.  As soon as I finish this last week of school.

Graduation countdown: less than 6 days

--m

All That Anger Just Covers Up Their Loneliness

I'm studying for french and as a reward tonight I let myself do another marine-invertebrate A Softer World tribute comic.

The big, purple, spike-y sea urchin is my study species (Arbacia punctulata) with a mysterious pencil urchin (Genus? sp?) next to it.

Mouseover text: all that anger just covers up their loneliness
Photo credits: M. Rock

--m

Camels and Fergie are BFFs

Whenever I hear this song, I imagine that it is super popular with all the camels.  It's an old TRS, but it's still true.

There have been a few tweaks around the site you might have noticed, including a new FAQ page.  More changes coming soon, keep an eye out.

--m

Comic Business Update

This is not a comic update, just an Octopod Adventures in general update.

There are two new items in the store tonight (Four Cupcakes of the Apocalypse shirt and mug) so you should go look at those.  If there's something you'd like to see in the store from the comics that isn't up there, leave a comment and let me know.

As well, most of you already know about the Octopod Adventures bookface page.  For those of you who aren't in the know, the OA bookface can be found here.  There you can get insider-access to all of the awesome stuff going on here at OA.

That's pretty much all the news for this week, hope you're doing well.

--m

Besties (For Now)

For the first time in my entire life, I understand and enjoy something in math.

So, here I am skipping along with the indefinite integral and calculus bear.

Next week is my calc final, and I understand almost everything we've done pretty well, but I do have to review related rates.  Sigh.

--m

The Only Saving Grace of this is in the Lightning Bolts

If I didn't have a tablet and Photoshop, I think there would be no comic.

Posting from a friend's computer.  Now he'll have this original artwork. Forever. And ever.

--m

My Dreams Are Epic (and a Little Terrifying)

It's really hard to get a good night's sleep when you're dreaming about the four cupcakes of the apocalypse, unicorn vampires, anthropomorphic mustaches, etc.

I'm functioning on a sleep deficit right now, so I think that's why I drew a comic about going to bed.

Which I'm about to go do.

--m

(Tomorrow is prolly gonna be a TRS blast-from-the-past update, so you know in advance.)

Dear Fellow Art Students

Tomorrow I have a Biomechanics final which means tonight you have a TRS classic.

This one goes out to all my fellow art students, especially as we approach finals week and bathing entirely falls by the wayside.

In the meantime, I'm off to get as much sleep as possible.

--m

I Am Never Productive

...And being as I was moderately productive today, I have some serious concerns that I've actually been replaced by an android. An android with all my memories...and a work ethic. (Gasp! The horror!)

So, basically I need someone to bring me an EMP device and bacon.  STAT.

--m

Also: there's a huge nerd programming reference in this comic. (pseudo-COBOL what what)

Graduating Senior...I Hope

Some of you already know this, but I'm supposed to (finally) graduate this semester. And I realized I only have two weeks left.

I'm pretty sure this is what the face of despair looks like.

Wish me luck. I'll probably need it.

--m