Joined Aug 2018 Manchester, UK
I'm an artist across various media, primarily sound. Interested in the more experimental and less explored areas of art.
Tools
Old school paper, pencils and ink for now.
- 10
It's been too long since I posted a comic, sorry. The next six episodes are already written, but I got busy. Still, I'm working on the next one now, let's hope I get it out before next weekend.
The Holiday Special is now completed, scanned, and scheduled for publication on Christmas Day at 09:00 UTC.
Have a great holiday.
Have a great holiday.
The next four parts of Stick Figure Asperger's have been written. A two-parter on walking (and other things I like), one on day-to-day stresses, a three (!) parter on change and unpredictability (which may be rewritten and end up longer), and a holiday special.
That holiday special is likely to be the next one published, probably Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
After that, at present I have another 15 parts planned, though there may be more added to that list.
If you have suggestions for topics you think I can cover, do let me know. If I haven't already got it planned and think I can do it justice I'll add it to the list.
And finally, I hope you have a lovely holiday and a wonderful new year.
That holiday special is likely to be the next one published, probably Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
After that, at present I have another 15 parts planned, though there may be more added to that list.
If you have suggestions for topics you think I can cover, do let me know. If I haven't already got it planned and think I can do it justice I'll add it to the list.
And finally, I hope you have a lovely holiday and a wonderful new year.
Oh wow! It's been way too long. I guess appropriately enough I got spooked by the prospect of drawing crowds for my comic on crowds.
Also real-life stuff intervened - catching up with friends, busy in work, preparation for a radical poetry and politics festival, getting ready for Christmas etc. But now episode 12 - Crowds is on the way. It should be out Thursday or Friday.
Incidentally you can also find me on Mastodon now - @mattsound@expshift.com
Also real-life stuff intervened - catching up with friends, busy in work, preparation for a radical poetry and politics festival, getting ready for Christmas etc. But now episode 12 - Crowds is on the way. It should be out Thursday or Friday.
Incidentally you can also find me on Mastodon now - @mattsound@expshift.com
Apologies, it's been a while since my last Stick Figure Asperger's comic. Just life happening and insufficient time. New episodes on their way...
Pencils begun on Stick Figure Asperger's 11 - work, after scrapping what I had for a complete rewrite. Sorry for the delay.
I'm currently pencilling Stick Figure Asperger's episode 11 - work. The second half is weak and says nothing new, so I'm going for a complete rewrite. I'm confident that won't take long.
And about 40 minutes later that's done. Thanks, walk to work!
I'll draw the episode this evening to post at some point tomorrow.
I'll draw the episode this evening to post at some point tomorrow.
Part 2/2
[titles of upcoming episodes]
Networking and self-promotion - not something I'm good at or enjoy. Which for someone who makes art of various kinds is a serious handicap.
'Passing' as neurotypical - both a useful tool in some situations, but mostly a hinderance.
Relationships - I don't have a lot to say about this. It's hard enough making friends, let alone having relationships, which is why I've had so few.
School - school was an awful experience for a lot of reasons, many or most of which tie into the next title.
Bullying - I experienced a lot of this at school.
Fascination and beauty - fixating on things, and finding beauty even in things others might find ugly.
Carelessness - it may not seem obvious, but there's a link between this and the previous title. It's to do with curiosity and trust.
What others can do to help - a couple of people have suggested this.
There may well be other titles that get added to this list. Perhaps not topics in the same way, but more scenarios to look at in more detail. We'll see, in the meantime that list of titles should keep me busy for a couple of months or more.
[titles of upcoming episodes]
Networking and self-promotion - not something I'm good at or enjoy. Which for someone who makes art of various kinds is a serious handicap.
'Passing' as neurotypical - both a useful tool in some situations, but mostly a hinderance.
Relationships - I don't have a lot to say about this. It's hard enough making friends, let alone having relationships, which is why I've had so few.
School - school was an awful experience for a lot of reasons, many or most of which tie into the next title.
Bullying - I experienced a lot of this at school.
Fascination and beauty - fixating on things, and finding beauty even in things others might find ugly.
Carelessness - it may not seem obvious, but there's a link between this and the previous title. It's to do with curiosity and trust.
What others can do to help - a couple of people have suggested this.
There may well be other titles that get added to this list. Perhaps not topics in the same way, but more scenarios to look at in more detail. We'll see, in the meantime that list of titles should keep me busy for a couple of months or more.
Part 1/2
So that you have some idea of how Stick Figure Asperger's is likely to progress, I thought I'd post a list of the titles I have planned (and in some cases have written or started writing).
There are at least 19 more titles planned, some of which will need more than one part to explore fully. Those titles are:
Chemically inconvenienced - this explores substance use as a coping strategy. It will be behind a mature content filter. I'm not interested in either promoting or condemning substance use.
Anxiety and depression - my anxiety and depression may not be a result of my Asperger's, but they do seem to be intertwined.
Work - in some ways work is less stressful than social encounters because there are clearer rules and parameters.
Crowds - crowds on the other hand are much more stressful.
Walking (and other things I like) - walking has health benefits, is enjoyable, and has meditative components, Especially when you walk the kind of distances I do.
Day-to-day stresses - from things like emails, letters and bills, through to walking to work when there are lots of other people around.
Change and unpredictability - instability causes me a lot of anxiety, especially in something like work, where I already have an underlying level of anxiety.
Things I've tried to help me cope - basically the legal version of 'chemically inconvenienced', things like meditation, exercise, giving myself projects, using a diary etc.
Getting diagnosed - this will be different depending on your age, your gender and where you live. I will look at my experience, and there may be things that might help others.
Uncertainty - I should give this another title; despite it sounding similar to 'change and unpredictability' it's very different. That title is about external forces acting on me, this is about my own feelings of insecurity.
Social media - for me social media is not vastly different from meeting people in real life, and can be just as cliquey and exclusionary.
So that you have some idea of how Stick Figure Asperger's is likely to progress, I thought I'd post a list of the titles I have planned (and in some cases have written or started writing).
There are at least 19 more titles planned, some of which will need more than one part to explore fully. Those titles are:
Chemically inconvenienced - this explores substance use as a coping strategy. It will be behind a mature content filter. I'm not interested in either promoting or condemning substance use.
Anxiety and depression - my anxiety and depression may not be a result of my Asperger's, but they do seem to be intertwined.
Work - in some ways work is less stressful than social encounters because there are clearer rules and parameters.
Crowds - crowds on the other hand are much more stressful.
Walking (and other things I like) - walking has health benefits, is enjoyable, and has meditative components, Especially when you walk the kind of distances I do.
Day-to-day stresses - from things like emails, letters and bills, through to walking to work when there are lots of other people around.
Change and unpredictability - instability causes me a lot of anxiety, especially in something like work, where I already have an underlying level of anxiety.
Things I've tried to help me cope - basically the legal version of 'chemically inconvenienced', things like meditation, exercise, giving myself projects, using a diary etc.
Getting diagnosed - this will be different depending on your age, your gender and where you live. I will look at my experience, and there may be things that might help others.
Uncertainty - I should give this another title; despite it sounding similar to 'change and unpredictability' it's very different. That title is about external forces acting on me, this is about my own feelings of insecurity.
Social media - for me social media is not vastly different from meeting people in real life, and can be just as cliquey and exclusionary.
Since a couple of the last few episodes of Stick Figure Asperger's have been tricky to draw I've started to make some changes to my approach.
First I'm being more careful in my writing. Not just writing the text for each panel, but ensuring I have a good idea what the image will be in advance. With a more narrative comic this would have been a consideration right from the start. But this comic is drawn from real-life experiences along thematic lines. As a consequence my attention was mainly on setting out the experiences in as clear a way as possible, with the images being secondary.
Second where I have scripts already written I've gone back and made rough sketches for each panel, so when I start to pencil them I have a beginning, instead of starting with a totally blank page.
See the attached image for a taste of the first set of sketches, which are for the next comic, 8.2 meeting people is easy - maintaining friendship.
First I'm being more careful in my writing. Not just writing the text for each panel, but ensuring I have a good idea what the image will be in advance. With a more narrative comic this would have been a consideration right from the start. But this comic is drawn from real-life experiences along thematic lines. As a consequence my attention was mainly on setting out the experiences in as clear a way as possible, with the images being secondary.
Second where I have scripts already written I've gone back and made rough sketches for each panel, so when I start to pencil them I have a beginning, instead of starting with a totally blank page.
See the attached image for a taste of the first set of sketches, which are for the next comic, 8.2 meeting people is easy - maintaining friendship.
