Author Archive: Zoe Kirk-Robinson
Writer, artist, publisher, politicist, law student. I make things up for a living, but I can justify it. :)
2011 Challenger: Zoë Kirk-Robinson
Zoë and some of her characters
Greetings, mortals!
I am Zoë Kirk-Robinson, who some of you might know from my daily chats on Twitter; or maybe even from The Webcomics Company Podcast.
I draw two daily comics, The Life of Nob T. Mouse (which is 15 years old in December!) and All Over the House plus I will be re-launching Ink Proof Cannon as a third daily comic in November. It’s going to be an epic drawing fest!
I’ve been looking forward to this year’s 30 Characters Challenge because I haven’t drawn nearly enough wacky things this year and I need to beef up my quota. Last year I got about half way through the challenge before failing it but this year I want to push on, get to the finish line and do a funky dance of joy.
Oh, and I’m also doing NaNoWriMo this year, so expect a few of my drawings to be of characters I’m going to introduce in that novel. Yay for merging projects!
I’m going to stop writing now because if I don’t, I’ll end up ranting about stuff you don’t want to know about. I rant almost daily over at my blog, so if you really want to read this drivel, go there. 🙂
See you at the starting line with pencils at the ready! 😀
Roy the Abstract Zombie
Roy likes brains. Roy is also made from stained glass, so he has to be doubly careful during the zombie apocalypse because he could shatter at any time.
Zip
Zip is one third of the Time Freaks; criminals who escaped from a maximum security prison using a makeshift time machine constructed from an old bathtub. After discovering his new ability to travel through time on a series of wacky capers, Zip’s took part in a “renaming ritual” to take on a new “space name”.
Yip
Yip is one third of the Time Freaks; criminals who escaped from a maximum security prison using a makeshift time machine constructed from an old bathtub. After discovering his new ability to travel through time on a series of wacky capers, Yip decided it was a good idea to take on a new “space name”.
Donald Vice
Donald is one third of the Time Freaks; criminals who escaped from a maximum security prison using a makeshift time machine constructed from an old bathtub.
Doublecat
Two heads. Two brains. Half the common sense. Cunning Clive Mewson thought about little but food. His appetite was matched only by the genius of his brother, Garth. Following a nasty accident involving a trampoline, three clothelines and a sausage sandwich, Garth and Clive were left in a critical condition. Their solution was to fuse themselves together in order to use the unbroken parts from each of them to build a new working body. Unfortunately Clive’s appetite now dominates their gestalt self, making Doublecat the food-snaffling genius he is.
George Edward Hanson
George Hanson was a system administrator responsible for the network of the University of Dundee before the Final War. Now he’s responsible for keeping the power running at the border shelter, otherwise the Others could get in.
Faith Sorrel Canlin
Although initially a member of the fifteenth battalion and later War Queen of Golgotha during the War of Independence (6854 – 7016), Sorrel Canlin (in Golgothan culture, first names are given in honour of the head of the child’s ruling house and is the name used in ceremonies and other events of cultural significance) has become a respected member of the Solar Republic’s ruling class.
When the Camue invaded in 9472, she was tasked with defeating the invading aliens and granted imperial status for the duration of this task. She served with Sir Thomas Godfrey Arundale during the initial stages of the Camue War and although they do not get along, they have a mutual respect for each other’s abilities.
Sir Thomas Godfrey Arundale, Admiral of the Fleet
In the 85th century, Sir Thomas Godfrey Arundale is Admiral of the Fleet in the Solar Republic. When trouble comes knocking on the door of this conglomerate of disparate states of humanity, he’s the cyborg who answers – and you’d better be ready for a swift kick up the proverbial backside. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
Dave Wetherby
Dave Wetherby is nearing retirement. After decades of service to the State, he has uncovered a plot of epic proportions to defraud the country of billions of pounds in tax revenue each year. What’s more, he has discovered where this money is going: it is being siphoned off into hell! Can Dave bring this news to the attention of his bosses in time?
The Amazing Charles Heather and his Dumbodella
70’s rock fan Charles Heather has always wanted to see the world. The only problem is, while he’s amazing clever he’s also amazingly poor. Never one to let that stop him, Charles decided he would invent his own way of touring the globe.
Enter: the Dumbodella. It’s part elephant, part umbrella and all-weather touring vehicle!
Quacky Ducky
In the land of the criminally dumbass, the duck who applies for the job is Sheriff. Welcome to the world of Quackard Duckson, aka Quacky Ducky.
Duckson is the Sheriff of Miniesville, a crime-ridden hovel that even lowlife scum who rob grannies for their hairnets would turn their noses up at. It’s a hive of ultrascum and Duckson is one of two cops who have to clean up the town.
The only problem is, only his partner, Robert Monk (aka Rubber Monkey) can understand anything he says. To everyone else, he’s simply Unintelligible.
Garth Sturgeon, Brain Surgeon
Don't try this at home
He operated on his own brain! Garth Sturgeon was world famous for operating on six people at once and playing a video of his exploits live on YouTube. This is also the reason he was struck off the medical register.
Using a set of scalpels attached to a complex marionette, he was able to perform the world’s first double lobe bypass while beatboxing to his famourite 80’s power rap tracks.
Now he has far too much time on his hands and tries to fill it by experimenting on himself. He hopes to develop super powers but all he’s succeeded in so far is making himself feel a bit sick.
Sunday Jones
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Sunday Jones. Yes, that’s her real name. Parents can be cruel sometimes. Sunday was mugged on the way to university one morning and woke to find herself in a world she could alter seemingly on a whim. All she has to do to make changes to the fundamental structures of reality is draw the effect she wants to have as a comic and upload it to the Internet. The effects are mostly permanent; only thing she can’t change for good is herself.
You see her here in the guise of ‘Knockout’, the superhero persona she often dons in order to fight crime. She has other guises, but this is the most common.
In terms of the art for this one, I’m mostly pleased with the overall look and the colour scheme. My major issue is with the general proportions, the legs and the feet. I’m going to have to really work hard at improving my ability to draw legs, that’s for certain. Still, with 29 more characters to go perhaps the last one will look vaguely like a human? Providing the last one is supposed to look like a human, that is.
30 Characters Challenger: Zoë Kirk-Robinson
Wanted in connection with the disappearance of many chocolates
Everyone else seems to be doing these “introduce yourself, people!” posts so I thought I’d throw my ring into the hat along with everyone else. So “hi!” I’m Zoë Kirk-Robinson. I’m the artist and co-writer of The Life of Nob T. Mouse and All over the house and I also write a webcomic-related advice website called The Webcomic Builder.
You may have heard me on The Webcomics Company podcast (but I won’t hold it against you if you haven’t!), where I’m one of four people who fight for truth, justice and the webcomics way. Or something.
I’m a writer for a living rather than an artist, but I’m hoping to one day be able to make my comics, or at least some cartoons I draw, how I make my living. Hey, a girl can dream. My backup plan is to become a barrister and since what the world really needs is more artists, not more lawyers, I’m sure I have the forces of good on my side when I pick up a pencil. 🙂
I started creating webcomics waaay back in 1996, when I put Portly Stoutmaster’s Journeys online for the first time sometime around March or April that year (I remember it being before my exams in May). I followed that up in December of 1996 with The Life of Nob T. Mouse. Portly Stoutmaster may still be around, I’m not sure. Nob Mouse certainly is. The comic turns 14 in just over a month, making it older than several members of my family. That’s just plain freaky. It’s even more funny, from my point of view, when you know that I only made the comic as a way to look busy while slacking off from physics exam revision.
Now I’m planning my third webcomic, Ink Proof Cannon, which will be produced in conjunction with the publishing company I started to manage The Life of Nob T. Mouse and All over the house. I’m hoping to design the main characters for Ink Proof Cannon‘s stories during the 30 Characters Challenge, plus a few more that could appear in comics later. The fact that I’m combining this challenge with NaNoWriMo, a day job and two existing webcomics means I don’t expect to get much sleep this November, so here’s a tip: buy your shares in Pro Plus now because stocks are going to run short!
My weapons of choice for the Challenge are a collection of trusty HB pencils; a sketchbook I’ve designed all my All over the house characters in; a lovely HP scanner/printer combo; and my Nisis graphics tablet (ever heard of them? Neither had I but it works!). If any of them fail me, I may resort to pen & ink and uploading the characters by taking pictures on my ‘phone if necessary.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
#30Characters Chatter…