On the Spectrum #76 - Steppin' Out...

(click to enlarge)

It might be worth mentioning that he practically LIVES in his underpants.

BTW, got a new computer, which means a enw version of Windows (7) and a new version of PAINT.  And while there're some thing sI like about it, you can only set the line width on the auto-shapes to 1 pixel and, like, 4 pixels thick.  And I'm think those thick-lined speech balloons are just intolerable!  So, yeah... maybe time to invest is some better drawings software. LOL.

On the Spectrum #75: The History Channel

(click to enlarge)

Never can tell when they're really paying attention, can you?

THANK YOU!

I would like to extend a heart felt THANK YOU to Kathleen over on Kicking Kittens and Autisherd for her really positive feedback and endorsment of "On the Spectrum" and the addition of my blog to hers.

For anyone who hasn't checked it out yet, Kicking Kittens is really neat.  It's a collection of stories that people have submitted with the same kind of positive, optimistic and joyful message that I try to convey with this comic.  I think she sums it up best in her intro: "One of the misconceptions that I have run into is that because I have children with disabilities-I am not allowed to have joy-nor are my children allowed to be joyful. Some of the comments I have received after relaying a funny story or anecdote...well you would think I had been kicking kittens." 

There's certainly no shortage of grief and stress and frustration that we can all share, and it's definitley important to do so.  But I've always felt that it's just as important to sieze upon those positive moments, those rare times when everything just works and that make us smile.  We must remember to take the time to enjoy and celebrate those moments, and hang onto them.  And there are some really great stories there, so check them out, and submit one or two of your own!

On the Spectrum #73 - Can't fix everything...

(click to enlarge)

This was pretty much how it happened. You see... he's always bringing me toys that aren't really broken, they just need to be re-assembled.  So I didn't think much of it at the time.  But when he put a TOOTH in my hand... Well, at first I wasn't even sure what I was looking at!  Then I finally look up at him, and he's got his mouth open like that.  It was really cute.  It was his first tooth to fall out too. And the second one - the one right next to it in the front? Fell out as well about five minutes later. LOL

I had a slightly different one of these, featuring Michael's first lost tooth, planned for awhile. But this just happened last week, so I figured I'd put it up.  Michael's wasn't quite like this.  I might do his next, kind of as a flashback maybe.

On the Spectrm #73 - April is Autism Awareness Month!

(click to enlarge)

Don't worry, they were fine!  At least they watch where they're going now.  Thats a little bit of 'increased awareness' anyway.  That's what this month is all about, right? ;)

I have no idea what this is, but I'm still pretty proud of it!

This is just a little bit of bragging.

I really appreciate all the comments and emails I've gotten from everyone out there.  I'm glad that you've all enjoyed the 'strip so far and that it's been so well received.  BUT, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, while I'm not completely hopeless with a pencil, the artwork in OTS is... shall we say... average, on a good day. LOL

So I've been studying a lot of anime and manga style artwork lately, to try and improve my own drawing in OTS.  The pic to the left was just something I was doodling on a post-it note while I was on the phone (on hold) with someone.  It's no one and nothing in particular, but I was pretty psyched at how it came out.  This was the first time I think I got even close to getting the style right, and I really kind of surprised myself.  So I just felt like showing it off a little.  Pathetic really, I know, but what can I say?  I just really liked how this came out!

Of course now the pressure is on me to improve the level of artwork in the 'strip... Yeah... We'll see about that... LOL.