http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/gallery/0000ka9g.xml http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/gallery/0000ka9g An experiment with a certain expression on a wide variety of cartoon imagery. When does it work? When is it funny? How long will this stay up until someone insists that the Internet is exempt from parody and serves me a DCMA takedown notice? http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003e25s.xml Wow, this guy doesn't like drawing his main character, does he? Works. Not especially funny. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003e25s.xml 7ef8218ca98c3b9284ef127c63d53792 image/gif 525 167 23184 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003e25s This one made us laugh every damn time we looked at it. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003ff6w.xml f0b38b967714701633ffc9c37ee677aa image/jpeg 423 397 44880 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003ff6w Works, but just kinda boring. Using pupils the same size as the original may have made it less funny. Nine pupils across the eye, just like the Simpsons... http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003gfh9.xml 6df899bd75ee6cfc798e415ceccf72a7 image/gif 800 600 50975 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003gfh9 Yeah, <i>Family Guy</i> is just not something you can make funny by making the eyes dead - they're really already there. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003h67z.xml 4bead9ae33cad43e15a80686db7843b3 image/gif 800 600 67022 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003h67z Not having outlines on his eyes makes Calvin immune to the dead, doll-like eye effect. It's a funny expression but it's not really outside of where Watterson went with the strip. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003kscd.xml d40dcc4b8bd8412686569005b8e8f002 image/gif 600 190 12255 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003kscd Ozy and Milly, on the other hand, works alright, even when both characters in the latest strip have glasses. (Sorry, Rain!) http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003pwap.xml 29cc9259816d58140a43245d4249e6e9 image/gif 800 267 41690 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003pwap I had to try one of my idols. Walt Kelly is immune to this because the drawings are so detailed. Who the hell can get three characters, a background, and two dialogue balloons in one panel nowadays? Also, Albert's expression is untouched. Walt already went there. You win, Walt. (PS. This is a bit mucky because the original image was evidently scanned from Kelly's originals - you could see traces of his blue pencil roughs and his lines for lettering.) http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003qb1w.xml 6d4ddf71920f3c7118f2b325ade9b750 image/gif 680 205 55790 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003qb1w I had to try O&M again. Sorry, Rain. Again. Oh god, Isolde is so perfect for the dead-eye trick - any character with the glasses-become-big-eyes thing works great for this! http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003rg83.xml 39d67fbbac389547d81f9239fb695432 image/gif 800 267 40478 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003rg83 "Ralph Hayes Jr!" Kin said. Below a certain drawing quality, the dead eye trick just vanishes into the badness. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003sesp.xml 2cbf23f668f4250b4a084592c9e70d52 image/gif 984 800 86693 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003sesp From one D&D joke to another. Kovalic is competent at his stylizations, but the Dead Eye Thing really vanishes - these are pretty dead drawings to begin with, and the humor seems to come from a decent, lively drawing mixed with these gloriously bad eyes. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003t7h9.xml b4a68defef897796557e68130a00d42f image/jpeg 450 616 74456 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003t7h9 Gotta mutilate my own stuff too. I haven't done many full-face images with opened eyes lately, it turns out. Maybe I should fix this. Didn't add or subtract much from this already crazy drawing. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003wcgy.xml b40f5ef6976d337978203e64a9527803 image/jpeg 600 706 40994 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003wcgy This one makes me laugh. A lot. Sorry, Charles. The fact that these two characters are having a <i>really serious conversation about God</i> only adds to the humor of the Dead Eye Thing... http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003xxk2.xml 867dbb3a0131d0b8d3370e05e84d08e2 image/gif 899 596 47787 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003xxk2 Yep, it works on really obsessively rendered characters with a bit of cartooniness, too! Sorry, Goldenwolf. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003ye2d.xml 5ab50d941ab60707ab4351e9cfc6251d image/jpeg 705 483 73225 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003ye2d Sometimes. (Sorry, Chris.) This one has a lot of detail too, but she ends up looking more like she just has a wandering right eye. partially because of the size - the little dot pupils are a reasonable size for cartoon eyes at this scale... http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003z84a.xml a4c457f883eb4ba2ea86de76bfb8f004 image/jpeg 530 720 40750 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0003z84a It, um, doesn't exactly work on a photo, does it? It's funny in a 'bad Photoshop' way rather than a 'funny expression' way. http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0004070w.xml aaad668382f4abec12a2e80879f2f8c6 image/jpeg 200 308 10391 http://pics.livejournal.com/shatterstripes/pic/0004070w