Cricket 13- Curses!

Hello Everyone!

   It's been a while, I know, since the last comic. There's a good reason for it, though: I am now a PhD! That's right, two Thursdays ago, I successfully defended my thesis in front of my peers and now join my adviser and other members of the faculty as a Doctor of Entomology!

  It's a bit of a scary prospect, especially now that I need to search for a job. But I'll wing it somehow. :-)

  As for today's comic, we get to see Rose again after a bit of an absence and the reappearance of Miles, Cricket's twin brother. You can find out more about him on the Collection Box page.

  Thanks again for your continuing support. And I will continue to post as I have comics.

--Dr. Scott :-)

Cricket 12- Meeting the Cast

Hi everyone! Welcome to another installment of "Cricket!" I've been eager to get this comic done for you all, as I can finally reveal the full cast of the Student Entomological Association (SEA). With a odd mix of characters and different goals, I hope you all find their future interactions to be thoroughly entertaining!

Enjoy!

--Scott

Sketch Week 2

Hello, everyone! A little late this week, I know. Not sick, but have been feeling tired, so I've been trying to take it easy. Anyway, I wanted to share some more sketches from my thesis presentation, along with some other drawings. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Commenting on my box arenas for my thesis project.
June: Go, fight my champions!
Cricket: Not that type of arena, June.

Cricket hanging out, leaning against a wall.

Sometimes cleaning takes some extra precautions.

Watching the beetles crawl in my 1D arenas.
June: You know, watching cockroach races is a lot more fun...
Cricket: Eh, you work with what you got...

And also a quick peek at a soon-to-be introduced character. More on that later.

Martin

--Scott

Sketch Day!

Hello! And welcome to another installment of Cricket! No comic today, per se. I have not built up a buffer strong enough, so I figured I would treat you to some sketches I've been working on:

First up, A House Sigil and Words inspired by the Sigil Creator for the Game of Thrones TV series that's become popular on Facebook. I couldn't find anything that let you add your own image, so I went ahead and mocked up something of my own. This banner represents a non-canon family that I'm calling House Grassley. They are a minor noble family sworn to the Tyrells of Highgarden. Their sigil features a prancing mantis against a gold bar on green field. Their words, "Quantitas Rebus Haut," are Latin for "Size Matters Not;" a reference to the short stature of the family's founder.

This next image is a simply drawing of Cricket relaxing in the warm weather now that Spring has returned. The sketch of Cricket and the butterfly will be featured as part of my thesis presentation to give it a bit of personality.

That's all for now. I hope you all enjoy the sketches. I'll continue to work on actual comics and post them when I have sufficient buffer. In the meantime, I will post sketches like these whenever I have them available. See you next week!

--Scott

Comic 11- No rest for the weary

   ...Aaaaaaand we're back! I hope you all haven't missed me too much, but I want to thank those of you that kept checking in for a new comic periodically. Because of that, the site has passed a mile-stone: 500 page-views! When I saw that, it definitely made me eager to get back to you all.

   As for where I've been... To put it simply, the last few months have been rough. Almost as soon as I posted the last comic before my hiatus, I got sick. After three weeks of that, I was starting to recover when I got hit by another infection that laid me out even harder than the first time. The most frustrating part was that it force me to delay my defense until this summer. Somewhat of a bummer, but not much I could do about it. At least I could find a little humor in the misfortune, eh? :-)

  Comic 11 doesn't have the level-of-detail some of the past comics have, mainly due to my desire to produce something for you guys. It does, however, feature a new character, Jon. Read up more about him in the Collection Box. Also, for the near-future, updates for the comic and images will be on a semi-regular basis. I still have work and my defense to prepare for now that I am healthy, but I will try to keep from similarly long breaks like the one that separated Comics 10 and 11.

  Other than that, it's good to be drawing again, good to be healthy, and good to be back! And check in regularly for more Ent-thusiastic fun!

-Scott

Cricket!- Delayed Beginnings

  Hello everyone and welcome to the very first installment of "Cricket!" This is a little side project I started a few months ago, and since I have enjoyed making it so much, I decided to share it with all of you. My hope is to publish on a somewhat weekly basis, but I am a grad student, so bear with me if it takes me a while to make good on that promise. Expect comics to be posted sometime late Monday, early Tuesday for the time being.

  So take a gander, have a laugh, and leave a comment. I am still early in honing my craft, so as long as the criticism is constructive, I'll welcome it. And as an added bonus, today I'll be posting two comics (See below)! Aren't you guys lucky? 

Cricket!- Distractions

Poor Cricket. It's not enough to be late to school. Rose just has to tease her for it. But then again, what else are roommates good for?

Comic 9- Arachnophobia

Hey everyone! Here's to another late edition of "Cricket!"

Just about every group of people has each of these two types: the ones terrified of spiders and the ones with no fear nor desire to kill them. I'm in the latter group, much to my family's annoyance. No matter how big, I just don't feel the drive to kill them, even if my family gets frustrated with me for it. This is especially true for jumping spiders. Including myself, I've known a number of people that finds that particular group "cute" in its own special way. I think it has to do with the eyes ;-).

With that said, I sadly have to report that this will be the last "Cricket!" comic for the near future. I've been working hard on my thesis and haven't had the chance to maintain the buffer I had built up. The comic will be on hiatus until at least March 11th, when the report is due to my committee. However, when I start up again, it will likely be single-panel drawings or sketches until I am done with my defense and have built up a sufficient buffer. I will let you all know when I am back from my break.

Thank you all for the support you've shown by visiting this blog. It has been a pleasure to share this portion of my world with you and I hope to continue soon.

-Scott

A Buggy Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day, folks! Like I promised, here's a special Valentine's Day Message from Cricket, encouraging you all to keep in mind ALL the special people in your life. As you might have noticed, this image uses an improved design for Cricket that I plan on incorporating in later comic (the hair and facial features, not the dress). I hope you all enjoy it! See you next week!

--Scott

Cricket! 8- Fall Fun

Hey folks! Another week, another "Cricket!" In this week's strip, we get a peak into what activities pass as "fun" for the avid bug-lover.

Two things to point out in this edition: First, as you can probably tell, this strip is a little behind, weather-wise. I originally drew this back in early November, when the joke was topical. I guess that's the price you pay for trying to include a buffer in your comics. Anyway, I submitted this comic to the school paper for their literary edition at the end of the year and they published it! Got a lot of good feedback from friends and coworkers and it even wound up on the department's website. Feels nice to be recognized every once and a while. :-)

Secondly, this strip introduces a new character to "Cricket!" The girl with the buggy hat is June and I have been waiting a long time to introduce her to you all. Since I first thought her up, I've put a lot of thought into fleshing out her character. If you want to know more about her, head over to the Character Collecting Box page to read her bio.

One last thing to mention. Next week, expect a holiday-themed message from "Cricket!" next week around Valentine's Day. It'll give you a chance to see some of the improved design for Cricket that I've been working on, much like Rose from last week's comic.

Well, that's all for now! Take care and see you next week.

--Scott

Cricket 7- Freezer space

Hi folks! Managed to get this one out on-time, ha-ha!

Anyway, in this week's comic, Cricket is reminded that everything has its time and place, which includes keeping specimens separate from food.

I'm sure you notice some changes in the comic's style. I'm experimenting with layers do create backgrounds and depth for the comic and trying to work a bit with different perspectives (profile, slightly-turned face, etc) for the characters. I also updated Rose's appearance, which I feel is a considerable improvement. You'll be seeing an updated Cricket soon enough. Until next week!

-Scott

What a surprise!

   Quick post here. Thought I'd share a little surprise I received while browsing on-line. I was looking for images on Google Image Search under the heading: "Purdue Entomology." The 74th image (yes, I counted), was of a yet-unposted comic from "Cricket!" that was on the departmental website about a month back. If you want a sneak-preview, go check it out.

--Scott

P.S. Also, I would like to welcome recent viewers from Australia, Columbia, and Ecuador. With these recent additions to the audience, "Cricket!" has officially been viewed on 4/7 continents!

Cricket 6- For the Birds

  A day late, but don't let that stop you from enjoying another edition of "Cricket!" In this installment, Cricket is reminded that entomologists aren't the only ones that feel passionate for their subject area.

  The events of this comic are based on a real-life incident that I experienced back in college. I used a little artistic license to amp up the humor, but I kidded you not, the interruption really WAS over a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Enjoy!

Cricket 5- Floor Meeting

Hey, gang! We're back! Sorry for the delay, but I've been preparing for a job interview the past week, so not much time to work on the comic.

Speaking as a former RA, I thought floor meetings were a good opportunity to meet your neighbors, but I know others feel like it's a drag. At least most don't get on the RA's bad side on the first day.

Tread carefully, Cricket!

Cricket 4- The Entomological Thought Process

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by and helping Cricket start off the new year! I had a good break and I hope you all did, as well. And while the seasons are changing, Cricket! will continue as long as I have time. I'm currently working on my thesis, but I've got enough comics saved up that they will hopefully cover this busy period of my life. But I'll let you know if the comic needs to go on a temporary hiatus.

Now, about the comic itself: I'm experimenting with a new format with how I arrange the comic. I'm making it more vertical to hopefully make better use of the space. As for the comic's content, Cricket's reaction is one I've personally felt and I think it is one of those odd quirks people in entomology have. We love insects and appreciate their weird beauty... but most have no qualms about killing what we love for the simple enjoyment of adding another body to the collection. Gets kinda creepy when you think about it that way, doesn't it?