Minions at Work: A Photocomic

I don’t think this cartoon was a very political when I did it. It was just a play on the seemingly endless post 9/11 recession and how desperate, and yet resigned people were getting. Now, in a time when the economy is better, the money is rolling in (somewhere) and people are still working harder just to stay behind, yeah, it might be a little political. Sorry. (Which means, political comments of any stripe will not be approved.)

I love the sign on the cell door, but I fear it’s already outdated. UPS is all run by computers and apps now, I think. If they still do the window-signs for pick-up, I don’t know about it. I haven’t seen one for years.

I’ve talked before about a photo editing technique where I put a dark “mask” layer over the main photo and then eat away at it with a big, soft, eraser brush to create highlights. This is an especially bold use of it, and I like it. In theatrical and movie lighting, there’s an old-school lighting device called a “cookie,” or more properly, a cucoloris. It’s a sheet material (could be metal, plywood, plastic, or even paper) with holes or patterns cut in it. It’s put in front of a light to break it up and create the more natural patterns of light or shadow that you see in real life settings. Some common uses are to create the illusion of sun coming through a forest canopy, or to create the moody shadow and light-pattern like you’d find in a darkened office or an empty warehouse.

I was going for the look of a cookie here (no jokes about bakery goods!) and I think it came out pretty well. I even managed to get a bit of a 3D effect of light wrapping around the column on the left.