Magic Crayon Scrawls

Closing the box

2005-10-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to bury the lead, so:
The Magic Crayons site will be shut down this week. I won't give an exact day and time because I'm not up to the speed on the vagaries of my hosting account, how much time I've already paid for, etc.

So, if you had considered copying images from the galleries and had yet to do so, now's the time.

I had a great time bringing my old She Hulk story back from the almost-dead. The process was a joy, especially the part in which numerous artists stepped in to help tell the tale. That was, and is, humbling. Thanks again, all.

The site is -- was -- an extension of a small facet of my life. I'm not taking it down because of money woes or some wrenching, awful event. Rather, Magic Crayons was, in the end, a page, and I'm turning it. File it under the general heading of Moving On.

Again, thank you all for the interest, for the feedback, and for fiddling with the Google ads to the point that the site paid for itself ;-)

Hasta, y'all!

Hazy, crazy daze o' late summer

2005-09-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Which, actually, means the start of school. Not for me, but for other people in The Lair. And that means a realignment of schedules and necessaries, none of which will be clearly defined here. That, combined with the end of the original "She Hulk of Earth 2" story, has (as I expected) slowed things down over at Magic Crayons.

"So," say the assembled masses (OK, all five of you), "when's the next update, Eegs?"

Soon, I'd say. I'm working on a big chunk o' artwork that should be finished next week. It's not my pencils or inks; I'm coloring it and doing other finishing touches, and I've received the permission of the person pulling the string on it that I may post it in the AARRR!! Gallery.

So, stay tooned. This is actually a project that I had to set aside for months while I focused on SHoE2. Now the reverse is true.

Meanwhile, enjoy the now-prodigious lump o' stuff at MC.

UPDATE: One book, one boom

2005-08-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Just one thing added to the site for this update, but it's a big one, at least on paper. I call it "Librarian," for lack of imagination. It's a one-page muscle-growth sequence featuring an employee of the public library system who does some off-hours browsing and taps into a last chapter that, for FMG fans, is overdue. Well, not really, I just wrote that for the pun. I remember an FMG story at Diana the Valkyrie years ago called "The Librarian." It's pretty standard stuff in FMG for the subject to be namby-pamby. Anyway, it can be found in the AARRRR! Gallery. Let me know what you think.

UPDATE: Havoc, kisses, cavewomen

2005-08-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

OK, break time's over. Time to wheel out some stuff. And thanks to one my fine cohorts, the splendiferous Lord Havoc, I have a "woo!" pinup to share with y'all. The thumbnail at left is just a taste, kids. For the full frontal, go the Green Gallery, where you'll also find an image from the old "SHoE2" story. It's the moment where Sheila and Nick swap spit, um, before the bad stuff happens.

Lord Havoc, by the way, is happily accepting commissions. The guy has a great style (especially if you're manga-inclined) and terrific coloring chops. Give him a whirl! He can be contacted via his Web site, The Lunar Diaries.

Also, in the AAARRRR! Gallery, I dropped in a cavewoman drawing I did a few days ago for a draw-off contest at the Digital Webbing forum.

That's it for now. Rest assured, folks, I'm still tinkering with words and pictures, and collecting art from my friends here and there. Magic Crayons remains a work in progress. Granted, the process will slow a bit, now that the original text for the story is full posted. We were able to hang a lot of art on that baby. I'm working on the further adventures of Sheila, but it'll take a bit to complete the text and assemble the art. Meanwhile, the galleries will stay busy.

Cheers!

UPDATE: Da Biiiiig Finale!

2005-08-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

As promised, all the fireworks are going off at once in the final (for now) chapter of "She Hulk of Earth 2." Going out widda bang, indeed.

When I first started this project several months ago, David C. Matthews was among the artists I approached for help in illustrating the story. DCM was enthusiastic, appreciative ... and hellaciously busy. Far be it from me to slow David's efforts in cranking out some of the finest stories and art in femmuscledom. Tetsuko. Satin Steele. Dyna. Stunning stuff, all.

So I'm absorootly thrilled to have what David says is his first shulkie-esque pinup, anywhere, gracing Chapter 22, titled "Showdown." It's farkin' incredible, folks.

But that's not all. In this chapter, Sheila goes fist to fist with a big -- really big -- ugly (text and visuals courtesy of moi). Joining the illo fray is that pajama-clad Thunder God of femmuscle, The Manic. He gives us a high-voltage, two-panel bit of growth that's, um, Manic-esque. More examples of Mr. M's work can be found at this Yahoo group. He also has an ongoing webcomic, Stellar, going up at White Lightning (N even remotely SFW!).

Lastly but not leastly, Yatz appears for the second straight chapter with muscular action pinup. Much thanks, Big Y, and to everyone who made this finale what it is.

So is this it? No more adventures of Sheila Huckaby? Well, it's certainly the end of the original tale, the one I concocted yeeeeeears ago. It's also the end of a process that began several months ago, when I decided to launch MagicCrayons.com and spotlight a repackaged "SHoE2."

Those who read Chapter 22 to the very end will know the answer to "Is it really over?" But the truth is, I'm back at square one. No backlog of art or text. So we'll have to let MC simmer for a while as I learn what ingredients I can bring to the table, and how long it'll take to serve the next dish.

OK, epicurean metaphors aside, I want to thank all the artists and others who contributed to "She Hulk of Earth 2" or threw feedback my way. So, a big, stinkin' huzzah to Lord Havoc, FemForte Fan, Wreck Shop (hurry back, bud!), The Manic, Pete, Tom Burgos, Naenae, Jonathan Rector, Yatz and David C. Matthews.

Cheers, y'all!

UPDATE: Gathering for the Showdown

2005-08-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

All the pieces are moving into place. We're almost there. Hell, we just a few days from "there."

It's time to release the feline from the burlap. Chapter 21 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," posted today, is the story's penultimate portion. If all goes according to my nefarious, wine-addled plan, the tale will reach its end with this Saturday's update. And I've got a helluva wrap party planned, kidlets. I'm gonna reveal some details here. But first...

As for today's update, Sheila, her dad and Lt. Diamond are all heading to the base, where something nasty is going on off-camera. Sheila, realizing she has a crummy sense of direction, looks up a new friend for help ... and for an unplanned fashion makeover.

The chapter features another image from Jonathan Rector, the gentleman from Digital Webbing and from a blog called Art Jolt that he shares with a handful of other artists.

It also features the debut here of Yatz (slice shown above), one of the cooler denizens of the femmuscle crowd. Yatz has been illustrating and caricaturing and T-shirt-making for years. He popped up a few years ago at a She Hulk fan site. Before we knew it, he was posting kickarse Shulkie art. His buff femmes have graced the pages of LH-Art, and he's got his own Web site.

As always, versions of the chapter art are in the story galleries.

Update bonus! The Green Gallery features the remaining Sheila commissions I collected at the San Diego ComiCon. Well worth a looksee.

Now, as for Saturday's posting: I wanted to make the final chapter not unlike the grand finale of a fireworks show, and with the kind help of my artful co-conspirators, that's what we've got. Sure, there will be, from a text pt. o' view, action, suspense and family togetherness. But the art. Oh, ho, ho. In addition to some Eegore illos, Chapter 22 of "She Hulk of Earth 2" will sport foot-stompin' efforts by:

Yatz!
The Manic!
and (wait for it...)

David C. Matthews!!

Yep, Mr. Tetsuko/Dyna/Satin Steele hisself has tossed in a piece that, well, when I first opened the email containing the illo, I nearly yelped with joy. And Manic's piece for the chapter ... well, it's Manic, for god's sake! The man flat-out knows how to do 'em big in all the right places.

We got this baby purrin' now! Wooooohooo! See y'all then!

UPDATE: Closing in on Big Finish

2005-07-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

Sheila is soaring across the great expanse of the southwest U.S., heading for the big showdown
with Blonsky and his military minions. Considering the immeasurable might packed into Ms. Huckaby's curvy frame, it sounds like this might be a one-sided affair. But never underestimate a scientist when he starts getting a wee bit unhinged. It's all about "Choices Made," Chapter 20.

Head to the story gallery for a heftier version of the chapter's single illustration, which captures Sheila in flight. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

The big finish is right around the corner, folks. And ol' Eegore has some treats in store for you. Yes, he does. Heh, heh, heh...

UPDATE: Going mean green, Havoc-style

2005-07-25T22:50:00.000-07:00

You knew our main character wouldn't stay plain for long, right? Right? A muscle-pumping transformation forms the centerpiece of Chapter 19 of "She Hulk of Earth 2." Lord Havoc, whose manga-influenced art already graces the story in an earlier chapter, returns to take Sheila through her gammatized paces. There also are a couple of action-packed Eegore images that take us through the chapter's slam-bang ending.

You'll want to check out the larger versions of the Ch. 19 images in the story gallery. I had to create a fourth gallery to fit 'em in. Wow. Things are growing all over the place here.

In the Green Gallery, feast your eyes on one of the Sheila pinups I commissioned at the San Diego ComicCon.

That's it for now, folks. Please leave your comments about this chapter here. We love to hear from you.

UPDATE: Send soldiers, guns and gamma

2005-07-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your patience during the gone-to-San Diego break. Now, back to our semi-regularly scheduled tale. When we last left our lady of the moment, Sheila Huckaby had imploded back to her original, doughy self -- a mental and physical meltdown caused by her unfortunate smushing of Sensitive Cowboy Nick Trask.

In Chapter 18 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," Sheila thinks she's about as low as one can get. Wrong, milady. It gets worse, as uniformed soldiers descend upon her and she quickly learns things were not as they seemed. The military, again, thinks they have the drop on her. Riiiiiiiight...

There's a bonus file tucked at the bottom of the "SHoE2 gallery 3": a Flashed and flopped version of the transformation animation used in Chapter 17. I simply reversed the images so Sheila pumps up into her green goddessness, rather than devolves into little Sheila. And, of course, Flash doesn't have the issues a GIF file does, so the image size for this baby is much bigger. It doesn't have all the lightning FX of the GIF, but the size makes up for that.

I can see for aisles and aisles...

2005-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday at the San Diego ComicCon, as we watermelon-seeded our way through one human traffic jam after another, that choice line from "Jaws" popped into my head: We're going to need a bigger boat. So glad I was able to take in a full day Thursday in the exhibit hall, cuz by Friday is was already becoming oppressive. By Saturday, it was borderline claustrophic.

But still worth the time and effort? Damn straight. Came away with three Sheila pinups, all of which I'll post in due time. Also got a sweet drawing of Astro City character Jack In The Box by AC artist Brent Anderson (did I mention AC is among my favorite titles?). Talked to Frank Cho, who is trying to convince Marvel to release a "director's cut" (read: uncovered breasts) version of Shanna the She Devil. "Write to Marvel," he said.

On the moving picture side, got a first look at trailers and clips of Goblet of Fire, V for Vendetta, Corpse Bride and The Fountain. And the Stargate SG-1/Atlantis panels were entertaining.

On to site business. As promised, the next update is set for Saturday. I've got the next "SHoE2" chapter ready, and might have something for the "AARRR!" Gallery. Speaking of which...

The poll results were clear-cut. Without a doubt, y'all wanna see more FMG. We hear ya, and will see what we can do to that end. To a lesser degree, you want "SHoE2" to continue, and would like to see more She Hulk art. I'm all for the former, and figure the latter would come along for the ride.

A surprising result (well, to me) were the number of responses for animation. So, a question: What kind of animation scenes would you like to see? I have a couple of morphing programs and have played with both. The process is time-consuming, though.

Enough for now. See y'all Saturday.

Dateline: SnDgo. Sowing Sheila at da Con

2005-07-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

K, so I have a opportunity for some quiet time, so thought I'd drop a scrawl. This is my first San Diego con in eight years. It was huge then. It's huge-er-er now. The vidgame, movies and manga elements alone were enough to force the con to expand to the full convention center floor a couple of years ago.

Went to my favorite place, Artists Alley, and put three Sheila drawings in motion. Actually got one finished today. Natcherly, these will make their way to the site someday. Also chatted with Mike "Hellboy" Mignola and Jim "Woman with Huge Yabos" Balent, and picked up several indie titles that I'd never find at my local comic shop (which, by the way, is a contender for the Retailer of the Year award at Saturday night's Eisners. Woo!)

Now I'm going to kick back, suck on a Diet Dr.Pep and cull through my fresh swag. Cheers, y'all.

UPDATE: TF art, and a brf interlude

2005-07-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's update is all about transformations. I put a little scribble in the "AARRR!" Gallery that I call "Pendant." It's a quick, one-page FMG I just had to get out of my system. And in the "SHoE2" Gallery, I pulled together the five images used to make the animation for Chapter 17, just so you can see them in a larger format.

The votes are flowing in on the poll. Thanks for participating. I'll give it a few more days.

And speaking of, the Eegster is leaving the Lair for a few days, heading to the San Diego ComicCon for three days of shaved-down geekness. There will be no update Saturday or Tuesday 7/18. We'll reload, revive and get back to business on Saturday 7/23. Hasta, y'all.

Good time to see what y'all think

2005-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

With the posting of Chapter 17 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," this would be a good time to ask everyone what they want from their MC.com. We're within sight of the end of the original story, the one that ran 10 chapters on ShadowLurker's site (I chopped it up into smaller pieces, hence the 17 and counting).

So, when the old-yet-repackaged adventures of Sheila Huckaby come to an end, how many of you want to see more story and art? I ask because site traffic clearly points to the "AARRR!" Gallery as the most popular location. Should I devote more energy to femuscle art and growth sequences, and/or to scaring up more guest art from Manic and the like?

I also ask because the answer can't be "all of the above." Not unless y'all are comfy with the updates occurring less often. I've been able to maintain the update pace largely because the "SHoE2" tale was already done, text-wise, and much of the guest art was in hand before I launched the site.

Most of all, I remain curious about what draws people here and, of course, what might keep them coming. So take a moment to cast some votes. Plural. You can vote for more than one item. Go nuts. And if there's a favorite category I missed, plug it in the comments.

UPDATE: Squeezing out a TF

2005-07-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

This Saturday morning post gets things in motion. Chapter 17, dubbed "A Tight Squeeze," brings the whirlwind relationship between Sheila and Utah cowboy Nick Trask (didn't they just meet a few minutes ago? Kids these days...) to a bracing conclusion.

The chapter features another guest artist, Jonathan Rector. I found him, like Naenae, at the Digital Webbing site. That's a taste of his work on the right. As always, a larger version of his art, plus the Eegore offerings, are at the story gallery.

The chapter also features a rather detailed animated GIF of Sheila "de-transforming," going from buffdom to fluffy pinkdom. There's a link to the GIF on the chapter page. Caveat: At this pt, I don't think the full GIF is there, thanks to a burp in the upload. My web host has a size limit per file, and this baby bumps right up against it. And this is the smaller version of the GIF, at 4.8 megs. The larger one is 8MB, but looks soooo sweet. If anyone out there is able and willing to host the monster, let me know. Meanwhile, I'll tinker with the smaller version later today and make sure it's all there.

UPDATE: OK, I've posted one that seems to work. Lemme know what y'all think.

UPDATE: New chapter & a C note

2005-07-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

Ah, ze plot, it thickens. Chapter 16 of "She Hulk of Earth 2" is revealed. Sheila has literally made abrupt acquaintance with a burly cowboy. How will he react to the sight of the green goddess? How will she react to him? Well, I named the chapter "Emerald Passion," which is either a hint or a Ben and Jerry's flavor.

Artist Naenae gives us another wunnerful piece, a chunk of which is shown here. And Yr Hmbl Host tosses one in just to help bridge us to the next chapter, coming Saturday. And it's a biiiig-'un. As per usual, head to the gallery for more pixels.

And I happy to be able to follow up The Manic's Dyna piece with another special treat in the "AARRRR!" Gallery. Mr. C, whose photomanipulations and Poser enhancements of muscle women have graced the 'Net for years, sent me an image that portrays Sheila enjoying the results of a gamma-gun zap. Outstanding work, C! And, as he noted in an e-mail, it's sized for wallpaper, so you can have a blissed-out Amazon looking back at you all day.

Comments and suggestions welcome as always, folks.

UPDATE: New artist! Manic does Dyna!

2005-07-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

Pennies from heaven, my saggy butt cheeks. I've got big, chunky silver dollars tumbling out of the troposphere, my friends. Easily the most gratifying thing about building this site -- OK, the biggest rush -- is receiving artwork from people who were inspired by ol' Sheila or who just wanted to share (and seek a little Crayon Prestidigitation). Their art has appeared in the "AARRR!" Gallery or in the chapters of SHoE2. I can't express sufficiently what a kick it is to receive, and share, this stuff.

Which brings us to The Manic. He has already contributed to a story chapter. But would his efforts stop there? Oh, noooo. A few days ago, he sent me a one-page sequence -- his take on David C. Matthews' Dyna. It has all the usual Manic touches: rending clothes, expressions of ecstacy, bulges busting out all over. He asked if I was interested in coloring the fully inked piece. He also said he'd like the seq to be posted at MC.

As I said, silver dollars from heaven. Manic's vision (see what you've started, David? Cool, eh?) resides among the "AARRR!" images.

More pocket change: This update's chapter of "She Hulk of Earth 2" features an illustration from a terrific artist who goes by the handle Naenae. Months ago, when I started putting out feelers to people who might want to create artwork for the story, I tapped into a few sites where comic-book-style artists, amateur and pro, hang out. It was in the forums at Digital Webbing that I found Naenae. She has a fluid style and sharp eye for the beauty of the female form. This was one of her first commissions. Ever. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of 'Nae. Matter of fact, I guarantee it.

Odds and ends: Looks like the "AARRR!" Gallery is suffering from the same imbedded goat cheese that has affected the story galleries. I'll be splitting off a second "AARRR!" Gallery later today.

One more shot at getting thoughts about the MC swag at Cafepress. Is it too expensive? Too graphic? Too (fill in da blank)? Inquiring minds and all dat. Take care, y'all.

UPDATE: Little late with little things

2005-06-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well, the plan was to put up the Tuesday update Monday afternoon, before a quick outta-town trip. Hrm. I was, oh, about a half-hour into the road trip when I realized I had punched the button.

So, back in the Lair, back at the monitor, and here's the update. Hey, it's still Tuesday...

The "AARRR!" Gallery has an experiment in pencil. No 'puter color. Warts and wonky anatomy and all. I'll cop to some retouching in PSP. And, in the Green Gallery, there's an image that was, hands down, my favorite among the original drawings for "SHoE2" in its Shadowlurker era.

Sheila and the gang return on Saturday with a new chapter and a new artist!

UPDATE: Sheila shows off

2005-06-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Even a grown-up child likes to see approval in her parent's face. Sheila shows off her gammatized arsenal in Chapter 14, a missive I had to call "A Matter of Trussed." Assisting me in this continuation (from Chapter 13) of the father and child reunion is Pete, an artist who has carved a unique niche in a femmuscle world. Pete likes 'em big, but also has a sense of form -- and a sense of humor -- that keep people coming back to his Yahoo group (free signup required). He turns out his pencil or ink drawings (often with risque themes) at a blistering pace.

So, lift a glass to Pete! Or, in Sheila's case, something a few tons heavier...

Housekeeping: The regular Tuesday update will go up a half-day early. I've got something old and something new for the galleries.

Da broadband blooz

2005-06-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, wouldn't you know it. Just when I decide that, yeah, the SHoE2 gallery blows goats and needs fixing, my Friendly Neighborhood Cable Provider decides to take down a few city blocks, including mine. Broadband has been blotto at the Lair since Tuesday morning. At least eight of the company's trucks are huddled around a nearby intersection. Slabs of asphalt and concrete lay strewn like baking corpses. It's uuuuugly.

Anyway, once the service is back up, my plan is to spin off a third gallery. It appears the glitch rears up when a gallery reaches about 25 images. I dunno. Whatever works...

UPDATE: Father and child reunion

2005-06-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

The saga of Sheila Huckaby resumes with today's update. In Chapter 13 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," Vincent Huckaby gets a phone call that cuts him to the quick. But it could scarcely prepare him for his rendezvous the next morning with this reeeeeally big lady who claims she's his daughter. You know, the daughter his military buddies said died in an accident. Yeah, we'd be flummoxed, too.

Plus, Sheila goes to another gas station, but doesn't blow it up.

That, plus bigger versions of all the Eegore illos in the gallery.

NOTE: I'm having some viewing glitches on my end with the gallery, but I'm not sure if it's just me or it others are experiencing the same. If you are, please let me know here.

UPDATE: Blonde pundit hulks out!

2005-06-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Kind of sounds like a Drudge Report headline, doesn't it?

Well, this is something else entirely, my friends. Today's update features a commission I did for SheAbomination (SA also posted at Wreck Shop's message board under the name Gammazon. The request was to have Ann Coulter -- the flaxen-haired, waifish pundit who enjoys landing haymakers on liberal thought -- morph into a leafy-hued, solidly muscled megawoman.

We kicked around some ideas, settling on a theme that played off some of the headlines (OK, heavy blog traffic) Coulter received following some college speaking engagements where a few profs got their dander up.

I had nearly as much fun dialoguing this piece as I did drawing it. "A Liberal Shade of Green" takes on all comers in the Green Gallery! Bwaaahahahaha! Randi Rhodes, you're next!

Greenery: To fertilize, mayhaps to ponder

2005-06-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

* Tinkering with the art and text for Chapter 13, which I plan to post on Tuesday.
* So, nary a nibble on the CafePress goodies. Patience, Eegore. However, I'd like to hear about why you might pass on this merchandise. Too expensive? Too exhibitionistic? Too goofy? Heck, even if the answer is, "Geez, Eegs, I just like to come here and browse for free. I don't wanna pay for anything," I'll like to hear that, too. By curiosity is piqued.
* Got an email from Lord Havoc, whose tasty manga-style work graces the SHoE2 home page and Chapter 3 of the story. He was hankerin' to do some more gammatized goodness, so I tossed a scene his way. Looking muchly forward to seeing what he does with it.

UPDATE: A bit of swampy Shulkie

2005-06-14T05:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going to let "She Hulk of Earth 2" simmer in its FemForte juices today. A new chapter will be posted within the week.

Dipping into the Eegore archives, I found a transformation sequence by Tom Burgos that Eddie Cunningham pulled out of him a few years ago. Based on a "Savage She-Hulk issue," it shows that not all who know fear burn at the Man-Thing's touch. Sometimes they get all greenish. It can be found here.

MC swag now at CafePress!

2005-06-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

As threatened in an earlier post, I've taken images of Sheila *and* of Jessie the Ball Buster and plastered them on T-shirts, a hoodie, posters, coffee cups, a button and a magnet. They're all at CafePress, that one-stop shop for online capitalism.

So head on over to Magic Crayons Shavings and be the first on your grassy knoll to have Sheila warm up your caffeine.

As with every and all things around here, comments and suggestions are welcome.

FFF it, and they will come

2005-06-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a green-letter day in Crayonville, thanks in absolutely no smart part to the bulges-upon-bulges illos by FemForte Fan. Chapter 12 received the heaviest reception traffic-wise of any installment since Chapter 2 (no surprise, I guess; that was Sheila's first TF; y'all knows whatcha likes, eh?) waaaay back on April 28.

Thanks, folks. You keep a-comin', we'll keep a-crankin' it out. And please, if you feel even slightly inspired, take a sec to drop a comment or email. The site stats tell me you're out there, but critiques and requests will always be welcome. Hell, I'll even jam in a commission if anyone feels ornery enough to ask for one.

Take a bow, FFF. You're AAA in your book!

UPDATE: Gimme an "F"! And an "FF!"

2005-06-11T04:03:00.000-07:00

And here, in Chapter 12 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," is where one of our brightest lights in the world of femmuscle art gets to hit the floodlights. I called the chapter "Trigger Happy," and by the time you're done perusing FemForte Fan's illo (and, well, reading the text...I hope), you'll be trigger-happy, too. Sheila learns that a good ol' gamma goose is better the second time around.

Of course, I had to let you have muuuuch bigger versions of FemForte's artisty. Thanks, FFF. You did us all proud.

Programming note: Now that Sheila's back to her new-old self, I'm going to give the story a one-update break so I can catch up with rewrites and artwork. SHoE2 will return a week from now. Meanwhile, the Tuesday update will feature a three-page Shulk-like seq in which the target for greenery is a media celebrity. Britney? Nope. Katie Holmes? Uh-uh. Actually, it's ... nah, you'd never guess this one.

Stayed tuned...

Countdown to FFFTF continues

2005-06-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

We're just a couple of days away from yanking the velvet dropcloth off the story's next chapter. As much as y'all express an appreciation of Ms. Huckaby's soap-opera struggle and with her character development, let's fess up: We're mainly here for the muscle growth. There's a reason why Chapter 2 has hundreds of more views than Ch 1 or Ch 3 (or why the "AARRR!" Gallery consistently gets the most traffic); that's where Sheila first gets her gamma on.

So, here we are again, on the brink of another transformation. I've doing the final colorups of the accompanying art by FMG gawd FemForte Fan. The Femster had a fun time with this, and great-jeebus-in-a-g-string, it shows. In a humble effort to do FFF justice, I've rewritten the chapter to turn up the muscle-bursting volume to ... 12.

So. Saturday. Be here, my friends. You'll buy the whole seat, but you'll only need The Edge!

Early UPDATE! Give it up for FFF!

2005-06-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Because of some scheduling squeezes on this end, I'm tossing up the Tuesday update a few hours early (yeah, I coulda waited until, say, Wednesday, but what fun izzat?)

The latest chapter of "She Hulk of Earth 2" forces our de-powered heroine to make some tough calls. How will she fare. Well, I can't honestly say that this chapter answers that question completely, but the hints are Heeee-Yooooge.

Coming along for the ride is one of the revered members of the femmuscle artist cadre, FemForte Fan. This gentleman has wowed us for years with his ability to combine cute, precocious faces with outrageously buff bodies. He also does eye-popping work with transformation sequences. Not that you'll necessary see one here -- yet. Fear not, FFF will weigh in very, very soon with a muscle-growth seq that will curl your hair.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Video thrills, Flashy splutches

2005-06-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday. Time to crank up the Victorola and bring you the latest episode in the Perils of Sheila "Dude, Where's My Rack?" Huckaby. Chapter 10, dubbed "Video Games," is a double-edged sword for our protagonist. She's shown a vid of a certain lab accident (oooooo!) but experiences the gnarliness of Dr. Blonsky's bedside manner.

The chapter features a Flash animation that was a bitch to put together, since I hadn't used Flash in more than two years, and could barely figure it out even back then. The stills from the animation are repro'd in the story gallery.

We're up to double digits, folks! Woo!

So, how about that CafePress idea? C'mon. Feedback, people!

Sheila on a coffee mug? Calendar? T-shirt?

2005-06-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm kicking around the idea of offering some MagicCrayons swag via Cafepress, the site that lets you put graphics on all manner of blank spaces. The level of traffic alone at MC tells me it's worth a shot, but I wouldn't mind hearing for y'all. Does MagicCrayons merchandise sound attractive? And if it does, what products would fickle your tancy? Of course, Sheila needn't be the only subject offered; I could dip into the "AARRRR!" Gallery, though any R-rated images would need to be tweaked to a PG-13 level.

So....whadya think?

UPDATE: A pudgy Sheila, a buff Hawkgirl

2005-05-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

OK, here on the West Coast, it'll still Tuesday, so I'm still in the zone. The Pacific Zone...

Chapter 9 of "She Hulk of Earth 2" is called "An Unplayable Lie." Sheila, now depowered and back to her small, arthritic self, is in a bit of a pickle. Meanwhile, her dad gets a flash, and it's not from heat stroke.

And since there's no femmuscle in this chapter, I'll throw you a bone. The "AARRRR!" Gallery now features a Hawkgirl bigger and more buff than anything DC ever dared.

Enjoy, y'all.

Wow, it's Tuesday, ain't it? Well, ne'er fear

2005-05-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Furschlugginer three-day weekends. Threw me completely off my game. I was halfway through my work shift today before I realized it was Update Day and I hadn't done one. Not to worry, Crayonites...Chapter 9 of "SHoE2" is ready to go. I just need to go home and hit the button. That means that, for many of you, the update won't be soup until oh-so-late Tuesday or crack o' dawn Wednesday. Better'n nuthin', I guess.

Still, apologies.

UPDATE: Shiver me timbers, it's FMG!

2005-05-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised -- or threatened, depending on your viewpoint -- "She Hulk of Earth 2" takes a break this update. Figured I'd leave Sheila in her powered-down, pudgy state a tad longer.

But fear not, Crayonites! I also, as promised, have churned out yet another light-hearted piece of instant femme buffdom. It's inspired by the same obscure 1965 animated cartoon that led to a sequence I did years ago. And *that* seq apparently played a role in David C. Matthews creating Dyna! So...you're welcome. The latest muscle-growth seq resides in the ever-popular "AARRR!" Gallery. Puh-leese peruse, and let me know what you think.

The second part of this update resides in the Tom Burgos She-Hulk Gallery. It's Tom's take on the origin of Ms. Huckaby's greener self, done several years ago as a commission. It's been in mothballs for a while, a severe injustice to an incredible bit of sequential art. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Take care, kids. Da next update is rat arown da coenah...er, Tuesday.

Going to Xtremes

2005-05-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

I must give proper kudos to the good folk at Xtreme Strength (link just to the right). Its link to MagicCrayons.com went up over the weekend and, ba-boom, on Sunday, the page views to the main contents page were the highest in more than three weeks. Coincidence? Most certainly not.

Queuing up material for the next update on Saturday. I expect that our Sheila saga will take a break, now that we have her back in her pudgy state following Chapter 8. But I have some slick stuff on the docket, including a spankin'-new muscle-growth sequence. Ba-boom, indeed.

UPDATE: It's The Manic! It's Burgos! Together!

2005-05-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

It wasn't supposed to be this way. But, hey, roll with it. Thanks to a late arrival, Chapter 8 of "She Hulk of Earth 2" features not just a tasty Tom Burgos piece suitable for pinning up, but a transformation sequence by none other than The Manic. Tom was long penciled in for this chapter, which depicts Ms. Huckaby's first foray into public view. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Manic announced he was trolling for commissions. I jumped at the chance, knowing I had just the scene for him ... in Chapter 8. I told Manic if he took my request, it had to be finished in less than a week.

By jeebus, he took the bait. And the piece arrived by email late last week.

Countless fans of femmuscle transformation have had their desires whetted by The Manic's drawings of women, green and otherwise, bursting out of their clothes. In addition to having a wicked sense of humor, which comes out in his short comic-style pieces, he's unique in his use of color pencils. And damn if he doesn't make achingly good use of them. I've computer-colored many of his inked-only drawings, but always felt I never could match the subtlety he gets out of those pencils. Damn him.

Mr. Burgos already has places of honor at the site, but I'm so pleased to have his take on Sheila nested in the story. I actually have several Burgos visions of Sheila from years ago, back when the story was on ShadowLurker's site. There are a few sketches and one spectacular version of her first transformation. They'll all make their way to Tom's galleries, eventually.

Meanwhile, enjoy "Out on the Town." It's big turning point for our main lady. And there's even a couple Eegore drawings thrown in, including one I think turned out kinda cool.

* In addition to Chapter 8 (and, as usual, the larger versions of the chapter art in story gallery II), I pulled out a couple of Burgos images in which She Hulk finds herself wearing Spiderwoman's duds, with varying success.

Enjoy, y'all!

What do you want in your Crayon box?

2005-05-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a hoo-ah weekend at MCLand. Took in "Sith" this afternoon. Quick impressions: Hayden couldn't handle the role of Big Film's Chewy Chocolate Center; still too pouty. Yoda fires back at Gollum in battle of Best CGI Characters Evah. Please keep Lucas far, far away from other scripts.

Also got a nice, little gift (well, it wasn't free, but I wasn't expecting it, either) Sunday morning. We have a new face in the pantheon of story art contributors. Please welcome to the fold the man with the magic colored pencils, Manic. His drawing -- and it is sooooo choice -- will be going up soon.

Ah, but the true aim of this post is to ask people what they would like to see more of at the site. Burgos artwork? New stuff from Lord Havoc? Sheila pinups? Transformation sequences for the "AARRR!" Gallery? Feats of strength?

I'm flexible...to a point. Beyond continuing to roll out story chapters, the rest of Magic Crayons is a work in progress. I'm learning as I go. And a few of my comrades at arms are willing to work with me on new stuff.

I have more than an inkling, based on site traffic, what the majority of visitors come here to see. The "AARRR!" Gallery was an early front-runner, and remains one of the strongest features. But the "SHoE2" Gallery (now Galleries, as I decided to split the load) has caught up as the chapters unfolded.

So speak out, MagicCrayonistas! And thanks for dropping by!

UPDATE: GIFs and other movements

2005-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday again. And here we are, nearly one-third of the way through "She Hulk of Earth 2." Chapter 7 is now up. Sheila suffers through some more internal conflict in "The Voices Within." With art by Yrs Trly (bigger versions, as usual, in the story art gallery). We're also got:

* Our first animated morph! A GIF in the Green Gallery pushes together the three TF images from Chapter 1. Watch Sheila grow! Oooooooo!

* A new image in the "AARRR!" Gallery: a scantily clad mage named Tarot.

Thanks, everyone, for dropping by. The site seems to be humming along. Not surprisingly, the "AARRR!" Gallery remains the No. 1 tourist spot, but the "SHoE2" Gallery is catching up, now that it has a goodly chunk of stuff in it.

Take care, and don't forget to write!

UPDATE: Wrecked -- the story behind the story

2005-05-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

No way to dance around it: This update is a special one. Chapter 6 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," dubbed "Sculpted Sighs," features three illustrations by Wreck Shop, one of the masters of ultra-buff femmes in action. But these illustrations were never supposed to be posted, and that requires an explanation. To wit:

A couple of months ago, Wreck Shop agreed to do some drawings for the story, joining several artists who had thrown in for this little project. I told Wreck I wanted to do something different for him: Write a brand-new chapter tailored to his dynamic style (as compared to the rest of "SHoE2," which is rewritten versions of what originally appeared on ShadowLurker's old site.)

A few weeks later, Wreck sent me an email with three attachments. They were "quick sketches" of what he had in mind. He sought my thoughts. Well, my first thought was "Homina!" The drawings were powerful, bursting with movement. And Sheila looked stunning. And even though these were rough pencils by Wreck's standards, the sharpness and detail blasted though.

I caught my breath, then sent a reply suggesting one or two changes. There wasn't much I could say. I was floored.

And then ... Wreck Shop went away. His beloved message board, one of the Web's greatest gathering places for femmuscle fans and art, vanished, as did its parent site. His email was linked to the site's domain, so it vanished, too. Inquiries as to his fate popped up on other boards. A couple of posters in the know said Wreck had taken a hit in Real Life and was forced to shut down his online presence for now.

I wish the guy the best. Take care, Wreck. Come back when you can.

Meanwhile, I had these sketches. Clearly, neither Wreck nor I expected to use them. But gawd, they were, and are, awesome, and it was clear that I would not see finished versions any time soon. So, I decided to use them.

The illos you'll see in the story got the MagicCrayon treatment. I cleaned up some of the sketchier parts of the linework and tried to keep the rendering simple, so as to be true to Wreck's vision. I'm happy with the way they turned out.

As usual, larger versions of the chapter art are now in the "SHoE2" gallery, but with a bonus: I also have posted the original sketches, untouched, so you can have the same "homina" moment I had months ago.

Enjoy, y'all. And please let me know what you think about all this. And Wreck -- thanks.

Coming Tuesday: Something special

2005-05-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

The next update will feature Chapter 6 of "She Hulk of Earth 2." More important, it will feature some artwork that wasn't designed to see the light of day. Thing change, though, as they always do, and I had to decide whether people would want to see these illustrations, both in their original form and "MagicCrayonized."

So, you're going to get both versions. On Tuesday, along with a much longer backstory about them all.

OK, that's enough teasing for now. Oh, except for two words: Wreck Shop.

Feats of strength: Gooooood...

2005-05-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Y'all apparently enjoy reading about and watching a gammazon cut loose on a bunch of hapless highway dinosaurs. The activity Saturday at MagicCrayons was brisk, and Chapter 5 got a lot of looks. Thanks. Next to transformation scenes, ye olde feats of strength are among my favorite thangs, too. Ne'er fear, Sheila will have a few more occasions to flex. I already have some guest art in hand that depicts her doing a military press of a...um...sorry, getting head of myself.

Take care, and keep those thoughts and comments rollin' in.

UPDATE: Feats of power, don't fail me now

2005-05-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

The clock has strolled past midnight here in the Pacific Time Zone. Time to wax prosaic on another passel of new stuff for MagicCrayons.com:
* Welcome to Chapter 5 of "She Hulk of Earth 2." With no Bowflex available, Sheila opts for multi-ton tractor-trailers to test her strength and power. And she raises such a ruckus...won't someone notice. Hrm... I call it "Mother Trucker."
* Larger, more carb-laden versions of the art in Chapter 5 reside in the SHoE2 Gallery.
* The Green Gallery now had the second of the "color over her, then buff her up" experiments I did on images of women.
* Kitty Pryde! Lockheed! Look!

That's it for now, folkses. Please drop me a line, if you wish, here or via email. Without feedback, I'm flyin' blind here.

Have a finestkind weekend!

A Shulk sighting...of sorts

2005-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

I love "Wapsi Square." It's a great little webcomic with sharp characterization, clockwork posts M-F, and a main character with great, um, assets. In this strip, which ran earlier this week, her boyfriend envisions how motorists and passersby would be affected by her jiggly jogging. No muscle, just greenness. And it's funny, dammit.

UPDATE: Can't keep a good girl cabled

2005-05-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

Going to give the story a rest this update. Four chapters are enough to cogitate on for the nonce. Meanwhile, I have a couple of main courses in the galleries.
* In "AARRR!," there's a brand-new muscle-growth sequence that's a homage to Cancuz, one of the long-gone pioneers of femsinew art online. Yeeeears ago, he offered a page upon which a young lady, bound by ropes, gulps down some spinach and ka-booms out of her bindings. My seq takes *that* seq to a loopy level.
* Though the story is silent, the "She Hulk of Earth 2" gallery is not. There are a trio of Unzipped's hee-yooge Sheilas, all Posered up and ready to soar.

As always, please shout out your opines or ideas here or via email.

UPDATE: Sheila in transit, gallery additions

2005-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

As advertised, here's a package of sweets one day early, owing to the fact that I'm going to be outta town for the weekend (California wine country, here we come!). Here's da poop:
* Chapter 4 of "She Hulk of Earth 2". While Dr. Blonsky rushes to the base to find out what da hey happened, Ms. Huckaby prepared to take her self-evaluation to another level. Yeah, those muscles look great and all, and they do a fine job of making fanboys' eyes saucery. But what can this hyperdriven sinew really do? We call the chapter "See What Develops."
* The galleries include some nuggets from the Eegore archives, including another muscle gal that enjoyed a short online existence on an old incarnation of Wreck Shop's board.
That's it for now, y'all. Got thoughts? Please comment here or via email.

Quickie poll: Why are you here?

2005-05-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a sense of what brings people to MagicCrayons.com.

Is it a general enjoyment of female muscle growth? A hankerin' for She Hulkish fan art and fanfic? A opportunity to read some florid prose about a hee-yooge gammazon? A change to peek at drawings of gurls with large mammalian protuberances?

I've got my educated guesses. I just rather hear the straight poop from you. Just drop a comment on this post.

Oh, and stay tuned. An early update is less than 24 hours away...

UPDATE: Power bands, wreaking Havoc

2005-05-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

Several new items up on the site this morning:

* Chapter 3 of "She Hulk of Earth 2." Sheila is now fully transformed into a 7-foot-2, nuclear powerhouse of a jade hue. It's time for a full self-evaluation. "Mirror, Mirror" features the sleek manga-style illustrations of Lord Havoc, an artist I've known online for several years. He does, in my humble opinion, some incredible work. Havoc's own Web site, Lunar Diaries, is well worth a visit. Oh, and much larger versions of the illos in Chapter 3 can be viewed at The "She Hulk of Earth 2" Gallery.

* The "AARRRR!" Gallery already has a couple of muscle-growth sequences featuring Jessie, the young woman with the inherited power wrist bands. A brand-new seq shows how Jessie prepares herself for a night on the town. She puts on more than mascara...

* The Tom Burgos gallery has a new image of America's Best Comics character Jonni Future, and the Burgos Shulk gallery unearths on old transformation sequence.

Let 'er rip, y'all. And please leave comments here or in Eeg's e-mail. I'm always open for art requests, ideas about the story, whatevah.

Getting into an update routine

2005-05-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

At first, I thought updating every five days would be the way to go. Then I thought some more (DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!). A schedule like that would scatter the update throughout the days of the week. It would be more sensible to pick two days out of the week and stick with that.

So it let typed, so shall it be done.

Tuesdays and Saturdays. There. So. This Tuesday, a chapter and some stuff. And this Saturday, more stuff.

Oh, except I'm going out of town Friday morning, soooo...early update! Huzzah!

Stay tuned, and keep the comments rolling in (and they are rolling in, from various groups and MBs and via email).

Oh! Oh, Sheila...

2005-04-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, when I working on the site that song by Ready for the World (that everyone thought was Prince) becomes lodged in my head:
"Oh! Oh, Sheila, let me love you til the morning comes..."

Sad.

It was fun posting Chapter 2 of the story. Ever since I got the wild hair to re-do the story and put it back online, I knew that I had to seriously goose the presentation of Sheila's origin, if only so I could justify putting it online.

The origin story was, in its first incarnation more than five years ago, a stand-alone piece. It was the first story I had ever posted online, and was basically a response to inspiration gleaned from reading the She Hulk fanfic of Terry, easily the Galactus of the genre (the original story actually ended with the use of the phrase "she hulk", no caps; I removed it here). I posted it on a old SH message board, and got the common response: Good stuff! Got more?

More? Well, geez.

So, at some point, I started mimicking Terry again by rolling out a multichapter story. I had the thinnest bones of structure in mind, but honestly didn't know from one chapter to the next what would happen. By the time I reached 10 chapters, I was done. And I never wrote another word of fanfic. Until now. Sort of...if you recount rewriting as writing.

Anyway, stay tuned for another update in a few days. Another chapter, and some new material for the galleries. Kick in the afterburners, bay-beeee!

UPDATE: The debut of Sheila the Shulkie!

2005-04-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

It's here, y'all!

* In Chapter 2 of "She Hulk of Earth 2," little Sheila Huckaby gets her fill of gamma goodness, and then some. Her friends, if she had any, would be green and purple with envy. All aboard for the Big Transformation Scene, complete with several illustrations by Yrs Trly.
* Larger, suitable-for-dartboarding versions of the Chapter 2 illos are in the "SHoE2" Gallery, along with a special gift from one of the elder statesmen of She Hulk fanart, Unzipped. Thanks, bud!
* The "AAARRR!" Gallery, far and away the most popular feature on the site, now has a three-page female-growth sequence that was originally posted on Wreck Shop's site, oh, about two crashes/disappearances ago. Make way for Ball Buster!

That's it, folkses. I'm having a blast with this. Hope you are, too. If there's something you want to see (or feel is a waste of space), or you wish to comment on the story, pls post here or email me.

Cheers!

Well, Boom! And in a good way

2005-04-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday reminded me of those Road Runner/Coyote toons in which Wile E. sits astride a sled powered by a rocket, lights the fuse and is instantly stretched out as the rocket shoots offscreen. Thanks to an MC post that morning in Transvigor, along with new links at several key sites, visitors flocked to CrayonTown. Activity was twice that of the day before. Yikes.

And so, a tip o' the cap to Transvig's Overlord of All Femmes Buff, Lingster, along with the folks at Dee Kay and DtV. And a loud, throaty shout-out to David C. Matthews, who was kind enough to put links on his update blog and on his main site's link list. They're comin', DCM, they're comin'!

I'm assembling the pieces for Thursday's update. There will be new items in nearly every gallery. The centerpiece, of course, will be Chapter 2 of "She Hulk of Earth 2." Rest assured, some very big things are going to transpire.

The evening and afternoon were the first day

2005-04-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Whew! Thanks for dropping by, everyone! The first 24 hrs of operation for MagicCrayons.com yielded 2,500 unique page views. The highest number of hits was received by the "ARRRR" Gallery ... you randy scalliwags. At this moment, the page view total is hurtling toward 3,500.

Honestly, I don't know if these totals are good, bad or "meh." I'm just enjoying the ride. A deep bow to two sites -- the She Grew and She Hulk message boards -- for sending several members this way.

I wasn't sure how this site would be received, considering that most of the content has appeared online elsewhere. Then again, much of the stuff in my "ARRRR" and Green galleries 1) came and went as Wreck Shop's board lived and died (take care, Wreck!) and 2) still exists at a pay site. So I guess it makes sense that many of you haven't had access to these pieces for a while.

Rest assured, Crayites, there's more to come -- and soon. Meanwhile, I heartily entertain comments, crits and suggestions.

Let's start scrawling!

2005-04-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

OK, the site is up and running. All of the galleries are up: my various Shulkies, my collection of muscle-growth sequences and otherwise large femmes, and the two galleries devoted to Tom Burgos pieces I've colored over the years. The "AAAAR" Gallery includes a one-page muscle-growth sequence that debuts here.

I haven't cleaned out my hard drive with these galleries. There's more stuff lurking around, along with new art. I'll be feeding the beasts as the days and weeks pass.

The biggie, of course, is the "She Hulk of Earth 2" story. Chapter 1 is up, featuring illustrations by Yrs Trly. The plan is to put up another chapter every five days or so. I don't feel the need to stretch it out to a weekly posting. I'm several chapters ahead, so I should (heh, heh) be able to keep 'em coming on a regular pace.

As you'll see (or have seen), Chapter 1 takes us to the precipice of the debut of Earth 2's most powerful human, male or female. The original "SHofE2" at ShadowLurker's site covered 10 chapters. In order to make each page here easier to handle and quicker to load, I cut up the story into smaller pieces. It currently runs 22 chapters.

As noted on the home page, I was blessed with several guest artists for this story. The first will appear in a couple weeks, but you already see the work of one of them on the story's home page. Lord Havoc's style has sharpened exponentially over the last few years. He lends his manga style to FMG and she-wolf stories and art, among other things. He recently launched his own site, the Lunar Diaries. Havoc's enthusiasm toward this project was inspiring. Thanks, bud!

Well, that's it for now. Please drop any suggestions or comments here, or pop me with an email. Thanks!

Breaking open the box

2005-04-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

Let's see what colors are inside...ooooo...peach!

What would you like to see more of at MagicCrayons.com?
	New "She Hulk of Earth 2" chapters after original story ends
	Femuscle transformations in the "AARRR!" Gallery
	General femuscle art in the "AARRR!" Gallery
	Guest art (The Manic, Lord Havoc, FemForte, etc).
	She Hulk art
	Tom Burgos art
	Photo manipulations
	Poser art
	Animations

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