Nothing Rhymes With Rats
We’re also on Instagram @NRWR_COMIC, where you can view all the rats comic strips we’ve put out to date. Currently working on our second book too. Exciting times!
I’ve been working with Ramsey Janini to make a comic strip called Nothing Rhymes With Rats. It’s about two rats as they navigate life. Everything from the domestic to the cosmic and spiritual (spoiler: these all overlap in significant ways!)
Early in the strip’s history, their environment was a cage, but both Ramsey and I wanted to put something out into the world that was more optimistic. Optimism can be a weapon, and it seemed a much better approach for us in the way we dealt with the circumstances of our own lives. Faced with some difficult moments, cynical snark seemed less satisfying….
We hope you enjoy our rats stories. And if you like them enough, perhaps you’d like a rats book or shirt from my shop. The book is 140-ish pages long and includes a supplementary section with our sketches, comments, insights, etc. Pics of the book below. We ship worldwide.
BUY IT NOW
$15 + shipping – trade paperback
$5 – digital pdf
You can also find most of the strips on our instagram account @nrwr_comic. (Though there the art is reformatted to fit instagram. The book features them as they’re meant to be experienced.)
New Rats, now in techno color!
Our new book will be out later this year.
Particle Castle Bubble Party!
I produce a series called Particle Castle Bubble Party! that aims to make the process of making music/art more transparent and accessible. Rodrigo Constanzo hosts the sessions, and anyone can get in touch to discuss aspects of their work they think would benefit from a conversation with him.
I edit the footage down to keep the conversation flowing, and add elements that augment the conversation in the final video as well. Concepts, terms, and references that might seem unfamiliar are defined or cited on screen as they’re mentioned–and we don’t shy away from the occasional gag. Rod and I believe that sometimes the best way to absorb information is via humor, so hopefully you get a sense of that with what we’re making here. Enjoy. Make art.
Saltine’s Book of Parables
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$15 + shipping
I am very proud to present to you Saltine’s Book of Parables. This hardcover art book is a collaboration between myself and Saltine–world renowned art historian, and former financial manager to the Ford administration. We also collaborated very closely with Cody Sullivan, who Saltine represents in all matters legal and managerial.
I consider this book of ours to be something of a children’s book for adults. Written in Saltine’s unique voice, these parables are witty, succinct, wise, and offer reflections on the wide breadth of human experience. Everything from navigating anal fissures in relationships, to eschewing desperation in bathhouses, and back through again to lessons about setting boundaries, bargains, and how our hair can get tangled up in it all.
Zero Town
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$4 + shipping – physical floppy comic book
$1 – digital pdf
Zero Town is a neo-noir mystery of involuntary time travel, the supernatural, and mad science all set against the backdrop of South Florida’s biggest city right before its biggest disaster.
Written by Jason Chestnut, art by me, and we’ve just completed the first issue!
Jay and I were friends in Miami at the turn of the century.
Media for the FluCoMa project
November 2019:
The FluCoMa project put on an amazing performance at HCMF this year. The artists involved were: Olivier Pasquet, Owen Green, Lauren Sarah Hayes, Leafcutter John, and my long-time collaborator, Rodrigo Constanzo.
I made this video about them:
February 2019:
I’ve made the logo and video bumper for FluCoMa
What is FluCoMa?
The Fluid Corpus Manipulation project (FluCoMA) instigates new musical ways of exploiting ever-growing banks of sound and gestures within the digital composition process, by bringing breakthroughs of signal decomposition DSP and machine learning to the toolset of techno-fluent computer composers, creative coders and digital artists.
To create these I:
1) Used Affinity Designer – this was the first time I made something for someone else using vectors. I normally draw using traditional media (and I’ll occasionally color using Photoshop)
2) Created and filmed many different types of ink behavior, on paper and in water
3) Revisited my aviglitch library scripts from when I made Its Fleece Electrostatic, to create the glitch effects found in the video bumper
4) Used Final Cut to animate the different elements of the logo for the bumper
5) And of course just sketched a lot using pencil and paper to get initial ideas down, or to try to change the direction of the design.
Here are some key moments in the logo’s evolution (Though it wasn’t exactly as linear as this and I’ve left out some things.)
Continue reading »
Nothing Rhymes With Rats (Trade Paperback)
This 140 page, perfect bound book collects the comic strips that take our rats on a journey of self discovery–from the cage and nihilism to transcendent hope. Get it HERE.
Paradoxical Book 1
Reluctant, time-travelling, twins have to solve a paranormal murder mystery set in 1920s Miami. It was co-created with writer Jason Chestnut. We’ve included the first two issues in this 52 page comic book. Get it HERE.
Bastet’s Rats Nest
Our two rats are at it again. This time caught-up in a National Treasure type caper that takes them deeper and deeper into the occult. Co-created with Ramsey Janini, it’s a wild ride. Get the 52 page comic HERE.
