Remus Makes a Thyla-Scene of Himself

I used to feel lost too, but then I discovered "CLICK TO ENLARGE"!

Moved to a new house this week, and oh man I am not organized at all. Good thing I made this backup comic last week!

Not sure how many people know what they are, but "Tazzy Tigers" aka Thylacines are extinct marsupials that had a wicked crazy gape, which made things very unpleasant when they chewed with their mouth full. Here's the Wikipedia article on them, but heads up, it's not a story with a happy ending. Some people claim they've seen Thylacines alive and well, but it's probably just Bigfoot pranking people. You know how he is.

Oh, and sorry for the lack of date-relevant stuff this year. I do have some comics that are relevant to various holidays and times of the year, but this year was devoted to standalone comics and character introductions. And I'm STILL not done with character introductions. Expect multi-comic story arcs next year, because I'm nearly out of standalones.

If everything goes well, next week's comic will be a "Sunday" with a new character introduction. Hopefully I can make some more backups then too.

Take care and have a happy GENERIC WINTER HOLIDAY!

(Just kidding. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all the others too.)
 - NP

Fish Have Been Dealt a Bad Hand in Life

Click to enlarge! Or just sit there and strain your eyes. I'm not in a hurry.

I did a little shading this time to make up for the lost "Sunday" last month. That, and I just kinda felt like doing it.

I had no difficulty deciding on which species of salmon to draw. Sockeyes are colorful, weird, and interesting.

Next week, back to the normal swing of things!

  -  Nolan P.

Fish are Lazy

Click to enlarge while supplies last!

The factoid format doesn't do it justice. It's called estivation, it involves a mucous cocoon (with lungfish at least), and it's really cool and weird. There's a good video of it HERE. Along with that, you also get to see several lungfish burst forth from a clay brick wall, reborn from their muddy crypt and ready to terrorize the villagers.

I started too late to make the "Sunday" comic happen, sorry. I don't know how noticeable it is, but I experimented with this one. Instead of using the pencil tool for the lines like I normally do, I went with the brush tool instead. It makes the lettering a lot easier. But for the overall look, I'm not sure I like it. I think I'll go with thicker lines next time, and if that doesn't do the trick, I'll go back to the pencil.

Oh, and worth noting, Possum Tails finally has a Facebook page! Throw it a like if you want to stay updated.
 - Nolan P.

Snakesgiving

I goofed up, no comic this week. Sorry! But at least I drew you something this time. As always, click to enlarge.

And for those not living in Americania and celebrating the magical day of gorging one's self, happy Thursday!

Next week will either be me making up for the lost Sunday this month, or just moving on and making another nature fact, depending on how well I'm doing.

Enjoy your food coma!
- Nolan P.

Tourist Trap

It's the fad that's sweeping the nation - Click to Enlarge!

Next week's comic will be a "Sunday", so don't touch that dial!

- Nolan P.

NOTE: I messed up and accidentally deleted an older post while trying to fix a spelling error in it. I guess I can't undo it or put it back where it was, so I'll just put it here for now.

Misplaced 9-20-13 Post: "Possum Tails Pool Party!"

It's not so hard - just click to enlarge!

I had a lot of fun with this one. This comic made me discover that I had no clue how to draw a Western Painted Turtle, and that Red-Eared Sliders are much prettier (and more green) than Western Painted Turtles. I don't even care a little that I've got some anatomical inaccuracies on Fiona - I love how this comic turned out. I'm especially happy with Rontu's expression. This was one of the few comics where I could sit back and laugh at it after drawing. I guess it's because the humor is in the action instead of the words.

You should look up Red-Eared Sliders. They've got beautiful coloration, and they always have this content little smile on their faces.

Tune in next week for the special Like-Sunday-But-Not-Really edition of Possum Tails!
  - Nolan P.

Fish are Easy to Please

Good good, you click to enlarge, yes?
(EDIT: Larger view HERE.)

I've been itching to get this one made for a while. Ah ha ha ha ha...

I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please don't go.

Those fish were definitely the funnest thing I've drawn in Possum Tails for a while. In case anyone's curious, the one on the left is a Sunset Fire Wag Platy, and the one on the right is Lesser Northern Striped Scandinavian Monkeypuncher.

If you bought that, I'm disappointed in you. It's an angelfish.

Next week, perhaps another comic in poor taste? See you then!

 - Nolan P.

Glove Hurts

Click to enlarge. It's for your own good.

I guess that counts as a happy ending.

At some point, I want to start using an actual font in the comic instead of drawing each individual letter. For the normal, non-freakout lettering anyway. It'll add some consistency. I'm going to have to find a font making program that works for me, or suck up my pride and hunt down a font that looks good with the comic. Dunno how long that'll take - odds are I won't make the change anytime soon.

Next week, some non-gastrointestinal humor!

...Maybe.

   - Nolan P.

Taking this Week Off

No comic this week, sorry! I'm going up north for a few days, and I won't be here for Thursday (my usual drawing day) or Friday (my last-minute emergency cramming day). Admittedly, I could've planned out my week better, but there's not a whole lot I can do now aside from stay up all night working on the comic, and I'd rather not do that seeing as how I've just gotten my sleep patterns back on track.

The good news is I already know which one I'll draw for next week, and I have the first-draft sketch done, so see you then.

A Moving Performance

When in doubt, click to enlarge.
(Larger view HERE)

Joking aside, GI stasis is a very serious problem in rabbits. But Sammy's gonna be fine, don't worry. I wouldn't kill off any Possum Tails characters. Except Chirpy. Many times.

I realize that this isn't very halloween-y. The holiday's never on my mind anymore, which may be due to the fact that I hardly ever go shopping or watch television. And that I'm old and jaded. So just pretend that Remus in that second panel is screaming at the sight of bats, scarecrows, zombies, hobgoblins, Freddy Kringle, or whatever it is you little punks are afraid of these days.

Next week, the shocking conclusion!
 - Nolan P.

Nature Always Finds a Way

Click to enlarge, all the cool kids are doin' it!

The true joy of owning a bird feeder does not come from the birds. It comes from the game of wits you play against the squirrels.

Another comic coming next Friday, stay tuned.

 -  Nolan P.

To Boldly Go Where No Possum Really Should

Picture too small? Like most of life's problems, it can be resolved by clicking to enlarge it!

Broke the usual size format again, but I'm willing to change it up for the sake of the joke.

Hopefully I didn't draw too small - this one really depends on the visual. This isn't a "Sunday" comic, but man it sure felt like it when I was drawing it. Eurgh.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, see you next week!

   - Nolan P.

Fish are Rude

Click to enlarge this or face the consequences! ...Of it not enlarging.

Roommates, Amirite? - The Sequel

Clickimus to Enlargicus
(Larger view HERE)

If you're wondering what that big wooden birdhouse thing is, refer to the 7-12-13 comic.

Next week - a short educational film featuring the environmental consequences of mankind's blind pursuit for success!

...Just kidding. It's gonna be another Possum Tails comic. See you then.

   - Nolan P.

The Closest You Can Get to a Possum Tails Animation

Click to enlarge - It's what separates us from the beasts! Or at least the ones without computers.

My first ever animated GIF.

If I'm not mistaken, almost all (if not all) lizards do this territorial head-bobbing thing. If they start bobbing at you, give them some space. Especially if they have a knife.

And since this is a Nature Fact comic, I must lazily link you to the Wikipedia article for Bearded Dragons. The articles never do the animals justice though - if you want to learn more about them, I suggest googling it or binging it or youtubing it or whatever - they're awesome creatures. Of course, some of you may already know quite a bit about them because you have one in your life, in which case... lucky.

Also, I've known the hand gesture that Groucho's making up there all my life as 'Rock on', but apparently to some it means 'Devil horns' or some other rebellious teenager-y thing. So I'd like to take the time to clear this up and say that I do not work for the scary evil goat-person who lives beneath the earth's crust and pokes people with a big fork. I just wanted to illustrate that Groucho is really rockin' out to whatever he's got on that tiny little MP3 player.

See you next week!

  - Nolan P.

Emergency Landing

c1ic|< +0 3n1@rg3

And by flight I mean gliding. They're really neat creatures. HORRIBLE pets, but neat creatures.

You can learn more about them here on the Pedia of Wiki. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider

Also, I hardly ever draw Rontu and Remus' gliding membranes, but they do have them. I've found that they get in the way, like Spot's second pair of tentacle-fin-wooglywoogly-thingies.

Next week - another Nature Fact mayhaps?

Hugs and lungfish!

- Nolan P.

Chirp

Click = Enlarge
(Larger view here.)

To Sleep, Perchance to Squee

Fact: Clicking this image will enlarge it.

I adore Western Hoggies, and they are easily the best pet I have ever taken care of. I find it bizarre how something so comically cute and harmless is so widely feared.

I've never had one play dead for me. Come to think of it, I've never had one mock-strike at me either. They have a whole arsenal of harmless defenses, most of which can be very funny to watch, but they kind of make you feel bad for the snake.

You can learn a bit more about them here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodon_nasicus

If you want to learn more after that, I dunno, Google it or something. Look up some youtube videos. I'm not a tour guide.

Hugs and Lungfish!

- Nolan P.

My Apologies

No comic this week. I can't comic and I can't words. Sorry, bye.

Fish Are Still Boring

You are humanity's last hope! Quick, click to enlarge!

I got extremely frustrated drawing Rontu and Remus consistently, so I've decided to make them a bit more cartoony and stress less over how they come out. I've been way too high-strung with how I draw them. Oh, and sorry about the obviously copy-pasted Remus. I won't be doing that again.

In other news, I didn't sleep. I feel like there's a cement block in my frontal lobe.

So, uh... g'night.

Hgus and Lugnfsih

- Noaln P.

Ah, Memories

ERROR 404 - CLICK TO ENLARGE GAG NOT FOUND

Wire you reading this? The comic's up there! Hur hur.

I still can't find a way to make the cage interior interesting/pleasing to the eye. Oh well, at least I didn't make an accidental fourth dimension or something again.

See you next week.

Hugs and lungfish!

- Nolan P.

Fridays are the Best Kind of Sundays

Click to enlarge. You know you want to.

(Larger view HERE - Just click it to enlarge.)

Whoah man, I think I worked a solid ten hours on this one. I'm happy that it came out well though. My sleep patterns and schedule are back on track, which is awesome! I plan to make large, shaded "Sunday" comics like this on the last Friday of every month to mix it up a bit.

What do you think of the colored speech balloons? Should I keep doing them for "Sundays", or are they too distracting? If you have the time, let me know if you like 'em or not.

Oh, and possumtails.net links to this blog now, so you don't have to say a bunch of gibberish when someone asks for the URL. No hyphen needed!

Enjoy the Spottitude! I'll see you next Friday.

Hugs and lungfish!
 - Nolan P.

Can I Keep It?

Trying to lose those summer pounds? Try our new patented 'Click to Enlarge' diet!

That getting caught up on sleep thing didn't really happen, and all of my schedules have collapsed in a heap, which isn't fun. I had no backups, and I put off making this for way too long. I've been working on it since three in the morning... not that I was actually working on it that whole time. I made sure to take breaks whenever I got stressed out from drawing and re-drawing the same stuff over and over. The linework is always a pain, but the coloring part is all downhill, and I can let my mind wander while I do it, which is nice. It's without a doubt my favorite part, there's something so satisfying about it...

Some good news: I thought this comic was a remake, but as it turns out, I never actually did release this joke. I don't know if you're tired of the remakes, but if you are, you got a break from them today. I'll be done with remakes at some point anyway. After that I've got two and a half notebooks full of comic ideas varying from weak, to funny, to just plain weird.

Provided things go as planned, next week's comic will be a "Sunday" comic, so stay tuned!

Hugs and lungfish!

- Nolan P.

Roommates, Amirite?

Take charge, click to enlarge!

I tried to do a perspective thing in the first panel and it turned out weird. Sorry. I just can't find a way to make the interior of their cage not too distracting or too bland.

And yes, sugar gliders do sleep that way. In big heaps. It's funny, because when one shifts, the others gripe at it.

See you next Friday. Hopefully I'll be more caught up on sleep then.

Hugs and Lungfish,
   - Nolan P.

A Spot of Tea

Tired from blowing stuff up yesterday? Here's a tarantula drinking tea.

Simon says click to enlarge.

Seems fitting that I'd write a comic about unpleasant arthropods - apparently this week was the official 'House Centipede and Uncomfortably Large Spider Convention' in my room. Whoever invented the vacuum cleaner has my eternal thanks.

I do like tarantulas though. They fall outside of the 'too small to be easily tracked but too big to be ignored' category, they move at a decently slow pace, and they're like big fuzzy spider muppets. I'm still afraid to hold one though, since they might as well be made of glass.

Hey, time for a pop quiz!

What's the difference between the above image and this one below?

About a couple years of practice. Never stop doodling - you get better with every drawing.

Hugs and lungfish!

- Nolan P.

Fish Are Boring

Click to enlarge and make your country proud!

I finished this one kind of early, which is nice... But it doesn't have that same scribbly, sketchy style that the earlier ones have. In fact, the lines here look pretty clean. By my standards, anyway.

Which do you prefer - clean style or sketchy style? Please let me know if you have the time.

Lugs and hungfish!

- Nolan P.

Does He Look Like a Finch?!

4 out of 5 dentists recommend clicking this image to enlarge it.

Silly birds, having pointless arguments and judging each other by color. Humans would never do that.

Anyway, I went all out on this one because I won't be here next Friday. So I tried to make up for that with a 'Sunday' comic. But on Friday. Also, they usually have color anyway, but this one's SHADED. Fancy.

 Enjoy the comic, take care, and I'll get another one up on the 28th.

Hugs and Lungfish! - Nolan P.


(P.S. If you're having to strain your eyes to see everything, try THIS, then click it to enlarge.)

Technically Still Friday

BILLY MAYS HERE TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR EXCITING NEW 'CLICK TO ENLARGE' FEATURE!

 Three minutes to Saturday. That one came too close.

Ever Get That Feeling

Those animals forgot to click to enlarge. Don't share their tragic fate!

Wow. This is pretty graphic. It's weird how used to this kind of thing people have gotten, last time I checked nailing dead animals to the wall sounded a bit psychopathic. Egh... Some things I will never get used to.

Anyway, hi! Looks like Possum Tails is going to be a weekly comic at this rate, hope you don't mind. I can't guarantee that I'll be coming out with a new comic every Friday, but hey, I can try.

I spent what felt like all week erasing and redrawing the first panel over and over, trying to get Remus to look just right. It wasn't until I decided to just say 'To heck with it' and doodle without stressing myself that I made any progress. The trick to drawing is to stop trying and just draw. No matter how many times that lesson is hammered into my head, it never really sticks.

The comic came out pretty nice though. I think I did a bit better with legibility. I put much more detail in than necessary (and visible), but that's not the end of the world. So, yeah. Hopefully next week you'll be seeing another comic. My current plan is to make a brand new one instead of a remake. I figure it's best if I balance them out.

Hugs and lungfish!

- Nolan P.

That New Comic Smell

Click to enlarge.

I guess I was way off when I said this drawing style took less time. It was more fun though, I'll give it that. There are inconsistencies here and there as always, but I'm hoping they won't be too much of a problem.

You might be able to tell that my style and the way I do things kind of changed halfway through. You're probably going to be seeing more of that while I get eased into things, so... sorry. But it means that I'm (hopefully) getting better and more efficient. At any rate, hope you enjoy. I'll try to get another comic out when I can.

- Nolan P.

Returning and Remodelling

Sorry about that two years or whatever I went without uploading anything.
If you like seeing cartoon marsupials hit each other, I have good news for you -
I'm bringing back Possum Tails.

After two long years, I have honed my artistic skills. As you can see above, I kind of have a new style. Not only is it a ton more fun for me to draw - it's faster too. This along with the fact that I have gotten much better with a drawing tablet, and drawing in general, means that I can (hopefully) make comics faster and (again, hopefully) more consistently.

While I have several notebooks with comics ripe for the picking and new ideas coming in to my head, I'm going to remake some of the comics I had here before. My old style was so awkward and restrained, I really don't want to leave them as they were. So, after I get that done, I'll start making some completely new ones.

Thanks for all the encouragement and support. Again, I'm really sorry about leaving this behind. From now on, I'm going to try to be more on top of things. Keep an eye out for some redrawn comics coming soon.

Hugs and lungfish, Nolan Parks


(EDIT: Check out that background. I am currently proud of it.)