Face Bigelow #63 - Food For Fuel

This is another one I found on my desk that I wrote up a few weeks ago but never drew. I think I finally got the "combine Big head" right and don't have any more of these to draw. I'm liking the digital tablet and after three of these it is starting to look a little better and is quicker to draw than the old way, back of the daily calendar (non-sequitur this year), digital camera and a lot of massaging to get the drawings right and text redone.

Even though I wrote this a few weeks ago I chose to go with it because of a few blogs blaming (Lake Minnetonka Liberty, Now At The Podium) environmentalists on this food/ethanol crisis and I don't think any environmentalist ever thought this was a good idea. The only people who thought this was a good idea were a few policy makers in Washington who gave it a green spin and the farm lobby. Not the family farmer, the Monsanto type farmers.

Face Bigelow #62 - Economics Of Ethanol

I actually did this one weeks ago when I started hearing that the costs of wheat and corn were doubling. I didn't do the drawing, just the text which I do on the front of the calendar pages, then turn them over and draw them. This one I drew directly to digital using the Wacom Tablet. I think I can do better with the drawing, but I do try to get these done quick as I've got a ton going on. I also think it is more about the commentary than the drawings anyway, but I welcome your comments on the topic.

Transcript:
Big: Hey Victor, check this out.
Big: The government is paying me an incentive to make 100 gallons of ethanol with 110 gallons of oil.
Big: The nice thing is that the price of wheat and corn have skyrocketed.
Victor: To bad we can no longer afford to eat.

Face Bigelow #61 - Food Shortages

Welcome to my first completely digital piece. I used a Wacom Tablet and Paint Shop Pro to produce this first ever, all digital Face Bigelow. Just trying to find ways to speed the process. I have also been using this same tablet on my Art projects and have done two recent drawings.

This food shortage news really worries me and I do believe the fluctuations in the market are caused mostly be the governments ethanol programs. I'm not a big fan and have covered this before in #21.

Some other blogs comment on this as well. The Absurd Report. Earthside. Raising Kaine.

Transcript:
Voice (Big) from familiar white building: Hey Victor. What is all this stuff I'm hearing about food shortages?
Victor: Well, food prices have gone up drastically and the poor can no longer afford to eat.
Big: What in the world could have caused this to happen?
Victor: Someone diverted a large percentage of the food supply to produce fuel so the rich could drive less expensively.

Face Bigelow #21 - Ethanol and Corn

The first day using the new lettering system. I've changed it again in about 5 more days.