Throughout his twenty+ years my brother has managed to gain many a nick name. I thought I'd share a few of them with you.
ROBERTO the UNCAPABLE CRUSADER (approx. age 7)
My brother Rob is a remarkable human. Despite not being able to talk (he's vocal but not verbal) he has found many a way to communicate with us. If he wants vegemite on toast, you will be given a butter knife, or a jar of vegemite or he would go and tap the toaster. If he wants something, you will know.
When he was younger, his school tried to get him to use Compics cards (more on those in a later post), by attaching them to a 'utility belt' but he had no interest in them. There are quicker ways to get people to make you vegemite.
Also on this utility belt was a Chew Tube (on extendable cord) for when he got stressed. When annoyed and unable to explain why to his teachers, he got a little bitey, so the staff tried to get him to bite the Chew Tube instead of himself or other students and teachers. The Chew Tube didn't stick around too long either.
To top off this superhero outfit, Mum made these special onesies for Rob. They stuck around in his wardrobe for a while. Rob had (has) this habit of not wanting to wear clothes. So mum designed this onesie that Rob couldn't easily take off.
ROBERTO HOUDINI the GREAT ESCAPOLOGIST (approx. age 10)
Able to unlock any door that leads to treats! Not stopped by any door or window or fence. Rob was incredibly talented at escaping. When we moved house - this first thing Rob did was figure out every single way he could possibly escape. The first thing my folks did was figure out ways to stop Rob escaping (including, but not limited to: attaching planks of wood to brickwork that could climbed and lead to the roof, locking all doors, windows, gates).
By this time he'd stop always escaping from his clothes (unless they got wet and then they were off in a flash! Although he loved swimming, he hated wet clothes).
He has never much cared for wearing shoes and by the time he was 10 the souls of his feet were both disgusting, blackened like the darkest night and a solid callous.
ROBBIE the UNMASKED AVENGER (approx. age 14)
As Rob grew older, the more often he would take off his clothes, earning him his unmasked avenger status. He also continued to never stand still, even when he was watching his Disney videos, he would be constantly moving. This meant that he was just a bundle of muscle ready to spring at you with a pinch or a bite. I got very at deflecting two pinching hands and fending off a naked Rob (kept at a distance with my equally steely grip).
In hindsight, I was lucky to have a brother who was so comfortable with his body, not caring what anyone would think. I sometimes wish I was as brave as Rob.
I was also pretty lucky to have some great friends who were not scared off from hanging out with me by my lil' brother who was quite tall and muscly and would greet them naked at the door when they came to visit.
Just a short little post today. got lots more coming but it's been pretty hectic this week.
Talk soon!
Gx
Following on from my last post about how the design of the characters in my graphic novel, Oh Brother, have changed over the 7-ish years I’ve been working on the book, this post is about my absolute favourite thing: drawing emotions!