iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

No, I don’t think I could rock the short shorts. Maybe 25 years ago…

020

Dumb question, because I literally can’t remember: Other than those three specific episodes of the Search for Alpha Trion and War Dawn… In the 40 years since her creation, has Optimus and Elita ever been depicted as a romantic couple?

362

Reposted by Dave Reyn

31 Days, 31 Characters: It’s #Machtober Day 07! Mistress Oblivion is my sorta tribute to David Cronenberg’s movie Videodrome. Back in the day it was more Borg Queen, so I’ve updated her to be a bit more practical effect body horror. Costume is still silly, I know. #OC #OCtober #blueskyart

1105

I only included characters that currently have toys. (That’s why I left Nautica x Road Rage off.)

210

(Before anyone says Chromedome and Rewind… I thought it would have been too obvious?)

170

Better couples they could have done: Ironhide x Chromia Windblade x Slipstream Arcee x Greenlight Knock Out x Breakdown Silverbolt x Blackarachnia Rattrap x Dinobot Orion Pax x D-16 Cosmos x Blast Off Tapout x Glyph Magnificus x Ga’mede Tracks x A mirror

7276

At the very least, since they don’t have an Aileron toy, give us an Arcee and Greenlight set, with Arcee in those early prototype lesbian flag colors.

030

1105

If it's what I think it is, it's the 1960s story.

Owls in Towels @owls-in-towels.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Reposted by Dave Reyn

8th of Owltober! Found on a busy road, this tiny Saw-whet Owl was scooped up for treatment at JLS Wildlife Hospital in Ithica, NY. After testing and rehab he was determined OK for release. Want to donate to JLS? www.vet.cornell.edu/giving/ways-... Source: fb.com/279924138530... #owlsintowels 💛🦉

A Saw-Whet Owl is wrapped in a cosy seafoam coloured garment, looking towards camera with rich sunflower yellow eyes twinkling from a trio of reflected ceiling lights. A syringe of fluid is administered to his open beak by a human wearing lavender nitrile gloves. It's possible he has the barest hint of a scowl in response to the fluids, but it might just be a stray black feather or two, making it look like a raised bottom eyelid. He's a little pink around the maw, probably from his latest meal of diced + defrosted animal treats, being the little carnivore that he is.

016227

Anakaris, Rikuo/Aulbath and Hsien-Ko/Lin-Lin for me. Annnnnd Morrigan too. I'm not going to lie and say I don't want that one as well.

Oh you KNOW she’s coming

100

FFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!!!! I’m so dead.

380

If this guy was an ailment, he'd be a yeast infection. Seriously, that's the whole point of reading stories to other people. Getting to do the voices and all that stuff. Also it's a baby, so technically you can read issues of Sgt. Rock as long as it's in a soft voice.

0103

Reposted by Dave Reyn

31 Days, 31 Characters: It’s #Machtober Day 07! Zero McCallister is your basic himbo. He’s got a good heart and tries to negotiate with enemies when his sister just wants to pummel them… Even his guns are stun blasters. He’s a kind man who keeps Max from going too far. #OC #OCtober #blueskyart

073

073

Four years ago, I used to be a librarian. When they gave us complementary books at book fairs, they were newer books… Not 20 year old books, unless it was a special reissue. Like new art, new cover, an unabridged version or something. Maybe things have changes since then… But I kinda doubt it.

150

I’m if they don’t get back to you by Saturday, I’ll take him. (For the original price of $20, and not $15, because I would had asked for him then, but I thought someone beat me to him.)

You still have that minty Megatron? I thought someone got that one.

110

Just breathe normal for a minute. Just focus on your breathing In & out. In & out. Let your jaw hang loose, no muscles. Go slackjawed. You may drool, and that's okay. It may also start to feel sore too! That's normal. It won't fix everything, but you should feel less tense now. Hope that helps.

000

Touch the tips of your four fingers with the tips of the other four fingers. 5 in, hold, six out. If it is too strenous, go do it less. 4 or 3 second... Hold and exhale for only one second longer than you inhaled for. Repeat this for a few minutes about three cycles. And when you are done...

100

Now thumb to ring finger. You should feel the air in your belly. Same thing. 5 second in, hold, 6 seconds out. Repeat with the pinky. A little lower than your belly. 5 in, hold, 6 out. Work your way back up. Ring, middle and main finger. When you get done with the top...

100

...Deep inhale through the nose for about 5 seconds and take notice of your chest rising. hold for five seconds and then exhale through the mouth for about six seconds. Then touch the thumb to your middle finger, and repeat. 5 seconds in, hold, 6 seconds out. The area below your chest should rise.

100

When I'm stressed out, I do this. I don't know if it'll work for you all, but it's worth a shot. If you are able to, I want you to find a private place for like five minutes. (Preferably someplace dark.) Sit down, and put your fingers in that "OK" position, touching thumb to main finger tip...

200

I think so too. But I did want that Bug Bite, and that probably means a discounted price for him.

If I wasn't happy with 2020 version, I'd probably be all over it. My interpretation of his character is less of a cigarette guy, and more of a Cheech & Chong duo, with Bug Bite being Cheech Marin and Exhaust being Tommy Chong. Just insert a Cybertronian expy for weed and start quoting Up in Smoke.

2112

So unrelated note... Me doing this particular one kind of kicked off a few neurons in my ADHD addled brain and now I sort of have a idea in mind for her (and her cast). And I realize it's about to fight Stargazer for attention... Gah...

041

I have this as a poster somewhere that I got at ACEN back in '04.

Reposted by Dave Reyn

31 Days, 31 Characters: It’s #Machtober Day 05! Oh shit, it’s Charon McKay! Those who remember my old comic Shadowgirls will remember her. In these early days, she was a very different character. But it’s a new universe now… And some stuff is gonna be different. #OC #OCtober #blueskyart

3195

Reposted by Dave Reyn

31 Days, 31 Characters: It’s #Machtober Day 06! Max Pneumatic was my default go-to OC for a long time. I did so many damn stories with her. Most are now gone and I never had the means to scan them. But she was my first full on action hero and I still love her. #OC #OCtober #blueskyart

2187

David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Yeah, it’s a pretty show, but I’d recommend just skipping it to the Ultraman Rising movie. It’s not related, but honestly, it’s more fun.

100

Reposted by Dave Reyn

TWO FREE PATREON POSTS BACK-TO-BACK! Yeah, I remembered that I needed to post my 12 sample scripts for artist portfolio builders! If you're a comic artist looking to strengthen your portfolio with new genres or new skills, and get feedback from a pro writer/editor, this is for you!!!

patreon.com

12 Short Sample Scripts | David Mariotte

A few weeks ago, I saw a conversation on Bluesky about the desire for comics collaborative jams like the "game jams" hosted on itch. I broug

176

Reposted by Dave Reyn

David Mariotte @davidmariotte.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Comic artists (particularly newer and mid-experience folks)! I've put together 12* stories that you can use as portfolio/skill builders! 6 2-pagers, 6 4-pagers! 2 sci-fi, 2 horror, 2 superhero, a romance/slice of life, a comedy, a mystery, a Western, a smutty one, and 1 TBD. More info in 🧵

12 STORIES FOR COMIC ARTISTS TO PRACTICE WITH
By David Mariotte

A few notes from the writer:
Please remember that these are all meant to be fairly simple stories. They are for practicing the art of sequential storytelling and are not a magnum opus for anyone.
Focus on what is important to you--there are notes for specific color choices and the scripts include dialogue, captions, and SFX that could be lettered, but if that's not your skillset or what you want to work on, they should all work without!
If you want, definitely ask someone to collaborate with you! Bring in a colorist or letterer friend to get them some practice too!
These stories are meant to have enough details to help you tell the story, but also be open enough that you have a lot of flexibility to make them your own!
These stories are provided for free for the purposes of building your portfolio. My only request is that you credit me and anyone else you work with correctly and that you don't sell the completed stories (it's fine to post them online for free/to include in your portfolio or website, I'm even okay if you end up putting them in a for-sale zine with a bunch of your other work as long as they're not the only or main thing in the zine)
If you use AI in any capacity to create your version of these pages or you try to train an AI in any way with them (pages, script, etc), you owe me $100 million USD.
Once you finish any scripts you dig, you can reach out to me at dmariottewebhost@gmail.com and we can schedule a 10-15 minute digital portfolio review. We’ll talk about the comic you made off these scripts. We can talk about some of your other work if you provide a full portfolio, your goals in comics, and how to get there. It’ll be fun and easy!

1. SCI-FI (2 PAGES)
A cyberpunk hero in a bike chase across the moon. They actually works for the UPPS (United Planets Postal Service) and are delivering a package.

2. SCI-FI (4 PAGES)
A girl in a car is being chased by an alien spaceship through the countryside. She does a magical girl Transformers-mation to become a mecha magi girl. The spaceship has become a mecha kaiju and they fight. The mecha magi girl wins the day, but has secretly had help from a mysterious stranger.

3. HORROR (2 PAGES)
A big scary looking Michael Myers type guy hides in a closet and watches through the slats as a pair of yuppie young people come and make out in front of him. But actually, they're the killers and he was hiding and they found him and get him!

4. HORROR (4 PAGES)
A person is at a big box store and is trying to get headache medicine out of one of those stupid sealed cases--pressing the button, but no one comes. A worker finally shows up, but they've got like a weird eye monster on them. The protagonist runs, looking for help, but everyone's got the eye monster. The protagonist collapses from the headache and their eye bursts out and latches itself with its new tentacles to their face.

5. SUPERHERO (2 PAGES)
A car is driving way too fast in a city and a speedy hero is trying to chase it down until finally catching it and opening the door to... A pregnant woman who is about to have a baby that the hero has to rush to the hospital!

6. SUPERHERO (4 PAGES)
The hero is fighting Doppelgang, a villain who can create near-identical duplicates of himself. The hero must navigate around an army of duplicates, knowing trying to fight them all would be exhausting, to get to the real one (potential double page spread). The hero gets the real Doppelgang and saves the day.

7. ROMANCE/SLICE OF LIFE (2 PAGES)
A boy and a girl in parallel seem to be waking up late and rushing to get ready for school--making their lunch, barely getting their toast in their mouths--and seem to be on a collision course at the corner. When they arrive, they swap lunches, give a quick kiss, wish each other a good day and look forward to this weekend because they're actually already a couple.

8. COMEDY (2 PAGES)
A parent notices the cookies are missing from the cookie jar and starts interrogating the family, with the obvious suspect being the crumb-faced little one, but then.... "J'accuse!" their spouse tries to deny it with their mouth obviously stuffed with cookies and everyone laughs.

9. MYSTERY (2 PAGES)
A hardboiled detective smashes a window and begins exploring a messy apartment. After searching each room, they find keys in a trenchcoat by the door, only to call the window repairman to fix his apartment window and it ends on a "how'd this happen? it's a mystery" punchline. (Sorry this is also funny)

10. WESTERN (4 PAGES)
A cowpoke is HOT in the desert and their horse is hot too, panting and trying to fan themselves. They finish their canteen and crack open a cactus for water, they walk in circles under the circling vulture trying to catch whatever shade they can. The cowpoke notices the moon just starting to come up over the horizon and lassos it. The cowpoke pulls the moon up, making it nighttime, and they both sigh in relief as its finally cool.

11. EROTICA (4 PAGES)
A couple is at a park with one of them sucking on a creamsicle that melts all over their chest. They get their partner to lick it off, moving their top aside to let them suck on their nipples. Still wanting to suck on something for the creamy goodness within, the ice cream one starts giving the other head. The receiver pops all over the givers face and they both lick it up to clean up, with the giver requesting to cum a *lot* when they get home.

12. TBD (4 PAGES)

611980

2187

It's just magical blonde Regina George. There was no transition, no self examination or observation, no creative outlet... It might as well be a literal new character with no more thought put into it than "hot mean blonde girl". Aside from being an offensive name... It's also soulless.

1111

From J. Jonah Jameson being supportive of Petra, but angry at Spider-Woman for being a bad example to trans people, to Felicia & MJ giving supporting advice, to even Venom starting to question things for themselves. HOWEVER... The wizard rival thing... It misses the point.

1111