And for my final shameless tracing, here’s a panel from a series of strips in which Mickey attempts various methods of suicide. (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t succeed.) This time I went with warm, comfortable digital inking. My mom asked if I was getting arthritis from drawing too much; actually, I think what’s happened is I’ve come to rely on my graphics tablet so much that I haven’t developed a lot of manual dexterity.

Another attempt…think I’m getting worse! Actually, Mickey’s not so bad, but my hand cramped up by the time I mangled his telephone and tried to letter with a brush pen. Ouch.

I’m such an awesome Disney employee, I go back and re-do work dating back to the 1930s! Actually, I was thumbing through the copy of the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics and marveling at the level of detail Mickey Mouse cartoonist Floyd Gottfredson was able to cram into panels printed less than 2 inches high. I did a little research and found some originals for sale, their descriptions indicating that he drew these panels at a whopping 5 3/4" tall!

The title could refer to the way I’m carefully navigating icy sidewalks, or it could refer to the pace at which I’ve been drawing in 2013. I’m torn; I know I need to practice continuously, but I’m more likely to draw every day if I have a defined project in mind. So, I do have a couple ideas, which I may expand upon this weekend.

Is this me? I haven’t even touched a cigar in 2013, but this is what fell out of my virtual pencil when I thought about how much I love the personal space 12-degree weather affords me, when even the born-and-bred New Yorkers are huddled by their radiators.