From the Desk of Kim Belding

Out with the old, in with the new!

One thing that is unanimously praised about this website is its design. So much so that since 2013, its has been mostly left intact. While I was hesitant to change anything, I started re-evaluating what kind of comic Picpak Dog is in 2024, and what design best conforms to it. What you see now is the result.

Picpak Dog in 2024 is a comic that’s simple, clean, expressive and straightforward This new design plays off all those strengths, and the comic is front and center. The design itself is also simpler and cleaner as a whole, and looks great on mobile. The background of the old design was starting to give me 70s wallpaper vibes, which I wasn’t feeling. Much like the design, the content of the website also hasn’t changed in decades. Every page has been fine-tuned and updated to reflect where the comic is now, and using more modernized technology as a result.

Comic Easel is a WordPress plugin that’s reliably managed this website since 2010; unfortunately, it hasn’t been maintained in years. It’s only a matter of time before a major website update breaks the plugin completely (it’s already happened to PC Weenies). I’ve now migrated to Toocheke, a plugin that not only is actively maintained, but also lets you like comics (go ahead, click the heart)! I’m sure it will continue to get more cool features as time goes on.

I don’t use Twitter anymore. I’m sure you’re all sick of me telling you, but my attempt to make a Mastodon a thing among creatives failed pretty spectacularly. The site has been updated with references to my Bluesky, which is my most active social media network these days. If you subscribed to Picpak comics through Feedburner, you’ve all been migrated to my new Substack account, which not only sends e-mails, but is an all-in-one blogging/crowdfunding platform I hope to utilize more over time.

Like buying people a coffee? There’s a handy button to reach my Ko-Fi page at the bottom left! I also have a nice big link to my Patreon, which I may also revive. Every image across the site has been redrawn and polished, and the Links section has been revamped to add some of my new recent favourites. (If you aren’t there, don’t panic! I was a little aggressive with not including comics that hadn’t updated recently. I’ll probably go and add you back at some point!)

I think that pretty much covers it. Oh! If you’re on desktop, move your mouse over the logo. It’s really fun, I promise! Alright, now that’s everything. I hope you enjoy the new design as much as I do. I know it’s a drastic change, but I wanted a design that reflected what I liked about the original, while still keeping up and modernizing with the times. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading!

#Picpak20

Earlier this week, the webcomics mastermind Mark Stokes of Zombie Boy arranged #Picpak20, a day devoted to fan art commemorating 20 years of Picpak Dog comics. The hashtag was a huge success on Twitter and Facebook and brought on some incredible talent. Here’s all the wonderful work you guys blessed me with! And to top it all off, Travis Blair of Zarfling is doing a comic book giveaway in my honor! I couldn’t be more thankful. For more info, check out the #Picpak20 hashtag on Twitter. I was truly moved by your love and support and thank you once again. And of course, a special thanks to Mark for making this all happen. Here’s to 20 more years of Picpak!

Picpak Dog is on Comikka!

Logo of the comics aggregator ComikkaWhat is Comikka, you ask? Comikka is an awesome way to read webcomics on both desktop and mobile, no app needed. Plus it supports its creators better than any other webcomic hosting service! If you have an ad blocker, be sure to turn it off or make an exception for Comikka as it won’t load properly otherwise. You can see Picpak Dog on Comikka here. Right now it has comics from 2012, but others will come soon. Enjoy!

The Great #VivaPicpak Spectacular

fanartWhat happened yesterday could be considered as nothing short of a miracle. While I still haven’t gone into full details about my recent disappearance (don’t worry, I will later), I received nearly 40 pieces of fan art via the #VivaPicpak hashtag on Twitter, resulting in some amazing artwork done in many different styles. Now obviously that’s way too much artwork to post all at once, but I will be spreading it out over the coming weeks. Even names as big as Lunarbaboon got in the fun, where his comic received over 4000 (yes, four thousand) likes on Facebook in just a few short hours! One person went out of his own hiatus to create artwork, and another even created an animated Picpak!Of course, none of this can go without a HUGE thank you to my friend Jon Esparza. He arranged for all of this to happen in under two weeks! Knowing that my simple little characters can evoke so much out of so many people has been an amazing feeling. I want to thank you all for making my day, cracking me up, and showing me my characters in ways I never would have imagined.I tried my best to comment/retweet on every piece of fan art that came up. If I didn’t get to yours or it fell through the cracks, contact me on Twitter and I will definitely give you props. Once again, a huge thank you to you all…because I’m speechless, I don’t know what else to say. Thanks for all the love and support!