John Schrag
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jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
John Schrag
@jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
39 followers 7 following 320 posts
Retired software engineer, interaction designer, and UX exec in the #VFX software field. Original Maya team member. 🏳️‍🌈

I write about a lot of things […]

[bridged from https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Another gem in Toronto’s bike network is the Leslie Street Spit. Made almost entirely of landfill and construction waste, the spit is a finger of land extending five kilometres out into Lake Ontario, curving past the Toronto Islands. Over the years it has filled […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
November 8, 2025 at 7:57 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 27: “Onion”

#inktober #inktober2025
Two panel comic. The first panel is a close-up of a middle aged balding man. He says “An Ogre is like an onion…” The second panel shows a table beside the man. There is a serving tray on which sits the head of an ogre, roasted to perfection. The man points to it and adds: “Delicious when roasted with potatoes!”
October 28, 2025 at 5:19 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober day 26: “Puzzle”

I realized that I am too lazy to draw all the detail I should for Victorian period stuff.

#inktober #inktober2025
A digital ink drawing of a Victorian inventor, slightly steam-punk in that he has goggles on his top hat, attempts to assemble a half-finished robot chassis.
October 26, 2025 at 5:44 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
It was sunny but cool today, so I went with my husband on a bike ride around Crother’s Wood in the Don Valley. The fall colours were spectacular. The valley system in Toronto is a real gem, allowing you to ride for many km in the heart of the city without seeing […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of a forest of autumn trees in a beautiful valley. The leaves are yellow and orange and red, and the ground is covered with fallen brightly-coloured leaves.
October 24, 2025 at 9:49 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 23: “Firefly”

I really need a lot more practice on this style of shading. (Getting practice is kind of the point of Inktober!)

#inktober #inktober2025
Digital ink portrait of the character Jayne from the television show “Firefly”, as played by Adam Baldwin. He is wearing a coat, a baseball cap, and goggles, and looks uncomfortable. The lyrics to a song float in the air around him: “The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne.”
October 23, 2025 at 11:39 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober day 20: “Rivals”

I gave up on not using references. I can draw a person without a reference, I just can’t draw a *specific* person without a reference.

#inktober #inktober2025
A digital ink drawing of a poster for a fight event. The title is “All Star Battle Electrical — Edison vs Tesla”. Below are side-by-side portraits of Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla as young men. At the bottom left is a little drawing of Pikachu and text beside it saying “With Pikachu!”
October 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 19: “Arctic”

….or “Arc Tick”

I decided to use exciting new features in Procreate this time, like “colour” and brushes other than “technical pen”.

#inktober #inktober2025
A drawing of a tick (the blood-sucking insect) on a black background. There is a triple electrical arc jumping between its front claws, creating a blue glow.
October 19, 2025 at 3:32 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober 2025 Day 18: “Deal”

I drew my niece and her son because they are a big deal to me.

#inktober #inktober2025
A digital ink portrait of a beautiful 30-ish blond woman with long hair, and a five year old boy, faces pressed together, surrounded by a heart.
October 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
I drew this silly comic four months ago but I’m posting it again in support of my friends and family in the USA during their No Kings protest tomorrow.

You’ve already thrown out one king, so you know it can be done!

#nokings #inktober
A one-panel comic. During a No Kings rally, an LA Kings hockey player hides in an alley, terrified that the crowd is coming for him.
October 17, 2025 at 9:17 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 15: “Ragged”

This is a day late because it took me a long time to draw, even using a lot of references. I really love this style of pen drawing, but I really need some crosshatching lessons.

Inspired by a scene from @tiesselune ‘s incomplete web […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
A digital ink drawing of a handsome, bearded, muscular shirtless hairy-chested French software engineer, standing in a wide stance on a rocky outcropping in a forest, with downtown Nantes visible in the distance. He is holding a hunting bow in his right hand and has a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. He is wearing scuffed black boots and jeans with a number of rips in them.
October 16, 2025 at 8:58 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 12: “Shredded”

Of course I drew my most shredded friend @gairdeachas

#inktober #inktober2025 #shredded
A digital ink drawing of a muscular, bearded, hairy-chested shirtless man flexing his right bicep with a sweet smile.
October 13, 2025 at 5:54 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 10: “Sweep”

I’m running late, so it’s just stick people drawings.

#inktober #inktober2025 #sweep
Six panel cartoon drawing. Panel one: A soldier approaches a farmer. FARMER: Can I help you? SOLDIER: I’m from the army. I’m here to sweep the back pasture for land mines. Panel two: FARMER: No need. Granny took a broom and went out to do it herself. SOLDIER: What?! Panel three: The farmer and the soldier are running through a field. SOLDIER: Oh my God we have to stop her! Panel four: The soldier and the farmer arrive in the back pasture, where granny is sweeping with a broom. FARMER: Look. There she is. She’s fine. SOLDIER: Thank God! Panel five: The soldier kneels beside a big land mine, gesturing at the others. SOLDIER: Ma’am, please stand back while I inspect. Panel Six: SOLDIER: Okay ma’am. I have to admit — that is one clean land mine. GRANNY: Told ya we don’t need the army.
October 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 9: “Heavy”

Howard Hesseman as “Heavy Early”, his early morning DJ persona on WKRP in Cincinnati.

I messed up today, inking on the same layer as my blue initial sketch. Normally I hide that layer so you don’t see my work in progress.

#inktober #inktober2025 #heavy
Digital ink drawing of Howard Hesseman in the role of Johnny Fever. He is slumped on the table asleep beside the turntable in a DJ booth.
October 9, 2025 at 11:13 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 7: “Starfish”

Since this is Mastodon, I decided to draw a sea star reply-guy.

#inktober #inktober2025 #starfish
Digital ink cartoon. On the left is a sea star, with the label “This is not a starfish”. The sea star is saying “I’m a sea star, you deadnaming hack!”. On the right is a diagram of the constellation Pisces (the fish), on a starry background. It is labelled “This is a star fish”
October 7, 2025 at 11:49 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 6: “Pierce”

Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H.

I said I wasn’t going to use any references this month, but apparently I lied.

#inktober #inktober2025 #pierce
Digital ink portrait of Alan Alda in the role of Hawkeye Pierce.
October 6, 2025 at 8:40 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober day 5: “Deer”

#inktober #inktober2025 #deer
One-panel comic. A man is seated on a chair, hiding his face in the newspaper he is trying to read. Behind him is a doe, nagging him. Doe: “Are you going to do the laundry?” Man: “Yes, deer” Doe: “Will you take out the trash?” Man: “Yes, deer” Doe: “It’s not like I have opposable thumbs, you know” Man: “I know, deer”
October 5, 2025 at 10:18 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 4: “Murkey”

Just a quickie today because I have guests from out of town.

#inktober #inktober2025
A digital ink sketch of a skeleton key with the body and tail of a fish swimming through the water. A mer-key, if you will.
October 4, 2025 at 8:49 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober day 3: “Crown”

Please note that I know absolutely nothing about horse racing.

#inktober #inktober2025
One-panel cartoon. A horse stands on the left, wearing an elaborate three-tiered crown. To the right is a jockey, standing arms crossed, looking annoyed and disappointed. The horse says to him “Oh, be reasonable, Jerome. Why would they give YOU the triple crown? I won the damn race.”
October 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Inktober Day 2: “weave”

#inktober #inktober2025
One-panel comic. A beautiful Black woman is standing on the left, with an enormous mane of gorgeous hair flowing down her back and onto the floor. Two little girls stand to the right, watching her. One is gaping at the woman, while the other, suspicious with crossed arms, says “well, I think it’s a weave.”
October 2, 2025 at 8:56 PM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
I’ll be participating in #inktober this year again as time allows. (I’ll use that hashtag so you can filter my drawings out if you don’t wanna see them)

This year my challenge to myself is to work without references.

Day 1 prompt is “Moustache” — I didn’t […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Digital ink portrait sketch of a balding man with a big pushbroom moustache, wearing a black turtleneck sweater. In the upper left is text reading “Inktober 25 Day 1: Moustache”
October 2, 2025 at 1:33 AM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
This made no sense, but luckily I was carrying my good camera, which had a 300mm telephoto on it. So with some more dangerous leaning (and my husband telling me to get the hell down before I kill myself) I was able to snap a picture of this mysterious garden […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of two terraces of a garden carved into the side of a mountain. On the upper terrace lawn are several large Greek urns, and life/sized statues of a lion, some women, a horse and a pony. On the lawn of the lower terrace are life-sized statues of two giraffes. There is a stone retaining wall below each terrace.
September 19, 2025 at 7:27 AM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
The Mysterious Mountain Giraffes of Eze

Yesterday I took a bus up a winding mountain road to visit the medieval village of Eze (rhymes with “fez”) which is located just east of Nice. The bus drops you in the modern town, and from there you walk up a steep hill […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of the view from high up a mountain. In the foreground are the roofs of medieval homes, one flying a French flag. In the background is the sea far below, and an island. In the water are numerous large yachts.
September 19, 2025 at 7:06 AM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
“But if we block the street to cars, it will kill local businesses!”

#carsRuinCities #urbanism
Photo of a pedestrian-only street in Nice, France. The street is packed with people dining on patios and shopping and just enjoying themselves. In the foreground are retractable bollards that block vehicle entrance at most times. There is a sign saying in French that deliveries are allowed between 4am and 10:30am
September 18, 2025 at 7:24 AM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
My visit to Nice happened to coincide with the International Iron Man event, which took place yesterday just a few blocks from my hotel. It began at 7am, with athletes starting their 4km swim. This was immediately followed by a 180km bike ride, then a full […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of 9 men on bicycles, wearing Lycra gear, racing past a row of onlookers. They are competing in the International Iron Man event in Nice, France.
September 15, 2025 at 7:25 AM
jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
While visiting the Titantic Museum in Belfast yesterday I learned that the original captain of the Titanic was, in fact, Captain Haddock. He turned over command to Smith at the first port stop.

#titanic #haddock #tintin
Illustration of comic character Captain Haddock from the Tin Tin series by Hergé
September 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM