Before I begin, let me just say that I have no problem saying another team is better than the Sharks. Odds are you don't buy that, and that's fine, but as much as I am a homer, (I blog for the team I follow, I obviously favor them over all others), I'm also rather pragmatic. I can see and accept when other teams play better. What bothers me is when one team (in this case the Sharks) plays poorly and outside forces (hello media!) takes that and only focuses on how great the other team (in this case the Hawks) played. It's such a lopsided bout I find it infuriating that games like this are used as banner games to tout the skill of winning team. I find it just as ridiculous against any other team. Believe me, this has been a major pet peeve of mine ever since I started to seriously follow hockey. I even get annoyed by it when it goes my team's way. I like to watch wins, we all do, but I like them to be earned. Fought for might be a better way to put it.

Party starts today @7:30 Shark time.

Hossa is set to return/start his first game in a Blackhawks uniform tonight. Torrey Mitchell, not so much. Which is good, because if he was starting in a Blackhawks uni, we'd all be kinda pissed. He should be back for a game soon though *knock on wood* should the hockey gods see fit to grant him a reprive from injury.

Am I little worried about this game? yeah. Chicago is annoyingly good this year and the Sharks didn't fare so well against them last week. They were on the second game of backto backs however, and having been on a long road trip only a few games before that, odds are pretty good that we weren't seeing all they could bring. Hopefully they'll fare a bit better this time and give us Sharks fans a good win to chew on over the Thanksgiving holiday.

We have some time to kill between now and the next game on Wednesday.

Not much is going on in Shark land, aside from the rumored return of the legendary Torrey Mitchell and the (likely) related returning of folks on the "Woostah" shuttle.

If you're not busy this afternoon, you can meet Dany Heatley and get him to sign some merch for you. Doors open at 4:30 but I have a feeling this will be one of those meet and greets with a looooooooooonnnnnnngggggggg and early line. Void your bladder before queuing up and be prepared to wait. I high recommend music if, like me, you don't have a smart phone. They do a good job at these things, and the lines move fast once folks are admitted.

The first president of the Sharks passed away recently.

Oddly enough this will be the second Sharks Ducks game I will be missing this season. Things just seem to be working out that way. Mina will be missing it too, and unless it's on HNIC, so will Afro. Some games just aren't meant to be recapped. If I miss a third I will start to suspect some universal conspiracy.

Hope no stick fights break out.

The game starts at 7pm, another early one, so be sure to tune in on time. Look for the LARGE contingent of Sharks fans spread out throughout the building. They'll be there in force. Have fun guys.

Ok, so I didn't realize that was Yzerman chewing gum and watching the game from a fancy box in a suit. I'm used to guys in helmets and jerseys. What can I say?

I did feel stupid for totally missing that though. I knew he was an Olympic scout, not just some guy, which has to count for something, right?

Right?

Anyway...

A handful of folks have wondered about the magical process used to make the vs images we use here at Couch Tarts. If you've ever wondered, this post is for you.

If you aren't one of those people, you can read it too, but don't blame me if you get bored.

Anyway, step one:

Gray has an idea and sketches it out in her sketchbook.

This can actually take awhile, as I go through several iterations of different ideas until I pick one I like.

Because this sketch was large, relative to my other ones, I scanned it in, shrunk it down, and printed it out.

After I sketch it out (or print it out, depending on size) I grab some tracing paper and *GASP* trace the image! OMGWTFBBQ!

Artists trace all the time. If you want to clean the drawing up there's no real need to redraw the whole thing from scratch. Trace! Work smarter not harder. Some people use yellow post its. I prefer tracing paper in this case because I don't need a lightbox to redraw things.

At this point I take my saral paper and transfer the image to watercolor paper. (I use 140lb cold press. Brands vary. I buy what's on sale.)

This requires that I once again "trace" the image, though this time I use a mechanical pencil or dead pen because I really just want to apply pressure and get the stuff of the transfery part of the transfer paper to, well, transfer. I don't have a picture of this, but it basically looks like the drawing, done in pencil. Saral paper comes in red, yellow, blue, and graphite, I think. Graphite works pretty well for this.

After that, I ink it. I use a dip pen or a brush. Sometimes a bamboo pen. It depends on how heavy or fine I want the lines and what I feel will give me the most control. With the watercolor paper, I usually opt for the brush because the pens rip the paper apart, which is no fun and leads to blotches.

I prefer to use Dr. Ph Martins Bombay Black India Ink because it's damn near waterproof. Plus, the black is lovely and dark right out of the bottle.

I usually transfer and ink several drawings at once. It's just easier that way because I can get a lot of stuff moving along in the production line all at once. But that's a matter of personal preference. I did these one at a time last season and it's felt a lot smoother doing them in groups.

Then the ink dries.

Scintillating.

I call this snack time.

Next I paint. Well, sort of.

I use watercolor pencils and water brushes. Why watercolor pencils, you ask? Because they are AWESOME!! I do have traditional watercolors laying about, but I MUCH prefer the pencils. More control and less screaming at the paper/paints. Watercolors can be difficult.

I color the image first then grab my water pen, get the nib wet and go to town. I paint by color, all browns at once, all blues, all blacks, all greens, etc. I also wipe the pen off between colors so I don't contaminate the other areas with unwanted color. I have three pens, small, med and large nibbed, and obviously chose based on the size of the area I need to paint. For this guy I used exclusively the large brush, but for most it's a mix between all three.

After that, I let it dry, scan it and, if needed, do whatever little fussy cleaning up I want to do in Photoshop. Then I pick a shark to go with it, add my type, save and call it a day. You see the finished product every gameday thread.

Not much to it. Despite that it can be a decently time consuming endeavour. You get faster the more you do, but still, 29 teams and however man sharks I settle on is no small project. It's fun though, and I enjoy making them.

The best part about last night's game is that it wasn't televised so we couldn't watch the Sharks embarrass themselves.

To borrow a term from TWOP, I'm calling this a weecap. Only partially because its a cute little bit of alliteration. I also just kinda like saying the word "wee." It's so versitile.  You can use it to describe size, or as an exclamation of fun. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

*ahem*

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

You know what I love? Sharks wins.

It doesn't really matter that it came against a team that's been struggling and that (on paper) we should clearly be able to dominate. Those teams are always the ones that bite you in the end. You relax, sit back, and suddenly they're up be 3 and it's the third and you look like a major jerk.

Never, ever assume you can beat a team based on their reputation alone.

Thankfully, the Sharks came in, well aware of the brewing poop storm in the city of St. Louis, and well aware that the team they'd be facing had just been chewed out by its owner. They expected a hard fought game, and they certainly got that. It was chippy from minute one. Hits all over, bodies flying, it was like 300 only minus the ancient Greek and Persian parts. And far far far less blood and shirtlessness.

The Blues fell despite out shooting the Sharks and getting the first goal of the game.The Sharks lulled the Blues into a false sense of security by waiting until the second to score, and then sucker punched them by scoring two goals just 16 seconds apart. Sails deflated. Joe got an empty netter in the third to seal the deal 3-1. Sharks fans everywhere were amazed that their team scored an empty net goal. They never do that. Give them an open net and they'll find a way to hit the crossbar like very time.

So that game was cool. It gave me some hope (some), about facing the Blackhawks but I just had this feeling.

The game started out well enough. The Sharks scored 1st and held that lead for most of the 1st before Chicago tied it towards the end of the period. Then the Sharks came back in the second, looking fiery, and scored two quick goals to make it 3-1. Sharks fans we're feeling super good. Then, the unthinkable happened. The Blackhawks scored. And scored again. And then the third was like a pile of crap. And it went to OT, which lasted all of 41 seconds. And the Hawks won.On JR night no less!

Foot meet gas. Ok, now STAY THERE.

So that game kinda sucked. It's really deflating to be like "OMG WE'RE UP 3-1!" and suddenly find yourself tied and at risk of losing. And then you do, and you're like "sdkfhjfhlasfslfjkjk" because the Hawks are good and the Sharks had them and then for some reason unknown to modern man they sat back. No bueno.

I really do sit on a stability ball during the games.When stuff gets iffy, I get restless and roll around on it. Or sag on it, as it the case above. Not my best cartoon, but it does sum up the Sunday game rather well.