143

Robe
Posted on November 4, 2022 by David M Willis

143 thoughts on “Robe”

  1. The Wellerman

    ✌️? And so commences the next part of Joy-Joe’s Bizarre Adventure!!!

    ? AYE AYE AYE…..

    *plays “Pillar Men Theme” on hacked muzak*

    1. Stephen Bierce

      I would have gone with Adam & The Ants’ “Strip”. Or “Dancing In The Nude” from The Benny Hill Show.

      1. ValdVin

        I know a number of tunes put to good use by Benny Hill (Doublet and Hose, anyone?) But ill have to look that up.

    2. darkoneko

      Ah yes, the Pillar Men’s WWE entrance theme

    3. True Survivor

      I hate it but when anyone mentions that song all I can think of is those three Custodes from If the Emperor Had a Text to Speech Device – and I haven’t even seen more than the two episodes my friend showed me once.

    4. Pylgrim

      Or if it’s about Joyce’s fragile mental state could be Great Days with that “BREAKDOWN/BREAKDOWN” start.

      1. The Wellerman

        That could also work when Dina invents Time Travel!!! ?

  2. Ana Chronistic

    “There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering VA-VOOM”

    (was gonna say, watch it be Marcie, but is Malaya still taking the course)

    1. Thag Simmons

      I hope so, if only because the comics with Malaya and Mary in art class together are probably the funniest both of those characters have been.

    2. BBCC

      Do the models get paid? If so, that might be worth her while regardless of Malaya.

      1. Meagan

        I used to do nude modeling for art classes and got paid for it. They really liked me too because I had done a lot of yoga so I had more creative ideas for poses than a lot of models.

        1. ktbear

          Ive been supporting Danielle Corsetto on Patreon for a few years now and she often shares her life drawing class artwork with us. Its really interesting to see her go from the two minute sketches to longer poses with a lot more detail. Despite what some people might think it is artistic and beautiful.

        2. BBCC

          That’s cool you got paid!

    3. Liara

      I don’t think we’ll learn the identity. We haven’t seen any of the previous models from the Mary/Malaya strips, plus she already undressed which we’ll obviously won’t get to see in this strip

      1. Aussir

        I’m not an expert on the subject, but it’d make sense to me if the model was deliberately not someone the students would know personally, since part of the point is to view them impersonally for the purpose of practicing your art.

        1. Tan

          On the one hand, sure, they might ask the model if they personally know any of the students in the particular class. On the other hand, they aren’t going to fly in a model from another part of the country and do a deep-background check to ensure that they have no connections to any student on campus.

        2. Aussir

          Oh I only meant in the sense that they probably aren’t a student, not a lengthy background check.

        3. Tan

          Marcie is not a student

        4. Decidedly Orthogonal

          It’s just an open job. Sometimes students apply for those jobs. I’ve never heard of an art school forbidding attendees from applying to be a life model.

          Obviously a student drawing for **that class** couldn’t, but otherwise?

    4. ButWhyASpoon

      The Illudium Q-36 Explosive Libido Modulator will cause an Earth-shattering VA-VOOM!

  3. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    Joyce: I was expecting to be panicking more about seeing naked. I am not and this is weird.

    Do you have any comments to make things normal Joe?

    Joe: Nah not really.

    1. Freezer

      That’s her conservative Christian upbringing coming through. Her fear of making a public scene by panicking overrides her fear of everything else.

  4. Axel

    I’m so pleased that Joe is just joining right in

    1. Wraithy2773

      I have a feeling that Joe is on his best behavior here, partly because he wants to be a good friend for Joyce, partly because of his feelings towards her…

      …but mostly because if he gets kicked out for being a letch, he’ll miss the Joyce show. 😀

  5. Suet

    The Resting Bongo Face, the face of stoicism, is the figure drawing’s best friend.

    1. Needfuldoer

      RBF is hot. Change my mind.

  6. BBCC

    They’ve been in this class before, Joyce. Any lustre there may have been has been lost.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      And even if not, generally speaking, art models are not really that sexy. There is a massive different between the energy of someone who is sexually aroused and the lack of energy from a bored, mildly uncomfortable art model.

      1. BBCC

        Yeahhhhh, from what I’ve been told, I doubt there was a lot of lustre to lose in the first place.

      2. Hazel

        The only time I was in one of these classes it was winter and you could practically feel the sympathy radiating off all the students for the poor freezing model.

        1. Axel

          I know the point is to learn/practice the human form, but that sounds like a good day to work on, perhaps, studying how a blanket drapes over someone’s body

        2. Joyfulldreams

          In every life drawing class I’ve ever been to, the models had several space heaters pointed directly at them the entire time. I figure that was a massive help.

  7. lines

    part of me half-expected joe to offer to be the model. just as a throwback to when he did it in roomies

  8. darkoneko

    It’s only awkward if you make it awkward

  9. Jenniffniff

    I’m so glad Joe is there with her, this is big moment for her. Originally she was going alone!

    1. Axel

      I think Joe probably is also helping her to not bail out. Part because he’s a witness* and part because he’s a friend** and part also because he’s not as close of a friend like Dorothy or Becky***

      * so it would be more embarrassing to make an excuse and leave
      ** so he’s supporting her
      *** who she knows for a fact would, regardless of their own complaints, let her leave, and who have already seen Joyce at vulnerable times, thereby not being people she really needs to impress (and also she doesn’t maybe probably have a crush on either of them, currently)

      1. Feathers

        Since when doesn’t she have a crush on Diethylene?

        1. Feathers

          *Dorothy, wtf xD

        2. Axel

          I’m not convinced that she still does post time skip

        3. Thag Simmons

          do you write about diethyline often?

        4. Jo_cubstar

          That’s a weird autocorrect lol

  10. Sirksome

    You get desensitized to it real quick. Trust me after 45 minutes of staring all the eroticism drains from the experience.

    1. Arianod

      My nude drawing classes used to be at 8:00 am in a cold basement room. Luckily the models had a couple of heaters pointed at them, but for the rest of us any potential eroticism was gone from minute one -_-

  11. Axel

    Anythoh?

    1. BBCC

      She was starting to say anything and then cut herself off when the model got naked, going ‘Oh’.

    2. toby

      cut off in the middle of speaking “Anyth- oh”

      1. Axel

        this is how I would have notated it (but I see the reason not to as well, since the dash could indicate a pause)

    3. shoopdawhoop

      Anythot

      1. pope suburban

        This was how I read it at first, and it took concerted effort to stop seeing it that way.

  12. Sirksome

    I do hops Joe is a surprisingly skilled artist. That would be a fun discovery.

  13. Awaiting Moderation

    Been in this exact situation. First time I drew a nude model I was mentally freaking out completely beforehand. When it started though I just mentally flipped a switch and started looking at it as clinically as I possibly could.
    “This is not weird. Not weird at all! This is just shapes. They are shapes and I will put them on paper. Don’t think about anything else.”
    It actually worked quite well for the most part, though I’ll admit it took me a while before I felt confident enough to even think about drawing the girl’s nipples. Those didn’t exist for at least half an hour, lol.

  14. RassilonTDavros

    In which Joyce realizes that not everyone reacts to naked women the way she does. *crosses fingers*

  15. Mollyscribbles

    Joyce: Hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me.

    1. JediMB

      Me: Hope it does, though.

  16. Zal

    What, has anime been lying to me?!?! (w/ regards to the alt text)

  17. Raja

    you mean everyone doesn’t spontaneously combust upon seeing bare boobles?

  18. Chaucer59

    I had already modeled for classes in ISU (the one in Idaho) as an undergrad. A year later, as a grad student, the first time I modeled for a UT drawing class, we had two female students who were older than me (I was 36 at the time). The rest were all in the 18 to 25 range. When I dropped my towel, one of the older ladies and two of the young ones blushed deep deep red, which surprised me. Despite it being Mormon country, I couldn’t recall anyone ever blushing in the ISU classes. After the class, the older woman who did NOT blush came up to thank me. “It’s so good to be able to draw everything in such a relaxed pose. The two guys we had last semester always crossed their legs and draped a hand of two over their genitals.” Laughed so hard I cried.

    1. Chaucer59

      Damnit “…a hand or two…”

  19. darkoneko

    wait, Joe where did you get those art supplies ?

    1. Chaucer59

      Prof no doubt supplied those. The rule in these classes is usually no spectators who aren’t there to draw.

    2. TheKelliestKelly

      Joyce offered him a sheet of paper from her book when she invited him. The drawing utensil Joe is using I’m sure is on loan either from Joyce as well or the professor

  20. Grayfinity

    …You’ll get there, Joyce. Just try not to cause a scene.

    There’s gonna be a scene, isn’t there?

    1. Reltzik

      Are we, the audience, going to be shown the sequence over a period of time in which story-relevant events occur? Yes, there are going to be several scenes seen.

    2. Needfuldoer

      You know how sometimes you can superheat a glass of water in the microwave, so it gets well past the boiling point but doesn’t actually start to boil? Then you disturb it and it violently boils all at once?

      1. Masumi

        That sounds like fun and like I’m about to destroy the kitchen.

        1. Uly

          Just be careful that you don’t destroy your hands.

        2. Miri

          Once did this by accident making custard – when I stuck the spoon in to mix it it realised how hot it was and exploded somewhat. So above boiling liquid containing sugars etc suddenly coating my hand… It hurt quite a bit but I was near enough the sink that I didn’t end up blistered etc

        3. Needfuldoer

          Official advice: don’t.

          Unofficisl advice: Poke it with a bamboo skewer held in some tongs so you stay away from the water violence.

  21. anon

    i remember seeing a post like “no one views art models in a sexual way after a long session, three hours i’m in trying to shade this and hating it” or so, so maybe joyce will get some of that assuming she doesn’t hate art as well after that (tho basics aside idk if it’ll help her get story ideas)

  22. RacingTurtle

    I was honestly hoping the model wouldn’t be anyone they know so that the story could continue to focus on the people already present in this storyline. It seems like I may have gotten my wish. Yay

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Although you have to admit it would have been a helluva hoot if the model had turned out to be Roz (we already know she’s done some of her best work in the nude).

    2. Cerusee

      I was absolutely positive it was not going to be a named character because I don’t think that’s what this storyline is about, but people were having so much fun speculating I didn’t want to be a killjoy about it.

    3. BBCC

      I thought there was a possibility it could be Marcie because we know she’s done it before. If not, no big deal, it’s not like she really knows Joyce or Joe.

    4. DailyBrad

      I was expecting something to keep Joe and Joyce from talking things out. Doesn’t mean I necessarily *wanted* that, though, so I am kind of relieved in a fashion.

  23. Raen

    …I mean, literally everyone, from Amber to Lucy, has clocked Joyce as bi. (Bisexuality and autism are correlated, aren’t they?) I only wonder when she herself will catch on.

    1. anonymsly

      Joyce herself has said she’s straight and she can only imagine being with a woman if she ignores everything below the neck, so… could be a long time, I’d think. Could be never. She might be right about herself, after all.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Safe and warm forever.

        1. anonymsly

          How is that sexual? I occasionally feel like that and I’ve never had a sex thing in my life.

    2. Clif

      My understanding is that individuals diagnosed with autism are significantly more likely to be non-heterosexual, but that people who are not straight are only slightly more likely to be autistic. This info may be out of date.

      1. Raen

        Well, yeah, LGBT people are about one in twenty, and autistic people are about one in 300.

    3. eh, whatever

      Correlated? News to me.

      Joyce so far comes across as biromantic but heterosexual.

    4. Amós Batista

      I’m also rooting for this…

  24. Qube

    I mean Joe could probably fistbump you if it’d make you feel more comfortable

  25. Mikey

    I’ve seen people saying that “anythoh” is a confusing way of spelling things and that it should have had an ellipsis or a hyphen, like “anyth… oh” or “anyth- oh” but personally, I very much like the way that “anythoh” indicates a very quick change to a new sentence. Yeah, it takes a second to parse it, but that’s well worth it.

    1. Masumi

      Maybe capitalising it as anytOh would’ve been easier to parse with the same effect – but I like it too. And maybe having to think about it for a moment is what drives the point home!

  26. Drakkin the Alien

    first time I see those “horses” used for drafting clases!! are those the usual thing to see these days?? Funny thing is in the spanish language, the painter’s easel tripod is called: “caballete de pintura”, and the word “caballete” means something like “lesser horse” 🙂 and i always wondered for what reason, i mean, no horse goes in three legs…

  27. Tomn

    Oh Joy Sex Toy’s current comic seems remarkably well-timed for this storyline.

    1. Tawdry Quirks

      I was thinking that too, especially since the timing of it almost perfectly lined up with the start of the class.

  28. BarerMender

    Oh, dear, panel 4 Joyce, what did you see?

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Don’t think it’s a case of what she’s seeing – after all, she’s got a matching set of everything the model has, and she’s certainly seen other girls nude in the showers.  It’s just the fact that she is seeing it OUTSIDE of the showers.

      1. Alex

        People don’t really see each other naked in showers with individual stalls.

        1. Cerusee

          I think I was in my late teens by the time I encountered Outright Naked People In the Locker Room, and that was using the high school pool for recreational swimming after hours, when adults were using it (so, adult women, in my locker room). It absolutely jarred me. I got over it fast, but I’d never been exposed to that much nudity before in my life, and it was a bit of a shock.

          Seeing naked people in the locker room is a pretty common experience, but it’s not so universal that every person who’s ever been a communal bathroom/locker situation has definitely seen oodles and oodles of naked people of the same gender-presentation. (Also, everyone in Joyce’s dorm seems to go to the showers wearing towels at minimum, she was homeschooled and probably never shared a locker room in gym class, and she has two brothers and a AMAB sister who is not out, plus a fundie mother who I sincerely doubt has ever been unclothed in anyone’s presence beside her husband in twenty to thirty years. What I’m saying is that Joyce is actually probably not at all used to looking at naked women, any more than naked men.)

  29. Hilen

    To be honest, the one thing that really horrifies me is the seating. Why are they sitting like that? Is that mandatory to do people-drawings? It looks uncomfortable in so many levels. An I wrong? I’ve never seen a… Desk? Like that before in real life, maybe they’re comfortable and I don’t know it.

    1. Plain Marie

      Those are typical drawing stands. It’s been so long, I’d almost forgotten those things. You both sit and prop up your drawing board. There are grooves on the bottom board to notch your board at your preferred angle.

      1. thejeff

        Looks to me like the bottom of the paper would be really hard to work with. As well as the seat being uncomfortable.

  30. Derek

    anythoh?

    1. Icalasari

      “Anything” then interrupted with “Oh”

      1. Derek

        it’s missing a hyphen then
        “anyth-oh”

  31. Francoinblanco

    wait a minute, I know that naked models are funny, but are such classes are for advanced people?

    1. Needfuldoer

      We saw Malaya and Mary in a life drawing class last semester.

    2. Yotomoe

      I had a life drawing class within my first year of art school.

    3. Francoinblanco

      Oh I get it. Maybe Joyce joined the ongoing course. Or its normal practise but from my perspective, if I got a model during my first drawing class, I wouldn’t know where to start. To be honest with the fruit tray it would be similar 🙂

      1. Needfuldoer

        This might not be the introductory course. (Remember, Joe and Joyce are just sitting in on a random class. It’s basically sanctioned crashing.)

      2. Masumi

        Well the whole point was that Joyce wanted to improve her human proportion drawing, so it makes sense even though it’s likely rather difficult…

    4. thumb

      Even outside of academia, you can just pay money to join a life drawing session. It’s as advanced as you need it to be. Some would tell you it’s part of the fundamentals.
      (I would be one of those people).

    5. Amós Batista

      In my drawing course, I already got life drawing at 2nd day.

  32. Needfuldoer

    Joe’s either going to be surprisingly good at drawing, or he won’t even notice the model because he’s so worried about Joyce.

    Time to headcanon up some backstory for Background Extra #73 there in panel 1…

  33. Rabid Rabbit

    Alt-text: Joe, for one, has not gotten a nosebleed because all his spare blood has rushed somewhere else.

    (Joe is also having to fight down the remaining bit of his old self that is trying to give the model a rating.)

    1. Alex

      Can someone explain the nosebleed thing to me? I’ve seen it elsewhere and I don’t get it.

      1. Needfuldoer

        It’s an anime trope signifying horny attraction.

        Warning: TV Tropes link.
        Warning: Header image borderline NSFW.

        https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nosebleed

        1. Alex

          Appreciate it. I get the gist even without clicking on it.

  34. Yotomoe

    There’s a manga I read where the main character mentions that drawing life drawing isn’t sexy at all but the Only part that DID get him a little were the moments when the model took off their robe and when they put it on at the end. Can’t say I ever put much thought into it but I think I subconsciously look away when the model strips.

    1. michaelinasmeal

      duder just has a robe fetish.

      1. Yotomoe

        Or a disrobe fetish.

  35. Acher4

    I feel that these chairs would kill my back… o.O

  36. AGV

    You know what you’re here for

  37. Raptorofwar

    Figure drawing isn’t really sexy. You aren’t going, “OOOH THEY’RE NAKED.” You’re miserable because there’s charcoal everywhere and drawing hands just can’t go right and you’ve misaligned this and messed up that and ugh.

  38. Sombrero

    With each new strip, I feel more comfortable with this gravatar.

  39. Amós Batista

    I confess I didn’t care when I got my first 3 life drawing sessions, but it was hard to concentrate few times in the day I got a ballet person as a model.

    Fortunately, I’ve drew some of my best draws this day.

  40. thumb

    The quick realisation that a naked body is a novel thing until you start drawing.

  41. Exarch

    Is it just me or do those chairs look EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

    1. Uly

      Haven’t you ever heard that you have to suffer for your art?

  42. AlaninDC

    What serendipitous timing… the website ohjoysextoy.com is also doing a figure drawing class this week.
    Granted, DoA was drawn six months ago, but it’s still remarkable to see the two side by side.

  43. DashWallkick

    This is Willis expressing to the audience that drawing nudity is fun and dangerous for like two minutes before you hit the brick wall of “oh my god how do I get the hip to look correct this is such garbage”

    1. JBento

      “Where is that leg going?! FUCK, why is this looking like M. Escher drew it?!”

      1. Needfuldoer

        That doesn’t stop McEldowney.

      2. Zaxares

        “SEE?! This is why I stick to stick figures!”

        1. The Wellerman

          I’m actually working on developing an art-style that’s both easy and appealing.

          Been playing around with photoshop brushes forever, I’m on to something but I can’t get sharp line edges to look right at all :/

    2. Yotomoe

      And we haven’t even STARTED talking about light sources yet.

    3. Amós Batista

      shit, the disillusionment is real

  44. vulcanodon

    Instructor has probably had Christian homeschooled students before. Knows the tough road they’re on.

  45. Aussir

    One of my favorite parts of getting a bit older was when I realized that, while naked people are indeed rad and sexy, nudity itself was also just, like, ordinary. People just be havin’ bodies. Hopefully that’s what Joyce will take from this.

  46. Sharkfin Bangs

    The speed at which a life drawing class desensitizes one to naked bodies is incredible

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      “The model reveals their nakedness! It’s super-ineffective!”

    2. Ophidiophile

      The fact that the models act like it’s No Big Thing helps a lot. They are nude, not naked.

      1. Sharkfin Bangs

        One of my drawing class instructors used to say that if you paint someone who is completely bare, that’s a nude, but if you add in just one item of clothing (like a necklace, or socks), they’re naked.

        But yeah, the models being real people – like the ones who tried not to laugh at our jokes or else they’d move – really helped humanize the whole thing in a “oh this is just their job” way.

  47. Wendy

    Joe drawing together with Joyce is sweet. I’m gonna assume she shared her supplies with him. Wondering if it’ll turn out that he’s actually good at drawing.

  48. Arianod

    “I really hope this doesn’t awake anything in me”

  49. Taffy

    Love Joyce’s facial journey here. I sorta wonder how many naked women she’s seen before. Probably herself, in mirrors and such, but no idea about anyone else.

  50. Rogue 7

    I remember how I got over my ingrained aversion to the idea of seeing other dudes naked very specifically.

    It was my semester abroad in college. I went to Japan and my class took a weekend vacation to Okinawa (gorgeous, btw). One night every guy in the program went down to the communal bath and we spent about 2 hours sitting in the giant bath just talking, all of us naked and no one making a thing about it. And from then on I didn’t worry about it.

    I hope Joyce learns as easily as I did!

  51. RedCat

    I’d have a similar reaction to seeing a naked person with a dick, probably. At some point I might need to get over that, because I’d love a life drawing class.

    1. Yotomoe

      Do I…Do I draw the penis?

  52. ValdVin

    “Oh, it’s him, her, or them, the male, female, or enby we’d been predicting would show up as a nude model for this class.”

    [I forget where I’m ripping this off from.)

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