Aug 25 2008

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures – Week 2, Homework

Week two’s homework is basically just to execute a gag panel, the only other stipulation being to come up with three, rather than just one, potential captions.  Here’s mine:

wk2_h1

  • “If I’d known it  snowed this much around here, I’d have gotten a bigger dog”
  • “That’s nothing–up North, I once lost my horse.”
  • “They don’t make showshoes in his size.”

Aug 24 2008

Sketchbook 08/24

sketch_082408

Aug 23 2008

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: Week 2, Activity 1

The activity here is to come up with captions for last week’s homework assignment. Before that, though, I revised my homework from that week to better address the stipulation that the cartoon show complex action with a definite cause-and-effect chain that the reader has to follow.  So, I added the toucan dropping the anvil bit.  (I briefly wondered why a toucan would be flying by holding an anvil, but given what’s going on in the rest of the picture, it’s really not that odd.)

I obviously went ahead and inked the drawing as well.

I’ve not come up with any really funny captions for this image yet, but I’m just going to post the few relatively-lame ones I’ve got so far over at the DW&WP discussion group and see whether anyone else can come up with something better.

wk2_a1-1

Here’re some captions off the top of my head.  Suggestions are welcome…

  • When animals attack (each other)
  • Got LSD?
  • For God’s sake, take public transportation!
  • Objects in mirror are weirder than they appear

Aug 23 2008

Sketchbook 08/23

sketch_082308

Aug 21 2008

Craft: Layouts vs. Finishes

Oh, to be the layout guy…. Here’s an example from the Amelia Earhart book I’m working on now.

First, the layout panel from the thumbnail:

la_thumb

Here, the penciled panel:

la_air

Now, why can’t I just write “breathtaking view” and be done with it instead of having to draw hundreds of buildings!?

I’ve reversed the location of the water here because I wanted to create a visual analog with the opening pages of the book, which show just the shadow of a plane on ocean waves, and also because I wanted to really set the plane off visually by having it against a solid background rather than against the clutter of the cityscape.  We’ll see whether I can get away with that as the book goes through its various editing processes.

Joking aside, this is the first time that I’ve done a book for which I’m given thumbnail breakdowns done by someone else (in this case, Jason Lutes) and it’s been an interesting experience so far.  I’m definitely learning a lot by seeing how another cartoonist goes about setting up panel to panel action and transitions.  It’s interesting to me, though, that in the few cases I’ve discussed this process with non-cartoonists, they’ve been surprised to hear me mention the workmanlike nature of my end of things; many folks apparently assume that the actual rendering of panels–the drawing itself–is the most challenging and engaging aspect of comics-making.

It may not be the case for every cartoonist, but for me the most interesting part of creating comics is the stuff that comes before the actual drawing: developing the story, coming up with characters, and most of all putting things together visually via the thumbnailing process.  On the other hand, because of the “right brain” nature of the actual rendering work, it’s the only part of the process I can do while listening to NPR.  I’m certain to be ready to compete on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” by the time this is all done…