Friday, September 28, 2007

Martian Tools

Click cartoon for larger version.

Here's how I make these things. I use Painter 8 and a tablet p.c.
Once I have an idea, I type in the words (I have a typeface that looks like my writing) and roughly sketch them in. Sometimes I draw them separately and paste them in. This lets me fool with the composition.

Then I fade the rough sketch and sketch a tighter layer, with more details.
Note in these early versions that the punchline is different. The original joke was just showing Vespa snapping a picture. The problem was that I couldn't make it clear that this was a camera (and not a Martian ray gun or something). To bad, since just showing her taking the picture would be funnier).
I often force myself to write alternate punchlines anyway. Sometimes it leads to a better joke.

I zoom in for most of the "inking", using painter's Smooth Ink Pen. I'm not satisfied with my inking ability. It's something I need more practice at. Wally Wood I ain't.

That's it.
Also note that the scorpion actually looks like one this time. His earlier incarnations looked like a lobster Beanie Baby. I was trapped in jury duty when I started the scorpion gags and didn't have web access for a reference.



2 comments:

Sally said...

Great post. Tell me, tell me about your tablet pc: I want one and got discouraged in my research. Also, interesting that the bgs aren't a part of the initial design, because they always look so fluid and integral.

Sally said...

Also, interesting that your finish looks better than the roughs-- for some artists it's the other way around.

And also, I know that feeling where you struggle to draw something complex, then pull away and think, just look it up, and duh, of course, that's what they look like.