How I Do It: Pencils

Once we have a script for a strip (I'll be using the script from the previous blog post for this entry), we can move into the drawing phase of comic creation.  The first step in my process is to draw out the strip using pencils, providing the general shape of the action in each panel.  Since this particular strip is driven more by dialog, the pencils don't provide us anything overly entertaining to look at, but they're still very beneficial in the creation process.

Regarding the style of this comic in particular, I am not using tools like a ruler or t-square to get straight lines for my panels, etc.  Because this is more of a hobby than a professional endeavor, the imperfections generated through creating the comic by sight alone actually helps contribute a level of "charm" to the comic.  These drawings are done on a large index card (5'' x 8'') to give me guidelines regarding how large each panel should be.  It will get rearranged into a horizontal strip in its final iteration (especially if this or any other future strip are accepted by The Current for publishing).