behind-the-scenes: whiskey - scripting/thumbnails

4.9: Whiskey - Scripting & Thumbnails

Here’s to trying something new! Over the next few weeks or so, I’ll show my process for the upcoming comic (4.9 - “Whiskey”) while avoiding as many spoilers as I can. I think it’d be interesting to let you guys in on what it takes to create an update, while I work ahead on the comic. More below!

script & thumbs | pencils | line art | color | post

Because I write my comic as well as illustrate it, it’s difficult to work on a script in isolation. There’s a lot of back and forth that happens–I write an outline and then thumbnail and then rewrite the script and then edit the thumbnails. @_@
It starts off with taking the basic episode description from my master outline. SO many things change.

I work on the next steps concurrently, usually in my notebook. I’ll break the update into pages while noting dialogue. (Sometimes I have dialogue written out beforehand??) In this comic, I have to introduce a problem with Whiskey and two scene changes in the first 3 pages. (Also, so many typos lol.)

(Those little sketches in the lower left are me figuring out lunch-box/carry-out styles for page 2.)

Finally, I put the dialogue and thumbnails in InDesign. This is to make sure there’s enough space for the text! My thumbnails are fairly illegible, but the goal is composition.

Then next up–pencils!

“Connor Whisk is Samwell men’s hockey’s top scorer and he hates me. And I have no clue why.”