Anatomy of a Cupcake Scouts Comic Page

It's sort of remarkable to me. I have spent SO much time thinking about and planning webcomics. I've spent so much time trying to figure out the best fonts, and line weights, and image sizes, and pacing. I've spent so much time thinking about how I would frame a page, and how I might sequence action, and how I could maximize the tools at my disposal to create a manageable workflow that allows me to produce high-quality pages relatively quickly, so that I can get and keep some momentum.

And then, when I finally sat down to DO it, I just started drawing and it all just came together. I decided very quickly to go with 2000 x 3000 pixel master images for the comic, which then gets reduced to 45% (so it's 900 pixels wide and 1350 tall when published online). It ends up looking great on my phone, even though I didn't plan it that way (although I probably did years ago, and just somehow remembered that I had). Early in my development as a cartoonist, I was heavily influenced by things I read about Carl Barks and his workflow. Thirty years later, I still tend to conceptualize a page as either two (as he did) or three tiers. The page above is three. He also created a lot of 8-page comics where the pacing is very quick - that has stuck with me, too.

I no longer have a step-by-step method in place. I don't do full pencils and then inks and then colors. I adjust the layout and re-arrange elements of the page as I'm going. I don't do a lot of pulling back and looking at the whole page as I'm working (even though I probably should get in the habit of doing that more). At this point, I think I do a decent job of intuitively 'feeling' where I am on the page, and have a general awareness of how what element I'm working on right now will flow with what's around it. 

I've also got a few key things I'm doing...

1. Focus on the story. That's the only thing that matters. Everything is secondary to the story. And the story is about the characters, more than anything. The plot and setting and symbolism and irony and dialogue are all there in service to the characters and the story they are on. On the page above, I move the story along nicely at a pace I like.

2. Once I have drawn something, I can use it again. You will see that I cut and paste and repeat images a bit. Sometimes, I'll make minor changes to things - other times I'll use the foundation and move pieces around. I drew it, so if I want to use it again. I drew two drawings above that I re-used a few times. I don't need to create dramatic angles of every talking head. If they are having a conversation, I can go back and forth with the same 'camera shot', maybe changing eyes or mouths as they go. Work smarter, not harder.

3. Each page should have one 'quality' drawing. I don't particularly like drawing scenery or backgrounds... I like characters and action. However, I want each page to have one image that I spend some time on the design or background or lighting or something. On the page above, I spent more time creating the bookshelves in the first panel than I did on the rest of the page. I also put background images with a dark gray outline rather than the black linework of characters and foreground, so that the characters pop against it. I also used much more muted colors in backgrounds, again to set the characters apart.

4. End each page with some kind of hook. I want each page to stand alone as a chunk of story, but each to logically lead into the next page. Because of the way this is being released, it has to feel like you've moved through a part of the story each page, because it might be a week or two (or more at some point - musical season, I'm looking at you!), so I want there to be some sense of completion to each page.