Lucy Outtakes

LUCY'S POST-HOLIDAY REPORT was the longest and most time-consuming comic created for this blog, which is one reason there was such a long gap between entries, and it went through several drafts and sketches before it was finished. Each page was fully inked and lettered at least twice, and the dialogue was refined throughout the process. This was a different working method than the usual scribbled-out Spiral Notebook Comics, and it's one I hope to tighten and improve as I move on to bigger projects, such as an upcoming graphic novel I've been writing.

None of this is unique to the way comics are created, and my meager, messy efforts don't take anywhere near the time and effort as those of a typical pro. But I thought you guys might be interested in seeing some of the working sketches and roughs for the comic. (click the thumbnails to enlarge)

I worked the dialogue as I went, and moved the characters around. Lucy's mom didn't have much to do and was a pretty benign character, so I decided it would be more fun to have Lucy's dopey brother-in-law on the sofa instead.

The original first page. Lucy didn't yet have her beautiful nose.

Above and below: pencil sketches. I laid them on a lightbox and traced over them with pen.

 

Early version of Lucy's "what do I do" speech.