I admit the text looks awful. I`m trying to figure out how I can letter by hand. I prefer it, but I have to figure out how to make it work with the rest of my drawing. For the next few comics, be patient as I figure out if I can do this or if I need to settle for a custom font. Patience on my part is required, as well, which might be my problem.
I hope I look back at this one and really enjoy it. The setup and punchline are really kind of weak, but I think I like the middle panel. I`ll have to check in later and let the results soak in.
The whole story line was actually inspired by the image in the middle, which was suggested to me. I didn`t even come up with this, and one image gave birth to a whole story line. And possibly some recurring characters. It`s amazing how sometimes the simplest things can be so inspirational. Now if only I could write and pace to do it justice…
I am trying a freeware font for right now. I just got my new scanner and will make my own font. The work`s done, I just have to scan it and have it fontilized. Fontified? Fontificated? Whatever. Anyway, I`m experimenting with this freeware font in the meantime, and changing my word balloons. I like the results, but it takes a lot longer to do them. I`ll have to find a way to streamline the process, but I`m sure I can.
As you can see, I changed my word balloons. I don`t know if they`ll stick. I do have another surprise coming up…I`m making a custom font! I`ll let you in on the details once I get them. It will require the new scanner, though, as my current scanner is too noisy and I can`t get a sharp image of my lettering. I should be using the new font within a week.
This isn`t really what I wanted out of this comic, and I tried to cram too much content in. Pacing is killing me, because with only two strips a week I have to be really picky. Everything has to move at a pretty snappy pace. If I want ten strips, you have to suffer along for a month. Daily artists get that in a little over a week. I am very jealous. If I am lucky, I can get up to a three-per-week schedule, that would help flesh the stories out more. Otherwise…It`s more of this.
I did buy a Pitt pen with a brush tip today…Best linework investment yet. Seriously, it was less than $3 for the pen but it is amazing. It`s like having a thin brush and India ink, but without all the hassles of brushes. I won`t be giving up my Micron pens (I used a .8 for the linework in the mirror) but the Pitt brush is so versatile, considering it is a pen.
I`m trying to ink by hand again. I used too heavy a line, though, so the linework looks overbearing. I`ll move down to a smaller pen for the next run and see how that works. I`m going to try it for awhile to see what happens, so bear with me over the next few days. I would like to move towards doing more by hand, but I`m having several issues, one of many is my scanner. It is too noisy and doesn`t register well at the high resolutions (300+ dpi) I use when I scan linework for production. This may work, but I may have to put it off until I improve my scanner situation. So, again, bear with me.
