This morning I thought I'd show you a little
behind-the-scenes process for how we created page
s for our new comic book,
Long Gone Don and the Terror-Cotta Army. Hope you enjoy!
Lorenzo!
Step 1: Robin creates the
script for the page. He works in
a format similar to that of a screenplay, with scene descriptions, all
dialogue, and panel count. This is how it looks when I get to see it for
the first time:
Step 2: Using the script I create the
rough page of artwork. I
may make tiny tweaks here and there, but by and large I keep pretty
rigidly to the script. This rough page then goes back to Robin, who
checks it over and adds his superb
lettering, sometimes re-writing the dialogue a little as he letters. Getting the lettering down at this stage is
vital to the overall composition of the page, and helps tremendously in marrying up word and art in a visually balanced way.
Step 3: With the page lettered, I can set to work on the
final art. I begin by putting all the
speech bubbles
in place, to make sure everything fits nicely and the bubbles don't
feel "stuck on" the final page. I have a slightly unusual process for
the final artwork, in that I like to fully paint each panel one at a
time, instead of inking all panels in one go, and then colouring all
panels together, as many artists do. When everything is ready, the page
goes back to Robin one last time for final checks, and then it's off to
The Phoenix!
