Well folks I am happy to say that Issue #2 is on track for APE 2005 in two weeks. As long as the Comic Book gods are not un-happy with me, I should have books for sale at the convention.
As for issue #3 of Beyond the Great Chimney, I just finished the first ‘complete working draft’ of the book. To explain, here is my process of creating a book:
a) have a rough idea of the story I am telling. I am on part 3 of 3 so it’s pretty easy to guess where I am going with it.
b) thumb-nail out different options for telling the story in my sketch book.
c) I sit down at the computer and write the first draft of the script. This is where I usually find story points that I need to make sure are covered.
d) I sit down with the thumbnails and draw out a full size rough visual script of the whole comic book.
e) I use Adobe Photoshop to scan in the pages and import them into Adobe InDesign. There I go though and add the script. This is an important stage since I found that for me, a professional looking script helps me recognize the errors.
f) at the point I usually have found that certain parts are lacking and the pages are either digitally edited or completely re-drawn, I also re-write the dialog to fix errors that could not be seen when the elements where separate.
g) send out the book to a handful of trusted friends to help make sure that I am achieving what I want to achieve.
I am at step (g) right now. Which means it’s time to read it over for any missing story elements that are not covered.
I have found that I notice errors with a semi professional look test print vs. something that looks like it’s still not done. It’s something to do with how our mind works I guess. I also discovered I find errors best when I am on a plane or BART. Something to do with not being a) not at home b) not responsible for driving c) having nowhere to go.
If any artist want to COMMENT on how they work, please do.
