So I was playing around with Face Your Manga which is a manga avatar creator. (Well manga in that your creations have big eyes). I decided to see if I could make the Comic Critics in the style and here is what I came up with.

I’d thought I share some of the process I go through when creating Comic Critics.

When I receive a script from Sean, I first do a quick breakdowns in a sketchbook. I then switch to working on my computer.

I first use Illustrator to layout the panels, letters and word balloons. From there, I import the panels and letters to Photoshop and, using a Wacom tablet, sketch the characters and backgrounds. I then send that to Sean to see what he thinks.

After getting feedback from Sean, I move to the “inking” stage. I switch my sketch to gray and draw on a separate layer. I draw the characters and some more important foreground elements. Next I draw in the backgrounds and get rid of the sketch layer. I then send this to Sean for another round of feedback.

After getting notes from Sean, I fix things and move to the coloring stage. I switch the B&W to a layer that multiples. On a layer underneath the B&W art, I add add the colors. I use a limited color pallet of various mixes of 25% increments of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. This give me a good range of colors, but also helps me not go overboard with the color. After finishing the coloring, I then add a layer thats is in-between the B&W and the colors. This is where I add shading, effects and any other extras that are needed.

This goes to Sean for one last look-over and then goes into the queue to get posted.

Google commissioned Scott McCloud to draw a comic explaining their upcoming browser project.

Top Shelf is having a big sale which lasts until the 12th.

There is a little something for everyone so go check it out and get some really good indie books for cheap.

So with the new year almost here, Sean and I started to think about the future of the comic. So far, I think we are starting to find our voice. We are learning what works and doesn’t work in terms of the stories/jokes we want to tell so we discussed some ideas on how to improve the comic in the future.

Some of the ideas we’ve been thinking about trying in the coming months:

Leaving behind the “page” format

When we started the comic, we thought that a vertical comic page was a good way to go. It was a familiar format to people who normally read print comics and gave us a good structure to build upon. But at the same time, it forced us to sometimes stretch or cut back ideas.

We experimented with the Superman Crying comic as a way to see if a different non page bound idea would work. And for the most part, it seems people liked it.

So we are thinking of going with a format that changes depending on the idea of the comic. This way, we could have short gag strips if we want as well as longer more involved comics. Basically we would let the content lead the format and not the other way around.

This would let Sean write pretty much however he wants, and it would give me freedom to draw and pace the action in different ways. About the only restriction we would keep is it would have to be 500 pixels wide.

Increasing to twice a week

Along with the “un-formating” of the comic, we are thinking of going to a schedule of twice a week. We have been playing with the idea for a while, but we wanted to get a hold of the style and voice of the comic before we expanded.

Most likely sometime next year, we will go to schedule of two comics a week. We are still trying to figure out the best schedule. We are thinking either Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays and Fridays. The second option would be a little unorthodox in terms of webcomics, but think it gives a little more room between comics.