Creating Comics!

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

#175 P DTP:204 Page:170

(RAY)

120-176_19413.indd 170

5/26/10 9:05:4 AM

(Text)

each page. The grid is pleasing to the eye, but also knowing

exactly how much space I have to work with enables me

to edit dialogue and action down to the essentials. For the

Casual Poet, I use twelve panels. When writing a piece,

I tend to start with dialogue—I put the characters in the

situation and see what happens, then whittle away until it

fits into the prescribed spaces. Occasionally, I thumbnail

the entire page beforehand, but it seems most of the time I

prefer to just dive right in with the pencils.

The first thing I always do is rule out the panel borders.

This gives me a sense of accomplishment, even if I am

unable to complete the page on that day. Next, I pencil

in where the lettering will go, and usually cut out a lot of

speech at this stage to make it flow better. Using the grid

also helps me perfect the timing from panel to panel.

Then comes penciling, which is usually fairly close to

what the final page looks like. I go back and ink all the

lettering at once, making any final edits, then ink the rest of

the page. Once it is scanned in for coloring, I can also use

Photoshop to erase stray marks and clean up spots I don’t

like. From time to time I will use the computer to rearrange

a word balloon, like I did on the Rimbaud page seen here. I

did not like the original placement of the title letters, which

had them going straight across, so I made them curve

along the slope of the hill in the first panel.

Title: Casual Poet - Rimbaud

Client: Personal Diary Project

Media: Ink and Photoshop

Creative Process

I keep multiple sketchbooks, and try to have one on me at

all times. I am constantly looking and listening for words,

phrases, or objects that jump-start a thought process,

which could lead to a comic book page or story or song.

I read a lot—usually a work of fiction and a biography

simultaneously. Lately I have been reading journals of

authors or artists I admire. These have been great sources

of inspiration. When it comes time to draw, I try to work

fast, attempting to trap some of the magic found in

spontaneous sketching in the final piece. Usually, I work

on multiple projects at the same time, hopping back and

forth from one to the other. I no longer have studio space

in my house, so most of my drawing gets accomplished at

various coffeeshops in the area.

Like every other artist, I am generally dissatisfied with

what I create upon completion. Just the same, I hope that

each work manages to reach the reader and make him or

her think or feel something new, or see the world slightly

differently. When creating a comic strip, I seek to learn

something about myself I did not know.

As far as tools go, I ink my panel borders with a simple

Sharpie marker and most everything else with Faber-

Castell Pitt artist brush pens. My sketchbook pages are

usually drawn with a Marvy Le Pen. If I am working on a

large page I will generally use Strathmore Bristol board,

although smaller pieces are often drawn on regular printer

paper. If the page is to be printed in color, I will scan it in

and color it on my computer using Photoshop.

Often, I find that placing constraints on myself aids in

focusing the work. I like to use a set number of panels on

T

odd Webb likes monsters, the sunshine, and

breathing air. Over the past decade he has had

work featured in publications for JCPenney,

Focus on the Family, United Way, on the popular music

blog Daytrotter, and was a regular contributor to Nick-

elodeon Magazine. He is the creator of the books The

Goldfish and Bob, Valentine: A Cautionary Tale, and

Tuesday Moon. His cartoon journal, Casual Poet, has

evolved from a daily drawing experiment into an

ongoing rumination on the joys of living, and he is knee-

deep in the aptly titled long-form comic strip Reading

War & Peace, in which he chronicles his life while

reading War and Peace. Webb also performs music as

both Seamonster and Fox Hands, and most recently

has joined forces with Apples in Stereo front man Robert

Schneider to create Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble

Machine, a record/comic book combo for children.

Todd Webb

170

Creating Comics

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

#175 P DTP:204 Page:170

(RAY)

120-176_19413.indd 170 5/26/10 8:56:47 AM