Much the Miller's Son (Xeric winner!)

[FearlessFosdick]

LOL, no doubt,

Not like all the Weirdos around these parts.

Ill have to do up some Much fan art too I think.

Heh. I mean non-industry or art people.

I would love to get some fan art!

[Carnifex]

weeeeeell,can't you post there first and then here?
apropos cheating...only characters created specifically for the challenge count so you'd have to come up with a new version

[FearlessFosdick]

weeeeeell,can't you post there first and then here?

I post on a lot of forums. It would be too much work to keep track of them all. Besides, it's one click! How hard is that?

[Blitz]

I hate that I caught up. Now I have to play the waiting game. It's like a Fix you need now. If only Much came in a powdered form I could put on a mirror and...no nevermind, to 80's.

I already miss this world. I ended up watching Robin Hood Men In Tights last night because of reading this comic all day yesterday.

[FearlessFosdick]

Thanks man! All my favorite comic strips are highly habit-forming. I could read Calvin and Hobbes all day.

[FearlessFosdick]

[Blitz]

Great. Now what does Robin have in store for him. HAHA.
Ever think of doing, well I wouldn't call it a tutorial but just sort of post how you go about doing a page, any sketches or thumbnails, finding the right angle. Im sure its pretty quick for you with your background in story boarding.

[FearlessFosdick]

You know what? I'm gonna try to remember to do that next week.

Steve

[Blitz]

That would be fantastic. I think it wold be a great addition to this thread. I noticed one guy wanting you to post the whole page like you did. But maybe instead of that you can post the new link to the new page here along with a few of the sketches or rough drafts of the page.
Not that I want you to put more work in than you have to haha. I just think it would be great on this forum for something like that. Your doing a fantastic job man. Keep it up. I have a sketch of Much, not sure if Im going to take it further I kind of like just the sketch, really rough. Where should I post it or send it?

[FearlessFosdick]

Awesome! Can you send it to me in an instant message?

[TheGnoll]

looking forward to seeing your process man!
pages looking very good, as usual

[FearlessFosdick]

Hey guys! I'm going to step you through my process of making a page. I'm not claiming that this is the 'right' way of doing a comic, or even an especially 'good' way, but it's my way. I cobbled this method together through trial and error and I find it works for me. I found out a while back that Stan Sakai also uses a similar method, so at least I'm in good company.

First thing, I don't work from a script. All the stories I've done so far with Much are based on outlines I co-wrote with my pal Tom Pajak. First we brainstormed as many scenarios as we could think of using my characters, then we put together two or three plot threads that complimented each other and Tom wrote a rough synopsis. We refined each synopsis through e-mails back and forth until I found I had enough material to start drawing. I then broke down the story into 'beats' which are basically all the individual things that need to take place for the story to make sense. Sometimes these are individual scenes, sometimes a single line of dialogue or sometimes just an action by one of the characters.

The next thing I did was start sketching thumbnails. This is the part where I take the information I need to convey in the scene and try to figure out a way to make it entertaining. I usually put in placeholder dialogue if I use any at all. I like to leave that for the end.

[Carnifex]

nice! thank you!

[FearlessFosdick]

Alright, so here's the thumbnail for this page. I usually try to work further ahead than this in order to get the flow of the story, but this week I'm a little behind.

[FearlessFosdick]

Here's the rough version of the page. You'll notice I resized the thumbnail to match the page dimensions then adjusted the color to black and lowered the opacity. I then drew over it in red on a new layer. The translucent yellow and red layer is the print template. It shows the safe zone and bleed area for when I print the page. I try to keep all important art and the dialogue within the safe area so it won't get cut off. I also have guides set up on the page which you can't see, but all they do is divide the page into 6 panels.

[FearlessFosdick]

And here we are with the finished inks. I use a custom brush with a rough texture and heavily modified the tilt and pressure sensitivity to mimic my real-world brush. I also scanned in a favorite traditionally inked page and matched my brush size to the line-width. That way my lines stay consistent throughout the page. The other thing I did is adjust the flow and opacity of the brush to give it lifelike variation.

[FearlessFosdick]

And finally, the speech balloons. I like to leave this step until the end because it gives me time to focus on the dialogue while adding some spontaneity to the process. In a sense, it's an opportunity to 'improvise'.

Spontaneity is important to me. I like to keep the process as lively as possible. There have been times where I have plotted out a sequence months in advance only to discard it and start fresh when I sit down to draw the page. I find it's good to let the story find it's own way, even if I have an ending in mind.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial. Click on the link to read the final page.


If anyone has questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading!

Steve

[Blitz]

Oh great!

I like that you included your writing process as well as the drawing process.

I was wondering if you had a basic script written out for Much's story or if it was more of a fluid outline.
Out of curiosity, did you do much writing before Much or is this your first real go at writing. (Comic or other wise)

Also glad you addressed the brushes you use. I wanted to ask you about that just to see what you were doing.

[imnotanoob]

ed edd and eddy was awesome

[FearlessFosdick]

Oh great!

I like that you included your writing process as well as the drawing process.

I was wondering if you had a basic script written out for Much's story or if it was more of a fluid outline.
Out of curiosity, did you do much writing before Much or is this your first real go at writing. (Comic or other wise)

Also glad you addressed the brushes you use. I wanted to ask you about that just to see what you were doing.

The writing process is all part of it. To me it's not a separate job. Much is the first 'real' thing I've ever written. I've dabbled in trying to come up with stories before of course, but this was the first time I actually went through with it. My outlines are very fluid. I changed the endings of both the previous stories drastically from where they started out.

Steve

[Blitz]

Good deal. Pretty successful first attempt id say considering you have two books out of it.

Me and my brother are thinking about giving a kids book another go. We did one a long time back. His High School Senior Project was writing a Children's story and my College Senior project I chose to Illustrate that story. Was pretty fun. Anyway just seeing something like this gets me wanting to do that again. Its either that or a comic with one of my best friends. But this publishing company you go through is very interesting, id love to see something of mine published. I bet its a pretty awesome feeling.

[thetylervo]

sweet merciful jimeny christmas. I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!! I can't get enough of it!

I love the way you draw, love the way you can tell a story, love all the characters (your Marion has totally replaced Betty Rubble as hottest cartoon chick ever), and love your sense of humor! It's fantastic, I'm telling everyone about Much. This would be great animated. Though, I'm imagining that keeping these as your own comics gives you more freedom to take the story and characters where you want to.

Keep up the great work, I'm so inspired.

[Blitz]

sweet merciful jimeny christmas. I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!! I can't get enough of it!

I love the way you draw, love the way you can tell a story, love all the characters (your Marion has totally replaced Betty Rubble as hottest cartoon chick ever), and love your sense of humor! It's fantastic, I'm telling everyone about Much. This would be great animated. Though, I'm imagining that keeping these as your own comics gives you more freedom to take the story and characters where you want to.

Keep up the great work, I'm so inspired.

I know right.
I want Much and Marion to get together Dammit. WHY CAN'T SHE SEE HOW HE FEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FearlessFosdick]

Thanks a lot guys.

Thetylervo, I originally pitched Much as an animated series for the studio where I worked at the time. They passed on it, but not before I fell in love with the idea enough to want to make my own comic.

Hey Blitz, were you able to send me that fan art by private message, or do you need my e-mail address?

Oh yeah, would anyone here be so kind as to Digg and/or Stumble www.muchthecomic.com? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks again!

[Blitz]

Actually I was just going to touch it up a bit more. Its still just a rough sketch but Ill put a bit more time into it and send it on over.

[FearlessFosdick]

Awesome. I can't wait.

[FearlessFosdick]

[Carnifex]

haha,awesome man!
but is it me or has marion gotten taller?

[FearlessFosdick]

haha,awesome man!
but is it me or has marion gotten taller?

Yeah you're right. I drew that pose like 8 times. Ok, I fixed it, or at least made it less obvious.

[Blitz]

Did Much just pop 7 boners out his Torso

Make your Move Much...Come On Buddy!