I try to keep the strip layout consistent, so I have a couple of templates that I made in boxen and saved as png files. This strip uses my standard 4-panel template - 8×3.5 inches at 600 dpi, with the panels distributed evenly.

The first step in drawing the strip is to make rough “pencil” versions of each panel. At this stage I keep things pretty loose - I’m more concerned with composition than with fine details. This is also where I do my character design - SCP has very few recurring characters, so this usually means making up a whole new cast for each strip. A lot of my people look very similar, but this is due more to artistic limitation than intent. For example. the “old guy” in this strip looks similar to the “old guy” in this previous strip only because I’m not very good at drawing old guys. Or, you can think of it as a sketch comedy show where the same actors play many roles

For the last half-year or so I’ve used a completely digital workflow. I used to do the drawing and inking on paper, but I find this way to be faster, and the results look cleaner.

Here’s the first panel roughed in. I’ll post again when the other three are done.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.