Prestidigitation

(AKA “How to Cheat at Webcomics”)

Just for fun, here are some progress shots from the last panel of Page 150, along with a few tips for being lazier more efficient about drawing:

(Larger version here.)

Step 1: Google SketchUp! Very fun to play around in. Best thing ever when you don’t want to figure out environment perspective and proportions from scratch in every panel.

Step 2: MyPaint! Free and open source. Inking is so much faster and easier here than in Photoshop, it isn’t even funny. Try the Ico_Precise_Pen_02 brush (in the Ink set) with a boosted radius. You can even zoom way out to ink a long line, and when you zoom back in, the line will be perfectly smooth. ♥ So good.

Step 3: Photoshop Actions = Win. Flat fills take about one minute per panel once you have a good select->expand->fill Action set up (assuming you’ve closed most of your lines).

Step 4: I haven’t figured out how to cheat at this part yet. Any suggestions?

Part of a collaborative project that I worked on for a few months! It’s David Hunter’s comic; he created the story and characters, and did all the plotting and scripting. I drew the art to go with it:

Prologue
Chapter 1

Alas, since the project was cancelled, that’s all there’s going to be. It was a real treat to work on it, though, and I’m glad for the experience. ♥

An alternate version of Page 97:

…Inspired by this forum comment:
“From now on, the part of Jen will be played by Sir Sissyboots and his dancing hay-pile!”

XD

P.S. This cartoony style is surprisingly easy! I should totally draw the entire comic this way from now on.