My Art Process

From Paper to Procreate

I’d like to share a bit of my hybrid comics-making process. I work with on paper and on my iPad, mostly in Procreate. I love creating a mashup of both into one process where the final art is a digital collage.

Most comics makers work in a specific order. In fact, in the comic book industry, a different person does each stage:

• Outline

• Script

• Thumbnail sketches

• Pencils

• Ink

• Lettering

• Color

I can’t follow this process at all. I do have a script for Croneville Carnival, or rather a hybrid outline-script. I wanted to have a good arc for this story and I like to have an idea where I’m heading as I work. But I always uncover new ideas as I draw—and as I live!—so I need room to improvise along the way. The final text is added as the very last stage of my process, and I edit it to fit better into the art that I’ve created. This also keeps me from being too wordy and letting the art carry its weight in the storytelling.

Here are some of my gouache, watercolor, and oil pastel sketches that I used in Chapter 2. When the next sections come out, see if you can find these images in the finished art!

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