THE SIMPSONS NEWS

We finished up helping out the crew we were on Tuesday and then we were moved to start working on our “official” crew. As far as I can tell, this is the second to last show of the season. This means that in about a month or three the shows will be done.  I’m not sure where I’m going to be, work wise, by the end of next month.  I hope I just get moved to a layout crew. Unless there is something else I can do on the show.

ART

In case you were interested, I’m going to write about the processes I used when making a Simpsons comics

Usually the whole thing starts with the script.  I would show what a script page looks like but I threw them away.

I tend to read the script twice. The first time around, I just read it straight through. The second time around I draw little thumbnail sized sketches of ideas, on the  margins, of shots I see in my head as I read it.   Once I’m done with that, I number the thumbnails and then, still on the script itself, I draw a small sketch of what the pages will look like with the panels, giving each panel a number corresponding to a thumbnail.

Once I’m satisfied, I take a piece of paper and work out a rough page, laying out what I think the final page should look like. This is done so that I can send it to my art director\editor at Bongo Comics to approve:

For the step above I use the actual page proportions so that if it IS approved, I can just take a light box and draw a slightly tighter pass directly over it.

I redraw the page again, working out the drawings a bit more. I put in perspective lines and I construct the characters properly:

Once I’m done with that step, technically, all it really needs is ink, BUT I don’t ink my own comic pages and Bongo asked me, from the very start, to clean up my comic pages for the inker; SO I do one more pass and clean up the page as clean as possible:

Once this step is done, I send in a digital copy to get approved. I change anything that needs changing and once it’s approved I Fed Ex the final drawings to Bongo or to the inker.

I then sit around waiting for my paycheck (which sometimes takes a month) and then a while after that, I end up getting sent a copy of the comic:

This particular Maggie story is, by far, one of my favorites to have worked on.  It had maybe three or four dialogue balloons through out the story and the rest was all pantomime.  Not only that but it was a sci fi story and I got to spoof all kinds of 50s and 60s sci fi troupes.  From Mars Attacks to Flash Gordon.  It was a blast to work on.

The story was first published in Bart Simpson comic #15. It has officially been reprinted in Big Beefy Book Of Bart Simpson trade paperback.

What do you think?

How do you approach your comic?

BLOGS

I’ve just recently been made aware of some really cool blogs by some fantastic artists.

The first artist’s blog I want to point out is:

Rad Sechrist’s blog Rad How To – A fantastic site by a Pixar Storyboard artist. Great for anyone who’s trying to learn to draw.  It breaks down the drawing process into small studies and approaches that work for the artist. A lot of his advice is something many really good artists in the animation industry do all the time.   (Thank you to Krishna Sadasivam of PC weenies for the link)

The second artist’s blog I want to point out is:

Sam Nielson’s blog Sam’s Tasty Art – Though there are SOME tips on painting and drawing in this site, the reason I’m calling attention to it is mostly because the guy’s painting and drawings are just INCREDIBLE.  I love this guy’s work. Check it out. Very inspiring stuff.

CLICK HERE to buy an Uncle Chestnut T-shirt with my art on it.

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