This first panel is almost exactly the same as the last panel. I wonder if they will be side by side in the printed book. That could be bad. Again I didn’t realize until I was coloring the page. In one way I think it works because it follows the action from the previous page since we leave Pickle in the air, unresolved, while we follow Oli to the ground. But they are still really close 🙂
So I wrote this page. Then I thumbnailed this page. Then I drew this page. It wasn’t until I started to color the page that I realized that Oli should be dead. How would he survive that fall? I spent a few minutes thinking about a way to fix it. But then I was like “hey this is a comic. This is shiver bureau. This is a normal thing in their world and of course he’d be able to survive.” Even if he did die he’d just come back in a few issues in typical comic fashion.
Cars! Every panel is cars. I was really worried my art skills wouldn’t be able to handle my writing. Actually there is a lot of stuff in this second volume that has me worried and this first chapter is the least of my concerns. But the good thing is that if I can get through it I know I will be a better artist when the dust clears.
The car going over the hump is one of my favorite things. It’s one of those things that stuck out to me when I was a kid watching movies and tv. I don’t know what it is about it. It is equal parts silly and exciting. Which is kind of how I tell my stories and approach my art. Go figure.
I had been thinking about these panels since I wrote them. Trying to figure out in my head how I would lay them out. The one I was really worried about was the swerve. How do you get all the energy of a car going out of control in a static panel? I guess you just use a lot of “noise” with lines and dust and splashing water and dirt and whatever you got.
We are about to get into a lot of car action in the next few pages. I always get a little nervous drawing cars. They are so geometric which clashes with my loose style. But I tried to keep it loose anyways. Basically sketch the gesture of the car the same way I would for a character and just go with it. Even if it wasn’t “anatomical” correct. I like the way they came out. Also really liking this batch of pages coming up. Maybe just because of the fact that I had to face my fears about drawing cars.
