Some Sketches

It may surprise you to learn that I am working on a new comic (Shock! Horror!). I'm not quite ready to show you any of it. This is because I've only done two pages and I want you, dear reader, to enjoy it fully for the first time and not in bits and pieces. That and when I start getting a bit behind on showing any of it I feel bad.
I'm uploading these sketches because I wanted to talk about my work process for a second.
(click to enlarge)













These are two character sheets, or development pages. This is how I get a feel for how a character looks, acts and lets me get comfortable drawing them before I commit myself.

Lucien, on the left, came to me pretty much fully formed. He is, in blunt, an arsehole. His mannerisms, style of dress and hair should support this. He dresses similarly to the style of the time but incredibly baggy. He waves his arms around a lot and yells. His hair (the blank bit will later be a flash of red) gives him a two-face effect. He's a maverick who can't be arsed to even dye the whole of his head. The drawing of a young Lucien at school best exemplifies what I mean. His shirt is undone and his tie isn't done up properly.

Barry (who in the comic is renamed Jim) was a little harder to nail down. I wanted him to be the Yin to Lucien's Yang, Laurel to his Hardy. Visually I wanted him to look completely different yet clearly of the same background/world/culture. Cartoonist's rules number 23 state that if one character in a double act is short and a bit chubby, the other must be tall and skinny. I won't tell you who I picked in the end, but you can tell me what you think in the comment field. Or don't, it's up to you.