I start with some chicken-scratch:
I try to write my ideas down as soon as I can, so I won't forget a concept. I usually have 10 - 20 concepts in my back pocket- they balance out my wallet so I don't sit with a crooked spine at work. Most of the concepts are lame but I never throw any away.
I like to use a number 2 pencil, preferably one that a dog has not chewed. I sketch a layout with the correct proportions.
I ink my work with a brush (number 2) and ink. I use a light table and a nice piece of translucent vellum paper. In my older comics I used a sharpie marker, I prefer a brush because I have more control. After inking this frame I decided it was too busy and the "Slug Bug" was lost in the mess, I used tracing paper to rework the design. By the end I had three sheets of tracing paper that I could move around on top of my sketch. I use artist tape so I don't rip the paper.
I like to stick a post-it note to the bottom of my hand when I ink because the oil from my hand will resist ink if it gets on the paper.
I draw some components alone to add when I get into Illustrator.
I scan the art (300 dpi grayscale) and place it into an Illustrator document. I use "live trace" at the default setting, ungroup the art and delete all the white. I fine tune any messed up lines (the boy's lip, dad's hands and shadow etc.) and drop it into a frame.
In Illustrator I make a separate layer under my black line work and draw blocks of color (grays) with a mouse. If the piece is very complex I will use multiple layers for the color. I prefer a mouse over a tablet because I feel I have more control.
I did the type twice because I was not satisfied with the first attempt.
As you can see, I edited out the copy. I could always add it later.
I was not happy with the boy. I drew him off to the side and fixed the art in Photoshop before bringing it into Illustrator. Doing this let me avoid the headache of clipping all the connected lines in the background.
I ended up using the first one anyway. I am still not that happy with him... whatever.
I inked some hands at the top of the page to add later in Illustrator.
Unhappy with the voice bubble, I drew one with a little more punch.
That's it. Here is the finished cartoon. Please visit Pug Dog Posse to see more. You are welcome to post my comics on your blog, myspace, livejournal, et cetera, as long as you provide a link to http://www.pugdogposse.com/
