(from the desk of Nick Bertozzi)

STEP 1: Write a script. People will tell you this is hard to do. They are not lying to you.

Footstep 2: Lay out the pages with rough drawings and roughly positioned text.

004_005_l_c_rough

004_005_l_c_rough_detail
I tried using a new roughing technique for LEWIS & CLARK, putting together all of my layout using Adobe Illustrator. Information technology's nifty for positioning text exactly where you want it, but drawing right onto a computer is a crazy thought. Just call up, you tin draw your image up to 800% magnification which ways the crawly detail that you're cartoon on Meriwether Lewis's epaulets will look like a muddy splotch at 100% magnification. Stay Abroad from the zoom tool is my advice here.

STEP 3: Pencil the pages onto 11" x 14" bristol board using the Roughs in Step 2 as a guide.

004_005_l_c_pencils

004_005_l_c_pencils_detail
This is the phase in which I endeavour to get the characters' poses and facial expressions simply right. If I get the pose right, I can give an emotional resonance to the dialogue balloon that the character is speaking in order to make that graphic symbol seem more real.

STEP 4: Ink over the pencils using an old-fashioned pen nib and castor with bharat ink.

004_005_l_c_raw_scan

004_005_l_c_raw_detail
This is the part in which I try to make the pages look expert; thicken up the lines so that the pictures are piece of cake to read, and using different inking techniques to make the background elements and props look like they're supposed to: plants are inked similar plants, example. Sounds piece of cake, but it'southward difficult for me!

STEP v: Scan and manipulate the image to become it to read every bit conspicuously every bit possible.

004_005_l_c_final

004_005_l_c_final_detail

Fifty-fifty though I spend all that time on Steps ane-4, there's still lots of trivial things that go wrong and I don't oft run into them until someone points them out to me. On these pages I added black to the tops of the buildings so that the unabridged two-page spread appears more solid, I moved some panels around purely for pattern sake, and most importantly, I added more space in the word balloons so they'd be easier to read.

The whole process takes a few days — and I oasis't fifty-fifty mentioned the time spent researching the buildings and costumery of the era nor the hours spent trying to get better at drawing horses – non certain if I succeeded on that last one – simply I think it's worth it.

Thanks for reading!

(you can find more of this book hither)