Work is slow but steady on Sunnyville Stories #14. The pages that have been finished are currently up on my DeviantArt gallery so you can go check them out. Today, I’ll be working up the layouts for the Little Nemo style pages that depict the dream Rusty has (guest starring Little Nemo and Cerebus the Aardvark).
I would like to share two particular pages I’ve recently done.
This is page 15 from Sunnyville #14. This is a tense moment just after Rusty has been put to bed (read the comics for more details!) so the action is mainly focusing on the conversations between the characters. But I feel pleased with the top panel.
Tom Motley taught me the importance of thick lines and thin lines contrasting with each other. To provide a visual contrast on the page and to reinforce the fact that Sam is way in the foreground with the others way in the background, I used two different pen points.
Sam was inked with a Speedball C4 nib which is a chisel tip used for making big letters. While I still lived in Greensboro, North Carolina (working as a freelancer), I bought a couple of these nibs at Southern Photo Print & Supply. I didn’t use them much until recently. I love the thick lines they produce. As for Dr. Hopper, Sam’s parents and Rusty’s parents, I inked them with a Hunt 107 nib. That’s a pen point that doesn’t have a lot of “give” to it but allows for a narrow line.
Again on the bottom panel, I used the Speedball C4 nib to ink Dr. Hopper. The biggest challenge on this page though was something else; see that middle right panel?
As a challenge, I didn’t want to go for the usual flat look. I aimed to go for more of a three dimensional quasi-isometric look. So I drew two cubes and stacked them up on each other. Then I drew Sam and the chair inside those cubes. That was a trick I picked up from David Chelsea’s book on perspective.
I aim to finish Sunnyville #14 by the time this month is out. Stay tuned to the blog for more news!
Copies of Sunnyville Stories Volume 1 are still for sale on Amazon, both in print and Kindle formats! While you’re there, be sure to pick up Sunnyville Stories Volume 2 and (if you love Gothic horror) Von Herling, Vampire Hunter! And now available is the latest installment of the saga, Sunnyville Stories Volume 3. Get them today!
Copies of all the above titles are available to the library trade via Brodart Company and to retailers from Ingram and Baker & Taylor (via BCH Distribution). Copies are also available direct from the publisher. For ordering information, contact maxwestart(at)gmail(dot)com or write to:
Different Mousetrap Press LLC, 1100 19th Avenue N, #108, Unit J, Fargo ND 58102-2269 USA
