The Nutcracker Graphic Novel Notes (Patreon)

Hey Everyone! I'm adapting and illustrating a graphic novel of the original German Nutcracker story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (originally Nussknacker und Mausekonig) by E.T.A. Hoffmann that's due out next year! I'm finishing all of the inks for it now and I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you about process.

For me, making a graphic novel is half bliss and half torture, but ultimately very fulfilling work. This is my first large scale 150 page, fully colored book and I'm learning a huge amount every day. I'm completing it 100% digitally on my 23" Wacom Cintiq which means I can finish a panel much faster because tweaking is significantly easier without scanning, white out or redoing panels on separate glued on paper. 

I'm currently working on the inking and lettering so I'll talk about the drawing and layout process now and write a separate entry for the color and editing work when I begin on that. 

Right now I work on about 4 pages simultaneously because my ADHD won't let me focus on one single page at a time because I tend to get frustrated and bored quickly panel by panel. Sometimes I'm interested in tackling the intricate, difficult pages and sometimes I just want to draw the loose/fun characters so I have to plan for my brain to do it's thing and give myself room to wander. This has also helped me keep the style consistent among many pages so I don't freeze up for one page and loosen up on another.

Having a reference photoshop file open at all times while drawing is probably the most important part of my process. Inside I have a group for each object, environment or character that reoccurs so I don't have to constantly open up my reference folder with google images and search for the right reference. I also add screenshots of how I've already drawn the object/charac/environment so I can keep things consistent. Here's a screenshot of my reference file layout: 

I like to open my reference folder I've worked two years building, space bar preview the whole folder and take screenshots of exactly the pieces I intend to reference. If the top of the clock is right but the bottom isn't then I'll just take a screenshot of the top. I'll do the same with comics pages I've already drawn. I'll then take all the screenshots, plop them into my file and separate them from there. Keeping this file up while I draw within eyesight has been SO important for me. This is a big reason why I advocate for getting a larger Cintiq if you can or a second monitor to keep very close/within eyesight of your canvas. 

Here are some tips as bullet points that I'm thinking about while I draw:

- Absolutely do not leave yourself with blank layers in your photoshop file unless you want to murder your future self. Also group layers when you can and keep files simple.

- Draw a page and then expect to go back to it with fresh eyes and redraw bits and pieces. Just getting the page out at first can be difficult, especially when you feel you haven't 'warmed up' enough. But just getting the page out and giving yourself time to go back to it with fresh eyes for tweaks is so important for me. 

-When you're done with a page do a quick 'dick check' to make sure nothing looks like a dick lol. I'm so serious. You'd be surprised.

- Check several pages at once to make sure your characters are looking consistent. 

- Keep a reference file full of your favorite work and what inspires you so you can feel rejuvenated when things start to feel repetitive. Or keep several books you love nearby your workspace. When I find myself frustrated with my drawings or just plain hating drawing I like to flip through Christophe Blain's Gus or Kerascoet's Beauty to feel alive again. 

-Keep all notes in ONE place. Since I'm submitting these to my editor for approval there are notes on her end and then I usually have notes for myself at the same time as well. We ended up using Dropbox because you can upload images and then make notes on specific sections of an image. She adds notes for me, I can respond to them and it sends her a notification, and then I leave notes for myself so when I go back to fix pieces all I need are the dropbox pages open to see both her notes and mine. 

-Consider getting a font of your handwriting for your comic. I literally cried when I received the finished font of my handwriting from John Martz who I commissioned to make the font for me. The price was steep but I think it's worth the time, wrist pain and beauty of keeping your comic consistent. 

-keep basic line work and sketchy value fill in (if that's how you work) on separate layers for color fill in. This way you can just select the shape of your line work, fill in the color and make flatting/coloring 1000x easier for yourself without having to paint in around the sketchy line values. 

- Regularly reexamine and make sure your line work is as energetic and effortless as your thumbnails. I struggle with this a lot and regularly have to keep a picture of my thumbnailed page next to the line work as I draw on top of the very light thumbs/roughs. This way I also keep the original expressions and body language that I felt while thumb nailing as well.

aaaand I think that's it for now! I'll make a new post if I think of more! Please do let me know if you have any questions!

Here's a sneak peek page! 

PS This is not a completed page, please no sharing beyond Patreon!