Pencil roughs for page 1

Here’s a low-res scan of the pencils from page one. This page has a few goals: showing Bloop and his environment are top of the list. He’s the star so he’s front and center and he’s small in relation to the forest. I want to create a lush environment – the more we care about the environment, the more impact the later story developments will have.

I’m working at a smaller-than-comic-book size. The pages are less vertical than traditional comic book pages. After months of sketching, this shape felt right for the story.

The head-size of Bloop in the first and third panels are a little to similar and I’ll likely adjust them in the final for more variety on the page.

UPDATE: inks for page 1 are slow-going. I’m trying Pearl Art and Craft‘s 2-ply bristol board and this stuff is absorbing ink like a paper towel. Not good. Depending how the next few hours go, I may redo the page using another brand of board and save Pearl’s boards for sketching. — Steve

Pencils for page one of Bloop.