Brain Surgery
Correcting Comic Mistakes || Unbound #441 || Bonus Scribbles
Artistic Brain Surgery
Last weekend I attended SPACE in Columbus. I published a whole write up about it. But there’s more! Stuff happened behind the scenes that I’ve been waiting to share.
I am as far ahead of deadlines as I need to be. Sometimes that’s six comics in the can. Sometimes that’s flying by the seat of my pants. This last week, I was flying by the seat of my pants. It’s not a big deal. I’ve lived like this for years. Deadlines are just part of my life. I always have a handful of comics in various finished states and have dozens of thumbnails written at any given time. I was on track to finish this comic and be down in Columbus Friday night... then...
THIS happened. Whoops. BUT I’m a professional! I have prepared my whole life for this.
Someone once said, “Behind every good cartoonist is a good white-out.” They were right. Here’s what saves me every time something like this happens - Let the ink dry completely before applying any kind of correction fluid. PRO-TIP: Be patient! This isn’t like using the “undo” button. If you apply any kind of correction fluid right away, it will reactivate the black ink (even if it feels dry to the touch) and you will have a grey, lumpy mess to deal with. (It’s like a mini bonus disaster!) It feels awful to just wait around after something like this happens, but it’s the right thing to do. I inked the maze one night right before bed and that part was completely dry when this happened, which accounts for why you can still see the lines through the spill. I got lucky! I blotted the ink up with paper towels I keep next to my desk and was relieved I caught it fast enough that the spill basically became transparent. Then I let it dry. I even left and taught a couple classes. When I came back, the surgery began. Here is the result:
I used the manga correction fluid for the large areas outside the brain and then used the gel pen to re-carve out the paths for the maze. I’m still not 100% happy with it. I think you can tell something happened because the line widths are inconsistent, but given the circumstances, I’m content. Good thing I’m not a perfectionist! I’d be beside myself.
The comic at the start of this newsletter is the comic scanned directly from the paper. I think being shrunk down and printed makes it look indistinguishable to the average reader.
But wait, I’m not done! After making these corrections I had to scan this piece into my computer and color it and I didn’t have time! So I had to take an emergency triage kit to Columbus with me and finish over the weekend during SPACE!
Whoever said you couldn’t make a computer last ten years? This old laptop has had a battery replacement and some extra RAM added over the last decade, but it still works. I think I bought it in 2017. And this Wacam Bamboo tablet? They not only don’t make this anymore, they delisted the official drivers! I charged this all up, made sure it booted before leaving and ran out the door. I colored the comic in Clip Studio like I normally do and emailed it off.
I wish I had a camera above my drafting table that would record me at all times so I could see myself freak out. For a fleeting moment I thought about switching to digital entirely! (Ain’t ever gonna happen.) And hey, if nothing else, I got a fun newsletter out of the whole ordeal. - Doug
I had no idea how you'd save this one when I saw the initial ink spill a few days back. Very cool!