From Doodles to Script to Artwork

In looking at my notes when I was writing the script for Stray #1, I came across my original VERY rough sketch for the first page of the book.  Actually, I don’t know if you can rightfully call what I did a “sketch” but it is the kind of exercise I do when blocking out my script, prior to putting words down on paper.  Basically, I work out a scene on a white legal pad until I am comfortable with the elements that will get scripted for a particular page.

Here is one of my sketch notes for the first page of Stray #1:

Gilby’s Crummy Sketch

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This stick-person-and-blocks sketch is the start of what will later get worked into the script (below):

Excerpt from Stray #1 Script

Splash Page:  Stray, on the left hand side of the page closest to the reader and has just caught 3 Frights in the act of burglarizing the University Museum.  The first Fright is in mid-air a split-second before he will come down upon Stray with the full force of his open claw in a blow.  The other 2  have turned and are facing her with angry snarls on their faces–they are near a glass case with a sign that says The Founding Dagger which has just been broken into and one of the Frights is holding an ornate, long dagger from the 15th century.

The room is filled with tapestries, glass cases, and framed pictures–like the interior of your typical University Museum.  It is before the museum opens in the morning so only Stray and the Frights are in the building.

Carlos Trigo, the artist for the Stray pitch, has never seen the rough sketch I have done, but he relies only on the script snippet above in imagining and then creating his phenomenal finished artwork.

Carlos’s Finished Artwork for Stray #1, Page 1

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 For almost every page that ends up in my script, I will first use a legal pad to draw stick figures, doodles, notes, and rough panel blocks to help shape the page.  Once I have some sense of the visual layout and layout of the text on the page, then I can move on to scripting.

This Cat’s Out of the Bag: Stray Miniseries in 2013

Issues 4 and 5 of Charlatan feature a character, Stray, who I am also excited to announce will be branching out into her own mini-series pitch this year.  Stray tells the story of Monica Strazinksi, a nerdy high-schooler who is granted the ability to change into a super-powered alter ego with cat-like powers.  This solo story shows a heroine who is still learning about her powers but must battle against the immediate danger of the feral Frights who have staked a claim on her hometown.

Set 6 months before the universe-shaking action of her debut in Charlatan issue 4, Stray features stunning artwork by Carlos Trigo.

The State of the Jinjurverse: Charlatan in 2013

Change is good and that is what 2013 will be about for Charlatan.

Original Charlatan TPB Cover

In 2009, I self-published the first 3 issues of my book Charlatan as a stand alone trade paperback.  Charlatan: Preludes featured gorgeous artwork by the talented Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia and it garnered some pretty good reviews for an indy-published book (you can read some here).  Since then, we have just about wrapped up 2 more issues and the time is right to begin looking in earnest for a publisher who can help our story reach a broader audience of comics fans.

Before we start our publisher search, however, I am also very excited about some change that will find its way into Issue 1.  Hindsight is 20/20 and over the past couple of years as I have read Issue 1, I began to feel that if I included some of the back story regarding why the Hunter-Seekers began their deadly search for the next Defuwan and how Lucy found the Totem of Power, it might start off the story with more of a “bang.”  And that is exactly what we are going to do.  Honestly, I couldn’t be more charged up for readers to see the Zeu’s stunning new intro pages for Issue 1.

So more updates to come as we get Charlatan ready to present to publishers and, hopefully, once more in comics shops across the country in 2013!