I thought I would upload some more process on the Judge Parker strip. This is the Sunday from the this past week. below you can see my inks and then the pencils. I am using a lot of brush on this and seeing the strips in print, and how dismally small they are has caused me to boost up line weights in upcoming weeks strips. Things really close up and get lost in the repro in the papers, but look so much better on-line.
Here are my pencils for the Sunday, if I can find my rough I'll post that as well. I'm working into the June strips now trying to build up more time and feeling more at home with the characters as the weeks roll on.
I thought I would upload some more process on the Judge Parker strip. This is the Sunday from the this past week. below you can see my inks and then the pencils. I am using a lot of brush on this and seeing the strips in print, and how dismally small they are has caused me to boost up line weights in upcoming weeks strips. Things really close up and get lost in the repro in the papers, but look so much better on-line.
Here are my pencils for the Sunday, if I can find my rough I'll post that as well. I'm working into the June strips now trying to build up more time and feeling more at home with the characters as the weeks roll on.
Mike, thanks for giving us the behind-the-scenes of the strip! You're finally letting your style shine in the strips now in the papers.
ReplyDeleteWill you show us your character design sketches of the main characters soon?
Lud Hughes
Thanks Lud, I never did any drawings of the characters, I just went by the work Barreto did. I didn't have any time, I had to hit the ground running and still haven't had a chance to really do any sketching independent of the strip for the characters.
ReplyDeleteI figure I just do my thing, I look at Eduardo's work all the time still to get the flavor and characters details etc., ref for Backgrounds etc.
Thanks Lud, I never did any drawings of the characters, I just went by the work Barreto did. I didn't have any time, I had to hit the ground running and still haven't had a chance to really do any sketching independent of the strip for the characters.
ReplyDeleteI figure I just do my thing, I look at Eduardo's work all the time still to get the flavor and characters details etc., ref for Backgrounds etc.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I can tell by the weeks that roll by you are definitely getting more and more comfortable with the flow, the characters, the backgrounds, etc.
Plus the lettering is slightly bigger (YAY!). As you note about boosting the line weights, the lettering gets squished pretty good in the daily papers.
I can read the strip at the Comic Kingdom site at the Seattle paper and the enlargement online makes all the difference in the world. But, in my paper, while it is slightly bigger than other comics, it is still gets shrunk pretty good.
Good for you! And, like Lud, would love to see your character design sketches. Have you attempted the Judge yet?
Mike,
ReplyDeleteGreatly appreciate you sharing your behind the scenes process as you have begun your journey on Judge Parker. As a fan of the Judge for all these years, I really enjoy this look. I also want to tell you that since I get to "look ahead" because I am (ahem) in the newspaper business and can see a few weeks ahead, I think you are doing a great job taking over Judge Parker. It's not easy. Readers are fickle. And, I can tell you that they don't like change. But, the comments have died down since you have taken over. And, I know they will grow to LOVE your work on the Judge.
Keep up the great work and I hope you continue to share more of your behind the scenes process. It's GREAT!
Mike,
ReplyDeleteps- I wish we make the comics bigger. But, it's either cut comics or keep more and make them smaller. Newspapers in general have gotten smaller, both in width and in content. But, I understand your pain as a creator that making the comics so small, it can become irritating and frustrating. Sorry.
Thanks CC and JB. One thing about doing a strip is you have a lot of opportunity to keep swinging the bat. Not every week is a home run--that's life, but I feel more connected every week.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is that since the strips are pretty small the detail drops quick or closes up. I know you can see them on-line and much better so I'm trying to split the difference in a way to that they are not plain looking in better reproduction.
Woody Wilson told me the feedback is good so far, so i hope people are enjoying the strip every day instead of comparing apples to apples ;-)
Mr. Manley, I have been enjoying your work on Judge Parker since you took over. You are doing very, very good job. I would echo the earlier comment that if you could make the lettering a little bigger, that would be great! My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and my paper does me no favors when it comes to printing Judge Parker. :)
ReplyDeleteAre you doing the color on the Sundays and adding the tone to the dallies or does the syndicate handle that?. The color seems softer than a comic book's color. Do you color differently for newspaper reproduction?
ReplyDeleteHey, Mike...
ReplyDeleteGood news in Birmingham.
The News is putting to a vote whether Judge Parker gets put back in the paper. The vote is between the Judge and Mary Worth.
It's a shame both can't stay, but such is the way of newspapers today, with only so much space and the cutting of costs by cutting comics, I guess. :(
Anyone who cares to vote the Judge back in the Birmingham News and get Mike's strip back in our paper, can go here:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2010/04/judge_parker_or_mary_worths_fa.html
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI voted for the Judge in Birmingham. As a take it FWIW, on the JP Sundays, I always thought the Judge Parker logo was red letters, with a yellow box and a white border? Or at least more of red/yellow vibe to it. The baby blue has thrown me for a bit of a loop. Again, take it FWIW. :)
Thanks CC. I think the logo should change color to work with the colors of the strip each week. Warm against cool, etc.
ReplyDeleteBarb, thanks for the heads up, hope they keep the Judge, but feel its unfair to pit strips against each other like this, at least we can read them on-line.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteNews from Birmingham, AL: JUDGE PARKER IS BACK!
See below:
Birmingham News (AL)
May 3, 2010
Section: NEWS, LIFESTYLE
Page: 2-A
Volume 123
COMICS SMACKDOWN! And the winner is . . . JUDGE PARKER
Here comes the judge.
''Judge Parker,'' that is.
The venerable comic strip returns to our pages today after an overwhelming victory in our poll that concluded Sunday.
About 2,200 of you voted, and by more than a 4-to-1 margin (81 percent to 19 percent), you said you would rather us keep ''Judge Parker'' than ''Mary Worth's Family,'' another continuity, or soap opera, strip that keeps storylines going from one week to the next.
So the verdict is in, and ''Judge Parker'' is back.
Copyright, 2010, Birmingham News. All Rights Reserved.
YEAH, MIKE!
I like it very much Mike.
ReplyDeleteIs so cool to see the penciled page.