Tricks on the mind.

When drawing people in a panel I sometimes lose my way with how 'big' or 'small' their hands/face hair etc. should be. How do you draw in a tight spot and keep everything into proportion? Not to mention placing word balloons, character's heads (because that's where the balloons' tails are going to point to), and other ephemera that will fill in the scene.

Way too much clutter. How do you simplify it?

There's a trick.

I literally mask off the edges of the panel. It's just like the car paint/body people mask off the windshield or weatherstrip.

I get a scrap piece of paper and make 4 dots where the rectangle goes. I cut it out, punch the corners, and tape it to the board on top the art.

When I have the basic structure or composition in mind then it's a whole lot easier to keep on drawing a little past the edges, to maintain a sense of correct proportion and space.

When I get a good enough 'fleshing-out' of the image then it's time to throw away the mask and fill in the detail...

Pretty neat, huh?

Latest news:

Mayfield Eight 2: White Meat is going off to the printer! For those who pledged on my Kickstarter you can expect your physical copy in your hands in a few weeks. For those of you who didn't pledge but still want a copy I'll be taking pre-orders on my Shopify store!

(Mayfield Eight 1: Into the Rat Hole is available there too!)

Rat Hole Bastards is put on hold for now. I'm re-tooling it to showcase a more erotic/adult underground comic aesthetic. New site will be launching August 15, with a 'safe for work' free level, and a paid 'adults only' level.

10454 Lomita Ave #B, Felton
United States

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