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thesweetnessofsalt · 6 hours

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Process Blog #4: How I Make TSOS!

Just in time for Webcomic Day, it's a real actual process blog! We're going to get into the nitty-gritty of how I make pages of The Sweetness of Salt.

Let's go! :D

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone!

Chapter 3 Pages 29 - 32 (ALT text for pages here)

Leah's conversation on the balcony with Arlo is a pretty self contained scene in four pages, and will make a good case study for this blog. There is a full video timelapse at the very end, but I will be laying out my process for The Sweetness of Salt in detail here first!

Working From A Script

Since I'm the only person who works on TSOS, I keep my script pretty loose. I have a good idea now of how much of my writing translates into how many pages, and will sometimes mark significant page turns in the script or describe panel layouts if they occur to me while scripting. However, I generally don't know how I'll lay out the panels until I actually sit down with some paper.

My script mostly serves as an outline; dialogue, blocking, or entire segments can change when I put the characters through it on the page. Still, it's important to follow the script in order keep track of pace and continuity.

Here is the original script for this scene:

Script Excerpt - Chapter 3 (ALT text for script image here)

Compare the script to the text on the actual pages, and there are some big differences! That's pretty typical of my workflow for TSOS. There's an ever growing gap between the day I worked on the script and the day I actually make the pages. By the time I sit down and draw, the characters and story have developed even more in my mind, and there's lots of time for me to experiment and be inspired. (This is definitely a luxury particular to a long running webcomic, though.)

In this particular case, I felt like the conversation in the script wasn't familiar enough for their relationship, and I also wanted to start establishing context for Sha's conundrum a bit sooner than originally planned.

You could apply these to just about all the script changes I make: they're almost always done to re-emphasize character and story beats. And sometimes the changes are so I could add a joke. Or both!

Thumbnailing

You've heard me complaining about it; you've probably heard me express euphoric bliss about it, too. Thumbnailing is when words become comics, and it's hard!! But it's also the most rewarding part for me, and it's when TSOS actually becomes real.

There are times when I can thumbnail right from my brain, and times when every single comic I own is out on the floor for inspiration. I need to be in the right headspace to thumbnail - focused enough to take everything I need to into consideration, but loose enough to visualize the story.

Here's a method that's worked for me lately: by setting aside certain number of pages and just writing out what happens per page, I get a good sense of pacing without having to draw anything yet. It's a good way to get the juices flowing!

It's often, though not always, easier to thumbnail on paper, especially for the early stages. I'm much less precious about my drawings on paper, and feel more comfortable trying several iterations of a page than I am with digital drawing. The undo button and zoom button are enemies of thumbnails!

My thumbnails do ultimately get finalized in Clip Studio Paint, though - I have a template for this tailored to my workflow. The page layouts are in the middle, and are paired the same way they are on Webtoon (where pages post in pairs and need to be harmonious). There's also room on each side for the text/notes, though as you can see I don't always write something if I plan to follow the script.

Thumbnails for Pages 28 - 33 (I'm sorry but I'm not ALT texting this chicken scratch)

When I know I need to work on my thumbnails, I try to fill that week with lots of sketching and a healthy reading diet - including my own script and comic! You want a warm hand and a brain full of comics for thumbnailing, but also lots of energy for your own story.

Scott McCloud's books are, as always, indispensable (Understanding Comics for general theory, Making Comics for more specific techniques), but these guides from Hannah Vardit have also been really helpful in getting my brain around thumbnailing.

Page 31 will be our example page moving forward, so here is that thumbnail in full:

Page 31 Thumbnail

LOL - thumbnail Arlo is my favorite Arlo.

Though not included here on Page 31, I do generally jot down balloons in my thumbnails, too, which you can see in the other thumbnails. It's good to account for your text early!

I keep these drawings super simple - they're just an indication of blocking and expression. I work more on character acting in the pencil stage.

Tools of the Trade

Alright, now we're getting into the nitty gritty!

One note before we proceed: TSOS is NOT print ready, and nothing about my process should be considered print ready or as advice for print readiness. This is just what's worked well for my webcomic, for the sake of consistency and mobile/web versatility.

Program: Clip Studio Paint EX

Working Canvas Properties: 2407 x 3675px 350 dpi (Sized down to 940px wide for web, Margins approximately 100 px)

Dialogue Font: Soapy Hands by Sara Linsley (15 pt with few exceptions)

Favorite Pencil: Gritty's Pencil from Frenden's mega pack

Favorite Inker: Real G-Pen (CSP Default)

Character Modeler: MagicPoser for iPad

Cottage Model: floorplancreator.net (Browser app - even works on iPad! Free + simple to use)

I also use Windows Sticky Notes keep track of things like line weights, layer properties, or methods for things that get rendered frequently, such as Sha's sweater.

"Chapter 3 Style Guide" (ALT text here)

Roughing + Penciling

Before I start drawing, I make the panel borders and place all of the text.

I tend to fuss with my text for a long time, getting the line breaks exactly where I want them, and reading it out loud to make sure the page flow works. Balloons usually come later, once the art is done or mostly done and I can place the tails correctly. For now, the text is enough of a placeholder!

Everyone has their own rules when it comes to lettering, but I look to The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering as much as possible for general lettering conventions. It's the best resource out there for a reason, and I'm glad I have a physical copy to reference while I work.

Page 31 Rough Blocking + Lettering

If I need to, I will take references from my model of the cottage or MagicPoser. For this scene, the balcony was simple enough to draw from imagination. Still, I studied its one and only appearance here in Chapter 2 Page 29 -

- as well as my model. I use floorplancreator.net - here is the floor plan for the second floor of the cottage:

And here is a 3D view. Neat, right? It took some time to set up, but it was time well spent. Even if I don't screenshot a reference, I'm using it to help visualize backgrounds and blocking.

I also use my own character assets - essentially just a file with various lineart of character faces saved from previous pages. I like to pencil from scratch if I have the time, but sometimes I just need to get a page out quickly. I'll drop these in and use them as an undersketch to speed things along.

My collection of 3/4 Facial Assets for Leah and Sha

For Arlo, I almost always sketch on top of a reference, and will reuse his lineart, too. I love him, but I'm not an expert frog illustrator.

With my references assembled, I can start sketching and get everything locked in. This was a page I needed to complete quickly, so I structured shots that could use the same background angle and made sure Leah + Arlo's positioning was consistent and easy to follow.

Big differences between my thumbnails and final layout are often due to continuity adjustments like that. Important stuff!

Page 31 Pencils

I'm afraid I don't have much else to say about this part - if the thumbnails are where the story becomes a comic, this is where the comic becomes art. I get to be my most expressive and make these characters and places come alive. It's the drawing part, you know? Well, except for that other drawing part.

Inking

I tend to be a rough penciller, letting my inks do the heavy lifting drawing-wise. I suppose 'linearting' might be a better descriptor, because I don't ink with a great deal of toning, black shadows, or even line weights. TSOS is fully colored and rendered, so I tend to keep the inks simple. That's kind of just the style I've built for this comic.

Background inks always come first, though. It's far easier to resize a character to the background than vice versa. This also encourages me to draw the entire background behind the character, so that art can be reused later. (You should also be finishing the art behind your balloons, by the way!)

Page 31 Lineart

Color + Rendering

Backgrounds come first again! I really do try to keep these as simple as possible, so they're easily replicated and don't suck up all my time. UNLESS: the backgrounds are especially important to the page, like an establishing shot. The overhead balcony shot on Page 30 took a lot longer than these, but with the new location established, I could let these pages be more about Leah's conversation and gestures.

This balancing act dictates my entire comic page process. Whichever element is most important to this page - the character acting, the environment, the action, etc - is the element that gets the most of my time, and I'll actively reduce effort in less important areas. It's good for time management, yes, but it also keeps the story focused!

Page 31 Flat Character Color > Rendered Character > Full Color Page

Each character gets filled in with white so their colors can be clipped to the layers above. Again, colors are pretty simple - it's more about the mood lighting here. MagicPoser lets you manipulate lighting, so sometimes I like to go a little ham with the rendering. It's one of my favorite ways to give a scene some 'oomf'.

Typical Layer Hierarchy for Characters (These are normally never labeled. I did that because I love you)

The MVP in all of this is the Erase Along Edge tool. It makes coloring so fast, and when I first adopted it, it cut my process time in half.

The link will take you to its listing on the CSP asset store, which has detailed instructions for how to use it. Once you figure it out, you can set other brushes to erase along the edge, or even to color within an edge! Neat stuff. I especially like it when I need to color many small background elements.

Finishing and Lettering

A long time ago, TSOS's balloons were very fussy, tedious, hand-drawn squovals. When I made revisions to Chapter 1+2, the bulk of it was just re-lettering it all to something simple and consistent.

I've only just recently started experimenting with the joined balloons you see on this page, so I've got a lot to learn and a lot to try out. There are a couple of things I keep in mind for legibility, like giving the letters lots of room inside the balloon's edge. Clarity is way more important than being fancy.

Curve Balloon tool > place four points only

Manipulate points for symmetry, fit

Add tail

Done!

Since I placed my text early and kept adjusting it along the way, I don't have to worry about my balloons having enough room or looking nice with the art. I can just click my lil points and be on my way!

Page 31 Finished Page

Still a few finishing touches left: the whooshes, the eye shines, and of course, the sparkles. What's left to say? This is objectively the best part.

Wrapping It Up

Whoo, another comic page down! Excluding the time spent thumbnailing, pages take me about 8-10 hours to make. Ideally, I do this across two days, with inking one and coloring the next.

Here is the full video timelapse of the page! Click through the video to check out the description, where I've timestamped the whole process.

youtube

The timestamps on this one definitely made me laugh - I jump around a lot more than the ideal, linear process described in this blog. You can tell I struggled with the lineart on this one, because I keep having to come back to it. But there's always something else to work on - I try not to let myself get stuck in one spot for too long.

There you have it! Those are all my trade secrets. Just over 2k words, and I don't think I can add anything more. But if you want to know anything else or have any questions, you can leave them here and I'll add them to the next blog!

Thanks for reading!

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone. Become a 1$+ supporter and you get early access to all of my comic pages and process blogs!

#the sweetness of salt #webcomics #process blog #how to make comics #webcomic tutorial #comic tutorial #comic process #webcomic day #webcomic day 2024 #webcomicday #indie comics #queer comics #Youtube

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thesweetnessofsalt · 2 months

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Process Blog #3: Development

Yes, development!!! We’re going back to the beginning, folks.

The Sweetness of Salt has been running for almost four years now, and it’s starting to feel like ancient history even to me. Social media is really only good for what’s most recent, and even that’s fleeting. If anything, this particular blog is a way for me to collect and share the sprawling, disparate elements of my comics journey before they disappear into the ether forever.

Now, I love hearing other comic makers talk about their work. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s one I seek out often. So if it’s your cup of tea as well, then I cordially invite you to my Process Blog Tea Party.

We’re going to chart The Sweetness of Salt’s growth from the beginning, chronicling all of its major milestones and changes (well, most, anyway) and providing context. You can refer to this handy visual as we go:

(ALT text for graphic here)

Would you believe that piecing this together was super difficult?? It’s a good thing I kept diaries for most of 2019 and 2020, because like I said, social media isn’t a great record, and I lost some data earlier this year in a computer failure. But now I have this super cute growth chart for my brain child, so. Worth it. <3

2019

I’d been wanting to start a webcomic all year (/my whole life) but only started putting together some ideas that fall. I’d decided on a mermaid romance and had every intention of making a short comic for Inktober (remember when everyone was still obsessed with Inktober?). Instead, the project grew into a full-out webcomic.

I had some notes about the whole story, but only worked out an opening scene at this point, which appears basically intact in the actual comic (minus Arlo, who was written out for my drawing comfort, then written back in when I got more of a handle on comics making).

“Seaside Comic” Early Outline ALT Text Here

So, I can’t really share any full outlines for TSOS, because some bones are there from the beginning and spoil the last chapter. Please accept some spoiler-free highlights from these early drafts instead:

Aunt Cecilia’s original name was Celinda

The story would’ve been told through voicemails & phone calls between Leah and her aunt

It took place in 1980’s Washington and the vibe was foggy/chilly

Sha had straight hair, Leah’s was curly

I once described Sha as ‘pale and iridescent as a fish belly’ which is pretty but I’m glad I made her more of a real breathing girl

The romance moved much more quickly, with earlier affection/kisses

THERE WAS A MAGIC WINDCHIME! But it didn’t really do anything. I drew it once here, though, in Ch1 Pg 5:

This Q&A pretty much has the word on what inspired me to make TSOS, so I won’t get into that here. Onward!

2020

Concept for Sha (Feb 2020)

Concept for Leah (March 2020)

Over that winter, I made concept art of the girls and struggled with the comics part of making comics. I still hear this a lot from new creators: I can’t start making comics because I don’t know how! And the response is always, you can’t learn how to make comics without making comics.

I think in most cases, the refrain is true. You really can’t learn without doing when it comes to comics, no matter how much you study.

I hated this idea; I wanted to learn, THEN execute, not at the same time. I spent a lot of time at the library and on comics blogs, trying to absorb comics power through osmosis and still not having drawn a single panel. But as I came to learn, the stuff Scott McCloud was trying to teach me could only stick once I’d made a few comics myself.

The thing that pushed me over the hump was actually pretty simple: I was working in a horribly dysfunctional office environment at the time, worsened by the pandemic, and the project was quickly becoming my solace. Not starting felt worse than actually trying, so around February, I started making my first thumbnails.

First draft of TSOS Page 1 (Feb 2020) LOL at Arlo peeking out of her bag here

A very crunchy screenshot of old vertical thumbnails for TSOS Chapter 1

TSOS has been using a standard page format for a while now, but at the beginning, I was thumbnailing two pages stacked vertically. I didn't want to use the mobile scrolling format completely, but thought I could compromise. I still don't really know how effective this posting style was, but in terms of comics creation, I decided it wasn't for me. I'd shifted totally away from it by Ch 1 Pg 35, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

TSOS debuted on May 1 on Tapas, to coincide with Mermay. I believe I only had a one episode buffer at the time, with only the first 5 or 6 pages completed. Not sure why I waited until June to post to Webtoon, but I was probably just trying to give myself an update buffer in at least one place.

TSOS’s first cover and title..which I now see is slightly crooked

TSOS had a much stronger launch than I could have possibly anticipated, and I was happy and proud and learning so much and - terrified. I didn’t know what I was doing, and suddenly I had hundreds of eyeballs on my work, then thousands. I was so scared that my inexperience would kill my career before it ever began.

This isn’t a healthy thought. I know that. The stakes were also never that high. But there’s a reason I didn’t start drawing comics until I was 25, and it’s the same reason TSOS’s story is the way that it is. My young adulthood was traumatic, and then I started making comics in a pandemic. Then I got laid off from that horrible job - a blessing and a curse. TSOS was born into a tough time, that’s all I’m saying.

The lay-off did mean that I could really commit to TSOS for a hot minute, and for the first time, I could really dig into making pages. TSOS’s first major rewrites also took place that winter, with the vague non-ending replaced with an actual resolution (and most of what happens in Chapters 3 & 4, actually). Everything got expanded or shuffled around as I switched from a minimal outline to an actual script.

2021

By the opening of Chapter 2, I felt like I was starting to hit my stride. Thumbnailing pages was still a struggle, but I was finally starting to get a sense of how this comics thing worked. I was incorporating more backgrounds into the art, and the story was progressing.

Chapter 2 Pages 3 - 5 (wow, much background, very sense of place)

But we’re still in the thick of the pandemic at this point, and I was losing the momentum I’d built after I was initially laid off. I’d started watching my nieces every week, who were both very young toddlers, and my family was going to host a wedding at our house that summer, which I couldn’t really leave due to the pandemic. We also had no air conditioning, and the house was reaching the high 90s many days.

So for a time, TSOS switched to limited color in an attempt to make pages go a bit quicker, and ultimately had to go on hiatus all summer. Once the temps cooled down and the wedding passed, TSOS started updating again.

Unfortunately, I think the old limited color pages were lost when my computer crashed earlier this year - most of what was lost was from Chapter 2. The best example I could find is this old update post - see the consistently orangey hues on Leah and the items on the table. I wasn’t a fan of this palette and hated these pages, but I was still getting pages out - that was important, too. It's just not a compromise I’d like to make again.

In October, Tapas invited TSOS to be part of its Creator Bonus Program! This program rewards creators based on view count, and I was pretty excited to be a part of it. Tapas was TSOS’s first home, after all, and is still my favorite place to share my comic.

2022

I got a good mental and emotional boost from being part of the Creator Bonus Program, and by March, TSOS had transitioned totally back to full color. Old pages were recolored, and I started making my favorite pages yet (the garden dance, the pond - basically Chapter 2 Page 23 onward). I was so, so proud of these pages, omg. They’re still some of my favorites and very quintessentially TSOS to me.

Chapter 2 Pages 23, 34, 36, and 46

March is also when I first took on some freelance work, and I signed on to illustrate three short kids comics which would tie me up periodically over the next two years. But the freelance to TSOS balance was okay in 2022, and I was trucking right along.

Chapter 2 was due to wrap in November, bringing The Sweetness of Salt to its halfway point at last! I took some time before the next chapter to make revisions - I was feeling pretty self-conscious of my old pages, and the story’s writing as a whole. Revisions focused on re-lettering and making small dialogue or layout tweaks for story clarity. Two pages were also added to the beginning of Chapter 1 to give Leah more of an introduction.

Chapter 1 (New) Pages 1 - 2

Following the revisions, I also tweaked my script. I had another 50 comic pages under my belt and a better understanding of how my writing translated to the page - and how my characters think and feel. Nothing got a huge overhaul, but I was able to solve some story problems that had been bothering me for TSOS’s entire run. Yay! Things seemed primed for me to start Chapter 3.

Even better, Tapas had reached out to me in September about joining the Early Access Program. When I told them I intended to take a big break before the next chapter, they were more than accommodating. I could re-launch whenever I was ready. I just had no idea how long I was going to have to keep the news secret.

2023

In January, I added even more freelance work to my plate: art managing other projects, which involved relaying notes between the client and artist, as well as controlling for quality and accuracy to the script. I really loved this kind of work, but for various (client, vendor, I-am-not-suited-for-management) reasons, it wasn’t an easy experience. It also coincided with the third and last of my illustration gigs. Naturally, I ended up burned out.

I struggled to work on TSOS again for most of this year and I didn’t have new pages again until July. I had to create all new artwork for the Early Access launch, and build up my buffer again. My freelance gigs didn’t wrap up until September - that’s also when my computer crashed and I lost a bunch of work. And I was really nervous to tackle Chapter 3’s subject matter. Progress was super, super slow.

Frankly, one of the only things that wasn’t awful about this time is that I love, love, love these pages. I do. It really pulled me out of the darkness to make them, and I think this chapter’s been pretty good. It’s a chewy one! I’m excited about basically all of it.

Chapter 3 Pages 1 - 3

The rest is pretty recent history! TSOS re-launched as Early Access this past August, and the folks at Tapas were so patient about the hiatus. The team there is encouraging and kind, and I’m a very lucky, very grateful gal.

At the close of 2023, Chapter 3 is about 30% complete and for the time being, I’m working on TSOS full time.

Closing Arguments

Ok, so like…what was all that about? 🙄

Like I said, social media isn’t a good record of events. My memory isn’t a reliable source, and not even my actual archives are very good. I’d like to have this charted out somewhere, even if it’s just for my benefit. But we can all learn from my TSOS history report, I promise!

No story emerges into the world fully formed, independent of a creator’s situation or the environment they live in. TSOS has gone through many changes. It's been shaped by a pandemic, by platform restrictions, by my own growth as a comic artist, by the very medium it’s presented in.

That medium is, of course, not just comics but webcomics. One page at a time, direct from me to you, most weeks out of the year over many years, complete with author’s notes and WIPs and yes, tweets (you would not believe how much of this timeline I could piece together through my Twitter archive alone).

All this to say - you’ve been watching me make this story, but you’ve also been watching the story make me. That’s why webcomics are special. It’s a medium full of people making what moves them, and inevitably finding others who want to be moved in the same way. I mean this completely unironically: webcomics are the purest form of art to me, and I love them. Thanks for reading mine. 💛

This blog was originally published 16 December 2023 for 1$/month+ supporters on Ko-Fi!

Become a supporter and be the first to read the next process blog, which is up now and all about TSOS's actual page process!

#the sweetness of salt #webcomics #process blog

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