Creating a "Deep End" cartoon!

I thought it'd be kinda cool to show a little bit of the process that goes into creating a Deep End cartoon. The first step, the sketch, is generally based off of a less-detailed sketch from my sketchbook, where I jot down my ideas and get a basic feel for how I want to set up the scene. Then, using very sophisticated software (Photoshop) I'll re-sketch it directly into my computer. I own an HP Touchsmart tm2 which allows me to draw directly onto the screen. It's been a great computer, but it's getting a little old and I'm starting to have serious problems with the pressure sensitivity, so I'll probably spring for a small 13" Wacom Cintiq pretty soon. I ink it on the layer above the sketch layer and then color it on a new layer below the inks. I'll usually have color separated onto a couple layers (foreground, background, etc) so that I can make changes and not mess up stuff I've already done. It's always pretty cool to look at my cartoons without the black line work. Just a couple more steps and I could probably turn it into a full-on digital painting! The whole process usually takes me around eight hours, depending on complexity and the number of distractions, and it always help to have some great music or some other form of high-quality entertainment!



Here are the individual images in case you want to see them bigger.