The Girl Who Moved With Sunshine – Process Blog 1

I almost wish I hadn’t already written my 2011/12 blog, because I really feel like writing it all over again. Instead I’ll write a post about my new comic “Moving with Sunshine”.

I’ve had this short comic idea in my head for a good while now, but it’s only begun to materialise in the last few weeks. Essentially it’s a little mermaid story about a girl who travels the world in search of sunshine, and always leaves when it gets cold. Until one sunny day she falls in love with a boy, and so she decides to stay and see what winter is like. In my original idea she was more of a magical sprite, but recently I’m more drawn to the idea of her being a real girl that just feels magical to the narrator.

The script happened pretty much instantly, and in one go (I love when that happens, that pretty much never happens). Here it is handwritten on two pages of sketchbook. I think this shorter format really suits my writing style, I’m keen to stick with it for a while. I’ll share the draft in the next post.

This picture slightly predates me beginning to work on the comic. I like to do small speedpaints in photoshop occasionally, to play with colour and stay sharp with the program. It was only once I started working on the comic and planning her design that I clicked that that was who my Yellow Ukulele girl was. At the moment her working name is “Tenki”, but that might change.

I pretty much instantly know what I want her to look like. She is small, yellow and has hair made of circles. I want her to have a vintage feel, but to not harken too strongly from any particular era.

Her dresses are 40′s-50′s influenced, and her hair is supposed to look like exaggerated 20′s hair. The exact details are still in development, but you can get a pretty clear idea already who she is from these sketches.

If you’ve followed my art for any length of time you’ll notice I don’t often draw boys. I find their proportions awkward and alien and I feel like my attempts always end up feeling clumsy and stiff. It’s incredibly important that I get over this for this comic, as my male character narrates the entire thing. It’s important he is expressive and easy to relate to, and matches the female lead.

Meh.

Nyeh.

There, he’s starting to look more how I want now. Originally I thought he should be more angular to offset Tenki’s circles and curves, but I think that being oval and elongated gives the kind of feel I’m after much clearer. Also I think I’ll be able to have a lot of fun putting expressions on his face.

There’s still an awful lot of work ahead, but I am enjoying the direction these sketches are going in.

More soon!