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"Picture this sorry sight for 3 hours straight. This is me every week at your local L.A. or San Diego coffee shop,
brewing ideas and Sumatra. If I can't find anything good in my bag of tricks - a.k.a. my collection of brainstorm ideas
- written on napkins, receipts, used tissue paper... I generally have to 'wing it' and think of something brand new
on the spot. This segment is not a lot of fun."
Modeling
"There's only one sure-fire way to get Skip and Mattie's gestures just
right. And since I'm short on models, I often pose as my own... poser. God bless the age of digital cameras and
10-second timers! I once thought of keeping a scrapbook collection of all my 'modeling' photos, but I've already
deleted too many priceless images."
Drawing
"You knew this was coming. It's pretty self-explanatory, nothing fancy here. Just a piece of paper (with four pre-drawn
boxes) and mechanical pencil are all the implements I need to make magic happen. You might also find me making magic at your
local coffee house."
Final Ink
"This is the easy part. Thus, I love it. There are special blue pencils you can use that won't show up in a
scanner; that way, you don't have to bother erasing the pencil sketches after drawing in with the pen. I however, am too
set in my ways to use them. In my day, we didn't have blue pencils or... 'web-sites'... Here's a tidbit: After
I ink everything, I draw in Mattie's hair in pencil (giving it that salt & peppery look), and you'll find my tiny
initials in Skippy's hair."
Photoshop-ing
"Despite popular belief, I do not color my comics with crayons... anymore. After scanning the final drawing, it gets
propped into a 4-square template, accompanied by printed dialog, and saved as three versions - black & white, then later
color high res and color low res. Terribly boring stuff, I know. That's why a good mixed drink compliments the process
so well. But you didn't hear me say that. I use Adobe PhotoDelux Business Edition,
for those who wondered. The comics - high and low res - are 13x3.875" and 10x9.72" respectively. Coloring, lighting,
and adding effects are probably my favorite part of the whole process... not to mention finishing a product!"
Posting Online
"Basking in the well-deserved glory of a newly finished strip, it's finally time to expose my art to the world. Here's
where the 'web' in 'webcomic' comes into play. Once it's posted on the site, the newsletter (sign up on
the homepage of this site, *hint hint*) gets sent out first, followed by a myspace announcement. Because really, who's
not on myspace these days? Scoff! For anyone who pays close attention and has a calendar, a new comic is posted exactly every 8 days. (I get asked at least once a week when a new
strip will be posted; it feels good to be wanted!) And there you have it, kiddies. Thanks for your continued love and interest
in the world of Skipping Out. This has been your host and friend, Eric Schlegel, and
I will catch you on the flip!"
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