So in this exciting episode of How Ratboy Is Dead Is Made I'm going to cover two parts, for two reasons. It's like a buy one, get one sort of deal. Mostly I'm doing this because both processes are simple, and I don't really necessarily do them in order.
So, at some point during this process I ink the characters. I usually do this part first, because the background gets a bit easier to place around something solid. I prefer to use a nice, crisp line with my wacom tablet when creating these.
After that, or sometimes before that, I'll do teh backgrounds. Backgrounds are always an odd process because half the time I don't really know what to put and use an abstract paint background, or manipulate a photo or something. It's easier and I realize it makes me a lazy asshole. But I do draw them, too! I'm pretty loose one what constitutes a background, but lately, I've been fond of thicker, less defined lines and textures. Whatever helps the composition, really. There are two good examples in the image below.
So, after that, I generally make sure all this is placed and looks reasonably decent. I put a few finishing touches on each piece, like the crappy shading in the background, then move on to the next step.
Next time: Making people say what they should say