The milestone reward, when BICP hits 50 Patreon supporters, is that I’m making pins. Right now we have 45, so I’m doing prep!
These are the design concepts for a Patrick pin, and there’s a poll to vote for your favorite. It’s only open for the next 2 weeks, so if you’re not already a patron and you want to vote, don’t miss your chance.
(Volume 6 update: it shipped!…last night. I may have to start posting the next chapter while waiting for it after all.)
Steven Universe crossover! Bennett is a variety of Bennett Mountain Agate, featuring legit red/white/blue banding. Cohen is a little Cohenite, and their tempting fusion is Tantalite.
(Don’t ask how long I’ve been sitting on those rock pics.)
Audience-callback version of this page from chapter 20!
Full disclosure, I’m on a push to finish and promote Volume 6 before I start posting the next chapter. It’s 98% ready, so with any luck I’ll send for a proof copy this weekend, but there will be at least a couple more days of filler in the meantime. Bear with me!
I saved all the individual steps of making chapter 28 page 6. (Last did this during chapter 5…check out what’s changed about the process, and what hasn’t.)
(1) Sketch
Very basic, working out the panel layout, and the figures and angles in each shot. I know in general what the dialogue is going to be, but don’t write it all out at this point, just a couple notes.
(2) Lineart
This doesn’t get inked right on top of the first scan — the pencil lines get fleshed out a bunch first. Some things get left out because I know I’m going to add them digitally (usually if there are a bunch of straight lines involved).
(3) Digital cleanup
Once it’s scanned, I reduce the lineart to B&W, fill in the black frame, straighten out the panel borders, and replace the whites with a medium grey. (Among other things, it’s more forgiving if there’s a spot you neglect to fill in.)
(4) Colors!
They’re pulled from a palette, and/or from earlier pages featuring the characters. You can also see me starting to fill in the blank backgrounds.
(5) Shading!
Flood-fill tool set to multiply. I have a couple different tones to shadow the color areas — you can see they have warmer shadows in the first panel, cooler ones back in the hospital. The greyscale bits just get shaded with more greys.
(6) Patterns!
On a separate layer. The ones in this page are all darker than the base color, so it’s a multiply layer. This is also where I added an extra-dark gradient over the shot of Reseda.
(7) At last, the text
I don’t plan the dialogue bubbles in detail beforehand, but sometimes I can get away with not drawing all the details underneath — like in this middle panel, which is still missing some of the equipment on the hospital bed. You can see the results in the final version.
Happy eighth anniversary to But I’m A Cat Person!
According to gift-card companies, the 8th is the “bronze” or “lace” anniversary. So I put our main (human) characters in thematically-appropriate outfits.
Last of the holiday interlude! Regular pages resume this Thursday. (…she says, knowing she plans to move house on Wednesday…)
And so we come to the close of another year’s worth of comics — supported on Patreon by readers like you.
For as little as $1, you get access to exclusive high-res wallpapers, with new ones added every month. Here are all the BICP ones for 2018.
Become a patron on January 1 for a front-row seat of all the exclusives for 2019!
It’s seasonal! It’s sexy! It’s being photobombed very effectively!
(Same cat who modeled with Volume 3, but being much more annoying about it.)
Yes, the print version of Volume 5 is now available for purchase. Containing chapters 16-18, the dreamy Interlude 4, and a whole lot of extras, including the bonus comics seen here.
The cover and color scheme are Blake-centric, as decided by overwhelming reader vote. Collect the whole set, and look forward to getting Reseda on Volume 6.
It’s here! What did they know, and when did they know it? Click this thumbnail for the fullsize version:
Thanks to the readers who commented on the early drafts to help me put it together!
I’m surprised at how many secrets Bennett has been able to keep. (And unsurprised at how many things he hasn’t been told…)
Any box with a specific chapter number, that reveal happens on the page. If a box says “pre-chapter” or “post-chapter”, that might be an estimate — it’s possible I missed some information that narrows it down more precisely.
…and if any continuity error did make it in here, and you’re the first person to catch it, I will legit send you a $5 Amazon gift card. Really trying to nail this one.
US readers, I’m sure you’ve been bombarded with more than enough reminders to vote, but I just wanted to throw you one last reminder of why it’s important. Featuring most of BICP’s major American characters, and one scandalized Brit.
Check out the videos at How To Vote In Every State (including DC and the territories) to confirm the specific local details, and find your polling place here.
