Process 2 of 4: Brainstorming

The first sketch I do when I sit down to work is rarely the one that turns into the end product. One of my early drafts will often end up looking like this -- once I get something drawn that's finished enough to qualify as something other than some random shapes and faint lines but is clearly not going to end up finished, I'll often keep that bit of paper and use it as a doodle page when I need a break or while I'm brainstorming for what to do next.

Here, the strange nude broguy was the first thing I drew, experimenting with poses. I didn't like the pose for the final title card, but the drawing was good for getting warmed up. Nothing else on this page has any relevant reason for being there or logic behind its addition. I just drew it because I felt like it.

The only things I can explain here are the burning exclamation point and the doodle of the flying guy with the cane labeled "William McKay." Both of those are from a book I'm reading right now -- Spaceman Blues: A Love Song by Brian Francis Slattery. The burning exclamation point appears before each chapter title and that guy... well, so far he's only appeared as a cameo in a scene description. I have no idea if he'll appear again. He's not a main character but his description just fascinated me so much I had to doodle it.

[...] this match is refereed by the almost blind William McKay, a man in a wide wool cape who travels by hooking his cane to passing vehicles, then billowing out his cloak so that he is borne aloft, a sailor of the street.



Part 1: [link]

Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]