Or is it?
Stories have a way of regenerating as new s**t comes to light! But for now, we are going to call this story done, with this episode.
So Let’s get to it!
It looks like Bikkie made a new friend! Call the building contractor, Tian! We might need to make an addition on to Bikkie’s room. And who does this cub belong to? I guess we’ll find out eventually.
A Little Bit About My Process:
Some stories start with an idea that is floating around on the internet. These nooz stories enter my brain, slosh around a bit, colliding with existing characters, melding with preconceived ideas, and finally plooping out onto the page.
For instance: Where did Frank and Mikey come from?
In the fall of 2018, when it became apparent the the current SCOTUS nominee was even more awful than we thought he was, the thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be funny if he was eaten by bears on the steps of the Supreme Court?
Naturally, Mehitabel (being the savvy journalist that she is,) invited the bears for an interview on ZooNooZ. To be completely candid, their personalities emerged with little intervention from me. Honestly, sometimes I think I am merely a conduit through which the various cats, pandas, and other animals that appear in these pages, and speak their own thoughts.
Once here, I could not get the bears to leave, despite very pointed glares coming from Mei Xiang as she dealt with her ever expanding household.
And so it is with all the other characters. Sometimes, they don’t have much to say to me, so I let them just wander around in the background, until they have pressing business with me.
Process:
For those who might be interested, here is how my ‘toons come into being:
Idea > scribbled post it note > write script, seeing if I can fit the action/dialog/cast into a 4 panel strip > rough pencil sketch in my sketchbook to figure out layout > light editing of placement, text > redraw the toon on smooth Bristol paper > ink in panel lines > ink in text> ink in all characters > erase pencil lines when dry > Scan > clean up scan in photo editing program > post on The Panda Chronicles
Whew!
Be the Bear
Bob T I have no classified documents Panda
Love the process. Love the storylines. Love the characters. Love YOU! thanks for keeping a smile on my face and a skip in my walk very day.
You just put a smile on my face! Hi hi hi hi hi!
So do I! Your process reminds me of writing my novels. The ones no one will ever see. 😳
I love zooming in on your art and looking at each face. They do indeed “talk”.
When we were in Belgium some years ago, I went to a cartoon museum (yes, they have them, there is one in London too) There was an exhibit of some artists notebooks and rough sketches for comics. I was already kind of doing that, but this pushed me to “formalize” my process a bit. I when I first started drawing cartoons, I just started drawing and hoped a story would emerge. I think of it as writing very short plays, then staging them. I’m glad you look closely at the faces. With limited space for words, their faces have to tell a lot of the story.
Of course Bikkie didn’t want to flunk cake!
Flunking cake goes on your permanent record.
Bubba: okay! OKAY!!!!!
I love the idea that Bikkie may have a playmate closer to his own age. So darned cute!
Thank you for helping so many of us cling to our shreds of dignity and sanity during those dark, dank, LONG four years of absolute insanity.
Lora~~I have no classified documents either other than an old diary from my high school days which by today’s standards is absolutely BORING and would put anyone who read it to sleep ASAP.
I was just thinking that I have no classified documents here, and if the FBI wanted to sort through all my things “just in case” I might, and cart all that stuff away, I would be fine with it as long as they promised not to bring any of it back.
I’m glad I have been a help to you in these dark and challenging time. Truth to tell, knowing you are all out there, reading my stuff and having it help YOU feel better, helps me feel better too.
And we’re lucky to have you!
Aw, shucks! Thanks you! I’m lucky to have all of you too!