Found Objects #3: The Evolution of a Graphic Novel Page
The process of crafting a splash page adapted from a 1927 journal entry.
Today I’m sharing the evolution of a page in my current graphic memoir, Finding Hope. I’ve been meaning to document my process for awhile now. It’s changed quite a bit since I started this project three years ago. (Maybe four years ago, now?!)
I visualized this particular splash page from a passage in Hope’s diary, documenting her arrival in Alaska in 1927.
In the form of a script, I condensed the passage for clarity and flow, keeping the most relevant information to engage my reader, while staying true to the story. (I document my sources in back of the book, citing where I make edits.)
I used Hope’s photos as reference for her character design, and I also researched fashion and hairstyles from the geographic location and era. I found images of Eklutna Industrial School in digital archives from the late 1920s/ 1930s. (I wrote about some of these images in my first newsletter!)
Originally, this scene was on a page with two other panels. Because this is an important moment in Hope’s story, I decided to expand on this panel, transforming it into a splash page. I made a couple of thumbnail drawings to transfer the vivid images in my mind onto paper.
Next, I studied my reference photos to pencil the scene, along with other details from my imagination.
In Photoshop, I tweaked the composition to enhance the rhythm and better fit the page.
I inked the page with digital brushes, creating some patterns in the hair, roof tiles, and other areas.
I hand-lettered my text, stylizing it to fit the story. (Hope’s handwriting in her diaries was atrocious, so I used my own cursive, which I’m happy to have learned in elementary school.)
For color inspiration, I looked at vintage postcards of Alaska in the 1920s.
I decided that I needed some more people in the scene, so I added a man in the building, and a woman and child walking ahead.
The final splash page!
As you can see, there’s a lot of thought and effort that goes into a page, and this is one of the easier ones (since it’s a single illustration and it’s adapted from Hope’s journals.) My process is long, and I tend to make every page a painting. I know there are faster and more efficient ways to make comics, but I LOVE when I really get into a page. In that space, the time flies by and I can work for hours. With many obligations these days, I don’t often enter that space. But I did last weekend, and it felt great!
I often think about this excellent 13-minute Art 21 feature on the cartoonist Chris Ware. In that episode, he says,
The real process that goes into comics, it’s not pictures with accompanying text. It’s a psychological process of reading pictures. It’s a symbol system.
Generally each page takes around 40 hours, strangely enough. And a lot of that is just me getting up and walking around, hating myself, and feeling uncertain and giving into dread or feeling that it doesn’t work or rereading or trying to avoid work or any number of things.
Later on, I’ll share the evolution of a page with several panels! It’s a different process, typically involving more writing and traditional comics mechanics. And each page probably does take 40 hours.
Feel free to share any comments about your own process for creating comics and illustrations.
Bonus: Here’s a reel of the process that I posted to Instagram.
Thank you, it is really interesting to see your process and the development of the ideas into the final drawing. Beautiful art. I also love that you are telling Hope's story.
Really enjoyed this look into your process!