Monday, June 8, 2009

RIP Nickelodeon

Before finding out the bad news I had already planned to put these up. It's sort of the process by which I do a strip for NICKELODEON. This strip wasn't going into the upcoming collection but we've talked about expanding it now that the party's over.

First I submit a rough with occasional notes because my initial sketches aren't always legible.

Once approved, I do the final art.

Then I scan it in and touch it up. Sometimes pencil marks or dust on the scanner can't be seen until you see the image on the computer. You have to make sure the black lines are closed before coloring them in Photoshop.

After that,I color it all in. I change the mode to CMYK and color anything that's not already black.

This isn't one of my regular strips. It was a feature about mobius strips, where you can cut the art out and turn it around and can start at any point. The final image was about half an inch.

I just found out this weekend that the magazine is folding. They weren't getting enough in advertising revenue to justify continuing. It was one of my main clients for 16 years. Chris Duffy and Dave Roman (and Anne Bernstein before them) were some of the best editors I've worked with. They have a few months left and I know they'll land on their feet. They've always printed work by Michael Kupperman, Johnny Ryan, Bobby London, Kim Deitch, R. Sikoryak, Mark Martin, and many others. Probably anyone (any sole creator) in comics you can think of was in there at least once. It was bread and butter for so many freelancers. Maybe we'll all start our own magazine.

1 comment:

  1. Something should rise from the ashes.

    I'd volunteer to help however possible, for that end.
    Honestly, there are so damn many great cartoonists out there, there needs to be a regular periodical, monthly or even bi-weekly, with rotating honors so nobody has to feel the full heat of a deadline.

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