QUILTBAG Queries: Ask T and Jason

[UnstoppableTaboo]

Some very general questions for Jason here And I do mean general, so they may have been asked and answered before, in which case I apologize!

- Is the comic done entirely on the computer or do you draw/sketch/ink it by hand first, then scan it in?
- If it's the latter, do you draw each episode on a single piece of paper or are the panels drawn on their own page and then resized into the panels we see in the finished product?
- How big, as in dimensions, is each episode when you make it? Do you guys ever plan to put QUILTBAG into book form, and are the episodes created with this in mind?
- Basically I'm curious about the process, if you'd be willing to indulge

[Jason Waltrip]

Yes, virtually entirely in computer. Though first I draw a small thumbnail sketch of the page on a piece of paper, usually the script. This thumbnail serves as a rough guide for where characters and balloons/captions are; no real detail. I then use a computer and a nice comic drawing program called Manga Studio to do the page, from lettering, to pencils, to inks. Once that is finished, I save and export the page and color it using Photoshop. I'll leave T to answer your other questions.

[TCampbell]

Some very general questions for Jason here And I do mean general, so they may have been asked and answered before, in which case I apologize!

- Is the comic done entirely on the computer or do you draw/sketch/ink it by hand first, then scan it in?
- If it's the latter, do you draw each episode on a single piece of paper or are the panels drawn on their own page and then resized into the panels we see in the finished product?
- How big, as in dimensions, is each episode when you make it? Do you guys ever plan to put QUILTBAG into book form, and are the episodes created with this in mind?
- Basically I'm curious about the process, if you'd be willing to indulge

The images seem to be about three times as big as their "broadcast" form. I've given a QUILTBAG book some idle thought. Basically the only concession I make to the book market is keeping all the pages a consistent size and shape: in my first couple of years as a webcomics writer, I changed formats from chapter to chapter and sometimes from page to page. My last big experiment along those lines was "Crossover," though even that one was first presented in a series-standard format.

[LookingIn]

How far in advance are the strips written before they are drawn and/or published? Do you have the entire storyline mapped out from start to finish with a set number of strips figuring into the storyline or are the number of strips used to tell the story varied depending on conditions(delays, overages etc.)

[TCampbell]

How far in advance are the strips written before they are drawn and/or published? Do you have the entire storyline mapped out from start to finish with a set number of strips figuring into the storyline or are the number of strips used to tell the story varied depending on conditions(delays, overages etc.)

Strips are generally drawn shortly before they start going up. I have failed completely in my every attempt to get Jason Waltrip and Gisele Lagace to draw further ahead of schedule, though John Waltrip works a week or more in advance.

Up to a couple of years ago, I was pretty much on top of scripts to the point that each new storyline was completely written before it started being drawn. Lately things have been much, much looser, to the point where I often write the actual pages the same day that they'll be drawn. There is a general plan for QUILTBAG:I know the path of each plot and the planned page-count of the chapter, and the pacing. But the actual pages are often being written right at deadline.

I have mixed feelings about that. I took pride in being ahead of the curve for many years, and I've been meaning to get ahead again. I have been slowly getting ahead on Fans again as that series approaches its end: QUILTBAG is next. But I have found that the seat-of-my-pants approach has kept my creativity feeling fresh, so I don't entirely regret this period of my career. I just don't want it to last forever. Too risky.

[retrophrenologist]

Were we meant to notice that the bottles in Marie's room were arranged in a repeating pattern, or was it just an artifact of Jason's art?

[TCampbell]

Were we meant to notice that the bottles in Marie's room were arranged in a repeating pattern, or was it just an artifact of Jason's art?

The latter, honestly. I thought he added enough variety that this wouldn't be much of an issue, but I guess not.

[Kamino Neko]

You forget, T, we are a forum of nerds. >_> Obsessive, obsessive nerds. >_>

[dianekikiula]

No comic tonight?

[Zanosuke Kurosaki]

No comic tonight?

I just realized why the comic is taking so long. T and Jason are doing this, too.

[UnstoppableTaboo]

Thank you very much, T & Jason I've always found the process behind the making of a comic very fascinating.

[perilsofrosella]

T., did you always know about Iseul's sexuality, as far as it was relevant to Sara's?

[TCampbell]

T., did you always know about Iseul's sexuality, as far as it was relevant to Sara's?

I knew at least as far back as "The First Man I Ever Loved." I don't remember for sure if I knew during "Shoposphere," which made brief mention of her and showed her in one panel.

[LookingIn]

The previous flashback during the Descartes storyline you featured Sara's coming out to Penny in color and in this current flashback you feature Sara, Theo, and Iseul in black and white- was the use of color in the Penny/Sara flashback due to it being part of the dream/hallucenation to differentiate between the real flashback that is part of the current story or did you just choose to not colorize this time?

[retrophrenologist]

When will you be answering my question in the Fans! forum?