Ok, so my boss loves my webcomic BIC for some absurd reason and wants me to do a series of strips about counselling sessions. He'll come up with the majority of ideas and he'll be doing most of the script writing (with some input by me), but I'll be drawing it all.

Now, BIC's style is hardly appropriate for the type of series we're going for, so of course the first thing I did was go out and buy a tablet input device for my computer and I started reading some online "how to draw" tutorials. The image below is a sketch of Dr Wong I've been working on, but my non-artistic eyes can't properly pick out flaws. It feels off to me, so I need some feedback on how to make it better or whether it should be ok as it is. Since he's paying me my regular wages to do this he's willing to sacrifice some quality for speed. And remember, he's impressed by BIC so the art doesn't have to be too perfect

Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to suggest!

Yes, the perspective and angles are off, like he's going to slide off a modern-art chair. That's going to be a helluva difficult thing for you to get right, though. Are they all going to be back-and-forth between a therapist and his patient? if so, you could get away with two actual frames that you'd copy and paste everywhere else: that one you've got there and the client on the couch.

Deacon wrote:Yes, the perspective and angles are off, like he's going to slide off a modern-art chair. That's going to be a helluva difficult thing for you to get right, though. Are they all going to be back-and-forth between a therapist and his patient? if so, you could get away with two actual frames that you'd copy and paste everywhere else: that one you've got there and the client on the couch.

Yeah, I realize now how off the perspectives are. That might be because I drew the chair by copying one I found on Google image search, which was at a different angle from how I'm drawing the characters. I'll probably have to re-draw the whole thing, but at least it's good practice.

The majority of the strips are going to be back and forth dialogues between the therapist and various clients, so I will likely fall into lazy-artist syndrome and copy/paste everything except for when I need to change their posture to convey emotion or something. There will be occasional strips where the therapist is supervising a trainee, or where the client is putting what they learned into practice in the real world. It'll be hella difficult when I actually have to draw new things, so I'm hoping to draw out each character as much as I can

On the plus side, this comic has the backing of a wealthy therapist who can afford to advertise like mad so it might actually get an audience. Also, I'm actually earning more than minimum wage per hour I spend working on these strips, which I think makes me more successful than 99% of people who've ever done a webcomic. Sheer dumb luck has finally worked out for me!

I tried to post once already muspar and apparently i hit the wrong button... anywho

Try shoving his legs (and therefore pelvis) further underneath his torso. That should give him the appearance of sitting on his butt instead of it sliding out from underneath him.

jerald_parker wrote:Try shoving his legs (and therefore pelvis) further underneath his torso. That should give him the appearance of sitting on his butt instead of it sliding out from underneath him.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try to do that tonight,

I'm upset by this whole notion, Muspar. I feel like we here had recognised the potential in a young boy: pruning here and grooming there; making suggestive comments about the hayloft; planting seeds and questioning convention only to have him cruelly taken and pumped rotten by a lazy mill-owner on the day of his eighteenth birthday when we had a nice and boozy picnic planned.

That being said, I can't pay you not to do it, so you go girl. Watch for the Dr Katz vibe that this sounds like it might throw up - don't they do the patient/doctor shots already?

And obviously I can't comment on your art as I can't draw the curtains. Good luck!

Rors: I'm not sure what any of that first paragraph you wrote actually means, but it came from you so reading it arouses me (sexually).

As for the content, I leave that up to my boss. He's the man with the PhD, the 40 years of experience, and my paycheques so I just do what he says. I'll try my best to keep it from getting too cheesy, but there's bound to be some cheesyness when you try to translate psychotherapy into webcomic form, especially since he's going for a slightly serious tone.

No monkeys then?

You had your moment of glory, Rors. It's time to let it go.

I'll cuddle you until the pain subsides.

Midnight. Not a sound from the pavement.

Attempt #2. It's still a bit rough, but this is the general style. I think the perspective is better and the chair looks nicer. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

The perspective of the guy and the chair are a bit better, but the background perspective is very off at the moment.

bagheadinc wrote:The perspective of the guy and the chair are a bit better, but the background perspective is very off at the moment.

Yeah, I just plagiarized took lessons from "Dilbert" on how to do a rough background, just so I could have something beyond plain white while I worked on the character and chair.

Edit: Altered the perspective of the background. I might just go with this and start actually doing the strip, but I'll be open to any further suggestions on how to make it better.

Does it absolutely have to be three dimensional?

Not necessarily, this was just the first style that came to mind. I'd even be willing to do it in the "talking heads and shoulders" style most of my friend Sarah's guest-strip for BIC was done in, if I was told to.