Book 1, Page 189

Hi patrons,

My parents were in town last week, so I took a nice break from the computer.

Now SuperButch updates continue!

Crowd scenes can be notoriously time-consuming so I wanted to show you how I thought about this one.

I mentally divided the page into Foreground (Captain Turtle), Middle Ground (voters), Background (more voters) and Firehouse.

I started with clothespin shapes or slightly less abstract heads and bodies. I thought about varying the heights and body types. I scooted the people in the middle ground back and forth to form "windows" so we could see the people in the background. Then I channeled my inner theater teen.

Musicals are full of scenes with townspeople milling about. The actors know that their character has something going on even if the audience doesn't ever know about it.

These folks are discussing the election, of course.

This kid is enthusiastically greeting the adult on the right, perhaps a neighbor or family friend. 

This kid is TIRED AND READY TO GO HOME and Mom is unfazed.

I sent Barry a few old Portland firehouses to look at from this rabbit-hole of a website. I liked how this one has a wooden Old West look to it, in contrast with the brick firehouse in the previous issue.

My paternal grandfather was a firefighter (and fire chief) for many years, so I used his station number (13) here. The Portland buildings I saw were referred to by an engine number instead of station number, so I wrote "Engine 13" in the window.

I also spelled out "Turtle City Fire Dept" along the top of the building. I abbreviated it to "TCFD" on the previous firehouse and every time I glance at that page I think it says "ICED." Can't unsee it.

The eagle-eyed reader might have noticed that Captain Turtle is wearing goggles in the original rough drawing, when he clearly lost his goggles in the crash on the previous page. I confess that Barry and I did not notice this discrepancy until JUST IN TIME, right before I broke out the pens and ink. Thanks to Photoshop it was easy to do a quick redraw of Captain Turtle without the goggles, print the digital drawing onto paper, and finish the page with continuity intact.

My favorite drawing-soundtrack for this page was the Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff two-parter, "Freedom House: The World’s First Paramedics Were Black Men from Pittsburgh."

I hope you enjoyed this dive into my process! More to come.