breakdown of a HiaGB page (script to colors)

I had a patreon ask of me to show off a script of any page of my stuff, so they could get an idea of how I go and do it. For myself it's different than, say, if I'm writing a page for Anthony on BACK (I can do a sequel post for BACK pages if y'all would like). But when I'm writing for myself, it's more of a way to get the idea down quickly so I know the approximate path I'm taking. The scenery can change at my whim, since I'm writing AND drawing it.

I took this page from HiaGB cus I really liked it! It moves the narrative swiftly and with a funny scene/joke. You can see how different it started in the script but came to the same basic ending. For me, shit's still able to change even after script cus it's all me doing it. I can make the change on the fly and not be inconvenienced by it. Plus it feels different when you're actually sketching it out. You can write down anything, and I generally like the simplicity of that when thinking out ideas and jokes, but when it comes to execution, it can feel totally different.

I can remember why I changed this joke slightly too: At the time (and even now, let's be honest), gun violence was becoming an extremely worrying and unfunny thing to bring up/joke about. And it just seemed especially out of place to even slightly bring it up in a comic about nut and bugs in space. And that was probably the basic idea I was attempting to originally make a joke out of in the script, how out-of-place it was. But when sketching it out, it just felt bad in my hands and my mind.

I knew there was something else there that could get me to the same outcome. The script was a good map, but I decided to make a detour. Made it more on the reader to understand the one Emerson's displeasure with Cowboy Emerson's old-lookin' gun in a sci-fi-style shoot-out. THAT was more true to the concept I wanted to make a joke about! And it made me laugh! That is always a good sign.

And Cowboy Emerson wasn't even in this scene in the script stage! I added them in when sketching. There's lots of moments like that for me, when I realize I had a loose thread that I can wrap up in some manner. I mean, there's still probably some loose threads in the story, but I like making up things that end up working into the story later. Did the same with the Arm returning through Sleepy Crange.

You can also see by the script I don't go into too much detail about who's saying what, cus, again, I'm also the one drawing it. I know who's going to say what to make the joke work. It's all just a general outline. At most, I will write out longer dialogue and copy-paste it in the comic, editing as I go. But it's all fair game until I put it online and move onto the next page. Even then, I might go back and fix mistakes, which happen often (when looking up this page, it's listed as "Shootout in the SEEPY Corral" on the site).

I hope that shed some light on how I go and do it. Whatever works for me may not work for you, but I get the curiosity of how others do it. Try as many things as you'd like and see what feels best for you and your creativity! That's the real key.