Three Diary Comics Series & Artists I Love
Tools I Use Everyday to Make Comics
90 Right Angle
Where I Take Classes Online
Three Graphic Memoirs I Love
Three Mentors I Imitate & Learn From
Other Useful Things You May Want to Know
I keep a P.O. Box specific to Big Chooch Comics and created address labels for it
I registered Big Chooch Comics as a fictional name doing business.
I keep a supply of 6x9 envelopes (which fit Big Chooch (8x5)), business envelopes, stamps, and customized note paper so I can write a thank you note for anyone who orders a comic from me online.
I keep a Patreon page where people can become a patron to support my efforts ($1, $3, $5) each month; $5 patrons automatically get copies of any new comics, zines, or stickers I create. Art costs money. There is a vibrant community of support among comics artists on Patreon as well as Kickstarter.
I keep an Etsy store so people can buy my comics, zines, and stickers. I am not making any money on comics. I am making art, writing self-publishing, and anything I sell helps defray some of the costs.
Three hashtags I stalk on Instagram: #diarycomics, #memoircomics #autobiocomics. Instagram is a great resource for all types of comics access; many artists share bits of their process (even live sketching, painting, and inking) here.
My Process
I keep rambling stream-of-consciousness lists in journals and in a Notes app on my phone
I rough sketch the idea in Non-Photo Blue Pencil in a journal
Some of my drafts go un-inked for a long time as I continue to draft ideas...sometimes I ink right in the journal. Usually, this happens with the daily diary comics.
Sometimes I resketch the idea with Non-Photo Blue pencil onto a 9x12 sheet of Bristol XL paper...and then I will ink it.
I ink with Micron pens and stick with specific lize widths 005, 003, 01, 05, 08, B
I scan work I want to publish or preview with an Epson Perfection V370 Photo I bought in 2019 for $99.
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Touchups are done in Adobe Photoshop if needed. I'll share some on Instagram, but not all of them. Everything we write does not have to be shared or public, right?
Layouts for the physical copies of Big Chooch Comics are done in Adobe InDesign.
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Each page is saved as its own PDF and numbered in the order I want them to appear in the book. I have more flexibility by making them individual PDFs.
I use Mixam as a print service. There are others out there (of course). I liked the quality of the product and the workflow is easy and just makes sense to me.
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Big Chooch does not have an ISBN number. In comics, only self-contained graphic novels or graphic memoirs get an ISBN. I had to apply for an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)--an 8-digit code used to identify newspapers, journals, magazines and periodicals, and all media-print and electronic.
This matters if you want bookstores to carry your comic or promote you and your work.
