Step 1: Every Mad Scientist Academy adventure first begins as a story. My wife Christy and I do lots and lots of research and I write many, many drafts until I figure out how everything should work. (Click → to continue.)
Step 2: Next, I have to figure out how to fit the story into exactly thirty-two pages. I have to decide how much text will go on each page, how many panels I should use, and which parts of the story should have big or small pictures. I use a program called InDesign to create a basic layout of the whole book with just word balloons and empty boxes.
Step 3: Once I know where all the words are going to go, I do a bunch of really quick sketches. These help me figure out if the story is going to work as I planned it. Often, once I see the sketches and the words together, I go back and make changes to help the story flow more effectively.
Step 4: Once I'm satisfied with how all the sketches are working, I go back and redraw everything and add a basic layer of color. This way I can get a sense of how the pictures are going to flow across the pages. Often, I go back and change the colors in one picture so it looks better next to the other pictures that are around it.
Step 5: The last step is to finalize all the colors, add textures, and add shadows and highlights to give the pictures depth. Finally, the pages are done!

Step 1: Every Mad Scientist Academy adventure first begins as a story. My wife Christy and I do lots and lots of research and I write many, many drafts until I figure out how everything should work. (Click → to continue.)

Step 3: Once I know where all the words are going to go, I do a bunch of really quick sketches. These help me figure out if the story is going to work as I planned it. Often, once I see the sketches and the words together, I go back and make changes to help the story flow more effectively.