Here are some pencils from the most recent Smithson strip. My current system (and I’ve been through several over my run on the strip) involves working everything out in pencil on plain copy paper, and then inking over it on the bristol using a lightbox. I have a panel template that I use to quickly rough out the panel dimensions before starting in on the figures. I usually get at least two panels to a sheet, or more if they’re skinny panels (and if I don’t screw up one of the drawings.)
I must’ve had a good day with this page; only Gemma’s freaking-out pose gave me any trouble. You can also see where I re-cropped the panel, a prime advantage of doing things this way. If a panel comes out okay, it gets the magical Panel Number In A Circle and I move on to another one.
Meta: After promising myself I wouldn’t obsess over this blog’s design too much, I’ve begun fiddling around with different background textures. The current one is supposed to be a nicely textured watercolor wash, but tiled like this it comes out looking more like carpet samples. Ugh. So gird yourself for more fiddling with the blog’s design as time goes on.