Just a little sketch I made of the Seaver family.

Here is another image of what I’m calling “the crew” – a group of new characters you will see in the next book. The second image is a variation of one of the characters, which I think I like better than the first sketch.

This is what the comic looks like in my sketchbook. Good luck trying to read it!

I’ve only got a photo of a scribbly sketch to show you for today’s sneak peek, but it’s an important one. This lineup features a whole new group of characters that will appear in the next book.

These are a couple of finished panels from the pages I colored this week. Production is officially in full swing!

I’m fully involved in coloring now. Here’s a snapshot of the cintiq. This is one of the early panels, and an early peek at the young version of Al!

Start reading Volume 2 today! Well, not in comic form, but here is the first page of my written script.

In my process, I type the story out, kinda like a screenplay. I have visual moments and cues in mind, and I’ll sketch things on the side here and there, but typing it out helps me to keep the story together in my head. A finished script is also a good thing to have on hand for pitching to publishers, so I like to write it out this way.

A few things to notice from this script sample:

1. The title! My Sister the Freak Volume 2: Sisters Vs. Aliens. I think this might change by the time I print the book because I am going to have a book published later this year called Monsters Vs. Kittens – I’m not sure I want two project titles both riffing off of the “Vs.” theme. I might steal the “Part 1″ title and use it for the whole book because it actually fits pretty well. Sister, Alien, Pirate, Spy. Intrigued?

2. First scene! It’s a flashback. In a hospital.

3. You will see more of the Seaver parents in the next volume.

4. You can also see my handwritten annotations in red. This is me figuring out where the page breaks are going to be.

Here is some more character art for Al, Mary, and Captain Bacon. I’m trying to streamline my process behind the scenes so that the making of the comic goes a lot quicker. In the first book, I decided not to “ink” my pages, but used a clean pencil line. I drew each page traditionally on bristol, then scanned, stitched, and cleaned up each one before coloring. Now, I plan on going completely digital. These drawings are a test of my digital process. I think they came out well and do a good job at resembling my pencil process.

I’ve been working on streamlining the design of my characters so I can start fresh for the next book. It won’t be a total change-up, but I’m trying to simplify some shapes, bring more consistency to the style, and fix some things that were bugging me.

Here’s more of the two Seaver sisters: