[dc]D[/dc]ad, bless him, commissioned me some time ago to draw a ‘how to wash your hands sign’ for his man cave bathroom. I’m glad I waited until a couple of weeks ago, because it was the second thing, after last week’s comic, that I drew on my Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
Dad let me go wild, and I did. Knowing my ‘client,’ as it were, I figured the crazier, the better. Dad wanted six panels, each showing a step in the process. Tired of folks (mainly his brothers) making a mess of his bathroom, Dad felt a sign was in order. He didn’t want any text, which made the sign easier and more of a challenge.
I enjoy drawing ‘silent’ cartoons¹ (see here and here). Not worrying about text lets me focus on body language, always an important part of any cartoon–and an area I’m constantly looking to improve upon.
Here is the last version of Dad’s sign. Well, the second to final version, the penultimate version for you vocabulary builders out there.
Y’see, Dad and I had a bit of a Stonehenge moment, like the scene in the classic film This is Spinal Tap. Dad’s original email asked for a 9″ x 18″ commission.
Turns out, he meant 18″ x 9″.
Rookie mistake on my part, as I should have confirmed the dimensions–but, Dad is an independent contractor, so I should get a bit of slack for taking his email as correct.
Anyway. Here’s the version I finished, before I had to chop it up and make it long and not tall. The upside is, this version fits better in a blog post, so it all evened out in the end.
Wash yourself!
Had I done this commission with pen and paper and found out Dad told me the wrong dimensions, well, I would still be screaming. The colors may not be as sharp in this version, because of the shrinking down and what not–and I see a couple things I didn’t fix in this version, but did for Dad’s.
You get the idea at least. And yes, Manga Studio 5 has a ‘musical notes’ brush. It also has a gold chain brush.
Interested in a cartoon commission of your own? Contact me.
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¹ Or as Stephanie likes to tell me, “Aren’t all of your comics silent by nature?” Yeah, yeah.
