Making of "Don't Know Sh-"

Rather than just waiting for funny things to happen organically, I'm trying to write more comics from scratch. This is one of those comics -I don't know whether you'll find that disappointing or a relief! 😅

I saw a discussion online about the word "shit" and how it can mean completely different things depending on the word it's coupled with. I brainstormed on how I might use this in a comic. The first idea was to have Joel teaching the boys, then Fran comes in and we think she's going to tell them all off, but instead she adds to the lesson.

It was an easier, more relatable story, but I really hate the "fun dad, naggy mom" troupe, even if I'm just setting it up to break it! It just felt so, obvious, so I kept playing around with it and ended up with the above. Less relatable, more weird! 😅

Getting the panels right in these longer ones can take some experimentation. You can see in the video above me playing around with the panel number and arrangement. I always need to sketch a comic out super rough first so I can check the flow. Sometimes after reading I'll realize I can combine panels, or some need to be separated. If a few things are being said in a single panel, do the expressions work for the whole conversation? If a character needs to react to something then they'll need a new panel to change expression.

Another big change in this one was removing Fran from the last 2 panels. After reading it through, I realized it was clear enough who was talking without the need to show her. This gave me room to make Cooper bigger, allowing for his pointing to be more visible.

Although this didn't actually happen with the kids, I did make the mistake of showing them the comic, which wasn't my brightest idea with school just starting!