Making of "Healthy Snacktime"

This one went through quite a few changes!  Let's start at the beginning... 

Sometimes I sneak a little treat for myself while the kids are distracted.  I'm not proud of it -actually, that's a lie. There's definitely some pride in getting away with it! :)  

Sometimes at snacktime they'll ask for candy and I'll direct them to a snackbar or goldfish crackers instead.  Then while they're not looking I'll sneak a little chocolate for myself.  One of the best times to do it is when they're lost in a screen, which gave me the idea for this comic.

I wanted to push everything to the next level for maximum funny, so instead of snackbars, it's carrot sticks!  Instead of a little piece of chocolate, it's a whole chocolate cake!

I had Vincent implying in the last panel that this is a regular occurrence, while Fran is about to tuck into a buffet of sweet treats in the background.  I got as far as flat colors before realizing something was off.  It felt like as the art had evolved the joke had been lost and I was just setting myself for a bunch of naggy comments about diabetes! 

I sketched out a new last panel with her dancing around eating jellybeans, throwing them like confetti.  I ran it by my friends and they agreed it was more fun.  

It was hard working with the space available.  I wanted her pose to be as ridiculous as possible, but not have her art tangled in with the kids.  Moving them closer to the "camera" gave her the room she needed, plus it was just a more satisfying composition.

The very final change was the text in the first panel.  Usually I employ a "less is more" approach, but J said it would be funnier to really push how hypocritical she is being.

At the end of the day, I'm sure I'll still get a bunch of finger wagging about diabetes and screens, but heck; making her this wrong is so funny!  I love flawed characters! :)