Making of "That Sinking Feeling"

An animated GIF showing each step in the process.

This is based on true life events.  My 4yo had put a loo roll tube in the toilet (thankfully in a clean bowl and he didn't try to flush!!) and blamed the 2yo.  Once I got him to admit it was in fact him, I told him he had to get it out.  He fiercely protested and as it was a first time offense (and I didn't want to spend all day in there) I got it out as long as he agreed he'd learned his lesson and NEXT time HE'D be the one retrieving it.  

It was the day of the big #hotpotatocollab on instagram where a bunch of webcomic artists were all posting their linked "Hot Potato" comic.  It had been secretly in the works for about a month and the time was finally nearing for us to all simultaneously post.  I went back to my computer, not wanting to be the one to drop the ball (or potato) and ruin the chain.

Literally 5 minutes after I'd had my big "teaching moment" with the 4yo, he walked in with wet hair and sheepishly said "-so I forgot I wasn't supposed to put stuff down the toilet."  How he could go from the disgust of putting his hand in the bowl to sticking his HEAD in there, I have no idea!  I threw an iPad at the 2yo and rushed the 4yo upstairs to quickly wash his hair.

Thankfully I made it back to the computer in time to post with everyone else, but my heart was sure racing!!

I initially laid out the 1st panel the way I'd previously done with bathroom comics, but I quickly realized I could make it more interesting by changing it to a more dynamic angle.  The new style bodies are a bit more forgiving when drawing poses, so I can get a bit braver with the "camera" angles now.

For the comic version, I picked something more interesting to go down the loo.  Growing up Garfield was a HUGE influence on me, so I thought I'd do a tribute by making it Garfield's teddy bear, Pooky!  In retrospect, putting him in the toilet, might not be the best tribute, but it's the thought that counts, right...? :)

After posting, I noticed some other artists posting Garfield inspired strips and it turned out it was actually his 41st Birthday!!  What an insane coincidence!   Urmm... I mean... I totally planned that...?  

After coloring, the large empty space in the middle of the last panel looked a bit off.  I moved the kid and speech bubble around slightly to make it a better composition .