Making of "Toy Review"
Added 2019-06-07 19:28:21 +0000 UTCAn animated GIF showing each step in the process. I went on quite the adventure with this comic as it was already finished when I decided to change my style!
In the original script, I had the "baby" egg being introduced first. It was clunky and I wasn't happy with it. Hubby suggested switching it around so the baby reveal came at the end -less words and more reaction shots!
I had him with the egg on a table at first, like they do in those toy review videos, but the ending wasn't very clear. Moving the egg to a bassinet immediately sold the joke.
I had it ready to go, but then I changed my style and knew I could do better! This side by side really shows the improvement. There's so much more energy and whimsy in the 2nd one:
If you're wondering why the bird changed species; my original plan was to call the strip "Parroting Back", because the kid was spouting a bunch of YouTube phrases. Once the script changed, he wasn't parroting so much as making his own video, but I had the bird mom as a parrot in my head at that point.
It is surprisingly hard to make a cartoon parrot look distressed, as their beaks naturally curve up into a happy expression. When I redid the drawing I fought the screaming parrot design for a while before realizing she really didn't actually NEED to be a parrot. Changing her to a robin let me use a more interesting bird shape and push her dramatic pose more.
