Andy BaioWent to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum in Columbus, and found myself unexpectedly overwhelmed seeing original art from cartoonists who shaped my childhood: pencil roughs, eraser marks, Wite-Out, and all.
Paul Pichaureau
Calvin’s hair was originally different, but Watterson’s editor at the syndicate convinced him to change it, suggesting readers would want to see his eyes.
As great as the finished printed strips are, seeing the raw original panels at their full size lets you see all the little decisions and details that went into making each one.
toxtethogrady@andybaio All my old cartoons were drawn on parchment stock with India ink, but I used blue pencil to draft them, so the blue lines can be seen on the originals (supposedly, blue lines didn't reproduce when you made photo negatives, but this goes back to 1980, so that was before Calvin and Hobbes). Nowadays, a basic PC Paint program creates a great finished product, so all the drawing and erasing is electronic...
Ryan Challinor@andybaio I think that simply knowing "bill watterson uses white-out" would have had a significant positive impact on me as a kid.
Scott Perry@andybaio wow I would spend an hour studying each and every of Watterson's panels. I must visit this place
KT controls miniature worlds@andybaio I love how sloppy the art looks up close. But when it's printed in the paper it looks great!
Old Man Luke@andybaio I wish the pre-print versions of drawings that show all the corrections and adjustments were seen more. My students always get frustrated when their work isn't "right" with the first draft.
eointhedoherty@andybaio I remember seeing some original Pogo strips at Fantagraphics and had those same feelings- seeing the blemishes made the work a little more real.
Joseph Kohlmann@andybaio Ugh, it’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing these, Andy 🙇🏼♂️🤩✨
Jason Kottke
Jason Garber@andybaio Proving once again that, despite thinking I’d seen everything there was to see, there’s always more to Calvin & Hobbes!
vasta@andybaio Oh wow. Didn’t know it existed, but now really want to visit one day. Thank you for letting us know about this place!
Meercat ✅
@andybaio Beautiful
Chancerubbage@andybaio there were a couple of other character designs in strips with hidden eyes. Beetle Bailey comes to mind. It tends to make reaction have to be more body language, slapstick.
Graham Lampa
Peter van Broekhoven
DΛNIEL TʘMΛN@andybaio good note.
Børge@andybaio Good call!
Pxtl@andybaio It's such a shame that modern comic artists so often work digitally. I mean good for them for finding a process that works, but it's sad these raw paper originals don't exist for newer works.
DesignDamon@andybaio I'm not sure my brain could cope with seeing actual physical Peanuts artwork made with Schulz's hands. It would be like seeing God or something.
Barry McWilliams@andybaio Ach! I would love to visit. These pictures are great. Thanks for sharing.
Sean Kleefeld@andybaio It really is! 😁
waferbaby@andybaio Oh wow, I remember the old-style Schulz stuff.