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.
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.
Paul PichaureauAs 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 🙇🏼♂️🤩✨