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The effort in xkcd comics

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TaoPhoenix:

Xkcd is a slippery thing. It "looks simple" ... because it is drawn to be simple.

But Randall M sometimes saves time on a few "quick" strips, so that it looks like he can spend *hours* on other ones!

Can we get a vote on how long this one took? Holy Wall of Text!!

"Questions"
http://xkcd.com/1256/

Renegade:
Well, if you look at the spiders bit, he's saving some time there with variations. But either way, that still likely took the better part of a day.

app103:
Perhaps he has a font of his own handwriting and used a script to take the list of questions and fit them into the background? If not, there are enough samples of his handwriting in that comic to make a font for next time.

TaoPhoenix:
Well, if you look at the spiders bit, he's saving some time there with variations. But either way, that still likely took the better part of a day.
-Renegade (August 26, 2013, 10:16 AM)
--- End quote ---

I think y'all are right with that and the script, but it would have taken me a couple of hours just to find all those questions and have them be funny.

And a few of his map ones are just epic!

40hz:
Concept, research, and design = only he could tell you.

I do the occasional comic panel for friends and special occasions. Sometimes these things almost draw themselves. Other times it can take months from the first rough idea till there's a finished piece. Some ideas percolate for years and take several iterations before the panel is what I'd consider "finished."

Actually drawing the strip = my guesstimate is two passes (to block out, blue pencil in, and get the text fitting just right). Figure around 3 or so hours in total. Final 'inking-in' probably took another 1 to 2 hours if he does it by hand and then scans it in. (I don't do enough digital drawing to have any good idea how long it would take doing it on a PC.)

 8)

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