The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Drop Panels



Drop Panels are the title panels in Sunday strips that are used as filler or dropped because they're filler. The size and shape of a Sunday strip is an arcane science that I haven't figured out yet, I've just used a default 1/4 page size. But there are things you can do with a drop panel, like do a nice drawing or a separate gag or reproduce a sketch like Zits does, and I need to do something more interesting. So I'm coming up with some different title panels, with maybe a little gag in them. Here are a couple of roughs that I like, especially for the scratchy velocity of the line. They're on my to-do list, like finishing this week's strips, mowing the lawn, cleaning up my studio enough that I can walk from one end to the other, and arranging for a lasting worldwide peace based on love & understanding. And maybe tune the banjo if I've got time.

3 comments:

Kid Shay said...

I especially like the one that has the title glowing in the window like a deformed moon.

I've always been curious about those panels. They're a good excuse to draw something funny that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the story. On the other hand, it must be disappointing if some newspapers don't run it at all.

Mark Heath said...

I like the second one.

I did the unique one-shot title panels for a few years until my sloth caught up with me.

By the way, I loved your Halloween series. Lots of good jokes. And good insights into the parents.

here today, gone tomorrow said...

How about Mr. Danders as he really sees himself...sort of like Ike in one of my favorite kid's books Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School"?