TAoCKF Sketches!

Hey all!
Figured I'd give you a little teaser by posting the first 10 concept sketches for The Adventures of Chester Fingkelbottom here.

Enjoy!




#1. The sketch (of the soon-to-be female lead, Emma Evans) that defined the style for this comic. It started as just a fun change of pace for me, trying new things out after I got the Claire Wendling art book and ogled her amazing linework and motionful (that should be a word) figures. Then, later...

#2. Shortly after returning home from visiting friends in Indiana for a wedding, and bringing home my new "fiancee," a pink flamingo lawn ornament given to me by my best friend, and promptly named Chester Fingkelbottom, I started creating a story around it. The "fiancee" thing was a joke, of course. All my friends are getting married, and apparently it's my turn next. You can see that I first named him Chester W. Fingkelbottom, but that soon changed to K, for reasons you'll never know.
In this sketch, you'll also see my process for developing a character. (The notes should help you understand my way of thinking.) I particularly like the chibi drawing at the bottom of the sketch, which shows a daily interaction between Chester and Emma, the main characters.

#3. When I returned to Savannah for the next year of Grad School, I had a little get-together at my new apartment with my friends. We always have a Game Night, and every once in a while we'll break out the sketchbooks. That's when I picked up the idea for Chester Fingkelbottom again. You can see I made some changes to the designs for him and Emma. I was also developing their mannerisms and body language. I decided Chester would always walk in an unusual fashion, hiking his feet up almost to his rear with each step. Emma is a little ADD, so she's in constant motion and is easily distracted by things. (Pay no attention to the writing in the upper left-hand corner. We were talking about strange things that night. But if you can figure out the reference, more power to you.)

#4. Another sketch of Emma, trying to get down her body language a little more. I imagine she and Chester had gone to the Zoo and she ran ahead, spinning wildly around to announce that they have goats in the petting zoo.

#5. You have no idea how extremely fun it is to draw Emma in chibi form. As usual, she's running like a wild animal.

#6. An awkward intimate moment between Chester and Emma in the kitchen. Chester was making eggs for Emma when she hopped up on the counter and gave him a little peck on the beak. She probably burned her hand shortly afterward.

#7. Chibi Chester Head. That's all you really need to know. (This will be used in the comic somewhere, but I won't tell you what for.)

#8. They're filming in Savannah. On a ride home I thought I saw Robert Redford, but then I realized I really couldn't remember what he looked like. I'm an idiot when it comes to recognizing/naming famous people.

#9. Some fun sketches after a workshop with Ben Caldwell. These are partially inspired by my recent envy of Meredith McClaren's wonderfully expressive artwork (she's iniquitousfish on here, so go check her out). Emma has a cat named Chubbs (for obvious reasons).

#10. A conceptual sketch of one of the minor characters in the story, Stephan. He's short, tanned, and has curly, thick, beautiful black hair that's always tied back in a ponytail. He often gets mistaken for an Italian.



That's all, folks!
Hope that's enough to whet your palette until I get the comic up!
Let me know what you think!


-Emily Sampson,
creator