Drawn out and about

How the strip is created, where it came from, and where I'm going.

Kate after a failed attempt with a blow dryer. © 2023 Nancy Beiman

It is well known in show business that you can never predict how an audience will react to a character or a project. Anyone who had a genuine talent for accurate prediction would be eagerly recruited by the studios and publishers and never need another job.

When I tried out the FurBabies on a small test audience before publication, (not all of them relatives) they responded most strongly to Stella and told me that she was the funniest character.

This has not proven to be the case online. Stella has taken a back seat to Floof and Sirius, who are appealing characters, if a bit limited. They are little kids and can’t really take the lead unless they are getting into Mischief. I can’t use that story line too often since it would quickly become repetitive. Floof has developed in interesting directions, and proven to be a bit vulnerable (she has food allergies and is insecure since she is unable to participate in all of the dog family’s activities). Sirius is a baby and is the same innocent and sometimes tactless puppy that he was on the day he was created. Sirius will always be the one who asks the awkward questions.

Sirius and Floof with ‘treats’. © 2023 Nancy Beiman

Shawm the Afghan Hound also has not changed. He is the ‘center’ of the comic…an unreliable narrator in future storylines and a bit of a tease, but genuinely kind and gentle. He never panics, never gets into Mischief, and tolerates unconventional and eccentric behaviour in the others.

Stella is going to have a surprising storyline in November that develops her character. (All comics are scripted weeks or months in advance and drawn afterwards, exactly the reverse of feature animation but close to television animation procedure). It does not involve more puppies. That would be lazy storytelling. She gets to do something other than redesign her hair…(and even that contributes positively to the story line.)

Stella and Shawm from the June 26 comic, which was about accepting differences. I am very proud of this one. © 2023 Nancy Beiman

Kate has changed the most. She was the hardest character to write for. It took me a long time to find out who she really was. There are wise and sardonic little girls in the comics, miniature adults, and the self-aware and self-obsessed. I didn’t want to add another character to this list, or make her one of the tiresome animated Little Girls Who Can Do Everything/Anything They Want. Perfect characters have nothing to overcome in their nature, and no character arc. If a character can do anything they want, there is no conflict.

Kate started off as a bit of a brat. She yelled and threw things. Those comics were deleted and never published. I finally got to know who she was in the story line (July 31-August 5) about a failed attempt to bake a pie and cookies. These cartoons were drawn in February.

The ending to the series literally came from Kate herself. Some cartoonists hear character’s voices. I do not hear anything, I just get little prompts such as “I would not/would do this.” The story takes a surprising turn in the final, August 5 strip.

I like twist endings. Tex Avery told me that the only two rules he used in storytelling were “Can you make it funny?” and “Can you put a twist on it?” That is wise advice for animation and comic strips. You can read my Tex Avery interview in my book PREPARE TO BOARD! (2007, 2012, 2017/2021) All three editions have this material.

I now know that Kate is a flawed character, as are we all. She makes plenty of mistakes, as do we all. But Kate can figure her way out of a situation in a sometimes unorthodox fashion. Sometimes the results are unintended.

She makes lemons out of lemonade, cookies out of pie, and —something else—out of what the cookies turn into.

Kate tries to make cookies out of a pie fail. The results are unexpected.

© 2023 Nancy Beiman

I’m going to be away for a week so the blog will be updated in mid August. The daily strip continues at Gocomics, and I am already into October’s strips…so I can take some time off. I’ll get more story material!

All of the illustrations for the strip were hand inked on paper with a brush pen, then digitally composited and colored. I use a mixture of technologies. Whatever works. One size does not fit all, whether it’s clothing or technology.

Pratt-L the Artificial (un) Intelligence returns when Kate starts school in mid August! I had some fun with it, even if Kate does not.

Thank you, and I hope that you are enjoying the strip as much as I am enjoying drawing and writing it.