El Vocho #11

©2008 Steve Lafler, all rights reserved.

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To read the whole story, please view the archives.

El Vocho #10

To read the whole story, hit the archives baby!

©2008 Steve Lafler, all rights reserved.

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El Vocho #9

I have returned from my lengthy trip back to the U.S. and I'm ready to resume work on El Vocho, so I'll be posting early and often from here on in with updates to the story. I actually have some stuff ready to post, just have to scan it.

But first, let's geek out on some reference material! I've never been a cartoonist who uses a lot of reference; my preference is to just blast the drawings right outa my skull and let the chips fall where they may. However, there is a place for using on the spot sketches and photo reference. Sometimes you just want a realistic look. For me, it's often the case that I'll use reference to get the basic look of something, then I'll freehand it from there.

As this present story features very specific makes and models of autos, there is an obvious need for reference. Since moving to Mexico, I've bought a beat up Vocho (VW Bug) and refurbished it a bit, so my reference is sitting right in the driveway!

Recently, I heard that there would be a Vocho show right here in Oaxaca (Thanks for the tip, Todd!) -- so my son Max and I headed down with my camera and took a few shots that will no doubt come in handy in the course of drawing El Vocho, a few of which are posted here for your enjoyment.

El Vocho #8

I'll note here that my wife and I have bought a new house and are moving this week. Oh no, not again!!! This is the third time we've moved in three years... we plan on stayin' in this new place for awhile--I hope!

Anyhow, the house buying/moving stuff has slowed my creative work in this last stretch.

I'd love to say I'm climbing right back on the art pony, but we are about to spend three weeks traveling; I will truly be back in the saddle in the first week of July and will resume my El Vocho story in earnest. -Steve

©2008 Steve Lafler, all rights reserved.

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El Vocho #7

©2008 Steve Lafler, all rights reserved.

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El Vocho #6

Stop the presses! We'll return to the comics in the next post, right now it's time to mention the importance of the VW Beetle ("El Vocho" in Mexico) air cooled engine. This time honored, tough little powerhouse will play a big part in our unfolding narrative.
Here's a couple pics that illustrate the variety of Beetle engines out there.

Meanwhile, I've penciled my way through 19 pages of the story; I'm inking a couple and will post more comics in a day or two.

El Vocho #5

I want to note here, I've taken a bit of a break from inking "El Vocho" as I've been cranking out pages in pencil (and I usually letter the penciled pages as I go). This is the way I've always worked, I'll do stacks and stacks of pencils before inking, it helps me get into the story groove where the good stuff is just flowing through me.

I just tried to scan some of the penciled work on my crappy scanner, and it was no go. So at some point soon, I'll get some more stuff inked and posted, but for now I'm back to burning up the bristol board with pencil.

When I moved to Mexico last year, I knew in my heart that my nice large format Mustec scanner would likely get smashed to bits if I tried to ship it here, so I gave it to a friend instead. Sooner or later, I'll score another such rig and set it up down here.

©2008 Steve Lafler, all rights reserved.

Sponsored by Manx Media, wholesale custom screen printer of T Shirts & Apparel.

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