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It occurs to me that maybe not all of my readers are so immersed in online right-wing culture that they’re familiar with the word “sheeple.” So, just in case: Merriam-Webster defines sheeple as “people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced: people likened to sheep.”

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I’ve got a treat for you today: Writer, artist, and comics scholar Frank M. Young, who colors around one-fourth of these cartoons (this one included) agreed to write a few words about his coloring process. And heeeeeere’s Frank!

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Not-so-Brief Thoughts on Coloring, by Frank M. Young

I have been coloring Barry’s cartoons since the middle of 2020. I think I’ve done two dozen or so by now. Working with color is something that’s compelled me since my Crayola days and I do much observation of real life and how color always seems to fit together in manmade and natural settings.

My first coloring work in comics was in 2001, when artist David Lasky and I did our first sample pages for our graphic novel “The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song,” which we worked on for five years and Abrams ComicArts published in 2012. I fell in love with the process, which is fortunate, because it’s painstaking and demanding. It’s not a good fit for impatient temperaments. The devil is in the details and in how to balance all the graphic elements. I often do microscopic work that I know few people will ever notice–but it’s got to be there.

I have also colored the work of classic cartoonist Rube Goldberg, “New Yorker” cartoonist Harry Bliss, alt-comics creator Carol Lay and author-artist Cindy Copeland.

Barry’s cartoons are always a joy to color. Barry will often have ideas about the approach he’d like, and will give me information about the characters that’s never stated in the cartoons but helps me get a handle on who they are. I sometimes do the colors with a limited palette rather than representational hues. The content and setting of each cartoon suggests the approach I might take.

I sometimes start by choosing the colors for all characters, settings and backgrounds. Other times I’ll just wing it and see what happens. In either case, I make a new layer in Adobe Photoshop and get going. To place the colors, I use a “magic wand” selection tool, among other Photoshop tools, to traverse the area and fill it in. I color much brighter than the final versions you see. It helps me to better see how the colors contrast. A lot of coloring comes down to warm colors versus cooler tones. The color scheme for eash character has to harmonize. They also must stand out from the often-elaborate backgrounds so the reader gets what’s happening with ease.

The characters share their own layer; there’s a middle layer that is a mix of foreground and background images and then a final background base. On top of it all are layers of shadows and highlights. Those have become my favorite part of the coloring process. For the shadows, a layer of transparent gray is used, and I choose areas, based on Barry’s artwork, to give the images a sense of volume. It’s like magic to see those grey tones come into the image. These contours are complex and there’s some trial and error until I know they’re working right. It’s the same routine with the highlights. These elements support the drawings and complement what is already there.

Sometimes a character’s demeanor suggests colors. In today’s cartoon, the opinionated guy at the bar has a provocative nature, so I gave him red hair. He reminded me of a red-headed fellow from high school who was outspoken and opinionated. The reds and yellows seemed natural for his personality.

The biggest challenge was the bar setting. I kept trying color combinations and none of them felt right. I finally decided to visit a seedy lounge near my house. I walked in, scoped out the color combinations in the place and got a bunch of surprised stares from the habitues of this suburban den. I noticed that the decor was brightly colored to offset the general gloom of the place. I made mental notes and zipped back home. Another decision was the time of day. I first tried a night-time look with dark windows. This was too murky. Mid-afternoon light gave me the look I wanted–everything in the room reads much better. When the images in the panels feel like a real place to me, I know I’ve got it.

When I think I’m done, I double-check everything. Sometimes I’ll catch things I missed, like shadows going in the wrong direction or uncolored parts of bodies or scenery. Or there might be a sloppy bit of digital painting I don’t like. Then I mute the colors, take a last look and if it feels right, I send it to Barry. He will sometimes ask for modifications–the goal is to get each cartoon looking its best and for my colors to support the hard work Barry has done in writing and drawing each piece.

I always enjoy getting a new cartoon and going through this process. I try to set challenges for myself and to learn something new each time. In this cartoon, the framed pictures of Muppets are painted in a 1970s-style of loose, scratchy color. I sampled a dozen different digital brushes before I found the right texture and did those colors in transparent tones that suggested a hasty watercolor painting. Those were fun to do and I hope anyone who notices the background stuff will enjoy seeing it. The message of each cartoon is most important and I enjoy the variety of places and faces that inhabit the point of them all.

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A public thanks to Frank – both for writing that up for us, and for all the work he does on these cartoons.

For which, of course, Frank is paid. So thanks as well to all of you who are supporting my Patreon – I’m really proud that I can pay my collaborators the professional rates they deserve for their skills, and the reason I can do that is your support.

Extra thanks on the sidebar go to my mom, Toby Deutsch, who has been supporting these cartoons from the beginning (and honestly, since I first began drawing). Thanks mom!

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Edited to add: Todd Elner pointed out this hilarious XKCD comic with a similar theme.

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TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has four panels. The setting is a bar; there’s a bar counter, patrons, framed pictures on the wall, a big window with the word “BAR” painted on it (it looks backwards, because we’re seeing it from the inside). For those who look closely at the little details, we can see that the people in the framed pictures are characters from The Muppet Show: Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, and the Swedish Chef.

PANEL ONE

A red-headed man holding a beer is sitting at the bar ranting to a woman at the bar on his right. He’s dressed casually, in a ringer t-shirt. He doesn’t see that behind him, a man is walking up. The man is an anthropomorphic sheep, wearing a collared shirt and necktie with the collar unbuttoned and the necktie pulled down a bit, The Sheep speaks angrily, holding up an objecting forefinger.

REDHEAD: SHEEPLE! Liberals are SHEEPLE! They’re AFRAID to think for themselves!

SHEEPLE: HEY!

PANEL TWO

The redheaded man has turned to face the sheeple, and pulls back in total surprise. The sheeple continues to chew him out angrily.

REDHEAD: Oh! Um…

SHEEPLE: Stop spreading STEREOTYPES about SHEEPLE! I think whatever I want.

PANEL THREE

In a close-up shot of the sheeple, which was ridiculously fun for me to draw, abnd Frank told me it was fun for him to color too, the sheeple looks soulful and sad, rubbing his head with one palm.

SHEEPLE: It’s so EXHAUSTING, hearing the same bigoted NONSENSE about sheeple every day…

PANEL FOUR

The redheaded man is frantically apologizing. The Sheeple seems less mad – he’s no longer yelling – but he still looks angry, crossing his arms as he talks to the man.

The sheeple doesn’t see that, behind him, a chicken woman has approached. She’s wearing a dress with a pattern of eggs on it, and looks angry, with her arms akimbo.

REDHEAD: I didn’t MEAN–

SHEEPLE: Just because I’m a SHEEPLE doesn’t make me a CHICKEN!

CHICKEN: HEY NOW!

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Sheeple! on Patreon

It’s the American Dream!

Not every American is like this, or even most Americans. But it’s a type of person I’ve met, and probably you’ve met them as well – people who just believe that someday they’ll be rich, as if it’s part of a natural life course. It’s an expectation that underlies all of their life plans, and – I think – can make it harder for people to appreciate what they do have. (Or to realize that we need social support systems for the vast majority of us who will never be billionaires.)

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I love strips where I get to draw the same character at different ages. (One of my favorite strips I’ve done features myself drawn at different ages.) It’s a fun challenge for me, and one that concentrates more on character drawing – my comfort zone – than on environments.

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This is a cartoon that I really think Frank Young’s colors add a lot to. Especially in the final panel – all those shadows on the ground are Frank’s work, and they make that panel much more evocative. I love it when collaborators surprise me like that.

When Frank first began doing colors on my strips (he colors about one strip a month for me), I asked him to emulate my approach to coloring (which involves fewer and less realistic colors).. But over time, I’ve come to trust Frank more and that gives him more freedom to color in his own style. (Or maybe it’s a mix of my style and his – I suspect Frank’s using flatter colors on my work, knowing that’s my preference, than he might on someone else’s work or his own.)

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TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has four panels.

PANEL ONE

A teenager is sitting in a diner booth, smiling and talking directly to the reader. He has messy red hair and a brightly striped t-shirt. There’s a plate of food on the table in front of him, and a sign taped to the wall behind him says “Wanted: Background gag writer – low pay.”

REDHEAD: Someday I’ll invent something BIG! Like a cure for cancer or an app everyone uses… And then I’ll be so RICH!

PANEL TWO

A smiling adult man – somewhere in his thirties or forties, probably – stands in what looks like part of work building of some sort, probably an office, and speaks directly to the reader. 

He’s an older version of the teen in panel one – he’s still got the red hair and round face, but now the hair is neatly combed in a part, and he’s got a van dyke beard and mustache. He’s wearing an izod shirt with a sedate stripe.

We can see an elevator in the background, and a water cooler next to him. (There’s a goldfish swimming in the water cooler).

REDHEAD: Or maybe I’ll win the lottery… people win every day! Or a rich relative I don’t know about will die leaving me BILLIONS!

PANEL THREE

The same red-haired man speaks to us again, but now he’s a senior citizen – he’s bald on top and his face is much more wrinkled. He’s wearing a button-up sweater open over a collared shirt, and he’s carrying a cane. He’s still smiling.

He appears to be at home – there’s a floral-patterned armchair behind him, and a decorative vase on a little table in front of a window. Outside the window is a tree and also a suspicious looking man wearing an old-fashioned hat and hiding behind a bush. (The suspicious looking man has no importance at all to this cartoon). There’s a framed photo of Albert the Alligator from “Pogo” on the wall. 

REDHEAD: Lots of people get rich! Sooner or later it’s BOUND to be MY turn! And THEN the life I deserve will begin!

PANEL FOUR

We’re looking at a graveyard. A gravestone front and center says “R.I.P.” on it, and a thought balloon is coming from the grave.

THOUGHT FROM GRAVE: Any day now…

That’s the end of the comic strip, but there are some irrelevant details carved on headstones. The main headstone, under the big “R.I.P.” letters, says in much smaller letters: “Blah blah blah no one reads this.” A gravestone further in the background says “Hi There. I am past my expiration date.” Another one says “Dead Tired” and another one says “Here Lies Melvin.”

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Someday I’ll Be Rich! | Barry Deutsch on Patreon