Happy Birthday Hermit Hill, 1 Year down, more to come

This week marks one year since I started drawing Hermit Hill. It doesn't feel that long to me for some reason, but it has been a lot of fun. When I first started I wasn't sure I would be able to keep it up. I didn't know if I could stick to a schedule and keep coming up with ideas and all the anxiety that comes with starting a new project with an indefinite end date. But, here I am still plugging away and it feels good.

Over the course of the first year of my strip I suppose the biggest change is in how I draw my characters. Anyone reading through the HH archives of strips will notice that Walter and Francis' character designs go through a few sudden changes. My original concept for Hermit Hill was to be a series of full page comics designed for print in comic book form. When I started posting them to the web, however, it became clear that this format was not great for the web. Having to scroll down the page in your browser really ruins the experience of reading a comic. So, early on I decided to switch to a classic comic strip format, which is far more browser friendly.

Once I decided on the layout design change I wanted to change how I drew my characters too, especially Walter. I wanted them to look more… well, comic strip-y. I wanted a simpler design, a more iconic look. What I was doing before was too sketchy for a comic strip, I felt. So, I went through a series of changes with my characters and I think I've settled on a comfortable design. I really wanted to be able to fit the whole character in the panel, which was key for me. The floating torso, talking head look I see often in comic strips doesn't lend itself to as much physical comedy as I want to include in Hermit Hill.

The great thing about doing a comic strip on the web is all the freedom I have to experiment like that. Go to any of your favorite strips on the web, the ones that have been out for a few years, and go back through the early archives. It's more than likely you'll see a huge difference in how the strip is drawn. Starting from the first strip up to the most recent strip will reveal the evolution of an artist growing, changing styles, getting better. I think it's so cool to be able to watch that process and it's certainly happened here with Hermit Hill.

To mark the first year of Hermit Hill I spent the last few weeks finishing a book that collects all the strips I've done for the site. I've also added a bunch of extra content you won't find online, like sketch pages where I was working out my character designs and several of the full page Hermit Hill comics. I just finished everything yesterday and uploaded the files to the printer. I should be getting a proof copy back within the next two weeks and if everything looks good the book will go on sale here at the site. I'm really excited to see it all put together and I hope readers will like it.

It's been a real satisfying experience writing and drawing the first year of Hermit Hill and I appreciate all the comments and emails and posts I get from you guys, the readers. After all, entertaining you, the thought of putting a smile on someone's face with my doodles, is what this whole endeavor is about. Thanks for reading!

Now, back to work. I have the next week's worth of strips penciled, two weeks ahead scripted, and tomorrow's strip half inked on my drawing board. Time to get started on year 2…