If no spaghetti-western action is happening in your cowboy comic, the trick is to fill that void with beautiful backdrops. I came to that realization during the Alone Arc when Wantedman was isolated, and the only enemy was himself.
In the first few pages of Wantedman, I didn't attempt many backgrounds. Not because I couldn't do it, but I was lazy. Where I am now is that I'm in love with the process of learning perspective accurate backdrops, especially when it strengthens world-building. Every little characteristic, like marks on a table, added could tell a story in a reader's mind.
Wanting to exercise western John Ford-style scenery, I referenced a photo from Capitol Reef, Utah. I've been to Utah but never this place, and after I fell in love with this drawing, I hope to go and take my reference photos for my morgue file. I kept the rock's structure the same and didn't make it my own because I had no intention of this being Bountyland canon.
That is the beauty of illustrating nature: Line work doesn't need to be ruled out like a skyline. Obviously take as long as you want. This sketchbook entry is dear to me since I freehanded it straight-to-paper with a brush in under 15 minutes.
I hope you create today!
Your Homie,
Read Wantedman, Cyber-Western Comic by Sapo.
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