Now that you're ready to draw, go back to the sketchbook and spend a few minutes planning your strategy. It's a good idea to think in moviemaking terms. You're the director and you're deciding the best way to shoot the scene. Where will your actors stand? How will they gesture? What will the setting be? How will the scene play out?

Work on a few thumbnail sketches of your illustration (see the facing page). Thumbnails are small, quick sketches that include the major elements of the illustration. You can also plan shading and lettering placement at this point. There are several ways to illustrate a scene — and your reader is going to get bored of seeing the same compositions panel after panel, strip after strip. By drawing thumbnails, you can brainstorm creative strategies to present the scene.

Doing thumbnail sketches will help you refine your drawing before you start working on the final illustration.

It is much easier — and quicker — to address these design challenges at the thumbnail stage. When you're executing your final illustration, it's very awkward — and frustrating — to draw and redraw the same panel. The repeated erasure can also damage the surface of the illustration board, making your inking difficult.