Hopefully this will be a page in my graphic memoir, so it’s not intended as a standalone comic. It will have context!
I used a blank scan of white paper to make the ultrasound image, turning up the contrast to pick out texture. And I fiddled with ‘warp’ in Photoshop. I liked the connection between scanning this artwork about having a scan, and making my own scan image by scanning ‘nothing’ to illustrate my ‘nothing there’ scan at the Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC). The results of the actual scan are in my medical notes, which I extracted from the hospital last year. The medical notes helped me to remember certain details about it.
It’s probably a bit odd to those who understand comics that the radiographer’s speech isn’t in bubbles. She has taken over my narration – I did this to reflect the feeling of having no control over what happened in my story at that point. It was more about the scan machine governing my story – telling me what might happen next. Maybe it will be too confusing in context – any thoughts welcome.
Pixelmix 8-bit font by Andrew Tyler: http://andrewtyler.net/
Paula Knight Illustrator-Writer 
I thought the radiographers speech was natural – in that on scan printouts they have those kind of notes at the top that show – size, date, name of patient, etc…and it’s written in that computer font in white across the top. So that’s what I thought you were mimicking….
Cheers Sasha – I was – it was sort of a mixture of her speech and the notes.
I was a little confused in the first frame, but then got the hang of it. I think the way you’ve done is it incredibly moving (again – when this book is published I’ll probably be in tears through most of it!)
Oh thank you.The page leading up to it would save the confusion. Don’t worry Lucy, there will be plenty of levity too! Well… maybe not plenty but enough that you won’t have to fork out for 10 boxes of tissues. 🙂
AKA DildoCam! ;p
Quite!
I think this works nicely! I like the your thinking behing having the radiographer’s speech more ‘computer-like’ vs your speech rendered in the hand drawn more personal feeling/looking typography–if that makes any sense?
Also, props to how you made the sonogram!
Thanks for feedback Ms. Narwhal. Nice of you to say so.
Oy vey….I just re-read what I wrote & it’s full of grammar & spelling errors. Chalk it up to surreptitiously trying to view your blog during work hours!
Agree with all here. It totally works. And is great. We intuitively know that the tech is speaking and the speech bubbles are you.
In that podcast I posted yesterday Joyce Farmer said that she made sure she put something amusing every two pages in Special Exits so it wasn’t too heavy. I thought it was hilarious that she was so conscious of it to be that strict.
Hi MK,
Thanking you v much. I haven’t listened to that yet or read it (have it here to read) but will do both soon. Yes, not sure about being quite as regimented as that but it is definitely something I’m (self)conscious about due to certain responses I’ve had.