Not all Caseous cartoons come out completely ready. Sometimes several fully inked drafts will be completed before the finished product sees print. Here are two examples of cartoons that went through two drafts before the final product came out:
This is the original version of Caseous XIII (11.19.99), "Callback." Nate Melcher explains: "I came up with this idea, and wanted to put it down on paper right away. But it was such an simplistic concept, I decided to just go ahead and make a cartoon, no pencils, just inks. In the end, I wasn't satisfied with it. There was far too much white space that could be utilized for jokes. Also, some of the facial expressions of Frog simply proved to me that pencils before inks is always the way to go, especially the fifth and eigth panels."
Here is the published version of "Callback." Several panels have been added, giving the cartoon a fuller, busier look. Melcher: "By adding these extra panels, I was able to toss in an extra gag, the sandwich, and also get rid of the excess of white space in the first edition."
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This is the original version of Caseous XV (12.03.99), "Hmm..." Melcher explains: "Again, I decided to just go ahead and make a cartoon without doing any penciling first. Like 'Callback,' there was plenty of white space for me to play with. Also, this was written at a time when I was still playing with the size that I drew cartoons. This was drawn at approximately 6.5" x 6", I now draw cartoons at 9.5" x 8.5"."
Here is the published version of "Hmmm..." By drawing the cartoon larger and tighter with the different activities Frog is thinking about, several extra scenes were added, including a tribute to the film, "Rushmore."
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