Step 1) Paul sends me a script or three. I like having a part of an arc so I know how to design characters. Had I read this particular script on its own I would have drawn Delbert much differently. Here's what the first few lines look like:

PANEL 1
A small panel. No background, just the SFX: SLAP!

PANEL 2
Interior of the Rusty Nipple.
Large panel. On the far left of the panel, a hook-handed
customer, Delbert, looks pained, a big REDDISH-PINK HANDPRINT
still visible on his face.

A fuming Judy storms away from his table, arms rigid at her
sides and curled into fists, past Coraline who looks shocked
and clutches her serving tray to her chest.

JUDY
Grrrrr...

On the right side of the panel, behind the bar, Montoya has
his arms extended, palms out as if he's telling Judy to stop.
He has a VERY concerned expression on his face. (Note: be
sure to have the axe and the "hands off the barmaid" visible
behind Montoya).

MONTOYA
Now, Judy...

Step 2) I mull it over for a few hours or days depending on how busy my schedule has gotten. When I finally find some time to focus, I sit down and actually begin to sketch things out. We've not met Delbert yet so I've got to at least come up with an idea of what I might want him to look like. From this comic on it’s own I don't know much about his personality, but from later scripts I know he has to be brawny and obnoxious and a bit full of himself. What better influence for that than a slightly buffer version of Magnum P.I.?

Step 3) Now that I’ve had time to mull over ideas I really get to work. I’ve re-read the script several times, I've counted the number of panels, figured out who needs to be in each panel and when they speak, what their expressions and body language might be and where the focus of the story lies. Then I do some tiny thumbnails. When I say tiny, the example below was less than 2 inches wide. I may do 1-5 of these depending on how it reads stupid small. I am never sure if I will get everything in that I need on the first pass or if I will like the balance. Sometimes I do a little doodle of just each panel to get an idea of angles and rough proportions and then do a thumbnail.

Step 4) Now I get serious about drawing at a normal size. My stick figures have given me an idea of perspective from the little thumbnails, but now I've got to make it work larger. I also try not to repeat figures too much at the same size.

Step 5) I've sent off the larger thumbnail to Paul we have a little back and forth about what he doesn't actually like.  In this case, I was going to a reverse angle for the bottom panels and have a nervous Montoya holding a rather large Bowie knife under the counter. The panel also would have given me a chance to show more of the interior of the Rusty Nipple from an angle I've not drawn it yet... from behind the bar outward. I also wanted to show the various and sundry knives, axes and other confiscated weapons Montoya and company have squirreled away under their counter (some other time perhaps). Once we've agreed on nailing it down I pull out my 9x12" bristol board and get to work.

Step 6) Due to the nature of the bristol board and the type of pencils I use on it, I only draw a panel or two at a time and ink before I finish doing the pencil sketches on the rest of the page. The pencils rub really nicely under my hand and I want to keep the sheet as clean as I can. Here is a portion of panel 2 before I finished adding all of the characters and inking it.

Step 7) So this is the way the inked page looks right after I scan it in. I've screwed up a few lines I am really not happy with on the axe handle and something went horribly wrong with the fingers on Montoya's hand that is near the bar. In the bottom middle panel I also think that Coraline and Montoya are a little too close. I know I can quickly clean this up in Photoshop.

*STAT and EFFECTS translates to "wtf should I bother drawing the same panel twice when I know I can copy+paste in Photoshop?"

Step 8) I've fixed the hand and axe and handle and the proportions as well as cleaned up the dust and scratches that appear when you scan things in. Black and white corrections made and I've thrown in the frame for the comic.

Step 9) Colors!! I do a flat layer of color in between the black lines. Any other fixes that I may have missed on the previous passes get corrected here. You might notice that Montoya has a more worried look now than in the black and white. Paul really wanted to make sure that I increased his fear factor. There is a very real possibilty that Judy will go for the axe after all.