Making "Rodoku"

Here was the problem. A few years ago we put a single image random dot stereogram on the cover of our card. The inside showed Benjamin and Jeremy with googly eyes as they were trying to decode it. Last year we put a GPS on the front; the inside showed Benjamin and Jeremy giving contradictory directions. Everything I could think of for this year seemed awfully derivative. Benjamin and Jeremy trying to solve a Sudoku? Benjamin and Jeremy looking puzzled? All of these seemed too similar.

Finally I hit on the idea of having the two of them produce a running commentary. My first thoughts were that the two of them could be talking about how derivative the inside of the card was going to be, but then I decided that if it was going to be "meta," maybe they could talk about the fact that so much of the stuff I like revolves around puzzles of one sort or another.

That seemed pretty funny, so I mocked up the inside using some pictures of Benjamin and Jeremy that had been taken over the summer. Jeremy's photo was taken in front of an art museum in Montreal. I put the text in and just drew simple lines from their faces to the words. I showed it to Carol and she immediately cracked up. I only ended up tweaking it a tiny bit.

I wanted to take new pictures of the boys, but Jeremy really liked his photo, even though it was a little blurry. Benjamin graciously agreed to pose for a new shot.

Probably the hardest part of the inside was laying out the talk bubbles and faces so that the dialog flowed reasonably. I don't think I realized just how hard it must be to lay out a comic strip so that the dialog doesn't interfere with or spoil the action. Jeremy points out that his first talk bubble should probably be slightly lower, which is true, but it's too late now.

One of our friends posted her solution on Facebook. You can see it below.

If you liked this, or even if you didn't, please let me know.