I figure now would be a good time to post the template I use for my comics, especially after a weeklong Pinky And The Brain parody. The speech bubble text has been there a few months, for the purpose of making sure the text settings are the same each time.
I'm using Photoshop Elements 5, which has its drawbacks. For instance, that toolbar with "Full Edit" and "Quick Fix" tabs is utterly useless and takes up valuable space. There's no turning it off. I was using Photoshop 7 before this, and loved it. However, that was a Mac version, and I now use Windows. I may buy CS4 or whatever eventually, but not anytime soon. Elements is currently 2 versions out of date.
Another drawback to Elements 5 is the lack of guides and slices. The blue guides were carried over from my Photoshop 7 template, and can't be moved or removed(can be hidden, at least) with this version. Thankfully, the guides are precisely where I want them.
Hmm, my last-used color was red(Kenny & The Pain's noses). I should change that before drawing.
The Undersketch layer group is for all my sketch circles & squares, made with the shape tool. Groups are also not supported in Elements, so I can't change settings for the circles after I draw them. This is another carry-over from my PS7 template that I still fine useful, when it works. I often simplify this layer afterward so I can move circles around.
The sketch layer, like the UnderSketch, is at 10% opacity. This one's for actual drawing, like the form lines.
Like my name for the white background layer? Thought so.
And finally: find X. I've been hiding a little X in each of my comics(except Doggone Dailies 2009) for a little over a year now, starting with the June 16th, 2008 comic where I also hid 8 ninjas. I've been waiting for someone to point it out before I do, so I can say, "Congratulations! You found X!", but it's been a year now, so I'll go ahead and spill the beans.
This is a geeky joke started by this image where there's a geometry problem asking to find X, and the student circles X, writing "Here it is!". I had considered making a Where's Waldo-style book where I hide X in various pictures(many cross-hatched), and as it turns out, I can combine that plan with the first Kenny Chronicles book, which comes out... whenever the comic becomes popular enough.
The x is always a lowercase 11pt. black x in the Chronicles Of A Hero bold font. The template makes sure of that consistency. I could make it different sizes and/or fonts, but then someone might not be sure they found THE x. Some of the early x's may not be that size, due to being early.

I don't know how long I'll keep inserting X and starting with this template text. Hiding X was easier when I actually did cross-hatching and shading. Cross-hatching and shading comes more naturally when using the quills and brushes. Also, seeing that "Gee, Kenny..." text can be distracting when starting a comic, so that may change from time to time(not that it's visible to the reader anyway).

Hope you enjoyed my little behind-the-scenes posting! New comic on Monday.