I don’t actively try to eavesdrop on others’ conversations but… it happens. And sometimes what I hear sticks with me. She cut the knees out from under this person in under 10 seconds and that was the end of the conversation. So dramatic!
I was actually working on a completely different mechanical piece but the story was falling flat. I started sketching different sliding techniques and this one reminded me of the sliding bus windows. The idea coalesced very quickly after that.
I always start with a scale mockup in cheaper cardstock just to work out my measurements and templates.
I cut the shapes from watercolor paper and painted them and completely forgot to get a picture of them at that stage! Once everything was dry and prepped, I assembled the mechanisms and finally got to see it all together for the first time.
I ended up binding the page into a book with the pieces cut for a few more pages with other bus stories.