The first step, in creating a Hot Dog comic strip, is the initial illustration. The original comic is drawn, in very rough format, using pencil and paper. Text bubbles are overlaid on the comic for placement purposes and to keep track of the dialog. These are replaced later in the inking process.

After the drawing process has been completed, the illustrated page is scanned into the computer in black and white. The scanned images are then run through proprietary software to thin the scanned lines and remove the majority of grain caused by smudges, eraser marks, and paper inconsistencies.

With the image scanned and programmatically cleaned, it is ready for manual inking and cleanup. Here, much of the line work is manually redrawn or altered in the computer. This creates a crisp, clear image. During this process, the original hand drawn text bubbles are removed and replaced by computer generated text for better consistency.

Once the inking and lettering stage is complete, the strip is run through more proprietary software to thicken the lines back to a size appropriate for printing. This process also thickens the text, so the original computer generated text is reapplied.

The final step is to "color" the strip with zip-a-tone dot patterns. Sometimes called just "zip," these patterns simulate shading on the image. Once these patterns are applied, the strip is ready for final printing.