Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Old Stuff


Just two panels from an old set of samples I never completed that I thought had a nice bit of drama to them. That's pretty much it! :)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Saracen


Here is the third sketch I said I would post. Its of another lame villain called Saracen, who was apparently a middle-eastern terrorist and foe of the Punisher (don't you just LOVE Marvel in the 70's?). Actually, I think this character is from the 90's, but seems like it would have fit into the onslaught of stereotype characters from the 70's such as Shang-chi, Power Man, etc., when Marvel jumped on the exploitation bandwagon. I'm sorry I skimped so bad on the background, because that town outside the window could have been a tad more believable. Overall, I am pretty happy with this sketch. He kind of looks like Borat, though. I should have applied some shadows to the figure as well, but didn't want them to distract from the linework and overall shape of the character. This sketch was completed in about 20 minutes.

Monday, July 23, 2007

"Twosies beats Onesies"



"But nothing beats three."

A little 'Cabaret' for you folks right there.

And the third is coming tomorrow.

The first sketch, Archangel, was done in october of last year. I used a variety of Micron Pens, and wasn't too happy with the results. It was at this time when I was introduced to the Staedtler brush pen I spoke of in another post. This was also the time at which I decided to start doing quick character studies. Unfortunately, I don't think I did another for a couple months after this piece. I'm getting back on track now, as I try to do one almost every day. This Archangel piece took me about an hour, if memory serves me correctly.

The second sketch, done the other day, is of a lame Spiderman villain called Carrion. In the few old Spiderman comics I have which feature this character, I don't even think he speaks. He just kind of hovers around looking ghastly, which I guess could be cool in its own right if you wanted. I like this villain because DAMN, he must STINK! Honestly, this guy must smell like rotting chicken. I always thought he should have been drawn with a more decomposed look than he normally was, but that's just my take. However, it would have pre-dated the zombie fad by about 11 years. This sketch took me approximately 35 minutes and was done with a brush pen.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Black Cat


Here's a sketch of the Black Cat (I think that's her name) character from the Spiderman comics. I think it was completed in about 10 minutes or so. I used a great new toy of mine, the Steadtler Mars Graphic 3000 Duo, an incredibly long and nerdy name for a pen. Maybe it's justified in the fact that this pen is so awesome.

It has two usable ends, one being a normal marker and the other being the "brush" side of the pen. I know this double-sided thing is nothing new. Neither is the idea of having a brush pen. However the MG3000D (ha!) stands above the rest for a few reasons. First, the brush is incredibly versatile. It can produce a wonderful range of line thickness, including very fine and delicate lines, much more so than other brush pens I have tried. The second great thing about this pen is the fact that the brush is actually rubber, and not fibers. Therefore, the brush always retains its shape and can still produce fine lines even after repeated hard use. Brush pens, like other marker tips, will eventually break apart and only give you fat nasty lines all the time.

Anyway, I'm planning to do a quick drawing every morning before I begin work just to loosen up and have some fun. Also, I've decided I want to use my favorite lesser known heroes and villains for these sketches. So you won't be finding any Superman or Wolverine here! I guess I will also open this up to suggestions, so please leave a comment with any character(s) you would like to see.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Play


Did this drawing a while back and colored it in Photoshop yesterday. I don't really know what Ben Franklin, a triceratops and the Cabbage Patch-esque bust have to do with one another. When I was drawing, there must have been some stimulation or inspiration with those elements around me (actually, I think I was bored at work). Regardless, I just sort of let my pen go wherever it wanted and this is what happened.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Of a Friend



Trying to get back into painting with acrylics. Its a tough process, let me tell you. With this particular painting, I decided not to do smooth blends of colors and values. Rather, the paint was applied with a more deliberate separation between colors, thereby allowing "the eye" to do the blending.

I think I was moderately successful in my attempt, although I think when painted this way, the mid-to-high-tones look like the flash of a camera is striking the person's face. In this case, it was, as I was working from a combination of memory and a crappy 3x5" computer printout from a digital camera. This person is rather dark skinned, but I made him waaaayyyy too red. Looks like he just stepped off the beach.

Although awkward-looking, this painting has inspired me to continue painting. I've been working with acrylics for a number of years now, but have only recently become "comfortable" with them. I would much rather paint with oil. However, due to cost issues, time to dry and overall messiness, oils are just not in the cards right now. Oils are for when you have your own shed in the back of the house that is yours to do whatever you please and you can make a huge shitstorm mess and never clean it up and no one cares. Regardless of medium or how much formal training you have had, painting is an intensely personal process that can not be fully taught to anyone. It's up to you to decide what you feel is working and what is not. There is no step-by-step. You need to be in constant communication with the medium. Work WITH it, don't force it. If something you have been taught is not working for you, SCRAP IT.

More later.

Monday, July 16, 2007

For a Friend


This piece was a sketch I did for a friend who had just lost someone close to him.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Gen13 Comic Samples





The following three pages are my latest round of comic samples. I feel that they are the strongest that I have done so far; displaying many of the tips I have received from professionals along the way. There are two pages left to this particular sample. These two other pages are from the same 22 page script, but a different scene that includes the rest of the Gen13 team.

I took these samples to WizardWorld Philly in June and got a very positive response. I am looking forward to finishing these, along with several other 3-page samples before I go to San Diego Comic Con International later this month. Looking at these pages now, about three weeks after their completion, I think my main criticism has to be that my anatomy, while more precise than in previous samples, is still rather stiff. Luckily, this can only be fixed through more STUDYING and more DRAWING!

One tool that I have found that has already loosened my work up a bit since I have started drawing with it only a couple months back is a non-repro blue pencil. For those who don't know, this is a special kind of pencil that does not show up when copied or scanned. Thus, no erasing! Also, I think the fact that I know it is not the final pencil line allows me to loosen up ON the actual page. The lead in the pencil is softer and a bit waxy, which is a nice change from the rather harder leads that most comic artists use. For whatever reason, I'm always so happy with the expressiveness and looseness of the blue lines that I put down. So right now non-repro blue pencils are on the top of the list as far as useful drafting tools for comic artists. In the next few posts maybe I'll tackle lightboxes and Google SketchUp.