Before and After...

I remember seeing in the back of Michael turner comics, his lineart for pages and concepts for covers, then on the next page you see the full rendered image. its just amazing. I've started doing the same thing, not that i can really hold a candle to Turner (RIP) but still its fun to see it in my own work. Enjoy everyone.

From Start to Finish...

I just completed this page i was working on and decided to upload an image showing the whole process of coloring from lineart to finished colored product. Any questions feel free to ask. I use absolutely no plugins while working with the pages. Enjoy!

Motivation..

Finally was in a good mood to get some quality coloring done. Never realized how time consuming it really is. I dont really think i could ever do this for a living... Anyhow.. try thinking what this is all about...Enjoy!

Chasing the Dark Poster Design....

Finally Back on Track....

So i was having technical issues which halted the progress of coloring. Now everythings alright and im back on track. Here's a little sample of whats to come...

Cover Art

This is tough shit. After drawing everything now comes the daunting task of creating an alluring or intriguing cover. I dont know how some people do it...Mike Turner for instance. All his covers are golden. I still havent seen one i just dont like... im trying to make a few, i'll be posting more as i get the time. Heres something im workin on at the moment...

The Art Of Inking....

I suck at this. but im hopefully getting better. Currently im really liking Jason Gorder's work as well as Scott Williams. But imitating them is proving harder than anything else. For all you out there who say inking is simply "tracing" and not an art, well your only 1/8th correct. Some pencillers have what are called super tight pencilling skills, where basically everything the artist wants is on the page, and nothing is left for the inker to interpret. In this case the inker simply traces. On the other hand the inker will add depth and weight to his works and something that pencils cannot afford. Also the inker cannot erase. so that blows bigtime. I've been trying to make my close up drawings a little more complicated because im working on A4 which is small for comic book pages but i really dont have the luxury or deskspace for 11x14 paper. this page in particular is something i really like. Im only showing a portion so as to not give too much away. And i've started posting videos of the sketch to ink and then to color process. That will gradually come over time.

Battery Powered Evil Peoples...

Random sketch of the day.... I was in OBGYN class today and i realize that i draw things based upon the mood im in, especially if im in a class i despise. Gynecology is by far the worst subject i've ever read. it makes me want to take a sharp object and poke my eye a few times. Anyhow i started doodling in class today and just ran with an idea. I remember seeing how a Boomer looks like when its dead and wanted to use it in a drawing.. (L4D btw). So this is what i got. The pen i used was also this little gem called the Pentel Slicci 0.25 mm. its cheap and ridiculously good. Im actually using it in the upcomming pages of the comic.(because after inking the pencil lines can be erased immediately leaving absolutely NO smears or ghost lines behind) also i might add that after erasing the underlying pencils, this ink in particular does not fade. (godforsaken Pigma Microns....grr...) now i know what my friend Nori was talkin about....ENJOY!!!

About Gabby

Gabby's one of the hardest characters for me to write for, with Simon being the easiest and Damien after that. Probably because Simon and Damien are based off Alex and myself, so it's easier for me to think up reactions and general plot schemes for them, while Gabbys always been a question mark for me, my initial plan was to model the personality of people I know, but that hasnt been working out too well, so I havent really gotten far with that.

As of now, she's a quiet little girl, who holds on to her childlike naivety long after Simon and Damien become far more mature than any kid their age normally would be, partially because she finds herself shielded from things by the two of them. She'll also end up being the glue that holds the group together. As for her role in the whole story, she is the character who is underestimated and overlooked, in more than one way, by both her friends and those chasing them. Anyone who does though, will be in for quite a surprise.

Gabby...

Gabby is an interesting character to draw. She started actually as a rag doll looking character when i first drew her in that poster which started everything. (Check first post). Her design has evolved as i was able to draw more and more. i finally found a look which i was happy with, and while i dont try to draw anime, i ended up borrowing heavily from that genre. But whatever, those artists really know how to draw some expressive characters. Big eyes show emotion better than any dialog can and so for someone such as Gabby i had to go in that direction. Heres my final version of gabby. I'll be talking about the evolution of each character as the comic goes along and Sid will most likely be talking about the characters personalities in detail along with the drawings. Stay Tuned...Enjoy!

Along this way Gabby meets the Dark...

As Chapter 1 comes to a close, i decided to take some pictures of the sketches i've done working up to this project. I've always liked how some artists did this in comic books (i tried out a classic Silvestri pose for the Dark here) and now heres my chance. These will be reproduced in better quality in the Chapter 1 Book due soon (in a month or so-fingers crossed). But for the few people who actually check this place out i figure it'd be kinda cool to show you the ideas i've had for the random characters. If there are any artists interested in any technical things like supplies and media lemme know. i've scoured the net and asked many people what they use to get the result they got in they're work and i know how tough it is to get an answer. I use a mixture of traditional media and digital work. All artwork is done the old fashioned way with pencil paper pens markers and lots and lots of paper. All coloring is done with Photoshop and Painter in some instances using a Wacom Intuos3 6x8 tablet. Its pretty sweet. Anyhow Enjoy!

Panel By Panel...

So my goal is pencil and pen in the rest of Chapter 1 before i leave for home. 14 days and 15 pages to do. This should be interesting... Here's a sample of an upcomming page...Enjoy!

Good news

Chapter 1 is progressing nicely, alex will probably be done with the artwork by the end of the month given the way he's tearing through the pages right now, and I'll get to work on the lettering once I get done with medicine postings. 

So if all goes well you might be looking at the first chapter/issue at some point in the next couple months. As of now I'm not going to say anything about the story, because I want to see how much people get from the first chapter, after that if you guys want a little more info about the world in our comic book, I can keep supplying you with little fragments here and there to whet your appetite.

Also I've recently discovered a new author thanks to a friend of mine, the author's name is Steven Erikson. And this man is an example of pure, unfettered genius. He has written 8 of a series of 10 books, collectively titled Malazan Book Of The Fallen. I'm currently starting the 5th in the series, and these books have me held in thrall. It's a struggle to put them down once i pick them up and start reading.

The first book is called Gardens of the Moon, and i highly recommend it to anyone who loves intricate, complex plots. Convergences are the main theme to all his books, every book is an event of convergence between multiple parties, all seemingly completely unconnected and yet as you go along, it's as though theres an invisible force pulling everything together, bit by bit, until at the end, you are left stunned, reeling, and completely in awe.

I could go on for a while about this, but for now I have to get to college so I'll pick this up some other time

Changes

Tweaked a couple things in the blog's layout. Lemme know what you guys think

Benchmarks...

My buddy Ryan John asked me an interesting question the other day as i was showing him some new artwork for the comic. We've critiqued each others work over the years. He said "Are you going to go back and Re-do any of your older pages." I thought for a moment then answered. "Probably not." I've learned a lot during this whole process and while many people might dismiss it all as a fruitless struggle, I've come to realize what this project really means to me. Its a catalog of progress. Its a time capsule or benchmark of skill. Im expecting that by the end of it all, whenever that may be, i'll look back at what i used to think was awesome and think that it looks like crap. But its not something i really want to change. I don't expect any profit from this project at all. I described it to Ryan as a Personal Ambition, one of those..."I've always wanted to do" things. And so as the pages roll out, i do not intend on changing a thing. If anyone reading this has seen the prelude we released about six months ago, they'll notice a great change in style in all aspects of the comic. I've utilized different techniques while Pencilling, Inking, and Coloring each page and probably will continue to incorporate more as i study other artists. Anyways, its 4:16 am on a Saturday night and i can't sleep at all. I think its time i try to go to bed. Here is a sketch out of the ol' sketch book. Enjoy!

Seeing the Light..

It dawned on me the other day, i was doing everything wrong. The reason why i wasnt getting anything done as far as coloring was concerned was because i had no organization. I use layers liberally and since i rarely use any plugins anymore it becomes all the more important to take a few extra seconds here and there to organize them. It used to get really messy...(imagine using 100+ layers without names) anyhow i was able to finish two pages in one day which to me is a big thing and well i'd thought i'd share a part of one which i felt came out pretty well. Comments welcomed as always. Enjoy!

Keeping the Ball Rolling...

In an effort to keep everything in continual motion, i'll be uploading more sketches as the comic progresses. Perhaps previews into whats really going on. Maybe later sid will explain some background as to whats going on so no matter what happens, you all will be aware that this project, as slow moving as it seems, is still very much in action. Meanwhile try to think of something that could make poor little gabby this sad and perhaps you'll figure out why shes such a quiet little girl...Enjoy.

Sneak Peek...

Now that Third year medical school exams are over, the comic process can resume. Only problem is that final years no walk in the park. but still we're making progress. Actually a lot more than we've made before particularly because now im drawing as many pages as i can while trying to read. Anyhow here's a sneak peek of whats to come.
I give you a color test of a panel in chapter 1. Enjoy!