Cover Concept v2

Here's another cover mock up that got nixed.  Getting closer though :)

Cover Sketch

Here's a sketch I did for the cover of Book One.  

I'm going to take another stab at it cuz this composition is a bit crammed and probably not a good choice for a cover. 

I like the drawing and it's got a good expressiveness so I figured I'd post it. :)

APE 2010 Round Up

This past weekend I was over at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco.  All-in-all it was a good time, while sales weren't that great(I heard the same from a lot of the attendees, so I don't feel too bad) the people who did stop by to check things out seemed genuinely interested in the book and it's upcoming release. I got to meet a lot of really cool folks and hang out with my pals Jonathan, Vincent & Jana (all Image central employees coincidentally enough) and all their comics pals who stopped by to check things out :)

I also got to go over more details about AmityBlamity Book One with Dan from SLG...exciting news coming shortly!  As well as meet the amazingly talented Philippa Rice who does one of my favorite comics called "My Cardboard Life"  - if you haven't checked it out here's a link http://mycardboardlife.com/  it's pretty brilliant.  She was all the way over from London England for the weekend!

Finally, I want to give some shout outs to Dave & Nikita who bought early copies of Pigtails and Potbellies back in 2008, their pal Alek, Laurne Davis who is putting out a book called "The Comic Book Guide to the Mission" in which there will be 3 pages by yours truly, and Leef the owner of Mission Comics & Art who I featured in my pages for Laurens book :)  Also, big thanks to all the good people who picked up a copy of Amity Blamity and who shared their stuff with me.  I didn't get to do any shopping so I was thrilled to be able to trade with people for great books!

Well, back to work - as soon as I solidify my exciting news I will post the details :D

Poster Art

Just finished up inking this poster I'm hoping to use at APE this weekend and other upcoming conventions.

Next step...color!

Hoo-RAY! Book One...Done.

Well...kinda.  I just finished the artwork.  It still has to be scanned, lettered and prepped for printing, so there's still quite a bit of work 'til the book is actually "done."  However, the drawing part is pretty much complete and I gotta say it feels pretty good -160 pages, scripted, penciled & inked in 18 weeks. I'm pretty proud to get to the end(kinda). I'm not sure if a lot of people get the opportunity to start a project and get to finish what they start without having to sacrifice it for something more practical so I'm pretty thankful and it's a really nice milestone to hit.  I imagine this is what it's like wrapping principal photography on a movie. 

Here's a shot of the pile of pages...now onward to post-production!

POTD: Background Inks

Here's what a final inked page looks like before it gets scanned.  I do the Lettering and Tone on the computer and drop out the gray from the pencils and then a page is pretty much done!  If i had the time and money, I would print out the text and paste it down and get actual Letratone and apply it to the physical page.  I love seeing old original art that is a photo ready piece, but I don't plan on selling the pages so I guess I can let it slide...unless someone drives a dump truck full of money up to my place ;)

For inking the backgrounds I use pens, just for speed and economy.  Below are the pens of choice for my bg art.  The Pentel Brush pen is probably the nicest brush pen I've ever used.  The ink is nice and the tip feels most like a brush and it saves time from dipping and blotting. I use this mostly for organic type stuff in the bg like leaves or stuff with a soft texture.  The micron pens are: 005(for fine details like woodgrain or hatching) 02(for midgrounds) andthe 05(for bolder lines to bring an edge to the front).  These are typically used on anything hard, like walls, floors furniture etc.