Mars Attacks!

Mars Attacks!

This time around, I thought it would be amusing to do a portrait of a martian from "Mars Attacks!".  It is more based on the card series, rather than the movie.  But, both are malevolently amusing in their own twisted ways.

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STEP ONE:  I used a mixture of size (glue) and gesso and primed a 8-1/2" x 10" piece of hardboard which I had cut down.  I then penciled the image of the martian from "Mars Attacks!" as if he were sitting for a typical portrait pose.

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STEP TWO:  I did a quick under-painting of the penciled image in Burnt Sienna.  I almost wanted to leave the painting in sepia-tone, giving it that old-tymey, daguerreotype feel to it.  Maybe I'll revisit this idea in the future...

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STEP THREE:  I began laying in some color over the underpainting.

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STEP FOUR:  I added finishing touches, highlights, etc...

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This was done with Acrylic paint on 8" x 10" sized and gessoed hardboard panel.

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The Breakfast Club (Part 5)

Fruit Brute

Well, I **FINALLY** got around to finishing the last of the Monster Cereals.  For Fruit Brute, I decided to go in an opposite direction.  Rather than a monstrous werewolf, I figured having him as an effete and cultured character would be more amusing.

I hope Limpey isn't too disappointed... :-)

* * * * *

STEP ONE:  To try and keep everything somewhat consistent, I used a mixture of size and gesso on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent illustration board.  I drew everything out with vine charcoal, charcoal pencil, and carbon pencil, and used my kneaded eraser to lift out highlights and sharpen any areas which got a bit smudgey (one of the dangers of charcoal, after all).  When I was finished with the drawing, I scanned it into PhotoShop.

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STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I created a new layer set to "Multiply" and did a gradient from orange to purple.

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STEP THREE:  I added the flat colors on the same Layer, which was still set to "Multiply".

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STEP FOUR:  Within the flat colors, I pushed some highlights and shadows, flattened the layers, and called it "Done!". 

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This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent 215 illustration board, then colored digitally in PhotoShop.

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The Breakfast Club (Part 4)

Yummy Mummy

Well, time to get back to work on finishing up The Breakfast Club for the Monster Cereals.  Here's Yummy Mummy! 

Here's the process...

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STEP ONE:  As usual, I started with a piece of gessoed and sized (glue) Crescent Illustration Board.  I used vine charcoal to lay out the drawing and place some general shading.  Vine charcoal is very soft and can be blended easily, as well as lifted off for highlights.  Then I would darken areas using a soft carbon pencil.  When it was finished, I scanned it into PhotoShop and began the process of adding color the drawing.

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STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I added a Layer set to MULTIPLY and did a gradient from Orange on the bottom, to Purple on the top.  The previous drawings for The Breakfast Club were all monochromatic (one color), so coloring them was relatively simple.  Yummy Mummy, on the other hand, is a near-rainbow--so lots and LOTS of color on this one!

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STEP THREE:  I added more color to the background with orange, red, and purple, trying to keep in line with the multi-color design of Yummy Mummy.  I then laid out flat colors for Yummy Mummy's bandages.

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STEP FOUR:  Within the MULTIPLY Layer, I added the highlights and shadows.  I also added another layer for few, extra white highlights.

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This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent Illustration Board, then colored digitally in PhotoShop. 

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Harley Quinn & The Joker

This is my submission to the SuperPunch Blog, which I visit regularly.  They are having a contest to create a mock-up of a movie poster based on a DC character and win a DC Chess Set, so here it is.

 

Here's the process:

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STEP ONE:  As usual, I used a mixture of gesso and size (glue) to prime a 10" x 15" Crescent Illustration Board (#215).  I then drew out the image with a blue pencil, as it seems to smear a little less when I'm working with it.  I didn't have a reference for Harley Quinn at the time I sketched it, so the head dress is a little off character.  I also didn't bother to use picture references for the painting, either, so I suppose that is fitting.  I also wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with Harley Quinn's hand, so I left that sort of vague at that moment.

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STEP TWO:  I did some black-and-white wash underpainting, trying to determine some vague modeling for the figure.  For complaining about the concept of underpainting in some previous posts, I sure seem to use it a lot.  Anyway, I then started laying some acrylic color over top the black-and-white washes.  Also, I didn't feel the Joker's eyes were quite "crazy" enough in the pencil drawing, so I tried to correct that a bit.  And I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Harley's other hand not holding the giant hammer.

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STEP THREE:  Here's the finished painting.  When I took the picture, there was a bit of glare on large chunks of the background of the painting from the lighting (you can sort of see it in the previous picture in STEP TWO).  So, I decided to use the Dodge-and-Burn tool in PhotoShop to darken and burn-out highlights for the background, rather than just use the paintbrush to give it a single color.  That seemed to work.  And, I **FINALLY** decided to give Harley Quinn one of those guns with a "Bang!" flag in it.  It seemed in character.

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STEP FOUR:  I added the lettering in PhotoShop for the faux poster and submitted it to SuperPunch.

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Speaking of the SuperPunch Blog, I was in one of their Illustration Roundups for February 21, 2012 with my "Watchmen: The Squid" cover.  It was very surreal seeing my stuff on someone else's blog (with credit AND a link to my blog--that's especially nice).  Especially as it is a blog I read every week or so and I wasn't expecting it at all...  Cool!

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This was done with acrylic paint on 10" x 15" gessoed Crescent Illustration Board

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ROM: Spaceknight #1: Page Recreation

ROM: Spaceknight #1, Page 1

Here is the original 

And here is my recreation of the page:

I have very fond memories of ROM: Spaceknight--a comic from my misspent youth in the early 1980's, so I wanted to do another ROM painting.  The "Arrival" scene was always one of my favorites.

For those who are interested, here is the usual process...

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Step One:  First, I primed a 15" x 20" piece of #215 Crescent Board with a mixture of size (glue) and gesso.  Then, I measured off the 12" x 16" painting area, doing the panel lines in Sharpie.  For the series of three panels at top, I extended the panel lines outside the painting area, as I was pretty sure the panel lines would be painted over (I was right, and the panel edges were, indeed, painted over.)  :-)

I then used a blue-lead pencil to draw out the page. I used to do a lot of drawings with blue-line for pen-and-ink work and always liked it.  I recently found one of my blue pencils and decided to use it.

* * * * *

Step Two:  I begin by laying down some color with acrylic paints...

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Step Three:  More painting...

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Step Four:  I taped off the panel series at the top of the screen.  I painted the edges with some clear acrylic medium to keep the edge as sharp as possible and to prevent paint from bleeding under it.  For the space nebula effect, I used a spray bottle of water and white paint and built up several layers of wet-on-wet paint.  When it was dried, I went over top of it with some watered down blue paint to color it.  Lastly, I took some black paint and reworked some of the edges.

Also, I wasn't paying attention and somehow got it in my head that the second panel was showing ROM entering the Earth's atmosphere, but after I read the caption again, I realized it should be much closer to the ground.  Of course, I didn't realize this until I was finished painting the panel with Earth from space (including clouds and everything) and had to redo the whole thing.  Sigh...

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Step Five:  Finished painting!  I repainted the second panel, finished up some of the fire effects (well, some of them could be better, IMHO), and pushed some of the shadows and highlights.

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Step Six:  I added lettering in PhotoShop and called it DONE!  I also sent a copy of the last panel on to Anthony with the Re-Paneled Blog.

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This was painted with Acrylic on 12" x 16" sized and gessoed #215 Crescent Board

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On the Easel - March 8, 2012 - Rom: Spaceknight

On the Easel - Rom: Spaceknight Page Recreation

Greetings!  I just got back from a bit of an extended vacation, so I'm still trying to catch up on all sorts of other, random stuff.  So, this posting is a bit of a cheat, but here's what's on the easel at the moment: a page recreation of Rom: Spaceknight #1, page 1. 

I may make this a semi-regular feature, if there is any interest.  First, it is pretty easy to just take a picture of a work-in-progress and post it, so it can allow me to post more often (albeit, it is somewhat inflated and a bit of a cheat, as mentioned above), but I am also curious what other people are working on.  I'm thinking particularly of Ashley Wood, who often posts picture of what he has on his easel at the moment. 

I'm hoping to have it finished next week and have the process posted.  So, we'll see how that goes... :-)

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RELAUNCHED - Watchmen Too: The Squid

Watchmen Too - The Squid

With the new Watchmen sequels/prequels being launched by DC (I'll give 'em a shot and see what happens), the great Relaunched site is doing their own versions of Watchmen Too.  Being such a big fan of Watchmen, I thought I'd play along. 

If you ask me, one of coolest characters from "Watchmen", after Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach, was The Squid--which is why I was so disappointed it didn't get a chance to be seen in the movie... well, aside from the acronym S.Q.U.I.D., but that really doesn't count, IMHO. 

Here's the text portion of my story submission:

Engineered from the cloned brain of a telepath, The Squid is the centerpiece in Adrian Veidt’s plan to save the world from itself.

Within the tank, The Squid grows, reaching self-awareness and begins to develop its burgeoning psychic powers.  The Squid learns Veidt is planning to teleport it into the heart of New York City, killing millions, with the hope of preventing World War III and saving billions.  The Squid is to be the savior of mankind, a role it gradually accepts.

Using its growing psychic abilities, The Squid begins to direct Veidt's geneticists how to build a better monster and correcting any errors they make.  It also telepathically suggests to Veidt how best to carry out his plans, as well as people who may stand in his way--and how he may have to deal with those people.

The Squid was created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

But, you may be asking yourself, how did The Squid "influence" Veidt before he was created?  Just to tie everything up in a nice, little bow: part of ending to the story would involve The Squid using the time-traveling particles, Tachyons, to send a telepathic message to Veidt back in time, giving him the idea to build the Squid in the first place. The Squid also suggests that The Comedian will have to be killed when he finds out about it, which starts "The Watchmen" storyline going in the first place.

Well, on the the steps used to create this monstrosity...  :-)

* * * * *

STEP ONE:  I used a 7-1/2" x 10" piece of 102 Crescent Illustration Board, primed with a mixture of size (glue) and gesso.  I then did the painting from black and white acrylic paint.  Once finished, I through it on my scanner and imported it into PhotoShop.

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STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I created a new layer set to "Multiply" and laid down the flat colors.

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STEP THREE:  On the "Multiply" layer, I added highlights and shadows (Save often, kids!).  On a new layer, I also added the highlighted reflections on The Squids eye.  I also used the "Blur" filter to the sides around the eye to shift focus to the eye, itself.

* * * * *

STEP FOUR:  I cropped the cover a little on the sides and added the logo and side panel to bring it in line with the "Watchmen" prequels/sequels and called it "Done!"

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Acrylic paint on 7-1/2" x 10" Crescent illustration board digitally colored in PhotoShop.

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The Breakfast Club (Part 3)

Count Chocula 

Next up for the Monster Cereal characters, here's Count Chocula.  I had re-watched the 1922 classic, "Nosferatu", this past Halloween (IMHO, one of the creepiest versions of a vampire yet put on screen), so it was obvious for Count Chocula to be modeled after him, of course.  As the movie was relatively fresh in my mind, I didn't bother with any photo references this time around, either.

For those interested in the process, well, you know the drill... :-)

* * * * * 

STEP ONE:  I used a mixture of gesso and size (glue) on a 5" x 7-1/2" piece of Crescent 102 illustration board.  I then drew out the image with vine charcoal, charcoal pencil, and carbon pencil, using a kneaded eraser to lift out any highlights, or to lighten an area (although, many times, I use the kneaded eraser to draw almost as much as my pencils/charcoal).  Once finished, I imported it into PhotoShop.

* * * * *

STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I created a new layer set to "Multiply" and did a linear gradient from a lighter brown on the bottom to a darker brown on the top.

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STEP THREE:  To keep everything monochromatic, on the gradient layer I did highlights with light browns and white, and shadows with darker browns.  I really tried to push the darks and lights, to give it more of a sense of forced drama--trying to give it a little bit of the movie "Nosferatu" feel to it.

* * * * *

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent 102 illustration board, then colored digitally in PhotoShop.

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The Breakfast Club (Part 2)

BooBerry

Continuing on with the re-imagining of the Monster Cereal characters, here's BooBerry.  I pictured him as more of an undead zombie/ghost in a rumpled fedora and bow tie.  Again, no real photo references and, again, it probably shows.

Here's the process for those who are interested... And, if you aren't, why are you still reading this?  :-)

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STEP ONE:  Once more, I used a mixture of gesso and size (glue) on a 5" x 7-1/2" piece of Crescent 102 illustration board (I have a bunch of 10" x 15" pieces that I cut into quarters).  I then used vine charcoal and carbon pencil to draw out BooBerry.  To give it more of a ghostly/ethereal look to it, I left a few more lost and softened edges, and also left many areas in low contrast.  Once it was done, I scanned it into my computer and imported it into PhotoShop. 

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STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I created a new layer set to "Multiply" and did a linear gradient from a lighter blue on the bottom to a darker blue on the top. 

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STEP THREE:  Next, I did some highlights with white and light blue on the gradient layer, along with some darker blue shadows.  Finally, I created a new layer on top set to "Normal" and used white to push some highlights on his face.

* * * * *

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent 102 illustration board, then colored digitally in PhotoShop.

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The Breakfast Club (Part 1)

Frankenberry

One of the ways I'm hoping to do more posts on this blog is to do little things between the bigger projects I'm currently working on.  While doodling, I thought it would be amusing to do a re-imagining of the Monster Cereal characters; in this case Frankenberry as a literal (literary?) Frankenstein's Monster.  

I didn't bother with a reference picture in this case (and it may show), but I think it has an almost Fritz Lang sort of feel to it.  

Here's the process for those who are interested....

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STEP ONE:  I used a mixture of gesso and size (glue) on a 5" x 7-1/2" piece of Crescent 102 illustration board.  Then I drew Frankenberry with charcoal and carbon pencil.  The gesso/glue mixture had a good tooth to it so the charcoal worked well.  Also, you could really lift off the charcoal if needed and erase almost back to the white underneath.  In this case, it was small enough to throw on my scanner and import it into PhotoShop.

* * * * *

STEP TWO:  In PhotoShop, I created a new layer set to "Multiply", which will save the line work and shading while overlaying color over top.  I did a simple linear gradient from a light magenta on the bottom, to a darker magenta on the top to match the lighting from below.

* * * * *

STEP THREE:  Next, I did some highlights with white and light magenta on the gradient layer, pushed a few shadows with a dark magenta on a separate "Multiply" layer, and a few little touch-ups and final highlights on the top layer set to "Normal".  I figured it was good enough and here it is.

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This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on a 5" x 7-1/2" Crescent 102 illustration board, then colored digitally in PhotoShop.

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