Merry Sithmas - Kylo Ren

MERRY SITHMAS!

Here's the final one in the set, featuring Kylo Ren (that's right, I can beat a joke into the ground with the best of 'em).  And, yes, I saw the movie on opening day... I would have lost all my precious, precious nerd cred if I hadn't, and they would have made me turn in my badge and secret decoder ring, no doubt.  :-)

I won't spoil anything other than to say if you like the Original Trilogy, you will probably like Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens.  (SPOILERS!  There is a new "Star Wars" movie out!)

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STEP ONE:  Again, I used actual pencils on copy paper for the under drawing and extended the drawing (and holly) digitally.  I did a half-image, then duplicated and flipped it horizontally to save some time and to make sure it stayed symmetrical.  The image is 900px x 1260px.

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STEP TWO:  The image was then inked digitally using a 5px brush for the most part.

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STEP THREE:  I created a MULTIPLY Layer to colorize the drawing, and then added the lettering.  I also used the animated tab to create the animated, blinking stars in the .gif, above.

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Done digitally in Photoshop.

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Vader

MERRY SITHMAS

Hey, it's the third "Merry Sithmas", this time featuring Darth Vader.

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STEP ONE:  This time I used actual pencils on copy paper for the under drawing, rather than just digital pencils (although, the Santa Hat was digitally added over top).  I did a half-image, then duplicated and flipped it horizontally.  The image is 900px x 1260px.

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STEP TWO:  Here are the digital inks, done mostly with a 5px brush.

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STEP THREE:  I created a MULTIPLY Layer to begin colorizing the drawing, and then added the lettering.  I also used the animated tab to create the animated .gif, above.

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Done digitally with Photoshop.

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Sidious

MERRY SITHMAS!

Here's the second in the "Merry Sithmas" series, featuring Darth Sidious.  I had just enough time to include the animated version with this post.  :-)

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a canvas 900px x 1260px.

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STEP TWO:  Here are the digital inks, done mostly with a 5px brush.

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STEP THREE:  I created a MULTIPLY Layer to begin colorizing the drawing, and then added the lettering.  I also used the animated tab to create the animated .gif, above.

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Done digitally with Photoshop.

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Maul (Updated)

Merry Sithmas!

UPDATED: Oooohhhh, blinking lights!  :-)

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Maul

MERRY SITHMAS!

I thought I was super-clever when I thought of "Merry Sithmas".  Well, as usual, it turns out most people are much quicker than yours truly, as it was already a thing, of sorts.  Ah, well... nonetheless, this image jumped in my head, just in time for the holidays (or, rather, "holi-daze" as I prefer to call them).  I have a series of these in mind--we'll see if I get 'em done in time!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 900px x 1260px canvas.

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STEP TWO: Since I knew the facial pattern would need to be identical on both sides, I inked half of Darth Maul's face, then copied and flipped it horizontally.  I also left off the horns, since I was going to be replacing them with Christmas Tree lights.

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STEP THREE: I created a MULTIPLY Layer to begin colorizing the drawing, and then added the lettering.

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Done digitally in Photoshop.

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Inktober! Halloween Round-Up

Inktober!

Well, I suppose it makes more sense to show whatever was done with the Halloween-based, Pen-and-Ink drawings for Inktober without the colorized layers on top.  So, here they all are in their inky, black-and-white gory... er, glory.

Happy Halloween!

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All were done with pen-and-ink with a No. 8 brush on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.--although, the Mummy also used Copic .5mm marker, as well.

I almost forgot how much fun it is to work in straight up pen-and-ink.  I'm definitely gonna have to do this some more.  :-)

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Wizard of Oz (1939)

Wizard of Oz (1939)

Well, for the last of the Halloween-based Inktober drawings, I figured I'd do a witch.  And, which witch is the most famous witch of all?  Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West, of course (OK, I read the book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire... I haven't seen the musical, yet). 

And, since it is "The Wizard of Oz", I guess the term "B-Movie" really doesn't apply all that much.  Oh, well.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the rough pencils on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock.

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STEP TWO:  I inked the pencils with a a #8 brush and Pro-Art 4100 India Ink.

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STEP THREE:  I scanned the pen-and-ink drawing into Photoshop and colorized it over a MULTIPLY Layer.

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Done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock, colorized in Photoshop.

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Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

This was a movie which I saw when I was six or seven.  Ah, my time as a youngster in Central Wisconsin in the mid-1970's, spent staying up waaaayyyy too late on Friday nights to watch "T.J. and the A.N.T." (All Night Theater).  They would show old B-Movies featuring "Godzilla", various monsters and space aliens, broken up with "The Andy Griffith Show", "Charlie Chan", and other shows they must have gotten dirt cheap for syndication.  But, as I was a kid, I didn't care.  I was there for the B-Movies.  Anything involving robots, spaceships, monsters, aliens, and their ilk, I was in.  (Sadly, I've probably watched 80% of the movies shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 without Joel/Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot in the corner.)

As for the Ed Wood, um... classic (?), "Plan 9 from Outer Space", to my young mind it was a terrifyingly realistic plot to take over the world using zombies!  Looking at it today, of course,  "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a terrifyingly realistic plot to take over the world using zombies! 

I know I usually do the pen-and-ink, B-Movie Halloween series with some sort of monochromatic color scheme on these, but in this case I can only think of Tor Johnson in washed out black-and-white.  Colorizing him just seems... wrong.

And, now, the step-by-step for those interested...  And even those of you who aren't interested, of course.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the rough pencils on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock.

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STEP TWO:  I inked the pencils with a a #8 brush and Pro-Art 4100 India Ink.

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STEP THREE:  I scanned the pen-and-ink drawing into Photoshop and did a grayscale over a MULTIPLY Layer.

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Done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock, colorized in Photoshop.

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Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Creature from the Black Lagoon, A.K.A. Gill-Man, was a creature I knew more about from pictures in various monster magazines and books then from the movie, itself.  It did eventually show up in one of the many Saturday Monster Matinees they would show on TV when I was growing up.  As I was a kid with a fixation and imagination bent toward anything with monsters, aliens, and robots, found it great, scary fun.  I haven't watched it recently, so I wonder how it holds up to a more modern viewing.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the rough pencils on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock.

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STEP TWO:  I inked the pencils with a a #8 brush and Pro-Art 4100 India Ink. 

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STEP THREE:  I scanned it into Photoshop and colorized the Creature with three values of green over a MULTIPLY Layer, but also added some more color to the lips, and blue background.  I added a couple simple bubbles just 'cuz it amused me.

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Done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock, colorized in Photoshop.

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Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein (1931)

A staple of October Halloween movie marathons, the 1931 classic "Frankenstein".  While the movie is good in its own way, it in no way matches up with the great novel by Mary Shelley.  It did take me a long time to finally get around to novel, but I was really surprised how completely different the Monster was from his depiction in the movie.  In the movie, he was slow and shuffling, a near mute.  In the book, he had super-human speed and grace and spoke several languages; in spite of all that, he was still rejected by society for his appearance.  I am usually not a fan of epistolary novels (stories told in a series of letters), but this is one with which to make an exception.

And, yes, Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, NOT the Monster. :-P

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STEP ONE:  Here are the rough pencils on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock.  Many times, I do prefer the pencils to the finished picture... This is probably one of those times, too.  It probably has to do with the pencil line being somewhat sketchy, so your brain picks the best potential lines to emphasize.  Once it's inked, the line is essentially "locked down" and what you have is what you got.

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STEP TWO:  I inked the pencils with a a #8 brush and Pro-Art 4100 India Ink. 

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STEP THREE:  I scanned it into Photoshop and did a monochrome coloration with three values of green over a MULTIPLY Layer.

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Done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock, colorized in Photoshop.

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The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1932)

Hey, it's that time again for Monochromatically colored pen-and-ink drawings for Halloween B-Movies from the past!  (Click the Label B-MOVIE to see the rest.)  And it's Inktober, which is also a thing, I guess, for the past few years?  So, it's a twofer! 

I watched this movie when I was a kid, and the Mummy as unstoppable force of nature -- long before there was a Terminator movie -- was a concept which filled me with, well, horror.  Then again, my 6 year-old mind was constantly bubbling over with terrors and monsters aplenty.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the rough pencils on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the inks.  I used a Copic .5mm pen and a #8 brush and Pro-Art 4100 India Ink.

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STEP THREE:  I scanned it into Photoshop and did a monochrome coloration with three values of blue over a MULTIPLY Layer.

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Done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock, colorized in Photoshop.

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Bat-Joker

Bat-Joker

I did this for a friend as a (belated) birthday present.  (Sorry for the delay, Dave!)

For those of you interested, below are the Step-By-Step for the painting above...

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STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils for the Bat-Joker picture.  I used a water-soluble, blue-gray colored pencil for the drawing.  Originally, there was going to be a mash-up of the Bat symbol and a "J" for Joker, which I pencilled in.

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STEP TWO:  Here is the first pass for watercolors/gouache (I use both interchangeably in most of my paintings), using a #12 size brush.  I still left the the place to do the Bat-Joker symbol, but was still not sure if I liked it or not.

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STEP THREE:  Shortly after I took the last picture, I decided I really didn't like the Bat-Joker symbol, as it looked too much like an umbrella and painted it over.  I pushed some of the darks a little more, worked on some more details, and mostly finished the painting at this step.

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STEP FOUR:  I thought it needed a little more to it, so I masked off the figure and spattered some red gouache in the background.  Also, I mixed some Pro-White and yellow watercolor to make the "Ha! Ha! Ha!" and called it done, lest I keep messing with it 'til his next birthday comes and goes. :-D

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This was done with watercolor on 9" x 12" Fluid (#120) watercolor paper

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Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Tyrannus

Tyrannus

Here is the original entry for Tyrannus to the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe".

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And here is my entry to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Redux. 

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STEP ONE:  I sketched Tyrannus with blue-pencil on an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of printer paper.  I scanned it into the computer and imported it into Photoshop.

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STEP TWO:  Next, I digitally inked the drawing using a 5 point round brush.

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STEP THREE:  Originally, I was going to just do the drawing with a simplified color scheme, like something out of the original comic books.  But, I changed my mind and thought I should put in a little more effort. 

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STEP FOUR:  I created several New Layers and added each color over top for highlights and shadows.  I also figured I should go back and emphasize the "crazy-eyes" and give him a jokeresque smile.  When it was done, I erased the white background and put in a light-blue background, then sent it along to the OHotMU: Redux Blog.

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This was done digitally in Photoshop

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