Friday, May 22, 2015

Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Nova

Nova


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

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

For those bored enough, here is the step-by-step for Nova... :-)

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STEP ONE:  I created a New Document 1,000 x 1,500 pixels in PhotoShop, doing some really quick digital pencils/scribbles for the pose.

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STEP TWO:  Over top of that, I did some quick shading and set up the lighting/shadows, as well as some really quick color.

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STEP THREE:  Then, over top of that, I put in some of the breakdowns of where I wanted the fire effects to go.

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STEP FOUR:  I finished up the highlights and fire, then added a starfield for the background.

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Created digitally in Photoshop.

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Death

Death


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

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

Well, actually, I gave Jon M. from the OHOTMU:Redux the choice between this one and the one with the black background (below).  In some ways, I think the black background is more fitting for the character of Death, while I do sort of like the orange background as it adds a little color and is closer to the original entry.

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Alas, I didn't think ahead enough to save step-by-step progressions.  I created a 1,000 pixel x 1,500 pixel document with a black background.  I then used 3 pixel hard, round brush with white color to create the scratchboard effect.  I also went back over top with a combination of black brushwork and the Eraser tool to carve back some of the lines.

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Here's a detail of some of the scratchboard effect.  I do like working on scratchboard quite a bit, and will definitely have to do some more digital scratchboard in the future.

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Created digitally in Photoshop.

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Monday, May 4, 2015

May the Fourth Be With You!

May the 4th Be With You!

"May the Fourth Be With You" is a pun so bad and obvious, I'm ashamed I didn't come up with it first...


No, it isn't Bucky O'Hare.  It's Jaxxon, the giant, green rabbit which was part of Marvel Comics "Star Wars" series.  


Yes, when I was a kid I actually bought the issues that introduced Jaxxon and, as you can guess, I have a soft spot in my heart (and probably head) for the character. 

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PART ONE:  Here are the digital pencils.  They were originally done on a 1,000 x 1,500 pixel canvas, but I shrunk it down to 900 pixels to keep the file size within reason on the site.

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PART TWO:  And here are the digital inks.  They were done mostly with a 5 pt. Hard Brush, and a patterned brush for the stippled background of the Cantina walls.  

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PART THREE:  Here is the color plate.  I created a New Layer and set it to Multiply to color the page but keep all the linework.  I finished the whole thing off by adding the lettering, above.

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Done digitally in Photoshop

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