Happy 100th Birthday to Jack Kirby! (Part 2)

Jack Kirby's 100th Birthday (Part 2)

I had two different ideas for Jack Kirby's 100th Birthday, and just barely enough time for both, so here we are...  :-)  In this case, I thought a halo for comic's patron Saint made from a Kirby Krackle would be fitting.  Hail to the King, baby!

It was done mostly the same way as the previous post, so excuse the repetitive steps through the work in progress, below.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here is the original charcoal drawing, done with charcoal and carbon pencil, done on 8-1/2" x 11" gray toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here is the finished charcoal drawing, where I used a white charcoal pencil to work in the highlights.

* * *

STEP THREE:  I imported the charcoal drawing into Photoshop and modified it, using a mixture of Multiply Layers and Normal Layers.  I corrected a few things that were slightly off (the right-hand cheek needed to be extended out a little bit more, for example), and blended some of the charcoal digitally.  Hmmm, traditional charcoal crossed with digital chalk brush...  Once again, I darkened the outside edge of the paper to draw in more contrast with the Kirby Krackle halo.

* * *

Done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white chalk on 8-1/2" x 11" toned paper and enhanced in Photoshop.

.

Happy 100th Birthday to Jack Kirby!

Jack Kirby's 100th Birthday

Today would have been the 100th Birthday of Jack Kirby, truly the King of Comics.  I can't add to everything which has been said about Jack Kirby and his importance to the history of comic books and pop culture, but his work has had a grand influence on my life.

Yeah, his writing was a bit... stilted, with his characters talking as if your grandparents were trying to use the "hip lingo" of the day (which is straight up what it was, now that I think of it), but there was an earnestness which shined through--he wore his heart on his sleeve.  His art was distorted, bordering on the grotesque, but it is visually captivating and displayed so much dynamism and power.

And the ideas!  They are truly amazing and astonishing: a One Man Army Corps set in a corporatized future; Space Gods who have experimented with life on Earth, giving rise to humans, monsters, and gods; mythical sci-fi battles between forces of good and evil... I am obsessed with many of his creations just for their sheer brilliance--they occupy a place in my imagination so deep it has bonded to my DNA.  OMAC, The Celestials, M.O.D.O.K., Galactus, Silver Surfer, New Gods, Inhumans, Eternals, Kamandi, Devil Dinosaur, and so many more.

So, I shall pour some out (ink, in this case) in honor of Jack "King" Kirby:

"You truly are the King of Kings!"

(To be said ala Troy McClure in "The Simpsons" episode, "A Star is Burns")

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here is the original charcoal drawing, done with charcoal and carbon pencil, done on 8-1/2" x 11" gray toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here is the finished charcoal drawing, where I used a white charcoal pencil to work in the highlights.

* * *

STEP THREE:  I imported the charcoal drawing into Photoshop and colorized it, using a mixture of Multiply Layers and Normal Layers.  I also darkened the edges of the paper to give more focus to Kirby's drawing hand in the drawing.

* * *

Done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white chalk on 8-1/2" x 11" toned paper and colorized in Photoshop.

.

Cover Replica: Batman Adventures - Mad Love

Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Here's the original "Mad Love" cover by Bruce Timm.

* * *

And here is here's the cover replica for my pal (and Superman's), Jim, from Jimmy Jams Comics and Games here in Winona, MN and La Crosse, WI.

Once again, these things seem to take forever.

* * *

STEP ONE:  I cut a 20" x 30" piece of hardboard, and then glued a 22" x 30" sheet of Stonehenge (#140) paper using acrylic medium, and trimmed the excess paper after it dried.  I then used a mixture of gesso and acrylic medium to paint over top of the Stonehenge paper to prep it for painting.  When that was done, I drew a 1" x 1" grid and set to pencilling the cover image.  For the pencils, I used a blue lead .07 mechanical pencil to keep the lead from smearing too much.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Once the pencils were done, I began to paint the large areas with acrylic paint.  The straight lines were done with a Sharpie marker and a ruler, while the other line work was done with a mixture of acrylic black paint and waterproof, acrylic black ink and painted on with a round brush.

* * *

STEP THREE:  Here is about the halfway point with the colors using acrylic paint.  I did some drybrushing for the shading and highlights to give it more of the feel of the original marker coloring.

* * *

STEP FOUR:  And here is the finished piece.  As usual, my camera didn't do the best job, and since it is so large, lighting it uniformly is problematic.  Sigh.

I did cheat a little bit by painting the cards with a darker blue, solid color, rather than trying to replicate the 50% screen effect.  I did try to use a Sharpie marker to recreate the screen, but it just didn't look right, so just went with the solid color, instead.  I guess I could have just used my printer and glued it onto the drawing, but that just doesn't feel right to me.  Ah, well.

* * *

This was done with acrylic paint on 20" x 30" gessoed Stonehenge paper glued to hardboard.

.