I find myself constantly trying to find a process to a finished product that isn't a culmination of tedious sub steps. Some of my comic work in the past has seen 2-3 near complete drawings (pencils, second pass at pencils, inks). I'd like to ideally get to a stage where I'm roughing in non-photo blue pencil, and simply applying ink. No erasing, no clean up. The problem of course is getting a line quality I enjoy without needing all the sub steps.

After some experimentation, I think I'm finally getting a hang of this Pentel brush pen. These were all done with the brush pen, either as new pieces (the first two), or over older pencils I'd never really done anything with (the last). As always, feedback is appreciated!

Labels: cowboy, ghosts, Monsters, robots, shoot out, soaked

I'm stepping quite a ways out of my comfort zone on this particular piece. I wanted to shed a bit of that moody, deep blacks, glooming light sources work I've been creating lately and try something a little different. This piece needed a bright, daylight vibe. I also really tried to push my poses, my character design and my stylized shapes. I also applied a color hold to every line in this piece, rather than let the black ink stand alone.

I get caught up in this rut of trying to emulate some of the top artists in the big three of comics, when I never stop to realize that while those artists are amazing, I'm never drawn to them when I see their art on the shelves. I'm always drawn to more stylized art, art with more character and whimsy. I'm certainly not suggesting that I've accomplished this precisely how I wanted here, but that's the direction I want to take it.

I think when I think of comics, I think of the big three, and just assume I can't tell an epic or emotional story with whimsical character designs or a more "cartoony" art style. There are enough examples of artists doing exactly that that I should know better.

Labels: bottled, cowboy, Monsters

I drew this piece quite a while ago for the Drawer Geeks topic "Space Girl", but I never got around to adding color. I'm really struggling lately with finding a color palette I enjoy, while still trying to keep my time invested into a piece at a minimum. That's not to say I don't want to give everything a good, solid effort but I do want to find that balance between creating a striking piece and having a steady output.

With limited time to put towards art (due balancing a full-time career and having somewhat of a life), I really need to be quicker. I will often burn time on colors just playing with levels and choosing a scheme, only to backtrack afterward. All part of the process I suppose. Hope you enjoy.

Labels: Drawer Geeks, science fiction, Space Girl

I've been thinking a lot lately about my character from "The Spirits & The Woods". When I originally wrote the comic, there was no back story to her (who I've been unofficially calling "Koru" for a while now). As I thought about why she would know so much about the spirit world at such a young age (I guess 19), why she would be travelling alone etc., a whole large world started to grow.

As with most things like this for me, once it got to a certain point, I became a bit overwhelmed and shelved the idea for now. I tend to think my capabilities as an artist will hinder a story, and keep holding out until my skill "catches up" to my idea. Obviously this is hindering me creatively, as I think big on ideas but short on my abilities and it all plays out with a stalemate of me not doing anything. Vicious cycle I know, but something I'm working on.

At any rate, I wanted to try my hand at re-designing "Koru", as I pictured her older than I initially drew her in Fablewood, and given that she walks the ghost haunted countryside with a samurai sword, she should probably look the part a bit more. In this picture, I also tried my hand at using grey brush-tipped markers as shading and to add a bit of texture. I will explore this more, but for now I'd say it's not for me. Other great artists out there are much better at pulling this off convincingly, but I may need to just keep practicing.

Labels: Fablewood, Koru, The Spirits and The Woods