Cover Process

Hello, everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Things always get a little hectic in the last week of my deadline each issue. Once I wrap this one up I'll be able to get you guys some more daily sketches. In the meantime, I have something else to show you.

In my career with DC and Vertigo I've only done three covers, which were issues 7, 8, and 9 of The Freedom Fighters. Maybe I would've done more, but, alas, the series was cancelled and my career as a cover artist with it. However, I at least got to have a little taste of what goes into the making of a comic book cover.

First, I got the description of what the issue is going to be about. Keep in mind, this is well before I'm working on the issue, or the issue has even been written. At this point I'm still working on the pencils for issue 5.

"In a secret S.H.A.D.E. facility the scientists don't know what to make of the artifacts, how they work together or what they do.  The Freedom Fighters are there when Human Bomb says he has an idea. Given access to the artifacts he manages to assemble it - drawing the lantern dust into the gauntlet and holding Sherman's Wrath he turns its power on the Freedom Fighters kicking the shit out of them. In the end he removes his helmet and we see it isn't Human Bomb, but Jester instead. He demands to face Uncle Sam, who still hasn't been reborn. Frustrated, Jester threatens to drop the Human Bomb on Washington if Uncle Sam doesn't face him. The crippled and wheelchair bound Firebrand arrives with a gun in hand to take down the Jester."

Okay, now if you've read the issue, then you know that this isn't at all what winds up happening in issue 7, so my cover designs wind up not actually making much sense. I guess there must have been some behind-the-scenes reworking of the plot. But, oh well, here's what I came up with for my concepts:

They liked them all, but wound up picking the third one. So I did my pencils:

Once those were approved, they went off to Trevor Scott to be inked, but I don't have that image to show you, so I'll just skip to the final product here:

So there you go! That was the making of the cover for issue 7 of The Freedom Fighters. If you guys like this, I'll try to do more behind-the-scenes of the development process for pages, characters, etc. Let me know!

Daily Sketch WIP 2

One Thundercat down, one to go.

Not much to say today other than I discovered a podcast that I'm really liking. It's with one of my favorite YA authors, Brent Hartinger, and another writer, Erik Hanberg, who I haven't read yet, but apparently he's written some Veronica Mars which makes me an insta-fan. The podcast is called Media Carnivores and it discusses the pros and cons of the different features of pop media today, particularly in writing. I'm currently in the middle of a really fascinating one about whether or not writers should self-publish or pursue traditional publishing. Also, their newest podcast explores the topic of failure, how it can sting, but how it can be important to the growth process and sometimes even lead to other successes. Media Carnivores--check it out, especially if you're a writer!

Here's today's WIP. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it up tomorrow.

Daily Sketch WIP

Hey guys! Sorry, I'm getting closer to my deadline on the next issue of The Wolf Among Us, so I'm going to have less time for the daily sketches for the next week or so. But that doesn't mean that they'll stop completely, or that I won't at least post something every day, even if it's an old sketch that's never been published, or just a daily sketch work in progress.

Which is exactly what you're getting today! This is my rough sketch for the next daily. A couple of kitties at play. More tomorrow!

Daily Sketch: Hank and Dean Venture

The Venture Bros is definitely one of my favorite cartoons as an adult. It has such a fantastic cast of characters who really evolve over the seasons, unlike the characters in most cartoons who remain static. Hank and Dean are the innocent and naive kids at the center of this chaotic and dangerous world in which they live. We get to watch them grow up, experiencing their transition into adulthood as the series progresses. It's a great show. One of these days I'd like to draw Dr. Girlfriend and Brock Samson as well.

Daily Sketch: Supergirl

Man, there are some days when doing these daily sketches is just sheer blinding panic that I'm not going to be able to pull it off. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I always do. The perfectionist voice in my head screams at me, "You can't draw today (if you even can at all)! Nothing is working! Just give up! Post an old sketch and be done with it!" And then even when it's something acceptable, there's still the part of me that wants to hold off posting it because when I look at it again tomorrow with fresh eyes I'll see all the mistakes and hopefully be able to fix them. If I publish now, then those mistakes are living in the digital universe forever.

But then I realize that's not what this blog is about. I said it in my very first entry, that art isn't about perfection. Striving for perfection, being unwilling to expose my mistakes, and not working on my big ideas until I feel I'm "good enough" to make them perfect, waiting to be as good as all of the artists and writers I admire--those are all things that have been holding me back all this time. This blog is about overcoming those feelings. I don't know if they'll ever go away, those negative voices telling me I'm no good, but through this blog I can learn to say to them, "Fuck you, I know it's not perfect, but I'm going to publish anyway." And hopefully there's a few of you out there who will find some enjoyment and value in what I've produced.

Whew, so anyway, here's today's sketch. Supergirl! (who really didn't want to cooperate!)

Daily Sketch: Netossa

I woke up this morning thinking I would sketch She-ra since I'm on a bit of an old cartoons kick. However, after doing a rough sketch, I realized that I'd pretty much done the same pose/composition as an Adam Hughes sketch I've seen, only his is way better. So I scrapped that, and then thought maybe I'd do one of She-ra's sidekicks instead. I wanted to do Glimmer and did a rough layout that I thought was kind of working, and I may come back to it another day. But as I was researching the characters I came across this lady.

Her name is Netossa, and apparently her power is...taking off her cape and throwing it. Because it's a net. As in Netossa. She's really good at throwing nets.

Okay, maybe not the most impressive ability, especially in that world, but hey, at least she gets to wear a fabulous costume! Honestly, I have no recollection of this character from the cartoon, but I really do think she has a very cool design. It's like somebody gave Storm a She-rific makeover. And yay for diversity in the She-ra universe!

Daily Sketch: Fred and Daphne

Hey guys, thought I'd do something a little different from superheroes today.

Scooby-Doo was definitely one of my favorite cartoons when I was a little kid, and I think Fred and Daphne were my favorite characters. It was always kind of a bummer when the group would split up because it always meant that Fred and Daphne would go off-camera. I like to think that maybe they were really going off to make out somewhere. I wonder if Fred secretly hated Velma because she'd cockblock him every time she decided to come along with him and Daphne instead of Shaggy and Scooby. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, haha!

Anyway, I think my favorite episode was the one with Sandy Duncan when she dressed up as Daphne so there were multiple Daphnes running around. More of my favorite character! I also always liked when Batman and Robin would guest star. What was your favorite episode?