No More Backgrounds!!!

Here are some environmental sketches that I did last weekend. I am no longer referring to the sets as “Backgrounds” because it gives the wrong connotation. If I want my comics to be more realistic then my characters need to be within a living and breathing world, interacting with that environment. “Background” is a secondary thought to the environment, my sets should have more importance than that if I want to grow as a storyteller.

I found a blog called urbansketchers.org and it inspired me to improve this shortfall of mine. Expect a lot more of these in the future.

Iron Man!

Here is an Iron Man drawing I did for my buddy Tom. I wanted to draw the old school 70's armor (which was quite fun). Mostly warm and cool grey copics and some pen work afterwards.

Schedule has been crazy as of late, but I am trying to force myself to draw more :)

Dejah Thoris - Again!

Hey hey!

Well here is another drawing of Dejah Thoris out of my sketchbook. I like the pose and over all layout of this. Woola (the dog), I took inspiration of a pug puppy I saw on a video last week named Marshmellow. I want to achieve a sweet demeanor despite the unusual features.

Deja’s face looks quite off on this but that I will fix once I enlarge this for the final art. The window frames the scene well and gives it sort of an “Art Nouveau look”. I added white key lines around Dejah to separate her from the night sky (her hair was particularly getting lost).

I want to give her exotic features, I am thinking like Morena Baccarin - from Firefly...you know the “space-whore” (there, now you don’t have to google her). I am planning on changing the jewelry and making it a bit more stylized and artistic looking as well as adding pasties (metal, shiny pasties).

Have a good weekend all!
Patrick

Ivy Doomkitty!

Here is a drawing from my sketchbook of one of my Facebook friends Ivy “Doomkitty” Turner. I had a lot of fun with this (even though I have a moral objection to Steampunk stuff). The clothing was fun to draw and the pose was well positioned (plus Ivy’s curves are are never boring, you never get a chance to use a t-square when drawing her I can assure ya!).

I was talking to an art friend the other day about some of the things I look for when looking for photo reference and the position and pose shape came up (well I brought it up actually). This is one of those things that drives me nuts with artists and photographers, learn to pose your models! I like to look at the over all shape that the subject creates. Does the silhouette give you a clear idea of the subject? Does the pose have drama or tell a story? Does the postioning seem awkward or forced? Does the expression on the face of the model match the pose? Are the subjects hands as expressive as they should be? These are all questions one should ask when dealing with poses (I’m sure there are more but I don’t want to keep rambling.

I would say that the main issue that I have with this particular drawing is that she is missing an arm, missing limbs can subconsciously affect how the viewer percieves a drawing or photograph. I know that the other arm is just hidden by her body but it forces the viewer to fill in the gaps, plus it misses an opportunity. What opportunity you may ask? The story telling kind I says! I can’t remember when, but in one of my other rambles I commented on Norman Rockwell and his ability to tell a story with just one single picture. Imagine this picture with Ivy’s other hand slightly forward holding a gun, or cigar, or a gas lamp, or a pocket watch (Steampunkers LOVE their pocket watches!). Now all of a sudden you just added another detail to this picure, another wrinkle to the story.

I will eventually draw this one larger with more detail, better shading and more hands. This intitial drawing is a nice starting point to what I think will be a great drawing (eventually).

Have a great weekend!
Patrick

Hell Hath No Fury.

Well it’s Friday and here is a bunch of demon girls. The Model is Tasastock from Devientart.com who takes photo references for artists to draw. I had fun with these.

Dejah Color Test

Quick color test in Photoshop. I know she looks a bit red but that is on purpose as she is a red martian. This is not by any means what I would consider a final. There is a lot of clean up that I would do and the chrome jewelry would be a lot more detailed, but for a test I like it.

One thing that made me really happy about this piece is that when I had it in Photoshop and blown up on 24" iMac screen, I didn't hate the drawing. I typically am so self critical that seeing all the flaws blown up like that kills me but with this drawing I felt really good having it blown up.

Dejah Thoris Thursday!

This one is more of a facial study but it was fun none the less. I will probably make a full size illustration of Dejah Thoris (from Burough’s Mars Series) and this is a good start. I like her strong nose and eyebrows, it gives her a bold and exotic look. Dejah is an iconic sci-fi character that was the basis for most heroines after that (including Princess Leia - watch Return of the Jedi and try and argue with me).

I like the crown on this drawing but I’m not in love with the neck piece. Her jewelry will definitely need to be planned in advance, it is an opportunity to draw a lot of shiny metal so that should be fun. Finding the right pose is important and I am not going to limit myself with a pose that has the same profile of this. While there is something to be said for efficiency of using initial drawings, it can often limit creativity.

See ya all tomorrow!
Go Giants!
Patrick