Support Hero

The Hero Initiative will be holding auctions for custom Wolverine: Weapon X sketch covers soon. Be sure to go to their site for updates and help support this incredible charity.

THE HERO INITIATIVE

Here is me doing my part to help the cause. Done with ink and brush and watercolor. Enjoy and get ready to make your bids. I'll let you know when it goes up for auction.

Draw Block Live Sketch Session Friday July 3rd

For those of you that are interested, Friday July 3rd, 1pm central time I will be be broadcasting another episode of DRAW BLOCK LIVE SKETCH SESSION.

Come on over and join in the fun.

DRAW BLOCK

Studio Space 2009

I've finally got around to cleaning my filthy studio and I always choose that time to take pictures. This allows me to fool you all into thinking I work in a completely clean room. If only I would have taken photos before I pulled out the mop.

Spider-Man cover process

I thought I'd give you a look at each stage of the process on my latest Marvel Adventures Spider-Man cover.

Thumbnail: drawn in Photoshop. This is where I laying it out for my editor to see. I like to work up a color comp so that they can fully understand what I intend to do with the piece.

Pencils: Drawn digitally with Sketchbook Pro. You can see here that I'm not working out the details. I'm just going in and roughing it out. I ink myself so there is no reason for me to waste alot of time drawing things perfectly. Then the inking stage would be no fun.

Inks: I print out the digital pencils onto bristol board and ink traditionally with a brush. Here's where I make most of the line choices. I really just start inking lines. Not a ton of thought, just going from the gut.

Color: Photoshop. You can see that I changed the pallet from the thumbnail. I decided that since this piece was focused on the Police, I wanted a color that would invoke that feeling. The boys in BLUE goes along way. When I think police, I think blue. Works well on a Spidey cover as well and blue is big part of his color scheme. (even thought I don't show much of it on his costume.

There you go, a little look into each stage.

Wolverine 19 cover

I love getting the chance to have fun and be a little funny on a cover from time to time. It's nice to cut loose and have fun with superheroes. It's cool to draw the dark and gritty, but it's great step outside and bring a little laughter to an image.

Digitaly penciled, inked with brush and ink, colored in photoshop with tones done in Manga Studio.

Give me your ideas...NOW

I'm about halfway done writing my graphic novel and things are going great. It's my love letter to a time in comics that I consider MY time...the 90's. Not so much in the look of it, but the tone. I loved the 90's era of comics because they knew what they were and didn't pretend to be anything else. They were excess, they were flash, and most of all, they were balls to wall fun as hell. From Lobo to Spawn, and Creed to Gen 13. From Generation X to the Maxx and Trencher to Youngblood. There seemed to be a little something for everyone. I loved it! So, for my first graphic novel, I've tried to put in all the things that made me love that period in comics.

Here's where I want your help. I've been adding cameo and homages to creators that have played a part in my comic history and want to know who you'd like to see in there and what they would be doing.

example. I have a character named Rob L. Feld who owns a Comic & Guns store and below is a giant lab for him to make giant, sick ass weapons. Like insanely big weapons! Oh yea!

So, take that and reply your ideas. If any of them pop off the page at me, i'll try to work them in and you'll get a special thanks in the book!

Let's have some fun!

Shaggy Man

Eric Shanowers partner DavidMaxine organizes an Oz show and asked me to do piece for the program. The theme is Road to Oz, the fifth book ( I think)

This was quick, but so fun. I love this character, The Shaggy Man. Tools on this one. Sketched digitally in Sketchbook Pro, printed on 8.5x11 printer paper and inked with the Pentel brush pen. Photoshop halftone to cap it off. About 30 minutes total.

Enjoy.

The Kid Inside is Smiling

When I was 15 or 16, i started buying Wizard Magazine. I loved it. This was how I got my comic news before the internet came along and would read each issue from front to back. This is how I found out about my first comic book shows and conventions and led me to attending one of the first Chicago Wizard Worlds in '96. That show opened my eyes to a whole new world that I wanted to be apart of. Creating comics.

During those teenage years, I used to check in each month to see if any of my favorite artist would make the Wizard Top Ten artists. I would have arguments with friends over who was on it and who wasn't each month. It was our version of watching sports. Today made me remember those conversations and I wonder what my old pals would think of Wizard #213.

Yes, the kid inside is smiling because today I made the list. It's a small thing, but it's huge to that 16 year old that used to wait for Wizard each month hope to see his name on that Top 10 list. It's pretty cool to see. Thanks to everyone out there buying and supporting me on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and making that childhood dream come true! You guys kick ass!