The Art of Doug Dabbs

"...EXCEPT FOR THE PAWNS."

2011-12-22T22:59:00.001-05:00

"SEE, THE KING STAY THEY KING, A'IGHT? EVERYTHING STAY WHO HE IS."

2011-12-21T22:28:00.002-05:00

The OK Corral Parking Lot

2011-12-10T01:05:00.002-05:00

The location where legends were made...

WHO DAT BE???

2011-11-30T22:16:00.002-05:00

That be the Cowboys of Tombstone. Watch yo'self...

BACK AT THE BAR

2011-11-21T11:42:00.003-05:00

A GOOD DRINK WASTED

2011-11-04T11:23:00.004-04:00

Another Holliday panel. I really love pushing long shadows in city streets when I have opportunity. It's so much more successful getting a sense of atmosphere and mood.

WOLVIE

2011-10-22T02:37:00.018-04:00

I was talking to Chris Brunner and he got me to thinking I don't enough superheroes, which I don't! Well, who better to draw than Wolverine, my favorite superhero growing up. I remember reading Wolverine's origin in the Weapon X mini-series of Marvel Comics Presents... man, it had huge affect on me! The art was amazing and Wolverine seemed so dangerous and frightening.

This actually went by really fast. I wanted my application of ink and mark making to mimic the mood in the image. I was trying to make Wolverine seem frightening as well. I mean he is a naked guy with blades coming out of his hands, so I did have a lot going for me. The Dr.'s glasses don't as crooked as they should, but oh well.

By the way, if you don't have Loose Ends yet (written by Jason Latour, art by Chris Brunner, and colors by Rico Renzi), then what are you waiting for? It's sick!!!

STOP LAUGHING DOC!

2011-10-15T08:02:00.003-04:00

On this panel, I really started pushing the visual language of implied textures. The brick wall, reflective windows, light from the liquor store, distortion of glass... I was trying to establish a series of marks and patterns that separate them visually. When this clicks for me, I absolutely love drawing environments more than anything else.

MORE HOLLIDAY

2011-10-12T13:57:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed pushing the environment in these two.

TWO HOLLIDAY PANELS

2011-10-06T19:23:00.002-04:00

THE POLICE OF TOMBSTONE

2011-10-03T11:13:00.004-04:00

Tombstone is a gritty place.

DUCK... DUCK... DUCK...

2011-10-01T22:26:00.004-04:00

Where's the goose?

STORM

2011-09-30T11:50:00.007-04:00

Trying to draw women more, especially ones with attitude. That could be an attitude of being mean, sexy, bored... whatever. Just need to flex that muscle more.

I have always been a fan of the mohawk Storm. I tried to modernize it a bit, making her more punk. Some things work, some not as much. But hey, it was a quick drawing. I had to support the punk look with a prop, so I have her playing the ~~air~~ electric guitar. See what I did there? You get it??? Because storm can control the weather, and she is using lightning in the shape of a guitar. Get it??? Clever, huh? Eh...

FIGURING IT OUT

2011-09-21T20:28:00.010-04:00

I've been looking at a lot of Charles Dana Gibson and James Montgomery Flagg lately and it has a had a profound affect on my art. More than any artist in a long, long time. The growth I have been experiencing is evident in my most current Holliday pages. It really helped me establish mood for scenes that my be lighter (in mood and actual light) and not have massive black shadows in every scene. So the lines that I was using to describe form was being used as a value as well. Now, that is much easier to do in a well lit environment, but it can be hard mixing the mark making of line with heavy shadows. I really couldn't look at Gibson and Flagg for that, they never really did publish any heavy shadow work with ink, so I had to play around a lot to figure it out. This sketch is one where a lot of things started to click and found that balance of mass shadows and lines to help define form.

HOLLIDAY PAGE

2011-09-11T01:04:00.004-04:00

This page was a lot of fun to do. Really started to let loose. Getting gritty!

V for Vendetta

2011-09-05T23:13:00.008-04:00

Initially I just drew V as a sketch, but when I was done I thought a background would kick it up a bit. I wanted to keep it simple, so I went for the popular phrase from the graphic novel and repeated it over for use as a graphic element. My super talented wife, Nicole, suggested that the lettering became really hard on the eyes and to fade it back a bit. She couldn't have been more right. I wanted to keep the black or white value without use of any grays, so I used a zipatone effect (which I love using anyways). I am going to try to do more of these, fast and fun.

SKETCHES

2011-09-05T23:03:00.007-04:00

Here are some sketches I've been doing lately. Trying to think less, just see where my instincts take me on a quick sketch. Once I'm aware of those instincts, then I can work on what my natural weaknesses are. The second drawing was intended to be the same character but with different lighting, but that obviously changed in the fun of drawing on the fly. So yeah, there are some things I'm not happy with, but there are some things that I like as well. Off to do some more...

GETTING AGGRESSIVE!

2011-09-05T22:43:00.005-04:00

Another new panel from Holliday. This scene is where a lot of growth happened for me, especially on handling the rendering on an environment during day time. Because my mark making tends to be more shape based (instead of line), contrasting the mood and time of scenes can be one of the most challenging experiences in creating a comic. I'll get into this a bit more on my next Holliday post. Until then, I'm going to try to get some sketching in. I need it! I miss it!

NEW PANEL

2011-09-02T19:19:00.005-04:00

A new panel for Holliday, the graphic novel written by Nate Bowden and illustrated by me. It will be released by the amazing Oni Press sometime next year. Very excited...

WOW!

2011-06-07T09:52:00.008-04:00

I'll say it again... Wow! This year's Heroes Con was the best yet. Thanks to everyone who came by and checked out pages to Holliday. Also, a big thanks to everyone commissioned me to do a sketch, you guys were absolutely great. As you can tell, I had a lot of fun meeting new people, catching up others, and just hanging out with friends. I know it has been said by so many, but Heroes Con really is the best convention in the country. Thanks to Shelton for again putting on a great show, and a huge thanks to Rico Renzi for getting me a table.

The only negative is I forgot to bring my camera to photograph commissions. No biggie though, the amazing colorist Nolan Woodard was nice enough to take pictures with his iPhone. Here are a couple of commissions (the ones where I remembered to get a photo). All of them were done in sketchbooks except for Spider Jerusalem, which was done on 5x7 bristol.

I already can't wait for next year!

HEROES CON!

2011-06-02T19:49:00.004-04:00

I will attending the best convention in the country this Friday through Sunday, Heroes Con in Charolette. You can find me in Artist Alley at table AA-727, so come by and say hello. I'll have TPBs for sale and will doing sketches. I'll also have the latest pages of the upcoming Oni Press graphic novel Holliday for everyone to look at. I am really looking forward to it and can't wait to see everyone there.

NEW AGAIN!

2011-01-14T17:23:00.010-05:00

This is one of the panels when created in the breakdown process, was actually a flat black background. However, in the process of drawing the panel with my brush, I realized that it was going to subtract any atmosphere and mood I had established in the previous panels. I didn't want the environment to compete with what has happening between the two characters, but it had to be visually apparent what was behind them. So, I whipped out a big brush and and quickly threw down some ink. I really like the results... quick, easy, and still works graphically like a black panel, except this creates an environment.

THIS HURTS

2011-01-14T17:13:00.008-05:00

Doc getting slammed. Coincidentally, this is the same way I feel every time I walk outside in the Atlanta ice storm.

STAGING LIGHT

2010-12-06T00:03:00.004-05:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who came out this past weekend to the Wizard World Atlanta Con. It was great to meet several of you, and thanks for all of your support!

As you have probably know from previous blogs, I absolutely love to draw exterior environments, especially during night. What makes it constantly refreshing are the different lighting possibilities. For this panel, an officer is obviously not too happy with Doc. To really enhance the dramatic mood for this scene, I staged the head lights from the cop cars to be pointing at Doc (which is established in previous panels). This does two things. One, it makes Doc and the officer easier distinguishable from their environment, especially for a night scene. Second, the "irregular" low light source really enhances the mood for the scene, which in turn compliments the scene's purpose, which is also "irregular" for the story. So, I am constantly thinking about how my light source can break the status quo when my story breaks the status quo. That way the reader can visually be aware that something unusual in the story is taking place, without having to read any dialogue or narration. In all honestly, it is this type of creativity and problem solving that I enjoy more than actual drawing.

WIZARD WORLD ATLANTA!

2010-12-03T19:34:00.007-05:00

I will be at Wizard World Atlanta on December 4th and 5th in artist alley (table 1101). I'll be selling copies of my books, taking commissions, and talking shop. Either way, come by and say hi. See you there!

OHHHH....

2010-11-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

Some stuff 'bout to go down!

NEW PANEL

2010-11-19T19:33:00.004-05:00

I always have a lot of fun drawing buildings with brush. Many times I feel like I am able to be more spontaneous and aggressive with my mark making when rendering rough city streets like this. Much of it has to do with my approach. The only thing I have laid down is a perspective grid and a very loose general structure of the city. It forces me to do my drawing with my ink. I feel more comfortable taking a risk with ink and build with layers than meticulously inking a fleshed out pencil drawing.

NEW DEPTH

2010-11-02T21:58:00.005-04:00

Really trying to push the depth here with the use of texture as a gradient over the entire panel. I think using light as a gradient as well as a method to depict form is really starting to give my scenes atmosphere and a new sense of life. I have been using this approach on pretty much every panel when it is appropriate. With one side having a greater since of black and white relationship than the other, I'm finding its also creating a more interesting composition. Fun times!

MORE PANELS

2010-10-15T08:20:00.004-04:00

This page was difficult in a sense of approach. I wanted to have a definite light source coming from the window behind the two characters, but because it is in a different environment than were most of my dominate light sources are (a bar, city street at night, ect.), I wanted to handle my shadows differently. I didn't want my shadows to be too graphic. Not every scene should use harsh shadows, or particular scene could loose its impact by being visually the same as every other scene. I draw a lot with shape instead of line, however I wanted indicate a scene that wasn't so shadow based, but was still visually similar to the rest of the book. It is day time, so there should be a sense of light throughout the environment. However, I still needed my characters to have shadows on them but still have a visual of unity with the environment. The female character is going to be closer to our direct view of the light source, so I could still make her relatively graphic. For Doc, I still thought about a shadow mass, but then incorporated a reflective light to help achieve the impression of an environment that is somewhat lit. This helps identify the light source as well as help establish a since of hierarchy. I have used this approach more since this (especially scenes that use much less shadow), but this is where I feel like I broke some ground.

PAINITING WITH INK

2010-10-03T00:46:00.009-04:00

This was the first panel where I felt I actually let go and starting painting with my ink, instead of simply drawing. It can be a very difficult thing to successfully achieve. It's not like painting with color, where you can play with warms and cools, complementary colors, worry about the exact mark the brush makes, and so on. In comics, it's more absolute. It is either black or white, there is no middle ground. So, when painting with ink, I really had to make sure that my design with black and white was spot on. Then for depth and hierarchy, I really had to give the impression of objects by being loose with my mark making where needed, instead of having a meticulous, sexy line.

TWO PANELS

2010-09-12T01:09:00.002-04:00

Here is another set of panels that I was pleased with. Instead of trying to draw every detail of the environment, I really wanted to give the impression of what was there. Many times the impression of something is more believable than illustrating it with fine detail, which can make the image stale and lifeless. I also use wide panels most of the time. So when I do use portrait format panels, I really want them to compliment each other. Obviously, with this one it was the revealing of Curly's actions. What the next panel reveals is even better... but I won't spoil that. Ha!

A GRADIENT BULB WENT OFF IN MY HEAD

2010-09-05T13:23:00.007-04:00

I'll make this one short and sweet. This is one of those panels were things really clicked for me. The type of panel where it really changes how you approach drawing from here on out. The gradient of light-to-dark in background of the ennvironment really helped me achieve the extra life I've really been searching for in many of my panels. I could go into this much more... but again, I'm trying to make this short. This is something that I have been doing in several of my panels since. In inking, light is just not about where to place blacks on an object, but using a gradient to unify the charatcters and environment. Also, the assyemtry of black and white really reinforces the light source to the reader, and can make it really stand out, depending on the panels that surround it. Good times. I'll defintley be posting similar panels with this technique. Okay, this wasn't that short... but hopefully it was sweet.

MORE PAGES, MORE POSTS!

2010-09-01T23:54:00.007-04:00

I am alive.

I recently stopped posting for a bit (just to let you know if the lack of posting itself wasn't enough of a hint). I had a lot of commitments going on, so I thought the best thing for me to do would be to wait to post again until I had a good number of pages finished. That way I can start posting again on a consistent basis. So, here we go...

In this panel, some major drama is about to be unloaded. Doc (as Holliday, the title of this graphic novel. Hey, I have to remind some of you guys, its been a while...) is about to lose his cool. The one thing I really wanted to do for this panel is to create an obvious point of emphasis. I really wanted his right eye to texturally be different than his skin. It makes the illustration more interesting, but more importantly it also creates a point of emphasis... which shows Doc looking behind him. I had a lot of fun with this. I feel like a lot of times in dramatic close-ups, people tend to throw out things like emphasis, and instead rely on mood or a cool shot when a single point of emphasis could really help tell the story. I really wish I could show the next pages, but I really feel it would spoil some great points in the story. Oh well, I'll have more to show again shortly...

AHHH... ENVIRONEMNTS

2010-03-25T00:37:00.006-04:00

Okay, so I have been really digging environments A LOT lately. Maybe its because it's where I can totally let loose and just paint. I love the challenge of creating depth, focal points, and atmosphere with just black - no greys or color to rely on as a crutch! I really avoid (as if it isn't obvious enough) rulers all together. They can really kill environments and suck all the life out by making them stiff and soulless. A straight line does not mean realism. One of my major influences with environments is John Singer Sargent. The man was the impressionist king and created environments that had as much life as the people they contained. If a painter can create such beautiful environments that people believe in without the use of a ruler, then it should be done in comics as well. Here are two examples of my enjoyment with environments... the top pic is a small corner panel, while the bottom is page width. Both (as well as the panel is the previous post) are on the streets Tombstone, and takes place in the graphic novel, Holliday, that I am currently working on for Oni Press. I'll posting many more Holliday pages in the days, weeks, and months to come.

FINALLY DONE!!!!!

2010-03-13T19:13:00.006-05:00

Finally, I'm done with school! I will officially never have to to go back to college. This past Thursday was my final day earning my masters. I feel very liberated. Seriously, for the first time in my life I feel like I can do anything I want in life. I didn't realize it, but school was this constant weight that I couldn't shake off. It's like practicing for a sport your entire life without ever getting to play in the game. I know it probably sounds like I won't miss it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. You see, my post high school education has been a third of my life. Yeah... that long. But seriously, the students, staff, and especially faculty have been like a family to me at SCAD-Atlanta. A huge part of it goes out to Shawn Crystal and Nolan Woodard. Not only have they made me a much better artist, but have made me a much better person. If anyone is even thinking about SCAD-Atlanta, there couldn't be a better way to spend your money as an investment. And that's what it is, an investment. You get what you paid for and many times over. There are many current students working professionally. How many colleges can you say that about? All of the professors are professionals that are currently working in the industry, and all are diverse stylistically that believe storytelling is number one priority? How many colleges can you say that about? SCAD-Atlanta has been great, but it has given me the tools to be an artist after school, and that's what I look forward to do.

I have included a new panel to Holliday, the graphic novel that will be coming out through Oni Press. I am really loving environments right now. I go through spells where I like creating them so much more then characters. And that's the thing, I really try to treat my environments as a character, because that what there are. They have there own unique personalities, and affect and are affected by the characters which they contain. More to come soon.

***Update: I have posted a much better scan above***

!!!

2009-11-19T18:39:00.003-05:00

Short and simple today. Here is a panel that belongs to the same scene as the previous two.

A PRELUDE...

2009-11-12T00:42:00.004-05:00

...panel to my previous post. Really trying to slow things down and build the tension. Get ready for the drama!

SHOOT OUT!

2009-11-10T18:04:00.005-05:00

A little info... There's a shoot out between some people in the street and others in a limo. The second panel is a close up of the lowered window bursting from the bullets. Have been wanting to post this for a while. I felt like I needed to get some action on this blog! I'm going to post some more already completed panels soon...

FRANKENSTEIN BOOK COVER

2009-08-06T23:42:00.017-04:00

Right now, I'm taking a acrylic technique class in the illustration department. Never really have done much painting before, but I really wanted to focus on it because I feel my sequential art has slowly becoming more painterly the last couple of years. This was the second assignment in the class; illustrate a cover for a well known book. My first assignment didn't turn out too well (the style, color, and attitude just didn't feel like me), so for this one I went with what makes me tick - somewhat realistic, gritty, and dark. So, I decided to do a cover to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I forgot how much the original is different from the Hollywood rendition that has become much more popular. In Shelley's version, the monster (his name is not Frankenstein, that is the scientist) is intelligent, and was created with the use of various chemicals, not lightning. Also, he is not made up of several parts from the dead. Instead, he is more like a golem.

Anyways, the painting was really fun. It is pretty big, about 21 x 15 in. The scan isn't very good, the colors are a bit off, and the scanner picked up way too much of the gesso texture (which you can see the weird effect in the detailed photo below). I plan to get it photographed soon, so hopefully I can get a better version up. What I found funny is the act of painting didn't feel that much different than when I do pages. I'm not sure if that is good or not, butt when I was painting, I just kept it loose. I figured if I really focused on my colors and values, even if my brush strokes weren't that pretty it would still hold together as a whole. Which also made me think... is there a real difference between painting and illustration? I mean some people may consider this an illustration. Others, like me, would call it a painting. If one uses just paint to create a piece of artwork, isn't that the definition of a painting? However, I have seen so many people who create images with just paint refer to it as an illustration. Is it a stylistic issue? If it is, I don't see how style can dictate medium. Isn't medium based purely on tools? I know I am asking a lot of questions, but I feel like I have been thrown in this world of illustration and there are a lot of things that are new. The class is really fun and I feel like found something I want to do more of. I'll post the next painting/illustration piece soon...

KICKIN' IT

2009-05-23T00:55:00.003-04:00

Here is a new panel I did for a project I'm working on. Trying to get a good balance of patterns, texture, and positive/negative space. Fun times.

NEW BLOG!!!

2009-05-05T10:38:00.004-04:00

Haven't posted in a loonng time, and the new blog is why! I designed a new website and had my blog incorporated into it. So, feel free to browse the new blog as well as my website. My professor, Nolan Woodard, is the man who made it happen. I have never really used Dreamwever, but he guided us on publishing the design to make it live. Oh, and when I mean us, I mean Olu, the other student in the class. Check out his website as well. He says I talk too much, so I guess I'll end it now.

INK AND GUINNESS

2009-03-28T11:47:00.002-04:00

Okay, so last night I was drinking a Guinness and looking at samples online of Alberto Breccia's gorgeous art for the graphic novel Mort Cinder (which is impossible to find, trust me, tears and Guinness are my witnesses). Three things always jump out to me when looking at his art... the man can render great expressions, he is the king of textures, and lastly, he has great balance between heavy blacks and delicate lines. I don't know if it was the beer or the fact I don't have the book, but was really inspired. So I rubbed the tears off my face and walked (with the Guinness) over to my drawing table to just draw any face, but really focus on the balance of small lines with large black shapes. I need to study light more, so I found a great photo that had a strong light source from above that I could apply to my drawn head. Man, this was fun! I am really liking the real brush. Brush pens are great, but for what I was always trying to go for, I really feel like they were holding me back. I planned to add textures, but when I was done with the brush, I really felt like it didn't need it. I am loving the act of inking right now.

LAYING IT DOWN...

2009-03-27T16:47:00.009-04:00

I have been getting into textures lately and playing around with different materials that give those various looks. So, I really wanted to do an ink study that would let me just go crazy with them. I used a brush, quill, sponge, my thumbprint, screentone, and white gouache. It was probably the most free I ever felt doing inks. If I messed up, I didn't care, I could just cover it with gouache. I was just constantly layering until it felt right. It is the closest I have felt to painting with ink.

TANK GIRL

2009-02-25T09:44:00.020-05:00

Okay, I think I may be done with the brush pens. Don't get me wrong, they are great (especially the Pentels), but they were not giving me the control or mark making that I was looking for. I couldn't find an ink that had a consistency that would flow well enough and would break up my lines, which I love. So, this weekend I picked up an Escoda series 1212 size 4 brush with the incredible Holbein ink. So much more control! I didn't have to consistently try to find that spot where the ink was appropriate enough to draw, like with the brush pen. Just dip, wipe two or three times and BAM! (BAM! is good). On the Tank Girl piece, I was going back and forth between the regular black and the special black. Most of it was done in the special, but I think the regular is the way to go. It is thin enough to get some fine line work, but will also do dry brush without a problem. The drawing itself was fun. I really wanted to exaggerate with the look (at least exaggerated for me). It doesn't have the realistic quality that I usually go for, but it was fun to do something different. Anyways, I can't wait to do some work with the real brush.

New Character

2009-02-12T23:54:00.009-05:00

Alright, this was a quickie. I spent at the most ten minutes designing this character before I had to take off earlier today. I feel like I am starting to get a realism with my characters now, something that has always been a goal of mine. Also, each character is starting to have their own visual identity, instead of all having the same generic look (this was a huge struggle for me). By no means am I completely happy, but it is kinda cool to see stuff starting to pay off.

TESTING... TESTING...

2009-01-31T00:14:00.005-05:00

Sorry, I have been away for a while. I have been pretty busy lately. This quarter I am breaking down my entire next project (all 191 pages of it, more on that later ;) So breathing, and eating are the only two other things that I have had time to do. Overall, I have been pretty happy with the looseness I have been getting with my images. However, one thing I have been lacking is texture. So I did a quick test sketch that is about 3.5 x 2.5 inches. With this character's facial and head hair, as well as the pull strings, I went in with a small x-acto knife to give some white highlights. I kind of like it. I was fun, and even better it was easy. More texture playing to come...

IN PROGRESS... PART 2!

2008-12-20T02:20:00.008-05:00

Here is another panel in which I was in the middle of. You can see where I was playing around with the different ways to do smoke, or even the poor guy who hasn't had his eyes drawn yet. This panel has been really a blast, I am having the most fun inking I have ever had. Sometimes I really just want too jump straight from the breakdowns to the inks. Oh well, maybe someday.

IN PROGRESS...

2008-12-16T22:15:00.008-05:00

Here is a panel that is definitely not finished. But I haven't really shown much of my process. So, here it is. I feel like I getting closer to how I want things to look, according to mood.

DRUNK

2008-12-12T22:45:00.005-05:00

A new panel from a story I am working on. The guy is drunk while getting up after barfing. Sexy, huh?

JOHN CONSTANTINE

2008-11-26T01:36:00.007-05:00

Here is my submission for the new challange at The Temple of Cartoon Mojo. I probably should have spent more time to flesh it out, but I have been in this loose gestural mood lately, so I am embracing it. Oh well, next time.

BATMAN

2008-11-17T00:32:00.005-05:00

My submission for the Batman sketch challenge at The Temple of Cartoon Mojo. This was a lot of fun to just let loose.

NEW INK STUDY

2008-11-14T00:11:00.006-05:00

A new ink study from class. It is getting closer to what I want my inks to look like on my comic pages. Either way, I am having a blast exploring this.

SKETCHBOOK

2008-11-12T16:48:00.007-05:00

One of my classes that I have been taking this qaurter at SCAD-Atlanta is Drawing for Sequential. I had the undergrad version of the class which is similar to the grad one I am taking now. Honestly, I didn't know how much I was going to get out of it because a lot of the lessons and methods I have already been introduced to. Man, have I learned a lot! My whole approach to drawing has changed... for the better. I am letting go of the stiffness and formula that I was caught in. I am just drawing now, not over analyzing. Now, I am trying to get my pages to look my like my life drawings and my breakdowns to feel more like my field sketches. So here are a couple of the assignments for field sketches. A lot of it is breaking images down into planes, and handling groups of people in their environments. So much fun, and so much learned.

NEW PROJECT

2008-11-10T03:30:00.008-05:00

Here is a new panel from a new project I am working on for Oni Press. I am really trying to let go and just do a comic the way that just comes natural to me artistically. I am really having fun with the looseness by trying to get more realistic through impressionism. It just feels more natural. A couple more things need to be done to this panel, then it will be done. I'll post more info about the new project soon.

RESURRECTION ANNUAL #1 IS OUT !!!!!

2008-11-05T22:35:00.004-05:00

Resurrection Annual #1 by Oni Press is out now! Marc Guggenheim did an superb job writing this issue. If you have never read it before, check it out. As an annual, it is a great starting point to get into the series.

INK STUDY

2008-10-30T21:48:00.007-04:00

Haven't updated in while. I have been really busy. I finished the Oni Press comic Resurrection Annual #1. However, I will make a point to update much more now. I did an ink study for class based off a model. I am trying to get my inks from my pages to have the looseness and confidence of my life drawing. This is probably middle of the road version. There are improvements, but it's not quite there yet. Anyways, I'll be posting more soon!

Hellboy Cake!

2008-09-17T17:16:00.011-04:00

This cake and some awesome photography can be found at Nicole's blog.

I'll just get straight to the point. Yes, that is Hellboy, and yes, it is made completely out of a cake. My insanely talented wife, Nicole, made this cake for our good friend Bryan's graduation party. He is now working in Burbank, CA for Gentle Giant... so check out his blog to the right! I don't know how she made it, her skill making cakes always amazes me. Everything is completely edible, except for the ears because of a last minute change. Honestly, being completely unbiased it my favorite cake I have ever seen. Oh yeah, it was really good too...

RETURN OF THE PENCIL

2008-09-09T17:10:00.010-04:00

On Sunday my wife and I went to the High museum here in Atlanta. We havn't been in a while and it was the last day of their current traveling exhibition that they have with the Louvre. It was what you expect, some stuff was amazing and others just pissed you off. However they had a exhibit of Jean-Antoine Houdon. Okay, first of all, I am not very familiar with many sculpture artists, but this was probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen in a museum. I googled his work when I got home, and trust me, it doesn't even come close to doing his wok justice. You just can't replicate the mastery of his work with pixels. If you ever get a chance to see his work, do it!

Well, to my point. I was so blown away with his subtle expressions, that I saw a lot of stuff I needed to do in my own drawings. I wanted to sculpt with my pencil. Spend time building up my figures. Things can still be spontaneous, but let them be clear. So, I came home and started to draw. The blue pencil I have been using for years all of a sudden didn't feel the same. It wasn't giving me the marks that I was trying to achieve. So, after years of laying in my art tray, I picked up my lead holder. A Faber-Castell TK 9400. The curved shape feels great in the hand. All of their products are great, so it shouldn't come to surprise to anyone. I use B lead, the HB was a bit to hard for me. The sketch was on of the first I have done with it. I really think that this something I am going to stick with. I am loving this pencil!!!

DAREDEVIL

2008-08-14T00:06:00.025-04:00

Lately, I have been really feeling like my inks are really stiff. Sometimes I over analyze the marks I am making. It can be good, but I think sometimes I just need to let go. That's what I did with this Daredevil piece. It was a quick pencil sketch in which I inked. I tried not to analyze, but instead to focus on the mood I wanted. I don't know, maybe it didn't make difference, but it sure felt like it did. I slapped some simple color on their to help the mood, nothing special. Overall this was a lot of fun. I need to have this mental approach more often...

MORE RESURRECTION!

2008-08-05T15:47:00.004-04:00

A new panel from the upcoming annual. I am really excited seeing it all come together. Back to work!

NEW RESURRECTION PANEL

2008-07-18T00:49:00.003-04:00

This is a new panel I completed this week. I am having such a fun time with the art. However, I am really trying to push myself, especially with the black and white design.

ONI PRESS'S RESURRECTION!

2008-06-25T20:16:00.009-04:00

Well, here I am again. I apologize for not updating as much as would like. However, I am extremely excited what I am doing right now! I am doing the art on the Annual for the Oni Press series Resurrection, written by Marc Guggenheim. Marc is a great writer and wrote a story that is really up my alley for what I like to tell visually. I have posted a panel and I hope to post more every couple of days. The scan isn't very good. My home scanner likes to choose when to work, and when it does, it is pretty poor. So yes, I will be very busy, but I really want to post my progress on the book. Back to work…

DR. STRANGE

2008-04-04T01:06:00.008-04:00

See, I told you I was going to post today! Well, all you can all hopefully see, this is a recent drawing of Dr. Strange. I really feel like I am getting a good understanding of the balance of blacks as a design element and as for rendering shadow. It took a while but for the first time ever, I feel like I can tackle a drawing and have a good idea of what the image will look like in finished inks. Part of it is me becoming comfortable with the brush, and the other is that I stopped looking at other artist for a while. I just had to draw and be me. Now when I look at artists, I admire their decision making and not their mark making or their style. For one, I can never change the way I draw, I can only change the tool and the paper. Two, we learn from artists decisions for what they are trying to convey in their story or illustration. It is then that I understood that Sean Phillips' Criminal is not that different from Bruce Timm's Two of a Kind. Yeah, their application of marks may be different, but the knowledge that they take from and apply is the same. At the same time, I now feel that there is so much more to learn. I am having the most fun I've ever had with art. Hopefully I can apply to some good things ahead.

FINISHED!

2008-04-03T12:28:00.003-04:00

Okay, I finished theses a while ago. But I really have been wanting to put some other stuff up, but my reliable scanner seems to be on its monthly tantrum. I know, no excuse. Well, this is the finished painting I did to the Batman story. I am definitely proud of it, but no means happy with it. However it was my first time doing this. I would do some thing differently when I do it again, and I definitely will. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. The orange background is actually more of a red, but oh well. I included the initial drawing as well. New post tomorrow!

TWO OF A KIND

2008-03-06T11:45:00.010-05:00

In my painting for comic covers class, we had to come up with a cover for the Bruce Tim story "Two of a Kind," which you may have seen in the first volume of Batman Black and White. It is great story, and Tim's black and white design in this amazing. I thought the story had a pulp feel to it, so I wanted to incorporate it into my piece. When I was done with he pencil drawing, we began our painting process based off of C.F. Payne's technique, which i have been really excited about. Well, luckily I scanned in my pencils so I could do an inked version as something different. I'll apply watercolor to this later. I have never done that with graphic inks, so I'll see how it turns out. I'll post the pencil version and the painting stages for the C.F. Payne technique later.

CONAN

2008-02-28T17:41:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we had the SCAD-Atlanta Comic Forum featuring artists Eric Canete, James Jean, Andrew Robinson, and Yuko Shimizu. They all were amazing and really inspiring. I was in Canete's workshop which he covers his 90 minute process. Most of the stuff on his blog was created using it, which you can see here. I wanted to try it as well, I could go shorter than 90 min, but definitely not over. Well, I did finish it before the 90 minutes, which is good. However, I realized I had more time left than I thought, so I need to start being a little more dynamic. I know a dramatic pose is sometimes better, but after doing this I really want to start pushing the life in my gestures. So, on to the next step...

BAMF!

2008-02-19T17:20:00.004-05:00

Did a drawing of Nightcrawler last night before bed. Haven't drawn him in years, but he is a lot of fun. I really should draw more fun characters like this. It is a good break from the reality based characters I have been doing lately.

HULK MAD!

2008-02-16T19:10:00.008-05:00

Did some drawing today, and it occurred to me I haven't drawn the Hulk in years. For all you extremely observant people, by the image above you know what step I took next. For others... I drew the Hulk. I didn't spend a lot of time on it, I just wanted to get something down. Now, for a lot of people that know me, they know I am a big believer in the Pentel brushes. For the past eight months or so I have been using the Pentel Color Brush. But in the past two weeks or so I have gone to the Pentel Pocket Brush. I feel like I have more control, and I tend to just draw with it more instead of focusing on each mark. Anyway you go about it, each of these brushes are amazing and are highly recommended. Just ask Shawn Crystal. "They are." - Shawn Crystal.

A LITTLE BIT MORE COLOR

2008-02-07T23:20:00.004-05:00

Some more colors I did. I did these for Nolan's class, Digital Design Issues. I think I am beginning to feel better about the color choices, things might be starting to feel more cohesive. I emphasize might. I still need to push my colors as a storytelling device, which should always come first. Anyways, maybe the next ones...

THROWING SOME COLOR AROUND...

2008-01-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't messed around with color on my own pages in a while, so I decided to change that. This is a story I did around August of last year. The idea was to tell a story without any dialogue or narration, the visuals should tell the entire story. Well, there are somethings I would definitely change about it now, but I did learn a lot from it, and thats the important thing. At least, that what I tell myself. No fancy color at all, just flats. Just practicing using color for mood and establish environments. I only had time to do the first three pages, but I posted the rest so you can see the entire story. I need to do this more often. Another thing to do on the list...

BREAKDOWNS

2008-01-20T22:57:00.002-05:00

I have really been thinking a lot about process lately, and I think I am starting to do enough pages to now know what takes me longer to do and what I feel the most comfortable with. Here are the breakdowns to the most current pages I'm doing. Each comic page is about 2.25x3.5 inches, so the focus is not on drawing, but on composition, design, and storytelling. For the way I do my breakdowns, Shawn Crystal recommended that I use them as a guide for my pencils and draw over them. This makes since, because in my breakdowns I spend a lot of time on composition, camera movement, and pacing. I always believe the breakdowns should be where most of the creative energy should go, and I feel I am starting to get comfortable with that.

BRUCE!

2008-01-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really haven't updated in a long time, but I really didn't want it to be this long. Honest. For the holidays, my wife and I visited my family in Nashville and her family in Buffalo. When we got back home my scanner decided not to work, yeah that's my excuse. So, I had to scan this at SCAD. Anyways, I haven't done a watercolor in sometime. In class we did a study of Bruce Willis from Sin City using value only. It was a lot of fun, it was like a combination of life drawing and inking, two of my favorite things. I'm a bit rusty, but I can't wait to do more.

"NOTHING IS WRITTEN"

2007-12-18T03:14:00.001-05:00

I watched Lawrence of Arabia about three weeks ago. Simply brilliant. One of the greatest films of all time. And Peter O'toole's performance of T.E. Lawrence has to be one of the best acting jobs ever. So yesterday I decided to do a drawing of Lawrence with just brush, no under drawing. It is a bit tighter than what I usually do, but maybe it is a good thing. It was a lot of fun.

ALLY

2007-12-15T20:16:00.001-05:00

Here is my 18 page story I wrote and illustrated. I finished it about three weeks ago. It took a while for me to scan them all in, but it got done. Out of all the pages I have done, this is one where I was actually just as happy with the story and storytelling, as I am with the actual art. I hope you like it.

Sometimes I Feel The Way She Looks...

2007-12-12T22:31:00.002-05:00

Nothing new today. I have really wanted to get back into more quick character/concept design drawings, I found it is something I really miss. I did this about six months ago as pencil drawing and colored in Painter. The concept was for a character who is a drug addict, anyways I need to do more.

What is this Thing?

2007-12-12T01:58:00.001-05:00

About a month ago a bunch of us went to the SCAD Comic Art Forum in Savannah. We did some doodling while I was there, not even really sketching. This is one of the images that dropped onto my paper. It's only about 3x2 in., not very big at all. I don't think I have ever drawn the Thing before this, but I thought with his texture you can really play around with hard light and shadow.

Light It!

2007-12-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

Man, today has been a great day! I got accepted to grad school and received a scholarship. It takes the pressure off of paying for school. To celebrate I'm drinking Chimay Grand Reserve, the best beer in the world, while sketching and watching Monday Night Football. Can't get much better than today. Here's one of the sketches.

Finally!

2007-12-06T02:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, these are the first four pages to the 18 page story I FINALLY completed. I really worked my tail off on these. I think the art had some hits and misses, but the hits are growing more and more. However, this is the first time I am more proud of my story, and not just the storytelling and art. Hopefully, I can get some sketching in now. I really miss that.

Transitions...

2007-11-20T00:47:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. I have been busy with other stuff, in other words, I was being a hack. Well, not anymore! Here is a sample panel of the 18 page short story I just finished. I love seeing people's process, so I thought I would share mine. The rest of the pages should appear soon on my site.

Stumpy Pencil

2007-08-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

Alright, here is my very first post! I have been playing around a lot recently on the Wacom. I got this Stumpy Pencil brush for Photoshop from Shawn Crystal. I love it, the looseness of it is just like a pencil. Anyways, just some playing around...