HWID #1 preview 5pgs

Zero's Heroes

Hey everybody! Just wanted to show some work I did for www.newhavencomics.com . I was working on a new coloring style that I actually really like. I am working on combining more traditional medium into my work. Here I used Yarka watercolor http://www.enasco.com/product/9711245 on a separate piece of bristol after finishing the inks. This served as an underpainting for the final pages. In the future I will be making two changes. 1. More digital work to flesh out the work (for cover work that means more digital painting ala The Carrier; interiors will need more layers of flat colors to break up space). 2. I am going to use these watercolor pencils that I got from my brother for Christmas. I always thought watercolor pencils were crap, but these are actually really nice and do a good job on detail work.

life drawing

HWID COVER

This started as a sketch on board then scanned and cleaned up then printed back to the board watercolor then ink scanned again then digital painting on top. Wow busy day. Hopefully I can get the BLACK AND WHITE convention edition (signed and numbered) out in time for C2E2. A color edition will be available soon after through Graphicly.

Got a little demon girl...

Figure Drawing

Finally got back to figure drawing last night. I felt very rusty! But it was really nice to get back into the swing of it. I got the chance to see old friends and chat it up about what I am working on these days.

The Carriers and Steve the Schnauzer on Graphicly!

http://graphicly.com/cuddlefish-comics-collective

Hey everyone! I wanted to get the link out that my comics The Carriers and Steve the Schnauzer are now available for download on Graphicly. I am super pumped to see these books become available on a much larger scale.

The first issue of The Carriers is completely FREE. If you like that then check out the rest of the issues for a totally reasonable price. The print version costs $5 but the digital version is under $2!

This is a project that I have been working on in my spare time for over 3 years. Some of you have supported me the entire time and I am totally grateful. Please help me spread the word about these books being available for download.

Click here for a FREE COMIC--------------> http://graphicly.com/cuddlefish-comics-collective/carriers/1

A bit of a rant.

So I am in the early stages of production of my next book HWID (short for HOW WILL I DIE). I am about five pages into pencils and inks and I am finding that I have so much to learn! I see where my strengths and weaknesses are. One of the things that I have found that needs to change as I am working is my inking style. I am finding that the things that I like in other people's work are not things that I like in my own. I am moving away from digital painting for HWID to really push my drawing skills to the next level. I cant smudge out a bad line like I used to. Every line I put on the paper ends up in the final page.

I have been playing with a new inking style that is more angular and fractal. Elements of the fractalization can be seen in the last issue of The Carriers. As I am doing the inks on HWID I am noticing that using a brush for my lines and then also using the hard edge shapes can really clash. I started using just chisel tip nibs for the hard calligraphic lines that will do a better job of merging the two types of lines that I am using. The result has been eye opening. I haven't mastered it but by the end of HWID I should have it down pat. I find myself inking more playfully but also retaining the quality of the line that I am looking for.

The hard part of this change over has been the voice in the back of my head going- "That's not how Paul Pope would ink that line."

That voice is a pain in the ass to deal with. Hey voice... I am not Paul Pope! Paul Pope has enough people trying to draw like him!

Really hunkering down and keeping at this new technique has really quieted that voice down. I am starting to see that its an original voice that I am using now. The line doesn't seem like I am trying to be someone else. I would post some of the work I have been doing in this style but it's all been in my sketchbook and none of it is really all that impressive unless you know what you're looking for. I am going to wrap up the opening scene in HWID and really delve deep into the new approach for the rest of the book. I don't think that the change will be all that jarring from one page to the next.

Also a love letter to zip tone. I love zip tone. I love it a lot. A LOT. Your itty bitty dots make things seem way more detailed than they are and they cover up some of my screw ups. P. S. I love zip tones.

So if you suffered through that bit of literature then #1- You must be awesome. #2. You're probably wondering when I will post some new stuff up.

I will post two pages of HWID up in two weeks. These two pages will feature the new approach to inking. They will be in full color and lettered. Promise.

I'm working on things.... HWID

The Carriers #4 is donezo = Happy Birthday to me!

So yeah here is the last page of Volume 1 of The Carriers. This took forever to do! Not just this page but the entire book! I have learned so much though that it was all worth it. The next book will seem like a departure from The Carriers but in actuality it will just be introducing some of the changes to my style that I thought would be too jarring to implement in the middle of a book. These changes should help me go faster and push my art in the direction that seems most natural. HWID's plot is done and I am moving on to scripting. I really want to get the thing done for C2E2... Oh yeah hey! I got into C2E2! Yay me! Josh wont be able to attend this year but Gross Grandpa #2 should be ready in time. Jake will be boothing up with me. I get to get all jealous over all the girls he sells his art to. This guy kills at shows. He owes me a Carriers pin up too! I've been wanting one for like forever!

Carriers #4 goes to print this Friday! Steve Schnauzer should be back from the printers this week.

new page

Merry X-mas 2011

Merriment abounds. I am pretty much going to try and lay low today before making the trek to the northern woodlands of Pardeeville Wisconsin to see family. I will be hitting the interstate around 8am X-mas day. Should be good.

These were gifts for family members that I thought turned out alright. Yeah I am a cheapskate and make paintings rather than buy gifts. That's how I roll.

Ninth Gate Vogue and a crook of the neck

Hey-O

So I have been swamped with stuff for the holidays. Steve Schnauzer #1 print files are out! Just waiting for the books to show up at my doorstep. I have a bit of work to do on The Carriers and then I am done with that too.

The first image was done as a commission for a guy I work with. He really digs the movie The Ninth Gate. I was really into making the borders. I was totally aping Mark Buckingham's Fables borders! But it was a ton of fun.

I saw a picture a friend had uploaded to facebook. In the picture was a girl with her head tilted in just the strangest way. I was really facinated by the question of why she had crooked her neck this way. Did she think that was her best angle? Must have been since it facinated me so much that I put her in my sketchbook. I don't think that the sketch really gives the girl justice.

Also some Vogue models in my sketchbook.

Still got a few pages to go before the end of The Carriers.

I have just a few more pages to color up before the fourth and final issue of The Carriers goes to print. It feel really good to be walking away from these characters for a bit and into something new. I am planning on returning to them someday in some form or another. Until then I have to really step up for the next book. HWID will present drawing challenges that I haven't tackled in quite a long time. HWID will also be painted in an entirely new method (see post below). Lots of work to do!

I am not sure about this...

I am getting a lot of compliments on the watercolors lately (pats self on back 5x) and it has me wondering about doing original art for comics with watercolor. I love digital though and it took a lot of work to get to where I am with it. So maybe a mashing of the two might work for me. I am enjoying the results on the tests that I have done. It is kind of cool to have base colors to work with in the original scans. It also allows me to be more selective with where I want to spend my time fleshing out the painting. Final art will be a combo of sumi ink, watercolors and digital paint added in post. I know I am not the first one to work this way but it isn't about that. It is about finding a working process that works for me. This feels right to me.

Ignore the shitty test quality of this. Instead think about buying full color orignial art from me at the next show you see me at. Yeah... That would be cool.

watercolors etc.

So at MIX I picked up a nice set of Russian Watercolors that are the bees knees. I have been futzing around with them. Tell me what you think.

New page yo!

I have finished all the penciling and inking of The Carriers Vol. 1 (ending on chapter 4). The next two projects that I am working on have really got me pumped up! I have to put together a short story to go into a comic that I want ready for con season 2012. The short story will be put out as a convention exclusive and will feature all three Cuddlefish artists. It is in the early stages and I always underestimate the amount of time it will take to put something out. I do have the goal to get it done before February 2012. I will also be putting out a ton of Steve the Schnauzer over the next few months. I might have two Steve Books out in print by c2e2 2012. That is the goal at least.

New page of the Carriers!!!!

This page was a lot of fun to do. I skipped the value stage of the coloring and just went at it with straight color. Lots of fun stuff to paint on this page!

Let me know what you think!

Ah MIX and other things

So where to begin. Well I think I need to start at the begining of last week. I can't start to describe the week without acknowledging the passing of my amazing grandmother. Cancer is a really horrible thing and it was really hard to watch her go. The whole thing stirred up so many emotions and memories that I am pretty sure that I was walking around in a fog all week. Between Thursday (the wake) and Saturday (1am) I went without sleep. We buried my grandmother at noon on Friday and by 2pm I was on my way to Minneapolis for MIX (Minneapolis Indie Expo). We went to the Cloud Show at Pink Hobo first. I was really impressed with the work on the wall. It really made me want to get back into printmaking. Pink Hobo is a really beautiful place with all sorts of cool things on the wall.

Jake Reuth and I bounced off to get some Indian Food. It was delicious and spicy. After diner we headed back to Pink Hobo. There was an organized Drink and Draw event here. Not really knowing anyone, we decide to find a bar and put on our own little drink and draw. We found a little Irish Pub (fitting place to end the night at considering where the day started). We drank. We Drew. We Threw darts.

We got up early Saturday (6 hours of sleep for me) and headed down to the Soap Factory. We were greeted by the beautiful and incredibly nice/ hard working/ organized/ etc etc... Sarah Morean. We got to our table and set up. I hadn't brought much because I knew that this wouldn't be a show where I would do a lot of commissions or sell a lot of originals.

Andy Krueger bopped over and said hello. I kinda thought he was a crazy person at first. But then I realized who he was and I totally got why he was so excited. For Sarah and Andy this must have been pretty amazing to see this show come together. This was a total DIY show and it was really something to see it all come together.

Saturday was a fairly slow day for us. Hell it was slow for everyone. I realized I wouldn't make any money at this show so I should try and get around to as many people as I could and introduce myself (social awkwardness and all). It turned into a nice little networking show. Jake still was able to sell a bunch of prints to little girls that dug his colorful creatures. My stuff looks too much like the superhero stuff that the rest of these guys are rebeling against. I get it though. I don't read a ton of superhero stuff. I would much rather read an indie book that is hand stapled and hand printed.

We headed up to the Bulldog Bar and Grill and grabbed a bite to eat before heading to The MIX Mixer. It was sort of awkward again. Not really knowing people at this show really made things tough. Though I got to sit and hang out with Jake and get into some really deep geek talk.

Sunday was much the same as Saturday. But had a few really cool moments mixed in. I decided that I didn't care if I made a single sale. I made a point of going out into the show and finding new comics that would inspire me. I picked up a Paul Pope comic from the Adhouse guys. They could have taken all my money. They had the most amazing books I have ever seen. They all had this handmade feeling but on a mass production scale. The books all smell of soy ink and expensive paper. I could gush on and on... I picked up Britney Sabo's new book Those Who Travel Alone. This comic is short but awesome. B. Sabo is a real talent! I picked up Blammo #6 by Noah Van Sciver. I finally bought Pranas T. Naujokaitis Beard. He was awesome. It was weird because I don't know him personally but I felt like I knew him since I have been reading his Ink Dick comic all along. I suppose that is the downfall of having an autobio comic up on the web. Lastly, I picked up Lale Westvind's Hyperspeed to Nowhere. This book was my impulse buy. It was so good though in a crazy "I don't give a fuck" kind of way.

I was happy to meet a few publishers and some new friends. That is what I got out of MIX (and I found out what an Arnie Palmer was....sosoooooo goooood!).

I recuperated Monday... Accomplishing absolutely nothing. Tuesday was better.

Links

http://lalewestvind.blogspot.com/

http://www.bsabo.com/

http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/

http://www.adhousebooks.com/

http://ghostcarpress.com/

http://blogchickablogblog.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mplsindiexpo/6323568658/in/pool-1783867@N23

Some new pages

So based on a few economic conditions I am pushed to make certain creative decisions for HWID. This is just reality creeping in. HWID will be painted black and white full value scale. This is for the same reason that I outlined in an earlier post. Fact is... it will cost me half as much to print Steve The Schnauzer than it does to print The Carriers. Do I love full color? Of course I love it. The cost to print color on a large scale has become prohibitive. If you look around the indie comic scene you can see why I did The Carriers in color. To stand out! And The Carriers does stand out. It's very different from any other indie book out there.

HWID will have to be black and white with full grays. As for The Carriers #4- I will be printing it as a single issue full color very limited print run. I wanted and still want to create a Collected Edition of The Carriers. I will probably be taking another stab at a Kickstarter for that though... its crazy expensive to print a trade paperback!

So Steve The Schnauzer and HWID will be printed black and white. Future issues of The Carriers will be in color. The Carriers will just have to have small print runs and only be available at conventions.

I have just started writing the final draft of the script of HWID and the plot of the second volume of The Carriers.

Expect lots more.... As always.

What does a page of The Carriers look like at the ink stage?

So if you ever sat alone in the dark on a Friday night listening to emo music and pondering the great philosophical questions and the question of "What does a page of The Carriers look like at the ink stage?" then ponder no more.

This page was born out of a great deal of struggle. I was really pushing how I think about a page and the tools I use to create the page. This is for me the half-way point. The next steps are painting in value ranges and then adding color. The value takes awhile but it is the most satisfying step as it really fleshes out and adds dimensionality to the image.

Tell me what you think about this image.

miles morales spider-man sketch

new page

A scary page for me.... I hate leaving it black and white in the second panel but it just worked so well that I had to.

New Page of the Carriers page 13 of chapter 4

Lots going on these days. I have been feeling pretty good about where the books are going and the work that I have been getting done. Need to really hammer down if I want to meet my deadlines but I think that I can get The Carriers done and to print by the end of November. Then it I am going to focus on the HWID pitch and first issue. HWID will be much more mainstream than The Carriers (at least I think). HWID is something that will be able to get a bigger fan base than the Carriers. I don't want to get into too many specifics but I really like the direction that we are going in and the subjects that HWID will explore.

24 hour comic day was a blast. I drank too much caffeine and ate too much pizza but it was totally worth it. I created a character that can really do anything and go anywhere. Please check out Steve the Schnauzer at http://stevecomic.blogspot.com/ I will be keeping this going as a webcomic to fill the internet void that will come once I stop posting The Carriers and move onto HWID (a book that will not be a webcomic- Sorry).

Steve is such a fun idea that I can see it really taking off and being a ton of fun to do. Please check it out.

24 hour comic Steve the Schnauzer- now ongoing webcomic

So 24 hour comic day was yesterday. I didn't finish... Sleep deprivation go the better of me and I fell asleep on top of my pages. I got a ton of work done and brought to life a character that I will keep going as a webcomic called STEVE THE SCHNAUZER! I will update twice a week and keep it going for as long as I can. Excuse the little issues in the pages. I was tired! Anywho... bookmark- http://stevecomic.blogspot.com/

Harley Quinn in the good costume (DC... Why would you change this?)

sumi ink and my new love affair

I really wasn't going to post this because I hate posting my non-finished stuff. This is shit and I know it. But holy hell is sumi ink where it is at for me. One more tool that will really allow me to have fun on a page. I cant recommend the stuff enough to other comic artists. So yeah this is my first three little putterings with the medium. I just wanted to see if it mixed with my digital painting process and it totally does. It adds a bit of solidity that wasn't there before. I never spotted blacks or really had any blacks on my pages. That will change.

New Page of the Carriers