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This will be the first time that I make it to a major out-of-state convention, and I have to say, I’m pretty geeked about it. Check out my profile on the official Wizard World Chicago Convention site!
The show will be at the Donal E. Stevens Convention Center from August 19th, to the 22nd. I’ll be debuting my sexy new convention banner and (fingers crossed) I hope to be offering brand, spanking, new copies of the long anticipated third issue of Drafted: A Story from the Space Marine Corps!
There’s a lot that still has to happen before Issue Three is a reality, but it’s crunch time, and I’m in the zone, and feeling pretty good about my chances, so I’m gonna start shooting my mouth off in the hope that shame will motivate me at 2am.
Also on tap will be The First Two Issues, limited edition Prints, original page art, and of course, me (for those of you who just can’t get enough). So if you don’t have anything to do on a long weekend in the middle of August, and you happen to live in the greater Chicago area, I’d love to have you pay me a visit at my booth.
See you there.
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I spent this last weekend finishing up the new convention banner that I’ve been working on. It’s been a ton of fun to work on, but of course took way longer than I originally anticipated to get it looking the way I had imagined.
I started working on the piece at this last year’s Motor City Convention and get through the sketching and started on the inks (below).
I was really happy with how the inks turned out and was a little worried to move on to colors. I don’t do a ton of color work, particularly on the computer (usually about once a year when I have to get a cover together), so it seems like my skills are always a little rusty.
The process was certainly time-consuming, and while I’m sure I would get faster at it over time, I can’t fathom how some people (or even most people) find the time to color entire books. This time though, it was definitely worth it.
The finished product should stand 79″ high and 49″ wide. I’m really looking forward to posting some pictures of it in-action at my next convention. In the meantime, I need to get back down to work on Issue 3. I finished up another page on Sunday so it was a really productive weekend. Next I may try to get a jump on the cover while I still have my coloring process fresh in my mind. With a little luck, I’ll be posting that shortly as well.
If I can get that done, I’ll just have eight more pages to ink and the details of book assembly to wrap up.
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As I mentioned in my last post, this last convention got me thinking about what properties and franchises I would get really excited about drawing. What surprised me was that the list covered very few comic properties.* When I think about it though, that shouldn’t really have surprised me that much. I don’t actually read a ton of comics. That doesn’t mean I don’t love comics, but it can be very hard to find quality new material, just as it is unlikely that you could walk into a bookstore and grab a random paperback from the New Releases shelf and wind up with something worth reading. I love comics because of the unique opportunity they afford me for visual storytelling on a tight (aka non-existent) budget and this is reflected in the material that I read. But I digress.**
The list of properties I would want to work on shouldn’t have surprised me because, predictably, it mirrored my own interests. As soon as I stopped thinking about a long list of Marvel and DC characters that I like but don’t care to draw and started thinking about the things I actually do geek out about (Old-school comics, radio and pulp literature, with some videogames, novels, and movies thrown in for good measure) I was bursting with ideas. So, without further ado, I present my TOP TEN FRANCHISES (PLUS FOUR) on which I would love to work (in no particular order).
- The Shadow
I enjoy listening to old radio serials, and The Shadow is by far my favorite. Since it’s origination it has also gathered a robust visual history including costume design that is to die for. Also, a title like The Shadow invites a rich graphic style employing shape and solid blacks. What’s not to love?
- From the Earth to the Moon/Around the Moon
If you have not read these books, you should. They are ludicrous. Men build a giant gun, and then climb into the bullet, and then shoot the moon. That is all you need to know. Also, it would be a great opportunity to have fun with lots of perspective and texture. I am getting giddy just thinking about it.
- War of the Worlds
Why? Because I want to draw Martian Tripods. There is no other reason.
- The First Men in the Moon
Many of these made the list because I like drawing mechanical things and industrial architecture. This has the opportunity for all of that but I put it on my list for the Moon Caverns. Dynamic Lighting + Mechanical Architecture + The Moon = Awesome.
- John Carter of Mars
I debated whether or not to add this one to the list. I think the subject matter would require a classical style of rendering figures that would be a huge challenge for me. After all, I am not Alex Raymond. Regardless, I love it too much and I could still work in some air-ships and an atmosphere plant. There. I’m feeling more confident about it already!
- Metroid
The main character is in a Robot Suit. I could draw a robot, and claim to have drawn a hot chick at the same time.
- StarCraft
If I had to pick a number one thing that I would be excited to draw, this might be it. It has space marines, bug-monster aliens, robots, star-ships, space, everything. Feel like getting lost in the isolation and void of space? Covered. In the mood for sweeping industrial sci-fi landscapes? Covered. In the mood for something more organic? Zerg.
- Final Fantasy VI
I list FFVI specifically because I don’t think I would (if I had my pick) have taken the same visual route that the series took following this game and before this, the in-game art was so limited that it didn’t have the same effect on me. FFVI struck that perfect balance of suggestive visuals and stunning concept art that make a tribute mandatory at some point in my life; like a pilgrimage to Mecca or something. Also Yoshitaka Amano is one of my professional idols.
- Flash Gordon
Similar feelings to #5 but more challenging. Instead of crazy industrial atmosphere plants I would get to have fun with classical, phallic, Mongo architecture. I may also go a different route and pick out a scene so obscure that only a connoisseur would recognize it. Also tempting: Make a tribute piece for the 80’s film adaption.
- Star Wars
Included because it is Star Wars. I have a smorgasbord of droids, stormtroopers, Star-Destroyers, alien civilizations, ATATs and more to choose from. I don’t even know where I would begin.
- Sherlock Holmes
It took a while, but we at last have another listing that does not involve robots OR space. Instead we have another chance to showcase technique: light, shadow and texture against the backdrop of Victorian England’s urban underbelly.
- The Prisoner
This one makes the list because I love it, and it has been, to my knowledge, woefully under-represented in the world of pop-culture tribute. Also, I am confident that, if pressed to it, I could make a fair likeness of Patrick McGoohan. This would be a non-negotiable.
- Rawhide
Competing with The Prisoner for farthest outlier on the list, Rawhide is another one of my obsessions that doesn’t get a lot of buzz anymore. Also, while any tribute should at least include Clint Eastwood’s visage, the piece would be far and away devoted to the likeness of Eric Flemming as Gil Favor, Trail Boss. Also excited about the prospect of: Beeves, dust, and big-sky country. This would almost certainly be a dry-drive piece. Don’t know what I mean? Watch a few seasons of this show.
- Automata
Included because I would love the chance to do a tribute piece for something that is contemporary, ongoing, and almost completely undeveloped. Also it meets my criteria for: robots, pulp sentiment, gritty texture, graphic light/shadow opportunities, urban/industrial city-scape. I think it is also a huge bonus that my style is nothing like Mike Krahulic’s (of Penny Arcade fame), allowing a tribute to exist as a compliment to his creation and not an imitation.
The exercise of rigorously examining this topic has made me extremely eager to play within these worlds in the near future. If a can find the time, I’d love to do a pin-up of each to post on the site and to fill out the site’s gallery. At the end of the whole thing, who knows, it might make a great sketchbook or at least a well-rounded portfolio. I will have to dwell on this at some length…
Are there any franchises out there that you love and/or feel are under-represented? Are you familiar with my art style and have something that you’d love to see of which I am oblivious? Tell me about it! I always like a full queue of ideas.
*Let me amend that. The list contains very few properties which originated as comics. Some of these properties have become comic series since (Star Wars for instance) or have had comic adaptions made of them before now. In case you’re wondering, Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen felt like a personal gift from him to me .
**This in itself is a whole separate post which I won’t get side-tracked on right now. Maybe next time.
