drawing Archives - Page 12 of 13

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge – The Maxx

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge – The Maxx

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge! Here’s the 2nd quick 30-minute daily sketch. This drawing was done on Tuesday, October 6th. The Maxx by Sam Kieth was suggested by my friend Carlos Parra via his Twitter account @carlosparra

This was a fun character to draw. I knew I wanted to make him big and exaggerated. That’s the way I remembered him. Never drawing the Maxx before I was very excited to have fun with this. I was able to get the sketch done in 35 minutes. I used an H2 drafting pencil. I think I had better control of it than the HB I used for the last quick sketch.

I remember when I had my comic book store, The Maxx Comic was always a very popular character. I literally could not keep the comics in stock. This was years after its publication too. I think it was so popular because of Maxx, MTV Cartoon. Which was great because it brought the character and comics to a more mainstream audience.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge – Manhunter IV (Marc Shaw)

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge – Manhunter IV (Marc Shaw)

Last night I drew the 1st in a series of quick 30-minute daily sketches. I’m calling them The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge. After asking for suggestions on Twitter and DeviantArt the first drawing is The Manhunter IV (Marc Shaw).

I had fun with this drawing. I’ve never really read any comic with this Manhunter, but the costume design is very cool. I actually took a little longer than 30 minutes, I think I took about 45. I used an HB drafting pencil, Only sharpening it once. With this drawing, I tried to be quick, but not lose detail. I also tried to use shadow and reflection of light. Thanks to @BlaqueSaber on Twitter for the great suggestion!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge

I’ve decided to give myself daily exercise to help in my drawing skills. I call it The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge. This next week I will be doing a quick drawing for only 30 minutes. These drawings will be of random comic book characters. Not only will I get to draw some different characters, but it will help in sharpening my drawing skills.

The Daily Comic Sketch Challenge

Last week I asked for suggestions through my Twitter and DeviantArt accounts on who I should draw. I received a lot of great ideas. Here is a list of which characters I will be drawing this 1st week.

I’ll be posting a new Daily Comic Sketch every day. If you have any suggestions on who I should draw next, please let me know. – SHAZAM!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Grimm Creeper, Hand Scythe Weapons

Grimm Creeper, Hand Scythe Weapons

Sometimes you can find the most awesome stuff in the most unexpected places. This last weekend I was at the supermarket buying groceries and out of nowhere, my girlfriend pulls out a Hand Scythe. She intended to scare me, but instead, I was very excited. This plastic toy was a perfect match to the weapon used by one of my characters, the “Grimm Creeper”. I had to buy it. Luckily I was able to find a second one too.

Halloween is always a great time to find plastic weapons and cosplay items. Last year we found a cool life-size Captain America shield, and this year it’s the Grimm Creeper’s scythe weapons.

Original Grimm Creeper by Ralph Contreras

In my original sketch of the Grimm Creeper, I had drawn his weapons very similar to the ones I recently found. In later drawings, I modified and stylized the scythes. After holding and simulating how the weapons work in a fight (I was testing them out in the supermarket), I’ve decided to go back to my original concept: a simple and direct weapon.

Redesign Grimm Creeper by Ralph Contreras

It’s really great having these props. I now have several ideas on how he can wield his weapons. I know that it will help me to come up with better action poses when I draw his fight scenes.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

I See Dead People – Zombie Sketches for Dark New World Zombie Comic Book

Zombie Sketches for Dark New World Zombie Comic

Here are some quick Zombie Sketches. To help keep the Dark New World zombie comic book fresh and new, I decided to sketch out a bunch of zombies’ faces. This way, I can choose which ones I want to use in the comic. I don’t just want a bunch of stereotypical bland zombies. My goal is to have over 50 different zombies already designed for the comic when I start penciling the sequential pages.

I’ve been looking at people to get ideas for the different-looking zombies. I’ll be at the mall or the gas station, looking at the characteristics of all the different people. So basically I’ve been people-watching and re-imaging them as zombies.

I’ve tried to make them retain some of the human characteristics, but still bring the horror I feel when I think of zombies—with some rotting flesh, biting jaws, and dead eyes.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Who are The Carnies, Friend or Foe?

Character Designs of The Carnies – Dark New World Zombie Comic

In this new chapter of Carlos Parra’s “Dark New World“. You will be introduced to many new characters. Enter “The Carnies“, a group of marauders who have survived the initial zombie infestation that hit Las Cruces, NM. “Sometimes the monsters do have smiles on their faces.”

Here are my first Character Designs sketches of ‘The Carnies” for the upcoming zombie comic book. Carlos wanted the feel of “A Clock Work Orange” mixed with creepy-looking carnies. I was given sketch samples of their different pained faces, and from there I designed their looks. At this point, the Carnies as individuals do not have names. Which I think actually makes them a bit scarier.

I’m currently workings on the first few pages of the comic book. The Carnies are making a huge impact on the lives of the survivors. In the future, I will post some of the sequential page thumbnails, but not too many. Don’t want to give away the story.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Twitter Contest – Original Captain Marvel Drawing – By Comic Book Artist Eric Merced

Original Captain Marvel Drawing By Comic Book Artist Eric Merced

I’ve been very active on Twitter for the past few months. I’ve actually maxed out the number of people I can follow (which is 2001). I would say that about 80% of the people I follow are comic book artists, writers, and fellow fans. Well, a few weeks ago I saw a contest for an original drawing from comic book artist Eric Merced through his Twitter account @eric_merced. “1st and 5th to tweet a character for me to draw on live stream…” I tweeted my favorite character Captain Marvel and was the 1st to enter and win the contest!

The cool thing about the live stream was I got to see him draw it live. Eric Merced talked about why he liked the character of Captain Marvel while he sketched him out. It was really interesting to see the process he used when going from sketching to drawing and finally to inking. He also had a question/answer session with other people watching via a chat widget. The original drawing is 7″ x 5″ and he gave it to me, which was very awesome of him!

As a fun added pulse the mailer that the drawing came in had a cool drawing of Captain Marvel too. Thanks, Eric Merced for an awesome original drawing! Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Iron Man – "Present Past" Drawing I did in 1989

Iron Man – “Present Past” Drawing I did in 1989

A few months ago I was vising my mom’s house where I found a box of old drawings I did when I was a kid. There were drawings I did of Veritech fighters from Robotech to comic books and superheroes. Last night I was looking through these treasures from my childhood. I had a blast remembering how I’d stay up late, looking at my comics and wanting to create and recreate these awesome artworks. One of the drawings that jumped out to me last night was this one of Iron Man. I drew this 20 years ago in 1989 when I was 14 years old.

In the late 80s I was reading all the Marvel Comic I could get my hands on, but Iron Man was on the top of my favorites list. I’m a huge science fiction fan and Iron Man was a perfect meld of Sci-Fi and Comics. This drawing was a recreation of the cover of Iron Man 244, it was originally drawn by Bob Layton. I remember being blown away by the split screen showing Iron Man’s then-current suit and his original grey one. I had to redraw it. So this is not a tracing, but a recreation of a cool comic cover. This is how I learned to draw. I’d look at a comic and try to recreate it. I didn’t take any art classes when I was young, but I loved to draw.

Looking at this drawing I did as a bright-eyed kid so many years ago really reminded me of the passion I had for comic book art back then. I feel very lucky that as an adult I haven’t lost that passion. I plan on posting more of my childhood drawing up, so keep an eye out. -PoW, Zap, Zooom!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Dark New World Zombie Comic Book – Character Sketches of Andrew Martinez

Andrew Martinez character design by Ralph Contreras

Character Sketches of Andrew Martinez

I am currently working on the comic book “Dark New World” with Carlos Parra. It’s a continuation of his independent zombie film. He’s introducing a lot of new characters into this awesome zombie-infested comic world.

Here are the initial Character Sketches for Private Andrew Martinez, one of the new characters from the mind of Carlos Parra. The character is a veteran of the recent Iraq war. He uses the skills and training he received from the armed forces to survive this Dark New World.

With these character design sketches, I took into consideration Martinez’s military knowledge. Carlos sent me several photos of soldiers in uniform for the general look he wanted for Martinez. I used these references and modified them a bit to come up with his look while still keeping to the standard U.S. Army desert uniform. He’s in 30’s so I tried to show that in these sketches. He doesn’t look too old or too young.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

24 Hour Comic 2008 – Santa Fe, NM

24 Hour Comic 2008 – Santa Fe, NM

I created this comic book in 23 hours with the help of my girlfriend (she inked the pages) for 24 Hour Comic 2008.

This was the first year I participated in the 24 Comic Book Day. The goal was to create a full 24-page comic book in 24 consecutive hours. It was organized by 7000 BC and True Believers our local comic shop. There were over 20 artists who drew their own comics. We all met at Warehouse 21. A great community center for youth and the arts here in Santa Fe. There was even a small exhibition showcasing the comics we created.

I had a blast doing this and will definitely take part again this year. I can’t wait!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.