A few months ago I participated in the second annual 30 Characters Challenge. We create 30 Characters in 30 days. It’s a very fun challenge. I had planned on penciling and inking all my character designs. As the months went by I only inked 3 designs. So I’ve decided to go back periodically to these character designs and ink them.
Here’s Penelope Chamber Characters Inks! I used a 102 nib pen with black india ink. I’ve been enjoying inking with nib pens. I still need a lot of practice inking, but I feel like the nib pen is right for me. So far I don’t have much of a history for this character. Just that she’s some sort of adventurer. – Shazam
Here is the super cool sketch card of Captain Marvel by Chris Foreman. When I was down at EPCON 2010 my girlfriend bought me this commission sketch card. Foreman created it on the spot.
It was really awesome to see him create this piece. He started with a quick sketch, then inked it, then colored it, added some shadows and highlights, then inked it again. I was totally blown away!
Thanks to my super cool girlfriend for this super awesome gift.
– SHAZAM!
(Check out my blog post El Paso Comic Con 2010 to see a photo of Foreman creating the sketch card!)
This October (The 2nd & 3rd) I participated for the 3rd time in 24-Hour Comics Day! The idea is to come up with a 24-page comic with no preconceived ideas when coming to the table! Since I’ve completed the challenge before, I had a good idea of how tough it could be. Ka-Blam! I was able to finish again minutes before the deadline of 24 hours. It was a fun struggle and I have a great feeling of accomplishment for finishing it.
Here’s my comic entitled “Survival”. The whole comic was penciled, inked, and lettered by me in 23 hours and 45 minutes. Toward the end, I did a few double pages and my art isn’t as tight as it was in the beginning. But I think I did pretty well. I even have two stories going on from two different characters intertwined together. -Shazam!
I’ve recently started to enjoy inking with pen and ink. In the past, I’ve focused on inking digitally using either Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. But I decided to tackle inking in the physical world. I have found inking with pen and bush to be more satisfying to me personally. I still believe that digital inking is a great technique. But for the time being, I will try to sharpen my skills in more traditional ways. My tools of choice have been a 102 nib pen and a size 4 sable brush.
I’ve been inking my own work, and that has been a great experience. I’ve decided to try inking other comic artists’ work too. My hope is that this will help me learn new creative approaches to comic art. I looked all over for a penciled piece I’d like to ink, then I found this super awesome piece of Thor vs. Taskmaster by comic book artist Mahmud Asrar. It comes from Avengers: The Initiative #32 Page 4. I found this on Mahmud’s DeviantArt page. I had fun inking these pencils. I will definitely be inking more comic pages in the future. – Shazam!
Noran Grimm grew up in a world ruled by logic, strategy, and calculation. The planet Dethathoun was one of the first planets to be conquered by the Cyber Lords after their own “Great War”. For generations, the Dethathouns were shaped by the Cyber Lords to become their field generals. Their inherent skills in problem-solving and tactical thinking made them the perfect soldiers and leaders
Noran’s family was among the most decorated of these Generals. Leading armies of Foot Soldiers in campaigns to conquer worlds across the galaxies. Norans father Jurvan Grimm lead the campaign that conquered the entire Acarien System. Making him the first and only Grand General of the Cyber Lord Army. Noran rose through the ranks of the military very quickly, becoming the youngest Dethathoun to become a Field General. His strategies in warfare were unmatched by his piers. Noran armies conquered or devastated hundreds of planets in the name of the Cyber Lords.
The Cyber Lords’ greed for power once again pitted them against each other and began an interstellar war. They fight for solar system territories. Like the War that destroyed their home world, they were now destroying the cosmos. As a result of the interstellar war, their resources were being depleted too quickly. Noran Grimm was sent to a remote planet named Earth with a battalion of Foot Soldiers to secure the planet’s rich resources. The last communique received from Grimm was a warning that the planet had defenders. With the war devastating the Cyber Lords armies no attempt has been made to find General Grimm.
30 Characters Challenge Creative Notes: For this drawing, I was trying to make the character of General Grimm look stern. Like the commanding officer, he is. A man of tactician thinking. I think I was successful in the rendering. I’ve been starting off this series of drawing with blue lines and then tightening the pencils with a normal black lead. I’m enjoying the process, but feel like my drawing is coming out a little too stiff. I do feel like my inking is improving with every new drawing. – Shazam!
30 Characters Challenge 2010 – #2 Zarruk Xeon Last Survivor of Tanigor
Zarruk Xeon is the last survivor of the planet Tanigor. A world much like the earth in size and population. Tamigor was protected by a group of superheroes. Zarruk was among the most recognized and respected among them.
The planet was devastated by a Cyber Lord and his army of Foot Soldiers. Looking to expand his growing interstellar empire, this Cyber Lord invaded Tamigor. But this world was heavily populated with super beings who fought back. The battle rocked the entire planet. With heavy casualties on both sides. The planet’s heroes couldn’t withstand the Foot Soldier’s larger numbers, up to billions. The world was eventually completely destroyed, with all life extinguished.
All life except Zarruk Xeon. It wasn’t his super strength, durability, or flight that saved him. It was his ability to absorb energies. The energy staff of the Foot Soldiers actually made him stronger. But not strong enough to save his world, his wife, or his children. Zarruk Xeon is now stranded on a dead planet. Searching through the rubble for a way off it. His only driving force is to avenge all he has lost at the hands of the Cyber Lords.
30 Characters Challenge Creative Notes: Like my 1st 30 Character drawing of Foot Soldier of the Cyber Lords, I tried to use a new technique of starting my drawing with blue pencils. I then refined the drawing with normal pencils. This is the second time I tried this, I feel like the image came out a little too stiff. This is probably a result of me making most of the initial blue lines very tight instead of loose as I did in the last attempt. I am happy with my inking of this character design. I’ve been using a 102-nib pen when inking. It’s been a fun learning process. – Shazam
I started creating this piece for a silent auction being held at the Bubonicon Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Here are the finished inks. I decided not to enter it but continued to finish it. The original drawing was on a 24″x19″ 2 ply Bristol board paper. The next step was inking it. I’ve seen a lot of great comic artists use a grey wash in their inkings, so I wanted to try that. I also added some movement lines in the background of the main panel. I used a 102-nib pen and a brush to ink it. In the past I’ve focused on digital inking, but lately, I’ve been enjoying inking by hand. Once I finished inking this piece titled: Renegade. I framed it and hung it on my wall. I’m proud that this piece and I had a lot of fun working on it.
Atomic Blast – Character Design for The REPLICANTS Project
The idea of Atomic Blast came from a challenge to create a superhero team based on an existing superhero team. The REPLICANTS Project was created by Dean Rivet. Atomic Blast was inspired by Sunfire of the X-Men.
Susan Rosen’s grandfather Jason Rosen worked on Trinity, the first atomic bomb nuclear weapons test in New Mexico. While working on the test site, Jason was exposed to high radiation levels. Due to a genetic anomaly, he was able to absorb the deadly energies. He found he could control this energy in the form of a green flame. He became a crime fighter known as the Green Flame.
As a child, Susan began to manifest the same power as her grandfather. She keeps it a secret not knowing she inherited the power from him. Susan’s parents died in a car accident when she was 17, leaving Jason as her only living relative. With no one else to take care of Susan, she moved in with him. She discovered he had the same powers as she did. Jason trained Susan in the control of her powers. She decided to follow in his footsteps and become a crime fighter. With his help, she has taken the name Atomic Blast and uses her powers to fight evil.
Here are the different steps I took when creating this character design. First I did my pencil drawing, I use a .5 HB Mechanical pencil. I then scanned and turned the pencils into blue lines. I went ahead and printed the blue lines and inked them. I used a nib pen 102. I then colored it in photoshop. I had fun with this illustration. I tried a few different techniques in the inking and coloring. I am very pleased with the results!
Shazam, Captain Marvel Commission by Dale Deforest
When I moved to Santa Fe I discovered there were a bunch of great comic artists living in the city. One of these artists is Dale Deforest. Dale’s a really cool dude. I first met him at 24-hour comic a few years ago. I’ve kept in contact with him since then. I really like Dale’s approach to his comic book art. So when he was offering commission work I jumped on it. I asked him to do a drawing of Captain Marvel, my favorite comic book character. He did this super cool fully inked piece. Thanks, dude! – SHAZAM!
If you’d like to see more of Dale’s work check out his website. www.DaleDeforest.com
Lionsoul – Character Design for The REPLICANTS Project
The Character Design idea of Lionsoul came from a challenge to create a superhero team based on an existing team. The REPLICANTS Project was created by Dean Rivet. Lionsoul is inspired by Thunderbird of the X-Men. Mikhail Selimovict aka Lionsoul is a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide during the 1990s. During the Srebrenica massacre, Mikhail’s family was separated. Mikhail with his father and younger brother Jacob were taken to be executed. It was at this moment that his powers manifested. He found that he had accelerated senses, speed, and strength. He was able to save himself and his brother by fighting off the Bosnian Serb forces. Although they were able to survive, Mikhail and Jacob were now alone in the world. They have spent their time looking for their mother and sisters. Mikhail has taken the name Lionsoul and helps people when they are in need with his powers.
Here are the different steps I used when drawing the character design for Lionsoul. I first did the pencils. I didn’t want his look to be too superhero. He’s more of a guy who fights when he needs to, he doesn’t want to stand out in a crowd. Next, I scanned my pencils and tuned them into blue lines in photoshop. I then printed them out and inked them. I do this so I can keep my original pencils. I then color those inks in photoshop. I’m pleased with his look. I had fun designing his lion tattoo too.
