I’m currently working on my Brie Larson Captain Marvel illustration. I wanted to share some of my work in progress (WIP). In a previous blog post, I showed the pencil drawing. I’m using Prisma color in colored pencils and overlaying colors over each other to achieve a smooth, blended look. It’s been a bit of a learning curve for me since I’m not used to using colored pencils for my artwork. I’m having a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques and seeing how the colors interact with each other.
Normally, I tend to stick with pencil drawings or black ink for my artwork, but I’m enjoying the challenge of working with something new. It’s a great way to expand my skills and try out new things. I can’t wait to see how the final illustration turns out!
The Weekly Comic Art Challenge 2012 – Week One “Shazam”
Last week I started the “Weekly Comic Art Challenge”. I put out a challenge to all my art friends out on the internet! Once a week I’ll name a theme, and all artists that want to participate can draw, ink, and/or color a piece about that theme. This week’s theme was “Shazam”. Here are the entries I received this week. With the artist’s name, the Title of the piece, and a link to their website.
I’ve been listing to the DC 52, a Graphic Audio Book for the past few weeks (when I’m on the bus or during my lunch). One of the main characters is Black Adam. I’ve really enjoyed the adventures with the Black Marvel Family. So I was inspired to pencil and ink this drawing of Black Adam.
For the pencils, I used a .05 HB mechanical pencil. (which can be seen in a previous blog post:Black Adam Pencils ). For this inking, I used a 102 nib pen and a #3 sable brush with black India ink. My standard inking tools. I have fun with this one. In the next few days, I plan on coloring it next. SHAZAM!
Pencils of Skull – One Veritech Fighter from Robotech
A few weeks ago I went to a comic convention where there was a panel on Robotech. I was a huge fan of the cartoon back when it originally aired in 1985. The panel brought back great memories of why I enjoyed the show. I then discovered Netflix had the whole series for instant watch. So I had a Robotech marathon! Watching the show I was inspired to pencil the Skull-One Veritech Fighter, originally piloted by Roy Fokker and then by Rick Hunter. My plan is to ink this piece and then digitally color it. So keep an eye out. – Shazam!
A few weeks ago I posted a drawing I did of Bloodshot in the 90s. Excited by the announcement that Valiant Entertainment would be publishing comics again in 2012. I wanted to share this piece I did as a kid. I then was inspired to create a new Bloodshot drawing. I penciled this Bloodshot with a more lean and slick look.
Here are the final inks of my new Bloodshot piece. I inked over my original pencils, I’ve been doing this lately with my work. I used an India ink with a 102 Nib pen, #3 Sable Brush, and a Micron 0.25 pen. I modified the piece from the original pencils. His hair is now solid black and I’ve given the pants folds instead of leaving them solid black. I had a lot of fun with this one. I’m planning on doing some more Valiant characters in the near future. – Shazam!
Last week I posted a drawing I did of Bloodshot in 1993. With the news that Valiant comics was coming back in 2012, I got very excited and wanted to share a drawing I did of one of their main characters when I was younger. You can check out that drawing here: Bloodshot Drawing I did in 1993
After looking at the piece I did, I got really inspired to draw a new Bloodshot pin-up. The one from 1993 was drawn before I had taken any art classes some 18 years ago. (wow) I’ve really changed my approach and have found my own drawing style since then. So last night I grabbed some paper, clipped it to my artboard, and started a quick sketch while watching a marathon of the Office.
In the new promo art from Valiant, we see a silhouette of Bloodshot that is not a huge dude. So I decided to go with that and draw him more lean and athletic, not as bulky as he’d been drawn at the end of his comic series.
I enjoyed reading those earlier issues of Bloodshot back in the 90s. It was a time when I was discovering there were different types of comics other than Marvel and DC. Valiant stories seemed more hardcore and real, still heroic and fantastic but with a darker edge. I look at some of my own character designs and I can see how my imagination was inspired by characters like X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, and Bloodshot.
I enjoyed working on this piece, It was nice to just let loose and had fun with it. I used an HB .05 Mechanical pencil and drew on a 9×12 piece of Bristol paper. I’m planning on inking it tonight, so keep an eye out. Also, more Valiant characters are to come in the future too.
I started reading Valiant Comics in the middle of Unity and I was hooked. The stories were so different from what I had been reading, mostly Marvel. I was sorry to see the company stop publishing when it did. My favorite characters were X-0 Manowar, Rai, and Bloodshot. Yesterday CDR announced that Valiant was coming back to the comic scene and would start creating comics again in 2012. Valiant has a great promo ad that is very reminiscent of Rai #0 showing a silhouette of Bloodshot in front of a huge red dot holding a gun and katana sword.
Looking at the new promo I remembered that I had created an inked piece of Bloodshot back in 1993. I had intended to send it to Wizard Magazine. At that time Wizard had a section where it would publish fan art. I don’t remember why I didn’t send it in, but I think it’s time to showcase some of this older art. I know I worked really hard on this one, I think it took me a few days. It was drawn before I took any art classes in college, so my style is very raw and ’90s comic style influenced………..lots of random hatching, lol.
I think in the next few days I’ll do a new Bloodshot drawing in anticipation of the new comic series next year. – Shazam!
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
Deadpool, Hitman Monkey & Spider-Man ink drawing by Ralph Contreras
Comic Page Inks – Deadpool vs Hitman Monkey
Here’s my latest full-page inking, Deadpool vs Hitman Monkey. It comes from Deadpool 20 page 22 by comic book artist Carlo Barberi. I’ve been inking pencils of professional comic artists to strengthen my inking skills. I found the original pencils on Barberi Deviant Art page. It’s a fun action shot with Deadpool getting shot up by Hit Monkey while Spider-Man watches. Looking at this inking and the past ones, I see where my strengths and my weaknesses are. You can see I need to work on my hatching and action lines. I’m ready to keep this in mind in my future inkings. Shazam!
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!
