It's nothing too special to look at if you've seen my other work, but for me it marks a moment in my development where I've officially joined the dying breed of cartoonists who are well-versed and at least slightly skilled with zip-a-tone shading film. I'm not saying this is some startling achievement, nor am I making some kind of statement against technology. But original artwork does mean a lot to me. I cringe at these folks who scratch down some rough pencils (if that, they usually work on a Wacom tablet), bump up the contrast or do whatever filter "trick of the day" they happen to be into, paint bucket whatever needs it, and call it good. I guess it really comes down to pride. I just look and that process and think unless you're being paid to draw that way, why would you? Where's the magic in that? Where's the chance for a mistake that could push everything forward? At what point does one become a technician when this is their process? I know it takes a lot of extra time to ink and tone and I've lost plenty of hours doing this to plenty of undeserving pieces, but I know that had I been born in a different time I'd have plenty to talk about with Osamu Tezuka, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, and countless other visionaries (that is, if I ever had the honor of meeting them)... I admire those old masters as well as contemporaries like Paul Pope & Dan Clowes and have learned so much from them. I owe it to them not to shirk these cartooning secrets I've been given through their work. In the end, I guess it just feels good to keep a tradition alive...
And remember that "mistake that could push everything forward"? Taking in the chin on the left's face was just that.
(1) Partial Pencils & Inks
I drew this and realized I didn't need another romance drawing and that this guy I had drawn had no neck. Chaos ensued from there...
(2)Full Inks / No Tone
And this is what you get after a couple hours of reworking and spacial problem solving...
(3)Full Inks / Full Tones
The midtones didn't scan very well and were whited-out for the final scanning (above), but I hope the far right gives at least a slight inkling at what the fully toned piece looks like...
Not much to this one, other than me having some coffee in my Spidey tights looking out on the beautiful city of Seattle. And as simple as it is, this window layout is based on my patio view of my first apartment in Seattle. Skyline and The Needle with a backdrop of the Olympics... Man, I miss that place! Below is a black and white (much-preferred) and a color version of this illustration...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0855039/
These new generation Daleks where used as a reference for this piece...
Well, you've probably seen this one before, but I felt the need to post it in hi-res because 1) It's one of my best quick drawings and 2) It gives me a chance to wax about how great this title was with Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction writing and David Aja (along with a host of brilliant smaller contributors) on the art chores. I've never seen a story span so many genres with so little clunkiness. This run of the adventures of Danny Rand fuses elements of international espionage, crime, kung-fu, family drama, and even western into a cohesive brew of comics fun of which the likes you'll never forget. My only beef or negative with this book is that I read it in single issues, sold those, got the 2 paperback volumes, and had to see this on Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Fraction-Brubaker-David-Omnibus/dp/0785138196/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239002608&sr=8-6
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