Hela - Rough

One of the commissions I am working on is Hela on Canson Paper. In doing a Canson piece, I have to have the drawing down as tight as possible when I transfer to the Canson Paper in order to avoid excessive erasing. The paper just cannot handle it. This is especially important when I am drawing a character like Hela with tons, and tons of costume detail. Oy!

I did one little sketch on a post-it, scanned it and digitally roughed out the actual figure. Printed it out on tabloid size paper at 30% black. Then I start drawing the costume right on that. And I repositioned her arm as well. It's almost done for this stage. Tomorrow I will transfer and finish it.

Sketch Card samples

Today I thought I would share some sample art. I did these to submit to a card publisher who is putting together artists for a new set of Marvel sketch cards. I know that if I get the gig I would not be able to show any until the sets are released, but since these will never be used, I'm guessing it's safe to show. I had inked a total of 6 but I felt these four were the strongest. And the publisher asked for 3 or 4 images so this covers it.

All four images are done in ink and fluid acrylics. And each image is 2.5" x 3.5" on Strathmore Bristol Board.

Jocasta!

I started reading the Avengers around the time Jocasta was introduced. She was brought to the page by writer Jim Shooter and artist George Perez in 1977. Funny, but I believe that 14 year old that bought that issue of Avengers off the spinner rack would have been surprised to know that in his future he would work with Jim and have wonderful conversations with George at conventions, the latest conversation being at the Mini-MegaCon last weekend. Forget about telling that 14 year old that he would go to dinner with George and a few other comic creators after a convention in Baltimore! His head would have exploded. :)

This Jocasta piece was commissioned by Alex and is the second of four pieces coming up. This was done with ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board. Thanks again Alex!

Marvel Girl!

This one has been tucked away for a week. It was commissioned by Patman for his buddy Pat as a birthday gift. I was informed that the gift was given and I am in the clear to share this now. Patman had the idea of Marvel Girl with Phoenix's face in flames in the background. The background as a hint of Jean Grey's future. Even the pose for Marvel Girl was his suggestion. The bird-like pose reinforces the eventual change from Marvel Girl to Phoenix. Though Patman may not have meant it, I found the pose to have almost a crucifixion feel to it. Which would relate to Jean's sacrifice of her own life to save her loved ones. Hey, who says that these pieces can't have deep undertones? : )

Thanks again to Patman for this commission. And I hope that Pat likes it.

Daredevil

Not much today folks. Got busy on several fronts. So it's just a little marker sketch that I added some color to in Photoshop. Should have a Jocasta commission done for tomorrow! :)

Hawkman!

Today we have the first of four commissions for Alex, Hawkman about to bop someone on the head with a big, heavy mace. :) This is ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board. Thanks to Alex for this commission!

Catwoman and Dominique

This new Canson Cutie was done for Bill. Bill wanted something along the same lines of some other Catwoman pieces I have done, in that she is in the middle of a crime. Adding the safe, the cat, the mirror and Batman was me having fun. This was done in mixed media on 11" x 17" Canson Mi-Teintes Paper. Thanks again Bill!

And this one is from the flat files. Since buying a scanner that can handle tabloid size paper, I have been scanning old artwork that was never properly scanned. This one is from 1994.

Back when I was doing the art for DOMINIQUE for Caliber Comics I did this piece hoping we might use it for a cover. It was never published. Seems the piece didn't impress enough to be used, but I always liked it. This was one of my earliest attempts at painting with acrylics and as such it's a bit heavy handed.

Deena worked with someone who owned a Harley and we went over to have her pose on it. I took a ton of shots that day, and this was before digital cameras so you can imagine what that cost to develop. Or maybe not, if you are not that old. :) Then finding the right shot I started on the painting. Some adjustments had to be done in order to make Deena into Dominique, but not too much. I used Deena as my model for Dominique for the interior pages too. So this is just a semi-blast from the past that I just thought I would share.

Sketchbook Monday

I spent the morning at the Tampa Zoo with Deena and Dakota. It's the best time of the day to go as it's the best chance to see some of the big animals active. And today was fantastic. The white tigers were very playful. You can see some of my shots and video here.

Since my day was cut short and the work I did I cannot share, I bring you some pages from my sketchbook. I hope everyone had a good Monday.

Mini MegaCon - Sunday Sketches

I wasn't terribly busy today with sketches. Actually I only had one. Below is one from yesterday that I forgot to document with a photo. Luckily Karen, who commissioned this for her book, came back. So first up is Ka-Zar and Zabu of the Savage Land.

Next up for Dave is Star Girl. Karen and Dave spent a lot of time with me chatting and it was much appreciated. Always a fun conversation to be had when the three of us get started. :) Thanks to both of you!
That's it for the show. I had a good time. Met a lot of new people. I'm still pretty new to the convention scene down here and the response from people who dropped by my table is positive. The nice folks who run the show did a great job and I was really impressed with the turn out for a new two day show. I look forward to the winter MegaCon in March 2010!

Next show: Pittsburgh ComiCon!

Mini MegaCon - Saturday Sketches

I had a fun day at the Mini-MegaCon in Orlando. I got to chat with people I only see at cons so it was nice catching up. Talked with Craig Zablo & John Beatty a bit. Desperado's Joe Pruett and I caught up on some work we are doing together. Also caught up with Mike Perkins, Casey Jones and Jeff Parker. I hadn't seen Parker in years so that was nice. He gave me the secret to his success, and for that I am grateful. :) And I did some sketches. Here are two of them:

First up for Lan Pitts is a sexy librarian. (Yes Royce, she's a redhead if you like) Lan requested this and mentioned Gil Elvgren for inspiration and I was off.

Next up, my oddest request: The 1960s Batman tv show version of the Batmobile. Yup, the Batmobile. I thought it came out pretty good, and so did Keith, who commissioned it.

Like I said, the show was fun. The only mishap was getting convention food in the shape of chicken tenders. I bit into it and thought it tasted funny. Not "ha-ha" funny. That's when I noticed the darn thing was not cooked. Only the batter got cooked. They were very nice at the concession stand, giving me back my money and offered me anything else I wanted. Even if it was from another stand or cart. I thanked them but declined. I had lost my appetite.

Back to the show tomorrow!

Magik & Mini MegaCon!

It's a real shame I didn't do this warm up sketch Thursday because yesterday was my 666th post on this blog. Instead Magik has to settle with post #667. :) This was done using Copic Markers on 11" x 17" Canson Drawing paper. One day I need to order a blender. I imagine it would make some things easier.

Mini-MegaCon that starts tomorrow in Orlando, Florida. If you are going to be attending the show, look for me in Artist Alley at Yellow 9. It is a corner spot as you enter that row.I will be bringing original art, prints, and supplies to do commissions. Also, my 2009 sketchbook will be available at my table. See you there!

Two-Face

Here's another warm up piece from this morning. Finally got a chance to scan it. Still playing with the markers but I switched paper this time. This is 11" x 14" Canson Drawing Paper. The surface tooth is a little be slicker. The original looks better than the scan. The paper is pretty white but my scanner is leaning towards the yellow end. I could fix it in Photoshop but I am going out to see District 9 in just a few minutes. :) Still, I am happy with this piece.

I am about 90% done with the Marvel Girl painted commission. I should have been done but the last two days got a little busy. I'm going to finish it up tomorrow. For everyone else on my commission list, I am working on those next week. One of the reasons I say that the turnaround is 2-3 weeks is for situations like this. Everyone is still under that time frame. Whew!

Saturday is Mini-Mega Con. I am hoping it's a good show. The folks that run the Mega-Con are really nice and I wish them luck in starting up this second show. Stop by at my table and say "HI!"

Okay, off to the movies!

Black Bolt's Dilemma

Just a another warm-up this morning. Ink and Copic markers on 9" x 12" Canson Drawing Paper.

Headshots

Lately when I take a break I have been doing head shots in a drawing pad. Not my normal sketchbook, but one that has a bit more texture and heavy weight paper. These are some of the pieces done over the last couple of days. Lockheed the dragon is the latest one, he was done this morning as a warm up. Doing these gives me a chance to really play around with the Prismacolor and Copic markers without worrying about the final results. It they turn out good, or if not, it's the trial and error that matters. Can't be precious with practice.

All four pieces were done on individual sheets of 9" x 12" Canson Drawing paper.

Atom Eve - Finished

Amazing what you can accomplish if you just skip sleeping altogether. Insomnia strikes again!

I couldn't sleep at all last night, (Isn't that a song?) so I finished this piece and worked on a couple of commissions as well. I had been wanting to do my version of a Canson Cutie Atom Eve for a while now but didn't have the right paper. Well I got the paper on saturday and her she is now.

She is done in ink and color pencils on 11"x 17" Canson Mi-Teintes Paper.

Update:

Eve has been put on eBay tonight for those that might be interested. Here is the link: Atom Eve

Atom Eve - Pencils

Sorry if you were coming here today looking for some gun toting dames and gangsters. I did this little sketch of Atom Eve, from the Invincible comics, in my sketchbook today. This will be a Canson Cutie on some pink paper I picked up just for this.

This is done with a blue Col-erase pencil in my sketchbook.

Tommy Gun

Another warm up sketch that went terribly violent. I've always thought the tommy gun was an mob icon so I couldn't exclude it from my run of mobster images. I think I should switch back to pretty girls after this. Or maybe pretty girls with guns? Oy! It's a sickness. I taking pills and getting injections. Should be fine. :)

This was done in ink in my sketch book with some Photoshop added in. I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday!

Double Cross

Another morning warm up that got out of control. I had this image in my mind before I did "The Hit" from a few days ago. But hadn't put it down on paper. This morning, after yard work, I finally drew it in my sketchbook. But since I can't leave well enough alone, I had to add some finishes in Photoshop. :)

This was done with blue Col-Erase pencil, ink, Prismacolor cool gray markers and some Photoshop color.

In other news:

Thanks for all the requests that have been coming in for the Pittsburgh Comicon advance sketchlist. It is off to a great start.

My Supergirl auction ends tonight. You can find it here.

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Pittsburgh Comicon Advance Sketch List

Pittsburgh Comicon is four weeks away and I thought I would open up an advance sketch list for those that are interested. This worked pretty good for HeroesCon back in June for everyone so maybe we can do it again.

Here's the deal: If you are sure you are attending the Pittsburgh Comicon and would like a sketch from me, send me an email with your request(s) with "Sketch List" in the subject line. My inked sketches start at $50.00 whether they are in your book or on the 11"x17" bristol board I bring with me. I will not be doing color work at the show but I will be doing some color requests before the show and bringing them with me. If you are interested in something in color, let me know and I will get you a price.

The rules are simple but they have changed a bit: You don't have to send any money in advance, but you can if you want to using Paypal. This is the only change from previous shows. Otherwise you just have to attend the convention and can pay there. If you are having a friend pick up the art for you, please let me know who it will be and make sure they have the money. I will not be mailing any artwork. If I am doing your request on my paper, most likely the art will be done ahead of time so please plan on picking it up the first day of the show. I don't know how many advance requests I will take, it really depends on the type of requests. If you have any questions, you can ask here or in an email.

And lastly, if you are going to be at the show, please stop by my table and say "HI!"

Thanks to my buddy J.C. Vaughn for allowing me to use the ZOMBIE PROOF art I did based on his comic of the same name. I don't think I need to point out why I would use something zombie related when talking about Pittsburgh, do I? :)

Fatale

Another warm up sketch. This time I changed the gender of the dangerous individual. Though I made her a brunette, I suddenly remembered some of the Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake movies I have on DVD. In case you are not familiar with the kind of movies they did together, they were the Bogey and Bacall before Bogey and Bacall. "The Glass Key" and "This Gun for Hire" are a couple of good movies with them. Though Veronica Lake always seemed like she could take Alan Ladd in a fight. :) And speaking of Veronica Lake, wow, she was hot. The first time I ever saw her was in the Steve Martin movie "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid". I had to find out who she was. Not a great movie except in how they managed to put Steve Martin's gumshoe detective in scenes from classic film noir. Best scene ever: Martin with a young Kirk Douglas and a puppy. :) Check it out.

This was done in my sketchbook with ink, markers and some acrylic.

The Hit

This started as a little sketch in my sketchbook this morning. Just a warm-up. But then I inked it, applied some gray tones with some Prismacolor markers and then some digital textures after I scanned it. So much for just a warm up sketch. :)

SUPERGIRL & STREAKY THE SUPER-CAT - revisited!

I originally posted this back in May but today I went back to this piece and thought it needed more contrast. So I darkened the background, pushed the reds a bit more and I think it looks better. Sometimes I might go back to a piece like this and play with it, most of the time I don't look back. But I like this one and hey, it's Supergirl! :)

I am putting her on eBay tonight for anyone interested.

Legion of Super-Heroes

This was just done for fun. I had an hour and a half to kill and came up with this, the founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. For those who do not know, the Legion was my favorite characters. Toss in the original Superboy, and it just gets better. The characters here are (from the top) Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Lightening Lad.

This is done in ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board.

Lois Lane - Superwoman!

Today we have the latest Canson Cutie. Lois Lane in her All-Star Superwoman incarnation. I really enjoyed the All-Star Superman story and I really like this costume. Fun stuff.

This is done in color pencils, ink and a touch of acrylic on 11" x 17" Canson Mi-Teintes paper.

I have put her on eBay tonight for those that might be interested. Here is the link: All-Star Superwoman.

Pin-Up Girl

This is the finish for a pencil sketch I posted a while back. I did this early this morning. It will be part of the next pack I am working on for CILM. This is the first time in a while that I have worked in watercolors. Plus I was working on a different paper than normal. I tend to buy a lot of art supplies in order to try things out. This watercolor paper was Aquarelle Arches Hot Pressed 140# watercolor block. Though I cropped the edges of the piece shown, she is 8" x 12" on 11" x 17" paper. I normally work on cold press paper. The difference is the texture. Cold Press has a bit more texture and Hot Press is perfect smooth. Water and pigment act differently on each surface. So while I am used to cold press and how it reacts, it's still fun to experiment.

Sinestro!

One quick announcement before we go to the artwork. Today Deena and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. In so many ways it doesn't seem like it could be that many years but in other ways it just seems like it's always been "us". And that's just the way we like it. :)

Okay, enough of that silly stuff. This is the second of two commissions for Bill: That renegade Green Lantern, Sinestro! I have never drawn this character but I really like the redesign for him. Sinestro always seemed a bit goofy for someone who was once the top Green Lantern. A little over the top. But now he seems pretty darn scary. It's probably the mustache. :)

This was done in ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board. Thanks again to Bill for the commissions!

Nightwing!

This is the latest inked commission. Thanks to Bill for this one. This was done in ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Elektra - Finished

Here is the final for Elektra. I am pleased with how it turned out. In order to put the spattered ink, representing blood, on the paper I scanned the art and printed out a full sized high contrast grayscale copy. Then I cut the figure out with an Exacto blade. When laid over the original art, the cut out figure protected the areas where I didn't want spatters of ink. It's a loose stencil made from the copy. Once in place, I spattered the ink using a couple of old brushes. I normally would use an old tooth brush that I bought just for this purpose, but I couldn't find it. And I didn't want to shop for a new one at 2:30am. :)

I will be putting Elektra up on eBay tonight for those that might be interested. Here is the link.

This is ink, color pencils and a touch of acrylic on 11" x 17" Canson Mi-Teintes Red #505 paper.

Elektra - In Progress

This is another for fun piece I squeezed in today. It's not done but I thought I would post the progress. I ended up doing Elektra on red Canson paper at the suggestion of John Beatty. I posted the question of what I should do next on Twitter and there were a lot of good suggestions from people on Twitter and on Facebook (where my Tweets are pushed). I will have the final art done tomorrow morning. But for now, it's time for some tea and crashing on the couch to watch the Rays game.

Hawkman

Today's we have the Golden Age Hawkman for your viewing pleasure. This was commissioned by Leroy. Thanks again Leroy! This is ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board.

Bumble Bee - Finish

Thanks again to Vinnie for this commission and the concept. This was a lot of fun. This is done in mixed media on 11" x 17" watercolor board.

Sketchbook Sunday

Today was filled with paperwork, filing and packing art in order to ship them tomorrow. Those getting these packages know who they are. :)

I also managed to work on the Bumble Bee commission. Today I transfered the line art to the final board and outlined everything with a Pitt Artist Pen. I didn't get to a point where I wanted to start sharing so...

These are the rough sketches that went on to Canson finishes. If you check back at the earlier posts, you will notice that the Spectre and Mary Jane stay pretty close to the sketches, while Phoenix was changed quite a bit. Once she was on the Canson paper, I thought she looked to passive. I didn't want to do her as Dark Phoenix, but I wanted her a bit more aggressive looking. After rearranging her arms and legs a bit, I think I found a balance. I don't like to make changes on the final paper like that, but it worked out just fine.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend.

The Spectre

Okay, I said I would be working on the Bumble Bee painting today, but I got sidetracked. I had another exciting bout of insomnia last night. I stayed up until 3:30 am but I was not unproductive. One of the things I stared working on was this piece. When I got up this morning I jumped back on it.

I remember picking up Adventure Comics when the Spectre began his run headlining the comic. Jim Aparo was one of my favorite artists from that time and he was drawing the Spectre stories. These were the ones where the Spectre did horrible things to horrible people. Pretty tough stuff considering the Comic Code Authority of the time. There have been a few changes as to who the Spectre is but for me the Spectre will always be dead cop Jim Corrigan. You have to wonder though, what they were thinking when decided his costume should be underwear, booties, gloves and a hood, cape, high collar combination. Yikes!

This piece was done for fun and for those that might be interested, it will be auctioned on eBay starting tonight. My seller ID is: gene_gonzales.