The Early Sketch List has been very popular, thanks to everyone! Just a quick reminder though, if you asked to be put on the list but haven't told me what you want, please let me know as soon as possible. I don't need to know what character (though that is good to), just what you want as far as the medium: inked sketch, a Canson piece, or a painting. This helps me plan the time so I can take on more or so I don't take on too much.
I think I have covered the steps before, but maybe not with photos. Below is the finished inked artwork, before I started in with the color pencils. I wanted a sense of urgency in the pose that I would strengthen with the environment as I worked. With the color pencils I am establishing the areas that are both darker and lighter than the paper itself. I decided early on that I wanted to have two light sources that are not in the image. Batman is on a rainy street and I thought some light from some neon signs behind/above him would be reflecting off his body and the rain slick asphalt. So the greens and purple/reds are mixed in. Rain was done with a ruler and two different colors of pencil and ink. I bumped up the ripples with ink as a last step.
Those were the steps for the final art, now for the missteps. Sometimes things don't go smoothly. When that happens I try to work through it. Sometimes the best work comes from getting lost and finding your way through the mess. This time it wasn't so drastic. My initial idea was inspired by the BATMAN tv show opening credits but modernized. So I drew the top left pose real rough. After I tightened it I transfered it to the Canson paper then inked it. While I liked the rough, the finished inks lacked something. So I redrew the image, thinking the drawing was the problem (bottom left), transfered to another sheet of Canson paper, inked it and again, I wasn't happy with it. Third time is the charm. I gave up on the pose and came up with something new.
I guess the point here is work though the problems as much as possible. You might not get it to work but you will probably learn from it. I did. :)
This was done for Shane in his sketchbook. Shane risked his book with the USPS to get it to me ahead of the show in case I had some time to do his request early. I read the note he put in the book asking for tough and sexy Silver Sable. He provided a page of references that have various looks to the character but said I could do my own take on her. Dakota had a dentist appointment so I sat in the waiting room with my sketchbook. I sketch out an idea or two but this one was the coolest. Kind of a Robert McGinnis paperback novel pose. The only thing I changed on her was her headband. The references made the headband scream 1980s. I made it wider and pulled it back to keep her hair out of her face. May look more 1960s, but at least it has a function this way. Thanks to Shane for the commission and for allowing me to share it here early.
And now for something different. My wife Deena had always wanted an English Bulldog. And almost two years ago we got one. She is named Gidget, and she is one of the silliest dogs I have ever lived with. She's pushy, she's lovable, she's a big baby, and she loves her mommy. Deena will call me on my cell to let me know she is on her way home from work. Gidget knows the time of day and recognizes the ringtone for Deena's calls. When the phone rings, no matter where she is in the house, Gidget hears it and jumps up in her chair at the living room window watching for her mommy. As I type this, Gidget has decided to sleep under my desk. Given her size, she takes up most of the space. And her snoring is so loud, it's a wonder I can hear myself think. Yesterday, I did this little cartoon of Gidget in Adobe Illustrator, starting from a little pencil sketch.
Above is a digital camera shot of the pencils on the watercolor board. I transfer the line art using my opaque projector.
And here is the finished piece. This is almost like those cooking shows where the host puts the pan in the oven and then pulls out the finished dish. I had inked the foreground elements but left the midground and background in tight pencils. This helped give the feeling of depth. Most of the background is shades of the same color, another trick to give the illusion of distance. The farther away the lighter the color. For the word balloon and lettering, I set it on the computer, printed it on bristol board and carefully cut it out. I put an overlay of acetate on the artwork and spray mounted the word balloon to it. The final painting was done in liquid acrylics, pencil and ink on 11" x 17" on Cresent Water Color Board.
Here is the layout for the final art. After this I will tighten up the pencils and transfer it to the watercolor board. This was done in pencil on copy paper.