Crazy eight

I like tattoos. And I like ladies. Consequently, I love ladies with tattoos. Crazy stuff, eh? Anyway, I had a bit of spare time so I decided to draw a girly-girl. It had been quite a while since I did a girly-girl pinup, and indeed for a while it's all I ever drew.

I applied several new tricks I picked up recently, and it turns out I'm rather fond of the aged/faded/grungy look. In fact, I can't get enough of it. You'll probably see more of that for a while. ;) Anyway, enjoy my girly-girl!

Night of the Groomsmen

Another recent commission, this time from Wes Bernick (http://wesbernick.com/) who was putting a submission together for a graphic novel he's writing and illustrating. I had a hard time coming up with a unique and interesting style at first, and there was a lot of back-and-forth until we finally got it right, but I think it was worth it in the end. I really like the way these turned out, and Wes' work was a blast to color, and he was just a great guy to work with.

Here's the 5-page submission, along with the cover. Fun stuff!

Mars Attacks!

Recently commissioned by Robert Grove (Rahb Gee) to put some colours on a Mars Attacks piece he did. I just love that movie, and Robert's art is awesome, so it was just an all-around win. I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out, and you should totally check out his stuff at http://www.rahbgee.com --the guy rocks my socks. ;)

He was quite happy with my colouring, and wants me to do some other pieces of his. Can't complain!

Boyd McCloyd

I was recently commissioned by writer/artist Randall P. Girdner (www.gracelandwest.com) to color some pages for a graphic novel he's working on. The book features some characters from his series of Boyd McCloyd novels, which he is self-publishing.

These were just a few sample pages to show publishers, but they were a lot of fun. I really took a liking to the characters, and Randall's style is just charming. Here's to hoping all goes well for Loyd!

Things that I did-- Skottie Young's Frankenstein

This one was one of the key moments in my career. A short story written and illustrated by Skottie Young, this was the defining point that would help shape our art style for years to come. Before this, both our work was cleaner (see New X-men), but we went full-on experimental on this short, and never looked back.

I actually really love the look of these pages. Young's style was just on point, and the mood was perfect. As for my coloring, these feature some of my favorite work. I don't know why, but I was just in the zone, and I feel like I haven't been able to touch some of these results ever since. Anyway, here's a few choice pages.

Man-Thing sketch colors

I was recently commissioned to color a Man-Thing sketch by the masterful Skottie Young. I didn't really know where to go with this, so I just went! I was in a painty mood, it seems, and I'm rather pleased with the result. I figured out a few tricks I could use in the future too, which is always nice. Anyway, enjoy!

Road to Oz #3

Back to Oz! This issue had it all-- donkeys, an accordion man, creepy two-faced creatures, and a donkey-headed old man! I especially enjoyed the donkey village with it's subdued colors, and the creepy purple scene.

Things that I did- Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The missus and I recently finished watching Season 1 of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on Netflix. I remember dismissing this series out of hand when it first aired in 2010, but I realize that may have been a mistake. All in all, we were thoroughly entertained by the show- solid writing, lots of action, and great characters- and I hope season 2 rolls on Netflix soon. Too bad the series was ultimately canceled, but that's not really surprising.

Until then, let me share some of the work that I did on the accompanying 4-issue comic series. It was tremendous fun, but in hindsight I kindda with I would have kept the look closer to the series. I know that was never intended (at least, no one told me to do that), but it somehow would have felt more "right".

Gelatinous cube-- oh, the horror!

It should be known that I'm a big nerd. I love Dungeons & Dragons (as well as other RPGs), and the thing that first drew me into the whole culture was the art. I remember sitting for hours, going through my friend's D&D books; even though I could barely understand English at the time and we never played the bloody thing. I didn't care about that, because I was completely mesmerized by all the evocative artwork. I've always loved fantasy art, and recently decided to take a crack at it.

Here's my latest attempt-- the terrible gelatinous cube (if you don't get it, there's no way I can explain)! This started out as a quick sketch which I wanted to turn into a full painting (all digital, of course), but it didn't quite work out. Seems I don't have the chops to pull off something like that. In the end I had to compromise, and this is the result. Perhaps I should take some painting lessons, and apply that knowledge to Photoshop. Hmmmm....

Ultimate X-Men #21 Cover

I love doing covers. If there's one aspect of my regular coloring work that really gets my goat (that's a real expression, right?) is that there's just never enough time to put in all the care and details I'd want to put in every single panel. There's deadlines, and sometimes you just have to get a page done and move on. The nice things with covers is that it's only one big panel, and it allows me to get a bit more personal with the piece and put in the extra work.

For this one, I also posted the original pencils by Michael Ryan, just so you can a better sense of what I do to these things. As an added bonus, I was told this would be the first time the Iron Patriot would be fully colored, so I was partially responsible for coming up with his color scheme. Yeah, no pressure... ;)

Marvel Zombies Halloween!

Zombies and Halloween? What a crazy concept! Though I have to say it was a pleasure to go back to the Marvel Zombie universe after all these years-- especially since this one was also written by Fred Van Lente (one of my most favourite writers), and featured gorgeous art by Alessandro Vitti. This book got some pretty good reviews, and I think it would be great if there was a revival (ha!) of the Zombies line. Provided I colored it, of course. ;)

I tried a few new tricks and techniques with the coloring, but I still attempted to keep things dark and gritty-- all without resorting to my usual sketchy, messy style. Trying to move away from that nowadays. Nobody likes a mess. Anyway, I've picked a few of my favourite pages from the issue to share. Enjoy!