The Art Restoration Project

Whilst off ill this week, I took the opportunity to tidy up a box file of art I have and found a few interesting pieces I'd forgotten. Although I'm dabbling with a clean line style, I found some doodles from a few years back also done in this style. I have no idea what they were done for but with a little tweak here and there, I thought I could save them and transform them into pieces I could bear to look at. So, after some scanning of art patches and usage of Photoshop, here's the pieces I managed to retrieve yesterday:

From the top, these three were done as experiments. The first two just needed new heads to save them (I like the far left one best but it was hard to get decent detail on the faces at the size drawn) but the far right (originally done as Suzy from the Jock on a doodle page with other Jock stuff) needed just the face redoing and the hair filling out slightly...

Of the Supergirls, only the flat colouring was done (replacing more elaborate efforts in the past) but the fast was quite a patch job. Originally done as part of a commission featuring a whole family, I still had a scan of the original line art, as well as a photocopy. I drew new arms to replace ones cut out (as they interacted with other family members), layered them in via Pshop and slightly reduced the size of the head (as it was a slight caricature). Not a bad save, I think...

I'd always fancied redesigned the Flamebird costume (introduced as the post-Crisis version of the 50s bat-Girl) and her reappearance in new togs in Batwoman #3 reminded me of that. I always hated flame designs on clothes but liked how JH Williams III added ruffles of cloth to emulate flame. I came across an4 scan of a Batwoman pic done a few years ago and intended to lightbox but there's something about it that bugs me that I just can't specify so this Flamebird is actually a whole new drawing based on the original. It's a slightly streamlined version of the current outfit, extending the tunic tails into the same skirt as the Flamebird costume and adding Bat-Girlesque scalloping to the cape...

I lightboxed a Power Girl that I used to like but now slightly bugged me. Keeping to a clear line this time, I lowered her left (our right) shoulder and added a whole new cape: now I'm pretty happy with this (though the hair bugs me a bit...)

I quite liked the line art to this Mucha piece but hated the original coloured version. I removed some elements of the background that spoiled the whole thing for me (though I have made another alternate version whilst working on this that keeps certain elements, mirroring them to make a squarish backdrop rather than the more pleasing circular one) and flat-coloured the figure. Like the Power Girl, slight edits but ones that really help this sing for me...

Less of a save and more of a second attempt. Annoyed at how shite the first attempt at Katy Perry went (again, don't ask), I did a really quick drawing using different reference. I was intending to shade this and scan it in, but I really liked the simple line work so scanned it in as is, shaded/coloured it via Pshop and ta-dah, a whole better than KPMk I...

As mentioned previously, this is a reinked version of an earlier pic of Amy Pond that I mostly liked, except for the brush inking (lightboxing your own finished art feels like a weird thing to do for some reason...)

Finally, just another flat recolouring of an older drawing, this Rogue isn't perfect but is one of my favourite pieces of line work...

AHmazing

This weekend, I threw caution (and cash) to the wind and travelled up to Leeds for the Thought Balloon comic convention. I didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, it was a comfortable venue with a range of small press and pro comics, as well as a number of big name creators.

Of course, the main reason for me going was to see Adam Hughes, long since my favourite artist. He has given up doing convention sketches as too many people were flipping the art straight on to eBay, screwing both Adam and his fans over in regards to money charged.

We got there as the con opened, made it in surprisingly quickly and I picked up the schedule/layout thing and darted straight over to where Adam was sitting. There was a queue already forming but it moved fairly quickly and Adam was not only signing but doing free quick head sketches on card slightly smaller than US comic size. Of course, I took my copy of Cover Run (one of my favourite books) and got a Wonder Woman sketch inside (I saw some nice Catwomen and Batgirls that Adam drew, and would have liked Power Girl really but felt it might be a bit generic in black and white so defaulted to WW).

As well as picking up his latest sketchbook, I also got the following items signed:

Eagle #6 (Adam's first published work)
Comics Greatest World: Ghost (first appearance of Ghost by Adam)
Star Trek Debt of Honour HC (early full-length project)
Justice League #31 (Adam's first issue)
Dark Horse Presents #50 (fun one-off strip by Adam and Karl Story)
Gen 13 Ordinary Heroes #1 and 2 (last major interiors done by Adam)
Comic Book Artist #21 (great cover and interview, plus I( get a credit!)
as well as a bootleg foreign sketchbook (that's pretty shonky as it's full of art cribbed from the net) that I pointed out that Adam may not want to sign but he did so before realising it wasn't official (so that's rare but I'll never part with it anyway).

The rest of the con could be a washout as far as I was concerned as I had what I wanted and was well pleased, but the day continued being pretty cool. Definitely do it again, though will have to think about the travel (train was so overcrowded, a girl passed out and the railway still don't even know as it was so ram-packed, they weren't even checking tickets...)

Washing The Ships Roll In...

Typically, my washer/dryer decides to pack up at the most inopportune time, plunging me further into financial woe in the run up to Xmas and curtailing a long-awaited weekend away as I had to be back to wait for the engineer to come out today. Still, took the time to finish a few art projects, as seen above:

Top: I really liked the Amy Pond piece I did recently...but hated some of the brushwork so I decided to redo it using pens. I couldn't find the original ref I had so lightboxed my own original drawing! Much happier with the new version (nobody else will see the difference but I know...). Frustratingly, I found the ref after finishing the re-inking...

Next: Inspired by how Amy came out, thought I'd try another face and settled on Katy Perry (don't ask). As a likeness this is atrocious but as a piece on its own, I quite like this...

Next: Coloured version of a recent Catwoman (done experimenting with a pared down rendering style)...

Finally: Originally done as a Dave Sim/Glamourpuss-inspired experiment with lightboxing, I am fairly happy with this drawing so decided to simply colour it with flats after completing the more involved Catwoman...

Not pictured here are a scan of a Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and Cyclops sketch done on the train this weekend, an old Rogue pic I also started recolouring today and a portrait of Will Self (yet again...don't ask...)

Indiana Wants Me

I still have a collection of Alex Toth strips from the 50s sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get around to reading but after reading Genius Isolated, I was inspired to try and emulate his approach: no faffing about, just bold simple linework with a minimum of detail.

I did this Indy figure a while back but couldn't figure why it didn't work and it suddenly dawned on me a few days ago. His left hand (as we look at him) arm was a few inches too short so I extended it via Photoshop and suddenly, the basics were right. No time to do a decent backdrop so I cheated on this attempt to capture a pulpy feel. This style's not for me but think this is an ok attempt, nothing I'd keep in a portfolio though...

Bits n Bobbins

Managed to pop out a fair few bits recently so thought I'd post them here (another piece done is being held back until it's formal unveiling)...

So from the top, the first four of which were all done yesterday (although the second only needed shading):

Thought I'd take a crack at a modern animation style tweak of Space Ghost...

Completed version of a Christmas commission, quite happy with this (though could have been better if my marker's weren't running out)...

Rejected idea for a mashup thread on the Weekly Themed Art Board: after rejecting a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold amalgam and the X-Men done as Family Guy characters, I decided to take the current Star Trek/legion of Superheroes crossover comic one step further and enlisted Saturn Girl (more the 90s legionnaires version) into Starfleet...

Ultimately I decided against this and went for the Loony Tunes as the JLA...

Another Art Board thread was Dinosaurs and I picked Old Lace from Runaways but used Carolina instead of Gertie as it meant I could continue practising render-free detailing...

The last is just a colour job of a Wonder Woman done by Adam Hughes for a DC office mural of the new 52, thought a quick colour version would be nice to see...

Where Are You Going, Bo-Lland

Apologies for the Grange Hill derived (can't say inspired, really)...

Just finished reading Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland...I say read as while it's essentially a gallery of his covers for DC, each page also features commentary by Bolland himself. I'm a bit of a sensualist with my big art books, leaving them in their clingfilm wrapping for as long as I can resist the urge to crack open the book. The aroma of that glossy paper wafts up and I'm always intrigued to see what's under dust jackets. The Bolland book had a black and white printing of a superb Sgt Rock piece that is a favourite of mine (despite not being a Rock fan). By the time I got to the first few pages, I was really excited to discover the joys within.

I savoured the book and pored over my favourite pieces, most of which had full page reproduction (I really liked the Zatanna one-shot cover but that only got a half page). I finished the book, put it down satisfied...then thought "Hang on!"

Some of my favourite Bolland pieces were absent and I realised that while the book covered 95% of Bolland's output, there were a few notable absences. As a result of my disappointment of these omissions, I have posted them above: enjoy!

Artichokes

Thought I'd stick up some stuff I've done in the past few weeks, so from the top:

The top three pics are my first designs for the main character for a project I'm slowly cobbling together, although I still don't know the character's first name (though have the surname). I'm trying to draw this in a cleaner, render-free style, similar to Lonely Boy in Pjang. The top piece was drawn at A3 and scanned in in two pieces, which is why the arm on the right is a bit shonky...

Picked up 9and already passed on) a kitsch Catwoman book from the Works recently and fancied drawing the classic costume. I forgot about that idea until watching the Catwoman short on the Batman: Year One DVD tried my hand at anther render free drawing featuring her...

The next two pieces are commissions, the first semi-cartoony (hence the unusual proportions) and the second more realistic (this has all the line work, shading to follow)...

Finally, just a detail of a larger piece, lips sealed for now. You may try to urge me to speak, but we'll have nun of that bad habit around here...

Recent Rumblings

Final Smallville this week and about time too. Could have been so much better but I blame lack of vision from the mawkish writers. Whereas once there was usually enough per episode to hold your interest, things deteriorated so that it became only interesting to see which DC characters (and there were actually loads) popped up. I don't mourn the show, I mourn what it could have been. Still, we get to see cheaty Superman shots and the final image was indeed what I always assumed it would be. Have to admit that as that John Williams theme kicked in the final seconds, a big grin broke: I'm a sucker for that music. Will miss Lois more than Clark and I actually like the character a lot more after Erica Durance's depiction.

As Smallville shuffles off, Misfits shuffles back. It's not the same without Nathan but still watchable, although Simon's really the only truly interesting character. The Fades was also not bad (while not brilliant) but gets Brownie Points for at least three references to Alan Moore...

Still reading Supergods, Grant Morrison's fusion of autobiography and cultural history of the superhero. It's an utterly absorbing and illuminating read, highbrow references but still accessible. It explains more about Morrison's 90s statements about fictional realities and our interaction with them and is well worth anybody's attention. The Talking With Gods DVD is also an interesting companion piece.

Watched Batman: Year One, DC's 13th direct to DVD original animation (following Marvel's lack lustre 8 outings). While this showed how slight Miller's story actually is (it's then revolutionary storytelling proving to have the real kick), the quality of animation just continues ti improve each time. Using crisp modern digital techniques (such as the Simpsons does: you can tell the old hand animated episodes), this is a treat for the eyes to rival some anime offerings. There's also a Catwoman short that's virtually plot free but strangely features about a minute watching a pole dancer strut her stuff, fling off her bra and narrowly avert a very rude way to pick up a diamond...

Read the second volume of Morning Glories yesterday and despite the dubious interior art, this is one of the most intriguing modern comics around. A group of pupils at a select private school get involved in mysterious shenanigans going on that remind me of Lost at a its best, in that each issue is character-focused and hints at larger secrets. Everybody should give this a look, as they should Ultimate X. This features probably Art Adam's strongest art and is sumptuous to look at but the real surprise is Jeph Loeb's writing. Having hated pretty much everything he's written for years, this is another series that follows an individual character each issue but ties them in to a larger ongoing narrative. I don't know if there's more issues to come, but I hope so...