Experimental Batman part 2

Decided to push what I did yesterday a bit further, with interesting results. There are a couple of failures, and they were due to using markers over pencils which is hard to control that led to them being ruined and unfinished. The rest however were done in a similar fashion as before though some are done a little differently. One example is that I used the markers as a base colour only, and then gone over it in polychromos pencils to add tone.

The third image on the top row shows a bit more what I am striving to achieve. Essentially I plan on doing a complete greyscale noir image of Batman without having to ink my line work. It has been refreshing and overly different to how I normally work, and I can see this being used again for future works so I will continue to push it further.

Prepare for the Terror!

Its been a busy time for me and now I can show you what I'm working towards. I am currently creating my first comic featuring 'Thunder' who is now dubbed as 'The Silver Phantom' as a friend pointed out to me many existing comic characters that are called Thunder or have it in the title. So to avoid any copyright infringements I decided to give him a name that wouldn't sound too out of place from the golden era of comics. 

So here is the cover for issue 0 of 'A Shadow of Steel'. Its been a long time coming making this comic and its felt rewarding to finally have the confidence to utilize what I've learnt and create something that really interests me. 

Right now I'm at the stage where the pages are being finalized and getting the printing sorted out. So fingers crossed that this will be finished in time to be launched at the Plymouth comic convention 21st September.

Creative CV

It has been a crazy few weeks that I had to put illustration on hold to go apply for jobs. Anyways I am trying to get work experience with a University with their creative departments. However it occurred to me that I don't really have a creative CV, and so here are the results of me making one. It did involve a little bit of graphic design but I am sure the illustration aspects will shine through strongest.

Overall I am quite pleased with the results, and am delighted to see that I subconsciously created a little narrative too. 

I have been quite bad with keeping myself up to date on the blog so after I sort myself out I'll be right back on it, and hopefully 'The Shadow of Steel' project will pick up again too and maybe I'll have it finished soon.

Panel 2.

It's that time again where I must update my blog with my latest creation. Me and my friend Benj decided it was high time we started a small group based project as a way to inspire and motivate our merry group in the coming of the New Year. We decided to make a 8 panel comic where one starts the first panel and gets passed around to each of us that does a panel each till it is complete. I did the second panel which as you can see makes the story a bit of a downer...for now depending on what the others plan to do.

If you are interested in seeing the progress then please check out the collective here to see this project reach its final stage.

Anni

I can now at last unveil some of my recent work to all you great people out there. This image was designed for an anniversary card for my girlfriend which has just past and needless to say she was delighted with the portrayal of us which I think is pretty spot on. As you can see I have been continuing practicing my colour theory and am pleased that its getting better than how it used to be before. 

The Specter!

Hey guys it’s been awhile since I last posted something up on the blog, needless to say I have been busy working on a few projects. Today I can finally unveil a piece of work that I collaboratively made with another artist, Steve May. The piece was an interesting challenge to integrate two separate styles that are to be displayed on the same plain as each other. The piece will be displayed at the Armadacon in Plymouth and will be up for auction with the proceeds going towards a charity.

I am also currently working on a 4 page narrative with a story that ties in with my family history specifically in WWII and doing a comic anthology with a local group based in the South West region too, so exciting little things happening that may turn into something later on. 

Doodles and oodles

A sketch I found that I did in Romania of Thunder. I had recently at that point read Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's novel 'The Score' and liked the use of negative space when the main character confronted a stalker which I tried out using my character. Looking at it anew the attacker looks smaller than he ought to in the foreground and should be much bigger and the lightning could have been better to make it more coherent. Little lessons to learn for next time.

These pages are sketches that me and Diana did whilst at an evening service. The cat wizard is a character I have in mind for a graphic novel and appeared briefly in the 24 hour comic. Diana sketched Harold who plays the keyboard for the songs at the service.

Finally a sample of my poor attempt at life drawing. Though it was challenging to draw them in my illustrative style rather than the usual academic way I would normally go about drawing from life. I hope that if I continue to try and do this it may inform my visual style to be coherent and anatomically correct.

Dangerous streets

Today's sketch was originally just this nice young lady and then the background and the shadowy guy came later. I felt I haven't done a gangster/film noir image in a good while so it was nice to come back to it. Also I think the time has come to try a different colour now...orange has been used enough.

Naughty...

I thought that I try a provocative vignette of 'Thunder' playing on the sexual overtones that is quite rich in a film noir story. I guess I wanted to showcase here in this image that the hero isn't a goody two shoes, that he is flawed, is loose with women, and might be with other things. I also like that as a viewer it seems wrong to see a moment like this adding to the intrusion, it's something that I quite liked when I created this image. Hope you all enjoyed this.

Curves

\

This great dame is for a joined project with Steve May local artist at Plymouth for a joined image that will be showcased at the armada sci fi convention in Plymouth on November. The final piece will also be up for auction and will go towards a charity for blind children in the UK. The final imagined piece will be a film noir esque pulp comic book cover featuring Steve's character and this little lady. Shall post the final image up when it is ready.

Strikes his foes like a cobra...

Hey folks! I have returned from my trip to Romania and the country and food and sights were wonderful and I really enjoyed my time there. But I also kept myself busy with illustration work too and here is another vignette of 'Thunder' though this time I tried a limited colour palette with him and it seems to work well for him, so I think I will stick to it for the time being (I got obsessed with this orange colour whilst away).

The story for him is now nearly finished I am pleased to say and may have already a small comic book press that could become his home so exciting times for now and shall keep you guys posted on this development.

One more thing!

Open publication - Free publishing - More adaptation  Remembered that I made some digital comic versions of my previous projects, so thought I post them up just before I head off to Romania. The top one is the 'Jack and Jill' comic which for those who don't know it, is a film noir adaptation to the classic nursery rhyme. Below is a story that was part of a collaborative effort in making three different stories that cross over at specific points. This one is my story of tragic love in the backdrop of 30's Chicago.

Open publication - Free publishing - More 1930s

The Big Sleep chapter 26

Open publication - Free publishing - More chapter 26

Hey folks, I have now uploaded the complete adaptation of a chapter from Raymond Chandler's novel 'The Big Sleep'. It has been a thrill working from the words of Chandler into a comic format and it has truly been a learning curve in how I create narratives. From this project I feel I truly have come into my own and have found a style I am comfortable to utilize in future works. And finally I have found the will to work with a different colour now huzzah.

Where's Agnes?

Hey folks, it has been awhile since I lasted posted up anything but this past month has been super busy. Now finally I have finished adapting a single chapter from Raymond Chandler's novel 'The Big Sleep' into a graphic novel format. I feel that my work has progressed in the direction that I wanted it to and have found a style of narrative that I wish to take to a professional level. Anyways here is a page from the chapter that I adapted, hope you enjoy.

Another Poster

Hey all, I managed to squeeze this image in my dissertation schedule. Taking what I learnt from the Titanic poster, I added some textures to my visuals to give a finished look to them and also to make it look a bit like a poster with a Film Noir flair to it. 

On the street.

New sketch of Thunder, though it was done on the trip to Exeter comic con. Again experimenting with markers again and the dried out fade you get from a dying pen makes for some good tonal effects, so perhaps something to consider in future images. 

Mon Dieu!

Here is a little something that I just did in the studio today...I had the idea of adapting an Agatha Christie novel that starred the famous little Belgian detective Monsieur Hercule Poirot, however it is probable that it would be a hefty project to undertake in the short time that I would have, though I may do some character portraits maybe, quite similar to The Big Sleep ones I did the previous summer. Hope you enjoy!

Happy New Years

I noticed that it has been a fair while since I last put anything up on the blog, but alas I finally gotten round to post up the comic of my Film Noir interpretation of the nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill' so enjoy! And Happy New Years!

New comic complete

I have now at last finished my latest comic project, though I did not do three different based narratives that I had originally planned, given that the project deadline was much shorter than I had originally thought. So instead I have done my own visual re-interpretation of the classic children's nursery rhyme, 'Jack and Jill'.
I shall put up the pages soon as, for your viewing pleasure.

Mafia Couple

Unsurprisingly I decided to also do another gangster story, though applying the spot colour of blue with just the black and whites or another colour, or tone maybe depending what mood it would convey.