Tit-illation matters

Work-In-Progress or How the Xmas Illo Got Assembled

2012-01-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Brown lead pencil with some blue lead on 3 sheets of A4-sized printer paper, then scanned, arranged in Photoshop and digitally inked in SAI beofre the incomparable Dani Calero applied his colouring magic.
---
Pissy Pussy is co-created by DarkBrain Publisher & EIC Andrew Zar, Esq. & me.

Festive Season..!

2011-12-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

MY WORD..! How could I be late for this occasion..?

Wishing you the HAPPIEST HOLIDAY SEASON & ALL THE BEST IMAGINABLE IN THE NEW YEAR, folks!
---------------

Digital drawing by Yours Truly marvellously coloured by the fantastic Dani Calero

Sunday Pages Online - Like Syndicated Newspaper Strips, Only NAUGHTIER

2011-12-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Okay -- I hate the new viewer here too. Apologies if what I'm to write sounds patronizing, especially for those amongst you who've discovered the RIGHT-CLICK on the 'floating image' and choosing VIEW... by doing this you get the old-way access to the visual, enlarge it with a left-click and enjoy the viewing like in the old days.

Done with a H pencil and Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment markers plus a Faber-Castell MARCADOR thick marker for panel borders and solid blacks. Please read the credit box, it says who's who and what's done by whom.

And be darlings, I implore you -- support www.darkbrain.com by visiting the site and enjoying the other comics there and spreading the positive word.

Much obliged, me chipmunkies.

And Then There Are POSTERS Too!

2011-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Both posters for www.darkbrain.com were digitally inked in SAI and with Wacom Intuos4 tablet and pen.

The second one was drawn on A4 paper with red & graphite pencil then scanned prior to digital inking...

... whilst the FIRST one was thoroughly executed paperless: 'penciled' in Photoshop, then opened in SAI and digitally inked. No matter how much I love digital work, NOTHING compares to the 'analogue' paper method.

But How Do the Pissy Pussy COMICS Look Like When Finished?

2011-12-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Well, something like THIS might be the answer...

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Soon, To Be Presented IN PRINT!

2011-11-27T02:24:00.000-08:00

Besides appearances in regular Sunday pages [almost like your good ol' newspaper syndicated weekly gag pages] on www.darkbrain.com , PISSY PUSSY is heading towards a graphic novel, in a real book form, in mid-2012. Her alien origin is revealed and a book[let] length story promises lots of adventure, excitement, explanations...

... and fornications too.

More or less, things are the same on the Pussy front, pardon the phrase -- apart from the fact that a new insanelly stunning talented colourist has arrived, claiming his rightful place in the Pissy team.

Welcome, Dani Calero!

This illustration is actually bottom part of the page, thoroughly realized digitally in Photoshop & SAI via Wacom Intuos4 tablet and pen. I love digital -- but boy, do I miss paper, screetching pencil sound, lead breaking, inking quill scratching the paper surface [preferably after being dipped in an inkwell first with some waterproof jet-black liquid inside].

---

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Pissy Pussy is co-created by DarkBrain Publisher & EIC Andrew Zar, Esq. and moi.

DarkBrain Comics Log-in Buttons - NEW!!!

2011-09-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

... and MANY MORE interesting images, posters PLUS PISSY PUSSY STRIPS coming your way in a week or so ... maybe even less ..! Be there, @ www.darkbrain.com for more Pussy shenannigans ...

... plus the standard wide array of other stellar DarkBrain digital comics offers.

---

This was coloured by Marc Bourcier and drawin by me -- all paperless, on Wacom INTUOS 4 tablet with its digital pen[cil]. 'Penciled' in Photoshop 7.0 and 'inked' in SAI - the best program for digital inking on the planet.

Creating The Logo for a New Comic

2011-08-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Owen Jollands of FreshSqueezedLetters took a task of designing a cartoon-inspired logo for PISSY PUSSY (©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC, All Rights Reserved) written by the Publisher & EIC Andrew Zar and illustrated by moi.

Hence my involvement with the [pissed-off human feline character] figure that should appear as an organic part of the said logo.

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Suffice to say, Omni-Talented Owen also coloured the complete art but at the end of a day a different colour scheme was chosen by the Zealous Mr. Zar so the logo actually looks like this:

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

The very drawing is un-inked, meaning - it remained in its pencil stage [green 2mm lead, H 2mm lead in clutch pencils] on A4 printer paper, only darkened in Photoshop after scanning. The WIP looks like this:

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

Looking For the Right Colour

2011-08-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

This is an unintentional homage of sorts to Andy Warhol with the 'wall' created by this comics character's initial creator Andrew Zar, DarkBrain Comics LLC founder & EIC (I am a visual co-creator and artist who drew this illustration, colouring the main character pink).

In the end, PISSY PUSSY's final skin colour is chosen to be a light-green.

Drawn with Faber-Castell mechanical pencil with 2mm green lead and tightened with 2mm Caran D'Ache leadholder containing H graphite lead. Not inked - darkened in Photoshop to blacken the linework and coloured in the same program.

©DARKBRAIN Comics LLC

More Excerpts From My DARKBRAIN COMICS Digital Inks

2011-07-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

©DarkBrain Comics LLC
---
PENCILS: Renato Camilo
INKS [digital]: Yours Truly [me!]

My Digital Inks for DARKBRAIN Comics

2011-06-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

PENCILS: Renato Camilo

COLOURS: Dinei

Digital INKS: me

***

©DarkBrain Comics LLC

2011-05-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

9th INTERNATIONAL COMICS FESTIVAL CONTEST 2011
APPLICATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 20th, 2011

http://www.skc.org.rs/comics-festival-2011.html

Address:
SKC Happy Gallery
SALON STRIPA
Kralja Milana 48
11 000 Belgrade
Serbia

Propositions and rules:
• Participants are not age-limited
• HIGH QUALITY COPIES ONLY, up to 4 pages, will be accepted. Works have to be sent via post office (e-mails excluded). Along with their work, participants are also required to send a filled APPLICATION FORM for the 9th International Comics Festival Contest which can be downloaded HERE
• Required language: English
• Theme, style, technique and genre are free-choice
• Page numbers should be written on the back of each page

(incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration)

• Submitted works will be reviewed by the jury and selected works will be shown at the Festival exhibition.

Awards & Prizes:
• Grand prix of the Festival (includes 1000 €)
• Awards for the best traditional style comic, the best alternative comic, the best script and the best graphics
• Special jury award for inventiveness
• Awards in the category up to 15 years of age: Young Lion special award (the best entry in the category), Special jury award for the best idea, Special jury award for maturity and imagination
• Special jury award for the youngest contestant
• Sponsors’ prizes

Additional information:
e-mail: srecnagalerija@skc.rs

Grace #5 Cover Illustration

2011-05-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

©DarkBrain Comics LLC

From the initial blue lead rough through the H softness 2mm graphite lead tightening to the PITT Faber-Castell markers inking, scanning and Photoshop addition of filters [dot-screen pattern like an old Ben-Day]. All drawn on A4 ordinary printer paper with US comicbook used to mark & rule the cover size and proportions.

Coloured by new DarkBrain's prodigal talent, Mr. Marc Bourcier http://boyann.deviantart.com/#/d3g86wo.

The series continues with new artist[s]. I am no longer on the comic.

This Illustration Can Be Put to Rest Finally

2011-05-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

©DarkBRain Comics LLC

Drawn by me, coloured by Christa Rozenkranz. The final pieces of the deffinitive illustration to be put together.

All pencil, VERY hard lead, no inks.

Salut,

GRACE promo pin-up WIP 2

2011-05-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

And THIS is how I have mistakenly drawn the Bondage Grace pin-up before having to delete this background and add the previously shown one with Maria, Jerry and their lab surroundings.

Drawn with 2mm lead, 3H hardness and NO INKS on Windsor & Newton A5-sized sketchbook cardstock.

The bondage photo of the incomparable Jasmine Sinclair was used for the reference without an attempt for likeness. She has approved the use of the photo and I am very pleased for the fact.

---

(C)DarkBrain Comics LLC

GRACE promo pin-up WIP

2011-05-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

Due to the misunderstanding between my publisher/editor and myself I did the previously shown illustration that can be seen here https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s2YcGKvHkjI/TY4q_eC7MPI/AAAAAAAAAPs/wdGzuvtIYvw/s1600/bondage__if_you_are_the_rope__by_darkbraincomics-d3chng4.jpg a little differently. The drawing was amended and BACKGROUND ACTION was done on a separate sheet of paper to be spliced together with the FOREGROUND main elements.

Maria & Jerry are secondary characters in the GRACE COMES HOME series, (C)DarkBrain Comics LLC

WhateverSaurus

2011-03-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

THIS DRAWING IS not based on an actual reference - neither movie stills, nor somebody else's comics drawing and/or book illustration-concept art. I did it spontaneously, almost no erasing whatsoever. Just an A4 sheet of printer paper, a blue lead pencil and 2mm H lead inside Caran D'Ache leadholder.With scanning and Photoshop tweaking [darkening the lines to appear 'inky' and yet 'pencily' enough plus some filters for texture] it took me less than an hour to execute it from start to finish which means - to me at least - that I'm kinda becoming faster. It appears almost inspired by the great Wally Wood but truth is, I was prompted by motivation after seeing a Mitch Byrd dino sketch but resisted the temptation to 'homage' the drawing by swiping it.

Grace IN BONDAGE..! Umm--it IS Grace, right..?

2011-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

AND CHRISTA ROZENKRANZ weaves her colouring magic again.

The drawing is mine, done in TWO layers [please see one of the previous blog entries with Layer Two shown without the foreground] because the first version had a completely different room & surrounding.

Drawn with 2mm lead, 3H hardness inside a Mars Staedtler leadholder on A5 sized Winsor & Newton cardstock [Grace in bondage on the table -- provided it's Grace, of course. Or is it her..? Hmmm... gotta see the comic first*].

The second layer/background was done on A4-sized printer paper with RED 2mm & F-lead in Caran D'Ache leadholders. Incomparable Christa did the composite by patching-up both layers into a single image.

The comic is (C)DARKBRAIN COMICS LLC, written by Wintress Odom, created & edited by a fearless publisher Andrew Zar, Esq.

_______________________

* Wait a minute..! I'm drawing the damn thing! I should know, I reckon...

Grace Has a Surname - and it's MARSHALL

2011-03-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

GRACE COMES HOME is (C)DarkBrain LLC, created by Andrew Zar, written by Wintress Odom, penciled by me & coloured by Christa Rozenkranz.

Drawn with blue Col-Erase pencil on A5-sized cardstock from a WINDSOR & NEWTON sketchbook, contoured with Stabilo thick blue marker and just slightly tweaked in PhotoShop.

GRACE is coming sooner than you'd expect on your computer screens via www.darkbrain.com

SPARKY - Grace`s nemesis (C)DarkBrain Comics LLC

2011-02-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

ONE KINKY PHOTO of a stunning photo-model with two arms only was enough to inspire me to draw the alien enemy of the main protagonist of DarkBrain Comics` GRACE COMES HOME. The pose oozed power and might -- and yet vulnerability to a certain extent.

I am continuing the comics series after three artists with totally different graphic approaches so in a way I'm 'released from the obligation to follow any established art style' or drawing manner. Dreadlocked Sparky is actually a very young and tender [late teens] girl going brash beneath her mask and undefined body armour - save the metallic dreadlocks and studded shoulderpads. Since I got the editorial blessing to redesign and redefine her costume, she is going to look a wee differently and yet the same when she's unleashed upon the breathlessly awaiting world in Grace Comes Home #5.

This is a promo-drawing done on A4 sheet of printer paper with 3H leadholder containing 2mm lead. No inks applied - pencils were enhanced in PhotoShop for the incomparable Christa Rozenkranz to unleash her digital colouring magic.

Wintress Odom writes the series, Andrew Zar publishes, edits & plots the storyline - plus has a cameo in the comic.

Beverly the Sexy Librarian of DARKBRAIN COMICS

2011-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

THIS IS NOT the character I am supposed to draw in a comics series for DB but my 'private take', so to speak, on an another lady gracing the blossom of beauty offered by the intrepid publisher. The drawing that's inspired me can be seen HERE:

http://darkbraincomics.deviantart.com/

The whole purpose of this excercise is the actual rehearsal for taking over from issue #5 the mini-series GRACE COMES HOME which I intend to pencil only but with the 'inky' result shown in the work-in-progress strip. Dissatisfied with my achievements in turning penciled drawings into the visuals THAT APPEAR INKED, I've counted my blessings for having friends and colleagues in the know willing to share their know-how and help me improve my abilities with PhotoShop.

So, initial rough's scribbled rather quickly with a wood-clinched stub of a light-blue Col-Erase pencil on an A4-sized sheet of printer paper. That same rough that has perspective grid for composition's placement is slightly tightened with more defining lines of 2mm blue lead in Mars Staedtler clutch pencil which tends to be a wee darker. Without erasing anything the illustration is rendered with 2mm graphite F lead in Koh-i-Noor Technigraph leadholder and that was it.

After saving each stage of the drawing's progress, I finally applied this 'new' [ for me at least ] knowledge to expressly and smoothly turn the penciled sketch into a cleaned-up sharp & crisp dark beauty of an image, with the addition of some filter effects to give it a retro-look with those halftone patterns.

I'd love my comics to have this look.
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(C)DARKBRAIN COMICS LLC

New Artwork Done for DarkBrain`s GRACE COMES HOME

2011-02-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

Just a wee teaser with this INCOMPLETE illustration done for the incomparable, first anniversary celebrating comics publisher that can be found on www.darkbrain.com

Because of misunderstanding the drawing evolved diferently from the vision of my publisher and editor, Mr. Andrew Zar, so it had to be amended. The solution..? Visual was ... not exactly re-drawn but rather 'divided' in two layers - so using the PhotoShop magic I've kept dominant part of the initial drawing minus the problematic background as the FIRST layer depicting [here not shown] foreground with the main character...

... or, is it her..? Hmmmm...

THIS is the second layer with REJECTED version of the Background [to impress the Publisher I went a wee crazy offering 4 diferent versions of the pencils-only sketch contrasted into the blacklined faux-inks look. The ACCEPTED version is safe and sound, uploaded and 'in the can' along with the foreground fershlugginer, to be spliced together in the sanctum of the intrepid DarkBrain Comics HQ by The Colourist Supreme, Christa Rosenkranz.

So, my standard procedure: colour pencil [red in this case] used for roughing-in the secondary characters in the mid-ground [in the frankenstein-ized illustration to emerge soon] and background of the ominously looking lab. Over the red sketch on A4-sized printer paper went second quick pass with graphite HB wood-clinched pencil, then meticulous roll of the kneaded eraser over the whole thing to make all the linework faint, barely seen for the third pass with 2mm lead in Mars Staedtler leadholder, F grade. Then, scanning the pic and tweaking it a little in P-Shop till it went all dark, greyish parts were touched-up with the Burn Tool and then some filters for the elements behind the characters - four times. This shown version is my favourite one -- but I've anticipated which one would be chosen by Mr. Zar and it was so.

Anyway, GRACE COMES HOME and onto the computer screen close to you VERY soon.

In the meantime read all the incredible stuff on the aforementioned site, which, along with GRACE, is (C)DARKBRAIN COMICS LLC.

Salut.

My Colour Experiment with GRACE (C)DarkBrain COmics

2011-01-29T18:45:00.000-08:00

I am Welcomed Warmly in the Kingdom of Dark Brain [comics]

2011-01-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Artwork is by me, characters are (C)DarkBrain Comics and DARKBRAIN.COM is the company I am to draw this comics series for, called GRACE COMES HOME. It`s Sci-Fi horror, it rokks, it changes its artists like some people change tissues and I am the latest one.

Drawn on ordinary A4 sized printer paper - a wee thicker and with rougher surface - and with 3H & F leads in 2mm clutch pencils. Figures are joy to do, contrast and colour in PhotoShop, but we`ll see how I cope with strict deadlines and LOTS of background details, environment, perspective and such in February when I roll up my sleeves, sharpen the lead and start drawing away...

---

Okay, I lied. No sleeves rollin`, I always wear Tee-shirts. Sorry.

Muscular IS Sexy...When I Draw It, This Time

2011-01-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

This was done more than two years ago, on an A4-sized DALER-ROWNEY 120lbs paper, on its rough surface with 2mm lead, 3H hardness inside a lead-holder/clutch pencil. Sometime later I`ve coloured it after darkening the lines in PhotoShop to appear sort of 'inky'. Then I assumed I lost the file but discovered it last night..! Feels good to share it with you, me chipmunkies.

2011-01-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Come to think of it -- not enough of SEQUENTIALS here in Ye TitillationLand. An omission to be amended at once.

Pencils - Affable Askanio & Yours Truly, inks by Y.T. [me again], screentones thanks to the FILTERS magic in PhotoShop 7. Winsor-Newton series 16 brush used with Talens waterproof ink, along with Gillott`s 290 old copper nib.

Bliss.

M3K is for MIGHT3 KIDS

2011-01-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

This is it, I reckon... the final version of the children in their 'official uniforms' and with the M3K logo. Done on A4 thicker printer paper with light blue Col-Erase pencil stub. Of course, incoming final version will have elaborate backgrounds etc. Heck, maybe even colour..!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, have a good `un. Cheers.
---
(c)LINGO Foreign Languages Centre/Centar stranih jezika

The Power of MIGHT3KIDS

2010-12-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

©2010 ~Boyann
Seriously, I don`t know if this blog entry is enough for 'securing the idea`s name' or the new comicbook feature`s title... but 'Power-Kids', 'Powerkids', 'PowerKidZ' and many other variations are already used for inflatable beds, nanny services and similar... Heck, even FantastiKids was the title of a 2006 fantasy series about three siblings guarding a horrific secret hiding in a magical box entrusted to them by a dying mother..!

... and the name of a French children`s pop-group.

Can you believe it, by feverishly typing various word combinations I`ve managed to stumble upon NO RESULTS FOUND for 'The Might3Kids'!!!

Therefore, I reckon it`s not out of place to claim the title/name/trademark/copyright for LINGO Foreign Languages Centre and myself..?

... or is it..?

What needs to be done now..? Let the breathlessly awaiting world know that I`ve stabbed the banner on this hilltop or I need to do some administration and handsomely pay for the protection of the name and the privilege to own it..?

Am I doing the [un]wise thing with blaring about this publicly or should I have kept shtumm and do the deed after the holidays..?

For better or worse, the word`s out and what I used to show in my gallery from time to time here is POWER-KIDS no more...

... ARISE, THE MIGHT3KIDS.

(c)LINGO Foreign Languages Centre/Centar Stranih Jezika

`Nuff said.

2010-12-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

What would a Yuletide Season
and
The New Year be without those celebration & adventure seeking
POWER KIDS,
currently in the throes of the script fine-tuning
and
THE VERY FIRST ADVENTURE ON THE DRAWING BOARD?
*
Soon on your VERY OWN COMPUTER SCREENS!
And who knows...
>>Maybe<< even in a magazine to be unleashed upon
the breathlessly awaiting world..?

Stay tuned, Power Seekers!

Salut,

[ ~b~ ]

hO-hO-hO! Merry-Merry! Happy-Happy!

2010-12-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Why has Santa Claus chosen his sultry niece SANTANELLA to assist him with his Yuletide endeavours..?

Why - to fit into the chimneys easier than him, that is!

But the naughty minx prefers to do other stuff besides stuffing them felt stockings left overnight by true believers, especially male, single loners intent to enrich their sketchbooks with drawings like these.

SO HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE! Behave, be well, creative and happy. Don`t forget that Lord Allmighty`s only son`s birthday is not only going over the top with wining'n'dining. Enjoy and see you soon...ish.

Salut.

2010-12-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

Another wee blast from the past - WIP of the first pencil drawing that I wanted to remain penciled only but appear inked.
Good ol' PhotoShop magic..! And those filters with ability to offer dot-screen patterns like in arcane b/w comics relying on 'halftones'... or 'BenDay' or 'Zip-a-Tone'...
The whole area deserving a full tome, not just a humble blog entry...

(c) and drawn by me

2010-12-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

This is KAT FALLOUT, online video-game character in my interpretation with red, blue and black graphite pencil[s] - (c)Respective Copyright Holder[s].

2010-11-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

THERE WAS THIS geezer over on DeviantArt signing his cartoons as MegaTigerTron. He's still there but under the different monicker and THIS particular inspiration was picked up from one of 'girlie drawings' that's no longer there...

Anyways, El Tigre did a nice rendering with a pose challenging enough for me to try to understand it through this study in red, blue and 0.7 mechanical HB pencil exercise. It's the very same sketch, only scanned four times throughout the progress. I am not implying anything - the least being who did a better version but the lad's written praise made me feel really proud.

And the shown stages actually represent the very approach I have to the figure drawing.

I wish it could always appear and be this easy..!

2010-11-24T03:42:00.000-08:00

THIS WAS SHOWN before as a series of individual drawings. Here's the whole process in almost a comic strip form. Truth to be said, I need to re-scan and re-colour the cover for the sake of acknowledgement of my PhotoShop improvement... back in the day when I did this, believe it or not, I couldn't fathom how to letter the damn thing digitally, so I had to paste-on physically the letters [logo and title, not dialogues done manually with the marker I used to ink the figures] sent to me by John Gallagher, the writer of this never drawn extravaganza who's also provided me with a rough thumbnail sketch for the cover that I managed to displace for good... Sorry mate..!

2010-11-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

Is this what they call 'meme'..? I don't know what on Earth is 'meme' but I got an impression that the monicker concerns the 'collage' sort of thing... or something.

So here is the POWER KIDS work in progress, step-by-step presentation. If this is the aforementioned 'meme', then it is.

Wish I knew how it's pronounced...

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=163067933713262&set=a.150747788278610.23397.100000301685957&pid=408950&id=100000301685957#!/pages/POWERKIDS-Letnja-skolica-engleskog-jezika-za-decu-iz-hraniteljskih-porodica/131269320227113

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=163067933713262&set=a.150747788278610.23397.100000301685957&pid=408950&id=100000301685957#!/profile.php?id=1568919879

http://www.lingocentar.com/

2010-11-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

I know 'twould have been better if I've shown this on time when it was appropriate. But, as they say, 'better late than never'. So, POWER KIDS again, only this time trying to participate in Hallowe'en celebration for the first time [in Serbia at least]. All pencil [2mm F lead in Mars leadholder] and tweaking in Photoshop after scanning the A4-sized drawing. The lines were darkened and some 'Filter' solutions were applied.

2010-10-02T16:08:00.001-07:00

When it's ten minutes after midnight, then it must be 'yesterday' when I did this convention sketch, borrowed from a young lady who asked for a sketch of HERSELF as BatGirl [ (c)DC/WB ] so I can scan it for unleashing it upon the breathlessly awaiting world.

I have to admit my inability to 'capture the likeness' is a stuff of legends... but I hoped for the excuse that BG is not 'a real person' plus there's a mask -- excuses, escuses ...

Anyway, Tanya loved the sketch and I wanted to share this convention sketch done at the 8th Belgrade International Comics Salon that finished today, on Sunday. Drawing shall be returned to Tanya. It's done on A4 sized rough paper with HB 0.7 technical Pentel pencil and assortment of markers.

2010-09-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Some sketches I've done recently, posting them on Deviant Art first. Ordinary A4 printer paper used with Col-Erase light blue pencils or 3H graphite Lyra 2mm lead in Mars-Staedtler or Caran D'Ache leadholders/clutch pencils. Tweaked a thing or two in PhotoShop 7.

The character of Soviet SuperWoman is created & (c)Olga Jezhova and I drew this for her, with her permission.

A Wee Demo - NOT the Tutorial

2010-08-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

WORKING ON SEVERAL projects at the same time sometimes disperses the attention and ability to control all aspects of what's being done. Take THIS situation for example - do I have to put an extra 'mature' filter because of the 'beast's nature' displayed in the illustration or do I behave like this is the business as usual, like before..?

This is the very same drawing, the one and only of the newest incarnation of my intrepid Nurse Florinda, co-created with a person insisting for now to remain strictly anonimous. But, that very same drawing is scanned as the blue rough, then black graphite clean-up [H lead, 2mm in a lead holder/clutch pencil over the kneaded eraser 'paled' blue sketch] and finally coloured visual of the 'inked' version.

Truth is, there were NO INKS whatsoever. The graphite clean-up lines were darkened in PhotoShop prior to the colouring process and that was it.

The 'comic strip tier' format is the attempt to create a demo or tutorial 'template' with samples of personal work plus lettering, which in this case happens to be a free font from Nate [Blambot] Piekos - www.blambot.com

Power Kids!

2010-07-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Remember couple of my recent deviations with the above title, regarding the charity project involving very young children in foster care learning English for the first time..?
...

The Power Kids Little Summer School for English Language is on FaceBook and it needs LOTS of MORAL SUPPORT too, not just financial sponsorship.

PLEASE:
show your support by going to the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=131269320227113&share_id=131940326827607&comments=1#!/pages/POWERKIDS-Letnja-skolica-engleskog-jezika-za-decu-iz-hraniteljskih-porodica/131269320227113

-
LIKE it and leave a supportive comment. I did the drawing for them that goes on official documents [black and white version only, alas...], T-Shirts for children and such.

Let's show together at least symbolicaly that those clever, witty, gorgeous children aren't abandoned and forgotten for real and let's give A BIG HAND to noble and kind people who take care of them selflessly like they'd do for their own offspring.

Thank you ALL, from the bottom of my ink-stained heart.

Salut,

[ ~b~ ]

AL WILLIAMSON - R.I.P. 1931-2010

2010-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Secret Agent Corrigan (c)KFS - the hero was modeled by the artist himself!

THE PRINCE AMONGST the comics medium knights has laid his mighty brushes to rest and went where all of us shall go one day or night... joining his pal Frank Frazetta, Archie Goodwin and other incomparable giants who walked amongst us once, allowing us to stand on their shoulders.

Williamson followed the path of Alex Raymond, inspired also by Daniel Vierge, Joseph Clement Coll, Franklin Booth and other masters of the pen and ink technique.

His contribution to the comics is humongous - comicbooks, syndicated newspaper strips... penciling, inking [himself and others, in the later part of his career] and genuine love for the artform examplified with his tireless collecting of originals.

Those in the know, especially distinguished ones honoured to know him personally will publish more appropriate rememberings of his life, deeds and achievements. I've never managed to meet him but I am sure that he really was The Gentleman and one of the sweetest persons ever to unleash his kindness on fellow artists and people in general.

He shall be missed.

Some New-ish Drawings... sort of

2010-06-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

JUST TO AVOID being too absent from here...

MALEFICENT (c)Disney

Vetty & Beronica... y'get it, right..? (c)Respective Copyright Holder[s]

THORELLA -female version of Thor (c)Marvel/Disney

SISELLA & her flat-chested failed female sidekick, (c)ME

All drawn by me. No inks, just blue or graphite pencils, ordinary printer A4 sized paper, tweaked here'n'there in PhotoShop.

'Nuff said - as the great man uttered on so many excelsior-occasions.

Salut

Stacey Owens Project

2010-04-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

THERE IS NOTHING mysterious about STACEYTRON, Ms. Owens' Deviant Art personna. Stunning looker and inspiration to many artists over there -- me included.

Amongst numerous other sketches and some finished drawings I've done three incarnations of the MultiMedia VideoGame Maiden.

Here are pencils and finished inks with gray tones (done with COPIC markers) for the third delineation of the incomparable StaceyTron.

More Deviations

2010-03-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

I don't think necessarily that my work is a benchmark of exceptional quality or with distinguished instructional value -- yet I like to share the very process that happens when I delineate a character...
... in this case a few feminized versions of MARVEL superheroes, appearing as super-heroinettes!

Straight from the alternative universe inside my overgrown-fanboy head -- here they are:

CAPTAINELLA AMERICANA

and
THE MIGHTY THORELLA!
Damn, that blue pencil rocks..!

---

(c)Marvel/Disney

From my DeviantArt Page

2010-03-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS... or is it actually months?!... I'm to post a thing or two here, to prevent cobwebs to amount.

I've been posting various sketches and finished artwork, some of it being studies of other artists' work - that I have credited and presented my 'learning way' and understanding how things are done. This, for example, is my take [no study of other artists' work] on the video-game character Kat Fallout, shown in stages.

So ... with red lead clutch pencil [2mm] I've structured shapes with the help of established 'line of action' first and head shape oval sketched-in last which provided me with the groundwork to proceed and come to this final drawing, tightened with 0.7 mechanical graphite pencil, HB lead.

ONE OF THE POSSIBLE APPROACHES, more or less

2009-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

REMEMBER THE OLD question that goes something like: "But how do you get them ideas for your drawings/poems/scripts/stories/novels/music/whatever?"..?

I haven't been honoured with such a curiosity by anyone but thought it would be interesting to share with you one of the secrets how things might happen when creative process is shared, let's say. In this case, it's the team-up of Jovial John Gallagher and Yours Truly, Bashful Boyann M. Johnny was kind enough to share with me one assignment, giving me a chance to do some kinky illustrations for a special kind of adult publication, a picture-book of sorts for... y'know... stuff that I love to draw. I never saw the script or the final text version - Mr. Gallagher did the 'chewing' for me in the form of prepared roughs which I was supposed to turn into a more or less finished version[s] for publication. So, first here's Johnny:

As you can see, he drew what used to be called 'a scribble' - rough sketch that sometimes editors provided an artist with, to avoid misunderstanding and go straight to the point, like "This is The Way I Want It".

With practically everything sorted-out for me in advance, I've sharpened my trusty F 2mm lead in the leadholder klutch pencil and doodled away the following:

Of course, I wouldn't be what I am if I didn't use the wood-clinched light blue pencil for rough underdrawing, for backgrounds first and then adding figures, tightening them a wee later with graphite lead. Small JpegS were shared with John via the magic of Internet and, with his blessings, I've proceeded with... INKING..!

For years I had this bottle of FW acryllic black ink that I've been saving for... what..? Eternity..? 'Till it dries and turns into a goo..? Realizing that a good ink is left in vain unused, I took my beloved Hunt 22 nib [with a touch or two by the incredible Gillott 290] plus Winsor-Newton series 33 brush No. 5 [yeah, I've been careful to save my best, series 7 WN sables for non-acryllic ink!] and did this homage to the mixture of horror and superhero illustrations with lots and lots AND LOTS of cross-hatching. So there: an evil Mistress Of Pain takes the lovable, innocent Heroinella into the Dungeon Of Endless Sufferings which I've made a suggestion of with a hint of the great Wally Wood machinery quite in place for some Mad Scientist's secret lab. But... did you think that I've forgotten to show the inks of the next pic with our tied but still defiant Heroinella..? More on that just a wee later, folks.

There's the thing: I've PhotoShopped the colouring on the inked FIRST drawing and -- the very same second drawing as it is - left in penciled stage, only tweaked in PS to appear darker, 'blackier'... just to give it a whirl like in modern comics where many pencils are left uninked, just coloured for the viewing pleasure.

I remain by all means the supporter of inking - the real 'wetworks', not digital fiddling to ape the real thing. Whether it's a brush, nibs, markers or even rapidographs -- I don't care, as long as the inking is applied the way it's supposed to be done.

---

Now, if you check out www.twomorrows.com site, amongst many things there you'll notice that the latest issue of DRAW! magazine is out, where the interview with the incomparable RM Guera - artist on many European comics and DC's Vertigo title 'Scalped' - is done by Yours Truly, using his nom de plum Brian 'Duke' Boyanski. Guera is my childhood friend now living in gorgeous Barcelona - the most beautiful city in the world situated on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. He is one of the best comics artists in the world.

So c'mon -- order the mag this instant [or at least the cheaper PDF version for upload] and enjoy the best magazine on the planet devoted to the art of drawing and making better comics.

Even better - apart from making the editor Mike Manley and me richer, check out other phenomenal TwoMorrows publications and make yourselves richer with knowledge, insight how things are and were done in comics and for comics. Above all - have fun.

Salut.

The MASTER At Work, no less..!

2009-12-13T03:01:00.000-08:00

FOLLOWING OTHER BLOGS when I have the time can be enchanting, making me simply fotget that I also have a blog to run and, at least, throw-in an update or two every now and then.

Yup, there are pages and pages of the stuff I have been involved with these past several months, but not all of them are appropriate to be shown here.

Exactly!.. They're even more hard-core than those I've shared with you previously, with gratuitous nudity and whatnot. It's true artists have to draw certain things if others aren't available -- and some like me even love drawing such stuff for money AND pleasure, so...

But today I am sharing with you a video of somebody else doing the creative magic before the camera... And NOT 'just anybody' but The Somebody of the legendary status amongst the comics giants - Mr. Neal Adams, boys and girls.

The Man draws... pencils... inks... attempts to turn on the light-box which happens to be unplugged... talks to his daughter [and studio manager, off-screen] Chriss... and has oodles of fun before our very eyes.

We see how he does it; the size of the original he is embellishing or transferring via light-box from the rough sketch underneath; the brush dipped in ink [and the brand is even readable!]; the pencil - ordinary wooden yellow school pencil, not some fancy-shmantzy special mechanical micro-lead wonder we imagine 'big guys' are using to create graphic[al] magic..!

Come to think of it -- the greatest amongst the great always showed modesty concerning their tools, never going for gadgetry or drawing gizmos - just the basic equipment and that's it. See, Neal Adams' brush even has split hairs, not 'the perfect' point 'good brand brushes' are supposed to keep always.

I want you to enjoy this and hunt down other YouTube videos of masters at work. It can be the next best thing to actually sitting next to the creator knocking out stuff that makes us love this wonderful medium and wish we can also do it, like them.

----

Now, instead of P.S. --- if you check out YouTube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOT5NgKt9N8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1JhcJl82gk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55qji6QMRLg

... you can see my band and me in action. PLAYING MUSIC, not drawing.

What does it have anything to do with comics..? Well, IT HAS, since the gig was shot on Sept. 24th 2009 at the Grand Opening of the Seventh Comics Salon in Belgrade, Serbia. FATAL CELLULITE OBSESSION performance was my personal gift to the Salon, its organizers, colleagues, friends and relatives who've bothered to pop-in and have some R'n'R fun in the comicdom assembled there and then.

Salut.

...AND NOW I'VE INKED SOMEONE ELSE..!

2009-07-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

THERE USED TO be a time when I've discovered in my mis-spent youth that specialists of sorts called inkers treat the drawings of pencil pushers with embellishment. Yeah, we know CHASING AMY movie sequence with fistcuffs resulting from the discussion whether an inker just traces what penciller draws or contributes something more than enhancement for the printing process.

God bless Kevin Smith...

Anyway, I've learned that 'even an inker' has to know at least basics of drawing. Plus, I've grown in [then] Yugoslavia where the very concept of team-work in comics was non-existent at the time.

Years have passed. I've gone through experiences with begging talented friends to allow me to demolish their pencilled drawings with my inking attempts, then I started to learn how to draw [and continue to this day]; tried my hand in coloring and inking AND animating [of course, first I have cleaned thousands of previously used cells for new films to be made], then I drew tons of comics, inked my own pencils and spent 18 years in England going through many jobs, animation and comics drawing included.

Now, in my autumn years I've got a chance to try my hand in professional inking of somebody else's pencil drawings. That 'somebody else' is the gem of Macedonian comics art, Aleksandar Sotirovski [ http://aleksandar-sotirovski.blogspot.com ] who's got a chance to do an urgent job for a comicbook series CARRIE NATION [Dabel Brothers Production, written by C.E. Murphy] since the original artist [whose name simply escapes me at the moment] decided to bow out. Aleksandar's first choice for the inker took his time gentlemanly whilst the deadline turned into a merciless monster...

... so, who do you call in urgent times like these..?
WHY, ME - OF COURSE!

Suffice to say, I've managed to help Aleksandar to make the deadline, pages were colored, probably even lettered [ God, how I passionatelly HATE modern comics with 'mute' pages instead of dialogue balloons and captions as the organic part of images..! ] .

It needs to be stressed that my hands never ever touched Alex's originals; he's emailed me TIFFs [300 dpi] of his pencilled pages, I've loaded them on my trusty Flash memory stick, used the 0-24 photocopy/printing shop in the neighborhood to print the pages on 300 g. smooth cardstock in the lightest imaginable cyan and slosh the black lines and shapes over it. My chosen tools of the trade were Faber Castell PITT markers and also other Faber Castell pens, Ecco pigment. They worked the best. Rapidographs, brush and nib haven't been taken nicelly by the cardstock provided by the shop since they didn't want to accept my own paper. My job was to deliver 5 inked pages in two days - and we've done it on time.

Salut.

My Humble Contribution To The SOON TO BE LOST ART OF INKING - pt.1

2009-06-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

HEY-HEY-HEY..! How's things, my fellow komikeros..? I've been -- well, really idle and I mean it. Only some storyboards here'n'there plus a few pages to be inked for an American comicbook publisher.

Strange story, indeed... when the time's ripe it'll be told in full. For now let's scratch the surface: a bloke called Adrian withdrew himself from a project that needed to be finished urgently so my mate Aleksandar Sotirovski [check out his blog!!!] gets the penciling gig by a twist of destiny and also a friend [who'll remain nameless] inker who took his time making the deadline even more lethal. To make a long story short -- Yours Truly is invited to save the day so here's the baby in it's full penciled and inked glory... colours by Jason Embury just make the art shine better in its glory..!

Suffice to say -- the day was saved, deadline met and things almost looked cozy...

Cartoony Madness Doesn't Live Here Anymore...

2009-05-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

AND THIS, CHILDREN, is how things should be done.

Now, try to make me believe SQUAREDIAPERS BOOMBO or any 'modern' cartoon has even a tinniest spec of credibility, style, integrity, beauty, lovability, kookiness... you name it.

Damn -- I am over-using the word lately, ain't I..?

Now, find John K.'s blog and enlighten yourselves.

http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com

Salut,
[ b ]

Broads, Blasts and Big Guns

2009-04-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

WHEN A FRIEND asks for help I usually never ever ask back for understanding - that I might be busy with something else or that there are 'other priorities'. I simply help and that's it.

In this case, a short comic drawn for someone as a present [by that friend of mine] needed my penciled input on a couple of pages plus cover. I did the best job I could do at the moment, providing the geezer with enough material to work on and add his inks.

The cover was a special case - we wanted to try the uninked drawing treated with PhotoShop. So I got an idea after I was told what should be on the cover [a nuclear explosion, sexy voluptuous dominatrix kind of a girl with nasty gun leaning on the head of a Humpty Dumpty shaped boyfriend], grabbed a plate from the kitchen shelf and made a circular panel inside which I penciled-in the scene with a 2B soft lead inside Caran D'Ache mechanical lead holder.

My friend Gotze B. did a TERRIFIC colouring job that I don't have saved - yet. I hope I'll manage to post it soon-ish.

Salut,

[ b ]

PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

2009-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

SHANE GLINES HAS one of the best blogs in the Universe -- along the others I love to follow and read regularly. Plus he draws like Hell!!!

One of his sites is his blogspot:

http://cartoonretro.blogspot.com/2009/04/caricature-tutorials-by-mads-tom.html

The additional fershlugginer 2009/04/caricature-tutorials-by-mads-tom.html written after the basic URL thingamajig serves the purpose to take you to Tom Richmond's absolutelly unavoidable Portrait Drawing Adventure. It needs to be seen to be believed..!

And trust me - I know what I'm talking about: I earn my everyday bread by drawing a regular Sunday strip page for Serbian PRESS in the vein of MAD parodies [the old school of Mort Drucker, Angelo Torres, George Woodbridge, Jack Davis...] and attempting to draw political 'celebrities' [yup, I'm NOT dabblin' with the good ol' showbiz...] and make my scrawled images look like the persons they're supposed to represent -- oboy, it's teeth pulling.

Even worse...

Tom has his own site http://www.tomrichmond.com/home.php and it's chock-full of the whole caboodle of goodies - drawing tutorials included.

Be good to yourselves, bookmark the links I've just shared with you and be happy to have me to share this knowledge with you.

Damn -- some people draw too good for their own good ...

Salut,

[ b ]

Hamming It Out

2009-04-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

MISS DANA HAMM shares her surname with one of my bass-playing idols, incomparable Stu Hamm. As far as I know, they're NOT related.

When I asked her once upon a time for her permission to delineate her in a situation dear to me [exuberant display of beauty, wild animal presence -- like in the old-school illos with beauties and beasts], she didn't hesitate to grant it to me -- even more, she honoured me with including the following drawing on her own myspace site.

I am grateful for her compliments. But deep inside, I felt that I could have done more -- better -- bolder.

Never ever did I dare to even attempt to draw her again, neither form memory nor by using her photo for 'straight reference', the old-school way, the GlamourPuss way.

Hard 3H pencil lead was applied for underdrawing; PILOT drawing pens [markers] and PENTEL fountain brush for inking.

Darn -- will have to do something with classical nibs dipped in good old waterproof ink and sable brushes to do justice to the chosen models..!

Salut,

[ b ]

And the Featured Lady Is...

2009-04-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

IT HAS JUST occurred to me that I haven't mentioned who is the actual beauty featured... She does exist indeed and she is a musician [bassistesse, no less] who also practises healthy lifestyle, models and competes in the fitness arena. Her name is Crystal Fawn and can be found on myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/crystalfawnfitness
and
http://www.myspace.com/featuredonfridays

Please, check our her sites.

For today I am submitting another attempt to delineate her.

Standard procedure discussed in the previous post.

For the polka-dot pattern on her bikini I didn't dare to use the correction pen with opaque white fluid, fearing it'll give me a messy result. Instead, I drew carefully wee circles and - filled the black away with marker pen. I reckon it was STABILO brand. Everything else was done over the 2B pencilled underdrawing with PILOT fibretip pens.

Salut,
[ b ]

Referencing Stuff

2009-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

JUST REMEMBERED CERTAIN drawings I did -- well, some time ago... Before I became aware that Dave Sim will make a splash with Glamourpussy series as the love letter to the 'photo-realistic comic strips' of yesteryear, I got an urge to try to do it the way I've assumed it could be done.
Not by making my own strip in the vein of greats like Alex Raymond, Warren Tufts, Stan Drake, Neal Adams, Al Williamson, Ken Bald, John Prentice, Alden McWilliams ... or even Dave Sim himself... only by giving it a try with several illustrations of beautiful women I've made contacts with on myspace.
Don't get me wrong -- I've always been well informed, knew that certain artists use photo reference to make their drawn results more credible etc. Some relied on photos faintly, some totally; some needed photographs for documentation -- and some to create it all from scratch, transforming one medium into a totally different context and artistic result.

What I wasn't sure of at all was -- how the Hell did they do it..? Did they cut the newspaper or magazine photos out for their 'morgue' [documentation in folders] or they took snapshots staged according to their 'directorial' vision [almost like creators of 'fumetti' - photostrips]..? Or was it a combination of ALL of it, and then some more..?

Then -- did they just look at those photographs/snapshots, eye-balling them like some kind of 'model' to draw directly onto the cardstock where finished artwork will appear, or on separate sheets of paper to be celaned-up by tracing onto the mentioned cardstock..?
Or did they do it like Mr. Sim does it on the shown youtube video?

Nevertheless, being adventurous and curious I first wrote emails to couple of the prominent ladies of my choice on myspace and, after getting their permissions, I decided which pictures were to wind up transformed into the drawings.

Bear in mind that naturalism - much better definition for what is usually called 'realism' - was never my forte. My earlier attempts with 'eyeballing' photos whilst attempting to draw upon them bore rather sour-ish fruits... So I guessed that MAYBE using the tracing paper is a good start! Therefore I've printed out the chosen photographs taken from the ladies' myspace[s], laid a sheet of tracing paper over the photo[s] and - traced away the best way possible. I used a very thin marker, omitting intuitivelly what I assumed is to be omitted, stressing what I thought needs to be stressed and so on.

The finished result was far away from what I wanted to achieve, but no worries... The next stage was my embellishing treatment of those tracings, forgetting that they were based on photos and treating them as rough sketches in need of a light-table refinement and tightening. In this case, I've used a pad of layout paper - quite thin and transparent, but white, sort-of-opaque and durable enough for a hard 3H pencil interventions. So I lightly transferred SHAPES of the drawn subjects, not contoured the drawings beneath, the same way as I'd have done it on thicker cardstock over a shiny surface of a light box.

After finishing as preciselly as It was humanly possible [for me at least] the transfer, I've tightened the drawings with a quite soft 2B lead in a mechanical Caran D'Ache pencil.

Then they became ready for inking which was done with FABER CASTELL PITT markers and PENTEL fountain brush.

Suffice to say, I was quite impressed with my achievements -- for a time being. Then I realised that lots and lots of hard work at improving my drawing skills is needed even for the process some might call 'ordinary tracing'.

Instead of my conclusion, PLEASE listen carefully what Dave Sim says whilst demonstrating what and how he draws and pay attention to the segment towards the end when he re-tells the Al Williamson anecdote.

There's NOTHING else to add to it.

Salut,

[ b ]

Meanwhile, Back In The Octopus' Garden...

2009-03-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

MY UNDERWATER SAGA mentioned before had a lot of things happening, making me ripe for questioning about my sanity.

The pages that until recently could have sent the creator straight to jail WON'T be shown here. Instead, just a hint of what's to happen in OCTOBOOBS... eventually.

Thing That Made Me go... HA!

2009-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

ONCE UPON A TIME I've seen an Adam Hughes sketch of Tomb Raider's Lara Croft posted on a website showcasing his stellar artwork. Miss Croft was depicted struggling to squeeze-in her abundant chest into a too tight blouse, with pitiful (but eye-popping) results.

It was but a simple pencil sketch - still oozing sex appeal and pure graphite energy. I was inspired to give it a try -- not as a slavish copyist, but rather a hommage-giver of sorts. So there - my very own raven-haired beauty, delineated with a 3H lead pencil, in almost the same AH!-inspired situation. Only... AH!'s heroine fought to PUSH her treasures IN -- mine doesn't struggle too dilligently to prevent 'em poppin' out. 'S all.

2009-03-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

THERE IS SOMETHING quite attractive about athletic ladies who happen to be well endowed. I never thought of superheroines - with or without masks - out of costumes and really, REALLY fit.

This one might be the one to inspire and be the blueprint for more to come.

FACTS:

- no reference photos used

- quite rough cardstock attacked with a clutch-pencil holding a 3H lead - very hard one

- thin red marker for pouting lips

Do I Have To Censor Myself When I Draw?

2009-03-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

CAN'T REMEMBER THE occasion when I sat down, pencil in hand over the blank sheet of paper, thinking something along the lines 'Now, THIS is too much, I can't let myself do it...'.
I've never ever censored myself with pseudo-moral restraint or out of political fear. Just had the [semblance of] common sense what [not] to jot down or delineate.

After all, there's the feeling that some OCTOBOOBS pages simply wouldn't be appropriate even for my blog, in the same vein as breaking wind in a decent company is unacceptable... no matter how [not] good I am with that.

Won't bother you with musing about the [lack of] morality. I'll show you some drawings from my sketchbook dedicated to the character of Nurse Florinda that I'd love to exploit in some future wacky erotic comicbook escapades. There is one sketch done with - you guessed it - blue pencil and finished with mechanical holder of a 2B lead; there are two versions: one with visible nipples on hoo-hoos too big to be held inside the nurse uniform, the other with ... PhotoShop intervention that blurs them nipps for the sake of 'decency'.

On www.myspace.com/bassmonsterbojan I have several picture albums, one of them being CYBER BEAUTIES. I felt sorry to omit my lovable Nurse Flo but good ol' myspace has a very strict policy regarding the nakedness, erotica and such. So, to avoid the risk of having my site shut down or picture removed by Guardians Of The Newfound Morality, I've 're-touched' her hooters.

Other pics are my attempt to draw a different Flo and try the colouring 'shorthand' with darkening the pencil outlines so that they appear almost as inked.

Not good, but still sexy.

And we DO love sexy, ain't we..?

Thanks for stopping by etc.etc.etc. You know the drill.

Hope to have you and some new visitors again.
Salut,

[ b ]

How Many Stages for Drawing Pages?

2009-03-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

IF I WANTED to go poetic on purpose... could'n have done it like this... 'Stage'-'Page', get it..?

Sad...

Okay, drawing stages... or rather gradual steps. I am just elaborating upon my yesterday's example of layered approach to creating a single image - a cover 'on spec' which was intended to be a 'Tomb Raider' parody by writer/layout man John Gallagher & Yours Truly last year's long hot summer. It never happened due to the several reasons, one of them being the dissapearing act every now and then by a publisher who, otherwise, managed to be on time with payments for done things and when he decided to be available. John got involved with other artistic endeavours and me -- with drawing too many different things here'n'there and playing bass with too many different people in various bands.

The done thing I am discussing now is an 18 pages long wordless [porn] epic called OCTOBOOBS which I did on my own, as writer, pencier, inker and colourist. It's the sick story with two humans of opposite sex passionatelly interacting mostly UNDERWATER [hence wordlessness] and having a gigantic octopus pitch-in for an additional 'fun'.

I'm telling you - sick.

Anyway, the story was done, published, paid and life took the publisher and me into different directions. John and I are still in [in]frequent contact.

To avoid eventual problems with taste, offensiveness of the shown imagery etc. I'll trust my own judgement and present only the visuals staying within the boundaries of what I consider 'tasteful'.

Therefore, Page Seven -- the first one actually done, which got me the OCTOBOOBS gig. When I started drawing it, I only knew the quirky title and the fact that it's going to be without any dialogues or captions and that most of the action happens under the sea. Nothing else. The aforementioned publisher wanted a plausible and 'credible' explanation for the humongous breast[s] enlargement of the heroine and I knew that somehow I'll need ... well, an octopus to get involved, nasty and responsible for the fershlugginer.

I didn't know that Page Seven is going to be seventh in a row. It was just 'an audition page' to show what I can do - and how. Everything happening before and after was somehow built around the situation depicted on this slice of visual narrative.

So - my trusty blue lead pencil in hand - I did the rough: no human male in sight [yet], just the heroine still with the same hoo-hoos dimensions struggling and losing her blade whilst an evil octopus takes advantage in his natural wet habitat...

And that was it. Just that. A montage of an underwater beast getting an upper tentacle, so to speak.

My next stage was mechanical 0.7 Pentel pencil rendering with HB lead [the first one I got a hold of in the messy clutter of my then-working table in London UK]; I tightened the blue breakdowns adding details and then it hit me: COPIC MARKERS..! Got several of warm grey ones in my drawer, had some storyboarding experience from before so what the hell..? Let's!

Before grabbing several FABER CASTELL [or were they PILOTS..? PENTELS..?] markers, I've added warm greys for the background, creating the visual style for the other UNDERWATER scenes to follow. Then, I inked [markered..?] tightly everything else, trying my best not to imitate any admired artists - especially not Frank Cho.

When the black lines went dry, I used the kneaded eraser to... well, erase the graphite under the inked lines. Then I scanned the page, used the best of my [then meagre] knowledge of PhotoShop colouring and the page turned as it is.

All the described stages were duly scanned and saved, probably because I sensed that the moment might arrive for me to show-off.

Each time I feel that I am improving... maybe in milimetres, not in kilometres as I hoped I could have done in my younger years... but still I manage not to remain on the same level as before.

Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you again - maybe even in the funny papers!

Salut,

[ b ]

The Hard Art of Beginning

2009-02-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

MY APPROACH TO art is strictly through drawing -- and sometimes fiddlin' with PhotoShop -- when I don't bash my trusty bass or guitar, that is.

Being too old to grow up I've stayed with comics, but less and less as a reader and more and more as the artist -- then sometimes as a writer.

Some form of eternal adolescence [dis]gracing me materializes in the urge to do stuff that those in the know cherish when it's done by, say, Adam Hughes, Terry Dodson, Frank Cho, Art Adams, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, David Finch and other greats. I doubt I'd qualify to sharpen their pencils, though -- still I persist with my attempts to delineate well endowed ladies and eventually make, if not The Big Break, then some success in the world of comics or drawing.

Therefore, here is a wee showcase of how I approach not just a speculative comicbook cover in particular, but the act of drawing in general. So, here we go:

- when not motivated to use my trusty light table, I doodle with blue pencil, throwing mostly undefined shapes with some hints of details on the very same paper that the finished drawing will appear. Suffice to say, I do prefer to sketch on separate thinner sheets of paper that are later thrown in their unfinished glory under the harder cardstock on top of the lightbox that helps me to see-through when tightening that graphite mess

- in this case, ordinary wooden pencil of unknown make, softness or brand is used to embellish the blue sketch and turn it into some semblance of black/grey penciled drawing. The only details really missing are the handguns that our overly voluptuous heroine tots around..! No sweat, my friend John provided me with the photo reference for those nasties... and I mean PISTOLS..!

- further tightening, kneaded eraser cleanup and addition of firearms completes the fully penciled spec cover

- ah, my favourite part -- inking..! Willing to try Frank Cho's approach to finalization, I've substituted my beloved Hunt quills and Winsor-Newton brushes [with Black Magic waterproof ink] for markers. Alas -- couldn't get a hold of those [in]famous PIGMA/Sakura beauties, but Faber-Castell PITT and ECCO PIGMENT pens gave me enough

- scanning and flat-coloring the image in PhotoShop [plus addition of the lettering which was done as a hybrid of existing fonts and my hand-lettering] resulted in what I consider is the comicbook cover as I'd deliver it

And voila - that was the wee presentation of what and how I would do if contracted to do the doodah. But above all, this is what i LOVE to draw.

Thanks for stopping-by, see you soon and - hopefully - in the funny papers!

Salut,

[ b ]