Concept Art

I did a job recently for an theme park ride designer. It's a middle east kinda concept.

Man of La Mancha

My GF and I had a wonderful time at the Freud Playhouse at UCLA Last night! We caught 'Man of La Mancha' together and it was as good as any Broadway production. The entire cast put on a wonderful show, but one name added some marque value. Brent Spiner, best known as Data on Star Trek, The Next Generation. Can you make it out to UCLA before March 1st? See the show before it's too late!

More Before, then After!

A couple of years ago, I drew a book for Moonstone called 'KHAN' based on a fictional account of the Asian conqueror. It was written by my old boss Tom DeFalco and the first issue was a lot of fun. We were asked to do a second issue and I pencilled all 24 pages. But as soon as I finished pencilling, the book was cancelled! Bad times. I could ink the pages and maybe the book will see print one day. Until then, take a look at my layout to page 7 and the finished pencil page.

When I ink myself, I draw looser. Maybe I will tighten up the art and find someone else to ink it.

Ranting and Raving

I have a problem with the new Disney movie, 'Race to Witch Mountain'. Judging from the AD on the side of this bus and the movie trailer, you could get the idea that this is a Dwayne Johnson action movie. Sure he may have to hang out with some blonde kids, but you can expect some butt kicking action! My problem is that this film is a remake of a Disney film from the 70s where the there was no big action star. The two kids provided the action and all the charm. The original was another low budget Disney movie that you enjoyed late at night. I guess someone wanted to find something exciting for Mr Johnson to do.

My rave for today is the Watchman promo ADs being posted up all over LA. Who watches the Watchmen? I will soon!

Really good Art

This has been a good week for books about art! My GF bought me a present for Valentine's Day and it was a gift that was delayed from Xmas. The collected art of Norman Saunders published by The Illustrated Press is a big book. It was delayed for the longest time and I thank my GF for chasing it down. If I ever get back to my watercolor work, I will keep this 368 page book close by.

Watchmen...still waiting!

I know that the film is still a month away, so I have to wait. I have however picked up the 'Art of the film' photobook! I recommend it and it's fun to compare the Graphic Novel to the Film!

Lettering

In my last post, I got a comment about the lettering on a page I worked on. The question was, what makes lower case comic book lettering 'yucky'. I should point out that I am not a professional letterer, but I have bounced around the business a few years and I know what I like. As for why the lower case style sucks, lets take a look at a before and after. I took a page from an issue of SHIELD that I inked years ago and re-did the lettering.

My lettering is a bit clumsy, but the smaller lower case letters are harder to see. Plus the lower case style kills the drama from art.
I don't know why MARVEL changed lettering styles in the first place. You used to find the lower case in self-published or independent comics, but not the larger companies. It was for a short time and I am glad that fad is over.

Before, then After! Part 4

The last job I did for Marvel was ghosting 3 pages on THOR. My friend Scott Koblish was inking the book. He was in a bit of a bind and he gave me 3 pages so I helped him out. The penciller was Scot Eaton and I was really familiar with his stuff. I do like the color on this page, but hate the lettering!

Tree Burning

It's the tree burning time of year! I love spending time with Rob, Kevin and all my cool friends as we destroy last years' Christmas trees!