Thursday, March 29, 2012

Batman Gets Knee Deep

I've always found drawing Batman very daunting.  The character has so many great variations in his design, you can go from the super stylized and Gothic to the realistic and utilitarian.  I think it has to do with the practical aspects of the costume (boots, glove, utility belt) verses the decorative aspects (ears and cape, yes nerds, I know the cape has some practical functions).  You can make the ears and cape so long and obtrusive it would inhibit the caped crusaders ability to fight crime effectively, but in some cases it just looks so damn cool.  Anyway, for me putting Batman in the sewer and having him face of against Killer Croc is a no brainer.  Alligators and sewers are comfortable and well tread territory for me.




Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Boy Meets Girl Meets New Graphic Novel Project

For the past six months I've been deep in the midst of a new graphic novel.   It's my second book with the publisher First Second and it is a complete 180 from Orcs Forged for War.  It's a romantic comedy penned by Greg Means and MK Reed, and it's called The Cute Girl Network.  It takes place in the fictional city of Brookport (an almagamation of Brooklyn, NY and Portland, OR) and I'm really enjoying drawing the vast and varied urban environment.  Here are a few samples:



Monday, March 26, 2012

Avengers Assemble!

     So it all started with me being bored and doodling in my sketchbook while watching TV.  I really liked this sketch of the Incredible Hulk fighting Thor.  


     I'd never really drawn Thor or been a huge fan, but thought it would make a cool illustration.  I did several versions that I didn't really like and posted them on Facebook to gauge my fellow artists' reactions to them.  A whole online conversation ensued, if you so choose, you can view the drawings here.  
     This started a whole chain reaction.  I had Avengers on the brain and had to clean out my head.  Sometimes I've got to do this while working on large graphic novel  projects.  It started with just Hulk and Thor, so I just kept going, next thing you know i've got a ton of Avengers drawings, here are some of my favorites:






 This Giant Man drawing was kind of an afterthought, but I decided to include him anyway.
Wasp is one of those characters I'm baffled by.  No matter what her costume design, she either ends up looking like Tinkerbell or a sexy bee.  I honestly don't know much about her character (in fact I know little of the Avengers comics in general)  Does she even have a weapon?  I gave her a gun, it shoots lasers and looks like a stinger.  Sorry folks no Vision or Hawkeye, maybe next time.