Monday, October 30, 2006

No Quarter

(entry ricH)

Figured I'd go for a trilogy on these pics/.

Really foggy day up in La Jolla last week and I got some great pics.

I am a big fan of landscapes in part thanks to the amazing work of Maxfield Parrish. I came to discover his work in an odd way early on which was via Hipgnosis founder Storm Thorgerson. A great album cover designer who's worked with bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Mars Volta, Muse, and Audioslave just to name a few. He would do these blown out colors with a strange Kubrick styled silence and use of space to them. I always found them completely compelling as images...almost hypnotic.

This is my nod to Thorgerson's work on Houses of the Holy.

The record connection



(entry ricH)

My earliest experiences with art boil down to a couple things. I remember going through my dads desk as a kid (without his knowledge of course) and I found all these cool car and monster drawings he had done (probably in high school) and I was just in awe that you could create stuff like that with a pen and paper. The other strangely enough was my dads record collection.

I have always loved the design and look of album art. Whether it's a logo, a photo, a painting....there is so much great art on CD's.....I just love the medium because there are so many ways to take things.

I just picked up the new My Chemical Romance album(which is great by the way) and as I was sitting in my car at the Target parking lot as I opened it. I saw the art and was like....."this looks like James Jean." sure enough it was. I had mentioned a while back that he was one of the few artists working in comics today I could relate to the most. His work is unusual but still appealing. He does more illustrative work, and the variety of art he produces is just amazing. And he's now working with more and more bands.

Btw, Gerard Way (singer of My Chemical Romance and ex DC comics intern (yes you read that right)are also working on a new comic with covers by James Jean and you can read about it here.

So go James Jean!.....he's really kicking ass and is even more an inspiration for what I want to do in the future.

This was another photo I took recently. It's in a building where we sometimes grab lunch near Wildstorm/ This photo angle literally makes me nauseous. It's not the color I used but the angle that literally makes me dizzy or experience a slight sense of vertigo when I see it.(check it out large here by clicking the photo and see if you experience that sensation)

I am sure my compulsion for doing images like this goes directly back to my fascination with album cover art and design.

ricH.

Change of Seasons

(entry ricH)

Happy Halloween.

(freaky tree pic is by me with some nob turning in photoshop for the after-effects.)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

funtroducing...

[ale]

Wanted to come on and welcome a new member to our evergrowing family, Joel Gomez! Having honed his skills and abilities at both Top Cow and Aspen Studios, Joel is kind of a studio journeyman. Not only is Joel a fantastic up and coming talent, but he is also one hell of a guy!

Wasting no time making himself known around these parts, look for upcoming posts from the man who is nicknamed the hamburgler, Joel Gomez!

-a
"O-kay, who'd like a banger in the mouth?"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Digital Deathblow

(entry: Carlitos)

Waddup y'alls, how's it going?!? Feels like it's been FOREVER since my last post, but let me tell ya', these days it seems like there's only enough time for drawing and sleeping!!! Since the begginning of last year (more or less), we started designing DC's MMO over at Wildstorm.

It's an awesome job, very BIG, very challenging, and it has really pushed my 'designing' muscles to all kinds of new places, BUT between the MMO and Deathblow, there's not a whole lot of time in between... now I understand when Alex Sinclair joked about 'sleep being a waste of time', there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes (that is the main reason why the editors at WS decided to make the series Bi-Monthly, otherwise they'd kill me!!! :) )

I've really, really enjoyed Brian's (Azzarello) stuff since I first read "Jonny Double", and his "100 Bullets" stuff is by FAR one of the best books out there, so when I had the chance to work with him on my favorite WS character "Deathblow", it was one of those "where do I sign up?" kinda' things!

...this here is an intial cover idea I did based on something Brian suggested... It's all done digitally in Photoshop as a quick mock-up. I don't want to spoil any of the story, but any of you watching the news should be able to see the parallels between all the crazy things happening in the world and Wildstorm's favorite assasin. Reality is often much stranger than fiction huh?!?

The book comes out Wednesday, so for those of you who decide to pick it up, hope you enjoy, and let me know what ya' think! :)

Carlos D'

Saturday, October 21, 2006

WildCats #1 - Sturm und Drang

[Eddy]

For many fans, the first run of the “WildC.A.T.s” is their favorite. For others, the second “Wildcats” volume captured a certain characterization that they loved. And more recently, the “Wildcats 3.0” direction of the team struck such a chord that a virtual outcry left them wanting more. Well, Grant Morrison and Jim Lee are hoping their first work together will satisfy them all and then some.

Turning the clock back to the nineties with it’s larger than life storytelling was a sure expectation for Jim’s fans, but inviting Grant to the party was a real wild card. Sure, he can do larger than life, but he can also do laughing at life too, so it’s not easy to predict what he had in mind. This first issue isn't “Doom Patrol” revisionism or even a “New X-Men” recreation, so much as it is a JLA-sized return to greatness for the team. Grant took the best of what's come before and Jim polished it for a fanboy's dream come true.

Now, just imagine Grant pushing the reset button and playing a new game of all his favorite “WildCats” moments. It's the same cast of personalities and motivations, only streamlined and expanded at the same time to fit in Halo's 3-D phones, Gamorran suicide bombers, Daemonites and the all-mighty Omnia Codex all together in one issue.

Cole Cash, aka Grifter, may be down on his luck, but he's also back on his feet again and doing what he does best. Spartan's in charge of Halo Solutions and he's not only rekindling his past romance with Voodoo, but actually doing something about it too. And is that a carrier he's got in his pocket? Zealot's back on Khera fighting to save her Coda Sisterhood and a weary Majestic returns just in time to save the day. But is his new helmet hiding something more dangerous than those glowing red eyes?

And what's better than facing off against their most memorable villain? Facing off against two of them with the supervillain team-up of Kaizen Gamorra and Helspont!

After a double-page history of heroes in this new WorldStorm order, Cole’s found lying somewhere in the Tropic of Capricorn waiting to fade from obscurity with booze and smokes his only concern. And no matter how much he wants to be left alone, a little boy ends up dragging him into a local conflict with some thugs.

The double-page spread is one of my favorites in the whole issue because it not only shows off the previous WildStorm heroes, but also the oversized talents of Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair as they both make each panel distinct while carrying on a new era of the ‘Cats.

The next page leaves Cole Cash lying back on the ground again and eventually pulls way back to the orbiting space station of Halo Solutions where Voodoo's come to meet Spartan one more time. By now, Halo's changed the world with it's 3-D phones and affordable superheroes, but it's still not enough for Spartan who wants to explore the question of "How would truly adult superheroes behave?"

This is where boy robot finally gets his girl and psychedelic colors define the world or for at least a page. Then we find out that Spartan has already brought in Warblade or "Cutlery Kid" and Grifter back on his team to keep an eye on the bad guys. Speaking of which, Zealot and Majestic find their hands full of Daemonites and Grifter finally confirms Spartan's suspicion of their presence on Earth with a few swift moves and one shot to the head. To emphasize the violence, Grant even switches to the German language to best describe Grifter's true nature:

"Grifter! Grifter ist verwirrung! Grifter ist tod! Grifter ist verwirrung! Grifter ist chaos! Unt tod! Unt tod! Unt tod! Das ist Grifter!"

"Grifter! Grifter is confusion! Grifter is death! Grifter is confusion! Grifter is chaos! And death! And death! And death! That is Grifter!"

Here, Grant just nails Grifter's character and rightfully gives him center stage for this first issue. If there's any one character that's defined the "WildCats" for me, it's always been Grifter. He doesn't even bother taking names when he kicks ass, because he doesn't care what it is, so as long as they know what his is right before he finishes them off!

And Majestic was always another Superman knock-off, but here, Jim gives him the scary edge of Batman to strike fear into the hearts of Daemonites with just a look. Visually, he’s also the character Jim changed the most this issue.

Beyond letting Jim loose on the team again, Grant's loaded this first issue with enough teases and ideas to make any hardcore "WildCats" fan smile. The one dangling point he doesn't reveal though, is what exactly WorldStorm means. It’s only hinted at as being one month away, but whatever it is, it's obvious the "WildCats" are back in fighting form and at the “top of the food chain” again.

Friday, October 20, 2006

flippin tha switch

[ale]

Got to go and see one of my favorite bands this past week. Ladytron performed down here at the Belly Up Saloon. Saloooon. I like that word.

Anyway, a lot of the Wildstorm crew made it out for the occasion, Carlos, Jim, Trevor Hill, Larry Berry, and our newbie Joel Gomez. I slipped all the way up to the front because I wanted to be as close as I could get. Gotta say I kinda fell for Helen, the lead singer. I saw angelsssss, hoooo!

Lol, no but seriously they were awesome! We were wondering if perhaps they named themselves after our [Wildstorm's] character, Ladytron? Hmmmm, maybe. Either way, fantastic night! Beautiful women rocking it fo sheez. werd.

-a
"Cold Banana. Delicious brown taste!"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

That tiger faced boy

[ale]

hmmm, where have I been? hmmm? well, to be completely honest i haven't had a whole lot of reasons to crack wise lately. life kinda took me by the ass and proceeded to kick it quite well over the past five, six months. but. i'm back now. full of all the silly stuff that used to get me through my days!

first off. an apology. to all of you out there who have supported my work in the past. i owe a lot of you, and i promise this. i'll come through for each and every one of you. please feel free to contact me and let me know what i can do at: alegarzacomplaints@yahoo.com

as a side note above is a little world of warcraft piece i did for fun. i love fantasy stuff, hence my little book skye runner, and this game is just visually a blast. cool thing is i got to do a doodle, and inker extroidanaire alex garner polished off the ol' quil and laid down some masterful inks! not to mention alex sinclair coming in and adding his own special kinda flare.

hmmm, three alex's on one piece...silly...triple a...werd...

-a
"alias is a show about a spyyyy"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

WildCats #1 - WorldStorm Wednesday

[Eddy]

I thought this would be a fun page to see in black and white because of all the different textures going on, plus all the rain coming down too.

Nowadays, Scott uses a brush to ink most of his pages and you can really see it in his work here. If you pull out one of the early WildC.A.T.s issues from 1992, the difference in his style is very noticeable, since he mainly used a pen back then.

Another interesting thing here, is the way Jim spotted his blacks to frame Cole Cash and the kid in the foreground while still keeping a nice depth of field to the buildings behind them.

Oh, and check out Grant Morrison's original pitch to the series too. He talks about the concept of "adult superheroes" vs "adolescent power fantasies" and gives his take on all the main characters for his run.

Okay, one more day to WildCats #1 in stores!

Monday, October 16, 2006

WildCats #1 - Desktop

[Eddy]

Have you checked out all of DC's desktops patterns lately?

That's where I found this image and I've also got the Gene Ha Authority piece on my computer right now. Sweet stuff. And they've got a lot of different ones from WildStorm, Vertigo and DC too.

Oh, and the McFarlane cover's a 1/10 variant. Plus, there's another pencil variant of Jim's cover limited to 1/50 copies too.

Just two more days to WildCats #1...

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Flashbacks

(entry ricH)

As I was working today I got a strange sense of Deja Vu.....and the not the strip club kind.

:)

Working on Whilce reminds me a little of when I was first inking Chris Bachalo on Steampunk. I don't know if it's the rainy weather were having in San Diego(which is how it was when I was inking the preview book 'Catechism' for Steampunk) or just the feeling of working on incredibly complex art and doing it at a balls out speed. There's something rewarding in tackling something like this and I think the feeling of having a lot of work finished that no one else has seen....yet....and then of course...wondering what people will think of it when it comes out. It's a fun time, starting a project for a creative team.

Image attached is Chris Bachalo and myself....The character is Mambutu X from cover 9 of Steampunk. The signature 'Chrisendo'.....always confused people. He's 'Chris'...I am Fri"end".....and the "O" was from Bachal"O".

I always thought of Chris as sort of a magician of comic art, or like a snake oil salesman in some rickety wagon with his name scrawled on the side...like Harry Houdini or something....."the Great Chrisendo"...hahaha

it worked for me.(Chris too...)

;P

r/~

Friday, October 13, 2006

Whilce Factor 3

(entry ricH)

I didn't realize there was already a new Wetworks image or I would have scanned and got something else together for a post. I am super short on time.....so as they say in the biz....."grrr...grahble, bleh-de dee blah, de-ghah...do-doo, the show must go on."

uhm.....Whilce is crazy and I am convinced he not only set out to do 2 kick ass comics with Batman and Wetworks..he was probably determined to kill his inker.

;)

I would have to be that guy.

pic is a cover to an upcoming issue.

ricH.

Benjamin - Wetworks

[Eddy]

WORLDSTORM #1 hit stores last Wednesday and was filled with previews of STORMWATCH: PHD and TRANQUILITY, along with some sweet pin-ups of all the new WildStorm titles, including this Wetworks piece by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford.

They've worked together on PHANTOM GUARD, STAR WARS and hopefully, more coming out soon!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

PREVIEW - WildCats: WorldStorm #1

[Eddy]

UPDATE: Sinclair's original color files posted.

Psst...Have you seen the seven page preview of WildCats yet?

It's up on Newsarama right now and it's just a teaser for what's in stores next week!

That's right! One more week to go and the WildCats are back in covert action with Grant Morrison joining Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and the rest of the wild crew for a trip 'round the world!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

little more Portacio Batman

(entry ricH)

Here's another Batman image by penciler Whilce Portacio. I think the new 'Previews' has a 3 page preview of the artwork from issue 1 so if you get a chance you can get a small sneak peak there(it may be online somewhere even, although I haven't seen it anywhere). The piece was inked by me and the new series is being colored by David Baron. I honestly don't know too much about the Batman 'confidential' storyline or concept. I have seen the art for the first 3 issues and it get's more and more insane as it goes. I can say that.

:)

ricH.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Teeny Bit of Fun...I


Teeny Bit of Fun...I
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[jimlee]

I am booked up with so much real work these days that I rarely do a piece for fun or for a friend...but this piece was an exception. My kids are big fans of the Teen Titan's animated show and with one of their birthday's coming up this weekend, I made time over 4 days to make sure I got this done so it could get framed.

Their least favorite character is Robin (how could you tell heh) and their favorites are obviously Starfire and Raven. I wanted to do something in the style of the show but also with some of my own quirks in there (otherwise why bother drawing something original...could have just lightboxed an existing cartoon drawing or even simpler, just buy a retail Teen Titans poster!) I took 'snapshots' after different days' work so you can see what I built up first and what critical decisions had to be made in terms of spotting blacks and emphasizing different line weights.

I knew that as a cartoony drawing, the line weights and the spotting of the blacks would be crucial in terms of giving the piece 'weight' and the feeling of being complete and also making sure it looked clear and understandable in one or two glances. Without the benefit of color, one has to resort to composition, and again line weights and spotting blacks.

Teeny Bit of Fun...II

Teeny Bit of Fun...II Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
Once I got the basic figures done, I scanned in the art and made two proofs in photoshop. In one, I used the black smoke from Robin's flying disc thingie (now you know why I don't write the dang scripts!) as a compositional device to guide the eye and also to frame the figures.

Teeny Bit of Fun...III

Teeny Bit of Fun...III Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
Then I made another where the background was all night sky. I knew I needed some blacks in the background but was torn between doing a little for simplicity's sake and a lot to give it a bit more razzle dazzle.

Teeny Bit of Fun...IV

Teeny Bit of Fun...IV Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
In the end, I went with the starfield but didn't overdo the star splatter and kept the action lines to a minimum. The final image is roughly 22"x 17" and took a bit longer than I thought it would--the cartoony, simplified style relies so much on line control and placement that it takes longer than one would imagine! Hopefully she will get a kick out of being placed in the ranks of the Titans! Final Image

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Wonder Woman

screw it...let's get the new art started now.

(entry ricH)

I think I mentioned it here briefly but about 2 weeks before the San Diego comic con my cat that I have had for nearly 15 years went in for what I was told was a pretty minor operation. Lucky me....she went into cardiac arrest and almost died. Since then I have basically spent the last 13 weeks trying to save her life.

It's been miserable, totally stressful, completely destroyed my bank account, and I really have just been stunned by the whole thing. But; Stuff like that gives you a new perspective and I think overall I have learned something about myself, what's important to me, and all that sort of stuff that comes with facing life, death, etc. I know a cat or dog doesn't have the same significance as a person to some people.....but she's been my little pal for so long I would do anything I could to help her along and get her back to at least a stable health for a few more years if I can.

:)

anyway.

I had started this piece about 5 weeks back...the idea was it was going to be a little step by step of a drawing from start to finish. It was just for fun, and to sort of get back into the swing of drawing every night again. I never got around to finishing it.(my cat got really sick again, and I was back sitting at the 'ER'(emergency room) on and off for several weeks. The piece is of course Wonder Woman...and really for no other reason other than I wanted to draw something fun.

:)

ricH.

Batman

(entry ricH)

I wanted to post up some Wetworks stuff but I wasn't able to get a scan of the particular cover I could show. I though since I had this piece in black and white...it wasn't a bad start to get some new and more regular posts going from me since I had already shared the color version (you can see what was done with the inks).

It's been interesting inking Whilce. It takes quite a while to do each page and he's got a lot of line work which is quite a bit different than stuff I am used to inking. What's really interesting is....the Wetworks and Batman art are slightly different styles for Whilce and I am approaching them each a little different from each other in terms of my inks.

With Batman I am doing some more stylistic line work with designs and little patterns I make up for textures.....with Wetworks the tone is more down and dirty so I have been using more intense and smaller detail almost to the point of stipple or pixelation type pen work. So I'll be interested to see if people notice a slight difference when the books come out.

be back in a day or so with some new pencil art from.....me.

ricH.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

From the Ashes...

[JJ]

Born from a Phoenix. Expect a mature flame. Kirby rises again.

I drew the red costume 'cuz it's sexier, but I like the green costume better 'cuz I like her as a good girl.

This was done in markers with a little Photoshop effects for accent and refinement.

Hope this inspires y'all. I'm out. Peace.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Color Me Wild!


Color Me Wild!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[jimlee]

Trying to crosspost between Myspace and this blog...let's see how this works...

Click me!