Saturn Squad!

I've been toying with the idea of combining photographed backgrounds with drawn images, and these are the first two attempts to see what it could look like.  The background is a little diorama I built for some Star Wars collectables I have, but it never ended up being used that way.  I think it works better as a backdrop for these illustrations. If I were to go forward with this idea, I would make architecture of my own design, and not just lift from a galaxy gar, far away.

So the Saturn Squad is a sort of 80's Buddy/Cop movie type thing, but the Buddies/Cops are aliens.

Eat Pete color thoughts...

As I had said, I am working on a picture book that I am determined to make look very different than my current work.  Here's some simple color ideas that I was pleased with.

More filthy kids...

Another sketch from my "kids living in a dump" story, which is different than my "kids getting out of destroyed city" story.  But there's a lot of dirt in both.

Worm "One-Offs"

I've been doing these one panel drawings of a new character called Worm.  I guess this is a way for me to workshop him, and find his voice.  I want to make him brash, and outspoken, but I don't want him to be a jerk.  I think the last one is the best.

Digital sketches

I have a pile of small digital sketches sitting in my computer, so I'm going to try to get them out here over time.  The first two are of a bear sitting in the sun, and Frankenduck wandering a haunted forrest.  These aren't really for any book projects, just the sort of images I create as I try new techniques out.

More little war kids...

Here are a few more drawings of "war kids" from my sketchbook.  These were done with Copic markers, and contain no digital elements at all.  The drawing of the bear was done first, and I had a limited selection of colors, which is why the bear is kind of mustard a color.

This idea, of a bunch of children getting left behind in a future/fantasy war zone of some kind, is really starting to take shape.  It allows me to pursue "post-apocolyptic kid" story, with a reasonable explanation of where the adults are.

Little Orange Guys...

Here are a few recent pages from my sketchbook, these drawings go along with the story idea from my last post.  These are ink and markers, and a bit of pencil.  I like all these little guys in their “Ned Kelly” helmets, but also worried that they might end up looking too much like Bender from Futurama.

Little Battlefield Guys...

I was going to make this a “Happy New Year” post, but it’s already January 30, so I guess that boat has sailed.

Here are a few drawings that I did recently.  I was having a hard time of getting back into drawing everyday, so someone suggested that I do one “finished” piece of art each day.  Right now, I’m doing sketches for two picture books, and outlines and notes for new graphic novel projects, but these daily drawings gave me the satisfaction of actually completing something.  Each was done in one sitting that usually lasted about an hour and a half.  They are either pencil and watercolor, or ink and watercolor.  There is nothing digital in them.

The images are from a concept I’ve been thinking about a while…but I often lose enthusiasm for it.  I think it’s an interesting idea, and could make a great story and a good book, but it’s so different from everything that’s out there, I often wonder, “why bother?”

I just can’t go through all of the work of developing it, figuring it out, and writing it, only to have editors look at it and say they don’t know what to do with it.  Or worse---find an editor who loves it, spend a year on it, then have a marketing department look at it and say THEY don’t know what to do with it.  I feel like I’m entering into a lose/lose situation.

So, over the last few months I’ve become paralyzed while developing new concepts.  Believe me, I have plenty of ideas, but they are all being shut down by doubt and second-guessing.

Happy New Year! 

White lines...Freeze! Rock!

More texture and some stripes!

Now with a kid!

Color choices...

A few color variations of the same drawing.  Like many others, I feel that the hardest part about working 100% digitally is that the options are limitless.

More monsters...

Like I said, I'm going to try everything I can come up with.

Trying everything...

I'm working on a new book that has a monster in it.  I would really like to try to find a style that is different, bolder, and more exciting than what I currently do.  Here's a few different approaches.  I'm not sure if any of them work, but I'm trying...

Textures and colors...

I spent some time today looking at Jon Klasson's work trying to figure out what he does with layers, colors and textures.  I had this simple sketch in one of my books, and added some color to it using some notions inspired by Klasson.  I don't want to learn, or copy, his style, but I want to push my coloring, and I thought his work might lead me in some new directions.  Just a note, I did not have any of his work in front of me while doing this, I just went by what I remembered.

And here's the unedited sketch from my book. 

Another New Idea...

The other project I've been working on the last few months or so is a large, stand-alone graphic novel about a bunch of kids who drop out of society and set up camp at the town dump.  Honest.  I'm actually pretty excited about it, as it is the sort of "could happen in the real world" type story that I really enjoy.  There's no magic or fantasy elements.  It's as realistic fictiony as I get.

Here are a few pages from my sketchbook.  The color was added digitally at a later date.  I could decipher the text in the sketches, but I think I'll leave it up to you.  Most of the writing in my notebooks and sketchbooks is as sloppy and messy as this. I think, in a way, I need to really commit to an idea before I write more carefully.  At this stage, the dialog itself is a sketch.