Miracleman #7 Variant cover

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Supreme honor. When George Beliard of Marvel asked me to do a cover for the re-issue of Miracleman I couldn't believe my luck. I had to find a way to read those early issues and it took some hunting. I picked this issue when Miracledog shows up. I know, it's a chance to draw that monster but more than that it was the most compelling issue of them all. The most dramatic stakes--in movie terms it's your end of the second act when all is lost. Love it. If you haven't read Miracleman I strongly suggest you pick up this new, amazing re-issue. Before this there was no way you could get your hands on this continuity other than plunking hundreds of dollars for its original American run.

I thought of James Bama's covers for the Doc Savage paperbacks as inspiration. Those were powerful images. Miracleman does not have busting-at-the-seams muscles. He's more like a slender Paul Newman "Cool Hand Luke" build. Behind him I can place Miracledog who is mucho sinewy and lethal looking. Did many thumbnails but the quiet pose of an unstoppable god in front of a demon dog felt right for the story. After a pencil rough was approved I did several value and color studies. One digital and one with the actual gouache paints. Cutting the guesswork when I get to final is such a gift.



But even with all that prep I ran into some problems. My full-sized pencil when transferred to illustration board lost just enough fidelity that his face looked funny. And I only noticed that after I've already done a base color wash on him. I had to do some fixing. Maybe a lot of fixing. If his face is not right then the whole thing is a do over. In the end I felt that I needed to finish the whole thing in Photoshop--sparkles and value adjustments. It was not the smoothest of projects but overall I had a lot of fun making it. Hope you like it.

UP: My name is Dug

The advance copy. I brought it with me everywhere last week. Yup, even N.Y.

My very first one! I've always wanted to make one and I didn't really pursue it like I have many other career goals. Maybe because it appeared to be rather arcane. Who knows how one gets that gig?

Last year the opportunity to illustrate this book for our movie came around and I asked maybe I could submit samples. A long shot at best, I thought, and I have to draw it in as spare a manner as I can so I could--in the unlikely event I get the job--whip through it. I could only do it away from my day job, which was of course just getting into the frenzied third act. Every reason not to do it.



But got it I did. And the editors also wanted (with good reason) for me to put more muscle into it--way more than my scratchy samples. Oh, boy. But I was blessed that the author is the divine Kiki Thorpe (who now works here). She's an old hand at this and she gently guided my newbie carcass through all this. We did a rough pass and tweaked here and there (images, words, placement of the text) to make the reading experience better. Then Winnie Ho designed the graphics of the book took care of the fonts and all the other details not related to illustrating it. I have them to thank for my first effort into children's book illustration.


Oddly enough, though it took forever to do those leaves I enjoyed making them. All done in Photoshop CS3 with two customized brushes.

I hope this leads to more because I am hooked! I need to do more. I learned a lot about the way I work after making this.


I never get tired of looking at that. Not the drawing--the credits!

Now then, on to the commerce. The book is slated to release on April 14, 2009 but you can pre-order it at Amazon right now. See that sidebar image of this book on the right?

Special thanks to Kathleen Chanover, Leigh Anna McFadden, Kelly Bonbright and Nancy Intelli. They made all the publishing dreams we had regarding UP come true. They rock.



The back cover. The entire dust jacket was designed to wrap all the way into the interior flaps. They eventually decided to keep those white with some spot illustrations from the inside pages. Very professional job, I must say.



My Name is Dug on Amazon

Kiki Thorpe

Paris Gallery Images

Images link to larger version.

Different approach. I was very happy to have a past inspiration grab hold of me again for the Paris gallery show. I remember walking into the L.A. County Museum back in the early nineties to the abstract expressionist rooms and come face to face with my first Robert Motherwell painting. I walked past it actually, there was so much to gawk at: Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthaler...but I found myself coming back around and standing in front of one of the "Elegies for the Spanish Republic" series.

I kept coming back to it years later, bought some books I would leaf through occasionally. Like skimming. Or not wanting to be completely pulled in. I know nothing about abstract expressionism nor am I able to even attempt anything close to it. But it did make me want something about it.



The "Verses" series was an aspect of the Nina story and she stands in one universe and seem to converge on another. Thus the contraction from multiverses to "Verses" which also had the welcome correlation to children's book verses. I had just completed a children's story book then and still had that mode operating. So, there it goes.

I like watercolor when viewed up close so here's a link to a detail.

Trader Vic's art

Tiki Art. The Trader Vic's in Emeryville is fun place to celebrate work milestones over a mai-tai--the stirs, mugs and glasses are worth the trip along with the decor. Let's not forget the drinks are neat,too. It's over by the marina so the view of boats and the ocean calling you to some south sea adventure of abandon can seem within your grasp. Surely you deserve to go.



There is a room there that is home to mementos from patrons past. Artists leaving artwork or notes in appreciation of the good times had. This one by Hank Ketcham referring to a time in 1982, when "Vic" was apparently an adherent to Pyramid Power and Mr. Ketchum loved to down gallons of "happy water." All translates to good times, I say.



I have to go back more to snap more pictures of other art there. I can't seem to find the images of previous visits showing, if I remember right, Disney artists drawings from way back.

"Mai Tai, Roa Ae!"

______


Some art found on the net of Trader Vic's.










Trader Vic's
Trader Vic's in Emeryville.

Illustration hibernation

Pencil, watercolor and black japanese inking brush. Photoshop white background. She was drawn full, I just cropped for presentation.

Need to limber up. Been doing the work for making reels and crew building, the everyday job in story. Surprising how little time I can elbow to draw an extra-curricular project. This one was done last Sunday. Click on the image to go to the larger version. Or click here.