Earthfall 2009.

Earthfall was a series commisioned by Dark Horse Comics as part of their Zombieworld line back in 1998. Gordon Rennie and myself were lined up for this three part story and then the plug was pulled and the series was cancelled. Pity. It would have been really good. Great script from Gordon.

This is a new colour version of the proposed cover for the Dark Horse series. Who would have thought that in 1998 zombie comics would not sell? Resident Evil 2 was selling millions of copies on release but this comic series died. Permanently. It can be a very strange world sometimes. The writer Gordon Rennie went on to continue writing for comics and computer games. Still hopeful we can resurrect this project. The time is definitely right now.



The black and white lineart was done back in 98 and was the only work seen. I decided recently to colour up this image myself and rework some of the ideas slightly. The punctured suit and skewered arm still remain but the zombie face is replaced by a reflection on the helmet visor of the Las Vegas lights. The idea is to subvert the classic iconic Apollo and Neil Armstrong image, confusing the viewer with the neon sign reflection. Yes, this is on Earth!

I am still trying to find a balance between keeping the lineart clean and visible and having the overall feel and colour kept dark and ominous. Fairly pleased with the final result though.

Batman.

After the positive response to the Dredd piece I thought that Batman would be an appropriate follow up. The caped crusader profile was done on the same day as the Dredd colour test and was a direct response to the convention sketch version I have been doing for the last few shows. Again, for speed and reference, a couple of photos were taken and used as the base colour layer for this image. I worked up the texture of the leather cowl (still not quite right) and chiselled the chin into a suitablely heroic profile. Digital painting finished the piece off and overall I am very happy with the final composition. Not bad for a three hour turnaround.

Would a background help? Almost certainly, but too many choices confuse me and I would eventually spend longer deciding on a background than on completing the actual painting. Sometimes the simplest choice is the best. Having said that, next Thursday's post may well feature the Batman with a cityscape behind (same with Dredd!) Stay tuned...

The Tempest.

The Tempest is released by Classical Comics and was written by William Shakespeare. This graphic novel was scripted by John McDonald and pencilled by my colleague and friend Jon Haward. I provided inks on this book and after the award-winning success of the Macbeth release we are hopeful for similar interest in this edition. Nigel Dobbyn is the colourist and does some sterling work on the story.

As before with the Classical Comics releases there are three editions (for each reading level) PDFs are available on the site and will explain the available formats much better than I can do here. More books are planned and the future brings other classic authors to the graphic novel treatment soon.

You can see more of Jon Haward's art on his site here and includes a lot of his Panini Marvel Comics work too.

Scotch Corner - New Post!

Just a reminder to the thousands of regular followers of my blog (okay, maybe not that many) The Scottish artist blog Scotch Corner has a new post up from me. Demonic Angel is sketch I did at a previous Gencon. I was invited to the event because of my sci-fi work on Star Wars and Terminator but found myself completely out of my depth with the whole fantasy and vampire set attending.

That said, they were a friendly crowd and gave me some pretty decent advice on how to draw dragons, nymphs and other fantasy related characters. This particular sketch only survives with me as a photocopy now. Probably done later in the day and near the end of the event (when I started to find my feet a bit) this is still a favourite piece.

Click now and head on over to Scotch Corner to see the image and all the other lovely work by the Scottish collective.

Edinburgh Book Festival appearance Monday August 2009.

I will be attending the Edinburgh Book Festival again on Monday 24th August 2009 at 5.30pm for a How to Draw Comics class. It would appear that for the second time in a row the event has sold out! (yes, both tickets! ;) Sorry there wasn't more notice but you may well be able to follow up with organisers to see if they will acquire a different and larger venue for demand.

Looking forward to the Festival. Always fun and looking forward to Mark Millar's talk on the Tuesday. He wil definitely be sold out and will have sold a lot more than two tickets too!

Scotch Corner Blog competition.

The Scotch Corner blog (a bunch of Jocks who draw and collectively blog and post their wares online, myself included) are running a competition ever month to win a signed print, sketch or other for the winning comment. Pop by the site and have a look. Be kind. You are hardly likely to win if you slag us off, are you? A few kind words and a piece of artwork is yours.

Postage will be covered by ourselves (Scots are notoriously tight and stingy with money so we really are going some here!) Jon Hodgson's piece is the first up for grabs this month. Lovely signed Dragon Reign print.

Signing - Kingdom of Adventure Saturday 08th August 2009

This weekend I will be signing at the Kingdom of Adventure shop in Kirkcaldy. Pop along for sketches, some witty banter and a smile around lunchtime. Drop me a line before Friday if you are interested in buying artwork as I can only bring along a small selection of pages and cannot guess what may be of interest to fans. Prints are also available.

Looking forward to the event. Contact David at the shop for further details.

Edinburgh Book Festival appearance Monday August 2009.

I will be attending the Edinburgh Book Festival again on Monday 24th August 2009 at 5.30pm for a How to Draw Comics class. It would appear that for the second time in a row the event has sold out! (yes, both tickets! ;) Sorry there wasn't more notice but you may well be able to follow up with organisers to see if they will acquire a different and larger venue for demand.

Looking forward to the Festival. Always fun and looking forward to Mark Millar's talk on the Tuesday. He wil definitely be sold out and will have sold a lot more than two tickets too!

Dredd, Mega City vista.

Digital sketch for Mega City One referencing some familiar buildings and trying to capture the sheer scale of the city. The Sergio Leone close up of Dredd is a deliberate attempt to force a contrast of scale to image and there is more than a passing nod to Blade Runner, Fifth Element and AKIRA too. A bit of work trying to pull in all the seperate elements and lots of colour correcting but done for the day. Pleased with final version and not bad considering it was completed over a Saturday afternoon and early evening.

Scotch Corner - First blog.

Scotch Corner is a new blog featuring a collection of Scottish professional artists. They include Thomas Crielly, Andy Hepworth, Jon Hodgson, Graeme Neil Reid and myself. Every day there will be a new piece of art posted with each artist posting on a certain day. If the idea sounds familiar then we can reveal that the blog is shamelessly inspired and ripped off from the Eclectic Micks. Feel free to head on over and have a look. There will be surprises soon.

My first post is a personal image of Dredd done as a colour test. I have included it here and you can read all about it on the Scotch Corner blog. Thursday is my update day so bookmark me now!

Lords of Misrule: Redux.

Radical Comics have brought together the Dark Horse series by Peter Snejbjerg and the original graphic novel for the first time. Written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson this book was originally published by Tundra in 1992 and is a favourite early work of mine.

Dave Elliot at Radical has allowed me to resize and open up the artwork for this release in a kinda redux fashion. Black borders have also been added and the new painted colour by French artist Jean is particularly appropriate for this urban horror tale.

Lords of Misrule will be available in July.

V Festival Internacional de BD de Beja, Portugal.

On the 29th of May I will be attending the Fifth International Comics Festival of Beja in Portugal. Mhairi and I will be there for the whole weekend and look forward to meeting new fans and friends. This is our first trip to Portugal so we will be staying in Lisbon for a short holiday before the event. Really excited about the convention and gearing up for more foreign conventions this year.

London MCM Expo.

On the 23-24th May 2009 I will be heading to London for the MCM Expo at the ExCel venue. This is my first visit to this convention and am looking forward to a return to London events for years. Bring along your comics for signing and ideas for sketches. I will be at a desk for the whole weekend so it should be easy to track me down.

And no, I won't be in costume. Sorry.

Bristol Comic Expo signing.

I will be attending the Bristol Comic Expo on the 9-10th May at the Ramada Hotel. A smaller and more intimate venue than previous years but looking forward to meeting up with friends and colleagues and fans alike. Bring along any comics you wish to get signed and start thinking about your requests for sketches (hint, Batman is a favourite)

See you there!

New York Comic Con signing.

Next week I will be attending the New York Comic Con on the 6th -8th of February and will be signing at the DC Vertigo table with David Tischman (writer of Greatest Hits) at the following times.

FRIDAY 5-6pm: SIGNING - DC/Vertigo booth

SATURDAY 11am-12pm: SIGNING - DC/Vertigo booth

Come along and ask for a sketch or chat or make fun of my various protective hand measures. This is my first trip to New York and I am pretty excited about it. Look forward to seeing you there.

Captain America Theater of War - America the Beautiful.

January sees the release of Marvel's Captain America Theater of War - America the Beautiful. Written by Paul Jenkins this is my first full artwork with Marvel in over ten years. A great opportunity to team up with Paul after following his work for so long. Colour is by my favourite Chris Sotomayor. We have previously worked on Thunderbolts and Zemo and he has produced some lovely colour on my Dare and Transformers portfolio pieces and covers.

The third part of the Theater of War series chronicles the adventures that made Captain America the hero we know today, Paul Jenkins does what he does best, weaving a tale of war, brotherhood and legacy. From skinny Steve Rogers at boot camp to the Super-Soldier leading a battalion of men against the Nazis, this is the Captain America you thought you knew but you’ve never seen. And when the choice is between his country or his best friend, this is the decision he had to make.

Loved drawing the Omaha Beach landing sequence and Captain America. The story was particularly poignant and emotional to work on too. The last page will explain all.

Macbeth - Award winning book from Classical Comics.

My friend Jon Haward has been working on The Tempest for a summer release this year but his previous book Macbeth has won another award at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2008.

It was a great success for Classical Comics all round. The Original Text version of Macbeth was the winner of the Secondary Education category and was also Highly Commended (2nd place) in Literature; while Henry V (Quick Text version) achieved the shortlist for the Secondary Education category. The award for Macbeth, presented by Gyles Brandreth, marked a significant achievement - not only for the book itself, but also for the company as both gain recognition from the mainstream book industry.

Congratulations to Jon, Clive and the rest of the Classical Comics team. Here's to a very successful 2009.

Are you Manet enough for The Art of War?

Another glorious and edgy cover from Rick Veitch. This time he turns his attention to one of my favourite Impressionistic paintings. Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe by Édouard Manet. Some of you may well remember the Bow Wow Wow revision done in the eighties featuring a very young Annabella Lwin. Rick has done a wonderful job of keeping the essence of the painting alive while adding his own Army@Love twist. Brian Miller again provides the colour.

Is Rick Veitch Whistler's Mother?

Another new Art of War cover from Rick Veitch. This time he desicrates Whistler's Mother. Love it! Choosing my favourite cover gets more difficult with every page of pencils he send me. Praise too for Brian Miller's colours which are subtle but near perfect in capturing the original and still popping out from the shelves. Surely DC Vertigo could consider a release for these wonderful covers? Or a t-shirt?

More details can be found on my Facebook Fan Page here or my Creators Page here.

Facebook Fan Page.

Due to interest (and a backlog of friend requests) I have decided to set up a Facebook Fan Page. Unlike this blog, there will be more of a comic book skew with pages, previews, covers and sneak peaks going up on a regular business. Requests for older pages are welcome but give me a few days to dust off the Fedex storage boxes and search. Hardly as quick as Google to find an old Pendragon page!

There will also be some new projects showcased. Comments and feedback welcome.

Search for my mugshot on Facebook and join. Direct link here.