Been a minute or two since anything new. Schedule is thick these days and won't get any thinner for a couple weeks. That being said, I managed to get a portrait done before work today, another of my buddy Joey. He's a very animated speaker and almost none of the photos were totally in focus. That being the case, they were good enough for reference. The colors were sampled from a Rembrandt self portrait as I wanted those nice, warm browns. That being said, I think I adjust all of them anyway.
So I did a thing. I decided I was NOT going to redraw all of Ghiroy after all and instead, today, drew a page that picks up right from where the old version left off. To hell with it. I'm not drawing it again. The comic goes through so many stylistic changes and no one reads it much anyway, so let's get out of that damned cave and into some brighter colors. And besides; I'd worked on that background before, it was a bitch to do and it was nearly done.
Sometimes the iPad is charging so I reach for the old sketch pad to work until it's ready. These are some practice and used sketches for recent Ghiroy pages. Some have reference photos to go with them, some don't. I'm trying to keep a balance between the two as sometimes reference can make things too stiff. In any case, these were fun to draw.
Complex page in that there are a lot of layers and elements. I could have done all the lines on one layer, colors on one other, etc. but that always causes issues somewhere. So each element has its own layer. Much easier to work out layout than last page thought. Fun to make all those faces to use as reference.
Portrait of a friend. I was working on this, having taken a lot of photos on NYE. Last night, I was watching "Yellow Submarine" as it's the subject of an upcoming podcast episode and I realized that one of the styles I use for portraits is heavily influenced by the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" sequence of the movie. While the movie as a whole didn't impress itself that heavily on my young brain (hadn't seen it in decades), there was a cell from that sequence for sale in an antiques shop in Harvard Square that I distinctly remember passing many times. I didn't buy it but something about it, though it annoyed me at the time, stuck with me. Reminds me a lot of Doufy's work. The looseness of the colors are fun and eye-catching which is why, after doing the more naturally colored version, I did the bright one. It was easy enough to do, what with the hard work of the sketch and inking done. That's one of the fun parts of digital work. Now to see if the subject likes it...
Can't leave well enough alone again. I really should wait a day or two before posting things because details often just bug me a little until I eventually do something about them. In this case, I didn't like how Francesca was obscured such that it wasn't obvious what she was doing. So I brought her out a little and added in the spell (magic missile for those keeping track at home) she was casting as well as the missile that's already hit the goblin. The arrow was in the original drawing of the goblin, I just left it out for no reason. So.
This page went in a direction I did not foresee at all. That being said, it's both a mess and I rather like it. It shows the chaos of a fight, a battle and doesn't lean on the usual sound effects or exclamations. Likely, it will be ignored or misunderstood. I do request people stop and look. There are things to be seen and I spent a LOT of time on setting this up. The colors of the heroes correspond to those of their goblin foes, for example. Anyway, I've finished and can move on.
Another adjustment. Actually, there were two. I just replaced the image from the other entry. I wanted the colors to match between this and the following page, so I went back and adjusted things, added the stone detail to the background as well. And then, because I work digitally and I can easily do such things, I added an element I kind of wanted in the first place; the falling lantern Crow was carrying. It does explain the lighting. Now I should move forward.
Got another page done in the current style, more or less. Fran is still hardest for me to draw, except for straight on. Considering I model for every character, I guess it's not too bad. Put together exactly the same as the other style, this one's more satisfying for me. Still just supposed to be a simple dungeons and dragons comic. For fun.
Ghiroy page 11. Because why the hell not just continue with no transition from one distinctly different style to another? It's not like I have started this damned comic so many times anyway. Don't know how long enthusiasm will run for this, but it does have something I was kind of trying for when I first began it, and that's a more European feel to it. I'm not there, but that's ok. And yes, it's an uglier style but maybe that works. I think when people are screaming and in the middle of battle, maybe they should be ugly. Or something.
Did a few more sketches today. I did color these first with the new Procreate watercolor brushes but then decided to see what would happen if I vectorized the inked lines and colored as I usually do in AD. The result? Sadly, something I like. *sigh* I really do wish I could stick with one style. If I do go back to Ghiroy, I might just say the hell with it and do this kind of thing. Not like the idea of getting people interested in it as a cartoon show worked. And since almost no one reads it, why the hell not? Means I'd actually have *shudder* panels, too. :D
First finished piece of 2020. It's sort of a film strip in a way. What's been most interesting to me is, because of the time I spent with his face, how serious it all can be, how much a single line or change in angle can make in feeling. There's a LOT of editing when getting to the vector part of this. Also, I think it 'proves' the concept in a way. While at a NYE party, I took a lot of photos of a friend who, I'm sure, has no idea why I took them. From the group, I think I can find three views of the same person that will illustrate him in different ways, all adding to the portrait as a whole. I guess it's sort of 2d sculpture? Or conceptual 3D? Hell if I know. We'll see if it works. For now, I have Dr. Crazyperson here. Totally serious 'fine art' made from Ultraman.
