Creating a Graphic Novel : Art - Food - Photography » Featured Artist

Artwork of Queenie Chan

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:33:34 +0000

Featured artist Queenie is showcasing some of her sequential work from Small Chen (written by Kylie Chen). The story telling is amazing and it has a fantastic flow.

Page 15 – Inks

Page 16 – Inks

Page 17 – Inks

The same 3 pages with the tones completed. The tones add a real depth of the artwork and provides the “cloud” effect and softens a lot of the shadows.

Page 15 – Tones

Page 16 – Tones

Page 17 – Tones

Firstly, thanks for your time. Your artwork is incredible. Can you describe your work process?

I can break it down into 3 main parts.

Penciling:
This is possibly the hardest part of the job for most people. What it comes down to is figuring out what you’re drawing, an also where and how. With inking and toning it’s mostly grunt work because the art is already there, but the thing with pencils is that often what you want to draw turns out different on paper. This was a bigger problem in my early days, but not so much now – you get better at it, I guess. Since I also do my own inks, my pencils can be a tad sloppy. I’m not proud of it, but since it’s not finished artwork, it hardly matters.

Inks:
I mostly use dip pens for inking, though sometimes I use fineliners. I use Sakura microns when it’s fineliners, and Zebra G-pens and Nikko pens with IC Comic Super Black ink. If you ask what I prefer, it’s definitely fineliners because they’re easier to use, but the trouble with fineliners is that they fade when you rub over them with a rubber, so when you’re rubbing out the pencil lines, the end result is that the scanner has trouble picking up the black lines. I deal with it best as I can though, and use a mix of the two.

Tones:
I use Photoshop and Deleter Comic Works for toning. Comicworks is an older program and kinda clunky, but I still use it since its adequate and easy. Other times I just export it to Photoshop and use the Deleter tones there. I try not to overtone my pages these days – toning isn’t meant to be so over-the-top. Probably only “The Dreaming” has crowded tones (this is intentional), but everything I’ve done since then I’ve tried to keep it simple. Sometimes, I don’t even tone the pages – preferring to do cross-hatching instead.

Thanks for the explanation. It’s time to ask you to tell me a little about yourself.

I came to Australia in 1986 when I was 6 years old. I have an older married sister and have a 1 year old niece. I’ve always been into manga as a kid from reading comics and watching various TV Series. Love pop culture especially the story telling aspect.

How did you get into manga?

Actually I completed an Information Systems degree at UNSW first but it was a bad time when I graduated with the dot com bust. Kind of realized I didn’t want to get into IT especially hearing that a lot of jobs were getting outsourced.

So drawing manga was a huge career change?

Yes, I saw an internet notice from Tokyopop. I put together a portfolio and sent it in. Tokyopop then asked for a full proposal. It took four pitches before the haunted school story (which became “The Dreaming”) was accepted.

That’s fantastic!
What was it like working on the Dreaming?

I did everything! From pencils to lettering to shading. It took about 9 months to complete 180 pages.

After the Dreaming, what was your next project?

I was introduced to Dean Koontz by Del Rey to work on Odd Thomas. It was a fun learning experience. Have completed 2 books already but the third book, House of Odd (coming out 30-Mar-12) will probably be the last book of this collaboration.

So what will you be working on after?

I’m currently with with Kylie Chen who did White Tiger on a 6 book series. Kylie approached by directly to work on Small Shen will is a prequel to the series.

Also just finished Twisted Tales with Yunyu. It’s a fairytables come to life idea. It was very interesting mixing art and music. For example the first single Dorothy re-imagines her as a lost cosmonaut.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

Definitely collaborating with more people with new ideas! There’s great value working with others. Would also love to do more storyboards and have been combining more prose into my work.

Collaborations are always great.
However do you have your own story to tell?

Yes I do! It’s really hard to describe the story except to say It’s a huge epic Chinese fantasy story! Would love to see it brought to life in an anime or TV series.

Thanks again for your time!
Would really love to see this epic story of yours one day. All the best in your current and future endeavors.

For more of her work check out Queenie’s Website.

Darth Vader by Frank Kadar

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:10:24 +0000

This amazing Darth Vader piece by Frank Kadar is currently on auction on eBay. It’s a 11″ x 17″ inked piece on bristol vellum. Absolutely perfect for framing and displaying the most famous Sith! (As long as you remember Darth Vader from the original trilogy rather than the prequel.)

Darth Vader :

Catwoman by Chrissie Zullo

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:57:22 +0000

Showcasing a very cool Catwoman piece by featured artist Canadian Chrissie Zullo. This piece was done using Copic markers. Love the little details like the money raining down!

How long do you usually take to do a commission?

A few hours, most pieces take me like 4 to 6 hours depending on how fast I get a sketch I like.

Be sure to check out Chrissie’s Blog to see more of her artwork!

2011 Year in Review

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:20:32 +0000

2011 was definitely an interesting ride. Earlier in the year, I got to meet Laura Vandervoort (a.k.a. Supergirl) in a recent convention. (She was as sweet as pie!) Also in 2011, sigmatestudio.com was fortunate enough to interview and showcase the talents of some amazing artists!

Thanks to all the below artists for their time and absolutely amazing contributions :

It’s really hard to pick a single piece in 2011 which so much great artwork but after a tough time, Frank Kadar’s coloured Arkham piece was my choice. (Definitely Joker’s crazy eyes that made it memorable!)

So what’s waiting in 2012? Well it’s a blockbuster year for comic movies with Avengers bringing all the characters from Marvel’s shared universe and the Nolan’s final chapter in the Batman Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Both trailers are incredible and the 7min prologue with Bane is buzzing up the anticipation.

Hope it’s a great 2012 for everyone. Be good!

French Comic Con Poster by Geoffo – Happy New Year

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:58:33 +0000

Featured artist Geoffo designed an amazing poster for a recent French Comic Con. I love the use of the negative space and the very different art styles!

On another note, this has been a pretty life changing 2011 for me. It’s been the year of major changes in direction (mostly positive!) and all these changes have really taken up a lot of my life. (Ask me if you are interested to know what changed!) Looking forward to 2012 and wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Final Poster :

WIP :

For a little nostalgia check out the 2010 Year in Review! I’ll try and get the 2011 Year in Review up soon. Have a safe and happy break. Be sure to like the Facebook page (top left) for this site.

Wonder Woman – Zatanna – Christmas by Cedric Poulat

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:02:17 +0000

A nice Christmas post showcasing some amazing artwork by Cedric Poulat. Make sure you check out his Deviant Art page for more his work! Wishing all readers of this site, a very Merry Christmas. Hope everyone has a safe and fantastic holidays.

Wonder Woman :
I especially like this one even though I’m a Zatanna fan! Wonder Woman receiving her old costume as a present.

Zatanna :

This site now has a Facebook page. Please make sure you “Like” it and not only will you receive special updates but most artists will also see your comments instantly!

Batman Villians – Movie – Dark Knight Rises – Frank Kadar

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:19:45 +0000

In preparation for the 2012 – Batman – The Dark Knight Rises, Frank Kadar has created 2 sketch cards of the villians of from the Nolan series of movies. Click on the picture to be taken to the respective eBay auction. (Bid high and bid often!) These are amazing pieces done in copics, prismacolors and color pencils. Love the use of shadows of Bane, very terrifying! Can’t wait for the movie in 2012.

Bane :

Joker :

Marvel Universe – Iron Spider-Man – Black Spider-Man

admin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:14:13 +0000

More amazing work from Frank Kadar for the 2011 Marvel Universe Card Set. The card set has 90 amazing cards with one hand drawn coloured sketch card per box! Frank (shadowchaser076 [at] yahoo.com) still has Artist Proofs for sale so email him if you are interested. Thought I’d showcase two amazing Spider-Mans. Was never a big fan of the Tony Stark design, always reminded of a variant of the Iron-Man armour right down to the colour scheme.

Iron Spider-Man :

Black Spider-Man :

World of Flashpoint – Original Artwork – Eduardo Francisco – Alex Lei

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:52:40 +0000

A rare opportunity to get some original artwork from World of Flashpoint pencilled by Eduardo Francisco and inked by Alex Lei. The original art pages measure 11″ x 17″ and showcase amazing artwork as well as recognisable characters like Flash, Batman and the original Justice League. Bid high and bid often!

Click on the respective picture to be taken to the corresponding eBay auction. If I have the spare $$, I would be bidding on the page 16. Very nicely laid out with Flash running in the foreground as Aquaman and Wonder Woman battle in the background!

World of Flashpoint – Issue 2 – Page 16

World of Flashpoint – Issue 1 – Page 10

Batman – Arkham Asylum Montage by Frank Kadar

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:32:51 +0000

Featured artist Frank Kadar is showcasing the colouring on his amazing Batman – Arkham Asylum piece with notable villains from Batman’s Rogues Gallery. The sketch was completed almost 2 years ago and is really brought to life with the stunning colours!

Original Sketch :

Initial Colouring :

Harley Quinn :
I’m a bigger fan of Harley in the Jester costume but she looks pretty fine dressed as a nurse in this picture.

Poison Ivy :

Joker :
The trick with the Joker is in the eyes. He needs those crazy, sadistic eyes to make him menacing otherwise he’s really just another guy with clown facepaint. Frank really nailed the eyes in this piece!

Final :
The final result is amazing, Frank manages to integrate the blacks with the bright colours of the villains’ costumes. Although Batman has the centre position, it’s the rogues who takes the centre stage! When I first saw the original artwork I thought it was fantastic but am blown away by the extra dimension the colours add.

If you like his work, Frank currently has some FULL COLOUR SKETCH CARD Commissions on eBay. This is a great opportunity to own an original piece of his artwork. It’s a rare chance, so make sure you get in quick with Frank!