Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

More amazing work from featured artist Alain Norte. Some sketch cards of the ever popular and sexy Megan Fox (Transformers). This isn’t the first time Megan has appeared on this site, Frank Kadar did his version too. Would be interested to see your comments on which one you preferred.

Bulldog loving featured artist, Alain Norte is showcasing a very cool Felicia from Darkstalkers but two amazing sequential samples of Aspen. I love seeing how a final image is built up from loose sketches.

Felicia Final :

Felicia Sketch :


Felicia Sketch 2 :

Really love to showcase sequential work, it’s a lot more difficult that pin-ups. These ones have amazing details and a nice flow to them.

Aspen Sample Sequential Page 1 :

Aspen Sample Sequential Page 2 :

I’ll start with what do you do and where are you from?

Well I an illustrator and designer from Los Angeles. I grew up pretty normal I guess. I’m a huge comic nerd and have a horrible addiction to variant covers haha. I play videogames. Not the best gamer but I play a good amount. I’m a bit of a gym rat. I try and go 5 times a week. When I’m not doing any of that stuff I’m drawing and sketching. I have maybe 8 sketchbooks right now that I am trying to finish up. Haha

How would you describe your artwork?

In progress? I get the “cartoony” thing a lot. But I try and make my stuff as realistic as I can. In progress. Haha

Who’s your biggest influence as you “progress”?

My dad was an artist so he was my first real teacher. He started it all for me. Thanks Dad :) Um but other than that I went to an art high school here in Los Angeles and then Otis College where I studied Toy Design. Fun stuff but I kinda knew I was going to do comics ultimately. At Otis though I did meet probably the best teacher I’ve ever had Gary Geraths. He was my life drawing teacher and taught me almost everything I know now about anatomy and drawing the human form. He’s awesome.

Is there any work out there that inspires you?

Dang there are a lot. First I would say my dad. He was my first inspiration. After that I would say Frank Frazetta, Harvey Kurtzman, Dean Yeagle, Frank Cho, Michael Turner, Gary Geraths (badass), J.Scott Campbell, Mark Silvestri, Joe Mad, Randy Green and literally about 100 others.

Any work that you’ve gotten published?

Actually yes I have 2 published comics right now that I did maybe 1 or 2 years ago. They are Cold Blooded Chillers 1 and 2. I did lettering in issue 1 and then art and lettering in issue 2. Also right now I am working on some submission samples for Aspen and Top Cow as well as working on my own comic called Rotz Your Brain. Which I hope to have published before the end of the year. I’m also taking commission requests and selling stuff on eBay all the time so I get pretty busy. Hehe.

I think your Aspen samples are amazing and wish you all the best with your submissions. Thanks for your time.

Check out more of Alain Norte in the below links :

• http://www.alainnorte.com
• Deviant Art Page
• Commission Information

The winner to the Hulk in the Rain competition as chosen by the artist Lee Sargent . . .

Congratulations to Fox for the winning entry. Your prize is on its way! Special thanks to Lee Sargent (http://quityourdayjob.com.au) for donating such an amazing prize. With more than 30 different entries, this one wasn’t an easy one to decide. Thanks to everyone who entered, there will definitely be more competitions in the future.

A few days ago Cookie Monster was on the Google homepage, today it’s Elmo! For a little bit of trivia, Elmo appeared as Elmo on 18 November 1985.

“Elmo happy to appear on Google homepage!”

As much as I love Elmo, Cookie Monster will always be my favourite of the Sesame Street characters. However Elmo has hosted some incredible guest stars such as Norah Jones, Goo Goo Dolls, Jack Black and an amazing duet with Andrea Borcelli.

Why is Cookie Monster on the Google homepage today?

According to gizmodo, today is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. That doesn’t quite explain it though. Back in 1982 (16 years before Google.com), Cookie Monster sang the Google song. Don’t believe me? The proof is in the below video!

To quote Kermit the frog :
“Cookie Monster, one of the world’s finest googlers”

Cookie Monster has always been one of my favourite characters, I’ve even seen him running a cookie franchise! Here’s to you Cookie Monster.

Dead Future Issue #1 created by the Grim Crew debuted at Baltimore Comic Con October 10th-11th. Issue #2 to be officially released Nov 9. I was lucky enough to read a preview copy and it’s a fantastic anthology of zombie stories told with the most incredible artwork from using photo style to more traditional pencils. Was also lucky enough to get some time with Martin Brandt II, one of the writers on this project.

Interior Sample :
“Real Monsters”
Written by: Martin Brandt II
Illustrated & Lettered by: Paul Petyo

Interior Sample :
“Major Tom”
Written & Lettered by: Martin Brandt II
Illustrated by: Martinho Abreu

What was your motivation to do this?

My friends love of all things Zombie. Most of the people I know really like zombie movies in all their flavors. From the downright gore fest to the character exploration pieces. We have all enjoyed watching these movies and reading what material is out there.

The other motivation was coming right off doing Grim Furry Tales I thought it would be a good idea to do an anthology. Giving several people a voice at once, letting us hear what kind of zombie stories they could cook up.

So how did you get started?

Well as usual I first started talking to the people I knew and had worked with. Asked how they felt about the idea, would they be interested in it. Of course everyone it seemed loved the concept of it. So we started writing stories for it and putting out the feelers for more artists.

There are a lot of people who want to write and work on zombie stories. That is the first thing I found out. This was great as content would not be an issue then.

What problems did you find? Any issues?

Like I said a lot of people want to write and draw zombie stories. First was having to reject people based on quality of their work. It is a hard place to put yourself in but you owe it to the other contributors to keep everything on par. Your finished product should ride out on the merit of the whole, not scoot by on the merit of one.

Second major issue was dependability. Often times we would run into artists committing to the project, giving an okay on the dead line, and then dropping from the earth. This happened so many times that our book was put behind schedule and in the end forced us to change our publishing concept. Instead of producing one OGN we ended up with a limited monthly series. The format change was needed to meet the deadlines and goals we had set. If the series gather enough attention it is our plan to release a collected version later on.

Was it difficult learning the printing process?

The printing process can be a beast depending on how involved you are. I have the good fortune of being friends with a graphic designer, Paul Petyo. He helped steer things in the right direction visually, keeping out an eye for things like page cut and dark prints. Another area in printing was getting the correct format pages from the artists.

This being the information age, your artists can come from all over. Dead Future was no exception. The problem here was that inches and meters are not the same. Most places outside the U.S. we dealt with use metrics. I found myself on many occasions having to get page sizes corrected from metrics.

Something else that made it easier was dealing with Ka-Blam, they really make most of the printing process painless. They do use RGB so our prints tended to be a bit darker on my first book, after some changes I think we learned our lesson. They have a great staff, my only gripe if I had to find one, is lack of a phone number.

What would you say to another writer / artist starting out?

Starting out? If you are a writer, read. I cannot say this enough, read and read a lot. Make sure you are writing every day. If you can’t bring yourself to write every day then there is no way you are going to make it out of the initial phase. Go to writing panels at cons, research articles, and get to know other writers. Write something, file it away and come back to it later. Then rewrite it. Trust me on this.

Artists? Get your work out there. If you want to do sequentials then make sure you have them in your portfolios. Be reliable. This is a must; if you can’t be relied on to make a deadline and stay in communication then you will have a hard time finding work. Writers, editors, and other artists all talk. Bad reputations can build fast. Draw everyday as a writer has to write ever day. If you feel you can’t push yourself to do this then perhaps it’s time to consider a new path in life.

How do you get your work to people? Go to cons, frequent forums, get out there. If nothing else, make an ashcan comic. This is the best example you can give to a prospective interest. It shows you can get the job done and the quality of your work. Get your self-published or published work into the hands of other people. Be motivated and keep pushing yourself.

Thanks for your time! Good luck with Issue #2 when it’s released.

Grim Crew Presents: Dead Future #1
There is a story that is passed down through the ages. This tale of the undead, arisen to devour the living, leaving nothing but a wasteland behind them. Yes, that is what you find here. Contained within the pages you will be taken on a twisted ride through the end of the world. From docile day dwelling zombies to a side line view from space as the world falls apart and back to one beginning of it all. When you reach the end you will truly come to understand our, Dead Future.

Cover :

If interested in purchasing a copy check out : http://www.thedeadfuture.com

Featured artist Jamie Tyndall is able to combine sketches with some digital graphics to create the most impressive artwork. His sequential artwok on Supernatural High is a perfect showcase.

Cover :
Standard sketches with a pentagram in the background. It’s a wonderful fusion of different techniques.

Interior :

Some fantastic pencils. The details are incredible, especially one of the automobile. Good sequential art isn’t just a pretty panels, it has to tell a story and this one (even without dialogue) has a fantastic flow.

Thought it would be nice to end on a detailed preliminary sketch and its completed coloured artwork.

Pencils / Inks :

Coloured :

For more artwork :
http://jamietyndall.deviantart.com

For prints :
http://www.jamietyndall.com/collection/

Previous featured artist Frankie Washington (artist for Marooned on Mogo) provided this amazing piece of artwork of Wonder Woman in Halloween dress inspired by the late Gil Elvgreen. Very Happy Halloween y’all. Don’t eat too much candy.

Coloured image :

Black and White image :

Really like this image and the details. Especially Wonder Woman’s free flowing hair and the little pumpkins used as earrings.

From Gilelvgren.com by Charles G. Martignette :
“Gil Elvgren (1914-1980) was the most important pin-up and glamour artist of the twentieth century. During his professional career, which began in the mid 1930s and lasted more than forty years, he established himself as the clear favorite of pin-up collectors and fans worldwide. Although most of his work was created for commercial use, it has been increasingly recognized as “real” art by many private collectors, dealers, galleries and museums. And indeed, though Elvgren has been considered as mainly a pin-up artist this last half-century, in reality he deserves recognition as a classical American illustrator whose career encompassed many different fields of commercial art. He was always a master in portraying feminine beauty, but his output was by no means confined to the calendar pinup industry.”

In preparation for Halloween, Dean Juliette has put together some amazing art pieces just in time for Halloween! My favourite of the three being showcased is Death, however I still like Zatanna riding a broomstick with Felicia sharing candy (the look on the kid’s face is priceless). All artwork is also current on eBay. Click on the picture to be taken to the auction page! If you like ’em bid high and bid often.

Death (Halloween) :

Zatanna (Halloween) :


Black Cat (Halloween) :


Poison Ivy (Halloween) :

For more of Dean’s eBay auctions, click here.

Shelby Robertson is a 15 year comic veteran. He received his first professional gig at 17 years of age at the hands of Rob Liefeld back in the Image Comics and Maximum Press days. His first submission pin-up actually became his first published work in the medium. It was a Black Flag piece of Rascal jumping at you with his gun which was published in Black Flag #4 (Maximum Press).

Showcase piece :

Shelby provided an amazing showcase piece of Red Riding Hood with an inked background of the Big Bad Wolf’s presence. The details on Red Riding Hood is fantastic! The background is the show stopper with Shelby using a negative effect to create the trees. He was awesome enough to provide a detailed step by step on how the image was created!

Final Image :

How would you describe your artwork?

I’d describe my artwork as part Marvel, part DC, and part old school Image.

You mentioned music is important to your work.
Care to elaborate?

I generally pump my ear drums full of music of all sorts, became a hardcore hobby for me early on as an artist, collecting music. I like to create an environment when I work otherwise I go stircrazy. I’m not a huge fan of talking on the phone while I work, but do enjoy regular conversation while throwing down lines. I’ve picked up some music production of my own for fun. I’d describe it on the lines of between Synth-Pop and Industrial. I’ve always had affinity for the 80’s sound in the vein of Depeche Mode, which seems to be making a comeback.

Have you done any formal training?

Nope, I’m very self-taught. I had been going to college, ala-art school dropout.

Who would you are as your artistic influences?

My biggest influence would have to be Alan Davis, hands down. I don’t emulate him a whole lot but the guys work back in the day on Excaliber made me want to draw for a living. I emulate a bit of Michael Turner, Art Adams, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Frank Frazetta I’ve been told. All of which I’m a fan of. I think the underdog artists I enjoy would have to be Travis Charest and Terry Dodson. They’re both fantastic. I’d have to say that I wish Travis would stop doing that disappearing act however.

I noticed you’ve self published a comic called S-Unit.
What’s the about? What was your inspiration behind it?

My inspiration is actually a handful of mini-series proposals I had ready to go on Avengers. I always wanted to show ‘my take’ on a bunch of characters I enjoyed and decidedly created a bunch of characters I could swipe my OWN concept for my own project. This decision came as I didn’t hear back from a few of my previous proposals on X-Men, so here we are.

How do you get a copy?

I’ll at times list the S-Unit books on ebay (details below), @ 5.00 or so. I only printed 2,000 copiesfull color so it’s a kind of rare book to come across. I only have a few hundred left so being frugal with them. You can email me direct for one though, I love to deal with people directly, get their input and so forth.

Thanks so much for your time and your amazing step by step work! Wish you best of luck in your future endeavours.

You can reach him by email :
shelbyart247 [at] hotmail.com
anelektrix [at] yahoo.com

Check out more of his work at :

• American Dischord
• Shelby’s Deviant Art Page
• Shelby’s eBay Page