Train Sketch ... 1-24-06 ...

...with some homework added :)

Thanks to everyone whose been stopping by, and especially thanks for the comments, they're always appreciated and very welcomed.

Home Sketch ... 1-23-06

*_*

Home Sketch .... 1-22-06

Some character concepts.....

Home Sketch .... 1-21-06

:)

Dave Sim talks.....

.... about working on Gun Fu: Showgirls Are Forever.
You can read the interview at Comic Book Resources. :)

Gun Fu: Showgirls step-by-step #3

Rough Layout

Finished Pencils

Inks (by Howard)


Colors (by Etienne)

Train Sketch ..... 01-17-06

...been a while for one o' these.... :)

Big Barda inks.....

...by Howard (Swashbucklin') Shum and his mighty brush!
This is why I don't do finished drawings, after seeing Howard's inks I've thrown out my Rapidographs (anybody remember those?).

Gun Fu: Showgirls step-by-step #2

Rough Layout

Finished Pencils

Inks (by Howard)

Colors (by Etienne)

Gun Fu Thumbnails

I did some rummaging around and found the thumbnail drawings for Gun Fu (I thought I'd tossed 'em out). Nothing spectacular, but this is the very first step in doing a page. These were done on a 10 1/2" x 12 1/2" piece of animation paper, and are for pages 1-5. (By the way, the previous page posted is pg.#1.)

Gun Fu: Showgirls, step-by-step

For those interested, I'd like to briefly show the steps taken in completing a comic book page for Gun Fu: Showgirls Are Forever (Image Comics, March 2006.... shameless plug #1).

Step One:
Howard Shum (along with Dave Sim) writes the script. The script is very similar to a screenplay, but each shot is an individual panel. Descriptions of what goes into each panel are given, along with character dialogue that needs to fit into the panel.

Step Two:
I get the script, read it over a few times, and start to visualize things. I make a list of characters and reference items needed for the story. Are they existing characters (which I can use past comics for reference), or are they new characters (which I'll need to design)? The list of reference items may include anything from a hand gun to a World War 2 bomber. A trip to the library and Google image searches are soon underway.

Step Three:
Thumbnail the whole script out in little 2" x 1" sketches. These are decipherable by nobody else but me, but an essential first step in transforming the written word to the drawn image. Page layouts really begin at this point. (Unfortunately, I tossed the thumbnails out...aarrgh)

Step Four:
Do a rough layout of the page and send it to Howard for his thoughts. I like to do these on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, with the drawing being the printed comic size, 6" x 9".

Step Five:
Blow up roughs on xerox machine to original comic art size (about 11" x 17"). Trace off, and use as refer for final penciled page.

Step Six:
Fed Ex batches of penciled pages to Howard for inking.

Step Seven:
Howard e-mails high resolution files to Etienne Simon for coloring.

Step Eight:
Etienne e-mails high resolution colored files back to Howard for lettering (in process as we speak).

Final Steps:
Completed book is sent to printer.

Printer sends book to Distributor.

Distributor sends book to Comic Shop.

Hopefully you will buy it from Comic Shop (Image Comics, March 2006... shameless plug #2)

;)

Big Barda

One of my favorite Jack Kirby characters, and the main squeeze of Scott Free (Mister Miracle). From an age of comics long dead and greatly missed ...sigh.

V, W, X, Y, Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

S, T, U

"Unicorns are never too far away. They live in a special magical place inside all of us. Wishes bring them to life and dreams make them fly.Keep ridin' that rainbow!" Greg Scherrer

P, Q, R

Finished coloring the remaining ABC's, so I'll be posting a few a day until we hit 'Z'.
Now I just need to figure out where to go from here. I'd like to publish these as a book, if it's feasible. So if anybody has any suggestions, please send them my way. I 'd appreciate any ideas ...thanks :)

M, N, O

Couple more.... :)

J, K, L

Pre-2006 New Year's resolution:

• Finish coloring all ABC's by end of 2005
• Post 'em
• Put drawings back in basement
• Wait for computer to die with colored pieces on hard drive
• Complain that I never did anything with 'em
• Repeat

I Need Some Penicillin,

-D

F, H, I

Been feeling ill the past couple weeks, and the lack of posts proves it. Here's some way over due ABC's , hope you enjoy.

Gun Fu TPB pin ups

Here are a couple pin ups I penciled for the Gun Fu TPB this past summer. Howard Shum inked both and colored the giant Nazi robot, while I did colors for Jaguar Girl. The trade paperback collects the first one-shot of Gun Fu, as well as the four issue mini series "The Lost City" by Howard Shum, Joey Mason, and Etienne Simon. It also sports a very cool cover penciled by Tom Bancroft.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on "Showgirls". It was lots of fun, and a great first experience into the land of comic book art. More pages comin' soon.

Gun Fu: Showgirls Are Forever

Here's an ad for Gun Fu: Showgirls Are Forever, an upcoming one-shot comic I penciled, which will be out in March and published by Image Comics. Gun Fu is the brainchild of writer/artist/filmmaker/all around nice guy Howard Shum. Howard and Cerebus creator Dave Sim wrote this issue, with inks by Howard and colors by Etienne Simon.

For those interested in the book, you can find it listed in the January 2006 Diamond Previews, on sale Dec. 21st at comic shops. I recommend pre-ordering a copy from your local comic shop, because almost anytime I'm looking for an independent title I have an extremely hard time finding it, if at all.

I'll be posting some more pages in the upcoming weeks, in various stages of development. Until then, here's a link where you can see a few pages (without captions, or word balloons) .... right here.

And an interview with Howard about Gun Fu ..... right here.

Thanks for stopping by and all the wonderful and fun comments.

Train Sketch ... 12-13-05

*_*

Christmas Card Time....

... :)

2 Day Train Sketch ... 12-07-05

Sword Translation:

"Behold ye' cretinous ones, Diddle's Christmas wish list....

1. Jack Kirby paraphernalia
2. Toll House chocolate chip cookies
3. Old school anime (Shogun Warriors, etc...)
4. Old school Marvel Comics stuff
5. Mrs. Miller albums
6. Hugs

..... thou has been'ith warned!"

Train Sketch... 12-05-05

Sorry if my dragon anatomy is off, I think I've only drawn 2 or 3 of these before in my life. But I was somehow compelled to draw one today.... I wonder if unicorns aren't too far away....... *_*