THE MAKING OF MY NEXT 2000AD COVER! (UPDATED!)

Hey guys,

Before I go away for the weekend, I wanted to post this "making of" feature for my next Defoe cover for Prog 1643 of 2000AD, which subscribers should be receiving in the morning, and it'll be out in stores from Wednesday.

Oooohhh, I've been looking forward to showing this cover....

Here's what happened: Before the writer of Defoe, Pat Mills, starts writing a "Book" of Defoe, he very kindly asks me for my input of things I'd like to possibly draw in the future, and he'd do his best to put it in if it worked. So a year or so ago, I mentioned a certain scene featuring zombie babies that I thought would be very cool (that scene actually features in this episode of Defoe, so I can't spoil it).

So, inspired by that scene, the idea for this cover just flashed into my head, and I was so certain would work, that I didn't even bother pitching my master and editor, Tharg, different ideas to choose from. I REALLY wanted to draw this idea: Just a simple image of Defoe clearly struggling as he is COVERED in zombie babies!

But even though I thought it could be a great image, I knew it was debatable that Tharg would go for it--after all, if you think of what zombie babies actually are, it's a bit close to the line and could be perceived as "bad taste"...

Anyway, the very crude rough drawing I pitched is below:

So thankfully Tharg liked what he saw, giving me the go ahead to carry on, but understandably voiced his concerns. These being what I predicted: that if the zombie babies looked too much like deceased babies, then obviously some stores may find it too offensive to stock, which is fair enough. It's ok to have zombie babies in the interior story, but it's probably not a good idea to have them on display on shelves in mainstreet stores.

Below is the photo reference I used of myself posing as Defoe, followed by the pencilled cover.

Here's the pencil version I sent for approval. I basically just drew them as angry,drooling, dirty babies, with no sign of decay or "zombieness". But Tharg still thought they screamed "deceased babies" so asked if I could make them look more "demony" instead.

It took a while for me to think of a solution that would still make the creatures on the cover relevant to the story inside, but eventually I thought to give the babies scaled skin and sharp teeth. Also at the suggestion of my buddies John Reppion and Leah Moore, they would eventually have red glowing eyes and a more alien green blood pouring from their mouths, so basically they now looked like little monsters which is alot more acceptable. And Tharg thought so too!

Can I just add at this point in the inking I wasn't happy with Defoe's eyes and expression--he seemed a bit too scared, and I originally wanted more "angry desperation", so before I coloured it, I repositioned one of his eyes in Photoshop and messed around with his eyesbrows abit.

Also, Pat quite rightly mentioned that having the inscription of "Killing zombies since 1666" on Defoe's weapon probably wouldn't do us any favours.

And here's the finished colour piece! We got there in the end. Personally, I'm made up with how it turned out and I'm hoping it could be a memorable cover. But of course, it's up to the readers.

Hope you like it!

L

FUTURE COMMENTS

Hey guys,

Just a quick post to let you know that I've enabled comment moderation and that word verification thingy from this point on.

More and more of my friend's sites and favourite forums have been targeted by spammers lately, and it's only a matter of time before this blog is too. So rather than risk wasting a full day deleting unwanted spams, I thought it best to set up this protection first.

On to fun stuff--I'll be posting up the making of my next cover tomorrow night!

See ya.

L

MORE DEFOE TEASERS!

Helloooooo.....

Episode 3 of Defoe is out in this week's 2000AD, but here's some non spoilery teaser panels for later episodes.

Later next week I'll post another "making of" feature for my next cover on Episode 4 of Defoe--can't freakin' wait to show that baby!

Now I gotta get back to finishing this story! Would you believe I still have to draw episodes 9 and 10?!! Bet you didn't think these things get finished so close to publication did ya...

Later.

L

DEFOE COVER UPDATE AND PHONOGRAM

Hey guys, just though i'd give an update to the earlier "making of cover thread". Here's a scan of the cover with all the finalized text and logo, and I'm pretty damn happy with it!

Thankfully up to now, this first episode has been getting the love on the 2000AD message boards so cheers guys! More updates soon...

Also, the short story I drew to be included in IMAGE COMICS' PHONOGRAM issue 3 (check out my earlier post for more info) is finally out after a delay! So stop by your local comic book store and buy this baby!

L

DEFOE TRAILER!!!!

2000AD have just released the trailer for DEFOE coming out in British stores on Wednesday!

I was stunned and happy beyond belief when I saw this beauty. I honestly had no idea this was being made and just watched it with my mouth wide open--a fly flew in, but I didn't care because watching this just made my freakin' day!


I recommend you download the original mp4 file to your desktop at 2000AD's site HERE if you want to watch it full screen or post it on any other sites to spread the word. Or alternatively you can check it out on YOUTUBE HERE.


So until I find out who was responsible for producing such a well made trailer, I just want to say....I LOVE YOU AND I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES.

*UPDATE*

I've just discovered that the talented 2000AD droid's names responsible for the awesome trailer are Julian Hall and Mechanoise. Here's what Julian had to say on the 2000AD forums:

"I've been doing the trailers, mainly to head towards something I have in mind for them. So they're not quite there yet, but hey it's all good to promote some wicked stories I also composed the track this time around and as always worked with top bloke Mechanoise who worked all the production and said what he liked about the tracks direction to stop me starting over...as is so often the case with us creative types ."

Thanks again guys!


L

GEEK SYNDICATE!

Ok, here's the thing....as you know, I work from home which unless you have the proper motivation (usually a deadline) can be a potential exercise in time wasting. Finding the right type of entertainment to leave on while I work has been a bit of a bugger to say the least.

Unless I have a relaxed deadline, dvds are a big no no. Recently I made the mistake of buying the full series of Battlestar Galactica and got so into it, that I'm now a few days off my schedule, and only just starting to claw back the time thanks to a couple of allnighters. (I dont regret it though--that series is bloody great!)

Radio bores the crap out of me and I can't stand it when they make pointless small talk with callers in. (I don't give a crap what you're having for dinner! And no, I don't care that it's Brenda's birthday!)

Music is getting closer, though I still give into temptation to start dancing around my room pretending to be , for example,Robert Palmer singing "Simply Irresistable" . So once again, it's a distraction.

Podcasts, I have found, tend to be the perfect medium. Comic podcasts in particular, as they talk about topics I'm genuinely interested in and I can just simply listen while I draw. I subscribe to alot of them on ITUNES ,they automatically get updated, and the best thing is that they're free!

At the very top of my podcast list is the fantastic GEEK SYNDICATE hosted by David Monteith and Barry Nugent--two genuinely nice blokes who have been best mates since childhood.

The show discusses all things geek--not just comics, but film ,tv and games. These guys are just comedy gold, and unlike other shows, there are no awkward silences, or creepy ass callers. Just wait until you hear them get into rant mode discussing the likes of the latest Smallville episode, or recounting their real life childhood experience with a wolfman in the Halloween special, or trying to sing the Queen song from Flash Gordon (episode 12)...

If I could kidnap these guys and strap them both to my head, I would. But I can't because I'd look like a freakin' idiot , so please check out their website, and/or check them out in ITUNES ( a bit of explicit content by the way, so not for young Bionicle fans) where there is currently 123 episodes to download!

GET YOUR GEEK ON NINJA!!!!

(Uhh...you'll get that if you listen to their show...)

L

FINALLY!

Yup, finally I can start showing some real stuff from Book 3 of Defoe coming to 2000AD in 3 weeks.
These are the various stages I went through for the first of 3 covers I've done for this year. Originally I approached my editor Tharg with a rough drawing of an Indiana Jones type composition with our heroes Defoe and his sidekick the largest images, the main villian known as The Queen of Zombies looking suitably evil above them, and below, an action scene in silhouette of Defoe and his Brethren fighting zombies. But Tharg, quite rightly, but still dissapointingly, pointed out that there wouldn't be any room for a tagline with the figures at the bottom of the page...

So I had another crack at it, keeping the central figures, making the Queen's skull more central, and completely removed the figures at the bottom, instead adding flames around them, and he went for it!

Next up is the pencils. No problems at this stage, though I still wasn't sure whether or not to add pupils to the skull's eyes. Also, I still had no idea how I was gonna colour the flames at this point.

So here's the inks. Wasn't too keen on how it turned out at this stage. Something didn't seem right. So I sent it to a few friends who pointed out that Defoe's hand didn't seem quite right--it looked like his other hand should be holding the gun, so I redrew that whole section and pasted it on. Also, I could tell it was a mistake adding pupils to the skull's eyes, and the fire just looked too cluttered....

And here's the final colour piece with all the changes! This is actually the second attempt at colouring the image as in the first attempt I kept in alot of the line work for the fire and it just looked amatuerish to be honest. So I scrapped it and started again, completely painting over the fire, though it took a LOOOONG time to get to a point where I could let it go...

Finally, here's a scan of the advert in the latest Judge Dredd Megazine that I discovered today and had a big grin on my face when I saw it. It's great to finally see it with some text.

Right, hopefully this'll make up for the absence of blog posts recently. Catch you soon!

L

DRAW THE WORLD TOGETHER CHARITY SKETCHBOOK AUCTION!

Hey guys. Right, a while ago I contributed a sketch to the DRAW THE WORLD TOGETHER charity sketchbook, which features characters from the game CITY OF HEROES.

Here's what artist and DTWT organiser, Andrew Wildman has to say:

"A second chance to grab one of these limited edition City of Heroes sketchbooks. This one #4of10 All are signed by a whole host of artists; Dave Gibbons (cover), Doug Braithwaite, Misako Rocks, Mark Buckingham, Andie Tong, Phil Winslade, Jon Haward, Mike Collins, Bryan Talbot,  Simon Williams, Andrew Wildman, Neil Edwards, Al (Astral Gypsy) Davidson and Boo Cook. And of course, if you dont want to make a bid yourselves you can help out by posting a link to the auction on any forums or blogs that you are active in. Check out the site for more info and a link to the auction.

Many thanks

DtWT

You can go straight to the Ebay auction HERE  and more on the DRAW THE WORLD TOGETHER charity HERE.

L

DEFOE BOOK 3 TEASERS

Ok people, I'm still kind of limited to what I can show for the time being as this doesn't come out in 2000AD till June,but when the time comes I'll be able to show off the 2 covers I've done for the series--one of which may be a little controversial, so a few changes were needed to make it a bit more, well less, controversial...anyhoo, I'm hoping it will make for a classic cover when it's released!

Bye bye.

L

DEFOE 1666 COLLECTION RELEASE DATE!

Hey guys!

Apologies for the lack of posting over this past month--alot's been going on in my private life, plus Tharg at 2000AD has finally given me my final deadlines for Book 3 of Defoe so I've really had to buckle down lately...

Sooo....here's an update on Defoe's (and mine) first ever trade collection. August 15th is the date you need to put in your diaries, or just write it on your forehead so you won't forget. It's already available for preorder at AMAZON and also at FORBIDDEN PLANET INTERNATIONAL (who also very kindly named it as a "top graphic novel pick" in the latest news letter! Thanks guys!)

I'll have to see what I can do about the officials listings on these sites as it doesn't have much info this early, and if anybody who's already read Defoe when it was serialised in 2000AD would like to leave an Amazon review, I won't complain!

Also, the cover on the listings isn't the final cover--I should know as I recently finished a digital painting for it, and I'm VERY happy with it...a little peak of it is posted above. Once I get clearance from my bosses I'll post the FULL image.

Normal service to this bloggy will resume next week when I'll post some new panels!

Later

L

JOHN HIGGIN'S RAZORJACK

Here's what some well known folks in the business say about my old buddy, John Higgins (colourist of WATCHMAN , artist for 2000AD,THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THUNDERBOLT JAXON, HELLBLAZER) whose fantastic self written, drawn and coloured mini series RAZORJACK is finally getting collected at the end of March from COMX...

"John Higgins sickens me. He can write, pencil, ink and colour allseemingly effortlessly. Had he just performed neuro-surgery on a young child this morning too, I would not be at all surprised."

--Mark Millar Writer of The Authority: Wanted, The Ultimates, Civil War, Kick-Ass.

"It's always a pleasure to see John's work, and Razorjack is one of his best-kept secrets. If there's any justice, this new collection should find the audience the story has always deserved."

--Garth Ennis: Writer of Preacher, Punisher, The Boys.

"Razorjack delivers something rare: A solid story and artistic brilliance by John Higgins. It must be nice to be getting better with age." --Jimmy Palmiotti: Writer of The Hills Have eyes: The Beginning, Jonah Hex, Vampire Hunter D: american Wasteland.

"I've always thought Razorjack was a killer concept. A cosmic horror story of huge-scope, breath-taking visuals and insane ambition: Unique, wonderful, quintessential John Higgins."

--Mike Carey: Writer of Lucifer, X-Men, Hellblazer, Crossing Midnight .

To me, John is kind of like the slightly dirty uncle I never had, but also a huge mentor to me when I was struggling to break into the comics business.

We met many years ago when he did a talk in a Liverpool library and I was drawing a story about an incredibly handsome man (ahem) fighting villians with rubber chickens strapped to his body,for a smallpress comic. Luckily for me, he saw some potential in my work and was actually kind enough to contact me just to say hi.

From that point on we stayed in touch, he invited me to hang out with his wonderful family, and gave me invaluable advice about my work to the point where he felt confident enough in my abilities to actually let me look after his Luton studio and home for a few months while he was in America--an incredibly daunting, but worthwhile experience made all the more easier by the fact that he had a fantastic bunch of friends who welcomed me, and it was across the hall from a modelling agency...

He threw some big jobs my way as well, most notably as his inker for a LEVI'S 3D comicbook that was distributed in stores worldwide (You should have seen how excited I got when I saw the displays when on holiday in Spain!), and of course the ROCKY HORROR SHOW theatre poster (You should have seen how excited I got when I saw in on the side of a bus!)

Years later, you can imagine how it was a very proud moment for me when Defoe shared it's 2000AD debut with his Pat Mills' written story Greysuit...

So there you go. I wouldn't be the artist I am today if it hadn't been for John Higgins. Take my advice and ask for RAZORJACK at your local comic store, book store, or you can order from Amazon HERE!

There's a great inteview with the man himself HERE.

Thanks guys,

L

DEFOE NEWS!

So another reason why I've been so busy is that just before I left for the Hi Ex con, I found out that Defoe was finally getting a trade collection! A big surprise for myself and Pat, as we thought it wasn't going to be discussed until we finished Book 3 which I'm currently working on, but it's actually collecting the first 2 books!

Now, as I'm obviously a nut job, I requested that I be allowed to go back and redraw alot of panels that quite frankly, looking back now, are pretty bad. I like to think I've grown as an artist over the 2 and a half years since I started working on Defoe, and plus, this is my first ever trade collection so I want to be able to look at it without cringing. This is the CURSE of being a comic book artist...

I had to be careful not to get too obsessive about it though--as much as I'd love to redraw the whole thing, I made sure just to stick to redrawing the worst offenders, so I'm very grateful to my bosses at 2000AD for letting me do this.

No idea as to when in 2009 it'll be released, as we still need to work out a cover as well, but I'll let you know!

L

HI EX 2009

Sorry it's a bit late with this report--been busy as hell since I got back that weekend.

A big thanks to Rich and Vicky for arranging a great con in Inverness, despite the obvious uphill struggle everytime a fellow creator unfortunately cancelled.

But we had a great time, made some great new friends (too many to mention, but you know who you are!), and I actually made sure to give myself breaks from sketching this time! Pretty happy with the overall quality and speed of the sketches this time, seen above. Helps that I was mainly doing them in pencil ...

The charity Auction raising money for Children 1st apparently went very well! There were soooo many cool items donated, and I was very happy to hear that the Batman piece I donated fetched a great price for the charity.

I even managed to get on a couple of panel discussions as well--clearly made a fool of myself on the Zombie panel, gushing to legendary writer Alan Grant about how "The Thirteenth Floor" was such a huge inspiration to me and how it influenced the style I now use for Defoe. He probably left the convention making sure that I wasn't following him...

L

IT'S A BIT OF A BUGGER...

Yeah, it's a bit of a bugger that I can't show you much of the latest book of Defoe that I'm working on--doesn't really make for much of an interesting blog for a start! So that's why I'll just try and post the odd panel that doesn't give anything away.

Another thing that qualifies as being "a bit of a bugger" is that once again I've done exactly what I swore I wouldn't do with this book, and gone completely overboard with the detail! Seriously, when you see this thing in the summer, you're not gonna believe all the crosshatching I've done!

Currently waiting for approval on what would be my third 2000AD cover--though to be honest, it's touch and go, as the idea I suggested is pretty controversial , BUT it has the potential to be a CLASSIC cover if we did it...

L

HI-EX CONVENTION!

I'm gonna be showing my pretty face at Inverness's HI-EX con on 14th-15th February, doing sketches, a couple of panel discussions, and a workshop for the kiddies showing them how to draw Superman and Batman. Should be a blast, so pop along if you're in the area.

No free doughnuts this time though--I aint made of money dammit!

L

STUDIO TOUR!