Have always maintained sculpting is easier than drawing. If it doesn't look right in sculpting, you just add or subtract mass until it does. Drawing, however, does not actually involve creating a thing, but rather a 2-dimensional avatar that communicates the thing, and 2D is a different language than 3D. Foreshortening, perspective, implied volume, shadow - it can be a bear. There are some illustrator stars in the comic book industry that simply blow me away with how well and effortlessly they communicate volume in a 2-dimensional, line-based medium.

Anyway - this is just a little maquette of the tortoise in my Tortoise and the Hare in Space book. I keep it next to my Cintiq - work on it when Photoshop is saving a big file, or when I just need a break from staring at the screen...

"Say, how's that cover coming?"

"Snakes..."

That was my only reply many times when Kevin would text me to ask how the cover for "Nikolas and Company, The Foul and the Fallen" was coming. Truly, it was the only response I could come up with at the time. That hideous creature on said book cover that is coming up behind Nikolas all teeth and claws - is covered from the top of its head to the middle of its lower back with hundreds of angry, writhing snakes, and I tend to have a pretty analytical approach to my art. That means I couldn't just start throwing snakes here and there willy-nilly. Every time I drew one snake, I saw two or three more places that now needed snakes. Personally,  I think the critter could do with even more snakes, but I was starting to lose the background as it is. He needed to be as imposing as possible though, because, as adversaries go, he's pretty much like a really ticked-off cross between a rattlesnake, a pit bull, and a Sherman tank. Flat out terrifying and not to be taken lightly. To put it another way, good luck with that katana, Nick - flames or no flames.

In spite of my tendency to want to draw every little detail in the pursuit of verisimilitude, I am fascinated by the concept of "economy of line" - intrigued by the question: "what is the barest minimum of elements necessary to convey the given concept?" In other words, it's not necessary to draw every stinkin' scale in order to successfully communicate 'fish.' Kevin and I are both storytellers. Kevin uses words, phrases, plots, sub-plots and meta-narratives. I use shapes, colors and texture, light, shadow and composition. We both love telling the story, but we also both know that there's a time to "speak," and a time to shut up and set the reader's or viewer's own imagination loose on the playground.

As far as I'm concerned, in the context of fantastic art and illustration, Frank Frazetta is the undisputed king of economy of line. That's not to say he avoided detail - far from it. But he had a gift of knowing where to put detail and where to drop the visual equivalent of hints and whispers and voices from down the hall, all designed to pull the viewer's own imagination into the mix and bring the visual story to life. If you're not familiar with his work, you should look it up. Even if you don't recognize the name, you'll probably recognize is work. He's the man.

Frank Frazetta's work still sets the industry bar...

Anyway, I'm certainly no Frazetta, or Vallejo or Whelan, for that matter (not yet, at least). I spent a lot of time drawing details at the concept stage that I knew wouldn't be seen in the final illustration. But in spite of the fact that I am my own worst critic,  this cover turned out to be one of those rare occasions where I could sit back, look at it and think "cool!" Of course, I still see all of the flaws, but all that does is make me excited to see how the next one will turn out. I'll keep you posted...

Designing a Character: It ain't just some guy in a mask...

Okay, so just to make sure we're all up to speed, this is what I posted on Facebook yesterday:

"With Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars Franchise, Kevin McGill and I were discussing how Vader is in need of a bit of a redesign. Thought I'd take a stab. Also, never tried posting shots of my stuff to show progress from one stage to the next - thought it would be fun to try it out here. Let's see how it goes - here's the initial rough-out..."

As I continued rolling the concept around in my head, I decided "What the hey, may as well explain the process to any interested parties out there. If you're reading this far, I suppose that means you, so read on:

I think it's arguable that Darth Vader sets the archetype for the modern "shrouded villain." When we humans interact with each other, the main point of focus is the face, and particularly the eyes. If you start messing with that, you interrupt the main path that familiarity is built upon. That's why having a conversation with someone in mirrored sunglasses is always a bit unnerving - a significant human element has been removed; an impermeable barrier has been erected. Why do you think they're so stereotypically favored by members of law enforcement? The "shrouded villain, " and particularly Vader, push further down this path, removing more and more human elements until you can't be sure exactly who or what you're dealing with. It's a tactic that keeps those on the outside of the mask off-balance, uncomfortable and intimidated.

Another recent example of the shrouded villain appeared in Tron: Legacy. Rinzler, CLU's gladiator-assassin, spends the entire life of the movie behind an unreadable full face shield, in spite of the fact that in the original Tron, he had a very human face (can't say any more without dropping a major spoiler for anybody who hasn't seen the movie, so I'll just leave it at that). If you'll notice, none of the other main characters share that trait. They may hide their face for the sake of drama at one point or another, but never for long. The main protagonist, Sam Flynn, never hides his face. Why? Because he's the good guy, of course! Good guys are dashing and engaging, not dark and brooding. They (eventually) bring freedom and light, not uncertainty and fear.

That's Rinzler on the right and Sam - with the clear face shield - on the left...

Ah, but what about Batman, you may ask? That's another conversation, but I believe I could convincingly argue that the rules still apply there. Besides that, the character of Batman has a significant dose of anti-hero in his DNA - that gives him some leeway in this area. 

He may be a hero, but he ain't interested in kissing too many babies...

By contrast, Superman effectively has zero anti-hero, and as a result, his face is fully exposed. Spiderman may hide his face behind a mask, but when the writers want to show his human side, you'll often find him up on a roof somewhere, hammering his angst out with his mask in his hand instead of over his face. Anyway - back to Vader…

Always thought there could have been a lucrative Turtle Wax marketing campaign here somewhere...

Vader's face is a hard-edged, unmoving death-mask in a very shiny, very black Samurai warlord's helmet, with a little bit of WWII German military thrown in for good measure. It's such an effective design tactic that Vader's iconic helmet makes up about 70% of his overall visual identity (I'd say the red lightsaber adds about 15% of that mix, plus the chest piece with about 10% - the remaining 5% can be scattered over the rest of the elements however you'd like). The point here is that, if I'm going to take a stab at redesigning the character, I'm going to have to be most careful in the area of that mask/helmet. The further away from that helmet I get, the more I can play around with new concepts, but if I go too far afield with the face, I'll kill the character. I'll look a bit more at the history of that design in my next post. Part of getting where you're going is knowing where you came from, right? 

Peace.

(All copyrights regarding the characters above reside with their respective creators/owners)

A New Blog...

A long time ago I started my first blog, inspires to do so by the announcement of my wife's pregnancy and the mad rush of thoughts and emotions brought on by an impending child. That blog still exists (it's over at http://www.thepshift.blogspot.com/), but it's all personal in nature, as you might well guess. This one is going to be a bit more professional, in the sense that the things I plan on posting here will have more to do with design and illustration and all things creative.

In my opinion, blogs are rather odd things, since keeping one implies the tacit assumption that I have something to say that other people will want to hear (so to speak). I suppose that's not all there is to it though, as it is also a place where I invite dialog about the opinions I post. So, consider yourself invited...