Curse of the Eel ch7 Cover Process

Here's a little look at my art for the cover of Eel 7. I don't have the pencils scanned, I was really excited to ink this. At first, I did not plan for the cracks on the face of the red side. My theming with these, was to show the difference in planes that was so prevalent in Lovecraft's work that inspired me to make Eel. His thoughts were that the universe was infinitely vast and complicated and humans grasp of it was limited, so I tried to visually show two opposite but complimentary worlds: human and non-human. With the end of Eel 6, that split is breaking, and upon inking this cover, I had the idea to show that cracking here. For the first time, the two worlds are linked, and based on this cover, it can't be good.

My tools here were:
Inks: Raphael 8404 #4 brush and Deleter Gpens with FW and Maxon black inks
Paper: Stillman and Birn Beta paper

I hope you enjoy the cover and Eel 7 when it's out.

Curse of the Eel Chapter 7 WIP

Here are a few pages of pencils and inks from Curse of the Eel 7, as spoiler free as I can make them.

I started drawing these as my work on Spencer and Locke was coming to an end, I'm not even really sure what I can share of that work at this point, so Eel it is. These were a fun break from buildings and such, and I feel like I got to play with my brush a lot on these. I hope that the framing is interesting and that you're left wondering who that person in the hoodie is.

Tools: Prismacolor Turquoise leadholder with Faber Castell B Lead for pencils
Inks: Raphael 8404 #3 brush, Deleter G-pen and FW Acrylic Ink
Paper: Stillman and Birn Beta paper, the best for drawing comics

SPX 2016!!

I'll be at table I-12 this weekend for the Small Press Expoooo! Here's a map and some covers of comics that didn't exist last year at the show, that will THIS YEAR!!

Curse of the Eel Ch 6 pgs 1-5 Inked

It's been too long since I had a comic update! Since I can't really show what I'm working on for publishers or for pitches, I'll share my most recent inks of Curse of the Eel. If you'd like to see the pencils for these pages, click HERE.

Inking Curse of the Eel is the most fun. I use a Raphael #3 brush to do most of my lines and that allows me to ink fast and expressively. I've started using Zebra brush pens to help me do fine lines, just because I want spare my wrist since my day job in graphic design is also demanding of my wrist. I'm inking as always on Stillman and Birn Beta paper, the surface is super accepting of pencil and ink and I've still yet to find a paper that is as much fun to ink on as it is to pencil on.

This was a fun chapter for Eel, I got to delve into some of the actual horror stuff that's been brewing since chapter 1. I got to draw 2 monsters in this issue, so I'm happy. I didn't think I was so into horror when I started Eel, but I've become really fond of it now. I still listen to H.P. Lovecraft audiobooks to set the mood while I'm working. These are also the places where I get to play with my comic skills. I don't really get the chance to on my other projects so my own projects are where I can try weird things and see how the experiments go! Like that 4th page, I hope you enjoy that one!

Thanks for the read and hope you like the pages!

The Hidden Giant, the Golden Gate Bridge!

I got the chance to fly out to San Francisco last week and visit Riley Street Art Supply store for their anniversary sale! I went and spoke to a lot of really cool and inspiring people, I got to take in a few sights and also, do a little bit of sketching.

Shortly after arriving we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and it was just covered in fog. It was such an awesome sight to cross the bridge that we ended up pulling over for a second so I could do a sketch of it from Vista Point. I began with the inks, hoping that by the time I finished all the structure that the fog and mist would have lifted, but it just endlessly poured over the top of that hill. I only saw glimpses of beams and wires, and that made it even more interesting. After finishing the inks, we left for the hotel where I added the watercolor to the inks.

The next morning, unhappy with how the drawing just looked incomplete, I prepared some gouache with French Ultramarine Blue and started painting in the mist. I think this was a gamble that paid off as once the drawing was done, I felt like I managed to capture the feeling of this awesome architecture refusing to reveal itself by hiding in the mist. It's flowery and magical, but I write comics so that's just my imagination.

This drawing is also the thesis of why I love Stillman and Birn sketchbooks so much. This was done in my softcover Alpha, one of the new products, and well, I don't think there's a paper out there that can be this versatile and this much fun to draw in. I couldn't have done this drawing in any other sketchbook and have gotten this level of quality.

Materials: Pentel Hybrid Technica 04 and Zebra Large Brush pen, Sennelier and Da Vinci Watercolors and Holbein Gouache.
Paper: Stillman and Birn alpha softcover sketchbook, 150 gsm

Curse of the Eel ch 6 cover process

I'm nearly finished with Curse of the Eel chapter 6, I have on panel that I want to redo and then I can send it to the printers. Here are 2 process images for the cover of issue 6, which I think is one of the more interesting of the covers so far. The story this time focuses most on Frank, so he's in the middle, with a new monster debuting in this chapter. Or maybe 2 new monsters! I should have it ready for Heroes Con and SPX of this year!

Curse of the Eel is a story about Connie, an introverted goth who gets bullied a lot in her high school. One day she summons a kindly Eldritch style Eel whom is determined to both help Connie and help himself to some tasty Earth food! You can find the book online on Tumblr, Tapastic, or Smackjeeves, whichever you prefer!

Tools: Raphael 8404 #3 brush with FW Acrylic ink
Paper: Stillman and Birn Beta paper.
Colors: Photoshop CS5

The Caverns Cover

Remember 2 years ago when I made a mixed media comic that played with reading orientation as well as using different art materials? Well I never printed it, mainly due to money being tight for a long time. I've finally dusted the comic off, and I plan to have it as some of the shows I'll be at this year! Now with a revamped cover, I hope readers will enjoy this experiment, even if it is a little old.

The materials here are Caran d'Ache Watersoluble pencils, Copic Markers and Watercolor on Stillman and Birn papers: Beta for the cover and Epsilon and Delta for the interiors.

Curse of the Eel chapter 6 page 1-4 pencils

Hello! So yesterday I was a madman and drew 4 pages of pencils in 3 hours for Curse of the Eel. I haven't had time to really sit down and vibe with my own projects in a long while. I've been drawing pages for an Action Lab comic that I can't announce yet, so here are the pages I did yesterday.

I like to pencil loosely, I used to spend a lot of time drawing things out exactly like how I would like for them to look inked. Looking at amazing pencilers like Stuart Immonen will do that to you, but he is working with an inker, so all of that detail is needed. In my case, once I became a confident enough inker and penciler, I tried to pencil less so my inks can feel more like drawing. That has really improved my speed, to where if I had the time I probably could do this entire chapter, pencils and inks in 2 weeks or less. Sadly, I've got other things to focus on but for now: here is what I'm working with! I'm aiming for this to be out for SPX 2016 which I have a table for! More details soon!!

Still Alive! Curse of the Eel 5 inks

After several months of no computer, I'm back and ready to share some art. 2015 ended kind of rough but I'm ready to make 2016 a much more productive year. On that note, here are some pages from Curse of the Eel chapter 5!

You can read Curse of the Eel online now on Tapastic, Tumblr, and Smackjeeves!