Batmobile and Waterbrush

Saw this little gem while running errands around town this morning.

Also, I picked up a Pentel Aquash Waterbrush today. I couldn't seem to find it at the local art stores, but Hobby Lobby carried it. I love the new convenience of watercolor anywhere. Stay tuned for frequent posts of doodles w/ washes!

Closing in on Pavlov

Above is the final b&w art for "Pavlov's logs," and below is the completed panel. The finished cartoon is actually a re-edited version of what I thought was final. I colorized the panel in the morning and didn't compare it to some of my previous work like I usually do. I find this practice helps me to stay consistent in color saturation. Anyway, I colored it, posted it, and went out for a morning activity. When I returned, my wife told me that the posted cartoon was too light and anemic. Coming in the door with fresh eyes, I immediately saw what she was saying. Photoshop to the rescue. I made a few edits and here is the final-final. ;)

Movie Review: Amazing Spiderman

Was it an amazing Spiderman movie???

My answer: YES.

I recall some movie critics expressed misgivings at a revisit to Marvel's Spiderman franchise. Perhaps it was anticipated to be redundant story info, but Mark Webb, director of the newest Spidey reboot, Amazing Spiderman, has done an excellent job making trod territory seem pristine. I was never a diehard fan of Tobey Maguire as the web slinger. I'll admit, I liked him in the first movie. But as the trilogy trudged on, his depiction of Spidey really began the wear on me. This was not totally his fault; he was partly the victim in that he had to deliver an often corny script. I think I reached my limit when he bopped down the sidewalk in his venom-influenced personna in S3. They chose a good time to close the book on that series. 

Since then, it's clear that Marvel has learned a bit. They've taken notes from Chris Nolan's treatment of Batman; the proof being evident in their later X-men and Avengers threads. They've learned that serious comic book characters can exist on the big screen—serious characters that can be brooding AND clever without having to echo the schmaltzy corniness of old school comic pulp. Amazing Spiderman delivers a wonderful retelling of the web slinger's tale. It works as a love story, it works as a drama/comedy, and it works as an action-packed super-hero movie. The writing is surprisingly solid and the casting is spot on. 

Now I won't say there aren't a few plot-holes in the road, but the majority of the story delivers in a very satisfying way. Acting-wise Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are perfect leads. Their romance is believable and poignant. However, I think Garfield really steals the show here. He so accurately embodies Peter Parker as the gangly youth we all grew up with. At one moment he could look like an awkward teenager, then a cool super-hero—and then, hey—even a romantic leading man. The real litmus test for me was that he could cry without making me feel oogie (I still have scars from that Tobey Maguire scene in S3). There's an authenticity and sincerity I'm really digging in this new Spideyweb thread. My only disappointment is that I have to wait until 2014 for the next one!  "A"

Pavlov Blueline

The next Incompatibles is shaping up. This is the preliminary blueline from a few days ago. I've made some changes since then: I cropped the action a little tighter to bring more emphasis to the notepad, scaled back the log/table and added an horizon line beneath the table to give a sense of the far wall. One major overhaul was the architecture of the log harness table. As you can see, the perspective is totally wonky in this posting. It's like I was schizo on the vanishing points. That's what happens when I sketch when I'm drowsy. Stay tuned for the finished cartoon on Wednesday.

Sketching

Tonight's sketching.

POV

The camera's point-of-view can have such an impact on the delivery of a joke. I was really mentally sold on the head on angle (above) of this cartoon before I even laid pencil to paper. But then I found I could streamline the cartoon (and actually make it a lot clearer) if I deleted the caption and incorporated it into the cartoon itself. Nope, it's not "Quiet Reading." It's the title of the book that will be overturned on the table beneath his head. I'm also deleting the death bubble; it felt extra. I wanted his body pose and facial expression to accomplish that. The overhead camera angle really kills quite a few birds with one stone in this instance.

Pavlov Background

Here are some early sketches on an upcoming Incompatibles. This gag's fairly obvious, so no cloak and dagger on its future caption. "Pavlov's Logs" is one panel that I wanted to be sure I nailed historically. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is such an iconic figure in the science world, I wanted to be sure I didn't get called on the rendering of his likeness. Boy, he really did have that 1900s Russian scientist look, huh? Not sure if I'm going to go to the extent of having the log restrained similar to the dog. That kind of faithful detail might take away from the focus on the notepad.

Sheephoarder Done

Here's the finished colored cartoon. Note how I added in a background for more context. I really think the perspective adds to the sense of a house bulging with livestock. I debated between red and blueish gray for the gal's hair color. A younger version of the hoarder won out.

Wool-In-Progress

An upcoming Incompatibles installment. You'll note in the previous rough sketch I posted of this that I was conflicted between using a shepherd versus a woman. I split the difference and put a crook in the lady's hand. I think it works with the planned caption well. I took the original sketch and outputted it in blueline, then I went over it with a blue lead pencil and rendered it out further. Once I was happy with it, I inked it in quickly.

I scanned the previous image and blasted out the blue, leaving the ink behind. I then converted the remaining image into a refined, faint blueline for final penciling. I actually have cut out inking from my process—at least for my Incompatibles work—and use my pencils as my final art. I simply scan it into p-shop and adjust levels to arrive at my finished piece. Here's the resulting drawing. From here I go to digital cleanup and coloring. I used a different pencil/paper combo this time around and I really enjoyed the feel of it—even the roughness of it. Strange how the feel of the drawing implement and paper can enhance the making process—not in just the appearance of the art, but also in the enjoyment of making it. You may notice that I adjusted the woman's mouth. She looked a little too happy in the previous version. 

Final Batman Cartoon

Here's the final colored version, complete with caption. This was kind of tricky color-wise and in the framing. I ended up zooming up and cropping out some of the bat cave and computer console. It just helped the focus of the composition in relation to the joke.