Nightmare Pro Wrestling Issue 1 is done.

I'm finally done with Issue 1 of Nightmare Pro Wrestling! The first issue has been a great learning experience for me. When I read through all of the pages I saw a lot of ways that I had grown as an artist and I'm proud to have something tangible to show for all my effort.

I have to give a quick thank you to the guys over at Art and Story, Chris Oatley, and the guys at Big Illustration Party Time. Without their influence and inspiration I would have never taken that big step to just go for it and do the comic.

And I also want to say thank you to everyone who reads Nightmare Pro Wrestling. The comic was just an idea in my head for such a long time that it's really great to know that there are people out there reading and enjoying it.

Maybe it doesn't seem like much but finishing this issue is a really big deal for me. To anyone out there who has something that they want to do but are afraid to take that next step, just jump in. It feels great.

Cheers.

Nightmare Pro Wrestling Issue 2 Page 1 Inks.

So this is my second and I feel better try at Page 1 of Issue 2. Unfortunately, I was unhappy with my first design of the this page and was in such a hurry to correct it, I forgot to save the original design and the roughs of both. Won't happen again.

The original image on panel 1 had the Nightmare Tortoise turned a lot more to the right. It looked way too ordinary and being the biggest panel on the page, I wanted something a bit more dynamic. So I turned him a bit and did a upshot of him, with the results looking a lot better.

The concept of the Nightmare Tortoise is that he carries Nightmare Castle to the next location that Nightmare Pro Wrestling is supposed to have a show. He tends to destroy cities and things along his journey but the monsters in this world don't really care because Nightmare Pro Wrestling is such a big and important part of life here in this world.

Alright, I will hopefully have the roughs and Inks up of Page 2 up on Friday. I should be starting them today.

Cheers

NPW Webcomic Page 7 and 8 Pencils

Blah! I stayed up late watching the Office then got up early as usual but I was too tired to workout. Still feeling a little rundown. No more sleeping late for me.

Here are the pencils for pages 7 and 8.

Page 7: I'm finding that drawing all the key images first, scanning them, creating the page, then quickly sketching out the other elements in Photoshop, is really working for me. It allows me to see how the page will look put together. It also lets me do quick adjustments to the page with little trouble. Panel 4 is my favorite panel of the page. I'm really happy with the way the deranged look on Lobo came out.

Page 8: The panel layout was a little more complicated on this page, so I just quickly did it in squares and lowered the opacity. Again I drew out all the key images in my sketch book, scanned them in to my computer, and quickly sketched out the other elements in Photoshop. My favorite panel of the comic so far is on this page and it also happens to be panel 4. I'm really happy with the body language that came across in this panel. I feel I got Grave's energy and enthusiasm down, as well as Lobo's frightened hesitation.

All right thats enough for now. Come back during the week for more warm up sketches and INKS of these two pages on FRIDAY.

Later.

QUICK INKS!!

I've gotta get a lot of stuff done before this weekend, well come to think of it I need to finish a lot of stuff before this evening. I'm gonna be going to Houston this weekend to attend the wedding of two of my best friends.

So lets get to it!

Page 5: I found some cool reference pics for the backgrounds. Again I collaged some images and combined them with my pencils to get the right effect. I added some things too. I added Grave & Lobo to panel 5, seemed like it was needed. I feel the kitchen in the last panel needs a little work, which I will get to in the final version.

Page 6: I love the details on this page. That was the main thing I wanted in each panel, detail. Especially in the graveyard in panel 2. I ended up adding even more in the final version. Check out the Finals on Monday.

ALL RIGHT, I GOTS TO GO!

Cheers!

Pencils Time!

It's Wednesday, time for the pencils of the next two pages of the comic.

Lets start off with Page 5. As usual, after thumb nailing the page I drew each of the characters separately and scanned them in. I created the panels I needed and quickly sketched out ideas for the backgrounds that I had in mind. I added two additional figures during this process, the Lunch Hag, seen on the last panel, and the janitor in panel 2. I ended up drawing them in my sketch book along with weird foods to put in the buffet in the last panel.

Remember nothing is set in stone. If you feel like your image needs something more just throw it in there. Also remember, keep things simple but interesting. It's easier to add something than it is to take it away. I definitely have learned that the hard way and it can be a pain.

I searched the internet for similar reference images I could use for the backgrounds I sketched out. Lately I've been looking for reference images that I can just collage together to get a better visual of what I want. I just touch it up the way I want it and make my own adjustments in Photoshop until I get what I'm looking for.

Page 6: I know the backgrounds look more finished than the rest of the page. That's because I forgot to save the sketch work and only realized this while I was doing panel 3. Oopsy.

The background lines are a collage of my own pencils and modified photo images I put together. I then put them through the cutout and poster edge filter in Photoshop. This has been saving me a lot of time with doing the backgrounds. It also gives me the look and feel I want.

Alright, til next time,

Cheers.