Victor Monstor and Lil' Franken

Here is my morning warm up sketch for today. There's poor Victor Monstor who has fallen off a tiny bike. He got a few scrapes and his best buddy Lil Franken brings him a double scoop ice cream cone to make him feel better.

Hahaha. You can see my lovely wife's sketches visible from the page behind it. Especially Cycloptopus.

This is another sketch I would like to use for something else, a print perhaps? I would really like to finish up this drawing, add in a side walk, and creepy little neighborhood in the background.

Pages 7 and 8 Inks

Here are the inks for pages 7 & 8.

Page 7: Putting together the arena in google sketchup was a pain to do, even if it was just basic elements. I just put together a basic Pro wrestling arena and just drew in the details.

Page 8: This page changed a bit since the pencils. I didn't really like the way the page was flowing so I decided to get rid of a panel and rearrange the rest a bit. I wanted the ring in the training room to look different than the ring in the actual arena. So I didn't add a lot of blacks and changed some shapes. The colors will also be different. I wanted the dumbbell that Grim is using, to be massive. I also wanted it to look a lot more realistic and match the background elements.

I really like the way panel 1 turned out. I wanted to put all this detail in there, along with a few monsters working out. I had wanted to show more of the training room but it would have taken away the focus of the panel. The whole point of that panel is to show you where Grave, Lobo, & Grim are. This will make things easier for the reader and the actions on the page will flow a whole lot better.

Alrighty, well back to work. Check the Nightmare Pro Wrestling web comic on MONDAY for the final pages.

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!

AAAARRRGH!!!

So I've decided to just post up the warm up sketches on days that I don't post up Comic pages. It'll save me some time.

I really want to see Where the Wild Things Are and hope it lives up to my expectations. I think the creatures or "Wild Things" look so cool, especially when I see them running in the trailer. That is totally what a chubby creature would look like if it took off running, LOL. I read they were created with practical meshed with digital effects, which I think is the best way to go in any movie. I really hope I'm not disappointed.

Any who, lets talk warm up sketch. I asked my wonderful wife this morning for an idea for a warm up sketch, she said that Dark Beard the undead pirate is one of her favorite characters in the comic.

This image quickly pop into my head as soon as she suggested the character.

Enjoy,

Later!

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.

Bouncy bouncy, having such a good time!

I've been testing out the finishing move designs during my warm up sketch time. Here's Devastator Dragon doing his Devastator Stomp. I'm still not sure about it. I want to see what a double foot stomp would look like, think I will do a few sketches of it that way, just to see how it looks. Either way it'll be fun to draw, picking great and different shots of this finisher and other moves is something I'm really looking forward to drawing.

Thinking about how to draw in-the-action wrestling moves is actually something I've been paying attention to while watching WWE wrestling. I was talking to Nicole about how I've been noticing how they frame shots and how certain shots would be more interesting drawn as a comic.

One of the cool thing about comics is there's no limit to camera angles.

Cheers!

Mr. Hyde Loves Candy, Not Babies -- Morning Sketch

One of my favorite things about doing morning sketches is getting a chance to get a feel for how I want to draw each of the characters. I've done character sheets for everyone but it's different drawing a character in a static pose than doing a dynamic sketch.

Today I did this quick sketch of Mr. Hyde. He has what me and Nicole have dubbed "bad guy nipples" which I've drawn on all the mean/bully characters in the comic mostly because I think they look funny and I think they somehow add an element of ugly meanness.

You won't meet Mr. Hyde until the 2nd issue of the Nightmare Pro Wrestling webcomic but you can read a little more about him (and see a picture of him in color) on his NPW Roster page.

Later,

JoN

He's mad I tells ya!! MAD!!!

Time for this morning warm up sketch.

I wanted to draw Dr. Nightmare looking creepy. I'm still experimenting with his expressions and body language. Most of the time you wont be able to see Dr. Nightmare's mouth but when he smiles, I wanted a long toothy grin. I'm still perfecting it, I think it should come up on his face more, but we'll see.

I would have liked to have taken more time on the beakers and jars. I would have added more detail and put some more creatures in jars, but it's supposed to be a quick sketch, I try not to stop and I don't erase unless its absolutely necessary.

I think the key to developing a character further is to find their personalities through facial expressions and body language. Doing so makes the character more alive. IT'S ALIVE!!! IT'S ALIVE!!!

Remember to checkout next weeks inked pages tomorrow.

Alright, LATER!