Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ash and Irma pin-up





I did this for Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada's Ash comic in the 90's.

The thumbnail sketch is very small, about two inches wide.  From there I went to an 8.5 x 11" layout, copied it, filled in some black areas with a marker and finally the final art.  I didn't save a copy of the pencils.

I like the layout better than the final version.  It lost something.


8 comments:

  1. Ahh, I still have this issue and firmly remember this pinup. I really like the rough layout you did and I understand why you had to drop the black background (due to Ash's dark colored suit). That being said, I think the background in the layout sketch is pretty darn cool and wish it would have worked out.

    Fun trip down memory lane. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. If I had it to do over I'd make the background black and just outline Ash with a little white. I don't know why I chickened out.

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  3. Which is odd since I don't know if I've seen you ever really use the "halo" effect on a lot of your inks. I mean, I'm sure you have, just not like some of the artists out there.

    And I think "chickened out" isn't the correct phrase. Artistic choice. :) Still wonderful to see.

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  5. Darn, there's no edit button for comments. I need to remember to proof read before I hit "Post Comment".

    There are at least two ways to do it. You can make an even, white contour line between the two black areas or you can imagine another light source that just barely hits the edge of the object and varies in thickness, depending on the shape of the object it's falling on. Some people call it "rim lighting". So your white area would be thin if it was just catching the edge of a hand or finger but wide if it caught the Kingpin's belly.

    I think I've opted for the latter most of the time because I worry that the first option will make everything look a little flat. It doesn't have to. I can think of many examples where it adds a lot of depth.

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  6. The former happens a lot. The most obvious person to me is Ed McGuiness on his pages. The halo effect seems to be full force with his drawings and covers. Maybe it is his style but they just pop out.

    The latter, the rim lighting, is a really interesting perspective on the approach to how you're describing it. I'm sure I have seen it used and haven't even paid a second's notice to the technical aspect to the art. Just that it looks "right". Maybe that is something you can spotlight down the road. I, for one, would be really interested.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  7. this is hanging in my bedroom in brooklyn, beautiful deep red matt and black frame. just the idea that kevin drew my character made the piece a keeper..but it is beautiful in so many ways.

    and kev: do you remember i pitched you an origin for your character? don't know if you did.

    anyway, the writing thing is working out.

    JIMMY P

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  8. Hi Jimmy,

    Nice knowing the piece is in good hands!

    Yeah, I remember your origin idea. It was great but very different from what I was thinking about doing. And now I have an idea that's miles away from either of them. Maybe someday...

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