2000AD Prog 1599

2000AD Prog 1599 is out now featuring my hot new cover!

As an art droid I'm not permitted to leave my drawing board but have received some copies in the post, sent presumably by Tharg himself!

I'm quite pleased with the result, seen here in it's entirety. Not a bad cover, but it doesn't "pop!" as I'd like it to in print. You can always download it at http://www.clickwheel.net/ for a nominal charge. That way the reader sees the work as it's seen by the artist. Amazing what they can do now a days!

Judge Dredd © 2008 Rebellion Developments/2000AD

Who Killed Round Robin inspires!

What a wonderful thing it is to find that you've inspired someone.
Last week saw the start of a new web comic in Mexico inspired by our humble little net experiment. It turns out that a very fine artist by the name of Bachan http://produccionesbalazo.com/ , who has been following my career for some time, decided to start his own web comic based on ours. As you'll see if you visit http://cadaver.produccionesbalazo.com/?p=3 they have a great line-up of artists and it looks like it could be a very cool thing indeed. Thanks to Bachan for his kind words and I wish them all the very best.
Mexico has spawned some amazing talent over the past few years, notably my dear friend José Ladrönn, and what you find on Cadaver Exquisito is no exception. Good luck amigos!

The face of DREDD

Finished. I've gone for a deliberately lose painted feel for this, all done in Photoshop. Out soon!

2000AD Dredd cover update

Here's a close up of Dredd's charming face. This is all done in Photoshop, including the sketch seen in last post. This pic shows how I'm building up the detail over a faded out copy of the sketch. I'm using a new Wacom pen which is more sensitive than the one I broke recently, so here I'm seeing what it's capable of in terms of replacing pencil/ink and paper. So far I'm holding judgment off until I've done more. Can't see me doing a Brian Bolland and totally depending on the computer, but for some jobs I can see myself adopting this way of working. Maybe.

Assorted Revelations...part 2

Further to my 'Assorted Revelations' post I should add that I am still happily working for Sony, for a few weeks at least, and have no gripe with them, just disappointment over the loss of work. This blog acts as a diary of my life as an artist. If there is news about my career then it gets posted here, unless it would be breaking some form of contract or agreement. Sony acted completely fairly and have been extremely supportive. So there!

Here's a very fast sketch (about half an hour) of the 2000AD Dredd cover I was nobly given to do by the Mighty Tharg, editor supreme. A heck of a chance to draw Dredd, full on mean, and with enough time to really have fun with it. You see? Losing some work isn't all that bad! (for once!)

Assorted Revelations

Ok. So life has been ever more hectic and blogging has slipped to the side of things important. Also there really hasn't been anything I could post due to the top secrecy of the projects I've been working on. Things have changed, as you'll see...

Who Killed Round Robbin http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ is sailing along nicely so I thought I'd take some time out to introduce a character that has developed, over the past few months, into a mysterious and intriguing chap. Visualised by myself and created and developed by all involved with the BlogComic, The Parisian is proving to be the most interesting character to come out of our little adventure...as far as I'm concerned anyway. I have a whole book of ideas for this guy, so many that I've been thinking of taking him into his own side project, with the approval of my fellow creators.
The image above is from a very top secret document that has come into my position. Don't blame me if the CIA start phoning you in the middle of the night!

Right then...on to the news...and I should say that what you're about to read is from my understanding of what went on and may not be the full story.

Sony invited me to create some design and concept work for a computer game they had in development a few months back. I was delighted to be involved in such an interesting and challenging project and threw myself into it fully, putting all other work aside. It seemed there was at least a years work needed so I hesitantly closed down the comic book department of my studio to devote my time and energy to Heavenly Sword 2. It was going great guns. Then the bomb dropped. The project was cancelled and all freelance staff told "Sorry, but it's over." I have to admit to being very angry and frustrated at the time. The producer had put together a very fine proposal and gathered an excellent team of artists...we were all turning out great work and things were getting exiting, I for one was having a lot of fun and wallowing in the process...then BAM! No more work.

I know these things happen all the time in this industry, and having heard exactly why it was canned I understand that it had to be closed, but boy does it hurt! Not only was I producing work that I've been wanting to do for a good while, character design mostly, but also the comfort of knowing I have at least a years work to do at a good wage (for once!), something very nice to know as a freelance creator.

The three images here (copyright Sony) are a small sample of what I got up to. The one above and below was blue pencilled and then coloured in Photoshop. The last image was purely Photoshop.

The up-side of all this is that I've further developed my skills as a designer. And on hearing the news of the cancellation promptly contacted the editor of 2000AD and got a Dredd cover immediately! I'll be posting more on this later.

WhoKilledRoundRobbin and Bristol 08

Here's a look at my contribution to the http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ strip so far, now in it's twenty first page and going strong since Tuesday, 1st of January 2008.
So we didn't win an Eagle Award, so what?! It's still the most fun I've had drawing strip comics. No, it really is!

(please note: these are not intended to be read in this order, without the other contributions to the story, but if you glean any sense out of doing so please consult a doctor!)

Bristol 08 was great fun by the way! Chaperoned by my partner and our baby daughter, I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of the Studio Space book, published by Image and created by a couple of charming and extremely nice chaps by the names of Joel Meadows http://joelm1-joelmead.blogspot.com/ and Gary Marshall...cheers guys! The book, if you haven't seen it yet, is a must get for those discerning comic book followers. Apart from my little addition to the tome, the line-up of creators is excellent. A big chunk of the best in the biz today. I'm still overwhelmed about my inclusion and think it must be some kind of mistake, but never the less I'm in there and it can't be corrected now!
I can't thank everyone here for adding to the pleasurable weekend other than to say thanks to you all! May the British comic empire live on!

Dredd: Road Stop

Only two days to go (colouring) and I'm finished on Dredd: Road Stop. It's been a great story to draw and I thank Mr.Gordon Rennie for supplying such a fun and very Dredd Dredd.

Here's part of a pencil (yes, pencil...no ink!) panel that I finished yesterday. I had to post this, not thinking it gives too much away, because it sums up for me how cool it is to finally be working for 2000AD (weekly). Judge Dredd and a nasty Cursed Earth monster...what more do I need?!

2000AD Prog 1582

Starting in 2000AD prog 1582 you can witness my first Dredd for the weekly. It's part one of a five part story written by Gordon Rennie. I don't really need to remind you how thrilled I am to finally make it into the the galaxies greatest!
Now all I have to do is finish the last part before I get into trouble with Tharg the Mighty!

More Who Killed Round Robin?

Here's two pages from the Eagle Award nominated (oh shush!) on line comic http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ .

Please note: The last panel has not yet been claimed and is not an example of extreme comic laziness!

This sequence is a perfect example to me of why I'm doing this here jam comic experiment. It's pure fun. No script. No editor (although generally they are all very fine and upstanding folk!). No printing or distribution problems. Simple fun!

Artist credit in order...

Me

I. N. J. Culbard

Colin Fawcett

Me (being very greedy!)

I. N. J. Culbard (being equally greedy!)

...?...

Well, it seems nobody was interested in my last post so here's some more from my present Dredd strip, maybe that'll help!

I'm getting close to the end of this job now so have been looking at what I'm doing next. There are a few irons in the fire, all of which I can't discuss here yet. One job I've actually just started is for a very very big computer game company as a free lance designer. It's great work to do, something I've been meaning to get into for quite a while now, just frustrating I can't post any of it here!

Who Killed Round Robin?

Here are all my "plates" so far for the on line comic "Who Killed Round Robin?", nominated for an Eagle award (as you may have noticed!). http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/nominate.asp
Please don't try and glean any story from these! They are NOT sequential!
The wonderful thing about being involved in this little venture is that I'm forced to follow on from what the last contributor has done, often very diverse in style and content, so I have to adapt constantly to the changing mood and feel of what has come before. It allows me to "jam", something I love to do with music, resulting in a surprise for me every time. Where else would I have the opportunity to play around with my style and to experiment this way?

What a day! Not only have I been nominated for The Eagle Awards best cover for my Megazine 261 (see post Thursday, July 26, 2007) but also my fellow creators and I have been nominated for best on line comic for our Who Killed Round Robin http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ .
The awards take place at the Bristol comic expo http://www.comicexpo.net/ and you can rest assured I'll be there! (actually I go every year, this year signing with fellow creators for the Studio Space book...see post Tuesday, December 04, 2007)

I can't see myself winning the cover award...some very stiff competition, but just being nominated is such an honour. Many thanks to those who voted!

I don't think I'm giving too much away here!

Just so you know I'm not dead, here's a Dredd panel from my strip for 2000AD. I'm often tempted to post more here but reason stops me! I'm well over half way through the job and am having a lot of fun with it. I'm prety sure I could never get bored drawing Dredd stories. There's so much room to be inventive.
In other news...the Who Killed Round Robin strip http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ is going from strength to strength with some great work being done by my fellow creators. Well worth a visit.

If you haven't been already I strongly advise you to go see http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/ ...a comic building before your very eyes!

Who Killed Round Robin?

Take a hand full of artists, give them the freedom of expression, add a sprinkling of order and hopefully what you'll get is a fun and experimental exchange of ideas made real in the form of a comic.
That's the plan.

"Round Robin" is a game where one person starts a story and then others continue it by adding a piece at a time until the tale is complete.
Our version involves seven British comics creators. Between us we will make a comic book, a panel at a time. Our page grid is divided into three tiers. Each person adds a tier to the ongoing story, which can be as many panels as they can fit into that tier. Nobody knows where the story will go but there is one element that remains fixed: it is a murder mystery. So whatever happens along the way, we know where it has to end. A solution must be found! Who killed Round Robin?

Go see the developing creation here...
http://whokilledroundrobin.blogspot.com/
You'll find a link in my links and kinks.

I hope you enjoy it!

To all my fellow bloggers...all the very best.

More pencil, "ink" and colour stages from the Dredd job. Artistically speaking, the thing I love most about working in the Dredd universe is the opportunity to let my imagination take over. This is the kind of work I've always longed for, a chance to use all the crazy images that gather in my noodle and come to me in my sleep. I've been given the chance on this job to design a bunch of characters, twelve bad guys and about forty "cits" (citizens of Mega City One) and I'm making the most of it! The experience is an odd one. I never really know what's going to come out when I sit down and let my pencil do the talking. The little guy on the left is probably inspired by me going to see the latest edition of 'Blade Runner'. A film I've always loved. The "final cut" of the film is stunning and now perfect in my humble opinion. This little fellow is something I imagine the character Sebastian would make, maybe after a particularly disturbed dream...do androids dream of electric sheep?

I've been told that in my recent post regarding the 'Studio Space' book that I left out a certain Frank Miller from the line up. An oversight that I hope I'll be excused for! For more news on the book go see http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13 and http://joelm1-joelmead.blogspot.com/ Looks like I missed out Alex Ross too! Shame on me!