What ho chums,
So, what have I been up to recently in the world of comics? Well, I've had the great pleasure of contributing a couple of pages to the second issue of
Rol Hirst's very splendid 'Too Much Sex and Violence'. I urge any of you out there to go and check it out as apart from Rol himself, there's a whole host of very talented folk illustrating it. Imagine a Hammer Horror Pyschoville crossed with the Wickerman and you'll be getting close.
(
Good old Rol's also kind enough to mention me and the Grinning Mask in an interview he does with the Broken Frontier)
Anyroad up. Without giving any of the story of issue 2 away, I thought I'd use my recent pages to illustrate my working process and handily fill up a bit of my blog at the same time.
So I started off with a few quick character sketches - basing them on sequences from issue 1 whilst still trying to put my own twist on things. I give you Gary Gore - Vampire DJ.
I was trying to get a cross between Nick Cave and Nosferatu for this one.
Next, is the (very rough) layouts. I draw these at A4, then blow them up to A3 in the hope that I keep some of the energy of the scribbles.
Then comes the pencils on layout paper - surprisingly tight pencil work for me I thought?
Finally, inks on tracing paper using a combination of brushes and technical pens (I also use
these fabbo pens - a great flexible nib halfway between a standard brush pen and a fineliner. If Kuretake want to send me a load of freebies for recommending their pens to my fourteen or so readers, that'd be great) before scanning and Photoshopping to fit to the page template.
Ta-da. All that's left now is to wait for the issue to come out....
RT
Achtung! Ich bin der Red Skull. Ven Ich am not trying to crush der freedom, or destroy das Kaptain America, Ich enjoyen readink der dumbkopf British komiks. 
Whilst I'm on, go and vote for the ever-reliable Rol Hirst for this year's Eagle awards. I know I will.
I was trying to get a cross between Nick Cave and Nosferatu for this one.
Then comes the pencils on layout paper - surprisingly tight pencil work for me I thought?
Finally, inks on tracing paper using a combination of brushes and technical pens (I also use these fabbo pens - a great flexible nib halfway between a standard brush pen and a fineliner. If Kuretake want to send me a load of freebies for recommending their pens to my fourteen or so readers, that'd be great) before scanning and Photoshopping to fit to the page template.
Ta-da. All that's left now is to wait for the issue to come out....
'The Airtight Garage' and 'Arzak' by the legendary Moebius. 
Yep, it's that old favourite of mine, the Blue Beetle. This is a pencil sketch which I've attacked with digital painting. An interesting experiment if nothing else.....
