Now that my obsession with Monster Hunter: World is easing, my attention has been oozing around aimlessly wondering what next short-term project I'm going to flake out on. The other night I leaned back into my chair, in my home office (which, in case you didn't know---and you shouldn't know because I'm pretty sure I haven't mentioned it here yet---is my old high school bedroom! No, I do not live with mom. I bought the house from her when she moved to VA.), and began admiring my idiot teen self's taste in decor. The room is still set up (for the most part) as it was when I was a kid, complete with abandoned signage, a string of Christmas lights, and a few random selections from old Rolling Stone magazines and a few Wizard issues.
Above my desk and near the window is a full-page advert for the Ripclaw Special (1995) cover, an old Image Comics character that I used to draw as a kid. Er, that I used to try to draw as a kid. I haven't really drawn much of anything serious in a few years. I've recently tried to sketch a few ideas for a water color, but so far nothing has excited me. Seeing the face on my wall got me thinking: if I'm struggling to create something, maybe drawing someone else's work could put things into motion?
Off to Google I skipped.
I was surprised to see a few references to this specific cover. There were a few eBay listings, and a few comic fan sites floating the image, but it wasn't until I scrolled a good ways down that my heart nearly stopped. What's this?! A blog site by Kevin Nowlan, the guy who actually inked this cover? The thumbnail showing in my search results appeared to be a black and white inking of it! "Wow! If it's a high enough resolution, then maybe I will try to color it!" I thought. I mean, how cool would it be to color my own Ripclaw? After clicking the link I learned that I was very much mistaken thinking that this might be a high quality inking. No. Instead, it was a high resolution pencil drawing by the artist Jordan Raskin!
Holy monkey balls, Batman! A scan of the original pencil work for the very cover I have pinned to my wall! Screw colors! Ima ink this muther!
So, I downloaded the image (Image!), wiped the drool off my screen, and started in. I'm inking with a stylus laptop so I'll post the source material, followed by a few screen shots of my progress, as I progress (be sure to change the pronunciation through your internal voice, reading that please and thank you). I'm very excited by this discovery and, to be honest, have no one that would even bother looking at this lol. Maybe there's one or two comic kats here in the MOFO kingdom that might appreciate it instead. My goal is to get some honest practice in drawing digitally, and to use this as a bridge to hopefully create something new, down the road. Fingers crossed that I don't quit after the weekend.
For anyone interested, the blog site is here, and has several years of posts and sample pencil and ink work. Great stuff, if you're into it.
Here is the cover for reference.
Above my desk and near the window is a full-page advert for the Ripclaw Special (1995) cover, an old Image Comics character that I used to draw as a kid. Er, that I used to try to draw as a kid. I haven't really drawn much of anything serious in a few years. I've recently tried to sketch a few ideas for a water color, but so far nothing has excited me. Seeing the face on my wall got me thinking: if I'm struggling to create something, maybe drawing someone else's work could put things into motion?
Off to Google I skipped.
I was surprised to see a few references to this specific cover. There were a few eBay listings, and a few comic fan sites floating the image, but it wasn't until I scrolled a good ways down that my heart nearly stopped. What's this?! A blog site by Kevin Nowlan, the guy who actually inked this cover? The thumbnail showing in my search results appeared to be a black and white inking of it! "Wow! If it's a high enough resolution, then maybe I will try to color it!" I thought. I mean, how cool would it be to color my own Ripclaw? After clicking the link I learned that I was very much mistaken thinking that this might be a high quality inking. No. Instead, it was a high resolution pencil drawing by the artist Jordan Raskin!
Holy monkey balls, Batman! A scan of the original pencil work for the very cover I have pinned to my wall! Screw colors! Ima ink this muther!
So, I downloaded the image (Image!), wiped the drool off my screen, and started in. I'm inking with a stylus laptop so I'll post the source material, followed by a few screen shots of my progress, as I progress (be sure to change the pronunciation through your internal voice, reading that please and thank you). I'm very excited by this discovery and, to be honest, have no one that would even bother looking at this lol. Maybe there's one or two comic kats here in the MOFO kingdom that might appreciate it instead. My goal is to get some honest practice in drawing digitally, and to use this as a bridge to hopefully create something new, down the road. Fingers crossed that I don't quit after the weekend.
For anyone interested, the blog site is here, and has several years of posts and sample pencil and ink work. Great stuff, if you're into it.
Here is the cover for reference.
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel
"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel
"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel
"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel
"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear