Okay, I know it’s been a long break.

I last posted over a year ago now, at first I was too busy to post and then, unfortunately, I was too unwell to post. I chose to stop working about a year ago to look after myself properly. Now I’m trying to healthily make my way back to the drawing board. So, inspired by my talented partner’s new blog, toofolktobecool.blogspot.com, I’ve caught the itch to start posting on this here blog of mine again.

First up the completion of the Scarboy pages, this was my last post. These pages were a commission from a father for his young son, the true Scarboy. I remember being nervous about taking on the responsibility of telling his story but I realised it was also a great opportunity to do something special for a very deserving young man as well.

I committed to doing the preparation as diligently as possible, it was important for me to be able to capture the essence of the real people I was portraying, not so much Photorealism but those identifying marks and mannerisms that would allow me to pose them freely.

It was a blast to design the Scarboy costume from the ground up. I make a cameo in the bottom left panel of page two, that’s me holding up his costume. I couldn’t resist the symbolic gesture of me handing it over to him.

I could recognise for myself that my pencilling was further along than my inking so this was the first sequential project where I resolved to get my pencils as tight as possible to leave me with no confusion when inking. I was free to concentrate on the rendering decisions, whereas in former work I found at the inking stage that I’d left myself with some decisions that should have been made with a pencil.

I used brush and pen to ink the pages. Since the time my drawing moved on from stick figures I’ve had a tendency to see blocks of shadows as entities in their own right, so I enjoyed working the high contrast nature of some of the panels.

I was very happy and remain very happy with the finished pages. I was also, of course, nervous about how they would go down with the Scarboy concerned and I’m happy, and honoured, to say that the four A3 boards are framed and hanging in his room. This artwork is my contribution to acknowledging what a special guy he is and that I’m glad I got the chance to know him and his story better.

On a different note, I’d like to shout a thank you to David O’Leary over at Irish Comic News for posting a link to my previous Scarboy post. Irish Comic News is a great site that shines a spotlight on the many talented Irish creators working today as well as reviews etc. I thoroughly recommend you to check it out, you could go there when you’re finished here maybe, there’s a link at the bottom. David O’Leary was also the first person to review my work, for Formation 7. Again link at the bottom.

http://toofolktobecool.blogspot.ie/
http://www.irishcomicnews.com/tag/gary-gowran/
http://comicrelated.com/news/7706/formation-seven

Scarboy the Beginning

The End

The toughest part of this page was Lockdown. He affects every part of the page in panel design and balance, his decision now is the focus of the story. It was a challenge to fit him in the middle of the page and allow room for the rest of the story, so it took a few re-draws of his pose to be content. I am very happy with the top panels also, I like the flow of the action. Would have liked more impact in the last panel.

Who to shoot?

The team springs into action but what will Lockdown do? Follow orders or follow his ideals? His finger is on the trigger.

Formation Disperse

I think this was my most pressurised page. A lot to communicate. I had to redraw and ink some elements and wasn't happy with the rendering of the last panel. Really like Baby Jane on this page though.

Beginning of the End

The beginning of the two page finale. You've met the team, you've seen where they live, now see them in action as each member takes up their positions. Lockdown on the some from page one, Baby Jane in control and the others on street level. What will happen?

Team-building

I did this page over a year ago now, and looking at it inked, it's one of those pages I'd like to ink again knowing what I know now. I think I lost a sense of clarity and strength that the pencils contained. Having said that, you do what you know until you know differently and every piece is a step towards who you are as an artist.

Forming Formation 7

The first and only page in the comic where the full team are together. I went for a triangular composition to emphasise unity and strength. The challenge with this page was to nail the proportions, making sure each character related realistically. Also the tiny Baby Jane could have easily been lost to the vertical superiority of her teammates, especially Jumbo Girl. In employing the desk I hoped to give a platform for her to express her large character. The desk helped to frame the team as-well, being the only straight edge on the page.

Sketch Thursday

A communiqué from Monkeylord- oo, oo, ah ah ooh ah eeh oh a eh eeh, eh eh. Oh a ee aeh.-How eloquent.

Toyboy-talkie

Work hard, talk hard, relax hard. With pizza.

One-sided Conversation

Oh what fabulous hair, what divine, ambrosia fed hair. Seriously though, chuffed with the hair, chuffed with the expressions. Don't you just want to be part of that conversation?

My Favourite's the Musketeer

The keys to pencilling and then inking such a large array of repetitive figures. For me. Patience, almost goes without saying, and background music of the kind you'll find yourself humming, singing or generally da-da-da-ing along to at random points.

Toyboy's Dungeon

A case of quantity having a quality all of its own. I must count how many toy soldiers are in the picture...........................................73. I need help.

Inked Victory

And so to inking. I love to work with brushes, so for this project I resolved to ink everything organic with a brush and machined objects with a pen and ruler or french curves. Because of my love of brushes I carried the perception that anything inked in brush was inherently better. This is not true. While some things do look better the most important thing is getting the image from your mind onto the page using whatever tools necessary. I learned the tools always service the image, not the other way around.

Victory is Ours

This was a very enjoyable page to draw, moving from close up action shots to widescreen victory stance back to middle distance talking heads. I love the sense of contempt I captured in Pirouette's body language, it showed me the power of the body as the first communicator of emotion and attitude.

Sketch Thursday

An artifact dating from the medieval age that hints at a deeper story behind it.

Pirouette-wheel and Jumbo-squash

Ouchie!

Jumbo Girl Crush

Apologies for the sporadic nature of my recent postings, I have been rushed off my feets by the analogue world getting a book proposal together and other sundry items. So we return to a semblance of normal service with another Formation 7 pencil.

Sketch Thursday

This is the pencil of my submission to the Kapow convention brochure cover competition. It features the millarworld character Superior hovering majestically before stunned onlookers heralding the arrival of the superheroes of the convention.

Netherworld contest Nether-entry

This is a piece for a contest to design a retailer incentive cover for a new Top Cow comic called Netherworld. Unfortunately I had difficulties registering on their forum to post the entry so I missed the deadline. Very glum-making. It's heavily referenced from a photo with some buildings and the figure added in and some details taken away. Quite pleased with it, not least because I managed to do most of it on my daily commute. Check out the entries at topcow.com's barn.