Muppet Snow White #3 Cover process

Muppet Snow White #3 process:
With the popularity of showing the Piggy Snow White cover process. I decided to show the same for cover 3. As before, it started with a small thumbnail sketch in my sketchbook (upper right corner). The potential cast list was pretty big for the funeral scene, so I focused on just sketching out mourning Muppets, not worrying about who went next to whom. Some character sketches I didn't like and redrew, others I passed over due to lack of space.

The sketches were scanned and sliced up in Photoshop. I had each character on a separate layer (the background trees were also on their own layer). Tinting the characters helps me know what lines are associated with which Muppet. This is the stage where I try and resize things or characters that are out of proportion. I can rotate heads or arms, re-center eyes, basically any minor changes. The order of the grouping was done mostly by height and what direction I had them facing in my initial sketch. If the arrangement wasn't pleasing to the eye, I could have mirrored characters to try and reorganize them.

The layout above was printed out at full size and taped to my final bristol board. I inked the cover on my light box using the printed layout as a guide. With the character's positions and faces, I followed my layout very closely. Other areas like the flowers as the base of the casket-platform, I inked as I went, just drawing variations of the few flowers I had sketched in on the layout. The leafs on the trees were also something I spent time on in the inking stage that were rather undefined in the sketch. It's that kind of varied repetition that I like doing in ink (rocks, leafs, water droplets...)

Last step was the color. I used a palette close to what I would have used for the Muppets anyhow, but I gave it a little yellow boost at the end to give the feeling of light coming through the canopy of that dark forest. With Spamela being the focal point I played with the lighting to make her some of the lighting source. The other trick was to push the background back behind the characters and not lose it in a muddy clump.


Motor City & Ink & Stein:
This Friday, Saturday, & Sunday I will be at the Motor City comic con in Novi MI. I'll be in artist alley selling books, buttons, posters, & original art. I'll also be signing anything I worked on, and doing commissions (7" x 7" square fully inked $100). They are 1st come, 1st serve. I start a new list every day and cap it with what I can get done at the show for that day.

This weekend is also Ink & Stein, but with Motor City, we decided to move the location for this week out to the Double Tree in Novi. This will allow any of our regular artists and writers attending or exhibiting at the con to come to Ink & Stein without driving all over Southeastern MI. It also opens the door for non-regulars who are out-of-town guests of the show and may be staying nearby to attend. Meeting time is still 7pm, so feel free to grab a bite after the show or just relax at the Double Tree until 7.

Bare Chin Deal:
This weekend I will look a bit different. Some may recall I took this photo a while back after thinking it was funny to shave my chin only. Julia didn't think it was funny and so the look only lasted long enough to grab this photo. Katie Cook thinks this shaved look is hilarious and has been pushing me to do it again. Well Katie, Julia, & I struck a bargain. For Motor City I have to have my chin shaved like so...but for San Diego, Katie will wear custom made Mouse Guard Shirts (of her own design) all 5 days. I couldn't pass up the advertising space and rate.



Fan Art:Kyle Ferrin tweeted some of his fan art to me. This piece is of he and his wife as Guard Mice. Kyle has a Deviant Art page set up just for his Mouse Guard Fan Art.


Upcoming Appearances:*
Motor City Con: May 14-16
Kids Read Comics: June 12th (Sat. only)
San Diego (Artist Alley): July 22-25
Baltimore Comic Con: August 28-29
*more 2010 dates may be added