New Print:For conventions this year (see list below). The print is a convention exclusive and will not be offered through email orders. I'm sorry to the folks that can't make it out to conventions, but I do advise that to avoid ebay scalpers crazy price hikes, find a fellow fan online who is attending a con and is willing to ship it to you. I have a few fans who do this already for UK fans who can't make it to US shows.

Process:
Last summer we encountered some turkey vultures on a family vacation. They stuck in my mind and I drew one recently as part of some Black Axe lore for an upcoming issue. As a poster, I could have more fun with the imagery and treat it more like a Legends cover (this very well may end up being used in Legends vol2). I looked at several photos of buzzards and vultures for reference while I sketched out my bird. I drew the mouse away from the buzzard knowing I would want to adjust his size and rotation.

I scanned that sketchpage and layed the image out in the proper size for the final artwork (8.25" x 16.25"). Because I had not drawn the full bird, I copied and mirrored his wing, yet the buzzards body wasn't full enough. I like manipulating sketches in photoshop for layout for this very reason. I can make adjustments without needing to redraw or erase my sketch. I tinted the various elements to help me see what lines belonged to what element (mouse, sword, bird, or bones).

The color tinted sketch was printed out and I layed bristol board on top of it on my light box. This way, I was able to use the sketch as a guide for my final inks on the bristol. I adjusted the left side of the buzzard as I went. The mirrored wing gave me a good sense of the scale I wanted for it, but was the wrong shape. For this piece I also inked using only Copic Multiliners (mainly the .05 & .08). I really like the lines they give me and I will be switching to them for my final artwork now.

Last step was to scan my inked artwork and color the piece in photoshop. Because I didn't draw much in the background, I went with a more painted sky than I normally do. I added a color hold to the bones to make them retreat a bit into the background. And I tried to get the mouse-rider's garb to mimic his carrion-eating mount.


2011 Appearances
C2E2: March 18-20
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 25-26
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 14-16