Painted TMNT Blank Covers

The cover stock on the blank TMNT #100's I have is really glossy, so rather than my usual method of ink ing a special cover, I decided to try painting them with acryla-guache. It meant spraying them all first with matte finish so everything would stick and then a long process of building up paint with a steep learning curve for someone used to only painting in watercolor. But in the end, I'm proud of these. I'm offering them for sale separately in my online store: mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/painted-tmnt-blank-covers 

but below I'll share the process of creating them:

They each started with a pencil drawing on copy paper scanned into photoshop into a scan of the blank cover for placement and then given a blocked in digital color pass for me to reference when it came time for paint.

The pencils sketches needed some refinement and I made digital alterations to them at this stage, even adding in stock 3D models of Leo's katanas to match the angles I'd drawn his hands in.

These were then printed out (along with a brick pattern not shown here) and using transfer paper, transferred to the cover stock by tracing over them.

I wasn't great at stopping to photograph them at all the stages of building up the paint, but here are the photos I did manage to take along the way for each character:

Leo

transferred pencil drawing

building up base colors--something I was doing too thinly to get to stick well at first because of my watercolor bias

more base colors and some modeling on Leo's skin

Final with ink outlines, white halo painted on, pencil to shade the brick and some brown color pencil to push the shadows on Leo.

Don

Pencil transfer

Base colors––I was getting better at not going as thin, but certainly still painting in a watercolor mindset of thin transparent laters.

Building up more tones

smoothing out those tones because it all looked too splotchy

Final Final with ink outlines, white halo painted on, pencil to shade the brick and some brown color pencil to push the shadows on Don

Mike

pencil transfer

Had some brown that was on the palette that was going to dry, so I opted to start with his elbow pads, belt and wrist bands. 

I was getting better at going straight in with thicker midtone layers at this point and then building in both shadow and highlights (something very different for a watercolor painter)

Last of the painting before adding line

Final with ink outlines, white halo painted on, pencil to shade the brick and some brown color pencil to push the shadows on Mike

Raph

Pencil Transfer

Midtone skin, shell, pads, and reds getting built up

further skin and shell rendering

last stage of painting before linework

Final with ink outlines, white halo painted on, pencil to shade the brick and some brown color pencil to push the shadows on Raph

Splinter

pencil transfer

I got nervous with how dark I was making my base color when trying to get good coverage on a coverstock that doesn't absorb water.

building up Splinter's robe and arm wraps

Fur rendering

final painting before lineart

Final with ink outlines, white halo painted on, pencil to shade the brick and some brown color pencil to push the shadows on Splinter

Again, I'm offering these for sale separately in my online store: mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/painted-tmnt-blank-covers