Overlay Drawings

Overlay Drawings:
As promised, I wanted to show a technique I use when I'm struggling with a complex scene or layout. I find it useful to draw parts of the scene and then place them on the lightbox to work on another portion. For example, I can draw this background inside Lockhaven and then on a different sheet of paper, be drawing the hares. This way if I don't like the hares, I can erase or start over without worrying about ruining my background drawing.

In this example, I was also having to fit in lots of mouse characters. So I used yet another sheet of paper for that. Again, this way I can draw and erase the mice until I get what I like without ever altering or disturbing the hares or background. Once this step is done, I can scan the sheets in and composite them in photoshop. Here I color coded some of the characters he help me remember which mice they were as I inked & colored them on the final art.

Another example of when I'll use this is when the perspective can be tricky and I want to really get the background just right. I can draw all sorts of perspective lines and construction lines as I build up the setting. I then use another sheet to add the characters in using the background perspective as a guide for their scale and foreshortening. Scanning the sheets separately again (but using little 'X' calibration marks in the corners to realign them) I can also tint the background to help me see and focus on the characters more.

Ultimately, the photoshop composited images, which are cropped and sized for the final page layout, is printed and lightboxed onto the final bristol page.


Long Beach Comic Con & More:I'll be 'touring' Southern California part of this week and next. In addition to the Long Beach Comic con (Golden Apple #555 & Archaia booth #265) Where I'll be signing, I'll also be doing several store signings and appearances. Here is the quick run-down:



Wednesday, September 30, 4-7 p.m.
signing at Comickaze Comics Books and More
San Diego, CA

Thursday, October 1, 7-9 p.m.
signing at Secret Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA

Friday, October 2nd, 8:30 p.m.
Live Art and Music Party, Co-Sponsored by Atomic Apple, ComicVine.com and Archaia
Room #204
Long Beach Comic Con at the Long Beach Convention Center
more details about the events can be found here


Fan Art:
Patty Barden writes: "Last year, on November 1, my son and his sweetheart's wedding featured a Mouse Guard wedding cake--see attached. True fans. . . "Awesome Patty! And Congrats to the happy couple!
(no mention as to who made the cake)








Upcoming Appearances:Comickaze Comics signing: Sept. 30 (4-7pm)
Secret Headquarters signing: Oct. 1 (7-9pm)
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Big Apple Con Oct. 16-18Forbidden Planet London signing: Nov. 7
Live Reading at the Flint Public Library Dec. 8 (6:30 & 7:30pm)

FCBD 09 Print Process

Weekly Blogging:
If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to update the blog more often than I have in the past. I was posting at a 1 per month rate before, but decided to up it to 1 per week. I'm certainly no James Gurney, and can't imagine doing a daily blog, but the weekly schedule seems do-able.

FCBD '09 process:
I just sorted through a bunch of sketches I had in a drawer to find some examples of my process. I'm reluctant to share pencils usually, but I think I have a few weeks worth of stuff to share. This week I'm showing the progress on the Free Comic Book Day print from this year.

Having done a FCBD print the year before, I had established a format: 5.5" x 8.5" print with 2 panels, a scene and the letters FCBD and the year. Here is my rough sketch. It's only a few inches wide in my sketchbook. My idea was to show Saxon, Kenzie, and Rand fighting weasels (a nod of stories to come). I was concerned here with the shape of the mass of weasels and the mice as a final focus.

The next step was to scan and enlarge the thumbnail to working size (about 6" x 10" for the images). I printed out the rough at size and then using a lightbox, tightened up the pencils on a new sheet of paper. You can see the rough as yellow lines in the image here. Note that I also used a font for the layout of the text here.

Once I liked the tightened pencils, I threw a sheet of bristol on the lightbox with the pencils underneath. I inked directly on to the bristol. This way I never get any pencil on the final art. I'm finding I like using this method lately. It means being tied to my studio to ink over the lightbox, but allows me to have cleaner final artwork. As for the "FCBD" portion, using the printed font as a guide, I was able to distress the text and add stippled texture.

I then scanned the inked artwork and started coloring in Photoshop (I'm still using 7 cause I like it and "if it ain't broke..."). This stage is called 'flatting' Not only am I selecting an overall palette here (which sometimes can change again before the final colors) I'm designating which areas are broken by color. I tend to do this on multiple layers labeled things like 'mouse fur', 'clothing 1', clothing 2', 'weapons' etc.
This is also the stage where I select linework that will get a 'color hold' ie: linework that will be printed as a color as opposed to black.

The final colors get rendered and tweaked. With this composition it was important for me to make the weasels a mass, but also have each weasel 'readable'. You needed to be able to tell where one ended and the next began. I also wanted to really help the mice be the focus, so I added the lightness to the background and color hold behind them.

Next time I plan on showing more overlay/lighbox sketch/layout techniques.


Detroit Comics Book Club:
This Friday (Sept. 25th) I'll be a guest at Detroit Comics in Ferndale, MI as they discuss Mouse Guard Fall and Winter 1152 from 7PM to 9PM. The plan is to have a real conversation about the books and story and the creation of the artwork and not to wander off into various other topics. I'm excited to talk about character motivations, places I feel the book fell short, or how little story threads tie together. With that in mind, I won't be doing any drawings or sketches at this appearance, I want to focus on the book club conversation.

September Ypsi Ink & Stein:
It's that time again, the last Saturday of the month! For those unfamiliar, a group of artists and writers gather at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti the last Saturday of every month from 7pm 'till close. The idea is to come and work, make connections, bounce ideas off one another, and to inspire and be inspired. If you live in South-Eastern Michigan and want to join us, you are more than welcome!

Fan Art:
This week comes from Sandra Becker. You can check out her work by clicking her name. Thanks Sandra!


Upcoming Appearances:
Detroit Comics' Book Club: Sept. 25
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Big Apple Con Oct. 16-18

Windy City Con:

This Saturday (Sept. 19th), I'll be at the Windy City comic con with fellow South East-Michigan pals Jeremy Bastian & Katie Cook. Because this is a one day show, I will be doing free quick doodles for anyone who has a Mouse Guard hardcover or their own sketchbook for me to do it in.

Long Beach Comic Con poster exclusive:

At the Long Beach Con (Oct 2-4), I'll be signing an all-new, exclusive Mouse Guard print, with an image created specifically for Long Beach Comic Con. Available only at the Atomic Apple booth. Limited to 25 pieces per day (75 total). I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Careful readers/fans may be able to figure out both the mouse and location featured (though it will take some extrapolation)...though if you do, there is no prize this time.

Big Apple Con: *just added*

I will be attending this year's Big Apple Con (Oct 16-18). This was a last minute addition for my schedule, but as my next NYC show wouldn't be until fall of '10 (which at best I'll only make 1 day of), it is a trip I felt was needed. Thanks to Peter Katz for making the arrangements!

NYT Best Seller Week 6:

I almost hate to keep posting on this every week because I don't know how many times I can say I'm surprised! Is is now ranked #10 (out of 10) So I suspect Winter not to be there again next week, but if it is, it's thanks to the fans! Here is the full list

Fan Art:

This week's Fan Art comes from Dominic Bercier. I met Dominic about a year ago at Baltimore and he had some cool sample pieces to show off. He just sent this Mouse Guard piece a few weeks ago, Thanks Dominic!

Upcoming Appearances:

Windy City Con: Sept. 19

Detroit Comics' Book Club: Sept. 25

Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4

Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11

Big Apple Con Oct. 16-18 *just added*

Muppet Peter Pan #4
This may be my favorite of the Muppet covers I've done. Gonzo is my favorite Muppet and I didn't feel like I really nailed my take on him on the two other covers he's been featured on. I'm also pleased with the water (inspired by Windsor McKay) and the coloring. I think Peter Pan #1 ships soonish from Boom.

Dead Duck:
My pal Jay Fosgitt has a book coming out from Ape called Dead Duck (Previews Sept090577). Jay has a great sense of humor (a nice blend of Muppets, Monty Python, and Benny Hill) and Dead Duck is his way of pouring that funny stuff right onto the page. I warn fans of mine that it is more adult than Mouse Guard, but fun for those old enough to appreciate it. Oh, and here is My take on Dead Duck and Zombie Chick.

NYT Best Seller Week 5:Every week I figure is my last, and Winter 1152 keeps hanging on! Thanks to fans and retailers for making it happen! Here is the full list

Fan Art:
Mat Marbolo sent in two Fan pieces. I like the stylization and use of color on this one. Thanks Matt! here is the other Mouse Guard piece on his blog
Upcoming Appearances:
Windy City Con: Sept. 19
Detroit Comics' Book Club: Sept. 25
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Mouse Guard Live Readings in the Michigan Area: TBA

NYT Bestsellers Week 4:
I don't know how I can still be surprised anymore, but I am!
Mouse Guard Winter 1152 is at #9. You can check out the full list here: NYT Bestsellers Graphic Novels

Dragon*Con:

I will be set up at Dragon Con (Sept 4-7) in the Artist Alley. In attendance will also be Mythbuster Adam Savage. I didn't get to meet him at SDCC (despite my bribe of a free drawing to both him and whatever fan of mine brought him to my table). I hope that perhaps I'll get meet him at this show...and I'm making the same offer...

Puppet contest:
Last week, I posted about the TVTV Puppet Contest. Well here is my entry: The Snail. He was a puppet I built when I was 16 or so. Unfortunately, I had used permanent marker to trace my pattern and it showed through on the seams and where I had mis-traced. He had also lost his eyes over the years, so I gave him a makeover. He got a puffy paint stippled texture to mask the marker and cool button and feather eyes.

New Runners:
A while back I mentioned Sean Wang's awesome comic Runners (This is a pinup I did for him exploring the past crew seen in a flashback from the first series). Sean has been posting pages a every day from the first series leading up to this coming week, when Runners: The Big Snow Job starts! So if you like classic Star Wars and awesome ship and alien designs, check out Runners.



Fan Art:
This piece comes from Ryan Cabral who sent me this awesomely moody nighttime piece. I like how cinematic it feels. Thanks Ryan!!
Upcoming Appearances:
Dragon Con: Sep. 4-7
Windy City Con: Sept. 19
Detroit Comics' Book Club: Sept. 25
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Mouse Guard Live Readings in the Michigan Area: TBA

3rd week on NYTimes Bestsellers!
Winter 1152 has stayed on the NYTimes Bestsellers list for Hardcover Graphic Novels for its 3rd week! After last week of it getting to 8 of 10 (while still thrilled I was ON the list at all) I figured it was the end. But thanks to fans suggesting it to new-yet-to-be-fans, it has hung on! We will see what next week brings!

Indie RPG awards:
Mouse Guard won 3 of the Indie RPG awards handed out at Gen Con: Game of the Year, Best Support, and Best Production. I'm thrilled Mouse Guard won these! Thanks to Luke Crane & his crew for such a great game. You can read more about the Indie Award results & comments on why we won here


Mouse Guard Playlist:
A fan was commenting on Twitter about what kind of music would be good for his Mouse Guard RPG adventure. It got me thinking that while Ballad of the Ivory Lass is available on the MG site (and the ballad from issue #6 is coming soon), I could round out the list with music I use while I'm working on Mouse Guard to evoke the mood I'm after in the storytelling. So here is a list:
(and I'm interested in your suggestions as well, feel free to post them as a comment in this post)

-Howard Shore: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship, Two Towers, & Return of the King:
Pretty much everything on these soundtracks is appropriate and was listened to heavily while I worked on Mouse Guard Fall & Winter. Highlights are Concerning Hobbits (for any town/mouse settlement/mouse culture pages) The Hornburg, & The Grey Havens.

-Trevor Jones & Randy Edelman: Last of the Mohicans:
Again, this whole album is great and most of it fits with scenes in Mouse Guard thematically. The Main Title, Ambush, & The Kiss are my favorites though.

-Simon and Garfunkel: Monday Morning 3AM:
Odd choice, I know...but one of their takes on a traditional ballad is right in line with Mouse guard and was something I listened to before trying my hand at writing one: Peggy-O

-Natalie Merchant: Ophelia:
Same reason as Simon & Garfunkel, only this time it's her take on the traditional When The Ring the Golden Bells that served as inspiration.

Winter Black and White:
I don't know if I have been given a full green light on a Winter version of the Black and White limited ed. hardcover we did for Fall, but I was asked to mock-up the cover for it...which is a good sign! I wanted to share it here. I'll let everyone know more, when I know more (including pre-order info etc.)


Convention Sketches:
I like sharing these from time to time. Some of these I finished just today, some of these I found saved on my camera's memory stick and I never posted them. For those new to the blog/Mouse Guard, I do commissions at shows that are 7" x 7" on 12" x 12" bristol. I do not have an open list and do not take names outside of conventions. Some of these are requests of the person getting the piece, others are my own ideas (though this time they all seem to be requests).

Translvania TV:
Gordon Smuder, who has been a supporter of Mouse Guard, is one of the minds behind Transylvania TV, an adult-humor puppet show with online webisodes. Gordon is the performer for Furry J. Ackermonster, an albino Yeti. I love the design of the character and I think he's my favorite on the show, so I did this fan-art for them. Right now the show is running a contest to get your own handmade puppet into one of their episodes! (I have my entry already photographed and ready to send in!)


Fan Art:
Issac Thayer, is a great kid whom I have met before at the Chicago Comic-Con. He and his Dad were at this year's show again and Issac was cool enough to give me a bunch of Mouse Guard fan art! I picked this one out of the batch because I liked the use of shading using tone rather than line. Keep up the good work Issac!

Upcoming Appearances:
Dragon Con: Sep. 4-7
Windy City Con: Sept. 19
Detroit Comics' Book Club: Sept. 25
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Mouse Guard Live Readings in the Michigan Area: TBA

Muppet Peter Pan #3

Muppet Peter Pan #3:

Here is the cover I did for Muppet Peter Pan #3. The direction I was given was "a Kermit and the Lost Boys cover". I had a blast drawing Animal (the first time I have done so for the Boom covers). I love doing these and hope Boom will continue to ask me to contribute.

Peter Pan #1 will be in-stores mid-September with the rest of the series following monthly.

Fresh Ink:
Today on G4's Attack of the Show segment Fresh Ink, Blair Butler named Mouse Guard Winter 1152 as one of the "five trades you should be reading"! Thanks to Blair and ATOS for the spotlight! G4 usually replays ATOS later the same night and again the following morning before the new episode airs at 7pm, so if you missed it you can try and catch a re airing.
*edit* You can watch the Fresh Ink segment online here

New York Times... AGAIN!

Mouse Guard Winter 1152 has stayed on the New York Times Best Sellers list for the 2nd week! Pretty amazing I think! You can take a look at the other 9 Hardcover Graphic Novels that made the list as well by following this link.

Old Time Radio:

As I have said before in blog posts (a, b, c, & d), I am a fan of Old Time Radio. I have Sirius Satellite Radio (channel 118 is the OTR channel) and between that and various OTR sites with free downloads, I'm able to program an entire work day with a playlist of the stuff.

I wanted to share a few sites I use and suggest that if you have a job where you can listen to radio without being distracted by phone calls/customers/etc...OTR is one of your best options.

Here are some great sites:

OTR.net: http://www.otr.net/

Radio Lovers.com: http://www.radiolovers.com/

Old Time Radio Downloads.com: http://oldtimeradiodownloads.com/

Ink and Stein:

This Month's gathering is quickly approaching! For those who don't know, Ink & Stein is a gathering at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, MI for artists & writers to spend an evening working on their work, sharing ideas, getting critiqued, making contacts, and overall-having a good time. This Month the date is Aug. 29th at 7pm. If you can't make this month's gathering, try us again the last Saturday of every month.

Fan Art:

Michael Murray(age 10) hand delivered this piece of artwork to me at the Chicago Comic-Con! Thanks Michael for the fan art and for coming to my table at the convention. If you would like your fan art to appear on the blog, email it to me at ericebon (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Upcoming Appearances:
Signing at Paradise Comics Toronto: Aug. 22
Dragon Con: Sep. 4-7
Windy City Con: Sept. 19
Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
Mouse Guard Live Readings in the Michigan Area: TBA

New York Times...?!?!

While in Chicago, I received several calls from Archaia staff congratulating me and informing me that Mouse Guard Winter 1152 made the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover graphic novels! Obviously I am thrilled and amazed to have Mouse Guard or my name in the same sentence as "New York Times Bestseller". The Winter collection debuted at #4. We will see what the coming weeks will hold.

Charles Christopher

I have become a BIG fan of Karl Kerschl and his webstrip the Abominable Charles Christopher. For me Karl is making a strip on the level of Calvin and Hobbes. Don't click the link looking for a direct comparison of strips though...what I mean is that he has a full emotion range (from HAHAHA, to Awwww, to sob!) and his draftsmanship on par with some of the top in the visual storytelling field. So I was thrilled when he offered to let me do a guest strip! It was a few weeks ago now, but here is the link.

Black Axe info

At my spotlight panel in San Diego, I talked about the upcoming Mouse Guard: Black Axe series. CBR covered the panel and you can read their report here. The basics of the new series are: It's a prequel, It will have 2 familiar mice from the Fall/Winter stories as younger mice, They travel off the map, and the series will start early next year. I also wanted to share this image that I teased at the panel. I gave away this free print to all the fans in San Diego.

Archaia+Henson=YAY!

I'm thrilled that my publisher and the Jim Henson company have teamed to produce new stories of Henson properties (Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock, etc, etc, etc....) but also to create new material together. I was fortunate enough to not only be a part of the panel in San Diego that announced the partnership, but I was asked to do the poster artwork for the announcement featuring the Dark Crystal! Creative teams for the books have not been announced yet other than the news of Brian Froud doing covers and creative direction for Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. I do not have any of these posters, Archaia is the only source, but I did hear rumblings at Archaia that it may get reprinted for future cons. You can read coverage of the panel at CBR.

Fan Art:

This piece was given to me by Amanda Estey. Thank you Amanda! I agree Mice with swords are awesome (mice with staffs, bows, maces, axes, slings, daggers and shields are pretty cool too)

if you want to see your fan art here, e-mail it to ericebon (at) hotmail (dot) com

Upcoming Appearances:

Signing at Paradise Comics Toronto: Aug. 22

Dragon Con: Sep. 4-7

Windy City Con: Sept. 19

Long Beach Comic Con: Oct. 2-4

Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11

Mouse Guard Live Readings in the Michigan Area: TBA

Online ENnie Award voting

The Mouse Guard RPG is nominated for 3 ENnie awards!

Best Interior Art, Best Production Value, Best Product of the Year.

The winners are determined by online popular vote (which are only open for a few more days), So the only way we can win is if fans make a push and vote. You don't have to vote for every category, so if you only want to support Mouse Guard in your voting, that's fine.

Here is the link to the ballot, and thank you in advance!

http://www.ennie-awards.com/voting/ballot.asp

(SDCC wrap-up post coming soon with info on '09 sketchbooks etc.)

SDCC Info dump *UPDATE*

San Diego Comic Con '09:
I'll be spending most of my time in Artist's Alley AA03. I'll also be signing at the Archaia Booth 2635 once per day. Check the Archaia booth for a schedule of my signing times as well as the signing times of other Archaia creators.

2 new products available for the first time at SDCC:

Winter 1152 Hardcover. 192 pages collecting the 6 issues of the comic series plus an epilogue, and guide pages. Foreword by Dinotopia creator James Gurney. (these will be available at the Archaia booth*)


*Also available: Fall 1152, and the Mouse Guard RPG at the Archaia booth

Panels:
I'll be involved in 4 panels this year (possibly 5, but here are the 4 confirmed):
It will be 5:

Friday July 24th: 11:30-12:30 Comics Arts Conference Session #6: Can College Prepare Creators for Comics Careers?
Ben Templesmith, Stephan Pastis, Hope Larson, David Petersen, Nick Langly, Mark Head

Friday July 24th: 1:00-2:00 Archaia/The Jim Henson Company: The Perfect Publishing Partnership— Learn about the fantasy titles the publisher has in store, including a new Mouse Guard volume (with creator David Petersen), Artesia (with creator Mark Smylie), Okko, and Primordia. Then find out more about the partnership The Jim Henson Company and Archaia have formed to create comics and graphic novels based on such beloved properties as Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, MirrorMask, and Fraggle Rock, as well as all-new, original concepts! Hear more about this venture with Henson's director of publishing and development Joe LeFavi, Archaia's director of development Stephen Christy, and a few surprise guests as creative teams are announced and publishing plans are discussed. All attendees will receive a free Archaia/Henson poster featuring a new piece of art! Room 4

Saturday July 25th 5:00-6:00 Graphic Novels Sense of History
Rick Geary, Stan Sakai, Chris Schweizer, Eric Shanower, & David Petersen

Sunday, July 26th 11:30-12:30 Spotlight on David Petersen.
David Petersen will talk about his Eisner Award winning series Mouse Guard, how it came to be, the process that makes it happen, and what the future holds for his mice. Discussion will be moderated by Nick Tapalansky. audience Q&A will follow the moderated discussion.
*There will be an exclusive given away at the panel.*

Sunday, July 26th 1:30-2:30
Comic and Graphic Novels for all Ages
Jimmy Gownley, Kazu Kibuishi, Chris Schweizer, Jeff Smith, David Petersen, & Lex Farjado

Regarding sketches etc:

Sketches: I plan on doing free quick mouse doodles in any Mouse Guard hardcover (either purchased at the show or brought from home.).

I value the time at shows to talk to fans, answer questions, sign books, take photos etc. I’ll prioritize interacting with fans before anything,

This should answer any SDCC Q’s…but feel free to post other Q’s as comments and I’ll try to answer them ASAP.