Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Recent Commissions

At conventions I do toned paper commissions. I wish I had the time to have these open year-round or for people who can't make it out to my convention appearances, but when I'm home, I have other work & obligations that prevent me from doing so. Here is a look at my most recent batch:


Celanawe

Fan's Mouse Guard RPG character

A Mousey Minerva McGonnagal

A Mouse & Fan's pet Hedgehog

Mouse and a Tiger

Mouse Archiologist


Celanawe with the Black Axe and a Shield

A Guardmouse

Mousey Galadriel 

Mouse Tailor

Tomoe Ame from Usagi Yojimbo

Rocket Raccoon

Another Rocket Raccoon

Batman with a Mouse on his cowl

Gordon Shumway aka A.L.F.

Metalhead from TMNT

Thanos

A Mouse Barrister 

A Princess Cat

A Hobo Cat


Yoda

A Mouse Cartographer


Lieam


Kenzie

Saxon


Raphael & a Mouse

A Porg



Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Gnomevember 2017 Re-Visit...

November of last year I participated in 'GNOMEVEMBER'. Not only had I never heard about it before I saw Becky Cloonan tweeting in late October of her plans to participate, but I'd never done a one-a-day for a month event like "INKTOBER' or 'DRAWTOBER'. So it was a challenge for-sure! It was also at a time when I was under a lot of personal stress and I found that making the space each day to try and get one Gnome drawn helped a lot. Sometimes I fell behind, sometimes I drew elaborate scenes or larger pieces, other times I drew something simple or small to help not bog me down and get back to the pressures of the day.

Over the last year I've been coloring my Gnomevember pieces for fun--and with the idea that we may do some type of prints/products with them (which still may happen--stay tuned). But for now, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I wanted to share these with you not just to say I'm thankful for the experience I had drawing and coloring these wee folk--but that I'm more thankful for my fans who enjoyed and supported me through their creation and the difficult times they were created in.


I've opened a little Popup Shop for my #GNOMEVEMBER pieces over on Society6 for the holidays! Prints, Coasters, Stationary Cards, Totes, Travel Mugs & More: https://society6.com/davidpetersen

A Smoking Gnome.



A Garden Gnome.



A Woodcutter Gnome.

A Cooking Gnome.


A Knight Gnome.

A Young (for a Gnome) Artist Gnome
named David.


A Harvesting Gnome on the Run.


Playing the Lute.

A Lantern Gnome.


Elder Gnome with Death's Head Moth.



Siberian Gnome.

A sprig of pine and a spot of tea.


Oaken Staffed Gnome.

Hiding in the Berries.




Royal Gnomes.

Starting a Window.


Engagement.




 A Gnome & Her Marionette



The End.


Not all of my GNOMEVMEBER pieces are colored, if you want a look at all of last year's Gnomes:





Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Mouse Guard Creator Commentary: Winter #1

I've made a Creator Commentary video for the first issue/chapter of Mouse Guard Winter 1152!  Please feel free to follow along in your copy of the story in either issue form of from the hardcover as I talk about the behind the scenes details, art notes, and my head-space as I go page by page and panel by panel. Enjoy!





Direct link to video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/F_yrycxio5w

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Beneath the Dark Crystal Variant Cover #5

Here is my fifth variant cover for Archaia's Beneath the Dark Crystal series!

To view my past Dark Crystal covers click here.


This cover features UrYod the Mystic Numerologist and skekShod the Skeksis Treasurer. Like my other covers they are the counterparts to each other and paired together facing opposite each other. To the left you can see the finished artwork for the cover, but below I'll walk through the steps to get there.



I started creating the layout by drawing the Skeksis and Mystic each on separate sheets of copy paper.  Henson and Archaia provided me with a great set of reference photos of the puppets and their costumes from the original production that help when trying to decipher detail upon detail of a the character's garments, props, or anatomy. I tried to get these two to act a bit more, suing their hands to each hold items significant to them (the Skeksis holds a dagger and a purse, the mystic: a rope-abacus stone). I scanned the drawings into Photoshop and was able to tint, resize, and manipulate them into a layout I liked. The background circle design is based on a Brian Froud painting from the book "The World of the Dark Crystal", but simplified and drawn in my line.

Once I got the approval from Archaia and Henson for the layout, I printed it out and taped it to the back of a sheet of Strathmore 300 series bristol. On my light pad (I use a a3 sized Huion) I can see through the surface of the bristol to the printout below and ink using it as a guide. I inked this with Copic Multiliners, specifically the 0.7 & 0.3 nibs.

My main focus when inking these Dark Crystal characters is to get the textures right. To give them a look of being physical things with wear and tear, with wrinkles and grime. It's important that the parts of each character's costume also reads as layered and detailed and textured as the real puppets were...though I'm certainly having to interpret color and tone and texture into some type of little line styles.


The inks were approved, and I scanned the original artwork into Photoshop to start the coloring process. This step, known as 'flatting' is where flat colors are added to establish the various color areas. Mapping out what parts are what colors. While I have some reference to start with, I'm still eyeballing these colors and making a lot of decisions on my own.

At this stage I also added the color hold (an area where I want the inks to be a color other than black) on the circle pattern behind the characters.





The last step is to render the colors using the dodge and burn tools. I use a textured brush that comes stock with Photoshop when I'm doing this to help emulate the look of something a little more natural and less airbrush-slick.

I also added in a Froud-ian design (one that I inked back when I was inking the cover itself) as a ghostly overly over the entire piece.

The final order cut off (for your local comic book store to order one for you) is Nov. 19th. The issue is in stores and on-sale December 12th!

5 down...7 to go....


2019 Appearances TBA

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