Reference Model: The Mariner's Bell:

In issue 2 of Black Axe, Em & Celanawe were going to meet Conrad at a tavern. To design this brew-hall, I had to choose one of the buildings from the larger Port Sumac Model to fit my interior design into. The octagonal dwelling I chose was one that I found free online as a 'medieval hut'. I had also tacked on another free online cottage piece to the roof on the town model, so my interior design needed to use that exterior shape.

I took the same hut model and upscaled the printout. I reworked the graphics to be a two story space with a row of windows around the upper floor and stone walls on the lower one. To have a purpose for the hut I glued onto the roof, I made that the housing for a big bell that perhaps the town uses as a signal for predators, upcoming storms, or incoming mouse ships (deafening to the patrons of the tavern though!). I didn't build the bell into the model, but the idea came to me as I was gluing together that space.

I glued up the printed out design so that the graphics were on the inside. I left off a section of the wall to give me a view inside. The spiral staircase is a bunch of equally trimmed pieces of craftwood glued piece by piece onto a drinking straw. The balcony is sections of cardboard. While I had an idea of what the interior of this tavern would look like, it wasn't until I built a physical version of it that I got a real sense of the design as a complete location, before it was just floating elements (windows, staircase, balcony, etc.)

Upcoming Appearances:
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 13-16

Reference Model: Port Sumac:
New Mouse City, new design aesthetic! I wrote the description for the lower portion of the seaside mouse town as: "Docks, moored ships, and floating dwellings lashed and built off of one another form the heart of the port...". But to visualize the location and keep the design consistent, I built a model.

This time I had less to build though. When doing the Fall 1152 extras, I printed several free online papermodels of medieval cottages and buildings. I had about fifteen or so of them, which I tucked away in a drawer in case I ever needed them again. I dug them out and found a few more freebie models to print and construct. Then I started placing them on craft sticks poking out of a sheet of rigid insulating foam.

scrap bristol formed the docks and walkways, and I just kept cobbling everything together until I found it visually pleasing. This hodgepodge approach of collecting various models, in various scales, and placing them by eye and with no plan in mind, lent itself to perfectly designing the spirit of this mousey location which was supposed to evoke a bit of Mos Eisley from Star Wars, Scabb Island from Monkey Island, and a medieval shanty town.

More photos:

Upcoming Appearances:
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 13-16

Reference Model: Conrad's Ship:
Because of how frequently Conrad's boat would be seen in Black Axe #2, I knew I needed to build reference for it. unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the build process, but I can tell you that it started with a cardboard skeleton of the hull, followed by a cardboard deck, and bristol board sides. The railings were all made with match-stick sized craft scrap wood.

For adhesive, I started with rubber cement, but as I went along making more permanent decisions, I switched to hot-melt-glue. The bottom of the boat's hull is also covered in blue painter's tape. It's helped me smooth out the contour of the compound curves, but also gave me a reference line for where the water level would be.

I tried to figure out a way to design the rigging so that Conrad could man the ship alone having full control over the sheet (how tight the sail is) and the rudder. This project was (like the Legends cover #2 library model) an exercise in tactile design. I tried drawing concept sketches for this boat based on various historic ships, abut didn't get very far. By cutting and gluing, I designed as I went eyeballing shapes proportions in 3d as I went. (only took 1 night)

So to showcase my madness here is a gallery of the model (16" long, 17" tall, 5.5" wide):

Thank you to Julia, who helped me take these photos, but photos of all my hand built Mouse Guard models that still exist (three older ones have bitten the dust).

Upcoming Appearances:
Motor City Comic Con:May 13-15
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 13-16

Black Axe #2: May 4th

After my lateness in getting the issue finished, and the printer dropping a zero from our quantity request, the issue will be out Wed. May 4th. Archaia posted a nice preview of the issue here. I want to thank you fans for being patient. I know it's been quite a wait and I'm quite aware of how far behind I've fallen. It's because of you guys that I earn my living, and I hate to make you wait.

This will also mean that for the next few weeks I can post photos & commentary on the 3 models I built as visual aids for production on the issue.

Free Comic Book Day UPDATE:

I now have 2 appearances on Free Comic Book Day. From 11am-3pm I'll be at Meltdown Comics in LA. This event will be Archaia's home base for FCBD and I will be joined by Brian Holguin (writer of the Dark Crystal FCBD offering). The Henson Co. will have two life sized Skeksis from the original movie on display for photos! From 4-6pm I'll have moved over to The Pasadena location of Collector's Paradise. You can preview the Mouse Guard/Dark Crystal FCBD offering here.

Transylvania TV
In the past I have mentioned Transylvania TV, a Puppet-Retro-Monster Comedy web show that is NOT FOR KIDS & is spearheaded by a pal of mine Gordon Smuder. I did a new T-Shirt design of the vampire LeShock for their online store. Currently the show is unsponsored, so fans can show support and keep the cameras recording with purchases. I hope to do a few more of these of the other characters as time allows.

Fan Art:

Karine Charlebois (@kanthara on twitter) sent me this fanart based on the Mouse Guard RPG campaign she is playing in. I really like the depth of focus in this piece, all the design work on the cloaks and weapons, and the texture details on the trees and forest floor.

Upcoming Appearances:
FCBD: Meltdown Comics: May 7 (11-3)
FCBD: Collectors Paradise Pasadena: May 7 (4-6)
Motor City Comic Con:May 13-15
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 13-16

Loukas:

In Winter 1152, Saxon discovers the corpse of his mentor and inherits his sword in what was supposed to be a touching emotional moment for the otherwise uncouth redcloak. In my notes for the book, I had the mentor down as "mentor" and no idea what I was going to do with him (even though he appears as a pile of bones to Saxon, we get a flashback of him in life). I did this series of sketches and then did a quick color test while jotting down notes about the mouse Loukas. His name is an obvious homage to someone I consider a storytelling mentor: George Lucas. The rest wrote itself as I drew.

Loukas trivia: Though he has only appeared alive in 2 panels of the comics, he has made it into every year's sketchbook since 2008 and will be in this year's as well.)

Fan Art:

From Kubert School student Derek Rodenbeck comes this fanart. Thanks Derek!

Upcoming Appearances:

FCBD: Meltdown Comics: May 7

Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15

Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29

Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13

San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24

Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21

New York Comic Con: Oct. 14-16

Free Comic Book Day:

Saturday May 7th is Free Comic Book Day this year. For those unfamiliar, you can walk into your local comic book retailer, and they will have a selection of FREE comics that have (mostly) been specially created for the idea of getting everyone from existing comic fans to folks who have never picked up an issue of anything to try something for nothing. I will be at Meltdown Comics in LA to sign the Mouse Guard/Dark Crystal flip book Archaia published for FCBD. You can preview the book here

Excuse the short post this week. I'm trying to tie up some loose ends and get back on track with page production before family arrive for the Easter weekend. 'Till next week, enjoy this image of an apothecary mouse where I infused visual reference from: the MG RPG, historic recreation photos, the Cadfel DVD series, and a 1506 German urine chart for calculating what ails you.

Upcoming Appearances:
FCBD: Meltdown Comics: May 7

Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15

Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29

Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13

San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24

Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21

New York Comic Con: Oct. 14-16

Eisner Nominations:

Last Thursday the nominations for the 2011 Eisner Awards were announced and I am pleased and honored that Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard has been nominated for Best Anthology. I was also shocked to discover that I had been nominated for best cover artist for the series. Legends is a remarkable book and couldn't have been possible without the amazing work of the contributors who took the time to play in my sand-box. I offer a huge thank you & congratulations to them: Jeremy Bastian, Ted Naifeh,Alex Sheikman, Sean Rubin, Alex Kain, Terry Moore, Gene Ha, Lowell Francis, Nate Pride, Guy Davis, Katie Cook, Jason Shawn Alexander, Craig Rousseau, Karl Kerschl, Joao Lemos, and Mark Smylie.

Recent work: It has been a while since I've been able to share. Clockwise from upper right: New Avengers as mice, Recreation of the cover of X-men #141 with Cyclops & Phoenix as mice, Saxon & Gwendolyn holding hands, & an anthropomorphic fox in armor.

Fan Art: This sculpture of Saxon was done by Richard Hiltbrunner. Thanks Richard for sending me a photo of your tribute to Sax! If you have fanart you would like to share, email a photo or scan to ericebon (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Upcoming Appearances:

Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15

Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29

Cherry Capital Con: June 12-13

San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24

Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21

New York Comic Con: Oct. 14-16

"Camera" Choices:

When laying out a comic, it's important to switch up the "camera angle" (the reader's point of view) to make sure your page layouts are dynamic and interesting. I have seen a lot of portfolios where the artists repeats the same camera placement for nearly every panel, and while there is a time & place you can use that technique for effect, it's not what you want to do to tell most stories. Here are a few examples of camera angles with various Mouse Guard panels as examples:

Upshot:

Here the camera is under the subjects and looking upwards. The angle can be subtle or extreme. This can be effective for a scene where you need to include the sky or a very tall item with the characters. It's also a helpful angle when showing something falling towards the characters.

Downshot:

Just like the Upshot, but from above the characters. I use this often when I'm trying to show the characters relative to each other and/or their location. Drawing them from above can become much like a map of the characters and where they stand in a room. Just like the Upshot, this can be useful to force the perspective and show a character's scale to an item, location, or other character.

Non-Character focus:

Pulling away from your characters to avoid a series of 'talking head' panels can break up the monotony and give your reader a better sense of the world your characters inhabit. Showing a detail of architecture, someones handwriting, an establishing landscape view, or the craftsmanship of items on a desk, can still allow for narration or dialogue without having to put the character in every panel.

Zoom:

With each of these camera angles and view, you also have a choice of zoom. The basics are a tight, medium, or wide shot, but you can go between these levels and fall outside of them with extremes. Wide shots work well for establishing shots. Medium shots are good for one or two characters having dialogue. Closeups are good at showing emotion on characters.

So if you are working on telling stories in comics, make sure you are varying the point of view your reader has. Try inserting a new camera angle into your pages.

Fan Art: From Jason Forest: "My sons, though they are young (age 2 and 6) love to pour over the art in your books. My oldest asked me to draw him as a Mouse of the Guard- I decided not to compete with your mice, or toiling over making my son into one of them-so I compromised with him, and did a David Petersen inspired piece"

It's lovely and really captures the spirit of what I try to make Mouse Guard all about. Thanks Jason!

2011 Appearances

Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15

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

Signature Sketches: When I started signing Mouse Guard books, I did a little mouse sketch next to my signature in each hardcover as a nice "thank you" to anyone who bought it and/or lugged it to a show for me to sign it. Now, with 3 hardcovers, an RPG, and the Fall B&W ed. I can't keep up with doing a doodle in every one. At a recent signing I saw the line backing up, and me rushing through the doodles (therefore making them a bit sloppier than I'd like). So I have a solution:

Annual print-stamps: I will hand carve a stamp each year and in lieu of the mouse doodle, I'll stamp your book. This will also mean that I can re-stamp it the following year with the new stamp if you like. While I wish I could do an individual doodle for everyone, I just can't anymore. So this stamp is a better quality image, that I still handmade and will stamp myself (and sign) in every hardcover you bring me. I plan to only do custom doodles on request in the oversized B&W limited books.

Stamp process: I started with a doodle in my sketchbook of a random mouse with a sword. I scanned the doodle, added the '2011' date, resized it to fit my stamp material, and them mirrored the entire image before I printed it out. The mirroring is so that when the image is stamped into your book, the date and design will be facing the right direction. I scribbled with a soft lead pencil over the back of the image so that I could transfer it to the stamp material.

The base material for the stamp is Speedball's Speedy-Carve. It's a linoleum substitute printmaking students can use that is easier to carve. It is also soft enough that you can use the carving like a stamp instead of a block print (where the paper must be applied to the block and then rubbed to get the final print.) Placing my design print-out over the material and retracing it, I got a graphite transfer on the Speedy-Carve. I then used a permanent marker to firm up the lines and make sure I didn't rub them off as I handled the material.

Just like I would carve a block print, I carefully carved into the Speedy-Carve with my woodcutting chisel. The idea is to cut away all the white space leaving only the areas you want to print. I covered another example of this printmaking process called 'relief printing' in a previous post. At this stage I also decided to add a series of lines to the background, something the eye would interpret as an optically mixed grey.

Using a stamping ink pad, I was able to make the print on paper by just using the Speedy-Carve block like a rubber stamp. The final 'prints' will all be a bit unique where the ink transfer wasn't perfect, but I tend to like those imperfections, as they will also make everyone's stamped books a bit more unique.

*UPDATE: I was unable to find an ink that would both dry fast enough and also not gum up the stamp in-between uses. So the quick signature doodles remain*

2011 Appearances

Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15

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

C2E2:
If you couldn't tell from my tweets, the convention was a blast. ReedPop knows how to put on a convention that makes everyone feel welcome and happy. Thanks to the Archaia crew, Jeremy Bastain, Katie Cook, Gene Ha, and Lowell Francis for taking time to sign Legends of the Guard books at the Archaia booth with me.


Fan Art: I have some awesome fans. I'll let you all read why in the letter and artwork I received:

2011 Appearances Motor City Comic Con: May 13-15
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

C2E2:
This weekend is C2E2 at the McCormick Place in Chicago! Archaia will have Hardcovers (Fall, Winter, Legends v1), and of course, looking forward to meeting with fans, talking about upcoming books, etc.

Where to find me:
My time will be split between my Artist Alley table (M13) and The Archaia booth (#701)
I'll start and end each day at my Artist Alley table, but have signing scheduled at the Archaia booth for the following times: Friday: 11-noon & 3-5, Saturday: 11-noon & 3-5, Sunday: 1-3

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

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