Warm-Up Sketches: Hellboy, Mister Miracle and the Shadow

I watched Hellboy last night. Sadly, it's still not very good. Lots of problems, but the main one is that there just isn't enough Jeffrey Tambor. I bent the missus' ear off during the film's dreary, CGI-soaked climax, by continually going "where's Jeffrey Tambor? I hope Jeffrey Tambor's alright. Are they going to cut back to Jeffrey Tambor?" This in spite of having seen the film before. They cut back to JT a little way into the credits as a sort of joke, showing him panicking in the dark as something evil approached, and apparently missing the fact that elsewhere in the film some effort had been made to expand his character beyond the role of comic support, and even to offer him as a kind of replacement father figure for HB (cf. the bit with the cigar). Anyway, this typifies this rather odd, flat, strangely schizophrenic film - a film which should be Die Hard meets the Exorcist, but which too often feels more like Spy Kids 4: Cthulhu Returns.

Anyway, I sketched a movie-ish HB. I hope you like it.

Brush pen on printer paper. Took about ten minutes and it shows.

...aaaand, I also did a slightly wonky Mister Miracle for Wilfredo Torres. Sorry WT - I've got a better one in the works.

Pentel brush pen and photoshop and I watched the most amazing thing on the internet last night. US broadcaster Keith Olbermann - who I hadn't heard of before - attacking GWB in the most erudite, comprehensive, and fantastically rabid way imaginable. Manic, thrilling stuff, and nearly enough to give my bad liberal self a semi. Here's a link, if you're interested. To my US viewers, this is probably ancient news, so sorry about that.

...and lastly but not leastly, I did a Shadow for my pal Mark Cardwell. Hope you like it, chum.

Pentel brush pen on printer paper, with some photoshop colours thrown over it.

More suggestions for Warm-Up Sketches please! I'm spending more time on these than I should, but they are a lot of fun. NB. I'm not prepared to draw Keith Olbermann.

Warm-Up Sketch: Morpheus

I think someone asked for a Sandman, right? Anyway, here's a Sandman...

Warm-Up Sketch: Bozo/Robo

Pentel brush pen and blah blah blah on etc.

For Kyle Latino and Mr Matthew Crap, Bozo the Iron Man VS Atomic Robo!

Doc Savage - Thick and Fast!

I thought this might look a bit nifty with some pulpy colouring on it...

Warm-Up Sketch - Doc Savage

This was done with a Pentel Brush pen and 2B pencil on printer paper, with a little bit of PITT fineline for the fire and sundry details.

I actually did this in the middle of the night on account of being bored and unable to sleep, which means I am already breaking the Warm-Up Sketch rules. Never mind, I hope you like it anyway. Next up... Dream from Sandman, or Atomic Robo, or Mister Miracle (cheers to Kyle Latino, Mattcrap and Wilfredo Torres for the suggestions - keep 'em coming!)

Dan

Warm-up sketch - Static Shock

As requested by David, a sketch of DC/Milestone character Static. This was a warm-up before starting the business of the day, and jolly good fun it was too. I really enjoyed drawing a character outside my comfort zone - and I aim to do more. Suggestions please!

Unimportant Newsflash!

The first one was done with acrylic black ink and an ink wash. I think I might have posted it before - sorry about that. The second one is a Wacom/PS jobby.

I REALLY like drawing the Thing!

If anyone out there in Internet Land wants me to draw the Thing for them, I will happily draw the Thing for them.

Atcherlly, that reminds me: I am always available for commissions. Get in touch via the email /comment section and let me know what you want.

Website thrills

Hello there! I thought you might like to know that my website has just undergone a rather snazzy re-design courtesy of my divine better half. Why not have a look here: http//danmcdaid.com then pop back and let me know what you think?

Now here's a picture of Witchblade. Hurrah.

Excitement Alert!

Sorry I done no posts in ages. Bad blogger, indeed. The word is that I'm writing and drawing A LOT at the moment (stuff which I can't even talk about, boo), which leaves little brain room for blogging. But I still love you all!

Now, what's coming out this week? Oh yeah, DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 394 WHICH HAS MY COMIC STRIP IN IT is coming out. Woo! It's £3.99 from all good newsagents. Buy loads and make me very happy.

In the meantime, here's an honest to goodness guide to process on one of the pages, from roughs to pencils to inks to colours. I hope you get a kick out of it.


First, the roughs. These are done at a5 size and really quickly. I work out where I'm going to spot the blacks and how the page should be shaded. I did these last year and since then I've discovered the joy of thumbnails, so I now do very tiny pages then work up.


The pencils. I start out using an HB pencil and work it out really loosely, then I go over it with a mechanical pencil to get it (kinda) tight. These days, I tend to just ink off the initial rough lines.


Inks. From being a fairly hesitant inker a few years ago, I now do most of my drawing with the brush. Inking is the best bit, for me.


Colours. This is probably my least favourite part of the process - I love black and white anyway, and by this time I'm ready to never look at these pages again. But I'm also a control freak, so I really like to colour things my way. What can I do about this? I dunno - maybe drugs are the answer.

Well, that's all! Please comment!

Dan

Back in my game design days, I worked on something called The Black Project. It never came to anything, but if it had it would have been a sort of squad-based free-roaming shoot 'em up a la Vice City. Like Vice City, it would also have been set in the past - ie the year 197x. Unlike Vice City, it probably would have sucked.

But I always liked the "hero" character I came up with for BP. He was kind of a cool, post-hippy English badass, one part John Lennon and the rest Michael Caine. I don't remember his name at all now (if anyone from my DR days can recall this or any other details about this project, feel free to drop me a line), but he would have been cool to write for and even cooler to draw. He wore red-tinted Lennon shades, had long hair and 'burns and carried two pistols, one silver and one black (these he called Yin and Yang). Ha.

I couldn't find any drawings to show you what he looked like, so I done some new ones.

BADASS:




FLING:



HE'S FINISHED:



I'd like to do something with him sometime (even though he's probably still owned by the games company I was working for, and even though the whole Mad Mod thing is being pretty comprehensively "done" at the moment by Matt Fraction and Casanova). We'll see.

IN OTHER NEWS - I done something else with my Wacom tablet:

Connor's Hero

A while ago, one of my girlfriend's kids (she's a teacher by the way, not some sort of modern Fagin figure) did a cool drawing of a superhero as a sort of gift to us both. And as a return gift, I did a drawing of his superhero. So here's Connor's superhero and my drawing of Connor's superhero. Cheers Connor!

Wacom to the Jungle

Hello hello. Here's a few Wacom sketches for you to enjoy: Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and Capt. America (Deceased). CLICK TO MAKE BIGGER!

Busy busy!

TWO MONTHS?! Wow, I really *am* a bad blogger. Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Etc. to you and yours. I've been busy doing Doctor Who stuff as well as doing some designs for a hush-hush project I've got lined up with top writer Glen Brunswick (of Frequency, Killing Girl and Gray Area fame). I should be posting some tasters from these two (terribly exciting) projects soon, but in the meantime here's some odds and sods I done between consuming vast quantities and feeling ever so slightly disappointed with Voyage of the Damned...

First up, a trio of telefantasy heroes, sketched in PS with a wacom. Number Six, Mrs Peel and John Steed. Rough yes, but I think they have something cool going on...





More wacom business: two Batmen!




Arsing about with my new PITT brush pens. These are superb (the pens, not the pics) - only problem is they don't last. If anyone's got any tips on an alternative, I am all ears...

Anyway...

I am now OUT of Comic Book Idol 3. It was lots of fun, has led to a few cool contacts and loads of groovy online friendships, and has generally been the sort of experience I could recommend to anyone. It's the final this week, and it's down to two very talented guys: Jon Reed and Charles Paul Wilson. If I'm being honest, my favourite artists have already gone out, but these two have loads to offer. Reed brings a distinctive voice and plenty of detail and guts, while Charles Paul Wilson (the Third!) is just a damn fine drawer with a good eye for an atmospheric spot black. Anyway, head over to http://forums.comicbookresources.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29 and vote. I reckon CPW III has it in the bag.

What else? Oh yeah, cool stuff is happening with Panini: I've been given the go ahead to start drawing a Doctor Who strip for sometime in the New Year. The script is already written, and I'll be starting the pencils either later this week or early next. Stand by for sneak previews!

In the meantime: sketches!

SONTARANS!



WONDER WOMAN!



BATMAN!



HULK (WITH SHOPPING LIST)!



WOLVERINE!



THAT'S ALL!

What the -?

Things of note:

- I moved from Dundee to London. London is great, except: ACCOMODATION TINY

- I finished draft one of my next script for Doctor Who Magazine. It contains the words "Ringo", "peanuts" and "northampton".

- I got annoyed at how last week's comedy playhouse thing on C4 ripped Arrested Development off blind. One bit in particular, a courtroom scene involving an incompetent lawyer who was a mesh of GOB and Barry Zuckerkorn, and a bible thrown at a woman who was actually disabled (instead of pretending) was very naughty. I really liked the writer's episode of Doctor Who, but this scene had me literally screaming at the telly. Maybe I should just go out on a Friday night.

Oh, and this happened:



I made it through the submissions phase of Comic Book Idol 3, which means I've got a ton of work (and bowel-clenching terror) over the next few weeks. If you love me, vote for me. If you hate me, and you want to see me fail at a high-profile comics job, vote for me and I WON'T LET YOU DOWN.

SKETCH-A-DAY (almost): HEROES FOR HIRE!

Marvel Comics' best characters: Power Man and Iron Fist. Yes, Iron Fist. You're welcome.

CLICK

SKETCH-A-DAY: THE ATOM/DARKSEID

Here's a scene from Grant Morrison's DC Comics epic Rock of Ages. What happens is that... no, it's too complicated to explain. But this (spoiler) is how it ends, with one of DC's smallest, least powerful heroes (the Atom) going up against its most ferocious villain (Darkseid). Drawing this was like pulling teeth, honestly, but sometimes it's like that. Hey ho.

Click for BIG ACTION!

SKETCH-A-DAY: CLASSIFIED #4!

Another character from my side project that I'm working on. It's a girl! With a jetpack! I'm not entirely sold on the face just yet, but she's got something good going on I think.

CLICK!

SKETCH-A-DAY: CLASSIFIED #3!

Another character from my thing that I'm not gonna talk about yet. Hope you (whoever you are!) like it.

SKETCH-A-DAY: CLASSIFIED #2!

From the same side project as yesterday's sketch, here's another character. He's a sort of computer guy!

CLICK!

SKETCH-A-DAY: CLASSIFIED #1!

Colour sketch of... well, that'd be telling, wouldn't it?

Click!

SKETCH-A-DAY: THE FLASH

Drawn in pencil, then india ink. I really love doing chunky lightning and speed line effects, so drawing the Flash is a total thrill.

Click:

Bang bang

The old blog has been a bit moribund of late hasn't it? But no more! Here's how it's going to be for the next... ooh, let's say a week: a sketch a day! So new content every day, and if it goes well and works for me I'm gonna try to stick to that from now on. We're kicking off with TWO sketches: Captain America and Batman, the latter in a state of awful, having been shot. I hope you like 'em!

Click for biggedness!

Website yes!

Yep, thanks to the gorgeous, witty and wonderful Miss McC, my art site is now up and running. Remember what Ben Grimm says:



Check it out at http://danmcdaid.com. There's a ton of stuff over there, old and new (more than you'll find on my blog at the mo) and it's gonna get updated almost all the time, so why not look at it, and let me know what you think over here? Makes sense!

Further Excite-o-news!

The third draft of part one of my DWM script has been approved (with some tweaks) and is even now in the fragrant hands of the Who Production people. Oh man! Now I have to write part two!



In other news, I was in Toys R Us today, mulling over whether to buy a replacement sonic screwdriver (the old one lost its main button... bah) or splurge on one of them 12 inch Clockwork Men from last year's excellent Girl in the Fireplace episode, when I came across the toy tie-ins for a cartoon called Ben 10. I haven't seen the shows yet, but my understanding is that it's a Dial H for Hero kind of thing, where some punk kid gets to change into all sorts of monsters and fight evil and that. Pretty nifty, and the designs are gorgeous, so I done bought me one: a little fella called Greymatter. He's one of the neatest things I own: a kind of bipedal praying mantis in a white jump suit with a little alien chum and big bug eyes. He's great, and I fully intend to collect the set. My girlfriend doesn't mind that I'm a simpleton by the way.

Maybe one reason I was so drawn to Ben 10 is because it's not dissimilar to a (sadly abortive) game I designed for a software company a few years back - the main character even looks kind of similar! - but more on that soon...!

Cheerio!

Excite-o-news!

Hello people! Sorry it's been so quiet around here of late. It's been for a thoroughly excellent reason I can assure you: I've just finished doing a small stack of illustrations for this year's Doctor Who Storybook. Hooray! I'm honour bound not to say too much about it at the moment, but I can say I'm illustrating a story by one of the writers of the TV show. Go me!

In related excite-o-news, I've also just handed in the first draft of the first part of a story I'm doing for Doctor Who Magazine called, er, The First. Again, I have to keep schtum about this at the mo, but as I'm sure you can imagine I'm virtually bouncing off the walls.

Let's have Davros' cheeky motto of the day:




Alright!