Storyboarding Horror!

I was hired by the hottest talent in horror film-making Bob Pipe to create storyboards for "A Christmas Pardon." One of 24 short "Deathcember" horror flicks due to be unleashed this year in the run up to Christmas.

From the official page (LINK):

"Advent – the season of joyous anticipation. Remember the excitement you felt as a kid every December, being allowed to open up a new door of your Advent calendar 24 mornings in a row, eagerly awaiting the surprise that would be in store for you that day? 

The anthology DEATHCEMBER aims at bringing such memories back to life and making them a part of today‘s genre legacy, but with a twisted edge; serving as a cinematic Advent calendar full of horror, thrills and black humor. 

A collection of 24 short films that take a look at the dark side of the festive season. 24 films by international directors with the most diverse ideas, styles and narrative formats; linked by short animated segments that deal with the Advent calendar itself. Behind each door, a new, viciously entertaining story awaits... 

Will you dare to open the doors?"

Bob's film is a particularly grim medieval affair depicting the pitiful town ogre as he is lead to the stake for a good old fashioned burning, in front of the baying unwashed masses.

Director Bob Pipe won critical acclaim a couple of years ago with The Monster, a short horror flick choc full of style and wit; a show stopper at several major festivals including Frightfest, London. So it was with huge gratitude that I took on this project for him, plus I know the guy ...so there's that. Have a look at his other projects: LINK.

Aside from simply following the script, this was also an opportunity for me to add some comic style fancy angles and flare.

Thunder, Thunder, regular cats.

A couple of cats from my "Paul Draws Pets" facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pauldrawspets/ Go there, my rates are good.

I also made that of course ^

Christmas Commissions Part 1: Attack of the Golf Zombies

Unless your name is Elf, you probably want to put Christmas behind you now. However, for me this is the perfect chance to tell you about a couple of items I carried out just before the festive season... for that very reason.

"Bubbub and His Babe."

This was for a client who wanted some sort of comic book image for his brother-in-law. The guy in question is into comics, specifically Captain America whilst both himself and his girlfriend have in the past dressed up as Capt and The Silk Spectre (from Alan Moore's "Watchmen").

Take into account that the gift reciever is also something of a golfer AND gets the playful monicker "Bubba" thrown at him whilst his girlfriend gets the slightly less imaginative "Babe." It didn't take me too long to imagine a comic cover set on a golf course, featuring zombies as the stock villains. ...I took a slight leap of faith with the zombie theme and checked with the client first using this sketch (whilst pointing out that the zombies will be added later):

If I can offer a bit of advice for illustrators; it's that no amount of information, both written and visual (such as photos) from clients is too much... if you can push them into doing a sketch, do it! Get as much as you can before you begin and make notes, unless you have it in email form already. The pink hat as worn in a photo sent to me for example, is something that the client suggested would be a nice touch and I agree. ...Plus it links the title colour to the image a bit.

 This is the final image.

I used this commission as an excuse to get hold of more Pentel Colour Brush Pens. They are great and unlike say felt tips, the ink doesn't bleed when dry so you can lay down the black first and THEN colour over the top.

Zooooooming in.

I blended a couple of inks in an egg cup to get the skin colour, which doesn't show up very well on this scan. The other thing about inks of course is that unlike felt tips, a brush creates some texture but doesn't scrub the paper horribly. And there we have it, an A3 sized original.

Paragraph Magazine with a Super Vibe

Towards the end of last year, I was asked to create the cover of "Paragraph Magazine." It is described as "A quarterly, award nominated magazine for Sappi employees across Europe." The publishing house is John Brown who also produce magazine for Waitrose, SKY, RBS and John Lewis ...not exactly lightweights!

This was one of those glorious commissions where the client knew of my penchant for all things comic and had something in mind of that vibe. ...With psuedo, robotic gremlins thrown into the mix.

The final cover went through some minor revisions, such as colour changes and deleting a gremlin or two. However, I do prefer my original version. Enjoy...

 Smash those gremlins Sappi Man! (that's 

what the "S" stands for).

Traditional Comic Book Inkage 1: Poster for Cinema in Fife, Scotland

So, my first post.

Thought I'd cut right to it and post my newest drawing. The thing I am into at the moment is inking comic-book style with a brush; so it was with a degree of "geek-thusiasm" that I embarked on a commission from Stewart Sutherland of Podcast on Fire (go there if you like East-Asian cinema, do not delay).
He volunteers at a "community" cinema in Leven, Fife and they are having a "Superhero Weekend" 12th - 14th Aug ...do check the website if you are in the area.

I mention the whole inking thing because I think it's worth noting that you cannot achieve this kind of stuff with a technical pen. I have kind-of known this for a while but never had the balls or the inclination to give brushes a whirl until recently; when I started on my own comic book. More on that later.
So, I had a list of movies to include on the poster and therefore a wealth of characters to toy with; DC and Marvel. I also didn't want to draw Heath Ledger OR do a poster in which the muscle-bound are being "so serious" all flying towards the viewer, being holier than thou (like something by Alex Ross - whom I admire greatly all the same). Superhero films are fun right?

So I had the super's as if they are WATCHING the movies. Ha! It had to be; breaking the fourth wall like the Hulk smashes, erm walls. Initially I thought of having the characters as if they are shooting a movie in Fife, including some local landmarks. But the idea of committing to something so epic instantly made me want to give up, make another cup of tea and watch crap telly.

Coloured and composited in Photoshop. I would like to point out that the font I used is not comic sans but something called "Lito Lapad." Which is all nice on account of not being comic sans. All critiques welcome.