One Man And His Blog

To the Tumblr!

2011-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

One Man And His Blog is moving to Tumblr. Hopefully, I'll update it a bit more often than I do here!

http://matttimson.tumblr.com/

Cheers!

SHAKARA!

2011-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is an extremely naughty waste of time- but I'm glad I did it. Shakara, running on and off in 2000ad for the last 9 years, has been one of my favourite series and has only recently come to an end.

I've never actually drawn him before- so it was probably about time. It's not completely faithful to Henry Flint's original, but it's pretty close.

Venom sketch

2011-03-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

In honour of my two new followers, I'm posting something that they've already seen.

:D

Doodled in Painter when I should've been working the other day. I very rarely (if ever) work in Painter alone, so this is a bit of an oddity.

Prints available.

2011-03-09T03:28:00.000-08:00

Several people asked after prints at the Cardiff Expo the other week and I felt as though I'd missed a trick- or at least the opportunity to please some fan(s). With that in mind, I'll be at the Bristol Expo in May, so if anybody wants anything, now's the time to ask.

You can pick from pretty much anything on my site (with a few notable exceptions) and anything from my comic work. Most of the individual panels can be blown up to a pretty respectable size, so please feel free to ask about anything you like the look of.

http://www.matttimson.com/

To the Bat-Cave!

2011-02-23T04:17:00.000-08:00

"I must brood, Alfred..."

Not much bloggage of late- mainly as I'm wrapped up in work (not the sort that I can show off, I'm afraid)

Did this as a warm-up this morning. Photoshop and Painter. Sorry, Manga Studio...

Technically, it started life as a doodle on my desk. Predictably, I think the doodle looks better... :D

The Darkness: High Noon

2011-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

...is finally out next week (The Darkness #89). Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, with interior art and cover by me- it's The Darkness, but set in the Old West. You should probably buy it. I hear that Fialkov guy's pretty good.

Zen. Again.

2010-12-24T03:13:00.000-08:00

Slightly less phallic looking design. Although not much less.

LogicEngine: Zen

2010-12-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

This is my first sketch for Zen, one of the characters in LogicEngine. I think that head needs to be a lot smaller.

Bill Mantlo benefit book- ROM artwork auction

2010-12-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Remember that really grim Rom piece from last year?

Well, the book still isn't out yet- but one-off prints of all the artwork are currently up for sale on Ebay- so dig deep, ROM fans!

All prints for sale

The best of the lot. Obviously. BID NOW!

For all three of you that didn't know, Bill Mantlo, the writer of ROM, was injured in a hit and run accident in 1992 and has needed constant care ever since.

It's for a good cause, so I don't even care if you set fire to it afterwards or anything- just please bid on a piece now.

Cheers-

Matt

HULK ALMOST ANNOYED!

2010-12-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting in for a delivery for two days now. Two days! I'm frightened to so much as go to the loo in case I miss it...

Time wasting fun

2010-12-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

I rather foolishly downloaded the latest driver for my Cintq last night. Error. Have since spent the morning trying to get rid of it as Manga studio's been a bit glitchy ever since and Painter IX refuses to open. Fortunately, I can still use Painter XI (I just prefer IX), as I was unable to get my old driver to work.

Morning wasted- so I thought I'd treat myself to some drawing therapy and allowed this doodle to get out of hand.

Daredevil- as brought to you by Manga Studio, Painter and Photoshop. And tears of frustration and rage, of course.

I need a nice cup of tea...

LogicEngine

2010-11-11T01:42:00.000-08:00

Is the working title of my very own creator owned project that I'm hoping to fit around other non-comicy stuff that will be paying the bills. Sorry, big comic companies- you've missed your window of opportunity!

I've been tinkering with the storyline for a while now, but you can only tinker so much before you have to actually commit to something. Anything.

LogicEngine is set in both the present and the future (sort of) and will hopefully explore life, death and everything in between. Being an artist first and a writer second, I will understand if you think that this idea sounds a bit vague. Or even shit.

I'd say "watch this space," but honestly, you might have to wait a while...

:D

Weapon X

2010-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Fancied drawing something for me while waiting for approval on a couple of pages of roughs. It seems that everyone is drawing Judge Dredd today- so naturally I've drawn Wolverine.

:D

As usual, all I can see are the bits that don't look quite right. One day, I'll draw something, be completely happy with it- and then the world will end immediately after.

Ridiculously inefficient character design.

2010-09-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

I've had Manga Studio for ages, I just haven't had too much opportunity to get to grips with it, so I decided to use it for the basis of a character I needed to design.

I usually do all of my sketching in Photoshop and then shift between Painter and Photoshop once I go to final (although I'm quite sure that I could use either program pretty much exclusively if I made the effort to work more efficiently).

Ok- first up is my basic blue line sketch, created in Manga Studio. Design-wise, I pretty much already know what I'm going to draw, so it's just a case of getting it on paper. Or screen. Whatever.

Once I'm happy with the pose, it's out with the pens. Nothing fancy, because I don't really know what I'm doing yet. I just use the G pen (which I can only assume stands for 'Great', because it is), with the stroke-in/out and auto-correct features turned off. I add a few other lines here and there with the marker pen. Again, nothing too ambitious.

Once I'm happy, I ditch the blue layer, leaving me with my basic line drawing. And, in this instance, that's about it for Manga Studio. So far, I haven't done anything I couldn't have done in Photoshop or Painter, but the actual drawing tools in Manga Studio are far superior to anything Photoshop or Painter have to offer, in my opinion. The brushes are just lovely to use- none of that shaky line gubbins that you can get with Photoshop- just crisp, clean lines. Plus, if I don't start using it soon, I never will!

At this point, I export my image as a PSD, so that I can open it up in Painter and Photoshop. This is the only place that Manga Studio falls down for me. Once I've exported it, I have to import it into an entirely new document if I want to work on it in MS again- which is a bit of a pain. If my work was all in black and white, I'd probably only ever work in MS, but as it is, I like to switch between Painter and Photoshop for the colouring process- and it would be brilliant if I could nip back into MS if I wanted to as well. I'm hoping that this will be possible at some point (hint hint).

Anyway- I take my freshly exported PSD into Painter, where I smudge over all the lines (bear with me, I haven't gone mental), using a grainy water blender on top of a Ribbed Pastel paper texture- leaving me with this:

"RUINED!" I hear you cry. Not so! Well... ok. It sort of is- but in a good way- because now I get to put all that detail back in again in Photoshop, using a brush set to around 85% opacity.

Eventually, this is what I'm left with. To be honest, I could probably create the exact same effect in half the time with a 2B pencil and a bit of actual paper- but that's a discussion for another day.

Then it's back off to Painter to add the grey tones. Tell a lie, I put the basic tones down in Photoshop, but I then take in back into Painter to use the same water blender/ribbed paper combo that I used when smudging my lines.

Straight back into Photoshop, where I add a 50% colour layer, set to multiply which gives my colours that washed out look without my having to think too hard. They looked washed out because they are washed out. This is just a basic flat layer- big blocks of colour.

Next up are the detail layers- again, set to multiply. Red airbrush around the base of the horns and around the eyes and mouth (sweat stains on the clothing- that sort of thing), before adding a couple of highlight layers over the top.

Finally, I bung a colour burn texture layer over the top of the whole thing- set at around 30%. I do this to a) make it more interesting to look at and b) because I think it pulls the colours together (what's left of them!). This is one that I made myself, but you can get some really nice textures from Caleb Kimbrough over at his blog, http://lostandtaken.com/

And that's about it. Apart from using Manga Studio at the beginning, pretty much all of my work is done this way- comics, cartoons, covers and interiors. Workflow-wise, it's not the smartest way of working, but I'm usually reasonably pleased with the results.

Right. Back to work.

Once I've had a cup of tea.

Darkness #88 cover

2010-06-24T02:52:00.000-07:00

I really am the world's worst blogger. If you're following me on Twitter, then you probably saw this last week. If not, here it is now. And you should follow me on Twitter.

It's slightly different to the version that's being used for previews at the moment in that it's more awesome. Fact.

Lots to do today. LOTS.

54 Jones

2010-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Not a very productive work day today, but I did manage to doodle this- which I really like.

I still have fond feelings for 54 Jones and he's a character I'm hoping to revisit (with writer, Paul Scott) at some point. Basically, I've tried to make him a little more interesting to look at, as I think he was a bit too good-looking before.

In an alternate universe, I draw cartoons...

2010-06-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

It's true. Once a month, I change places with my doppleganger and he draws a bike themed cartoon for Cycling Plus magazine. I don't usually post them because I assume that people are more interested in my comic work- but I quite like some of them:

As it goes, I might be switching places with my doppelganger on a permanent basis pretty soon. If so, he will be drawing cartoons, while I will occasionally pop back and draw comic covers, rather than sequentials. I hear his universe is pretty funky, actually. Elvis is alive and well, nobody has ever heard of Simon Cowell and personal rocket belts were invented quite some time ago.

Unfortunately, skinny jeans are also in fashion over there as well- but you can't have everything.

More cartoons here.

Darkness #88 cover (partial)

2010-06-03T02:41:00.000-07:00

This is as much as I'm allowed to show for the next couple of weeks- and I'll probably have gone off it by then...

It's a lovely day. I've got a few calls to make, some odds and ends to finish off and wheels to set in motion- and then I'm going to skive- yes, SKIVE. In the sun. Possibly with a beer or two. Eat that, 9-5ers!

:D

Return of the Screaming Skull. On a T-shirt.

2010-05-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, due to practically no demand whatsoever, I have sorted out some skull T-shirts in various shapes and sizes. I have the slim-fit T for myself and it looks brill- no idea what the others fit like, but at least the design looks good.

I don't need to sell many- just enough to fund my own T-shirt habit. Now buy my tat, mortals!

Get your Nosmit skull T-shirt here!

Bristol Expo

2010-05-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

The Bristol Expo was, as always, fantastic. I took it pretty easy on the Friday night, but got in a horrible state on Saturday night/Sunday morning- although others got in far worse states, it has to be said:

Yes, that is indeed Jock and Dom Reardon. It's probably best not to go into any greater detail- but I assume it's a Totnes thing. Whatever it was they were doing, it had me in stitches.

I spent most of the weekend with the Com.X guys, who are all really nice, but I also bumped into loads of people I haven't seen in ages- which is what Bristol's all about for me. Bit quieter this year- and I missed the likes of Spurrier, Molcher and PJ- but I met a few new people as well, so that was nice. Particularly pleased to meet up with John Higgins again, who I think is a really top bloke.

Got told off by what seemed like everyone for not really believing in my own abilities, so have made a mental note to look down my nose at people and assume that I'm the absolute best at everything I do from now on... :D

The only fly in the ointment this year was somebody getting knocked down right in front of us, outside of the Ramada- which was all very unpleasant. I'd particularly like to thank the stupid cow that tried to get a better view for her toddler (seriously!). Clear views of people broken and bleeding in the street- just the sort of thing that every young boy needs!

Anyway... apart from that, it was a top weekend all round really.

The Screaming Skull

2010-05-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's probably not screaming, to be honest- but it does look a little bit fed up, doesn't it? I know how it feels. I had a couple of T-shirts made up with it on, only to find that they'll ship too late for me to show them off at the Bristol Expo grrrrr....

Then I decided to use it as my profile pic- only to find that for some reason, it doesn't embiggen* when you click on it.

It's obviously cursed.

*frighteningly technical term.

Demon Cowboys...

2010-05-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today's efforts. Yes, somebody has already pointed me in the direction of the stupid Jonah Hex trailer and his stupid horse, with its stupid gatling guns on its sides. Needless to say, I am suitably irritated. Oh well...

Manga Studio

2010-05-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

I recently acquired Manga Studio from the good people at Smith Micro and I agreed to post a tutorial of one of its features in return.

Things being what they are, I have so far totally failed to live up to my side of the bargain and have failed- utterly- to even give the program a decent test run that's worthy of some of the fantastic features that I know it has. I will get there, Manga Studio, I will!

In the meantime, here are a couple of pieces I did using the symmetry ruler, which I think is a cracking tool. Now, you might ask, "what's the point? Surely you can just create a mirror image in Photoshop that's just as good?"

Well... yes and no. Technically, you could do that- but I think that this is much better. For a start, the brushes are lovely to work with- much smoother than in Photoshop (which I live by and use every day). Also- and this might not seem like a big deal- you can draw on either side of the ruler and you'll get the mirror image on the opposite side.

Again, you might be thinking, "so what?"- but you'll be surprised by what you'll think to draw on the right hand side that you didn't think to draw on the left.

Try it. If nothing else, it's quite therapeutic.

Again- I'm really sorry that there's no actual "how to" with these images- but I was just playing around with it at the time and I didn't think to get any screen grabs as I went along. When I've got a bit more time, I'll create some proper step-by-step tutorials.

Bad Guys...

2010-02-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

...Infinitely more interesting to draw. Fact.

Impaler 5/6 Interior panel

2010-02-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

One more panel to go to crack the page I'm working on- but it's fair to say that I've spent most of the day on this single panel.

I think this means that I'm doing comics wrong...

A parcel arrives...

2010-02-15T04:21:00.000-08:00

It's pretty big- what could it be? I don't remember ordering anything that necessitates a box- but it wouldn't be the first time I made a drunken internet purchase...

I'm half suspecting some kind of joke parcel now- it seems to be all packing and nothing else...

Just LOOK at all the packing material! What could possibly need so much protection?!?

Aha! It's the Cla$$war book I ordered from Forbidden Planet. No wonder I didn't realise what it was- books usually come in flat packages, not big boxes! Either way, I look forward to reading this- although it'll probably be a while before I get the time. And look- somebody's scrawled something on the cover. Bloody vandals...

Dave Gibbons bought me a pint

2010-02-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Travelled down to London for the Forbidden Planet signing yesterday, which went really well. First person I ran into (apart from AL Ewing, who I bumped into at St. Pancras, on his way to the SFX thing in Bognor Regis, or whatever) was Boo Cook, who was lost. I pointed out to him that he wasn't really lost as the building he wanted was quite literally across the road. It had the words, 'Forbidden Planet Megastore' written on it, in letters 40 feet high (Ok, they were a bit less prominent than that- but it was still funny). :D

After the mental arse-kicking that my ego took last time, I wasn't looking forward to the whole sketching aspect- but the first guy that asked wanted me to draw him the Joker. I couldn't believe my luck- the Joker is one of those characters that I quite often doodle without thinking, so it was pretty easy and, more importantly, it didn't look like ass. I also decided not to humiliate myself by attempting to draw with pens this time and did it in pencil instead. Result! I did a few other sketches, met the other artists (there were 13 of us in the end!), signed a bazillion copies of '45' and ate lots of pop and crisps (I had strategically placed myself behind the table with the biscuits and crisps on it, while I sketched).

It was good to meet new people and to reconnect with a few familiar faces- and then there was the drinking at the Phoenix Club afterwards, where a good time was had by all. Well, I had a good time and I tend to assume that if I'm having a good time then everyone else is having a good time as well. Had a really good chat with Eddie Deighton, of Com.X and Dave Gibbons (who bought me a pint) and Dave's son, Dan (who, comically, looked like Dave's replacement clone) about comics, the iPad and the imminent digital revolution. I also had a great chat with John Higgins- so that's two thirds of the Watchmen team in one day.

Safely tucked up in my hotel bed by 00.30, awake again at 04.00 for about an hour (I think I was just a bit hot and bothered).

The view from my window at 4 in the morning. I was somewhat confused by the Christmas tree lights

Finally got back to sleep, only to have the maid wake me up at 08.00, because I'd forgotten to put the little 'do not disturb' tag on the door. I resisted the urge to kill her with a machete- mainly because I had no clothes on and had no machete handy- and then went back to sleep, before being woken up again- this time by the fire alarm. To be honest (and don't do this at home, kids) I decided that I would rather die in bed than get up again- so I ignored it, in the hope that it was simply a false alarm. Which it was.

Train journey home was slightly surreal, in that I had the entire carriage to myself- and it wasn't a tiny carriage either.

Nobody in front of me

Nobody behind me either. There was a disconcerting 'Midnight Meat Train' moment for me- but overall, it was quite a pleasant experience

It was a non-stop train until Market Harborough, so nobody got on before I got off. Naturally, I had to fight the urge to take full advantage of the situation by lazing around in my pants and singing along enthusiastically to my iPod- which is probably just as well as two ladies came by with a trolley of goodies for me to choose from. I chose Quavers.

Yum yum.

So anyway- main points again:

Didn't suck.
Finally feel like a real comic artist.
Dave Gibbons bought me a pint.

The only downside is that I didn't get a lot of work done today or yesterday, so I'll be working like a demon over the weekend to catch up.

'45' signing at Forbidden Planet, London

2010-02-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

I'll be there, along with the Com.X guys and some of the other fantastic artists that worked on '45'.

Being surrounded by such stellar talent, and bereft of all my digital trickery, I'm hoping to avoid sketching- but I'll sign anything you want and talk at you until the restraining order kicks in. The fun begins at 5:30pm tomorrow (4th Feb), at the London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue. I will be the one wolfing down the complimentary food. Probably.

Impaler sneak peeks.

2010-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Interior panels from Impaler 5/6.

Really liking the work I've done this week. Unfortunately, I can't really show too much of it off as we're coming to the end of the series and I don't want to give too many spoilers away.

Typically, now I'm looking at these again, I can see things that desperately need fixing.

Hey ho!

A humbling experience

2010-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

So... the 45 signing. To be honest, it was all really enjoyable, apart from one aspect- being asked to draw stuff when you've got Charlie Adlard on your left and Ben Oliver on your right.

Never let anyone bamboozle you into believing that drawing digitally isn't easier, because it is. Either that, or I've been doing it for so long that my 'proper' drawing skills have simply withered away. I genuinely struggled to draw on paper without all my references and other trickery. I couldn't judge line weights, I second guessed all my proportions and I really hated the results. When I stood my scrawls next to Charlie and Ben's superior efforts, I actually felt like crying.

Despite this horrific lesson in humility, It was really good to meet people that I feel like I've known for a while already- particularly Ben Oliver, Rob Williams and Lee Carter (Lee's live drawing efforts would also have kicked my arse, no doubt, but I didn't see him draw anything). I'm a big fan of Ben's work, so I was especially pleased that he brought a big pile of it with him for people to look at (although, naturally, it brought on further bouts of weeping). Also in attendance were Eddie Deighton, of ComX, Andi Ewington and their significant others- as well as John X. I'm calling him John X because I've forgotten his second name- but he works with Eddie and Andi and did some editing on 45. Also, having managed to foist the kids off on friends of ours, I was able to take Mrs T. with me as well and we all went out for food afterwards- which Eddie paid for. Thanks, Eddie!

I'm going down to the London signing on the 4th of Feb and I'm currently trying to decide whether to get some practice in, or buy myself a sling and feign some kind of injury, to avoid further embarrassment. Having a good six or seven years worth of bad habits to break in the next two weeks makes me think that I might be better off buying the sling...

:D

Now go out and buy '45'. It really is rather good. Especially my page.

45 signing in Cardiff

2010-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

World's worst blogger has just remembered that he will be in Cardiff tomorrow, signing copies of 45 and (presumably) sketching stuff- along with some really good artists.

I'll be the one wearing the Impaler T-shirt and (probably) crying with fear at the prospect of drawing on real paper. With pens and stuff.

Obligatory Christmas card type post.

2009-12-22T04:40:00.000-08:00

I don't normally get time to do this- in fact, technically, I haven't really got time to do it this year- but here it is anyway:

Hope you all have a good one-

Matt

Impaler # 5, interior page

2009-11-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

It feels like I've been doing this forever now and I'm finding, more and more, that once a page is done, I really don't want to look at it again! That said, I read issues 1-4 for the first time the other day and was pleasantly surprised to find that enough time had obviously passed that I was able to enjoy the experience and look at what I'd drawn without wincing. There's still odds and sods that I'd like to redraw, or tinker with, but I think that's pretty normal. At least, I hope it is.

Anyway... Interior page from Issue 5. I'm posting it because I really like the final panel. When I first started drawing this series, I really thought of Wagner and Trippe as secondary characters- almost cannon fodder for the story- but as time has gone on, I've found myself caring less about the main characters and more about these two- especially Wagner. Out of all of the characters, I feel like I get him the most.

Outrageous bloomin' cheek!

2009-10-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Now I'm not suggesting that everyone should immediately give this guy their cash (although it sounds like he could do with it)- but please read the article at the following link and spread the word at the very least. If you've got a blog- post the link. If you're on Twitter, re-tweet it and ask others to do the same.

You never know when you could be on the receiving end of something like this:

http://www.johntunger.com/legal-defense-fund.html

Bill Mantlo ROM Benefit Book

2009-10-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this, between pages, a couple of weeks ago- but I've been too busy for blogging. Or sleeping. Or washing, if it comes to that...

I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, but I almost wish I'd done something a bit cheerier now. Oh well!

:D

Holidays and other stuff

2009-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally back from two weeks of overeating, drinking and lazing around in the sun. Ok- that last one was a lie- there was no lazing to be had as the kids still wanted to get up at the crack of doom and then they wanted to play in the sea or sand until it was time to go back for the night.

Parents ought to get a separate holiday to recover from their kids, I reckon.

Anyway- after wading through huge amounts of guff this morning (email, post, and wotnot), I decided to ease myself gently back into work with this:

Mrs T. has been poking her head around the door every now and then, before tutting and suggesting that I get on with some real work. Rather than instantly file for divorce, I've patiently explained that I'm like an engine that needs warming up- but I don't think she really gets it. She's made me several lovely cups of tea today though- as well as my lunch and tea- so I'm not complaining.

This week, I'll be finishing off the Rom piece and laying out issue 5 of Impaler.

Birth of a Spaceknight WIP

2009-08-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Rom- for the Bill Mantlo benefit book. Unless I change my mind and decide to go with something a bit more user friendly!

Still a few more hours to be put in yet, but it'll have to wait a couple of weeks now...

The return of Marvelman

2009-07-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Having just heard the news from SDCC, I have to say that I'm pretty excited to hear that Marvel have acquired the rights to Marvelman!

I love Marvelman...

Fantastic Four doodle type thing.

2009-06-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Having packed the family off to Cornwall for the week (just in time for a heatwave, the jammy sods!), I thought I'd have an early night and prepare for the marathon week that lies before me.

And then I started doodling this instead. It's a bit ropey and nowhere near properly finished- but it's about as good as it's going to get.

I can't even remember the last time I drew something just for fun!

There will be violence!

2009-06-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

It takes ages to draw, but this is what I really love about Impaler- Vlad slicing and dicing the vamps! I could draw this stuff all day (and frequently do).

Pretty pleased with the way that this one turned out- but if I was going to change anything, I'd have Vlad punching right through that vamp. Needless to say, now that I've thought about it, I'll have to make sure that it happens between now and issue # 6...

45 all done

2009-06-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, barring any last minute changes, it's finally done.

It took quite a bit longer than I thought it would and, as ever, there are bits that I want to fix- but I'm trying to learn how to let go and accept that things are done when they're done and that endless tinkering is just a lot of wasted time and energy.

To be honest, I'm just glad I wasn't the last one to hand his work in- although Andi tells me that I wasn't far off!

Hooray! Even as I type, Com.X have signed off on it- so I'm officially done.

45 WIP

2009-05-25T04:05:00.000-07:00

Don't panic, Andi- I've done a bit more than this! It's actually the backdrop to the rest of the page, which means that most of it will be covered up by other panels- so I thought it might be worth showing it off before that happens.

If it looks a bit familiar, it's because I was inspired by a pic of the Flash I did ages ago.

Come to think of it, that Flash pic was a direct lift of another super speeder I did (Mike Carroll's Quantum)- so it's officially been around the block a bit! Needless to say, this latest version is my favourite...

Impaler # 6 Cover

2009-05-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

As promised, a wraparound cover for issue 6. It's taken me practically all week from start to finish- but I'm really pleased with the way it looks. Until tomorrow, of course, when I start to tinker with it...

Action!

2009-05-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of page that makes it all worthwhile, kids...

Impaler #5 cover

2009-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's an absolute flurry of posts this weekend. People everywhere are wetting themselves with excitement. "Will he post again?!? I can't stand it! Oh my God- he's posted something else! Somebody call Reuters!"

Anyway...

I have to admit, I really like this one. It's based on the variant cover of Vlad that I did for the first issue (you know- the one I accidently did for free. Yes, it still burns). What I particularly liked about it, apart from the simplicity, was that it didn't take me very long- which ultimately leaves me with more time on my hands to tell the story. Not that I have anything like time on my hands, of course.

I've tried to go for a simple, understated pic for all of the covers so far, but I've been talked into pushing the boat out for #6. I've got a couple of great ideas in mind that will be a bit of a departure from the covers seen so far.

I hope I haven't bigged myself up too much now...

Happy Easter, by the way. I've been on my own all week, so had to buy my own Easter Egg, which I will be scoffing down shortly. I'm also praying that the good Lord allows my local pizza place to open today as I'm bloody starving, but can't face cooking for myself again. That and the fact that I've yet to wash up any of the pots I've been using and there's nothing left to cook with.

Mrs T will be back sometime tomorrow, but I don't think I can wait that long. My only other option is McDonalds- but do I really want to do that to myself? One 'meal' is never enough and the temptation to buy two is almost overwhelming when you're on your own- but these things never end well. I owe it to my bowels to either cook something or get a pizza.

Please let the pizza place be open...

Impaler #4 cover

2009-04-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

I actually did this ages ago, but just never got around to posting it (big surprise there, I'm sure)

Andi Ewington's '45'

2009-04-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

"Forty-Five is a series of superhero interviews documented by James Stanley. As a soon-to-be-father, James wants to find out what lies in store for his family if his unborn child turns out to have a super power. It features forty five different industry artists, all having just one page to capture the essence of each interview."

Published by Com.X, 45 is written by Andi Ewington and features some seriously cool artists and absolutely gorgeous artwork. I laid out the roughs for my page (about a super-speedster called Zip) months ago, but just haven't had the time to draw it up yet! I know, I know- it's only one page- but there's a lot on it!

More info can be found here:

http://thefortyfivecomic.blogspot.com/

Impaler #3 Cover

2009-04-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

This wasn't the original cover- but what looked great as a rough looked blummin' 'orrible once it was drawn up! It was tweaked over and over until, finally, I snapped and drew something completely different- which was only ever going to be a good thing, believe me.

If I ever get over the intense feelings of anguish and despair that the original provoked in me, I might post it so that people can point and laugh...

Good news and a sneaky preview

2009-02-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, Issue 2 is finally finished and I am about to start issue 3. Apologies and thanks to everyone who has waited- I guess I'm still trying to find my feet.

Cheers-

Matt

Impaler #2 cover

2008-12-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

Pencil-monkey in "silly bastard" shocker!

2008-11-28T11:51:00.000-08:00

Filip Sablik asked me to send him the hi-rez pic of some Vlad sketch that I'd done ages ago so that he could use it for some promo or other.

"You don't want that old thing", sez I, "I've got something much better in mind!"

So I dug out a rough I'd done a couple of months ago and worked it up into a finished pic. "Lovely", sez young Filip and, "thanks very much". I believe the word 'awesome' might have been bandied about a bit as well- but that's by the by.

Anyway, a couple of days later, it occurred to me that this same pic might make a jolly nice cover for issue 3 and I suggested this to Rob (Levine) and Filip, who agreed, but regretted that it was already in use and had gone to print already.

Long story short- I gave away a free cover. This is why pencil-monkeys should only draw stuff- and leave the actual thinking to their betters (in this case, my wife- who clipped my ear for me).

Of course, the real blow is that I still have to draw a cover for issue 3...

Darkness #75

2008-11-19T06:31:00.001-08:00

But what is this?!? Two posts in one week? Surely not!

Yes, I'm afraid so. As loosely promised, here is a page from the upcoming Darkness #75.

2008-11-17T04:16:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that I'm actually the worst blogger in the world. Sorry about that.

Anyway- here's a couple of pages from the second issue of Impaler, which I'm still working on. I'm really enjoying it, but I'm finding it difficult to say, "this page is done", and seem to spend a lot more time on each one than is strictly necessary.

I spent a week trying to work in a way that I thought would be a bit more productive (i.e. faster), but turned out such a load of horrible dirge that I thought it might even make my eyes bleed. I immediately purged the offending material from my HD and have made a mental note that shortcuts nearly always take longer and look crap.

I also got roped into drawing a couple of pages for the Darkness #75 (that's the Top Cow comic, as opposed to the slightly rubbish band of the same name). I've been trying to load a page for people to look at, but Blogger's having none of it. Rubbish Blogger!

Anyway- I'm off to make some beans on toast now. Don't forget to come back in three months for another exciting installment of One Man And His Blog.

Impaler #1 Cover art

2008-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Exactly what it says on the tin.

IMPALER- the first five pages.

2008-08-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome...

2008-08-21T03:12:00.000-07:00

...to my new blog. Long story short, I got lucky- and Top Cow Entertainment have asked me to draw their new horror series, Impaler, written by William Harms. Now that I'm drawing proper comics I thought it was about time I had a blog, to keep anyone who might be interested reasonably up to date with where I am and what I'm doing.

Initially, I was dead pleased with the cleverness of the title (there used to be a TV show in the UK called 'One Man And His Dog'), but one quick Google later, I can see that I'm about as witty and clever as the rest of the 800 million other bloggers that picked it.

Anyway, I'm probably going to have to check what I can and can't post- but I'm pretty sure I can post the 5 page preview that went at at this year's San Diego Con.

Cheers-

Matt