Painting

I've been wanting to paint again for a long time. It's been, well, an embarrassingly long time since I was able to work on a canvas. Years ago my good friend Sunny had posed for me for a series of paintings I had wanted to start, but never got the chance to because my comic work had really picked up.

My schedule opened up a little recently and I decided that now would be a good time to start painting again. I've been working on comics during the day and painting at night. This is Acrylic on Masonite. I wanted to take some baby steps because so much time had passed from my last time slinging paint, and this piece taught me a ton. I can't wait to do more.

A couple of months ago I started a drawing intended as part of an inking lesson for my students. I started the drawing a little too late in the week to have it ready for Sunday's class so, I left it home and re-created the drawing in class and inked it on the spot. The idea with the drawing was to handle it three different ways and then ink it three different ways. The first would be very loose pencils, the second would be very tight pencils, and the third would be in the middle. One drawing would be inked with brush, one with crow-quill, and the third would be a mixture of the two. That at least was the idea. The drawing sat on my board for a period of time as I had other work that required my attention. when a gap opened up I decided to finish the drawing, but just as a single panel. I'd then ink the drawing for my own practice. For a long time I've felt my inks weren't quite up to where I wanted them and this would be a good chance to test myself and see if I could push my abilities a bit further then where they were. Here's the results of this test:

As a drawing I was extremely happy with the composition, figures, lettering, and the inking. Taking my time with this drawing really paid off in the level of quality that I perceive in my work. As I was drawing this I came up with an idea to continue the story of this panel to an entire page. The execution of that page would be handled the same way, with an eye towards maintaining a level of quality. Here are the results of that:

I am quite pleased with the results of this page as well. The composition of each panel is well executed, as well as the composition of the overall page. The level of quality and consistency stays equal throughout, which I am also very pleased with, especially on the last panel, 3/4 of which was completely re-drawn after a good call by my wife who mentioned that something was off with the panel. As I was finishing this page up, an idea for  a short story based around this page came into my head. I'll be working on that and posting pages when they are completed.

A million and a half years ago, when the internet was a young thing barely into its adolescence, I did a web-comic that I would post to my live journal, titled very appropriately, Stumped. Stumped was me having fun with doing single funny (at least to me they were funny, the jury never came back on whether or not they were funny to anyone else) comic strips. It was me learning how to tell a joke using my favorite medium, and on occasion I told them fairly well. I did a grand total of 6 Stumped comic strips, a lofty number back then and I had always planned to go back and do more of them as they were some of the most fun I've had putting pencil to paper and stylus to tablet. Life got in the way of me making any more Stumped comics, at least on a regular basis. My career of comic book artist went from speculative to actual and the free time with which I had in abundance suddenly vanished as I now had people paying me to do what I used to do to get out of doing any real work. 

Skip forward to the current day and age. The internet has left adolescence far behind. Live journal is still there, but the blog has, well, I don't have to tell you do I? In fact if you are still reading this I am completely surprised and flattered. Not so much because it is dull, but because it is far more than 140 characters. As for me, I'm married and careered, and still under deadline and spend a lot of time thinking about that funny strip that I used to do and how much I enjoyed it. This week I was low. I couldn't get my head unscrewed from my rectum and just needed something to make me laugh.  Leafing through an old sketchbook, I came across a page that had eight panels sketched out and found myself giggling. I put the deadlines aside just for a little while and spent time drawing for myself.  I humbly present the results here.

I of course showed it to my wife.  She is a PhD candidate and much smarter than I am, and in her wisdom said I should do more of these. And you know what, that feels right. Like I said she is much smarter than I am.  So expect this to be the first of what is hopefully many more attempts at me being funny, and if you have to blame someone, blame my wife. I'm not guaranteeing any kind of schedule, but I am going to do more of them.  Welcome to Stumped.

 

Sketch Monday

                                                 

                                I love drawing fish men.  This handsome devil is for a project I'm working on with my buddy Dave.  The tendency when drawing fish men now is to begin to move towards what Guillermo Del Toro did with Abe Sapien.  I mean it is hard not to.  Abe is a great design.  I immediately wanted to do something that moved the design away from that a bit and into something different.  Ray Harryhausen the greatest of all monster makers said if you can draw the creature in repose and make it look believable then you've got a good monster.  With that in mind, I moved the fish man into a seated pose, and saw that what I'm really going for is a more amphibian look.  This totally had an effect on the overall design.  Can't wait to do more on this.  

Check back here next Monday for more sketch goodness, and tune in tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday!

Web Comics Wednesday

Wednesday is traditionally New Comics Day.  That day where you would run to the comic shop after school, work or during your lunch break and pick up your stuff.  The issues that you had been waiting whole months for.  That used to give me shivers.  Now, I can't make it to the store every Wednesday.  I live in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, and while there is a shop within a reasonable distance of my apartment, work has a tendency to keep me strapped to the drawing board.  When I do get to the shop I notice that my once very large stack of comics has dropped to maybe 2 single issues and more often than not a trade or Original Graphic Novel, kind of like this one:

                                               The Battle Of Blood And Ink
It's a shameless plug, I know :)  But nonetheless, the trend I'm noticing is that I'm picking up less and less single issues in stores.  I find myself looking at more and more webcomics. To that end I wanted to share with you some of the webcomics that I've been reading lately.  Every week on Wednesday I will post up 3 brand new webcomics links that I have been reading.  Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to have them!  So let's begin shall we?

The first web comic is Red's Planet, which I found out about through newsarama.  Red's Planet is about a young orphan whom everyone calls Red much to her chagrin, who after running away from her foster home is kidnapped by aliens and stranded on a strange planet in a crashed starship with a motley crew of interstellar flea-market goers finds herself in a worse situation than her foster home. 
                                                                   
                                                         Red's Planet

Red's Planet was created by Eddie Pittman whose previous work was in animation on films like Mulan and Tarzan. 

The second web comic for today is Escape From Planet Nowhere, which I found through the link's page on Red's Planet.  Personally I've found tons of web comics just by clicking through suggested links.  Escape From Planet Nowhere is about a soldier trapped on an Alien Planet just trying to get off world so he can catch the perfect wave.
                                                     
                                            Escape From Planet Nowhere

Escape From Planet Nowhere was created by Otis Farmpton, best known for the graphic novel Oddly Normal.

The third  web comic for today is also by Otis Frampton (a two-fer!) and is called Song Of Xanthia.  It's a fantasy story about a girl named Min who finds a symbol of great power.  Right now the story clocks in at 13 pages with more on the way.

                                                       Song Of Xanthia

And that wraps it up for Webcomic Wednesday!  Be sure to check back next week for more great webcomics, and remember if you have a webcomic or know of one that I should be reading, send it along.  Also , Sketch Monday will be returning next week, as well as a new feature titled What I'm reading Thursdays.  Until then, keep it weird!

A week to remember

I really should be getting ready.  I've got to get out of here and head up to NYC today because one of my oldest friends is getting married, but I wanted to take a minute and talk about this amazing week I've just had.  The biggest news and the high point of my week, was The Battle Of Blood And Ink is finally out in the world, having been released this past Tuesday.  Jared and I are both absolutely thrilled and have already been bombarded with people sending us picks of their copies.  The thing I notice is how excited they all look.  That is a wonderful feeling when something you had a hand in making gives people genuine joy.  For myself it was beyond amazing to hold the book in my hand and by able to see it completed.  what really knocked my socks off was seeing the book out and about in stores!  A friend of Jared's, Laura Burns, sent this picture:

Seeing Blood And Ink on a shelf in such great company is wonderful.  Now begins another part of this and one I'm frankly looking forward to, seeing what other people think of the work.  we've had some very nice sentiments thrown our way by Sarah Hunter of Booklist who said:

"Axelrod and Walker use rich visual details of luxury and the street life to underscore just how divided the city really is. With a spunky, headstrong female lead and an abundance of steampunk touches—airships, ray guns, and printing presses—this original graphic novel hits all the right buttons . . . or should we say levers?"

I'm glad to see people are digging it and I can't wait to have conversations with people about it. 

Free Comic Book Day

Hey All,

Jared and I will be at Brooklyn Comics this Saturday May 5th for Free Comic Book Day.  Come on in and say hi!  We'll have previews of The Battle Of Blood and Ink plus some free mini comics, and I will be doing sketches.  Here's some more info for ya

Looking forward to seeing you there.  And please, Bring coffee!

With The Battle of Blood And Ink less than a week away (!) Jared and I along with our esteemed publisher Tor Books, have prepared some lovely pre-book process and idea content.  The first is a very nice video by the uber talented J.R. Blackwell which can be seen here:
How The Battle Of Blood And Ink came about

The second is a very nice article written by Jared featuring some of my sketches and some pages from the book, which can all be seen here:
Information versus Ignorance The thoughts behind The Battle Of Blood And Ink

I hope you all enjoy these insights into our precious thought meats.  If you still haven't ordered the book yet it is available through amazon. com here:

The Battle Of Blood And Ink on Amazon

Enjoy!

The Battle Of Blood And Ink Preview Is Up!

Want to see a preview of The Battle Of Blood And Ink, the graphic novel that I've been talking about so much lately?  Well, Tor.com has a preview up right now!  Check it out here:

The Battle Of Blood And Ink Preview
I figure that some of you want to try before you buy, and this is a nice 18 page chunk of our story about this dread-locked seeker of truth and her life on a flying city.  The book is hitting on May 22nd, and is still available for pre-order through Amazon.com You can pick it up here:

http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Blood-Ink-Fable-Flying/dp/0765331306 

Sketch Monday

Every once in a while I get the urge to draw a super-hero, and Spider-Man is a childhood favorite.  I knocked this quick little number out while on the train on Saturday, on the way to visit family for the holidays.

Who I Am And What I Do

I am Steve Walker.  I draw graphic novels, most notable are the first 2 volumes of The Sons Of Liberty for Random House Books.  I've also co-created along with Jared Axelrod, The Battle Of Blood And Ink being released this may from Tor Books and available for pr-order now at the link. 

Besides drawing comics of things that I love and would want to read, I was a founding member of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School and worked with the wonderful Molly Crabapple, and helped to run the best damned burlesque life-drawing session in the world. 

I also teach comics and sequential art at The Art Student's League of New York, and have done so for almost 5 years now.

My name's Steve Walker, and it is a pleasure to meet you.

Things have been insanely busy lately, which is wonderful.  The push has begun for the Battle Of Blood and Ink, my latest graphic novel which hits bookshelves May 8th.  Jared and I were talking the other day and it both hit us that it's been a 5 year journey to bring this book to you, and now all that sweat and hard work is finally going to pay off.  Want to pre-order the book?  It's available through Amazon.com here:

http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Blood-Ink-Fable-Flying/dp/0765331306

We've got a ton of stuff upcoming to coincide with the release of the book, appearances and the like. We'll be at Brooklyn Comics on May 5th for Free Comic Book Day, giving out some free comics and I'll be doing sketches and generally being silly.  We'll be doing a meet and greet and talk at the U Penn Bookstore  in Philadelphia on May 8th, Release Day! Come out and say hi.  Also, we will be at Balticon May 25th-28th for a big launch party as well as to announce a few other goodies, give away prizes, and of course sign your copies of The Battle of Blood And Ink.

So, like I said it's been busy:)  There's a few more things happening, and as the details are ironed out I will be announcing them here as well as a few other places.  so with that I take my leave, but not before I ask you to once again pre-order your copy of The Battle Of Blood And Ink, buy early, buy often, and to give you a little taste as to what has been going on with me artistically, here's the cover to the third Fables Of The Flying City mini comics!


 

I've made it a mission in my career to work with people who share my ideas about storytelling and aesthetics in order to make really kick ass books.  When I met Jared I realized it was inevitable that we would be working together on something.  A simple conversation gave birth to the idea that nearly 6 years later would become The Battle Of Blood And Ink.  The ride has been absolutely incredible right from the start, and as I look back on the journey it has been a complete dream.  So much good has come out of being determined to create something that we would love.  We're now a month away from the books release.  We've got a ton of stuff planned to celebrate and usher our endeavor into the world.  Events in Baltimore, Wilmington, Brooklyn, and our home base of Pennsylvania.  More on these to come.  If you'd like to pre-order a copy of the book you can do so through Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Battle-Blood-Ink-Flying/dp/0765331306

or through Barnes and Noble here:


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/battle-of-blood-and-ink-jared-axelrod/1103277235

In the end, I love telling stories.  I cannot wait to bring you another kick-ass book.

I've been working on a ton of stuff since the start of the new year, and sadly mourning the loss of my Grandfather, who passed just before Christmas.  I've taken some time away from posting due to that, but I never stopped working.  Besides finishing up the Battle Of Blood And Ink, which is now available for pre-order from Amazon, just go to http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Blood-Ink-Fable-Flying/dp/0765331306 to reserve your copy today, Jared and I have been working on web only mini-comics that help to enrich the world of Blood And Ink and add to the Fables Of The Flying City.  You can read these mini comics at www.fablesoftheflyingcity.com.  Now, enough shameless self-promotion, onto the art!  Here's preview pencils for the cover of the next Fables Of The Flying City mini comic.  I really like the art deco graphic design feel that the image has.

Busy busy busy week.  I've been working on the second mini comic for fables of the flying city as well as wrapping up some commission work that had come in and finishing thumbnails on a 3 Musketeers adaptation.  needless to say I've been putting in the time.  So now it is Friday and I'm off to New York for what may be an extended visit.  I promised a Sketch Monday post and there may be one if I can get back home.  If I can't, I wanted to at least show something of what I've been up to, so here is one of the commissions I finished.

Free Comics!

There wasn't a Sketch Monday this week, and I know you are all gnashing your teeth and wailing in dismay, but I am currently trying to get a bunch of stuff wrapped up by the end of the month.  That sounds silly I know, but December, of all the months, seems to fly by the fastest.  So Sketch Monday will be back next week, and actually on Monday rather then Tuesday.  Until then, I have a slew of free comic pages for you all:



http://www.fablesoftheflyingcity.com/news/free-comics/

This is the mini-comic that Jared and I produced for New York Comic Con in October.  This is the first of six planned mini comics that will lead into the release of our graphic novel The Battle Of Blood And Ink in May from Tor Books.  I hope you all enjoy!

Sketch Monday

This one actually started out as an example to one of my students regarding composition, and I just continued with it.  I had a lot of fun losing myself in the drawing.

Sketch Monday

I've been feeling the need to paint lately, but I am woefully out of practice.  This is in no small part due to me having had comics work going strong for the last three years.  With most of my projects wrapped up for the moment, I spent the weekend indulging that painting itch.After an aborted start on a canvas, yesterday I sat down with a sketchbook and some gouache and did this:

this is my second attempt at this character study of Ashe, the main character from The Battle of Blood and Ink.  The first one quickly got away from me and was subsequently scrapped.  I've still got a ways to go before I'm comfortable with painting again, but I think this is a great place to start.  Oh and I know the title says Sketch Monday.  The piece was done on Monday, and it is only Tuesday morning :) 

The Battle of Blood and Ink Cover

In case anyone was wondering this is what the cover to The Battle of Blood and Ink will look like:

The crazy man with the giant mouth will be sold separately

I'll have more goodies to post up over the next few weeks including a where to find me on the internets, a return of the Sketch Monday, as well as a few contests.  Stay tuned.

New York Comic Con 2011 in photos

To continue on the madness that was NYCC 2011, I present a bunch of pictures that I took at the con and at least one that I did not, but rocks. It is of the lovely Liza James, who was gracious enough to dress up as Ashe and hawk our wares for the weekend.  Onto the pictures!

                           
Our table setup with our new and improved Fables Of The Flying City Banner.

                        
Legendary Pictures had a display, so naturally I had to shoot the Dark Knight.

                              
Writer and founding member of Rat Ronin studios, Kieth Miller.
                                                                               
High Moon, Box 13, and now artist on the AMC Walking Dead Game as well as caffeine freak Steve Ellis.

                                                  
pretty self explanatory.

                   
Jared holding up the 1st second previews guide featuring the Blood and Ink sampler!

                               
The Battle of Blood and Ink crew.  Good looking clouddogs all.

                                 
The creation inevitably turns on its creator.  Ashe gives me a noogie.

                                         
and finally Liza James as Ashe in her Amperstamian finest.

We all had a blast this year at comiccon and quite honestly I'm looking forward to next year when we will have the physical book in hand for everyone plus a few other fantastic goodies as well.  now if only I could figure out how to get the entire cast there...:)