Original Art Sundays No. 292: Arrowsmith sketch cover

 Hi, all.

I had a better idea for the next page partway into it. I was planning a single page gag filler, because I had a great one and haven't done one in a while.  But then I was re-reading Buseik and Pacheho's Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #1, and I noticed that there were almost no women in it. 

Busiek has written some very good stories with women in prominent roles, so I wasn't particularly offended by this. And it's been a while since I read the first series, so I didn't remember if this was addressed there. But since the copy I picked up was a sketch cover, I decided to give it a whirl.

 

Okay, I'm pretty happy with this. Just a #2 Ticonderoga pencil, a kneadable eraser and a bit of Photoshop tweaking. Photoshop was just levels and threshold, and some use of the Fade command, which I love. That's the whole tool list!

I thought about inking, or adding color, or putting in a background. But I enjoyed it so much the way it is, I decided to leave well enough alone. I had real fun drawing the little dragon! Not usually my thing, but once in a while...

I do enjoy these sketch covers, though I almost never buy floppies any more. 

Next: back to our story.

Original Art Sundays No. 291: Sharp Invitations: Curt, p. 30

 Once more into the breach, dear friends!

When we left our heroine, she was trying to get herself committed, thinking Curt might just be right about her.

Read on.

Well, that was unexpected.

It's important to remember that abusers can be really nice, positively charismatic, at times. That's how they keep you coming back, or sticking around. But when you're in the middle of it, you can't see it that clearly. All you see is the contradictions, which must, after all, be your fault.

Layout considerations: no dialogue necessary on the top tier. Let the poses and expressions do the talking. Second tier: pretty straightforward. Re-establishing shot, and tighter as the subject moves into the room. The outline indicating the absence of my Mother's painting that he thre away, always present.

Again, in facial expressions and body language. the reactions say more than words could.  I like the absence of a hard outline on the word balloon in panel 5.

Third tier: he's a Sphinx here. Sidebar: he could barely cook eggs, which is what we had for supper.

Again using wash, lines and solid black shapes to define background elements. I considered adding a wood texture to the door but thought better of it. I'm liking the wash backgrounds, but am cautious about getting into a rut.

Quick fairly clean page.

Tools:

• Canson Bristol Board
• Ticonderoga no.2 pencil, 3B lead in lead holder
• Triangle, T-Square and straightedge
• Micron Nos. .02, .03, .05, .08, 1.0 and brush tip
• Plastic watercolor palette
• Dr. Martin's Black Star Matte black india ink
• FW Artist's Acrylic White
• Nib and holder
• Princeton no. 10 synthetic brush, Blick no. 6 synthetic brush and Tight Spot for corrections
• Gum eraser and Faber Castell Dust Free eraser
• Just a touch of Photoshop

Next: closing in on the inevitable.