This feels like a wee secret art class!
But it’s not.
Today I’m going to show you the ‘Behind The Scenes’ drawings of “The Crucifixion“, the latest installment of Al Cook’s “Necropolis”, my comic strip. Actually, ‘Behind The Scenes’ isn’t exactly what this is. It’s more like a collection of daft and drunken squiggles and the illustration panels they turned into.
First thing’s first. I doodle ALL the time! Doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. Whatever I’m doing, I’m usually doodling whilst doing it. I’ve been doodling images of Christ on the Cross since I was a wee boy and so it seemed like a good idea to use those as the basis for my next strip.
I usually don’t like to plan things out as much as I did with “The Crucifixion” and I almost never do any ‘preparation’ drawings but here’s how it all happened…
* 2 scribbly drunken sketches done at a bar:
* Planning for the layout of the first couple of panels:
* The completed first and second panel illustrations:
* Quick sketches to give me an idea of what should be in shadow etc…
* The completed illustration panels:
* Idea sketches for the look of the Roman headgear…
* Halfway through applying the biro ink to the pencil lines of the final illustration:
* The completed illustration:
* A layout sketch done very quickly by the looks of it:
* The completed illustration:
* I found it quite difficult to illustrate someone removing a Roman helmet. The angle of it bugged me for a week. I must have drawn it 20 different ways before sketching out this idea:
* The completed illustration (Which I’m still not happy with):
* I wrote the comic strip as I went along and one of the main problems with that is that I don’t work in order. Like my brain, I’m sort of out of order. For instance, the first panel was first one drawn and then I worked from the middle panel backwards and then from the end panel backwards. It’s just the way that works best for me but sometimes, …sometimes I get stuck for a line of dialogue and have to improvise on the spot…
* Note to self:
* The final illustration before I drew over it with black biro pen:
* Detail:
* The completed panel:
* I fished this out of the bin 3 days after I’d put it there. Sometimes the best ideas are the first ones!…
* The finished illustration:
You can view the fully finished strip HERE.
If any of this was of any help to you with anything drawing or illustration-related then please drop me a line.
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