Behind Al Cook’s “Necropolis”: Nailing Him Up.

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.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Behind Al Cook’s “Necropolis”: Blood Test
* Album Artwork: “Love Lust Tales”
* Al Cook’s Marketing & Poster Improvement Service

Al Cook’s “Necropolis”: Please Give Blood.

Hi folks, this is the latest entry in my macabre Glaswegian comic-strip, Al Cook’s “Necropolis”.
It’s called “Please Give Blood” so please do!

As always, the main place to view Al Cook’s “Necropolis” in all of its complete and black biro penned, sinister hand-drawn wonder is HERE.

* Footnote:
I sent this “Please Give Blood” strip off to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service asking them to get behind the comic etc… and they said:

“Hi Al,
Many thanks for your enquiry.
I’m afraid this is something we will not be able to support.
Best regards,
Leigh.

Leigh Taylor.
Donor Recruitment and Publicity Officer
Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service
25 Shelley Road
Glasgow
G12 0XB
Tel: 0141 357 7740“.

That aside, please do give blood. It’s very very important and not painful at all.

FACEBOOK LINKS:
* Give Blood For Scotland
* Al Cook’s “Necropolis”

You May Also Be Interested In:
* Cut Loose (Complete Version)
* Cracking Open A Cold One
* REDRUM

Coming Soon On Al Cook’s “Necropolis”…

Hi folks!
Here’s a scribbly advertisment for the next Al Cook’s “Necropolis” comic strip which is coming soon…

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* Al Cook’s “Necropolis”
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Dot And Tot Of Merryland: A Working Sketch.

This is my working sketch for a painting I’ve been working on for my pal Jared’s short story which he has based on L. Frank Baum’s “Dot And Tot Of Merryland“.
The painting will feature the same colours as used by W.W. Denslow in his original illustrations and I’ll post the results up on here when I’m done.

You can read L’ Frank Baum’s original story as well as see W.W. Denslow’s illustrations by clicking HERE.

You May Also Be Interested In:
* The Making Of A Scarecrow
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Sketches For Nobody #6.

I’ve called these ‘Sketches For Nobody’ but that’s not really true. These are all working ideas for something or other.
For years and years I’ve been throwing my working sketches away because they don’t mean anything to me after a certain point but as I get older, I’m starting to keep everything.

This is a working character sketch for a comic strip I’ve been working on called “COWAN: Homicide” which is about a cop working in 1980’s Shettleston, Glasgow.
Hopefully, I’ll have that up and running within the next few weeks.

This is a random sketch done at work to pass the time on a slow day.

Above is a working sketch for the character of a friend’s short story.

And then we have, a speedy and very jaggy sketch of L. Frank Baum’s Scarecrow from “The Wizard Of Oz”.

Lastly, this was a quick character drawing for the album cover artwork that I did for the band V For Vagina.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Dot And Tot Of Merryland: A Working Sketch
* Album Artwork: “A Circus Of Vaginas”
* Sketches For Nobody #1