Process of Evil

Some people, often other artists who might just be starting out, sometimes wonder what an artist's process is when it comes to drawing. When I illustrated Volume 1 (with heavy reliance on color god Russ Lowery), I went through several different processes involving several different paper sizes, inking tools, you name it. For volume 2 I plan to stick to 1 process the whole way through, unless it becomes detrimental. So here is how the process goes from script to art.

1. Adam and I discuss the plot and the storylines we want to tell.
2. Adam writes the script.
3. I review and give him any notes I may have and then I receive the final script.
4. Using the 90% finalized script (dialog changes can be made all the way up until lettering), I "pencil" the pages. For this project, I am penciling digitally using my pen tablet and photoshop. I've created an 8x12 blueline template (2/3 ratio) for this purpose. After pencils I send a copy to Adam for approval, then I make any edits we decide on.
5. Finally I print the blueline "pencils" out on 8.5x14 legal paper at about 60% for inking. Since there is no demand for original art sales from my pages, I save money and time by just inking on normal paper. Using markers instead of ink to fill my blacks, I avoid the wrinkling you often get when inking on plain paper. To ink I use all sorts of tools but my main tool is either the classic #2 brush or a pentel brush pen.
6. With no pencil lines to erase, I scan the page into photoshop and using the hues/saturation setting I can wipe out all the blue line, leaving only the inks. I then use the threshold setting to darken everything up and make it a true black and white drawing.
7. Now I send the page to the colorist and wait for him to do his magic.




* if you notice, I forgot to draw his headset in, so I'll add that in Photoshop before the colorist adds the colors.