Environmental concept art for the graphic novel.

Week 1: here is an intital concept I sketched for the final end point of the book. This was my first time drawing in 2 point perspective. To start out I plotted all the points and began to sketch out the buildings and the hill. I took into consideration my use of line weight and use of proportion in my figures also the use of detail on certain shapes to convey depth in this drawing. I then inked over the lines. To develop this further if I find the time, I wish to produce 3 colour variants of this piece, all 3 showing different times of the day and I can just change the colour palet for each. Through producing this it has really helped my skills in producing backgrounds for my characters to take place in as well as learning how to draw in a 2 point perspective. This has widened my understanding of drawing backgrounds and will be a useful tool to illustrate the world this story takes place in.

Page 1 of my graphic novel (inked)

Week 5: this page the mentor goes into the carnival but his intentions are unclear. This is the first point where the viewer can start to wonder what these intentions are. To create this page I first lightly sketched in each panel and prodominant shapes, I then proceeded to add the shadows and details which I then inked over using brush tip pens. With this page I need to improve my facial drawing skills because right now they look a little bland and I want most of my characters to truly express themselves  in my illustrations so the audience can relate more. I've learned through the production of this page what aspects I need to improve on.

graphic novel finished front cover

Week 6: for my final piece I wanted to illustrate the front cover of this graphic novel and this is going to be the main selling point for the book. I wanted to combine the most useful techniques I've learned to develop my art style from the artists I've studied. With drawing this I used David finch's use of shadow to convey depth in the shadows in my figures as well as making them more sophisticated by edging lines in my shadows to still convey the shapes in characters. I came up with the design for this by looking at the Star Wars film covers as my inspiration. Normally the main villain will have a portrait shot that will take up most of the page while the other key characters are left a little smaller which creates the impression that both characters have to over come the much larger character. With producing this piece I've learned how to create very visually interesting front covers that have a good balance of simple yet chaotic aspects to them. For this piece I lightly sketched it out in pencil, inked over the details and then finished with digitally painting the product to give it a visually powerful finish.

Page 4 of my graphic novel

Week 5: in this page the brother first gets introduced into the book. for a side note in the first panel of this page both characters are still in the same room as the third page so I had to use a wider colour palet for this page.now this works really well with the introduction of the brother because his colour scheme clashes with the colour of the first panel. This makes him stand out more which creates a powerful first impression. In this page both characters talk and then set out into the street. This is the first time the reader gets to view the city that story takes place in. Later in the book the environment changes and progressively becomes a much darker and gritty place which builds up to a really dark key stage in the story. This page at the moment is very bright but kind of dull which works really well because the view gets to see through the main protagonists eyes. As it gets darker so does the character so this I've a very good use of composition in the book and it's working really well. Through the production of this I have now developed a deeper understanding of composition and how I can use it to influence the reader.

Page 3 of my graphic novel

Week 5: for this page it goes into the next scene where it jumps straight to the main protagonist where he gets woke up by his brother and pics up the tickets to the carnival where he eventually meets the mentor. The first panel for this page is blank because this is to show where he's asleep but gets called by his brother. I follows my process using pencil, ink and dicital painting to colour it. This time I experimented more with my use of cross hatching to create grey tones. I really like the use my colour palet choice for this page because the colour that this character is associated with is blue. for each character I have chosen a specific colour that each character associates with which is a really great tool to use, the way I will use this is by choosing the characters specific colour and making it the most dominant colour in the pages where the characters have their own specific crucial part in the story. This can be used to help make the reader relate to each character more by shifting the focus onto them. I during the production of this page I learned how I can use colour to make the viewer identify with each of my main characters throughout the book.

Page 2 of my graphic novel

Week 5: this page the mentor goes into the carnival owners tent to bribe his way into the carnival to get his own tent. For this I followed my usual process of penciling, inking and colouring. I wanted to not put as much detail in each drawing but rather to get the point across and each panel flows really well with the narrative. I took into consideration where the most darker shadows would come from. In this case because there are hanging lights across the higher walls of the tent I chose to have the shadowless come from the bottom. In each page I try to have atleast one thing that stands out from each other page wether it's layout, complex drawings etc. For this page I chose to draw one panel from an angle. This helps keep the viewer interested because the panels are now more visually stimulating. To colour this I chose a colour palet which I use for my composition. For each scene or new environment I'll change the colour pallet so the reader can break down the story easily which creates a longer lasting impression. The thing I learned from this is how to integrate certain photo textures in my work to create an interesting blend which gives my art style a simplistic but realistic look. I also learned how to make my comic pages more interesting by creating atleast one panel that stands out from the rest. 

3 point perspective drawing experiment

Week 4: here is a three point perspective drawing. I wanted to illustrate one of the key points in the story's narrative in an interesting way as well as learn how to draw in a three point perspective. I started by adding the initial plot points and sketching the initial visual of the drawing. I then worked on the details and started to ink my work. Then I scanned it into photoshop and started to paint it. I took note on where the light reflects and what colours I could use for this light. I used blue coming from the window to convey what time of day it is also the Orange light coming from the left of the characters. This all falls into my composition because I wanted to leave a hint of a clash between both characters because they're both clashing and both light sources from each side of the room clash. Through this I've learned how to draw in three point perspective as well as my use of light in composition. 

Carnival owner character design.

week 3: for this character I wanted to convey more expression in his pose to try and give him a more graceful outward look which can reflect on the character's personality. I started with a light sketch as a thumbnail for how I was going to present the character. Then I started to sketch in the details and inked over the lines. I scanned this into Photoshop and coloured him with a few brighter colours to show he's not a dark character. With this I've learned how a character pose can give a first impression of what the character's personality is going to be like.

Archie (main protagonist's brother) character design.

Week 3: for this design I wanted to create a character that looks a little shady and slick. To do this I sketched him out in a suit and started to add little details to his clothes to fit the theme of my story. I sketched him out in pencil and then went over in ink. I scanned him in and coloured him in Photoshop. For my colour palet I chose a dark red and greys because this dipicts later what happens in the story and makes the reader feel a certain way about him. With this I've improved my skills in colouring Using a mouse.

The mentor re-design

week 3: this is a re-design of one of my main characters. At a certain point of the story this character gets equipped with new gear so I re-designed the look of the characters apparel to experiment with another way to depict the character. I first sketched him out in pencil then I went over my lines with ink to give it a sharper finish. I scanned it into Photoshop and did a rough digital painting to using the colours I previously chose for him. A part of the design he has luminescent green tubes of liquid which is used to poison his enemy's to create this glow effect I used a low opacity brush and painted around the tubes which has given it a nice flow effect. Through this I've learned how I can use certain colours to manipulate the use of light in my illustrations.

Properganda poster design

 

week 3: I wanted to experiment with making my comic pages more visually interesting by mixing panels with other illustrations so I decided to create a properganda poster to create a greater impact when one of the characters introduce a main character into the story. To create this I sketched it out in pencil and then scanned it into photoshop. I used bright colours to show this character in the light he wishes to be seen in and it creates the mood that he's good even though the character that mentions him speaks in a derogatory fashion. This will spark the readers curiosity and cause them to wonder why. Through this I've learned how to create an interesting impression with my page layouts and it's allowed me to learn how the use of colour can be used to conflict my audience. 

Mutant design 3

week 2: Here I designed a mutant variant that goes into my story line. First I used pencil to sketch out the figure and add the details and texture of the drawing. Then I scanned in the drawing into the computer and opened it in Photoshop and started the colouring process. I wanted to give this design cool colours to make it look a little more sinister looking to match its design. I've learned how to digitally paint using a mouse instead of a graphic tablet and what textures I can create mixing pencil with digital to make my illustrations more visually interesting. For this design i wanted it to have interesting features such as the bloated stomach and the extremely long claws it gives a sense of confusion because on one hand it looks quite slow and heavy but at the same time it has very thin long limbs which could show that it's quite agile.

Mutant design 2

week 2: Here I designed a mutant variant that goes into my story line. First I used pencil to sketch out the figure and add the details and texture of the drawing. Then I scanned in the drawing into the computer and opened it in Photoshop and started the colouring process. I wanted to give this design an earthy look for composition I used warm colours so this design can clash with certain background colours in the comic so they Stand out more. I've learned how to digitally paint using a mouse instead of a graphic tablet and what textures I can create mixing pencil with digital to make my illustrations more visually interesting. With this design I wanted to create a big and bulky type of mutant and I wanted to go a little crazy with this design by altering certain parts of the anatomy such as the head, the multiple jaws, legs and arms.

mutant design 1

week 2: Here I designed a mutant variant that goes into my story line. First I used pencil to sketch out the figure and add the details and texture of the drawing. Then I scanned in the drawing into the computer and opened it in Photoshop and started the colouring process. I wanted to give this design an earthy look for composition I used warm colours so this design can clash with certain background colours in the comic so they Stand out more. I've learned how to digitally paint using a mouse instead of a graphic tablet and what textures I can create mixing pencil with digital to make my illustrations more visually interesting. With this design I wanted to create a withered fragile look I think I've captured this with the texture and skinny anatomy. Also my use of expression in its pose this is a very powerful way of giving the viewer first glance information on what this design is about.

The Hero facial expression sheet.

week 1: here I've done some rough facial concepts using a pencil to show the various facial expressions of the Hero (the main protagonist of my story). I can use this as reference material for the comic panels that he's going to be in. It's also helped me improve my drawing skills of faces. I've learned how the shapes of facial figures and line weight can effect the mood of a character and how I can use this to convey other facial expressions.

The brother facial expression sheet

week 1: here I've done some rough facial concepts using a pencil to show the various facial expressions of Archie (the brother of the main protagonist). I can use this as reference material for the comic panels that he's going to be in. It's also helped me improve my drawing skills of faces. I've learned how the shapes of facial figures and line weight can effect the mood of a character and how I can use this to convey other facial expressions. 

carnival owner facial expressions sheet

week 1: here I've done some rough facial concepts using a pencil to show the various facial expressions of the carnival owner. I can use this as reference material for the comic panels that he's going to be in. It's also helped me improve my drawing skills of faces. I've learned how the shapes of facial figures and line weight can effect the mood of a character and how I can use this to convey other facial expressions.