Catwoman 21 Cover Step by Step

This is the steps in making the cover for DC Comics Catwoman 21, shipping June 26.

Here's the sketches I sent in to Rachel Gluckstern at DC Comics for approval. The theme was Catwoman vs the Penguin.

D was picked, which had the vaguest background, so I had to figure that out on the fly.

My initial rough in of the pencils, drawn in Light Blue and HB lead on 12 x 18 Bristol Board.

 Here's my initial pencils before I solved the background problem.

I solved the background issue with the old circle trick, works all the time - found a great circular New York window for reference via Google to make it look authentic.

 Rachel's inks done with Windsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable #2 Brush and Higgins Black Magic ink, plus a little tech pen and croquille for the straight lines.

 My initial rough in of the colors, done in Photoshop CS3 with a Wacom Intuos Graphics Tablet.

The solicitation version of the colors.

The final version of the colors - notably Catwoman has a blue costume instead of black, adding a city background reflecting in the lower windows.

TD