X-MEN 21 Cover - Step by Step Part 1 - LINEART

Here's a look behind the making of the cover to X-Men #21 from Marvel Comics - out in stores now!

The idea behind this cover was a Drew Struzan Movie Poster type cover - epic space theme with Rachel front and center! 

The sketch was drawn at 2x3 inches in my sketchbook in pencil and pen and then cleaned up and colored in Photoshop.

After getting appr0val from Marvel Editor Daniel Ketchum I moved on to pencils..

Here's my initial rough stab at the pencils.

Pencils  drawn in Light Blue and

 HB lead on 12 x 18 Bristol Board.

Final pencils.

For solicitation there wasn't time to ink the cover so I colored my pencils.

For the final version - Rachel Dodson inks

Rachel uses Windsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable #2 Brush and Higgins Black Magic Ink to ink the covers with.

Then scan and clean in Photoshop

Next Time...

COLORS!

You can find this comic at your local comic book retailer

http://www.comicshoplocator.com/Home/1/1/57/575

And digitally at 

https://www.comixology.com/X-Men-2013-21/digital-comic/158869

TD

INFINITY #6 Hero Cover Step by Step

Here's  a step by step making of the "Hero" Variant cover of Infinity #6, shipping in October from Marvel Comics - for more info -

http://marvel.com/comics/events/315/infinity

http://marvel.com/news/story/21017/take_an_exclusive_first_look_at_the_end_of_infinity

On with the show -

I do cover roughs in my 11 x 14 Canson Sketchbook using Col Erase Light Blue Pencil, Pigma Micron and Copic Warm Grey Pens.

Then I scan these in and clean up and color in Photoshop.

These are the prelim sketches I did for approval by my Marvel editor, Lauren Sankovitch. I needed to show 9 different heroes and so went with a movie poster style cover.

They went with A.

Here's my work in progress pencils - drawn on 12 x 18 Bristol Board with Col Erase Light Blue and HB Pencil.

                                                                                    Final pencils.

Rachel Dodson inks done with Windsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable #2 Brush and Higgins Black Magic ink.

After the inks were scanned and cleaned in Photoshop - I decided to go ahead and color without the use of flats

 (see my previous Step by Steps for more about flats - http://thebombshellter.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-avengers-7-wolverine-house-of-m.html )

just "paint" directly - I use Photoshop CS3 and a Wacom Intuos Graphics Tablet.

How it looks with the Line Art on.

More refining,

Start getting colors on to all the elements.

Finalizing rendering.

Ends up looking like this with the Line Art on and I begin working on FX on the Lineart itself.

I finish up SFX and smooth out fleshtones and coloring the lineart.

The final art.

TD