Colleen Coover's Blog, page 17
February 20, 2012
Pigs Number 9 Cover
Coming in May: Pigs #9. Written by Nate Cosby and Ben McCool, art by Will Sliney. Cover by Colleen Coover [ME!]
February 16, 2012
Thursday Bonus Sindiecate: More OGLAF
I just can't stop giggling!
February 15, 2012
Wednesday Sindicate: OGLAF
This week's theme at the SINDIECATE:
Trudy Cooper's Oglaf!
Digital art in Manga Studio and Photoshop.
Oglaf by Trudy Cooper is close to my golden ideal in comics. Fun, sexy, clever, and lovely to look at. It's sassy and sometimes silly, but always adult.
When I first started making my dirty comic Small Favors in the early 2000s, one comment I heard a lot was "You don't usually think of a woman making porn comics", and another was "Oh! This is actually a lot of fun! What a surprise!" A decade later, thanks to women like Trudy Cooper, Erika Moen, Jess Fink and many others, I never hear that first comment, and it's not a surprise any more!
We live in a world where blood and horror are considered appropriate for general audiences, but flash a nipple, and you'd think from the cries of outrage that Satan had just been handed the keys to the puppy farm. Comics like Oglaf exist to turn that world on its head , and we're all richer for it.
February 14, 2012
ROMANCE
It's done. I've self-published my first romance short fiction story, Home Port!
Home Port is available now at Smashwords and Amazon and is pending publication on Barns & Noble.
In celebration of my first published non-comics fiction writing, and as a Valentine to you, Home Port is available for FREE on Smashwords using the coupon code JZ72B (expires Saturday, February 18.)
February 13, 2012
Monday Sketch: Valentine
Happy Valentines Week! It's all about the LOVE on ColleenCoover.Net.
Digital sketch in Manga Studio and Photoshop.
February 10, 2012
Friday Work In Progress: Final Cover Art & Story Excerpt
I've finished noodling with the cover art of my new unillustrated romance short story, Home Port!
I've completed the editing and formatting of the document, and barring technical difficulties, I'm ready to publish the ebook on Tuesday, February 14.
Meanwhile, I've added a new Romance Fiction page to my website, where you will find a link to an excerpt from the story!
Home Port is my first unillustrated creative writing in a very long time. I do not expect it to be my last. I don't know how often I'll be writing romance fiction, but I enjoyed the hell out of writing this story, and I hope you will enjoy reading it.
February 8, 2012
February 7, 2012
Tuesday Sketch: Harrumph
Pen and ink on paper.
February 6, 2012
ECCC Pre-Orders & My Store
I'm taking con sketch pre-orders for Emerald City Comic-Con!
Pre-order for sketches with a single character are 8.5″x11″, $75 for color, $50 for B&W/gray.
At the show, sketches will be 6″x9″, color not available. So there is a definite advantage to ordering in advance!
Write to request a sketch at colleencoovermarket {at} gmail {dot} com, and we'll arrange payment there. Fictional characters, only, please!
ALSO!
I've added a SHOP page to my site, to which I will be adding products on a regular basis. Right now, it has links to my new Cafe Press shop and my new Zazzle shop (the two shops function in much the same way, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so be sure to check 'em both before you think about buying!)
February 3, 2012
Friday Work In Progress: Home Port Cover Art
The following is a slightly edited version of a post I wrote for the Goodreads M/M Romance group message board–a private forum for members of the group–to promote my new M/M romance (love story between male characters) short story Home Port.
When it came time to create a cover for my short story Home Port's ebook, I figured I would stick to what I know and draw it. Here's a quick look at the process I went through:
1. Rough sketch. I knew in my head what the main characters looked like– and it was not much like this! But with this sketch I was able to visualize how the composition would come together.
2. Rendering. My natural drawing style is more cartoony than realistic, so I looked through the Internet to find decent photos of guys in more-or-less the right poses. Now, it's important to note that I did not just trace these photos directly, or stick 'em in a Photoshop filter or anything like that; that would be a violation of the photographers' copyrights. I drew from them as one would from a live model–to place the features in all the correct proportions and angles–but I made significant changes. The model for the figure on the left was a white guy dripping wet in a shower, and the model for the figure on the right had some kind of Brady Bunch perm thing going on. (*cringe*)
3. Color art. This I did in Photoshop, picking out shapes of color, which obscures the original line art completely. It's a technique I've used often and I like the way it looks, but right now this is a little flat.
4. First draft. Okay, so I've softened it up with some filters and threw in some type and snoooooorrre. BORING.
5. Getting closer. By cropping it up, the composition is a lot cozier and more intimate, but the type is still pretty blah. And the colors are a little too literal; they sort of pull the eye in too many directions all at once.
6. Final draft… so far. Cropped even a little bit closer, used a more elegant font, and knocked out all the color into a nice monochromatic blue. It's a quiet bit of art, for what I think is a fairly quiet little story, so I think it fits. I'll probably noodle around with it a little bit before I go on to publish Home Port on Smashwords and wherever else it winds up on the Internet!
