David Petersen's Blog, page 48

Legends of the Guard: The Timber Mice Video

The Timber Mice is a story in Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volume 2. The melody was written by Cliff Monear, the lyrics were mine, and the story was illustrated by Justin Gerard. Vocalist, French Horn player, and Mouse Guard fan Kyra Sims recruited accordion player Jordan Shapiro and together they recored a beautiful rendition of 'The Timber Mice' for fans.

Below you can watch a video of the illustrations set against the performance:



For a past blogpost interview with Justin Gerard about his Legends of the Guard work:http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/10/spotlight-on-legends-of-guard.html

To Download a FREE MP3 of The Timber Mice:http://www.mouseguard.net/downloads/music/



You can order the Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volumes 1-3 Box Set
from Your local comic or book shop and Amazon.com
2016 Appearances:New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9
2017 Dates coming soon...

Wind In the Willows: Badger's Entry Illustration Process

Later this year, IDW will be releasing my illustrated edition of the Kenneth Grahame classic Wind in the Willows. The book will be Grahame's original text, with over 70 illustrations by me.

For this week's blogpost, I'm going to share the process of one of the b&w illustrations from Chapter 4: Mr. Badger:

"The Badger, who wore a long dressing-gown, and whose slippers were indeed very down-at-heel, carried a flat candlestick in his paw and had probably on his way to bed when their summons sounded."

It was very hard to narrow down the moments in the book to choose to illustrate. At the start of chapter 4, The character of Badger is revealed to not only the reader, but also to the character Mole.

The illustration depicts Rat & Mole tumbling in out of the snow of the Wild Wood and into Badger's front entry way. I drew the characters separately on pieces of copy paper so that I could compose the image together and make adjustments to all of them individually.


Once the sketches were scanned, I started assembling a final composition. I tinted each character so I could easily see them amongst each other as well as the digitally drawn in background.
I didn't draw much of a background in my sketches, and instead of using another sheet of copy paper, I broke out my rarely used wacom tablet to draw in Badger's entry way.


The digitally composited sketch was then printed out at-size (about 11" x 7") and then taped to the back of a sheet of 300 series Strathmore Bristol. On a light box I was able to see through the bristol's surface to the printout so I could ink on the bristol using the sketch as a guide. For pens, I used Copic Multiliners (the 0.7 & 0.3 nibs). Here I have an in-process photo I took with my phone and posted back when I was inking this piece.

Other than the cover, this was my first illustration with Badger, so I started by inking him in first. His robe is based on the way Arthur Rackham used for Badger back when he illustrated the book.


I'm terrible at tracking time as I work, sometimes I think because I'd rather not know, but I think I only inked this piece for one long night. I did have to re-work some of the perspective for the beams right on the page. And I did use some white correction fluid for the snow on the left and to fade out the brightening effect from the candle on the right.

Here you can see the completed image as it will appear in the book along with 49 other B&W illustrations and 20 color.




Wind in the Willows from IDW will be available Fall of 2016 and is available to pre-order on Amazon.com:https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Illustrations-David-Petersen/dp/1631403435





2016 Appearances:New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

2017 Appearance Dates Coming Soon...

Re-Run Star Wars Variant Cover

With nine years of blogposts, I will continue to Re-Run past posts for the new fans or folks who may have missed a post the first time around.

Part of the reasoning is also that for various reasons (The health of my Mother, convention travel, behind on deadlines, and projects I'm not able to share yet) I see the need to revisit an old post once a month or so.
You can also go back and see any past posts using the Blog index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)This week:
Star Wars Variant Cover


As Marvel regained the reigns to Star Wars comics, I was told by an editor there that Newbury Comics stores had requested me to do their in-store variant for Star Wars #1! At the link below you can see the full process for this cover from concept all the way through to finished colors and every step in between:


Full Star Wars variant cover Process Post:http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/12/star-wars-1-variant.html


2016 Appearances:New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9
2017 Dates coming soon...

Baltimore Yearbook 2016: Archie Process

The Baltimore Comic Con has an anual tradition of publishing a Yearbook, each year featuring a comic property or title, and asking the guest artists to contribute a pinup in their own style (or also mashing in their characters). Last year, I was fortunate enough for Mouse Guard to have been the focus of the Yearbook. This year that honor has gone to Archie. The book will be available at the Baltimore Convention and probably on their website afterwards.

On the left you can see my finished Archie piece, but below, I've gone through and shown the process and steps.

Rough pencils/layout: To be fair, I've skipped a step before this one, which was mentally prepping what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do a classic 40's Archie. I love listening to old time radio from that era, and it was the older Archie stuff collected in Archie Digests my sisters had that I liked the most. Would I just draw Archie, would I draw Betty or Veronica (an idea quickly nixed because I'm rubbish at drawing attractive ladies) Jughead made my mental list at one point, and so did Arch's Jaloppy...but I then honed in on Archie trying to decide which of his dates to call. To make the 40's motif more obvious, I used the old telephone exchanges you hear in OTR and old movies (Betty's in a common sounding one while Veronica's sounds exclusive) The rough pencils were layered together with a stock plaid pattern (wallpaper) and a Riverdale pendant (which I had to typeset) and the girls' handwriting.

I then printed out that rough and taped it to the back of a sheet of Strathmore bristol. On my lightbox I drew over the outlines on the fresh bristol (using the printout as a guide) and then turned off the lightbox and gently rendered the shading. This is the same technique I used when doing my Gotham Academy short story.

All of the shading was done with a mechanical pencil with HB lead, a traditional pencil with F lead, a kneaded eraser, and a tortillon (blending stick). Getting the overall values (the lights the darks, the midtones and everything in-between) is the tricky part, something I struggled with on Gotham Academy and I still see I could work on here.

The coloring process is different on this type of piece than my traditional inked covers or Mouse Guard. Instead of the color layers going underneath the art set to layer mode 'multiply', here, the art sits at the bottom on 'normal' and the color layer(s) go on top set to mode 'color'. Photoshop will then use the hue & saturation (not the value) of what you paint and display it in the value (light/dark) of what's underneath.

Here again is the final step, all colored. The original pencils will be offered up in the Auction at Baltimore Comic Con and the Yearbook full of Archie themed pieces by the guests of the show will be available for purchase there as well.

Hope to see you in Baltimore.







2016 Appearances: Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Wind in the Willows: Toad in Hiding Illustration Process

Later this year, IDW will be releasing my illustrated edition of the Kenneth Grahame classic Wind in the Willows. The book will be Grahame's original text, with over 70 illustrations by me.

For this week's blogpost, I'm going to share the process of one of the b&w illustrations from Chapter 8: Toad's Adventures:

"Toad jumped, rolled down a short embankment, picked himself up unhurt, scrambled into the woods and hid. Peeping out, he saw his train get speed again and disappear at a great pace."

It was very hard to narrow down all the moments in the book to choose to illustrate. In chapter 8 Toad has escaped from jail and is on the run from the law disguised as a washerwoman. Just before this illustration he's had the aid of a train engineer who slowed the train down to allow Toad to make a jump for it before the pursuing police catch up to the train. Many illustrators have drawn toad aboard the train shoveling coal, or the leap itself, but I chose to show the terror in Toad's eyes watching afraid he may have been seen as the surrounding wilderness eats him up visually.



The pencil rough you see above was fairly complete as-is. So, when I scanned it into photoshop to re-size for the final illustration I may have only made a slight digital tweak here or there, but mainly I wanted to add in some shading notes for myself for inking.


The digitally composited sketch was then printed out at-size (about 11" x 7") and then taped to the back of a sheet of 300 series Strathmore Bristol. On a light box I was able to see through the bristol's surface to the printout so I could ink on the bristol using the sketch as a guide. For pens, I used Copic Multiliners (the 0.7 & 0.3 nibs). Here I have an in-process photo I took with my phone and posted back when I was inking this piece.

I inked this while on a trip to Alaska for a children's reading event & presentation tour. It was done at the breakfast table of a dear friend (and friend to all books & book-lovers) Greg Hill.



Because I was traveling as I worked on and off this piece, I didn't track my time very well. Like I said above, I know I finished the bulk of it in Greg Hill's kitchen. The inking trick with this piece was all the cross-hateched shading and knowing how much or little to add. It was as I was adding the lines to the eyes that I was the most nervous.

Here you can see the completed image as it will appear in the book along with 49 other B&W illustrations and 20 color.




Wind in the Willows from IDW will be available Fall of 2016 and is available to pre-order on Amazon.com:https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Illustrations-David-Petersen/dp/1631403435






2016 Appearances:Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Boston Auction Piece

Last weekend at the Boston Comic Con, I offered up this piece for their annual auction. Part of the proceeds this year went to Savannah College of Art & Design’s Mike Wieringo Fund for aspiring comic book artists, and The Canadian Cancer Society in memory of Darwyn Cooke.

To the left you can see the finished 15" x 20" watercolor piece, but below are the process shots as I worked on it in preparation for flying to Boston the week before.





The first step was to come up with a design. I chose a Mouse who's been on the covers of the RPG boxed set and Legends of the Guard Volume 3: Sextus. After a small drawing of him on copy paper, I scanned the result and put it together with a border design and a grid. The grid is there to help me register the various sheets of paper when I tape together the printout at-szie.




Once the printout is taped together, I rub graphite over the back over all the lines. This allows me to trace over the drawing on the front while the printout is taped to my final mat board. Wherever my pen pushes down on the printout the graphite on the back transfers over to the mat board.



Here is the drawing all transferred over onto the mat board and ready for watercolor.


Supplies: cup of water, a cheap tray of student watercolors, and various brushes (though I mostly used the large flat, the large sable round, and the scrubbiest of the small brushes.



With Watercolor it's all about building up slowly and either utelizing wet-on-wet blends and effects, or being patient and waiting to do wet-on-dry. First washes were the green forest background:



More buildup for some subtle pine bows in the background before starting the figure



The brown fur and light inner ear, paws and tail. In Watercolor you generally work from lightest to darkest.


I skipped a photo here. Obviosuly I did some more building up of the fur, and then here I've just put down the base for Sextus' cloak.


While waiting for the big cloak area of red to dry, I worked on some details: the eye, sword, and inner ear.


More cloak buildup, and the belt. This is the last step with the watercolor...


And then to 'ink' the piece and add some definition and line back into the fray, I used a brown prismacolor color pencil to outline Sextus.



The original sold at the auction but, if you didn't get a chance to bid, I'll be doing another piece like this for New York Comic Con.



2016 Appearances:Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

More Toned Paper Commissions

A little over a month ago, I posted about my plan to offer toned paper commissions at HEROES con. Well the process went so well, I've decided to keep it up. This coming weekend is Boston Comic Con, and I'll be doing these at the con for $200. (first come, first served, new list every day.) Like Heroes & SDCC, I'll try and have a few pre-done as examples that will also be for sale. These are bust-only, with marker, pencil, and white. To the left you can see a few of the Heroes con samples and below examples of pieces I was commissioned to do at that show and SDCC:




Midnight with the Black Axe

A Mouse Ranger

The Worm from Labyrinth

A Bunny wearing clothes

Master Splinter

My version of Basil, the Great Mouse Detective

Trapjaw from He-Man

Koj from Tellos

Batman

A Guardmouse with a mace
Saxon
Kenzie
Guardmouse with an Axe
Spirit of Christmas Present mouse 
Guardmouse
Wizard Mouse
Steampunk Saxon
Scribe
Boober from Fraggle Rock
Jackalope
Remy from Ratatouille
Mr. Fox
Hogwarts Mouse
Mouse Healer
Rocket Raccoon
Mrs. Brisby 
Skeksis



2016 Appearances:
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run The Rescuers MONDO print

With nine years of blogposts, I will continue to Re-Run past posts for the new fans or folks who may have missed a post the first time around.

Part of the reasoning is also that for various reasons (The health of my Mother, convention travel, behind on deadlines, and projects I'm not able to share yet) I see the need to revisit an old post once a month or so.
You can also go back and see any past posts using the Blog index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)This week:
The Rescuers MONDO print


Mondo had a Disney themed show in 2014 and they asked me to do a Rescuers movie poster. Below is the link for a full process of how the poster was created every step of the way:
Full Rescuers Mondo Print Process Post:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/03/mondo-poster-rescuers.html

I still have signed copies of the 24" x 36" poster in my online store:
http://mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/mondo-rescuers-poster-signed-artist-copy


2016 Appearances:San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Mouse Guard Movie Announcement!

FOX has acquired the rights and is developing a film for Mouse Guard! The film is planned to uteize the same performance capture/live action technology used by Dawn & War of the Planet of the Apes and The Jungle Book. Attached are Matt Reeves (director of the aforementioned Apes movies) to produce and Garry Whitta (Writer of Rouge One) to screen-write. BOOM!'s Ross Richie & Stephen Christy will be producing alongside Matt Reeves. I also am a co-producer on the venture. This is all VERY exciting!

Let me tell you one reason I'm so excited about this team at this time. Back in January 2015 Gary, having already been a Mouse Guard fan and seeing Ryan Lang's work from Legends of the Guard, casually tweeted this: "HOW IS THIS NOT A MOVIE" along with an inserted image of one of Ryan's tweets with a panel image. He wasn't vying for a job, or pandering, he was a fan first, who wanted a Mouse Guard movie. In my time talking with, working with, and skype-ing with Gary (he has been very generous to consult me all along the way) I know he's the right person for the job. He understands deeply what Mouse Guard is and stands for and he understands what (if much at all) to change for the difference in comics & film mediums.

Matt Reeves has done a fabulous job with the Apes films to have a special effects spectacle/intesive movie where story comes first in every sense, and the effects aren't layered on, but woven in. He understands the challenges in this type of filmmaking and storytelling. And Ross & Stephen have always had Mouse Guard's best interests at heart because of their position at BOOM!/Archaia.

Last week at SDCC we had a Mouse Guard panel where editor Cameron Chittock gave a few quick updates about upcoming Mouse Guard publishing, and then dove in to Mouse Guard Movie talk with Gary and I and rounded out the panel with a live-reading of the 2016 Mouse Guard FCBD story by Hal Lublin.

Below is cell-phone video of the movie talk portion of the panel in case you missed it and wanted to hear Gary & I talk more about our thoughts, hopes, and dreams for Mouse Guard on the big screen.






More Movie Announcement articles and info from:
Variety:http://variety.com/2016/film/news/rogue-one-star-wars-gary-whitta-mouse-guard-movie-1201816673/
Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/matt-reeves-gary-whitta-adapt-912076
Geek.com:http://www.geek.com/news/mouse-guard-movie-makes-tracks-at-sdcc-1663141/
Bleeding Cool:http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/07/19/matt-reeves-and-gary-whitta-take-on-mouseguard-adaptation/
Empire:http://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/mouse-guard-adapted-matt-reeves-gary-whitta/
Collider:http://collider.com/mouse-guard-movie-matt-reeve-gary-whitta/


2016 Appearances:Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

SDCC 2016 Info

With San Diego Comic Con starting tomorrow with Preview Night, I wanted to do a post about all the info you'll need for me at SDCC this weekend.

Shortlist:
-Location: Artist Alley GG-09

-Commissions: Toned Paper Drawings for $200 (see details below)

-Panel: World of Mouse Guard Friday 5:00 Room 32AB





Location: I'll be spending most of my time at my Artist Alley Table GG-09 (this is the same location I've been sitting for several years now). I'll be signing anything you bring me that I've worked on (no signature fee...ever) I'll have Mouse Guard books, prints, tees, and bookplates. But also feel free to stop by and chat or ask a question or two. The live face to face time at a convention is the part of cons that makes them special.

If I'm not at my table when you arrive, please be patient, I may be taking a bathroom break, getting a snack, or visiting with a few creators I only get a chance to see at conventions. Someone should always be attending to my table to give you info or sell you products.

Merchandise: 
This year I'll have the Mouse Guard books (Fall, Winter, Black Axe, Legends of the Guard Volumes 1-3, Baldwin the Brave and the Art Of book) Books can also be purchased from BOOM! (my publisher) and then brought to my table for signing. I'll also have prints, bookplates, and tee-shirts...however...

No New Sketchbook...yet:
I had made it a tradition to release a Mouse Guard Sketchbook at SDCC every year, but this year between health issues with our dog, my Mom, and my duties on Wind in the Willows, I won't have enough material for a sketchbook until later this year (Baltimore or New York). Until then you can always get the Mouse Guard Digital Sketchbook collection that has all the sketchbooks from 2004-2015 in one .PDF: http://mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/mouse-guard-digital-sketchbook-collection-2004-2015

Toned Paper Drawing Commissions:
I'll be open for first-come/first-served (new list every day) toned paper commissions for $200. These are single figure busts and while I'm known for doing Guardmice, we can chat about other subjects or characters that are in my wheel-house (I want us both to be happy with the final result). You can see more examples of these here: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2016/06/toned-paper-con-drawings.html


Panel: 
Happy to be able to give a presentation about Mouse Guard to old and new fans again this year. Here's the full panel description:

The World of Mouse Guard 5:00-6:00 The World of Mouse Guard—David Petersen’s fan-favorite Mouse Guard series has been around for more than a decade, and publisher Archaia, an imprint of BOOM! Studios, is proud to be a part of its legacy! But what’s next? Join Petersen and BOOM! Assistant Editor Cameron Chittock in a behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning comics and games, including the recently released Mouse Guard: Art of Bricks, a peek at the forthcoming Mouse Guard Coloring Book, and more! Plus, comedian Hal Lublin (The Thrilling Adventure Hour) will be on hand for a live reading performance of a Mouse Guard short story! Room: 32AB


2016 Appearances:San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9