David Petersen's Blog, page 51

Re-Run: TMNT Cover Process

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cover Process Posts




One of the first comics I ever read and collected was Eastman & Laird's original run of TMNT. It was seeing the creator's names above the title of the comic that led to my early adolescent understanding that people make stuff up, draw it, publish a comic...and that that is all a job (and one I wanted instantly). I've been fortunate enough to do 12 covers for IDW's TMNT books (* Hero Micro series covers and 4 Turtles in Time covers). Below are the links to all 12 posts with full process.

Raphael:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/07/dreams-do-come-true.html

Michelangelo:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/10/tmnt-michelangelo-cover-i-have-been.html

Donatello:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/12/donatello-cover-im-thrilled-to-be.html

Leonardo:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/01/tmnt-leo-cover-this-is-last-of-my-4.html

Splinter:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/04/splinter-cover-process-as-i-hinted-in.html

Casey Jones:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/05/casey-jones-cover-process-cover-number.html

April O'Neil:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/08/tmnt-april-process-my-7th-tmnt-micro.html

Fugitoid:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/09/tmnt-micro-series-cover-fugitoid-this.html

Turtles in Time #1: Dinosaurs:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/03/turtles-in-time-cover-1-process.html

Turtles in Time #2: Feudal Japan:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/04/turtles-in-time-cover-2-process.html

Turtles in Time #3: Pirates:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/06/turtles-in-time-cover-3-process.html

Turtles in Time #4: The Future:http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/06/turtles-in-time-4-cover-process.html




BONUS:TMNT 30th Anniversary Pinup process:http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/05/tmnt-30th-anniversary-tribute.html




2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Treepens Wands & Luna's Lion Hat

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
Treepens Emporium Wands
&
Luna Lovegood's Lion Hat



As a big Harry Potter fan, I worked on two Wizarding craft projects in 2015 that I'm bundling together for this re-run post. First, I went into the wand business and hand crafted over 20 hardwood wands under the Pseudonym Vidad Treepens (an anagram of my name). I also helped my niece Kate with her cosplay costume for SDCC as Luna Lovegood. She wanted to wear Luna's lion hat to support Gryffindor. Below are the links to each post showing process and details of each project.
Full post for Treepens Wands: 
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/08/treepens-emporium-wands.html

Full post for Luna's Lion Hat:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/08/luna-lovegoods-lion-hat.html





2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Mouse Guard: Feather Knighting Print

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
Feather Knighting Print

In 2014 I decided I wanted to do a large scale Mouse Guard print where I had plenty of space to lavish on all the detail I wanted into a single image. The result was a one image story called "Feather Knighting" that is full of easter eggs to past Mouse Guard tales Below is the link for the full process of creating the art (including building a model of the room).

Full Process Post for the Feather Knighting Print: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/09/feather-knighting-print-art-process.html

And you can still purchase the print from my online store:
http://mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/feather-knighting-18-x-24-offset-print



2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Snowy Valentine Children's Book

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
Snowy Valentine


In 2011 Harper Collins published my first children's book "Snowy Valentine". The book started life as a Valentine's day gift for Julia back in 2003 and developed into something in the same spirit but very different for a publication. Below are links to a 3 part blogpost showing the development, process, and details about the book.

Part 1: The origins of the book:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/11/snowy-valentine-my-1st-part-1-over-next.html

Part 2: Development and Illustrating:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/11/snowy-valentine-my-1st-part-2-last-week.html

Part 3: Color, Texture, & Cover:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/11/snowy-valentine-my-1st-part-3-over-past.html


Bonus Video of Jasper:




2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Tower Board Game

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
TOWER
Tower is a home-made board game a friend and I developed at the end of college. There are 3 copies that exist in the world (mine, his, and one my nieces asked me to make for them). The game has its flaws, but I still enjoy the heart of the game and occasionally toy around with re-developing it*. Below are 3 posts about tower: the original post about the game & it's pieces, updated character portraits, and updated item art.
Updated Tower Portraits: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/02/updated-tower-portraits.html


Updated Tower Starting Items: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/07/tower-items.html

Original Tower post: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2008/12/big-old-non-mg-post.html

*I was talking over ideas & jotting down notes on how to redesign & improve Tower as recently as the end of Dec 2015.
2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Legends of the Guard Cover Process

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
Legends of the Guard Volume 2 & 3 Covers



Legends of the Guard covers are always fun for me. I get to really stretch out and try odd & interesting stuff that might not otherwise ever fit into the normal Mouse Guard comics. Below are links to 10 step-by-step cover blogs for all of Volume 2 & 3 of Legends of the Guard

Volume 2
#1: Copperwood Miner:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/03/legends-of-guard-vol.html

#2: Dayle's Orations:
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/05/legends-of-guard-vol.html

#3: Morten-Harvest Trio Dance
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/06/legends-of-guard-vol-2.html

#4: Coin Horde Memorial
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/07/legends-of-guard-vol-2.html

Hardcover: Gatherers in the Dale
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/08/legends-of-guard-vol2-hardcover-cover.html


Volume 3
#1: Lost Calogero Caravan
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2014/12/legends-of-guard-vol3-cover-1-process.html

#2: Bernarr & the Maple War
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/01/legends-of-guard-vol-3-2-cover-process.html

#3: Barron Finbarr Murough
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/02/legends-of-guard-vol-3-3-cover-process.html

#4:Moth Potentate Coronation
http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/03/legends-of-guard-vol-3-4-cover-process.html

Hardcover: Cloverdale Snake Tamerhttp://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2015/05/legends-of-guard-hardcover-art-process.html


2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Drawing Like Yourself & Learning From Copying

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week:
Drawing Like Yourself
&
Learning from Copying
These two "advice" posts I use as the basis for my most successful slideshow talk & presentation. The meat of these posts is to emulate and study and idolize your artistic heroes for a period of your development, but to allow yourself to become your own artist by using the underlying ideas of their work (not just the surface stuff) and become something new that has roots and foundations in your inspirations while at the same time being an imitation of no one.
The full Drawing Like Yourself post can be found here: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/02/drawing-like-yourself-yesterday-on.html

And the full Learning from Copying post can be found here: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2012/09/learning-from-copying-these-mostly.html




2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Re-Run: Little Nemo Page Process

For the start of 2016 I need to put my Blog on hiatus. This is due to a combination of reasons: not having material I can currently share to post about, being behind on important projects & unable to dedicate the time to develop new posts, and some personal/life things going on with the health of my Mother.

I will return to regular posting with process, tutorials, insights, advice, behind the scenes, stuff from the vault, and more before summer or hopefully sooner.In the meantime, over the course of the hiatus, I've decided that each week in place of a new post, I'd link back to one of my favorite posts over the past 9 years of me updating this blog. Think of it as a greatest hits re-run on something you may have missed in that time. (And you can visit past posts anytime using the Blog Index: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-index.html)

This week: Little Nemo page for Locust Moon & Cartoon Book's: 
Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream.
(click the link for the full process post)
It was a big thrill for me to contribute a page to the beautiful Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream hardcover. This post details my step-by-step process of creating my 1 page Little Nemo comic story complete with Nemo, the Princess, Flip, King Morpheus, the Jungle Imp, and a few real animals.
Full post with process here: http://davidpetersen.blogspot.com/2013/12/little-nemo-in-slumberland-page-process.html



2016 Appearances:
C2E2: March 18-20
BD À Bastia (Corsica) March 31-April 3
Emerald City Comic Con: April 7-10
Heroes Con: June 17-19
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Boston Comic Con: Aug 12-14
Baltimore Comic Con: Sept. 2-4
New York Comic Con: Oct 6-9

Digital Sketchbook Collection 2004-2015

As the final blogpost of 2015, the 10 year anniversary of Mouse Guard being published, I decided to collect all ELEVEN of my convention sketchbooks into a single digital collection. You can see the new cover art I did for the collection to the left (my mousey take on St. George & the Dragon)

The digital sketchbook collection is available for purchase through my online store: http://mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/mouse-guard-digital-sketchbook-collection-2004-2015



I know the past printed sketchbooks have been difficult to come by for fans who missed out on earlier years. In fact, the first Mouse Guard sketchbook (2004) was printed on my home printer and only about 4 copies were made. The following two were black and white, and from 2008 to present, they have all been in color. The digital collection has all the major material found in these 11 sketchbooks (with the exception of preliminary pencil sketches in the 2007 sketchbook which have since been reprinted in the Art of Mouse Guard hardcover).

288 pages of commissions, Free Comic Book Day covers & promotions, odd pieces I did as gifts and more populate this decade+ bundle of work. Each year is delineated with a decorative border on the outer page to keep track of where in chronology the pieces fall. To the left is a sampling of one page per year of what is included in the sketchbook collection



In addition to all of that material, I also went back through my folders and found 30 pieces that for one reason or another, didn't make it into various years' sketchbooks. I have colored many of these pieces as well (in the years where the sketchbooks were in color). You can see three sample of these below: Marx Bros. Mice, Lord of the Rings Mice, and Oregon Trail Mice:


Again, to purchase the digital pdf Mouse Guard Sketchbook Collection, visit my online store:
http://mouseguard.bigcartel.com/product/mouse-guard-digital-sketchbook-collection-2004-2015


2016 appearance dates coming soon.

Coloring Demo Videos

I've been asked by fans when I posted my speed coloring videos to do a narrated walk through demonstration of my coloring process. I created the Ladybug image you see to the left as a demo piece not only to show the flatting and rendering steps of color, but also adjusting the levels of scanned inks to prepare for coloring and adding color holds so black ink-work can be painted and rendered as a color separately.

Below you will find all 3 videos:



Adjusting Levels Demo 


Coloring Demo

Color Hold Demo





2016 appearance dates coming soon