Inking days

Another bunch of pencils done. I can finally ink them. : )

Dog Days

I had to take my dog to surgery two days ago. She's old and stuff grow on/in her so we had to do it. Vet says she's gonna be fine now, so I try not to worry and look at the funny side ...

Of course, she doesn't find anything funny in her new outfit!

No, that's not my BMW. I don't even have a fuckin' car.

Waiting room at the veterinarian is always exciting place ... : )






Say what?
Oh, yeah, this blog should be about comics. Well, instead of my same boring stuff, here are some new links.
Darko Macan killed one of his many blogs and started another one. I don't understand why, but I'm happy the new one is already filled with lots of posts, always fun (and sometimes didactic) to read.

And Filip Kelava, the author of legendary Ninđa, failed to resist the siren call of blogging.
He makes me laugh! A lot!

Next link is not a blog. It's a short story called Bears, Ninjas and Blowjobs! That really made me laugh out loud alone in my room! :D

Enjoy!

Dirty money

Eddy, Ana, me and Esad, early 1992.

Truth to be told, Ana's here just for a picture. We were the crooks. >: )

No country for old men

My back aches for days now. Today's much better. It didn't stop me from working and enjoying it, but it slowed me down. Slower then slow. Still, when results are good, I feel good! : )

MAFEST in Technicolor!!!!

Colored by Matt Hollingsworth, of course! : )

Ref frenzy

Google Earth is a beautiful thing!!!! Hundreds of photos there at the exact location you need. Yet, the right angle you need, sometimes you just can't find! So, you have to draw and improvise.

Don't drink and draw!

Unless you're good at it, of course! : )
Me? I completely suck as you can see for yourself.
Then why do I post this? Because I've promised it to Mrva and Bob.
After opening of Sonia's exhibition, a group of us went for a drink, some left earlier, but the three of us went to BP Club again, and again flyers on the table were too tempting and boys always have some pens in their pocket. So, I ended up explaining and drawing dreadfull fashion from late '80's I used to enjoy so much at the time ... : )

There were other topics discussed, too, but they weren't so vividly depicted! : )

Outlaw Nation in Makarska

Here's the illustration I did for one of the posters for the upcoming Mafest 2008. It will be colored, of course, but here's b/w version for the impatient ones ... : )

Jamie Delano and me will be there promoting Croatian edition of Outlaw Nation, published by Libellus.

New links, new frustrations

It gets frustrating how many wonderful blogs from really talented people I discover over the time. It's frustrating because there's not enough time to go through all of these and follow them on daily (or even weekly) basis. However, there are some of them I just have to add and I will visit them frequently to see new stuff. Some of them I've already met, and they're just as fine people as they are artists! Cheers, people!
Tihomir Celanovic

Toni Fejzula

Andrej Vojkovic

Maza

And ... I don't know how I forgot to link it the first time and then forgot it, but here it is now ...
Steven Gettis has a wonderfull website full of drawings, done on his request, by dozens of fantastic artists. Among them are such legends as John Buscema, Will Eisner and Bill Sienkiewicz, to name just a few.

Salut, Steve!

NIBKILLER IS BACK!!!!

Run for your lives, puny little nibs! RUN!
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!

Work in progress

Or - working process. I suppose some of you might like to know the process from blank board and a script to finished page. I've been feeding you bits and pieces for a long time now, so it's only fair to show something useful, maybe. For all of you young (or not so young) aspiring artists out there, a note that this isn't any law or Bible about how it has to be done. This is just the way I like best and it's the same if I'm working for the big publishers or something on my own (read; Darko's). Except that in second case we're mostly skipping the whole checking and approving part.
In most cases, I get the script for the whole issue. I hate getting the script in pieces. I read it and make small doodles on the page, just to set the size and format of the panels. First ideas about composition. These are just for me, hardly readable to anybody else. You'll pardon me for bluring the letters, but script's not mine, so it's not for me to show it in public.
Then I draw the layouts. They're A5 format (15x21 cm) , not very elaborate but enough for the writer and editor to see (following the script) what I'm planning to draw.

After their eventual notes or my questions, I start working on pencils. Quite often layout of the actual page is different from first thumbnails. Sometimes it's because of a suggestion from writer or editor, but mostly it's because I've changed my mind and come up with better solution. As you can see, it's just a clean line without blacks. Most of the time, I know what I'll black out in ink and even more often it's a texture I can get only with brush, so no point in using pencil for that. It's a luxury you can afford when you're inking your own stuff. : )
I scan the pages and send them the to the writer and editor again. This is the crucial part where they can see if I got everything right.

Then comes my favorite part - inking! : )
First, Winsor and Newton brush, series 7, size 3 for the blacks, then Conte nib and Faber-Castell PITT artist pen for the lines. I scan those pages as greyscale, not bitmap, to preserve all the shades I get with dry brush. I send those scans to editor and writer again, but more as a proof that I'm done then for checking out. Any request for changes at this stage are very, very rare.

Then - THE MAGIC!
Matt Hollingsworth's wonderful colors! : )

Clem Robins will do the last part - lettering. Balloons with dialogues and writings above the store and on the postcard. But you'll have to buy this book to see that!
And read it, of course! : )

Old and blue

No, not me! : )
Just the drawing I've found today. This should be from 1990. or 1991. I've found some layouts for this story I was working on then. I'll scan them and post later.

Rant

I always said that you can recognize a truly gifted artist by looking at how he draws small figures. Me, I never liked to draw them because I'd end up frustrated, not being able to catch these three, four stokres that are essential for the posture or character of the figure. Yet, after twenty years of doing it, from time to time I score some nice little drawings. It could be better, of course. It could be simpler, bolder and stronger, but at least I'm getting somewhere. Hope I'll learn in another twenty years ... : )

Black Death

Not everybody can have fun. Someone has to work ...

Surf! Sun! Fun!

OK, no surf, but still ... whattafuck is JC doing here?
Having fun? Enjoying the sun?