Saturday, February 7, 2009

Its going to be a long journey.









I have been working away at the New World, and wanted to share some of the pages as they are being worked on. Many of them I just took digital pictures of, because its tough to stop and scan a page while the madness of creation is pounding away. But while the layers of washes are drying, and if I have enough brain left, I manage to snap some pics.
Here are also some of the pages, after all the washes are done.. I drop in some very quick color just to see if the washes will show through, if I need to lighten or darken something to make it read better. This color is not final, just a study in contrast.
I find that every page is different, I wish I could say I have a system worked out, sometimes I put in the blacks first then work up to light, other times its light and then blacks, it all depends on the mood or the feel that particular page is trying to convey. What I like is the feeling of surprise at the end of it all, as tight as the thumbnail sketches are, they loose some of their meaning when they are blown up and put on the actual page. Some pages have no thumbnail period, they are roughly sketched out and then taken to finish, that way, like I said before, it surprises me and keeps me involved in that world. Its hard to loose sight of the entire project, without the thumbnail sketches, but the actual project is the finish page, I found if I can leave room to create and think on the page itself it lends a more fresh look.
Keep moving.. keep moving, all I say to myself, work it out, and then move on to the next page.
Work it out page by page, do the work. One can't think himself out of a problem.
Like the Old Man and the Sea, one must go into deep waters to find a nice big fish.
Best to all.
Frank.

7 comments:

  1. Wow, I've been waiting to see how the new extensive washes looked with the digital coloring. The horse just illuminates next to the colossal figure. It as if as the world of Rocketo grows the aesthetic experience grows with the washes, ink and white paint. As always good luck finishing the epic.

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  2. like what you are fishing frank.
    by the way, esta bien bueno tu blog.

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  3. What continues to blow me away is the sense of scale you convey in these books Frank. Especially in shots like that first sketch.

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  4. wow that sencond one is beautiful

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  5. the washes are an experiment, to try to get some textures and tones that remind me of the old storybooks that I loved when I was a kid.
    Thank you all for taking the time to comment.
    My best to all of you.
    Frank.

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  6. Thanks for the look into your process. I cannot wait to see the final product and how it will all come together! Great stuff once again!

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  7. i really like how u create scenes and setup in such a simple and full way!pretty atmospheric and filled. will be back soon.

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