Cracking the WiP...

in #comics4 years ago (edited)

Lately I've had at least a slight resurgence in productivity and mental acuity... and it feels pretty good. I don't have any completed projects at the moment, but there are lots of "irons in the fire" so my life currently revolves around works in progress, or WiPs!

Most of my creative time has been spent on continuing to tackle this new cover for "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..." #1. I looked back through my blog and was shocked to see that it's been three months since I last showed some process pictures of it, when it was about midway through the pencil stage. It's now nearing completion; penciled, inked, and color experimentation ongoing. I am actually rather satisfied with how it's turning out, which is a rarity for me.


ITIWBZ_001_cvrpreview.png


Still a ways to go, and it may evolve quite a bit from here... but I'll do a premature victory lap and pat myself on the back a bit.



Below is the original version from last year for those who haven't seen it or don't recall. With a side by side comparison I think the advances in draftsmanship, composition, and color are all pretty evident. At least I hope so! Color in particular is my area of least experience and has been my Achilles Heel. With concerted effort, I feel like I'm starting to make significant progress in those skills.


ITIWBZ_001_cover promo.png


Included in my definition of "productivity" is a lot of reading and studying. Much of that falls by the wayside when I'm feeling exhausted or down, even though it's far more passive and easier than the actual act of creating. Of late, I've been spending far more than my average amount of time reading comics, books, magazines, and watching videos. Everything from non-fiction research materials for the comic, to art instruction materials, and of course stories and artworks that inspire me.

It's still at a pretty low percentage... but I can feel that creative battery in me beginning to recharge.

The other endeavor I just started dabbling in for fun is the Six Fan Arts challenge/activity that's sweeping over other social media and I've seen a couple examples of here on Hive.

I've just begun, but am finding it to be an entertaining exercise to serve as some warmups or practice pieces for new techniques and ideas. The idea is that artists draw six different pieces featuring various characters from pop culture, the subjects most often being suggested by the artists' friends and fans.


6FanArts_preview01.png


4 out of 6 spots are decided so far! An assortment consisting of Link (Legend of Zelda), Ren (Ren and Stimpy), Destro (G.I. Joe), and Jill Valentine (Resident Evil.) If you have suggestions for more, please leave them in the comments for me!

So that's what I'm working on... how about you?

Show me your WiPs!

(...that sounds kinda dirty.)

Bryan "the Imp" Imhoff




itiwbz_button.pngafd_button.pngseer_button.png

bryanimhoff_footer_banner.png


@bryan-imhoff | @spottyproduction | @exploreunlimited | @creatingcomics

Sort:  

Love your art. Please keep it coming.

Conan the Barbarian would be my pick.

Thanks so much! Ooh... love some Conan, good suggestion!

Blogging and documenting is a bitch :) Great to see that things are still flowing. Personally I feel terribly behind with Phill, but I am working daily on the frontpage for the album that I am going to print for all those nice dollar I got from the Kickstarter. Hard to work with my two quarantined pre- and late-teen daughters, but... still flowing.

For the challenge I think you should add a classic European touch and draw Corto Maltese.

I had to look up Corto Maltese, I'm sadly ignorant of lots of European classics. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll see what I can do! Looking forward to putting Phill on my shelf.

A nice sailor uniform and some sideburns and you are there.

Can you make a modern Don Quixote fighting a 5g antenna?
It will come in handy these days! Love your style. I just spot you from your vote. Glad I did.

That is an interesting concept! 😁 Might be a little involved for one of these sketch sheets, but it'll be in the back of my mind!

Cool challenge. It's looking good so far. A suggestion? Hum... let me think... I've tried Call of duty Warzone last night so why not Ghost from modern warfare? Working hard on fixing your suggestions on Inkito. Should be looking better tonight. ;-)

I've been checking back in and Inkito runs better by the hour! Thanks for being so responsive. I'll link up more strips here and there as I have the chance!

Perfect gif lol! And imo your color looks good. Maybe I'm biased a little because I like acid green, but you can take it for what it's worth :) As for the fan art suggestion, what about Beetlejuice? He just popped into my mind, could be fun to draw. Take care 👋

I love that line in Napoleon Dynamite! 😆 Beetlejuice is a great suggestion! I'm lagging on getting all these great ideas done. As I predicted, the #sixfanarts hashtag will be dead by time I get around to using it. 😬

Lol. Then Beetlejuice is just the dude to breathe some life back into it... your ace in the hole 😉

I've been trying to 'be good' in my production and my animal series is the best for that for an idea, sketch layout, new sketch, ink and colour is a REALISTIC series of events that can take about 2 days, if I'm good (I am trying to be good)

though my WIP is definitely my Singularity stuff which I labour over (joyfully so) and sketch and work on and think about and add to etc. Maybe I'll make a post on it again for you WIP request.

Amazing difference in your two covers, I actually think they are both amazing in different ways @bryan-imhoff

Your stuff has all been looking spectacular, so glad you've been back to posting regularly again!

Gee thanks @bryan-imhoff It's sort of funny how this New Normal is actually kind of a good world for introverted artists, eh? Of course I need to work in my studio more than my garden but a) I LOVE gardening and b) I am a little worried about food shortages, but what can you do, eh?

Keep up the amazing work and ride that wave of productivity !

It's great that you are feeling a surge of productivity. I am feeling totally not productive as of late.

Surge might be too strong a word... 😆 But yeah, I have been doing better creatively. In the inverse, I've been absolutely sucking at my day job... I'm gonna need a change there soon to avoid total burnout!

A change is good and now is a good time for a change.

Ehhhh. I'll have to hold out there for at least a while longer I'd guess. I've noticed the automated emails I subscribed to at job hunt sites have completely dried up, understandably so with the current conditions. Job hunting could be quite tricky for the foreseeable future! This Hive surge is a hopeful development if it can stabilize!

There are a lot of work websites, but yeah. Things are not looking great. I haven't been fired, but I am sitting at home as the book store that I work in is closed. I love sitting at home all day and just writing, reading and watching stuff. My home business isn't doing great because I have no power to really invest in it (I do some translations and some writing). I wish I could make money on Hive to live on, but there is no way that's going to happen. Plus taxes will be really high if I make too much money on Hive, because bitcoin taxes are freaking 50%. Plus occasional babysitting for those who work from home is really tiring so I barely have power to do anything other than be nervous at home. Soon I will be nervous at work as we will probably reopen soon under really bizzar restrictions.

Congratulations @bryan-imhoff! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You distributed more than 35000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 36000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare to others on the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:

HiveBuzz - Hive Gamification Experience
Vote for us as a witness to get one more badge and upvotes from us with more power!