Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 118

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 118

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Amazing Spider-Man #639, Page 3. 2010.

Ink on Marvel board with digital color, 11 x 17.25".

"Can you hear me now?" This page features a variety of backgrounds and gestures, but the real challenge — at least in terms of time — was all those windows. As I've mentioned many (many) times before, I often use Google Earth to facilitate in composition and perspective, but it was particularly helpful in this instance. The 3D buildings had clearly defined facades that were easily transferred via light box.

The building in the foreground is Tweed Courthouse, just north of City Hall.
The guy in the FF shirt is, at least for me, the man in the mirror.

I've been meaning to do a series on perspective for some time now, but I might as well show one of the quick tricks that's been very helpful. I usually begin with 4 x 6" pencil layouts, but starting with this project, I began dissecting them digitally, then incorporating borders, reference, and perspective grids into a perfectly formatted composite (every page begins with a template based on a scanned Marvel board).

This image was printed on copy paper, then traced by hand onto Marvel board.

For the cover I'm working on currently, I've taken the process a step further by printing out the digital composite onto the final art board. I'll be sure to show an example once the cover has been solicited. It's gonna be a money shot... can't go wrong with Spidey swinging through the city.

⊡ 9:00:00 PM