Finished this panel for an upcoming splash page for The Soul Of A Hero. We find our main character a flashing back a few years when remembering when he was a LLRP in Vietnam. I have always been intruged by the Vietnam War. I remember as a kid reading The 'Nam,. Michael Golden was the best artist for that project. His lines were classic, while having so much character. I loved the way he handled the technical objects such as weapons, tanks and jets. They all "just fit". Plus I also enjoyed how he skillfully drew people of different races. I had almost every issue of the comic, but lost them a few years ago... that is another story... I still miss reading those comics.
This page is taking some time to draw. I cheated and used the foliage brush in Manga Studio for the plants. I'm growing as an artist and trying to get out of the MANGA look to my art and push my own style to grow into an unique visual experience. I am a huge fan of Sara Pichelli and David Marquez . I love the way they both have very clean lines and a strong graphic look to their art, while maintaining nearly a technical drawing look to their buildings, vehicle and props (all thanks to Sketch Up). I call their style Neo Nagel after the pop artist Patrick Nagel .
People critic the use of sketch up and think that a artist should draw everything by hand. I challenge those who say this to attempt to create a 3D model of whatever they want to draw by hand. Its an art skill in it self. Also once its created in 3D I can reuse it and re position it how ever I want. Its like a drawing prop or live model.
Ok enough blogging. Its time to rest my eyes... I've been at this page for 4 hrs now. It normally does not take this long but I had a bunch of 3D models to set up for these scenes. I had to modify AK47s, M16A1s and M60s, then to visual research on Vietnam Era LRRP gear.
