Canterville Ghost...again!

Here's another snippet from The Canterville Ghost. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Jason colors this one!

Return of the Canterville Color

People went on lots of carriage rides back then.

Lots.

To be honest, I'm pretty unhappy with the line art on this page (it happens...sadly), but Jason saved the day with his colors.

I have a boatload of new pages and drawings to scan, but will continue with the colors through the weekend, I think. Next week, we'll see some new b/w work.

More Canterville Color

Continuing to spotlight Jason's terrific color work over my pencils & inks.

This scene leads up to an appearance of the ghost.

Some more Canterville—this time in color

I haven't posted any of Jason's amazing color work from The Canterville Ghost for a while. I think I'll rectify that over the next few days...

I used a lot of loose drybrush on this page and I think Jason did a great job of adding color without overpowering the line art.

Canterville Ghost: Is that tapestry talking to her?

More Canterville Ghost. Just remember, kids, if a figure in a tapestry urges you not to accompany a ghost, it's probably a good idea to heed the warnings.

And that goes double for whenever the lizards in the fireplace warn you about stuff!

The Canterville Ghost: More Conversations with Dead People

Another Canterville Ghost page, from the sequence I posted earlier this week. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Jason does with the colors on this scene.

Some Canterville Ghost stuff

More plugging away on The Canterville Ghost. Sometimes, conversation scenes can just be a blast!

Some More Canterville Ghost—Now in Color!

Okay, first of all, I may not have hit my goal of updating every day (or even every weekday), but 2008 has shown significant improvement in the regularity of my blogging updates. It's certainly been more consistent than how I've handled email and phone calls. What can I say? My schedule regularly kicks my ass.

But everything will improve even more in 2009. Hopefully.

I'm very excited about the color piece in today's update. Jason Millet continues to kick ass on all of our collaborations, and this page is no exception.

I showed a step-by-step development of this Canterville Ghost page, from rough sketch to pencils to inks. Now, Jason's color page completes the process (the publisher will be handling the letters, so you'll have to buy the book if you want to see that stage).

The Ghost Sneaks Around

Is that a ghost? Look out--he's got a gun!

This book is turning out to be a blast!

The Ghost is Sad

Here's another panel from the Canterville Ghost. I inked this page last week. Or was it at the beginning of this week? Dates blur together the closer I get to a deadline...

It's not there yet, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting closer to incorporating the effortless quality that an Al Williamson figure has in his/her stance. Like I said, I'm nowhere near that yet, but this panel made me feel like I might actually come close in 30 years.

Miss Me?

Okay, if you're looking at the posts here, it would appear that I was devastated by the loss of my li'l mutt, which I was. But I wasn't devastated to the tune of 6 weeks off. Deadlines—and life in general—conspired to kick my ass. Thanks to all of my friends who posted and/or sent me emails of condolences, though.

I've still been producing a lot of artwork, I just haven't posted much of it.

Here's some recent Canterville Ghost work. I'll post what's new with Athena Voltaire and Ursula Wilde next week. I just posted a glimpse of things to come over at the Athena Voltaire blog.

The Ghost Materializes—In Ink!

Here's how he looks finished. I really wanted to put more drybrush in, but know that I'm prone to abusing that technique and give Jason some room to work.

Here's what Jason's plans are for the page, "I'm thinking lots of blues and greens overall with the red eyes really popping and casting some red light on the face..."

Tightening up the pencils on the ghost

Again, this page is the first time that we see the ghost in the story, so I want it to be right. Granted, a few things (like glowing red eyes) will be handled by Jason in the color stage of the page, but this page still really needs to sing on all levels.

At this stage, it's starting to develop...

Inks tomorrow.

Canterville Ghost page rough

Trying to get the right look for the titular character in The Canterville Ghost. He "died" in 1575, so that places him in the Tudor era. Making that era's clothes looked ragged (per the story), yet still period-specific is tough—you don't want this guy to look like he's wearing a ratty old bathrobe and jammies! And I opted to fray the leggings because who's afraid of a ghost in tights?

Tighter pencils will be up tomorrow.

At Last! The Canterville Ghost in COLOR!

As I mentioned last week, Jason Millet is doing an amazing job with the colors for The Canterville Ghost.

Drink it in.

Back...with more Canterville Ghost artwork

The move is completed; let the unpacking begin. Gak. Maybe that should say "The move is completed, let's hide all the boxes the hell under the stairs." Yeah. I like that.

Here's another batch of pages for The Canterville Ghost. I'm particularly happy with the splash. The thers seem a bt too open to me, but will look wonderfully kick-ass after Jason Millet works his color magic on them.

Speaking of Jason, I'll try and post some of h color versions of the pages in the next day or so.

Some More Canterville Ghost Artwork

I wanted to post these sooner, but there were a few rounds of revisions.

It's shaping up to be a fascinating project. It's a period that I haven't illustrated much of, so I'm definitely learning a lot.

More from The Canterville Ghost

Here's another page from the Canterville Ghost adaptation I'm working on for Classical Comics.

It's been slow-going at first as I find the feel for the characters and the story —no amount of preliminary work ever seems to prepare me for the sense of "stage fright" as I start on a new project. This one is no different.

But it's starting to come together.

And every page I sit down to draw is met with an increased sense of giddiness.

I love it when that happens!

Over at both the Athena Voltaire Blog and the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, I'm still basking in the news that AV will return. Updates to happen tomorrow.

The Canterville Ghost

While I'm still working on Ursula Wilde (and working toward resolving the rights issues on Athena Voltaire with Paul Daly), I've picked up another freelance comics gig. I'll be illustrating The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde for Classical Comics. Sean Wilson has written the adaptation and the amazing Jason Millet will again be coloring my line art.

Here's a shot of Canterville Chase, our locale.

With a little luck, I may soon be able to escape my soul-sucking day job!