Sliding Doors

I've noticed I have this thing for drawing doors that slide open instead of being pushed open.

Have I ever drawn anything good coming through a slowly opening lab door?  Has anybody?

Also, while I was drawing G.E.R.L. this month, I tried to include more sound effects, although it got to be a bit of a chore trying to decide what certain things would sound like.  I hate to use cliched sound effects, but sometimes there's not really any other way to say "boom."

Straddling the Line

Reflecting back on what I've drawn here, it really just now occurred to me that I illustrated several panels of a naked angel straddling a phallic-looking tentacle monster.

These tentacled scientists have kind of a weird center of gravity and once you knock them over it's a bit of a chore for them to stand back up.

I suppose given the nature of Kingdom of Monsters and G.E.R.L. that was bound to happen.

Speed Lines for Dramatic Effect!

I actually used speed lines for dramatic effect multiple times in this issue.

I'm not sure what she's doing to him, but trust me, it hurts.

I guess it's a good thing I was exposed to manga at some point, otherwise there'd be a lot of empty white space in those panels.

Asking the Hard Questions

When you wake up from cryostasis, sometimes there's a short period of adjustment.

Gasp!

Can you illustrate a look of shock on the face of someone wearing a mask?

You can if you make the nose really big.

Out of Sequence

Well this is slightly out of the order of how I would normally post things but I sent issue number 2 off to the printer today so I wanted to post the cover and let everybody know that issue 2 will be available in October.

I hope the colors reproduce this way when it's printed but I'm actually unsure of what the conversion process will do to it.

This week has been a bit ridiculous in terms of what I was trying to do.  Monday I got an email telling me that Docucopies was offering a 15% discount on booklet printing through today and since that is not an insubstantial amount of money saved I felt the need to try and push the book to be ready to print by Friday.  Effectively, that meant that I was going to have to draw, ink, and scan 8 pages, including designing the cover, which would have to be colored.

It was a bit frantic as the deadline closed in but I did manage to do it and at least now I know I can work fast if I need to.

I definitely feel the  need to take a day off after this though.

The back cover.  Look at that bunny monster!  He's so cute!

The print job should be completed and delivered to me by next week, so expect Delirium issue 2 to be on sale in the first week in October.

Repetition

Honestly, I cannot draw the same face twice to save my life.

Interior art is done and I am currently working on the cover for issue 2.

Clever Acronymns

Moving on to G.E.R.L., here's a detail from the first page of that story in issue 2:

That face.  I can never get that face right.

It's kind of funny, I spent something like 45 minutes debating with myself about what the correct representation of her cybernetic arm was from that angle.

At this point, 30 pages of issue two are finished and I am hoping everything will be ready to send to the printer by Friday.

Big Hair

You know I'm getting pretty good at drawing these angels.

I couldn't really think of anything tougher for him to say.

Hilariously, every time I draw his hair it gets bigger.  Eventually it will take up half a page.

Delivering on Promises

Let me tell you something, when an evil doll backed up by a biomechanical pile of tentacles and lips says that you're going to suffer, it means it.

Is that too many teeth?  Or not enough?

Current page count of issue 2 is 26 pages so we're closing in on the end here.

Inevitable Conclusion

Well, when you've got an angel with a bionic arm and a lack of patience, people are bound to get hurt.

I think I rendered that hole in his chest very convincingly.

My favorite panel yet...

I just really, really like how this particular panel turned out.

Insincerity!

Tragedy tends to follow explosions, and the world of Delirium is no different.

Oh Monocle Man, you and your quick wit.

Explosivo!

Tentacles, top hats, and now explosions.

That's gonna leave a scratch.

I put everything that's awesome into the art for this second issue.

Blink

Man, that top hat guy, I really like him actually.  I feel kind of bad about what eventually happens to him.

This was pretty easy to draw, although oddly I had trouble with the hands.

This weekend was a bit of a bust as I had a lot of things going on and I wasn't able to get much work done, but we are up to 19 pages and still well ahead of schedule for publishing next month.

Delirium Issue 1 is Available for Purchase on Etsy!

It's here!  It's here!  The wait is over and the first issue of Delirium is available for purchase through  my store on Etsy!

Looking at the finished product, I've gotta say that the book looks great!  Docucopies did a incredible job with the printing and I am very happy with how it turned out.

Here's the product description:

Enter a world where angels battle drill wielding mechs piloted by strange bunny-like creatures; a world where hockey masks and chainsaw hands are regular fashion accessories; a world where death and danger lurk around every corner. Enter the world of Delirium.

Delirium is an exciting new monthly comic from Nick Calavera showcasing detailed black and white art and stories focused on the strange and surreal. Issue one features the debut of two original ongoing series: Kingdom of Monsters and G.E.R.L.

Product Details:

Size: 8.5" x 5.5"
Interior: 32 pages of black and white art
Cover: full color cover

* * * * *

The cover price for issue one is $2.50, which I think is a great deal for all of the great art and production values that you're getting.  Supplies are limited, so, make sure to buy your copy now before they're gone as I have no plans to reprint this in the near future.

It's been a fun trip getting this far and I am looking forward to announcing issue two when it's finished.  In the meantime, buy the book and see the story behind all of the disjointed images on this blog!

Stating the Obvious?

You know, I like that this second issue is wordier.

The power of logical deduction.

Exposition!

Well...while I wanted to avoid an information dump in the story it can't really be avoided and it sets up a confrontation that will lead to a long term conflict between certain characters, so I suppose in the overall scheme of things this is the way to go.

Wait...does that actually explain anything?

The other things I have learned working on this second issue is that it actually helps to draw out the action a little bit.  I think that in the first issue that was a big problem I had in terms of pacing; things just happened too fast and there wasn't enough time to absorb what was going on.  With issue number two I think the pacing is a little bit better and there's overall better storytelling.

In other news, 17 pages of issue 2 are done so I am feeling good about that.

Top Hat

That's right, I had to come up with a character design and I incorporated a top hat into it.

Man I love that fur trim.

It took a considerable amount of restraint to not give him chainsaw hands.

For a Few Tentacles More...

Man, I drew a lot of damn tentacles.

I remember having a hard time drawing this panel.  I don't remember why though...

It's been interesting drawing the last...oh...eight or so pages because for the most part I haven't really been storyboarding or scripting things as tightly as I did previously.  I think it's actually working out better that way, although I do need to sit down and write out a few more pages of the script just to have a sense of where I'm going with things.  But I tend to change things anyway before they end up on the page so, even the script ends up being more of an outline than anything else.

Entanglement

Things are moving along at a good clip for issue 2.  There's actually 12 pages finished, which is kind of crazy considering how long it took me to do the first 10 pages of issue 1.

Unfortunately, things only get worse from here on out.

Anyway, there shouldn't be any problem having things finished up in time for an October release.