X-Men!

Greets peeps

All is well in Irving Towers, tho the internet silence is down to the masses of art that my goblins have been creating over the past 2 months. Azrael wrapped up just in time for me to start art on my X-men Timestorm issue, which I present below:

Since that got wrapped up last week I have been scribbling away at a new job for Archaia, titled "Days Missing" and will post previews when that stuff is done too, tho that deadline is way tighter than normal so I may have to go underground again for a while.

And after that, we get some more Gutsville action. And after that, some Batman and Robin action. Wooop! Now I hope i can get a replacement passport in time to travel to San Diego Comicon next month....

Bus Bum

People! 

Gather round me, and hear my words: weekend travelcards should be half price if I only get to use half the frikkin service!!! Let's march for discounts!

Or not, cos I'm warm and cosy at home now, after another 5 hour trek on nighttransport. Pff, let them keep their money. It's amazing how tranquil one can feel with central heating, a nice internet connection and a cup of Baileys Coffee beside me. Anyway, onto the art:

This is a page from Azrael issue 1 which came out last month (on time too, naysayers). I decided to show a bit of the page process cos some people asked me, and I have no completed covers yet to show you. So what ye see above is the sketch, the layout that I use to base all the tricky arting on. Loose, eh? You betcha.

This next stage is where I use my ink layer to outline the main figures and whop in the boldest shadows. No backgrounds here, as I do that on a different layer.
Next up is the adding of greys. These really are the meat of the art, with the black lines being the skeleton, the colour being the skin, the...er...borders being...uh, the pants...*shuts up*
Ok, more meat on the bones. I love Potatoshop so much it *hurts*.
Here I add the background layer. It usually differs from page to page, but in this case it all was all on one layer and then I cut out the main figures. Like old school, but with shiny macintosh machines and less screaming.
Then I add the swords and fire to a new layer. What, you thought I drew that on the same layer...?...*chuckle*, no no no, Grasshopper. Noone would be that stupid. 
This is where I thought I'd be able to leave it. I added a new layer for the colours and painted them on, and a few tweaks with some white paint, but then I got a most distressing email...
Yes, apparently I had got his mask wrong. So last minute panic revisions resulted in a new layer over the painting and some old school patch-em-up tactics were employed to remedy this error. Seamless, eh? Go on, you can say it, I'm not bashful...

Right, next time I update (like, thursday) I will probably show something other than the blow-by-blow stages of a picture, maybe doodles I make on the toilet...?...or perhaps drunken scribbles of naked ladies...

Whatevs. I have to get back to reality now and continue distracting someone from the boredom that is the internet tonite. Hi Kim!

F xoxo

Ahoy mateys

Hello my lovelies

So, some of you out there have been wondering what has happened to The Great Frazer Irving International Comicbook Rockstar lately. Well I must confess the past 2 months have been rather hectic, what with me working like a madman on "Azrael" for DC Comics, as well as attending the NYC Comicon in feb, not to mention spending a fair few evenings racing around London's Soho in the wee hours of the morning with a thoroughly Awesome individual with whom I plan to rule the entire Earth alongside in the near future. Fret not, we will be merciful and benign dictators. But no whistling on a Tuesday!!!!

To tease and appease thy thirsts for art, I present to you lucky lucky people here some stages in the production of the latest cover I have made for "The Darkness" from Top Cow comics. Not all secrets are revealed, in fact, seeing as there's no fee for this I might just leave the images lying around with scant explanation. If I can get the html to work then I might make this a regular feature here, so you can all come back and salivate over yer puny laptop screens.

That's the sketch above. Messy, eh? yes, that's what my editors have to deal with. But it captures the essence, and you'll see how it all comes together...

That's the first stage above. This is where I do what is almost the traditional style of inking, where black lines are used to outline and define, with shadows n shit, but it's still far from done...

This is where I use Potatoshop's layers and start adding the greys. This stuff makes it so much rounder and Phatter, don't you think? And I can add more too...

Now here I've added more greys to give it more body and depth and ting. It's like using ink washes but without the pain and screaming.

Now I've jumped a whole buncha secret stages to the point where I have the background added and the colours too, all using my special secret ways. Don't ask, I'll have to kill you afterwards.

And here's the final image. Almost. There were edits afterwards, which those of you who will be buying the comic (not *just* for the cover I hope, but if you do I won't complain) will no doubt spot, but this is the internet, where you get to see stuff that never makes it to the page.

I may do more of this now that I seem to have overcome Bloggers utterly useless tools and got me pix where I wants em. Come find me on Twitter if you haven't already, and watch as I relate every tiny boring detail of my life online, just like everyone else. And don't forget to check out Azrael from DC, issue 2 out late April, issue 3 late May. It sells fast so grab one whilst you can. 

And then expect the resumption of Gutsville. It ain't dead, loyal ones. Just sleeping.

Fraze xoxo

Ampersands!!

Hello hello hello my lovelies.

It was my birthday on wednesday & I celebrated this event the following day in central london with my comics buddies & some other friends, all of whom are gorgeous & awesome. So if you were there & you are reading this, then that includes YOU.

Unfortunately I mixed a couple of liquids that I shouldn't have & spent a portion of the evening eating dinner backwards in a most shameful manner, & it was down to a splendid lass called Kim to ensure I made it out of the pub & into the safety of some transport home. She in effect was allocated the job of Guardian Angel. I know not who it was that said this because at that point I was halfway between this reality & some other, but around 4 am I had sobered (she not: it seems we exchanged roles at some point) & after putting her on one of those LOVELY night buses I myself got on one & trundled home, experiencing one of the most trundly buses I have ever sat on.

That same day a feature on me ran in the local paper (see above). A short but sweet article, the writer was smart enough to edit out all the non-family-viewable stuff that we discussed, & they also printed a photo of me sat at my Cintiq drawing a 2000AD cover. For those interested parties, I will upload a scan of the interview in a few days so as not to steal any potential custom that this newspaper may hope to get thanks to my mention of it here. What fun to read when slightly hungover.

Artworks continue to mesh, as I start drawing an Azrael mini series for DC comics, plus I have the late but great GUTSVILLE still gnashing away in the background, plus more covers for Top Cow comics (who recently let go one of my favorite editors, the splendid Rob Levin) & I am also learning how to play the drums. YAY!

Later this month I'll be giving a lecture at Leeds university to a bunch of art students, & shortly after that it's time for the NEW YORK COMICON!!!!!!! Which means more mixing of liquids & interdimensional merging.

Man, it's WINDY outside. My love to all of you & your kin. Especially to my Guardian Angel for guiding me into sobriety during friday morning :D

F

Ho ho ho

DOGS!

Greets, mortals.

Here in Irving Towers business is brisk, with many different drawings being made for many different people. Some take precedence over others sadly, but the latest have been for a good cause. The above image of the Wizard Dog is for a Dog shelter in Zagreb, and they needed soem cash so a bunch of designers/artists were asked to make greeting cards or posters based around the dogs so that these could then be sold and the proceeds put towards some blankets etc for the pooches.

The image above this is a snippet from my next Darkness cover, which ties in neatly to me plugging my 2 page contribution to the Darkness ish 75 anniversary thingy, which is what I'm wrestling with right this minute. Well, I'm not doing it RIGHT now cos I is typing, but once this is uploaded I'm getting straight back to it.

Had a splendid day/evening in London on saturday hanging out with the Crazy Katz from the Lundon Underground Comics scene, where I got a bit tipsy and probably said many vulgar things to some very nice people, but I hope I didn't make too many new enemies. Or start any rumours, cos I'm a good boy m'kay? Was much delighted to find that the small press scene is just the same (if not better) than it was back when I did it during the Iron Age and the personalities involved are even more entertaining than my old crew. They're way cuter too, tho I hope that didn't affect my judgement...

Now I draw again. HURRAH!!

F xo

Greets, my lovelies.

Above is a cover I have recently drawn for "The Darkness" which is published by Top Cow. Dunno which issue it is yet but it'll be the one published in about 3 months. Lemme know what u think of it, eh?

So lately I been hopping around at conventions again. France was fun if a little bit hard work what with the 8 hour sketching sessions which we were not warned about, and Leeds was also fun despite the hangover that totalled me mid-sketch on saturday. Best things about both were that A) I got to hang out with old buddies I hadn't seen in ages, B) I got to make some NEW buddies in the biz, C) I got to meet some lovely consumers/fans/punters and finally D) each con had it's own hot babe for me to fixate on. The recipe for a good comicon if ever I saw one.

If I met u or spoke to you at either Lille or Thought Bubble then hello again, it was a pleasure. And if u got a sketch, then LOOK AFTER IT. THAT'S A BIT OF MY SOUL THERE.

I kinda need to get back to the drawing now to earn me some Xmas pennies, but I'll be posting more pix as and when they are ready for mortal consumption. Till then, keep it tight.

F xo