Big Dog's Studio

jimrugg:

A couple people asked me about the original art for my G.I.Joe Special Missions #3 cover. So I thought I’d post some process pics.
The Untold Tales series of covers I’ve done for G.I.Joe Special Missions have been inspired by popular comics genres of the past. Issue one was romance:

Issue two was crime (note the Charles Biro-style signature):

For the third issue, I wanted to try something sci-fi/horror related. I’m a big fan of Ogden Whitney (learn more about him on ComicsComics). He did a lot of work for American Comics Group in the 50s and 60s. His mature style was very clean and a little stiff and generic. It’s reminiscent of clip art. This style worked great in a variety of genre stories. Besides Herbie and a bunch of great romance stories, he did a lot of work on ACG’s sci-fi/horror titles like Forbidden Worlds and Journey Into the Unknown. These comics, combined with Whitney’s clean, restrained style were much different in tone than horror comics like EC-published or even the monster stories of pre-superhero Marvel. They were a little more like twilight zone.
I thought combining G.I.Joe figures with G.I.Joe cartoon characters could create an uncanny sensation. I wasn’t aware of any previous G.I.Joe comics that incorporated the toys in a literal way so that aspect of the idea also appealed to me.
After pitching the concept, I did a couple of sketches:

I’ve become more interested in comic book grids in the last few years. I drew this cover around the same time as the Vanilla Ice pinup I made for Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree. And I like the idea of the 9 panel grid as a design element.

After some editorial feedback, I add titles and crop the chosen sketch to fit the cover trim:

I can’t find any pencils for this cover…I guess I went from sketch approval to line art/black-and-white. So here is the original art scan. One of the best parts of working on these covers was that the editor, John Barber, allowed me to hand-letter them.

After approval of the line art, I added color, which I think has become a more important part of comics illustration than it used to be - in the sense that it’s what people see first (especially if its viewed as a thumbnail online) and it can absolutely ruin a good drawing or make average artwork look much better. The blue header block is a nod to Ace Double Sci-Fi paperback design.

If you’re into original art, my first G.I.Joe Special Missions cover is currently on auction on comiclink. There’s a large scan of it here (if you’re not into original comic art, but your friend is, please pass along this link).

Is there anything Jim Rugg CAN’T do?!

A couple people asked me about the original art for my G.I.Joe Special Missions #3 cover. So I thought I’d post some process pics.

The Untold Tales series of covers I’ve done for G.I.Joe Special Missions have been inspired by popular comics genres of the past. Issue one was romance:

Issue two was crime (note the Charles Biro-style signature):

For the third issue, I wanted to try something sci-fi/horror related. I’m a big fan of Ogden Whitney (learn more about him on ComicsComics). He did a lot of work for American Comics Group in the 50s and 60s. His mature style was very clean and a little stiff and generic. It’s reminiscent of clip art. This style worked great in a variety of genre stories. Besides Herbie and a bunch of great romance stories, he did a lot of work on ACG’s sci-fi/horror titles like Forbidden Worlds and Journey Into the Unknown. These comics, combined with Whitney’s clean, restrained style were much different in tone than horror comics like EC-published or even the monster stories of pre-superhero Marvel. They were a little more like twilight zone.

I thought combining G.I.Joe figures with G.I.Joe cartoon characters could create an uncanny sensation. I wasn’t aware of any previous G.I.Joe comics that incorporated the toys in a literal way so that aspect of the idea also appealed to me.

After pitching the concept, I did a couple of sketches:

I’ve become more interested in comic book grids in the last few years. I drew this cover around the same time as the Vanilla Ice pinup I made for Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree. And I like the idea of the 9 panel grid as a design element.

After some editorial feedback, I add titles and crop the chosen sketch to fit the cover trim:

I can’t find any pencils for this cover…I guess I went from sketch approval to line art/black-and-white. So here is the original art scan. One of the best parts of working on these covers was that the editor, John Barber, allowed me to hand-letter them.

After approval of the line art, I added color, which I think has become a more important part of comics illustration than it used to be - in the sense that it’s what people see first (especially if its viewed as a thumbnail online) and it can absolutely ruin a good drawing or make average artwork look much better. The blue header block is a nod to Ace Double Sci-Fi paperback design.

If you’re into original art, my first G.I.Joe Special Missions cover is currently on auction on comiclink. There’s a large scan of it here (if you’re not into original comic art, but your friend is, please pass along this link).

Is there anything Jim Rugg CAN’T do?!

jasonlatour:

Most of my life I’ve wanted to do the badges (or program cover) for HEROES CON. This year I was lucky enough to get the privilege. Throw in the fact that I got to play with Mike Mignola’s universe again and it’s a very cool little belt notch. Thanks so much to Shelton Drum and Rico Renzi for asking.

Of course there are different badges for different types of attendees, but I’m told that the only folks assured of a badge are the advance ticket holders. So I suggest that you go buy your advance passes here:

http://heroescon2013.eventbrite.com

Hope to see you there….

kickstandkids:

Spidey sketch by Chris Brunner from FCBD at Heroes

Sooo good!

ilovecomiccovers:

Elijah Snow, Philip Graves, John Constatine and some other guy I don’t recognize by John Cassaday.

The BEST part of Free Comic Book Day… #fcbd #comics

alphababes:

H is for Hopey, from Love and Rockets. Although it looks like I avoided drawing her hands, the plan was to draw her hand on the neck of the guitar, but when the abandoned sketches made their way here, I ran out of room, so instead I concentrated on drawing the flannel pattern in her shirt.

Picked up Jeffrey Brown’s Vader’s Little Princess at #fcbd to go along with Darth Vader and Son. I can’t recommend these high enough for Star Wars fans with kids!