Section 4:  Artistic Process/Daily Routine

What hours do you keep?  (vii)

I'm usually up at 9:00am and work until 1:00am. In between, I eat, excrete, draw, feed the fish, do odd jobs around the house, and exercise.

Can you give us a quick rundown of your workspace (your equipment, especially monitors), and how you deal with color management issues? (x)

I'm using a Sony 19" LCD with XBrite @ 6500K, and for print files, I usually work in Adobe 1998 and convert to CMYK. For printing with my Epson, I convert to files to sRGB, which preserves the bright ends of the spectrum.

What is the creative-process to completing a cover for Fables or Batgirl? How much information is given initially; how many DC executives do you have to attempt to please; and what mediums do you choose or have to work in?  (i)

DC usually sends me a script, and from there I do sketches that have to be approved before starting the finish. For FABLES, there is a small committee comprised of my editor, the writer/creator of the series, and the chief editor. BATGIRL was a little strange to start off with, because they pay separate rates for a penciller, inker, and colorist; and I just wanted to do a finished illustration without breaking up the production chores. They offered to get me a computer colorist for the cover, but I wanted to be in control of the whole process. But as long as I hand in something that looks decent, it doesn’t matter whether it’s in Photoshop or on a wet napkin.

As for my choice of mediums, it varies from oil painting to watercolor to Photoshop. There are many ways to skin a napkin.

Could you take us through the steps involved in making a cover piece? (v)

I'll receive a script or abstract from my editor, and after absorbing that information I'll start sketching on regular bond paper. After a bunch of thumbnails I'll fold a piece of 8.5 x 11" bond paper in half and start working on a refined sketch. After that's done, I'll scan it and send it in for approval. Once it's approved, I'll blow-up the sketch on my printer and transfer it onto Bristol board with a light-box or printmaking paper with wax-free transfer paper. After the final drawing is finished, I'll scan it into the computer and colour it in Photoshop. And, "Viola!" it's done. Somewhere in between those steps is a lot of paint, sweat, cursing, and serene contemplation of colour.

Describe the process of one of your cover paintings. How do you achieve that incredible aesthetic and what media do you use?  (ix)

The process keeps evolving . . . in the beginning, every cover was done in a completely different way but it all starts with sketching -- after doing a bunch of thumbnails, I usually end up with a tight sketch that I send in for approval.  I find that loose thumbnails and layouts don't work for me -- sketching for me is about honing in on a single idea, like carving down a block of marble.  Afterwards, i usually enlarge and transfer the sketch onto a larger sheet of paper and start the finish, while constantly trying to preserve the energy present in the original sketch.  Lately, I've been using charcoal and acrylic and finishing up the colors in Photoshop.  Photoshop is great because it gives you so much choice . . . so it's about taste and restraint as much as it is about pushing the image to the extremes.

Walk us through that cover process.  (xi)

The whole process usually takes two to three weeks, but I'm usually juggling a bunch of assignments at the same time.

I will get a call or e-mail about a cover, and the editor will attach a script or short synopsis of the story. I'll start drawing a bunch of thumbnails on a sheet of regular bond paper, and when I arrive on a solid composition, I'll fold a letter-size sheet in half to start the final sketch in pencil. Sometimes I'll comp up the cover with type and color to clarify my ideas to the editor. I used to send in multiple cover ideas, but I found that it's much better for me to hone in on one strong cover concept, rather than spread myself thin with three or four mediocre sketches. The sketch is the bones for the final piece, and thus the underlying structure has to be strong. No matter how prettily the flesh is draped, all the Photoshop filters, paint textures, lens flares, halftone textures in existence will fail on a weak frame.

It usually takes a day or two for the sketch to be approved, and I'll start by transferring the sketch to the surface for the final: blow up the sketch in Photoshop, print it out in sections, and transfer it on either a lightbox or with blue transfer paper. At this point, I'm almost a slave to the sketch, and I'm constantly frustrated by trying to replicate the same energy and nuance in the finish. Of course, the finish must work on its own, but this struggle usually ends well, and I'll discover new ways of expressing the original idea in the final drawing/painting. The art is scanned into Photoshop, usually in sections, and I've become quite adept at stitching things together after years of practice. The digital file will usually measure 7 by 10.5 inches at 500 or 600 dpi.
It takes me a couple of days to finish the piece, and I'll sit on it for a few more days before taking another look with fresh eyes. After a few final tweaks, I'll send a lo-res JPEG for approval, and upload the file once everything is good to go.

When you're creating a cover, are you conscious of how it will be shelved at comics shops?  (xi)

In a practical sense, I've been told to keep the logo visible and recognizable. DC has vetoed a couple of attempts of mine to modify the logo.

Do you find yourself looking back at covers and thinking, “That was too much”?  (xi)

It's certainly a struggle during the process of making a cover – many times I’ll audition certain elements in picture, only to discard them in the end. That's the blessing and curse of Photoshop.