DV8 #1 cover process

[Fiona]

It's pretty straightforward, but I thought I'd take a few screencaps while doing this one.



First of all, reference. The illustration is a combination of these two things- Rebekah's character design and a photo I took of my friend Marlo.



Next, a rough pencil sketch on a "multiply" layer and roughly painting in the colours underneath it. Pretty easy because it's basically all red...



On another multiply layer underneath the pencils, I lay on some shadows with a fat brush. Then I start working on a layer above the pencils, blocking in the shape to get a crisp silhouette. I've also started painting in the folds of the fabric. I'm relying on the reference photo for lighting information but changing the fabric colour (obviously).



Zoomed in and worked on the face with a smaller brush.



This isn't very painterly of me but I like to put a fine outline around certain things to make them look crisper.



Annnnd this is where I get really into it and forget to take screencaps. I've finished painting the fabric, added hair, and put on the black designs on her clothes. The end!

[violenza]

those covers are dynamite... i really like the lushness of the figure contrasting with the sparseness of the landscape in the background. Also, i'm a sucker for process tutorials... thanks for the post!!!

[Sketch]

Awesome. Purely awesome.

[PaulLavallee]

Cool. Thanks for the post.

[Brian Guay]

In the first screenshot the three main colours that are on the underside of her leg (the top to us since she upside down a bit)...are they created from the overlapping of a couple of colours? That seems to be my biggest hang up when painting on the pc is that I go to lay in say a mid-tone and the go to add a darker or lighter value and will end up with a third line from the two colours overlapping and mixing. I'm guessing that as you paint more on top and work the piece more these differences in colour start to "melt" into the painting? Rather then standing out like sore thumbs?

Bri

[Flipmcgee]

Thank you Fiona.

Subtle texture overlay in the final gives it that analog watercolour look.

Do you submit your final in RGB format and srgb colour profile?

[Fiona]

Bri- Basically all the colours on there are created by mixing and overlapping, since all the brushes I use are partly transparent. But yeah, as I work on top of the underpainting I just sample those colours and eventually cover them up. I make sure the colours are more or less in the right place in the underpainting, but when I work over them I smooth them out and render the shapes more tightly. Is that what you were asking? Do you have a picture of what you were talking about by any chance?

Flip- thanks, I forgot to mention the texture... it's a scanned "old paper" texture. I work in RGB and srgb colour profile but I submit the final in CMYK.

[Chris]

Question for you Fiona. As I have the same "issue". How do you feel at the end of the day not having an "original piece" of art? As pages start going for $1000-$5000 (pages/covers), do you feel you are or will be missing out on a certain market of our medium?

[Fiona]

Question for you Fiona. As I have the same "issue". How do you feel at the end of the day not having an "original piece" of art? As pages start going for $1000-$5000 (pages/covers), do you feel you are or will be missing out on a certain market of our medium?

Yeah, I miss out on selling original pieces, but it's a trade-off. I'm better in Photoshop than I am at traditional media, so my stuff turns out nicer and faster, and I'm more productive so I probably earn more in the long run than I would by doing actual paintings. I can knock out a cover in a day in PS, but an oil painting would take me more like a week, and I wouldn't be able to do covers and a monthly book at the same time (which is what I'm doing now).

I suppose some people are amazingly skilled and fast in traditional media AND have art to sell... so that would be the ideal.

[PaulLavallee]

Question for you Fiona. As I have the same "issue". How do you feel at the end of the day not having an "original piece" of art? As pages start going for $1000-$5000 (pages/covers), do you feel you are or will be missing out on a certain market of our medium?

Yeah, I miss out on selling original pieces, but it's a trade-off. I'm better in Photoshop than I am at traditional media, so my stuff turns out nicer and faster, and I'm more productive so I probably earn more in the long run than I would by doing actual paintings. I can knock out a cover in a day in PS, but an oil painting would take me more like a week, and I wouldn't be able to do covers and a monthly book at the same time (which is what I'm doing now).

I suppose some people are amazingly skilled and fast in traditional media AND have art to sell... so that would be the ideal.

I would imagine it pays off since you technically do the work of the penciller/inker/colourist all in one. Correct?

[Sketch]

I would imagine it pays off since you technically do the work of the penciller/inker/colourist all in one. Correct?

I would think that to be true as well. And I would guess peing more prolific and doing multiple projects at once is better for your exposure as well, and in the end results in even bigger and better contracts.

[Bob Prodor]

Oh my gawd that's wicked. Depression sets in...

[Fiona]

Question for you Fiona. As I have the same "issue". How do you feel at the end of the day not having an "original piece" of art? As pages start going for $1000-$5000 (pages/covers), do you feel you are or will be missing out on a certain market of our medium?

Yeah, I miss out on selling original pieces, but it's a trade-off. I'm better in Photoshop than I am at traditional media, so my stuff turns out nicer and faster, and I'm more productive so I probably earn more in the long run than I would by doing actual paintings. I can knock out a cover in a day in PS, but an oil painting would take me more like a week, and I wouldn't be able to do covers and a monthly book at the same time (which is what I'm doing now).

I suppose some people are amazingly skilled and fast in traditional media AND have art to sell... so that would be the ideal.

I would imagine it pays off since you technically do the work of the penciller/inker/colourist all in one. Correct?

Yeah, that too, but that's not really an issue of traditional vs. digital.

Thanks Bob... I guess depressing a skilled artist is a sign I'm doing something right, haha

[Sketch]

You need to add that to all your adverts now, Fiona.

Art by Fiona Staples! Continually depressing artists with her skill!

[Andrew Foley]

Some process questions:

Whose idea was the pose?

Did you get some/any direction from Wood, Isaacs, or the editor, or is it something you came up with independently?

Did you do different ideas/roughs before settling on the pose used, or did you go straight to working on the final piece (or at least as final a piece as there can be when working digital)?

Who did the mountains? Originally I assumed it was Wood (who I'm also assuming did the overall logo/cover design because, well, it looks like something he'd design) because I thought it was a photo, then I saw the pencil lines on your screencaps and looked closer and I can't tell if it's photo or digital or some combination of both...