Gene Gonzales' Sketches & Other Silly Stuff

HeroesCon 2013 Advance Sketches!

2013-06-10T13:04:00.001-04:00

I think I got them all here. To see what I did at the show, follow me on Twitter (@genegonzales) and look at my past tweets. Thanks again to everyone who got a sketch in advance and at the show. And for just coming by and saying "HI". It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next year!

All characters are © their respective owners

This is Post #1968

HEROESCON! June 7-9 2013

2013-06-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Magik © Marvel Entertainment

As you are reading this, I am somewhere between Florida and Charlotte, NC. Riding shotgun is Joe Pekar. On our way to HeroesCon 2013! And I'm excited to be going again. If you are going to be at the convention, drop by and say HI.

I will be in Artist Alley at table number AA-1421. Joe will be at AA-1420. See the map below.

If you ordered an Advance Sketch, they are all done and can be picked up Friday. Also I will be starting a new list at the show. I will be posting sketches I do at the show on Twitter. So if you want to see them as I finish, make sure to follow me on Twitter, @genegonzales.

See you on Friday!

This is Post #1967

Secret Avengers - Sketch Cover

2013-05-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

Secret Avengers and Black Widow © Marvel Entertainment

Squeezed in another sketch cover in between my advance sketches for HeroesCon. I will be putting this up on eBay later tonight.

Speaking of HeroesCon, it's coming up really fast. Next week at this time I should be almost halfway there. Driving takes a bit of time but it means I can bring as much as I want and not deal with air travel restrictions. And the groping that goes with it.

I am down to my last two HeroesCon advance sketches. I have time to add a few more so if you or someone you know would like a sketch from me just let me know. I will be starting a new list at the show so there is always that option. Details are here for the advance sketch list.

UPDATE: eBay auction link. Ends Sunday.

Art was created with ink, Copic marker and acrylic on official Marvel sketch cover stock.

This is Post #1966

Detective Comics #20 Sketch Cover - eBay auction

2013-05-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

Batman © DC Comics

I tried my hand at another sketch cover. This time I went with Batman. And if you are interested in owning it, it is currently on eBay for the next 5 days. Here is the eBay link.

On the back I did a little head shot of Poison Ivy. I think I will do head shots like that with the rest. :)

This was done in ink on the official card stock cover of Detective Comics #20.

This is Post #1965

Uncanny X-Men #1 Sketch Cover - eBay auction

2013-05-16T21:08:00.000-04:00

Uncanny X-Men © Marvel Entertainment

In case anyone is interested in owning a sketch cover by me, I have listed the above cover on eBay. This was done in ink on the official card stock sketch cover of Uncanny X-Men #1. Didn't plan on doing the front and back, it just worked out that way. :)

If you are interested, here is a link to the auction: Uncanny X-Men #1 Sketch Cover.

This is Post 1964

Sailor Jupiter! HeroesCon 2013 Advance Sketch List

2013-05-16T09:15:00.004-04:00

Another finished piece from the advance sketch list. ComixbookGurl was nice enough to allow me to show one of her requests here in order to entice everyone and their friends to get on the list for HeroesCon. :)

I don't think I have drawn any of the Sailors before. And having said that, I'm sure someone will point out I have. Either way, it's not the last one is it Spazzy?

This was done in ink on 11" x 17" bristol board. There is still room on the list so contact me if you are going to HeroesCon and would like a sketch. Details are here.

I will be posting again late tonight or early tomorrow so I hope you will be back for that.

This is Post #1963

(These post numbers don't climb as fast as they used to) :)

Supergirl - HeroesCon 2013 Advance Sketch

2013-05-10T12:49:00.001-04:00

Supergirl © DC Comics

Two weeks in a row of Supergirl images. I hope no one minds. I could actually do an entire blog of just drawing Supergirl. Thanks to Royce, I am sharing one of the sketches he requested for HeroesCon. This was done in ink on 11"x 17" bristol board. I have a pretty good list going but there is still room for getting on the advance list. This list of sketches will be done before the show and I will be starting a brand new, fresh smelling, list at the show. So if you want a piece done by me, check out the details here.

Also, I have an eBay auction ending tomorrow. If you are interested in a color sketch cover, be sure to check it out here. I will be doing a series of auctions over the next few weeks and I will announce them here and on my Twitter account.

This is Post #1962

Supergirl - FCBD Sketch Cover & Free Comic Book Day Info

2013-05-02T10:47:00.000-04:00

Supergirl © DC Comics

I do work every year on various Overstreet comic related books and magazines. This year was no exception. For Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) I did a new intro (written by JC Vaughn) for the book pictured above. I always get comp copies but this was the first time there is a sketch cover version. This is really cool! So I tried out the paper and I am really pleased. It held the ink great and it held watercolor! I have only 10 copies and will auction them on eBay as I finish.

Speaking of FCBD, I will be at FANFARE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT for FCBD. I will be doing free head sketches most of the day. If you are in the Kalamazoo Michigan area, drop by!

https://www.facebook.com/fanfare.store

Ink and watercolor on sketch cover.

This is Post #1961

Batgirl

2013-04-27T10:06:00.001-04:00

Batgirl © DC Comics

I did this as an inked head sketch in advance of FCBD and thought I would add some color to it. This should have been up on Thursday but sometimes things get in the way.

Also, my HeroesCon sketch list is still open for those attending the show. Details here.

Ink on 9" x 12" Strathmore Bristol Board. Colors in Photoshop.

This is Post #1960

Happy 75th Birthday Superman & Lois Lane!

2013-04-18T12:04:00.000-04:00

You have your Batman camps, and your Superman camps. I stand tall in the Superman side. Always my favorite character and favorite supporting cast.

This is the closest I have ever come to drawing Superman. A few years back I was one of several artists that worked on a cover project for DC Comics. The process was to recreate a series of covers in Adobe Illustrator. These vector files could be used for merchandising, marketing, etc. As the list of covers grew, I was always on the look out for some really classic ones, and I think Action Comics #1 is about a classic as you can get. The start of it all.

And just for fun I am posting another one I recreated from the Silver Age. And yes, all that copy had to be recreated as well. I really miss doing this work. By studying and recreating their work, I gained a brand new appreciation for so many of the golden age and silver age artist.

Artwork created in Adobe Illustrator CS3.

This is Post #1959

HeroesCon 2013 Advance Sketch List

2013-04-12T10:52:00.003-04:00

It's almost time for HEROESCON 2013!

My advance sketch list is officially open. I will work on this list leading up to the convention. Especially the more complicated pieces. There might be a few changes to the process this year so please look over the details provided below :)

Prices:

Inked sketches: single figure, on 11" x 17" Bristol Board: $50.00

Acrylic painted: single figure on 12" x 16" (approximate size): 150.00

Canson pieces: single figure on 11" x 17": 150.00.

Payment: There will be three options for payment:

PayPal: You may pay in advance for your request using PayPal. Please contact me first with your request before you send money. Paying fees for PayPal is not a bother, so if this is a convenient option for you, please use it.

Credit Card at the Con: I will be accepting major credit cards at a convention. I use both Square (www.squareup.com) and PayPal in order to do so. Fast and secure. I can take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

Cash: You can pay for the art when you arrive. Please come pick up your commission as soon as possible so I don't have to worry about keeping it safe and sound in the madness that is artist alley. :)

Special Notes: I will be doing inked sketches at the show and will bring materials to do color work. But if you really want a color piece, I would suggest getting on the list and allowing me to do it in the studio. I am terribly slow doing color work at a show.

When Contacting Me: Please send your questions and requests to gene_gonzales(at)mac(dot)com with "HeroesCon Sketch List" in the subject line of your email. This will really help me keep track of everything.

This advance list is only for those attending HeroesCon 2013 in person. I do request that if you are on my list and are not going to make it, please let me know. And if possible, please pick up your artwork as soon as you can when you arrive at the convention. Or pay for your spot on the list, whichever applies.

I may ask for reference if I don't know the character or if I can't find it on the web at the show.

You can email me links to references before the show. I can alway print them out and take them with me.

An advantage to getting on the list early gives me some time to think about your request(s), bounce ideas around in my head, maybe doodle ideas in my sketchbook, and most likey show up at the con with your finished piece. There is a finite amount of requests I can take. I do not know what that number is because I don't know the requests. So sign up early and often. And there is no limit to any individual. 1 or 100, that's fine. Well, 100 will require more time, but I'm up to the challenge. :)

I will post all the pieces on this blog after the show. Only those that pay in advance will have the option to see the art if it is done before the show. Or be surprised at the show.

If you have any questions about the sketch list, please ask. And even if you are not getting something but will be at the show, please drop by and say "hi".

Other Convention Stuff

I will have other original art at the show, some you have seen here on this blog.

This was a lot of information to cover. If anything is confusing to you, let me know and I will do my best to clarify. And please excuse any typos. :)

Here we go!

And Thanks!

Samples from HeroeCon 2012

This is Post #1958

Elektra

2013-04-11T07:39:00.001-04:00

Elektra © Marvel Entertainment

It's been a busy week. I have finished up (I think) a project that I have been working on since October, 2012. And several other smaller projects are finishing up this week. You would think the idea of all this work finishing up would make me happy and it does. But at the same time it makes me start looking for more work. I will probably be devoting more time to chapter 3 of Perils on Planet X over the next week or so.

Convention season has already started for most, but it doesn't start for me until HeroesCon. Things are starting to come together for the show. My banner will be here on Saturday. And I am gearing up to offer spots on the advance sketch list in the next week or so. I would have liked to put together a new sketchbook but I don't think I will have the time. The deadline for getting it printed in time for HeroesCon has probably passed.

Back to work.

This piece was done in ink and color pencil on 8.5 x 11 brown card stock. It is available for sale. Click the "Art for Sale" tab at the top.

This is Post #1957

2013 Convention Banner - Perils On Planet X

2013-04-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

Perils on Planet X © Mills & Gonzales

Artwork © Gene Gonzales

(Original colors by Ian Sokoliwski)

I thought I would unveil the banner I am ordering for the 2013 convention season. As you can see it is a big promo for PERILS ON PLANET X. This banner will see it's first use on Free Comic Book Day. I will be Fanfare Sports & Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for FCBD and I am really looking forward to it. More details as we get closer.

HeroesCon is coming up fast. A show I always enjoy attending. Once again I will be putting together an advance sketch list for the show. That will probably be announced here with details near the end of April. I like to have a few weeks to get rolling on them. So stay tuned.

This is Post #1956

Legionnaires Past and Future

2013-03-28T15:16:00.000-04:00

I finished up a run of Legion commissions for Michael this week. Long overdue. The first one is Kent Shakespeare. While not part of the early days of the Legion, he has been in the a couple of the reboots. Always a likable character. I always thought of him of a Superboy replacement, probably because of the name "Kent". But I don't know if there was any association.

Below is Honorary Legionnaire, Pete Ross. Pete became friends with Clark and by accident learned that Clark was Superboy. He didn't want to burden Clark with the knowledge that he knew Clarks dual identity so he kept it to himself. With that secret knowledge Pete was able to help Clark and Superboy more than the super teen would ever know. The Legion made Pete an honorary member because of this.

Kent Shakespeare & Pete Ross © DC Comics

Thanks again Michael!

Both pieces were done in ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board

This is Post #1955

Batman

2013-03-21T11:05:00.001-04:00

Batman © DC Comics

This is a color sketch piece I was working on over a couple of lunch breaks. This is as far as I plan to take it. Just trying out a different technique for fun.

Done in Photoshop using Cintiq 24HD.

This is Post #1954

Night Girl (Legion of Super-Heroes)

2013-03-17T10:59:00.000-04:00

Night Girl © DC Comics

I've been catching up on some Legion commissions for Michael (two to go!) this weekend. Thought I would share this one even though it's not Thursday. Gosh, remember when there was a post every day? :)

Thanks Michael!

Ink on 11" x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board

This is Post #1953

Hulk Smash!

2013-03-14T19:15:00.001-04:00

The Hulk © Marvel Entertainment

This was done quickly and for fun. Wanted to just cut loose, sketch and see where it would take me. There are at least a dozen things wrong with this piece but I like the rawness of it. I even recorded the process. It should be posted shortly at www.youtube.com/gonzoartstudio.

This was done in Photoshop CS5 using a Wacom Cintiq 24HD.

This is Post #1952

Perils On Planet X - Odyri

2013-03-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

I have been extremely busy the last week or so. Which is good. But it has slowed down many personal projects and commissions I am finishing up. But every so often I just have to play a bit and draw something for fun. Odyri is a main character in Perils on Planet X. If you follow the free webcomic, you will meet her in a few weeks. If you don't follow the strip, why not?

This was done digitally on a Wacom Cintiq in Photoshop CS5.

This is Post #1951

Legionnaires!

2013-02-28T09:08:00.002-05:00

Rond Vidar & Universo @ DC Comics

Here are two of five Legion pieces I am doing for the ever patient Michael. The top is Nightwind. That character was fan created and presented in Amazing World of DC Comics, a in-house fanzine DC created in the 1970s. She has gone through many incarnations but the basic character has remained pretty much the same.

The next is Rond Vidar. He is the son of the Legion villain, Universo. Rond is also the inventor of the Time Cube, a device used to send someone through time without the need of a Legion Time Bubble. Twice Rond helped the Legion defeat his fathers plans. The second time was a great two part story of the Outlawed Legionnaires in Adventure Comics #359 and #360 by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan. For his help, the Legion made Rond an Honorary Legionnaire.

Thanks Michael. Doing these pieces made me go back and reread some old stories and visit some old friends.

Both pieces were done in ink on 11"x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board.

This is Post #1950

Catwoman!

2013-02-21T17:12:00.003-05:00

More playing with working in a digital medium. This was done completely in Photoshop on my Cintiq 24HD.

No worries about me still working in traditional mediums. Perils On Planet X is being done the good old fashion way: Pencil and ink on board. :) And don't forget to check out this weeks page tomorrow!

Work has been extremely busy lately. Commercial work has started stacking up. That's a good thing. But it has put me behind on a few inked commissions. And they are Legion requests, so you know for me not to get to them is killing me. With any luck I will get a few things under control in the next week or so. Then it will be POPX and commissions for a while.

This was done entirely in Photoshop CS5.

This is Post #1949

AYA - Green Lantern Animated Series

2013-02-14T06:49:00.000-05:00

This is one of those "happy accidents". I have just started catching up on the Green Lantern Animated Series and love the show. I had worked on some of the package art for the so-far non-existant toy line so I knew some of the characters. But I didn't know of the a.i. character of Aya. I love the character and her design. So I had to take a shot at drawing her. Avoiding details and storyline spoilers, I thought "love" would be a good theme. And Valentine's Day just happened to fall on posting day. See, happy accident.

This was done entirely in Photoshop CS5.

This is Post #1948

The Pirate Queen - Perils on Planet X

2013-02-07T17:36:00.003-05:00

I didn't mean for this blog to be so Planet X-centric but it has lately. Sorry about that. Next week I will shoot for something different. :)

I had a fun morning creating this piece. I had finished some commercial work and sent it for revisions/approval and had some time to kill. Not as much time as I put into this piece though. The Pirate Queen in POPX is a lot of fun to draw and I had this idea in my head that I had to put down on ~~paper~~ pixels. This was completely done in Photoshop, from rough idea to finished piece, on my Cintiq. Fun stuff!

Please join us tomorrow for a new page of Perils on Planet X. And tell your friends! Thanks!

This is Post #1947

Perils On Planet X - Chapter One Panel Process

2013-01-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

I feel like today is Christmas Eve! And there is a great big present under the tree. The present isn't for me, it's for all of you and I hope you like it. And I hope it fits! :)

PERILS ON PLANET X (POPX), the webcomic begins tomorrow. Chris and I have been promoting it as much as humanly possible. I hope all of you will carry that torch for us and let others know about it. This has been a labor of love, sweat, and tears. I cannot express how excited we are about releasing it. And it's free!

On the eve of the launch I thought I would share another bit of the process. Originally POPX was going to be in black and white. There was no money for color at the time. So I started playing with grays and textures. Above is a panel featuring our Pirate Queen. The first panel is my original rough done in pencil on Bristol Board. After I inked the panel, I erased all my construction lines and then went back and shaded the panel with a 4B pencil. I didn't smooth it out because I wanted the texture to show through for the second part of adding gray tones in Photoshop. By putting a light source right across her eyes, I was going for that old school Hollywood lighting on her to make her more seductive in this panel. Later a search for a colorist introduced us to Ian Sokoliwski and he colored the entire first issue.

I hope you join us tomorrow for some fun and adventure on Planet X.

This is Post #1946

Fun with a (digital) Pencil

2013-01-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

Last weeks post about the cover process for the Perils on Planet X cover got me thinking. The process I used to paint years ago involved doing full pencils drawings. Developing the values with the pencil, blocking in color with an airbrush and then defining with color pencils and paint. So for a warmup today I wanted to try and mimic drawing with a pencil digitally.

I had a photo on one screen and was using it as a reference while I drew on my Cintiq. I had to play with the brush/pencil settings a bit before I got to a line quality I liked. Color of the pencil was another factor. Finding that right shade of graphite was tricky. The other interesting thing was not changing the pencil size to cover big areas. Something I could do digitally but certainly couldn't using a real pencil. Over all I think this worked for a quickie.

Digital drawing in Photoshop CS5

This is Post #1946

PERILS ON PLANET X - Chapter 1 Cover Process

2013-01-17T19:56:00.000-05:00

Hopefully everyone who visits this blog knows that Christopher Mills and I are releasing the first chapter of PERILS ON PLANET X as a webcomic. If not, you do now. Each Friday beginning February 1st we will release a new page in the exciting adventures of Terran Donovan Hawke on the mysterious planet of Xylos. You can find out more about it here: PerilsOnPlanetX.com.

I thought I would share the roughs and comps that helped developed the first chapter cover. I can't tell you the exact thought process that went through it all because it was several years ago. And frankly I had completely forgotten about the comps I did. But they will still be fun to look at. I hope.

Below is the first rough. I started with pencils and the sketch is only about 4 inches tall, if that. The idea was to introduce our main characters and some elements of the first chapter. I took the movie poster approach here.

The next step was to do a basic color comp. I didn't get that far really. I just blocked in what I thought would be a nice warm contrast to the logo. We quickly moved from there.

Rough #2 was a bit more dynamic. And at some point we decided to make the image a wraparound cover. It was all the rage back then. Our hero Hawke in an action pose with the other characters around him. I gave our "bad girl" the lions share of the back cover strangely enough. Funny that at the time I had thought of her with long red hair, both in the first rough and this one. The color comp followed.

Below we have the beginnings of what would be the final idea. Still a wraparound cover. The publisher at the time had agreed to it. Some elements of the first and second roughs have come back in a slightly different form. While it still retains a movie poster look, it has also taken on the look of sci-fi/fantasy novel cover. Something I know I was shooting for in the end. During all these stages Chris was providing feedback and constructive critiques, making this a true collaborative effort.

At this point in my career I was using a different painting process. I would do complete finished art in pencil (see below) and seal that with a fix-a-tif spray so it wouldn't smear. I would then block in the color with an airbrush, not using any stencils so as to avoid hard, cut edges. When that was completely dry, I would go back and define everything with paint brush and color pencils. Since moving to Florida I never replaced my air tank for airbrush work and have since moved on to other processes. But I still like this process quite a bit.

Below is the digital color comp I used for creating the final image.

And then the final image.

If there is a continued interest in this type of post, I will share some other behind the scenes art and design for the series in the future.

Be well.

This is Post #1945