The Moon Prince by Kevin Fraser

Moon Prince Page 115: Betrayed!

2012-06-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

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Panel Process

2012-05-30T10:10:00.003-07:00

Here's a behind the scenes look at the process for creating part of a panel in The Moon Prince (it's actually a bit of a teaser since it's from a page that hasn't been published yet!). The image starts with a quick rough sketch, as shown in image #1 the grid below, then I shoot a reference photo (image #2) using a model (in this case, it's my son, Max). Next, I make a collage using the photo and a 3D rendering of the background (#3). Then I make a drawing based on the photo (#4) -- and here's where things get a little tricky.

Drawings based on photographs often look awful - they're frequently distorted because of the camera lens or perspective, and details that look just fine in a photo can look strange or awkward in a drawing. To fix this, I use the Liquify filter in Adobe Photoshop, which allows me to smoosh the drawing around to my heart's content until everything looks "right" to me (#5). Then I add texts, background drawing and color to finish up (#6).

To make it easier to see how Liquifying works, I made a little animated gif that cycles between image #4 and #5. For anyone used to drawing comics the traditional way - with ink on paper - altering a drawing this way probably seems weirdly reversed, because it treats a "tight" ink drawing as though it was still "loose" pencils, making the end of the drawing process seem more like the beginning!

(You can click on either illustration to see larger versions)

Moon Prince Page 114: Shoot Them All!

2012-05-25T08:51:00.002-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 113: Like a Dream

2012-05-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

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Page 112: Ridiculum!

2012-05-11T09:01:00.003-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 111: A Desperate Situation

2012-05-04T08:23:00.002-07:00

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Seventeen Kevins and Three Melissas

2012-05-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a little animation showing how Page 101 of The Moon Prince was made. As usual, it starts with a scribbly pen sketch on a sheet of typing paper. Then I make a photo-collage combining pictures of actors (in this case, it's myself - seventeen times! - and my wife Melissa as the pirate queen) with simple 3D renderings of the various airships. From this I make a black and white drawing in Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor to draw on, and then I add color, tones, gutters (the panel outlines) and word balloons, all in good ol' Photoshop.

Stay tuned for page 111, coming Friday!

Your pal, Kevin

Moon Prince Page 110: A Small Matter of Payment

2012-04-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

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MoCCA 2012

2012-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be in New York City this weekend we hope you'll drop by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival at the 69th Regiment Armory at 68 Lexington in Manhattan. I'll be there at the Big If/Blurred Books table signing copies of The Moon Prince and, as an extra special treat, Max, Molly and their momma Melissa (the Pirate Queen) will be there in the flesh on Sunday afternoon selling their very own comic books they made themselves! Here's a sneak preview of Molly's comic The Vampire:

Moon Prince Page 109: What on Earth?

2012-04-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 108: Splat!

2012-04-13T08:21:00.002-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 107: Bolt the Door!

2012-04-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

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Another Process Post: Page 61

2012-04-04T08:43:00.003-07:00

Here's a little layout showing how page 61 of The Moon Prince (from May 20th last year) was created. This time, instead of making an animation, I just put four different versions of the page next to each other in a grid so as to make it easier to compare them all together.

On the upper left we see the scribbly “thumbnail page” where I wrote and roughly designed the page, then to the right of that the “collage” page where I combined photos of the models (in this case it was just me, and the pictures were all taken with the camera on my phone) and 3D renderings of the “aether ship” made using Google's free Sketchup software. The “aether ship” is based on different pieces (a zeppelin, aircraft parts, army furniture) which I downloaded from Google's fantastic “3D Warehouse” and combined and modified in Sketchup. Below them is the drawing based on the collage (which I made in Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor to draw directly onto) and the final colored version with the word balloons, also all done in Photoshop.

Stay tuned for the next pulse-pounding episode of The Moon Prince, this Friday!

Your Pal,
Kevin

Moon Prince Page 106: Alone in the Woods

2012-03-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 105: Grooooo!

2012-03-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

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Moon Prince Page 104: “I Sure Hope You're Right”

2012-03-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

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Yet Another Process Post

2012-03-14T08:49:00.001-07:00

Here's another little animation, this time showing how page 80 was made. As usual, it starts with a quick sketch (or “thumbnail” page) to figure out how the images and words will fit together. Then I make a photo-collage combining snapshots (in this case, of myself and my wife Melissa, who plays the Queen) and simple 3D renderings of various background elements. Next I make a drawing based on the collage, using a Cintiq monitor to draw directly into Adobe Photoshop. Then I add color, tones, and the word balloons and borders (or “gutters”).

It's a bit hard to read all of the word balloons while the animation plays, but you might notice that the dialogue got revised a fair bit on this page by the time it was finished. Also, Max and Molly are referred to as “Arasons” in the early draft, instead of “M'Chawis” which I settled on later. Stay tuned for Friday's new episode!

Moon Prince Page 103: Broken Glass

2012-03-09T06:11:00.001-08:00

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Moon Prince Page 102: MOL-LEEE!!!

2012-03-02T06:29:00.001-08:00

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Moon Prince Page 101: Round Up The Fleet!

2012-02-24T06:21:00.001-08:00

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Yet Another Process Post

2012-02-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here's another little animation, this time showing how page 79 was made. As usual, it starts with a quick sketch (or “thumbnail” page) to figure out how the images and words will fit together. Then I make a photo-collage combining snapshots (in this case, of myself and my wife Melissa, who plays the Queen) and simple 3D renderings of various background elements. Next I make a drawing based on the collage, using a Cintiq monitor to draw directly into Adobe Photoshop. Then I add color, tones, and the word balloons and borders (or “gutters”). The whole process takes me about 20 hours!

The Moon Prince ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE

2012-02-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

This week: Our ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE!!! Whoopeee!!!

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Moon Prince Page 99: Fear and Determination

2012-02-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

This week, an ultimatum is delivered, and a decision is taken.

Click on the image to read the whole page.

Moon Prince Page 98: An Unsettling Accusation

2012-02-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

This week, things take a turn for the creepy!

Click on the image to read the whole page.

Yet Another Process Post

2012-02-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a behind the scenes peek at the creation of a page of The Moon Prince - page 78, in this case. It starts off with the rough "thumbnails" sketch, just done on printer paper with pen, then shows the photo-collage (with 3D backgrounds) I made for the page, starring myself and my wife Melissa as all the characters. Next comes the drawing I did based on the photo-collage, and then the color and tones, and finally the word balloons and "gutters" (borders between the panels):

Stay tuned for this Friday's episode!