back into the swing of things...

had a great time in charlotte with the usual suspects (todd, sharon, matt, suzanne, christian, angie, cully, nick cardy, scott, gino, chris, rod, leanne...) did a lot of sketching, sold some art and sketchbooks, met a lot of great folks (and saw a lot of familiar faces)... the highlights were seeing the first 'ringo scholarship being awarded and father's day breakfast with nick and company)...

i DID come back home to an imac in need of a new hard drive - with apple care covering it (and everything backed up via time machine) it just boiled down to time lost... finally got back up and running last night, scanned the final pages of iron man and the armor wars 1 and more of my 'haps halloween story...

and even managed to mow my lawn this beautiful tuesday afternoon (after weeks of rain, it really needed it)...

on the tv front, besides rescue me, there's not much i'm watching, so i dove headfirst into the box set of the wire... damn.

alright, i've leave you with a wonder woman i did at the show (thanks for the scan, richard) as well as a composite superman sketch that was never picked up (usually leave a show with one of these stragglers)...

-c

packin' up for charlotte

okay, so heading out to tf green in a bit to catch my flight to charlotte for heroescon... (looking like its gonna be one of the best yet)...

i know i'm forgetting something (but, like roger reminded me, pack a towel and DON'T PANIC)...

almost wrapped up on issue 1 of "armor wars" and making some good headway on my haps halloween "big in brazil" story...

and on that note, here's a poison ivy i wrapped up for a VERY patient timothy chandler (this IS, in fact the year for that poison ivy piece)... so, if you're at the show, stop by and say "hey!"... if not, have a happy father's day weekend.

-c

so, you wanna get a sketchbook?

okay, so more than a few folks have emailed about making sure they can get a sketchbook before i go and sell'm all at heroes (ha! i like their wishful thinking... but hey, you never know, right?), so to ease any worries about missing out...

here's the skinny -

- folks can pre-order the books now for $20 each book ordered - and i'll pull any aside at the show and mail'm after i get back from heroes...

- free headsketches (of your choice) will be in the "regular" sketchbook (just let me know what to draw when you place your order)

- US priority mail shipping is a flat $5 (outside the US, $8)

- any previous books are still available as well (canson volumes 1, 2 or 3 are only $10 each with any order and the b/w sketchbook 2004 is a steal at $5)

payment can be made via paypal (payable to sketchbook at craigrousseau dot com) or mailed snail mail (drop me a line for mailing info)... specify which book(s) you're ordering (and, again if it's a "regular" sketchbook, what head sketch you want)

-c (off to see UP with the boy!)

sketchbooks!

alrighty then... not one, but TWO new sketchbooks are on the way (and will be on hand at heroes con NEXT weekend)...

both books are limited to 100 copies, 8.5 x 11 with 28 pages (so plenty of room to show off this stuff )... the canson book's full color, the sketchbook is b/w with 12 color pages (and will come with a free headsketch inside)... each book'll run $20 (with flat $5 us shipping)

for folks who aren't able to head down (or catch me in chicago, cleveland, baltimore or boston this year), i'll be offering'm for sale through the website soon...

you're really super, supergirl...

whew, i've had that xtc song stuck in head for days now...

i'll post again later this week, gotta get back to work on iron man : the armor wars.

-c

another work in progress

so, nick's been waiting very patiently for me to finish this one... with any luck, it'll be done by the end of the weekend. (did this one a bit differently than peter parker by going with the white outline first...)

working hard on iron man and the armor wars (just saw skottie young's cover to #2... SWEET!) and getting into the halloween story for the haps...

realizing that heroes con is only a few weeks away, it's time to get cracking on not ONE, but TWO new sketchbooks... (one's the next canson, the other is commissions, sketches, etc) trying something a bit different this time around ( finished size'll be 8.5x11 instead of the smaller ones to allow the art to be bigger and uncropped... ) for folks who can't make to a show this year, i'll post ordering info when they're ready...

-c

so, since tv is slow for the time being (phew), i'm diving into dvds that've piled up... currently it's andy richter controls the universe (very funny, slightly surreal and canceled WAY too soon), next up, the complete box set of the wire.

gwen stacy.... and i am (drawing) iron man!

first things first, a gwen stacy commission i finished up a few weeks ago...

okay, so if you saw the august solicitation previews that got posted today, this isn't new to you... otherwise, here it is... my next gig for the fine folks at marvel... (no art to post yet, sorry)

(and when i get the okay to post some of the x men art, i will... val staples did a KILLER job on the pages, making me look good)

IRON MAN & THE ARMOR WARS #1 (of 4) Written by JOE CARAMAGNA Penciled by CRAIG ROUSSEAU Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG Cash, cars, boats, houses...Tony Stark has got it all. The only thing that could ruin his day? If every single one of his IRON MAN armors were stolen, and then turned against him. Join us for a nail-biting, strapped-to-your-seat adventure as Tony battles his greatest creations, and tries to discover who could (gasp) OUTSMART him!?!? 32 PGS./All Ages ...$2.99

... and it's done.

okay, after a few days away (ending with a great visit with "uncle todd and aunt sharon"), i figured it's time to finish up the step by step on the peter parker commission...

besides going in and making any last little tweaks to the general colors, i usually go around the contour with a bright color (in this case the white) to really make things pop... and at the last minute i realized peter's shirt needed a little something, so i threw in the stripes... and i also figured the "spidey sense" lines made sense as well...

and that's a wrap!

issue 6 of the haps is off to image and we're working on the next issue in the next few weeks... and i'm hip deep in my next marvel gig ...

most tv seasons are wrapping up (the office, 30 rock, lost, 24 ... ) or have already aired season/series finales (chuck, scrubs) so i'll get back to the dvds piling up here (granted, there's still some great shows on like rescue me... and a few on tivo i never got to - fringe, dollhouse)

saw x-men origins:wolverine last week ... eh.

step by step... part 4

okay, so we're in the home stretch on this commission... you can see at this point i've added more mid range/ shadow colors to fill it out... and usually a quick trick to make it pop is adding a different cooler light source opposite the main one (and again, that light purple does the job pretty well)... not much left but the finishing touches...

oh, and since michael dooney (a CRAZY talented artist, i must add) asked a while back - all the inks for these (and 95% of what i ink) is faber castell pitt pens (either the S/superfine of the F/fine tips... and if i need a thicker line weight i'll redraw the line a few times, building it up slowly)...

okay, besides the commissions (i've got a few more to post soon, like a princess from "battle of the planets", a canson gwen stacy and a canson supergirl... and canson black widow is in the works now), i'm on my last page of our framing story for haps 6, the story for uncanny x-men first class special is done (i'll post a page or two when i get the okay) and work on my next marvel gig is underway...

i'm sure there's more i was gonna post, but since it's slipped my mind... next time.

-c

OH, i did want to mention i'll be at stillpoint comics in fall river, ma this saturday (may 2, 10am - 2pmish) for free comic book day, sketching and signing and more than likely, reading comics!

step by step...3!

alright, so here we go with some color... since the highlights and shadows usually play a strong role in these, i start with deciding where the light source is coming from - for this one, it's a dramatic up-lit image... laying in some highlight colors really sets the mood (and again, it lets the value of the paper play a big role in the finished colors)... i do all the colors on these with prismacolor colored pencils... from here, the next step will be laying in some darker values and some edge lighting and a contour to make it all pop...

hope everybody had a good week (and picked up their very own copy of the new haps trade that came out last week)... after being under the weather a bit (damn ick tearing though the house), had a great weekend with friends (some of whom have,alas , succumbed to said ick) and saw a great game at fenway on sunday with perfect weather for a game... finishing up the x-men story and jumping on a new supercool project at marvel for the same editor this week and getting everything ready to send issue 6 of the haps to image next week (finally!)

-c

step by step... part deux

i know some of you have been ANXIOUSLY awaiting this second post in the step by step process, so here we go!

after getting a tight sketch on plain ol' white copy paper i'm happy with, the next step is to transfer to the colored canson paper (i'm using the mi-teintes line, a heavier textured color paper that comes in a 19x25 sheet in a slew of colors) i should point out that choosing the right color goes a long way in making the picture work (trial and error has shown me that the mid-range/darker papers usually work best... and matching it to the larger color elements - costume, cape, etc - is a smart move... choosing the wrong paper becomes a struggle to get a solid color with the colored pencils - the green on the orange paper for aquaman was a good example of working against the paper).

since the paper is too heavy to see through on a light table... and i'm not about to redraw the whole darn thing, i use saral paper (think carbon paper - but i usually use the white) to transfer the image to the canson paper - simply laying the drawing on top of the canson with the saral in between (AND facing the right way - more than a few times i've traced the whole thing, only to find the saral was wrong side down... d'oh!) and tracing the sketch, leaving the white line art on the canson...)

once i've got the white tracing line down, it's time to ink (and by the time i'm done, i've smudged away most of the white lines... )

okay, so that should tide folks over 'til we get to the coloring in progress next week...

and hey, didja know, next week sees the release of the long awaited first haps trade from image?

-c

(season finale of friday night lights already?! damn)

step by step...

first off, had a great time at the boston comic con last weekend (spent plenty of time geeking out over mike allred who was sitting to my right - -he and his wife laura are absolutely the nicest folks you can meet )... thanks to everybody who stopped by and said hey (or, in the case of our own officer mulcahy, expertly hawked my wares all weekend as i sat with my head down over my drawing board)

okay, since i'm hard at work on getting pages done for both books right now (haps 6 and uncanny x-men first class special), i figure i'd use the next few posts to step through the process of a canson paper color sketch.... first up, the sketch.

so, the request was an 11x17 spidey loves mj style peter parker in an iconic pose... after a coupla false starts, i figured this was the way to go (after so many of these things, i don't do much prelim/thumbnail stuff, just get to the drawing)... after getting it tight enough, it's on to the next step...

-c

what, no rufus?

okay, so here's the third commission i finished up the other day... always fun drawing the kim possible crew (and i dig that new stylin' outfit she got in the last season)...

so, marvel solicits just came out the other day and the cat's outta the bag... besides doing the captain america back up that month (1940's cap vs. P.R.O.D.O.K.), i'm also doing a 16 page story with super cool cat jeff parker for the uncanny x-men first class giant size 1 (whew, talk about a long title... almost as awkward as marvel adventures superheroes featuring captain america... glad the next project i'll be working on at marvel won't have such a long name...!)... and it turns out, the softcover spider-man loves mary jane trade is solicited for that month, too... phew.

looking forward to seeing folks up at the boston comic con in a few weeks... and looks like i'll be heading out to the chicago comic con this august (i'll have more info on that later, i'm sure)...

REALLY dug the finale to battlestar galactica the other day (well done, and great send off to a thought provoking show)... and man, friday night lights, the office and 30 rock have been stellar lately... and if that was the final ever flight of the conchords, it went out on top.

here comes the fun cooker!

-c

Only a master of evil, Darth.

well, here's another commission i finished up the other day... never bored doing star wars stuff...

on the work front, i wrapped up the flashback story of the next cap issue of marvel adventures superheroes and started on another project (just a one-off for me, but it's pretty sweet!) for my editor before doing the other part of that issue...

looking forward to the BSG finale tonight... damn, can't believe it's over. heckuva run, though...

wild thing!

so, here's the first of 3 commissions i did this weekend, trying to get back into a groove (need to finish those last pages of 'haps 6 so y'all can see leanne and jason's stories)... 

again, not a character i'm familiar with, but fun to do (guess she's wolverine's daughter in the spider-girl continuity)...

so, 24 is having a great season of "wow, this is totally unbelievable... but i can't WAIT to see what happens next" action, the clock is ticking down on battlestar galactica (and wow, they've got a lot of balls in motion in the homestretch), lost is at a creative high point these days (the show's mythology keeps getting more interesting... i've read a few theories that, if true, are very interesting indeed), friday night lights is just damn good drama... and castle was fun, if not breaking new ground (nathan fillion really made it worth watching)

back to work.

-c

etrigan!

so, i was inspired to this one by matt's super sweet etrigan he did a while back... (and the omnibus he and squeeze got me for x-mas... thanks again, guys!)...

not much new to report, still getting back into the swing after NYC, trying to get some pages finished on the next cap story so i can fit something else in for marvel before the next one... (this 4 month gap between issues is working out well! as soon as i can spill on what's on tap, i will)

signed off on the proofs for the first image haps trade today, so it's coming (and so is issue 6 as soon as i finish a few pages on my story... scott and leanne and todd and jason are waiting on me... good thing it's my name over the title or i'd be outta work)

only a few episodes of BSG left, can't wait to see how it all wraps up.

-c

back from new york comic con...

so, made it back in one piece and back to work on my next cap story and haps 6.... it was a great show (realizing now i didn't get to see half the folks i wanted to... and even the ones i did see i barely had time to talk to...)

random highlights include - BBQ at virgil's (mmmmmm); dinner with todd, rich woodall, kelly yates and rod and leanne hannah (and an excruciatingly painful/funny story from rich); getting to 30 rock to see SNL (thanks yet again, scott!!); meeting new/old friends like david and julia petersen, shane glines, greg and marianne adams, and WAY too many more to mention; getting my sketchbook back from andy macdonald with a killer piece in it! (and it was extra sweet, since i thought i had lost it for good - and it had a nice piece from 'ringo in it); selling out of most of the 'haps we brought with us... and all the great response to the book still...

wanted to thank everybody who stopped by the table to get a book signed, get a sketch or page of art, or even just say "hey!"

and some folks who were at the show saw this color print i had done since the first issue of my marvel adventures superheroes featuring captain america comes out this week (wow, say THAT name a few times...)

okay, back to that work i mentioned. 

-c

(caught up on my friday night lights, BSG, the office, 30 rock and 24... whew! that's damn good tv)

harry potter

well, here's a harry potter i did for a friend of a friend (who has, like many, been waiting patiently)... 

starting to get everything ready for the new york comic con this weekend, trying to get through a few more cap and 'haps pages and few more commissions...

and i don't know about everybody else, but i gotta say, tv is really hitting some high notes right now (bsg - frak!, 24, lost, and friday night lights are all delivering in a big way... and some returning favorites are as solid as ever - 30 rock, the office, earl, scrubs, chuck)

exiles

okay, so i've never read the book, but i hear it's good... so good, in fact, that one of my friends commissioned this drawing... (over a year ago, but that's a whole different story)

getting ready for the new york comic con next weekend (feb 7-9), we'll be over in artist alley at table M4 (stop by, say "hey!", pick up a book or two or maybe some original art)

-c

back to tellos

here's another canson commission that's been in the queue for a bit (thanks for being so patient, billy!)... srra and dani from tellos. it's the third in a series of commissions so far (the last few years at heroes he's asked for a color piece... the first i did at the show - rikk and hawke - and don't have a good scan of it... the second was the koj/jarek in the gallery somewhere...)

finished up my first captain america issue for marvel adventures the other day and hard at work on the second one (looks like it's out in early feb, so i certainly stretched the deadline a bit... the next one should be a bit easier) and getting in a groove on the next haps book as well...

besides that, getting ready for the nyc comic con in a few weeks... and lost is back tonight! (and man, talk about good tv lately, friday night lights is back in fine form, battlestar galactica too... and even  24 looks like it bounced back from the last season pretty well... woohoo!)  

-c