SOD.074 – Grounded

(Click to embiggen.)

Apparently I have a thing for the Rocketeer. Note I stole the background from the contest prize for Captain Thorn and the jet pack from Backplane-Standard. Sue me.

I also tried doing more “advanced” coloring right in Flash. The main problem I am running into on that front is getting the line color right, as Flash doesn’t have a nifty “preserve transparency” option like Photoshop does. There’s a way around it with Masking but it’s crude and hard to work with. It’s fun learning, though.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 7:49 am and is filed under Sketch of the Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “SOD.074 – Grounded”

1. Joshua Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 8:37 am

   Dave Stevens = One of the greatest understated creators/artists of our time. Soar high, sir.

   Jeff, let me tell you something: if any of us writers breaks into comics before you do, you’re going to be immersed in offers and work. Phenomenal job, sir!

2. Anarchangel Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 8:43 am

   Love it.
   Just Love it

3. Jeff Hebert Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 9:02 am

   Thanks guys! I do love me some Dave Stevens, that guy is seriously awesome.

4. Jeff Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 10:52 am

   Jeff,

   Please tell me, how do you make your Hero Machine 3 characters turn their bodies and faces to the side, as in this pic and others? Thanks.

   Jeff R.

5. Jeff Hebert Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 10:54 am

   Jeff (#4), these are not HeroMachine-generated images, I draw these by hand. All of the SODs and contest prizes are that way. Sometimes, like in this one, I’ll copy and paste in individual items (the jetpack). But since I am working on them in the Flash source, and not in the compiled code that you get in the finished, usable applet, I can skew the lineart in perspective like I did with the jetpack.

6. Danny Beaty Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

   Nice picture.

7. TheNate Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 4:20 pm

   Guess he’s a “soar” loser!

   (Worst pun ever. That went over like a led zepplin.)

8. The Imp Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 8:59 pm

   Niiiiice. I think I like this style of coloring more than most I’ve seen over the last decade or so. I think the temptation is to make it TOO lifelike with color for a lot of colorists/studios, but thsi more simple look is actually stronger, more striking, and more effective in my opinion.

   Now you ought to color the girl space explorer, and put a nice silhouette background in behind her, like you did with this one. Just sayin, that’s all.

9. Jeff Hebert Says:
   March 15th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

   Thanks Imp! They’re definitely different styles … I was talking to my buddy John about this the other day (he’s also a professional illustrator) and the flat-color “animated” style can be really neat, if well done. It’s a totally different perspective on the same lineart done up in a more painterly or realistic fashion. Modern comics have definitely gone more in the latter direction, thanks in large part I would argue to Alex Ross.

   But something about that super clean, super sharp flat-color animated style with colored ink lines does appeal to me. I’m having fun with both methods, though, as hopefully you’ll see in the next two Sketches of the Day (I had to do some in advance as I’m out of town Tuesday and Wednesday).

10. Captain Thorn Says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 8:37 am

    My blimps! Lol. Thanks for the awesome pics, I’m probably the only person that managed to get two for one

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