Posts Tagged ‘Colleen’s Work’

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More Reign of the Zodiac Concepts and Designs with Keith Giffen

by Colleen Doran on August 17th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, Colleen's Work, Culture, Comics, DC Comics

For the background of Reign of the Zodiac, check out this previous post for story and more unpublished art.

Reign of the Zodiac, drawn by me, and written by Keith Giffen.

As you see, we put a lot of thought and background work into this gig, but things don’t always work out as we would like. The book got canned despite our best efforts.

Here’s another scan of my pencils for a double page spread. As I wrote before, large portions of Zodiac were inked by me, including most of issue #8. I got to keep all the art I inked, and Bob Wiacek got the page rate and credit.

The series was supposed to last 72 issues, with each eight issue story arc featuring a conflict between two houses of the Zodiac. I did a good deal of ghost writing on the final issue, because Keith was so despondent over the series getting the axe he had trouble bringing the book home. I take the hit for my clumsy job trying to tie the book up. Keith had the most incredible plans for this project!

One of our plans was to create Tarot cards and Zodiac themed items to tie in with the series. Here’s some sketches I did for these cards. Alas, my old scanner was very poor quality, as you see.

My final pencils were very tight. Nowadays, I suppose we could just scan and print from this.

In this scene, Romeo and Juliet lovers from the Zodiac world Eidelon step through a mirror into the basement vault of the Vatican archives.

A page of icon designs. At the same time, I was hired by a British magazine to do Zodiac icons and designs. However, the magazine had no idea that I didn’t have any digital skills, and when they asked me to do my colors “in layers” I had no idea what the heck they were talking about. After producing some thousands of dollars of work for them, I had to quit the job, but decided not to invoice for it so I could keep all rights to the work.

More costume sketches:

I was to do ten issues a year, but finding someone who could (or would) draw the clothes and sets as I designed them was a bit of a challenge. This was not the kind of job for someone who wants to crank out a monthly comic and collect a check.

I’m posting pages from this and other works on ebay for sale over the next few weeks. Here’s my shop. All my art will go back off the market after this series of sales.

I have lots more to show you. Be back soon.

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Got A Distant Soil Hardcover?

by Colleen Doran on August 12th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, A Distant Soil Blog Posts, Blog, Colleen's Work

We have signed, numbered limited edition hardcovers of Volumes II-IV of A Distant Soil available in small quantities. I have shipped ALL remaining orders for signed and numbered books. If you don’t have it now, you will soon.

The only copies of Volume IV are the signed numbered editions. Volume IV is sold out in softcover. I am waiting for word from Image for when we can go back for a reprint.

Thank you SO MUCH for your fantastic support of A Distant Soil this year. I know I’m pounding the table with sales, but since most of next year is set aside to work on A Distant Soil, I am doing whatever I gotta do to raise the cash for the months and months I will draw with no other income.

My ebay sales will continue for a few more weeks. Go here for a wide selection of art from various projects.

Hardcovers in stock at very reasonable prices with shipping included. Get them while they last! Each book is a foil stamped hardcover, is signed and numbered by the artist, and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

ADS SIGNED LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER

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Reign of the Zodiac with Keith Giffen: concept art and development

by Colleen Doran on August 11th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, Colleen's Work, Culture, Comics, DC Comics, Culture, Literature, Fantasy

Every artist has a list of heartbreaker projects, and Reign of the Zodiac is one of mine. Keith Giffen approached me nearly ten years ago and asked me to do the art and all visual development on the most ambitious and well-planned high fantasy concept I had heard in years.

The story of the twelve warring Houses of the Zodiac was a dream project for someone like me who delights in world building. With the exception of A Distant Soil and the upcoming Gone to Amerikay, I have never been able to put this much intense effort into research and design. Keith Giffen was incredibly supportive and gave my imagination free reign. No pun intended.

Here’s a look at my pencil art for a huge double page spread of a “between worlds” area called The Brace.

Unfortunately, it was such a complex concept, which featured dialogue in a unique syntax, that readers found it hard to follow. It made perfect sense read in a great chunk, but was confusing once a month. Even though we had solid Vertigo level numbers, for some reason, DC made the book a house title, and for house DC, it did not do so well, getting canned at 11,000 copies. I still think it would make an outstanding tv series.

I kept all of my concept sketches and made copies of all of my pencil art. Bob Wiacek did a wonderful job as inker, but within a couple of issues, I began ghost inking chunks of the art. My pencils were so meticulous, it seemed ridiculous to have an inker at all, because I can draw faster in ink than I can in pencil. By the final issue, #8, I was ghosting almost the entire book, with Wiacek getting credit and full page rate, and me getting all original art. All in all, a good compromise.

A delight and challenge of the project was creating 12 distinct cultures for each house. There were no costumes in the book, and a character might change clothes several times an issue. They had to be distinctive enough as individuals that even without standard comic book visual cues, they could be recognized by the reader. And each House of the Zodiac and all it’s accompanying cultural design work had to be recognizable on sight.

So, tricky.

Here are my pencils for a party scene where we first see the Houses of the Zodiac together.

I posted some of this material years ago, but my old blog didn’t have many readers. I hope all the new folks will enjoy this peek.

Here’s a look at some of the concept art sketches for the project.

Our goal was to try to reference world cultures not normally represented in comics. The only rule was no Japanese influences, if possible. It had become cliched default for foreign even ten years ago, and so it was out.

Some of the handwriting in the margins is Keith’s as he tags the designs to suit the personality of each house based on their standard traits.

I’ll post more art from this project shortly. I hope you enjoy what you see! Thanks.


My humble art shop awaits your kind patronage…

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JMS Wonder Woman you didn’t see

by Colleen Doran on July 25th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, Colleen's Work

Some time ago, after J Michael Straczynski’s new version of Wonder Woman was first released, JMS asked me to do some concept sketches for a more fantasy-oriented version of the character. I know this will set the internet into a tizzy, but this was more rumination than reality. I was not asked to draw a series, just to do some concept sketches. It is very unlikely any of these sketches will be used for anything. So whether you like ‘em or hate ‘em, be aware that concept sketches are meant for brainstorming, and we do not censor our brainstorms. You put it on the paper, then you draw something else.

JMS gave me permission to post the sketches here. This lot of pencil sketches is now for sale on ebay.

A couple of the color doodles finished in Photoshop.

Since there is no original color art here, I will provide a copy of the color print out for the buyer of the pencil sketch. All three original pencil sketches are on one piece of acid free paper. Two color sketches will be on one piece of paper.

I have a number of other sketches I will post later.

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YALSA nominates Barry Lyga/Colleen Doran’s MANGAMAN for BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR TEENS 2011

by Colleen Doran on July 14th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, Colleen's Work, Culture, Comics, Manga

The Young Adult Library Services Association published its list of Best Graphic Novels for Teens for the years 2011, and the soon-to-be-released Mangaman makes the cut!

“Fantastic—in every sense of the word! Lyga and Doran have created an eye-popping fun-ride through the comics traditions of East and West. Fans of both comics and manga will love Mangaman. Colleen Doran’s encyclopedic, rapid-fire grasp of manga conventions blows my mind!”—Jeff Smith, author of Bone

“This is a wonderful, funny, touching story about the ultimate outsider seeking adventure and love within the borders that surround us all. There’s some seriously innovative storytelling going on here, and the artwork is sensational. If you’re looking for a fun read, a romp, a rollicking good time…then seriously: buy this book.” —J. Michael Straczynski, New York Times Bestselling author of Superman: Earth One

Ryoko, a manga character from a manga world, falls through the Rip into the “real” world—the western world—and tries to survive as the ultimate outsider at a typical American high school.
When Ryoko falls in love with Marissa Montaigne, the most beautiful girl in the school, his eyes turn to hearts and comic tension tightens as his way of being drawn and expressing himself clashes with this different Western world in which he is stuck in. “Panel-holed” for being different, Ryoko has to figure out how to get back to his manga world, back through the Rip . . . all while he has hearts for eyes for a girl from the wrong kind of comic book.
Barry Lyga writes a metafictive masterpiece as manga meets traditional Western comic book style, while Colleen Doran combines manga techniques and conventions with Western comic book

The panel was given a preview copy of our new graphic novel, and we are so happy they’ve chosen our book for consideration. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Ask for Mangaman at your local comic shop, or preorder it via your bookstore or online.

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