Alllllright. So, I had an idea to do comic book covers just for fun. This would be my idea for the cover of Zatanna #1, July 2010. I have a whole list of books I thought would be fun to make covers for, and this is where I started. I like the character, the magic/witchcraft aspect, there's lots of demons which is a big plus for me, and she lives in San Francisco, big plus! I'm happy with this, I think switching to digital has really opened things up for me. I'm much more inclined to experiment and paint with reckless abandon because I'm not afraid to mess up some part of the painting I like. The way I think about it, it's like a game of 21. When I'm painting with acrylics, if I've got an area of the painting that's a 19, I usually play it safe and stay there.
The guy with the knife is Brother Night. I know he looks like the Joker, but that's because he looks like the Joker. Take it up with DC. I took liberties with the characters. Ember is a half dragon lady, I wanted her to look a little more dragon-like than she is in the book. I gave Romalthi an octopus mask, even though he (she?) only turns into a frog/pig/and snail in the book. I also wanted Zatanna to be more dark looking. I feel like she usually looks kinda.... ordinary, for lack of a better word. Like a school teacher with implausible mams. I thought she should look a little more dark and mystical, like a Selma Blair, or Catherine Zeta Jones maybe. I'm sure if this was a commissioned job, I wouldn't be able to take such artistic liberties, but hey, this is just for fun. I've been "painting" this for a few days, kinda losing track of time because I just zone and noodle for hours when I'm working this way. At some point it's good to just stop, call it done. I want to make a lot of these, so I can't get too hung up on small details. It's easy to do that when you can zoom in %2400.
I have a list of covers I want to make. I plan to keep chipping away at it until I finish, or get pulled away on some other work. I chose them either because they are my favorites, or the play to what I consider my strength, which is creepy monster stuff. Here's the list in no particular order. If you have a suggestion, speak now or forever hold your peace!
Batman
Akira
Hellboy
Judge Dredd
Conan
Zombies(as if for a zombie comic, not a specific one)
Wildcats
Lobo
Tank Girl
