Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Dragon on stage

This is another drawing from the early days -- actually from the birth year of the Turtles, 1983. I can't remember if this is something I did just for fun or if it was something I actually got paid for. (Even if I didn't get paid for it, it was fun -- I liked drawing dragons.) In any event, it's another example of using photocopiers to give oneself more options. In this case, I had drawn the piece on coquille board, a kind of illustration board with a rough, pebbly surface. When you draw tones on it with a black crayon, the rough surface breaks up the crayon strokes into individual dots, which can then be reproduced easily without screening. I made a photocopy before I started in with the crayon in case I messed it up or wanted to do a color version later. Here's the inked drawing...



... and here's the final version with the coquille board tones. -- PL

10 comments:

Adam Riches said...

wow the end result of that is pretty striking, given the simplicity of the line drawing, the tones really gave it a lot of life. Is the coquille board hard to use, or are the results kind of spontaneous? Oh also, is it possible to color over it with something that won't break down by the texture, like watercolor or gauche? This is something I think I may want to experiment with in the near future.

One last thing, when I first looked at the thumbnail before I clicked it, I thought the boy with the dragon was Alfred E Newman ;^)
-Adam

PL said...

" /-\ [) @ (\/) said...

wow the end result of that is pretty striking, given the simplicity of the line drawing, the tones really gave it a lot of life. Is the coquille board hard to use, or are the results kind of spontaneous? Oh also, is it possible to color over it with something that won't break down by the texture, like watercolor or gauche? This is something I think I may want to experiment with in the near future."

Coquille board is not really hard to use, but you should experiment with it first before you commit yourself to a major drawing. As far as color goes, I don't know -- I don't think I ever did anything in color on coquille board. But now that I think of it, the idea is intriguing. Good luck, and have fun! -- PL

Álvaro said...

Hello Mr Laird, only wanted to say that your work was and is a big influence on me, not only your style, your kind of scripts and the amazing and cool atmosphere of your comic books, the most important ive learned reading you, its the love for this art, and the wish to keep working and get better, to be able to tell better stories...

Thank you. Greetings from Spain.

~ tOkKa said...

-->> ..think i'm gonna print Alfred and his Dragon out .. for a personal pin-up.

coquille seems to me like painting and staining on sand paper of sorts. I think i screwed up and frayed many of many of my brushes on those types of boards. Then again i think it also depends on pressure of one's arm and wrist.


hmm.. Adam what are you gonna do ??

>v<

Eric Talbot said...

Wow - nice lighting Pete!

I miss coquille board. I used up my last batch years ago and have not found any good board since.

Adam Riches said...

tokka said...
hmm.. Adam what are you gonna do ??



Not sure yet, I just started my senior thesis project (I go to art school for those that didn't know) so I'll certainly have a whole lot of time and opportunity to try integrating it somewhere in there. I'll probably try something relatively simple first, maybe a big V1 E&L type turtle without a lot of details just to see how the board handles.

Bookgal said...

This is awesome! I can almost hear the barker in my head "Ladies and Gentlemen, from the furtherest corner of the known lands and maybe beyond, we are proud to welcome to the stage....the amazing DRACO!"

"One last thing, when I first looked at the thumbnail before I clicked it, I thought the boy with the dragon was Alfred E Newman ;^)"

Snicker...I had the same thought! LOL

PL said...

"álvaro said...
Hello Mr Laird, only wanted to say that your work was and is a big influence on me, not only your style, your kind of scripts and the amazing and cool atmosphere of your comic books, the most important ive learned reading you, its the love for this art, and the wish to keep working and get better, to be able to tell better stories...

Thank you. Greetings from Spain."

You made my day! Thank you for the kind words. -- PL

PL said...

"Eric Talbot said...
Wow - nice lighting Pete!

I miss coquille board. I used up my last batch years ago and have not found any good board since."

Thanks, Eric -- coming from you, that means a lot! I'm surprised you haven't been able to find any good coquille board -- I would have thought there'd be a lot out there to choose from. Have you looked at any of the online art supply retailers? -- PL

Capital Chay said...

I like the fact that you expand your artistic horizons with so much experimentation.