The Ink Well

BattleChasers: Alternate Cover Ink

2006-06-06T00:33:00.000+02:00

STILL waiting for a contract on the Black Knight job, though I'm assured that it's going to happen. The start dates in comics are seemingly as unreliable as those I've experienced previously in the animation industry.

So, in the meantime, I've blown the gathering dust of my Bristol board and ink pots and knocked out this offering, which is an alternate (unused?) cover from an issue of BattleChasers...one of my favourite comics. It was a pleasure to ink this image, hope you like it. Shame the enlarged image can't be a little bigger, because there's some serious detail on this bad boy.

Black Knight Confirmed

2006-02-28T16:43:00.000+01:00

Good news (finally) Amer Kokh, the artist responsible for this fine specimen on the left, has asked me to sign up to a 12-issue deal on a new comic called Black Knight (absolutely nothing to do with Batman).

I have, of course, said yes. And this inked sample page goes a long way to showcase Amer's style and the general feel that the comic will have. Production is scheduled to start in April.

There's also another sample of Amer's work further down the blog from Jahannam. And a link to his site and artwork on the list. More will surely follow.

Bytes from Reality #1

2006-02-05T13:02:00.000+01:00

This little chap is called Buckingham G. Price. Fine name. He's a character I recently designed for a web-based soap opera called Bytes from Reality written by Rachel Peterson. Rachel has been chewing on my ankles for a while now to do the designs. Obviously I relented. I'm also commissioned to create the four other central characters, and I will drop them in here when they're approved. Hope you like 'em.

Note: This is only a quick colouring for the blog, which is why the line work still looks like graphite on closer inspection. Honest.

100Girls Issue7 Ink#2

2006-01-06T11:29:00.000+01:00

Um, sorry about the odd fraying of edges and strange blurring in places. You'll have to trust me that the original inks are sharp and defined. I'm attributing this to Blogspot suddenly getting tight with file sizing. I've had to lower the scan dpi in order to get these last two inks on, hence the slight blemishing.

Never used to be a problem. All the other entries were bigger in kb. Humbug, eh. Ah, it's a free service so I shouldn't complain.

100Girls Issue7 Ink#1

2006-01-06T11:06:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd better hold back on the urge to put coloured 100 Girl pages up. I'm an inker after all, and the colour--nice as it is--tends to detract the eye from that which I'm trying to sell here.

So, samples taken from same issue7, different pages will follow. I'll likely throw up a coloured page every now and again, just to keep the Blog looking 'vibrant'. One of the downsides of working in black and white all the time.

Hey! Hire me. Leave a message, or drop me line: paddy_clarke_hahaha@yahoo.co.uk

100 Girls Issue7 Colour#3

2006-01-06T10:45:00.000+01:00

You just can't have too much of a good thing. Though I'm beginning to hate Blogspot with a passion. Takes forever to get any image up at the moment.

Gah! So, a little more of 100 Girls coloured. Can't say I'm complaining.

100 Girls Issue7 Colour#2

2006-01-06T10:34:00.000+01:00

Second Issue7 page here for due assessment by any prospective employers. You know, if you don't hire me, then you really should be asking me for Todd's address if nothing else. The guy plainly rocks. Arcana's weblink is right there on the right.

More pages to follow, and also a colour version of the Jahannam image from below, if I can get Blogspot to upload the damn thing. It's being a little shirty with me at present.

Comments welcome on the artwork...as always.

100 Girls Issue7 Colour#1

2005-12-20T12:06:00.000+01:00

This is page#1 from issue7 of Todd Demong's and Arcana's 100 Girls. No lettering on the colours yet, but this is still a fine page to show off Todd's considerable skills.

This issue of 100 Girls stands as my first published work in the inking field. I hope you think it's decent. I know I do. Please visit the Arcana website--link on the right--and pick up 100 Girls, or choose from their extensive catalogue of releases. All quality stuff.

Jahannam PinUp

2005-11-17T11:54:00.000+01:00

Been a bit on the busy side recently, but here's a fantastic yet bizarre PinUp image I completed yesterday for artist Amer Kokh and his ongoing Jahannam comic. If all goes well, then Amer and I should be hooking up for a project in the Spring of 2006. In the meantime, I will continue grabbing pieces from his drawing board and becoming more attuned to his style. I'd love to see this image in final colour.

Coloured Croc

2005-11-06T00:19:00.000+01:00

It's always a great feeling to see inked work in its final coloured state. Here's the Croc Pin-up I did for Blue Water Productions a few days ago. Not sure who actually applied the colour, but I think they did a fantastic job. I love the finished image, and hope the lucky trooper on the receiving end loves it too!

Thumbbandit Logo

2005-10-28T23:52:00.000+02:00

"Hey, Gringo!! You wanna go head to head against me on my PS2? I kick your stinking ass!!"

This is the final-line logo design I provided for gaming site Thumbbandits (see links).

I also write for the good people over there, feel free to check out the site for recent reviews such as Ultimate Spider-Man, NHL 06, FIFA 06, Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Batman Begins...and many others.

Just like the onset of a global bird-flu pandemic...there's simply no stopping me.

Croc Pin-up

2005-10-26T00:30:00.000+02:00

I rattled off this Crocodile Pin-up for Blue Water Productions today. Pencilled by their artist for the Judo Girl publication (Alex Julian), this sword-wielding chap is supposedly for donation to a dedicated member of the US Army who requested it. Lucky him!

I'm also now on the cusp of inking for either the 10th Muse spin-off, or on Judo Girl directly. Still awaiting confirmation on this. Tick tock, tick tock...

This guy was fun in the interim though.

James Nyugen's Superman

2005-10-26T00:22:00.000+02:00

This Superman test page pencilled by James Nguyen is pretty much what secured my place on the Inhabit team.

I think Jim's got a great western/manga crossover feel to his work, though in truth I prefer the minimalist panel style shown on this page to the somewhat cluttered feel in the current Inhabit project.

Of course, simple panels are quicker to ink, but I'm certainly not bemoaning the work. Hehehe.

More Inhabit

2005-10-23T10:06:00.000+02:00

Another glipse into the world of Inhabit.

The basic premise of the story revolves around an elite agency where multi-purpose rescue drones are controlled by the telepathic minds of children--though once beyond a certain age, a child pilot is no longer able to assert the required control.

The comic focuses on the current youthful team and their ensuing adventures across the galaxy. The introductory submission issue currently in production contains the unmistakeable whiff of deep-rooted jealousy and betrayal wrapped around the perilous rescue of a mysteriously stranded starship.

*Insert dramatic music*

The Matriarch

2005-10-23T09:50:00.000+02:00

Facing a terror that threatens the world? The kind of peril that only a single-parent superhero can rescue you from? Well, then you need The Matriarch, my friends.

This is a page from an ongoing submission I'm working on with a couple of talented guys. It's certainly a different approach to the standard superhero story, which is why it interested me in the first place.

Hope something good happens to this project.

Spooky Face!

2005-10-23T00:15:00.000+02:00

The better, more subtle second attempt. I must have had my mind on other things with the first draft.

Though, in my defence, I did blueline the initial image before printing on the first pass--which is normal--but I lost some detail. I discovered this later when printing the pencils again on grayscale rather than blueline...hence the vague linework beneath the head here.

Ahh, well, we live and learn.

Blue Water/Muse Cover Test

2005-10-23T00:04:00.000+02:00

This is a Muse cover test I recently inked for Blue Water Productions. Returning comments noted that I'd perhaps been a little heavy handed on the facial details...particularly the eyes and hair.

I subsequently re-inked the face with more focused love and attention. The dismembered head floats above this post. The cover test was then approved and--I think--actually used for publishing.

Not seen the final coloured version as of yet, but will post once I've got it.

Now expecting pages from BWP. Yaay!

VG Logo

2005-10-22T12:27:00.000+02:00

This little gun-toting, microphone-grasping honey is a first-draft logo design I produced for girl-gamer site, Thumbbandits (see links) and their somewhat controversial 'Vagina Gamerlogues' rant articles.

Had a little resistance to the slightly exposed butt cheeks beneath the Daisy Dukes, seeing as the articles surround preconceived, and often sexist, notions concerning girl gamers.

Got to love a redhead with a six-shooter, though!

Support the Public cause!

2005-10-22T12:17:00.000+02:00

Outside of comic inking I'm also an avid writer, working freelance for various videogame websites as an editor and reviewer. The links to these sites, Thumbbandits and Gamershell, are listed on the link column.

The image to the left is the cover art from my first novel, Joe Public, which is available to buy from Amazon (see link), Play.com, Barnes&Noble.com, Borders.com and Virtual Bookworm.com.

There's also a live review of the book at Sociopranos.com too.

100 Girls Sample #2

2005-10-21T16:04:00.000+02:00

Todd's career time in animation, as both a clean-up and storyboard artist really shine through on his pages. The composition is always dynamic and well balanced for the story.

Plus his pencils are always super clean and well defined for the inker. I love him for all these reasons and more.

If I were but a woman, if I were but a woman...

100 Girls Sample

2005-10-21T15:46:00.000+02:00

I'm also currently inking issue#7 of 100 Girls for Todd Demong and Arcana. Though not able to show work in progress until the published issue is at retail, here are a few sample pages from issue#6 that I practiced on while waiting for Todd's pages to come through.

They also pretty much secured the gig for me. Plus, knowing Todd from my time working in animation helped no end too. Not what you know...

I love Todd's stuff so much it's verging on obsession. Plus 100 Girls is awesome. Hoping I can work with him more in the future.

Inhabit

2005-10-21T15:36:00.000+02:00

Probably shouldn't post this stuff right about now, but what the hell.

This is from a full-issue submission I'm currently working on with a couple of international guys--James Nguyen and Alex Shearer, penciller and writer respectively. So far the project is looking good, and the initial submission is currently doing the publishing rounds.

I'll divulge more later as I've still got 11 pages left to ink. Fingers crossed for a pick up though, as it's a refreshingly decent idea and visual product.

More to follow.

Dark Knight

2005-10-21T15:03:00.000+02:00

One of my first ever ink attempts here. An inked reproduction of a classic John Byrne page taken from Justice League of America in the '90s. Needless to say, the cityscape was a royal pain in the ass for detail, especially as the original pencils were extremely sketchy and lacked definition.

I indulged myself a little too much on this piece where time is concerned, but I think the final result was well worth the expended effort. Hope you agree.

Advent Rising

2005-10-21T14:51:00.000+02:00

And here's another practice ink from the cover of Advent Rising, originally pencilled by Billy Dallas Patton. As far as I know the comic is based on a videogame, though it could be the other way around. The official cover has no black separation between the two background planets, and looks better for it.

If any budding colourists would like to take a pop at any of the inks on this blog, then please feel free to drop me a line via email for a high-res scan. No problem.

Welcome and Witchblade

2005-10-21T14:31:00.000+02:00

As the blog name implies, I'll be using this as an opportunity to shamelessly flog my services as a professional comic inker. It'll contain little in the way of anything else as time simply won't permit me to divulge personal journal information. Plus, who really gives a damn? Right, pretty much no one.

So, on with the whoring of my online folio:

This is a recent practice ink on a piece of cover art from issue#63 of the Witchblade series. Original pencils by Francis Manapul. Quite an impressive piece of work, I think you'd agree. Beautiful to work on too. This piece inked with variable width technicals and brush pens.