MONOLITH: In the Studio » Sneak Peak

Developments

Josh — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:57:35 +0000

Comics is about tracking changes from one moment to the next. You see two different images side by side, and you are seeing two different moments in time. The change happens in between.

So that’s what we are getting here. You look one minute and it is one thing, and then it is another.

Blah, blah, b;ah, long story short. We here at MONOLITH are proud to announce our latest addition. He is an artist from Memphis named Matt Bowers. His stuff is high-energy and fun, but also very technical.

We’re working with Matt to get something together for the NYC con. Matt and I are re-tooling a Rapid City side story that Micah, Jason, and I had started to put together a few months ago. So, if nothing else, this book is sure to have our most extensive credits page to date. It is really a fun challenge to make this story work with a new artist. Going over the whole thing again, but seeing it fresh, really shows me what works and what does not. Hopefully, those of you who stop by to see us in New York will agree with the decisions we end up making.

And here are some of the roughs we are working with.

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Process.

Micah — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:55:42 +0000

Hey gang!

It occurred to us that none of you out there know anything about our process. With most comic books, the process is about the same: a writer writes it, a penciller pencils it, an inker inks it, and a letterer finishes things up.

This is not the case with us.

Our process is much more involved (re: complicated). The three of us are in on every stage of development which not only allows us to create a product that tells our story exactly the way we want it to be told but also allows us to play to our strengths.

To demonstrate, I will run you through the development of page 2 of our first issue.

Step 1

First, we begin with Josh’s script. This is pretty standard fare as far as scripts go. You might notice, though, that Josh has included statements of mood and intention for my benefit. Josh and I have been friends for many years so this sort of shorthand is for the most part legible to me. Jason, on the other hand, only cares about explosions, dinosaurs, and robots—so these mean very little to him.

Step 2

Once I get my hands on the script, I read through a hard copy of it and make notes to myself in the margins in the form of textual notes and mini-thumbnails. We have decided that I will do the main translation from script to sequentials. But we don’t want Jason being left out of the process (and it’s possible that I might misinterpret Josh’s annotations), so I crank out a very rough storyboard of how the story progresses in my mind using only text locations in roughed out page boxes.

Step 3

I do this for the entire issue in one big grid. This allows us to see how the story will pace without being hung up on graphics (which also saves me a considerable amount of drawing time. With this done and agreed upon (you’ll see that some changes were made before the next phase), I begin to rough out an actual rough thumbnail of the page.

Step 4

With a visual in hand, Josh and Jason offer their critiques. For the most part, we want to shoot for compression. Often I spend too much time dilly-dallying with inconsequential scene elements, so it’s their job to point out superfluous panels or concepts that could be combined into a single panel. Jason has a real incentive for this because every bit that stays in, he must draw in full detail down the road. Compression is our friend. Once this is worked out, I next draw up a more refined thumbnail which has all the details that I want Jason to make sure he includes.

Step 5

As you can see, this thumb is a lot more legible than the one before. You can also see how whole panels were reworked and even deleted to tighten up the story. Once we have this one in place, Jason takes the wheel. Using my tightened thumbnail for reference, he sketches out his working thumbnail from which he will work during the final pencils on Bristol.

This is the last I will see of this page until Jason gets the final pencils done. Once done, he will pack them up in a snail-mail envelope and send them to me for inking (something that I enjoy and that Jason finds artistically disturbing/daunting). When these are done, it’s back up to Jason to drop in word balloons and art design elements to make the package cohesive.

So that’s our process as it stands. It’s time consuming and involved, but it allows us to generate a product that we’re all excited to create. Rather than ship off chores to isolated departments, we work together to bring you the best comic that we can make—playing to our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses.

Love,
Micah

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And so it begins…

Jason — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:02:11 +0000

Ok so a lot has changed over the past 3 months since Wizard World Chicago. We had planned (still do) to do an introductory book to the Rapid City series, but recently decided to put it on the back burner. What we have decided to do is just focus on getting the series started and in your hands. Don’t worry we still plan to give the discount to those who were gracious enough to buy one of our “Teaser Ashcans”, more details on that to come.

And so it begins…

Enjoy.

(Thumbnail breakdowns for Page 1 of Book 1.)

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Page 4 Reloaded Teaser

Jason — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 05:18:17 +0000

Here’s a little teaser of the Page 4 redo.

Enjoy.

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Break it down now…

Jason — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 12:21:54 +0000

Josh wasn’t happy with Page 4 (and frankly, neither was I), so he asked me to redo it. So here is my thumbnail break down for Page 4 ‘Reloaded’. For the most part this is ready to be penciled. Might make a slight change here or there, nothing major.

Enjoy.

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Rapid City heats up.

Josh — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 03:25:27 +0000

I just read an amazing book on directing film, which just happened to find in my living room. Really, no one is sure where it came from. It has changed my perspective on scene construction an sent my back through my scripts for “Rapid City”. I am so excited about the changes that are being made. Subtle changes and inmprovements here and there just thrill me. Like the whole thing is shifting into super-high-def focus.

And, in real news, The REAL Rapid City hit temperatures higher than 100 degrees on Saturday according to The Rapid City Journal.

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/07/16/news/local/news02.txt

Is life imitating art? Check out the pencils for Micah’s pin-up of Flamethrower fighting a tankbot and you tell us which Rapid City is hotter.

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Up from the drawing board

Micah — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:48:46 +0000

Well, I’ve been trying to crank out as much art as possible so I haven’t had much time to post. But, I’m so excited about what I’ve been learning lately that I thought I’d take a moment to share some of my work with everyone.

I’ve really started tightening up my pencils which make for tighter inks. I think that the cropped image from my most recent character image demonstrates that.

Also, I’ve been having fun with cameos — little tributes to friends who have been supportive of us. In this image, I present artist Jason Howard (a bit beefed up) toting away a baddy. Jason talked with me at the Motor City Con about some artistic techniques that he uses and they shifted my approach considerably. My figures now are more gestural and iconic while my details (especially mechanical details) come from stronger reference. Thanks Jason!

Well, back to the drawing board. I’ll try to post again real soon!

Love,

Micah

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Wraith.

Jason — Wed, 31 May 2006 05:11:31 +0000

There are some things far scarier than bats or the devil. There’s something that won’t die, there’s justice in the dark, there’s… Wraith!

Micah is just blowing me away with his latest work. It’s top notch and I know everyone is just going to love it.

So enjoy.

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Don't tell Jason

Josh — Mon, 08 May 2006 20:05:40 +0000

Jason does not know that I am posting this. But, for me, it is just too exciting to not let people see it. I have to be careful, though, or it will turn in to a giving-the-milk-away-for-free situation.

Anyway, please enjoy this Viper action scene from our upcoming preview book.

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[SNEAK PEEK] Viper promo art.

Jason — Fri, 05 May 2006 12:16:12 +0000

This drawing of Viper is to go with Micah’s Sidekick and Amp (see below) on our backdrop for the show. I like how it turned out. Micah gave some assistance to the inking cleanup, making it more refined. So enjoy. Back to work now.

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[SNEAK PEEK] Promo Art.

Micah — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 19:47:50 +0000

Here’s some promo art I’ve been working on for the Motor City Con. As you know from Josh and Jason we are working to get a lot done for the show. So this is part of my contribution. I’m pretty happy with how these turned out and so are Josh and Jason. I suppose it’s time I gave Jason back his “Mojo” now. hehe.

Any ways take a look and enjoy.

Love, Micah.

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[SNEAK PEEK] Feeling the Mojo.

Jason — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 20:52:54 +0000

Well, we are hard at work on getting things ready for the Motor City Comic Con next month and Micah is just blowing me away (he stole my mojo) with his latest work. It’s so solid and just incredible. Here’s a sneak peak.

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