Thursday, September 17, 2009

Leslie, My Name Is Evil!

So, here's something a little different from me. A slightly more realistic (though still old-fashioned), mildly gruesome, heavier subject matter with suggestions of sex (the last image is cropped because, while it's a suitable image for the movie for which it's drawn, it's a little too revealing for this blog :)

These were done for a film called "Leslie, My Name Is Evil" directed by Reg Harkema. They appear as pages from a Jack Chick-like tract detailing the seduction of the main character, Leslie, by a beatnik who gives her LSD and an unwanted pregnancy. A college buddy of mine was the Production Designer on the movie and got me the gig. I saw the Toronto Film Festival premiere of the movie and really got a kick out of seeing my artwork on he big screen.

The movie is a darkly comic look at a young girl seduced into the violent world of the Manson clan coupled with the story of a young man torn between his duty to his country and a fascination with Leslie.


j.

13 comments:

SCARCEXL said...

Man, that's gorgeous. any news on a possible stekchbook or something like that?

Jon McNally said...

Awesome blacks, man. Chick wishes his tracts looked this good!

Unknown said...

This is awesome!! Love these images.
Just read Mutant Texas for the first time and thought it was amazing. Best thing I've read from Oni.

j. said...

Xavier - Thanks. The sketchbook is slowly, oh so slowly coming together. Totally my fault on that...I didn't have a focus for the book(s) but now I do and can proceed.

Jon - Aw, wicked. Thanks, man.

Eric - Thanks, Eric. It's still one of the favourite things I've done.

j.

Tim DeMoor said...

Oh, this is fantastic! The confidence in your inking always blows me away.

Anonymous said...

Great as always J!

Love that last panel. The emotions/acting is dead-on!

Quick question and I hope it's not too personal, but have you ever considered doing an online comic or attach one to your blog?

Your work is great, and I would be down to pay a monthly fee or whatever once it's up and going.

A lot of great work here. I'm pushing for a monthly fix!

: )

James

j. said...

Tim - Thank you...I've worked awfully hard at my inking. Work like this gives me a chance to play around a little with the stuff I've learned inking brilliant artists like Darwyn or Mike Allred!

James - Funny you should ask...I'm actually working on a project for online distribution. It's still in the early stages so I'm not ready to reveal too much at the moment. But I'll be sure to announce it here when it's ready to go!

best,
j.

Anonymous said...

Now that is GREAT news! Can't wait to see it J!


James

Tim DeMoor said...

J,

I didn't really know the best way to go about this, but I've an inking question for you, if you've got a moment to help. I'm having some difficulty with my brush lines not coming out very dark or looking rather fuzzy on one side. It's very frustrating because I've recently switched to the standard #3 brush, but my lines aren't coming out well at all, and photocopies/scans of my pieces just look awful; I used to use a 3/0 spotter brush on everything, and I never had these difficulties, though the lines never looked particularly great, either. It's strange to say that I feel like I'm become a worse inker with each attempt, but that's certainly how it seems. If you've got any suggestions, I would be grateful.

- Tim

j. said...

Tim - Hey man. No problem...I hope I can help. One question before I start: did you also switch your ink?

If your lines aren't coming out as dark the only thing I can think of to cause this is thinner ink. Your brush can't really affect the opacity/thickness of your ink. If you've got water in your brush as you begin to ink that can affect it as well.

As for the rough edges, or line breaking up...I embrace that :) It's actually something that happens to me all the time because I prefer to ink on rough textured paper (Strathmore Vellum and the rough DC paper). I like the softening effect the slight dry brushing gives to my ink line.

Now, the thing is my work is being reduced down 67% as it goes to print as well as being colored which will certainly disguise some of that roughness. You're looking at your work full size, on your desk and nearly all inked work will have slight imperfections within it.

If you've ever seen an inked page of Johnny Hazard by Frank Robbins (Darwyn owns a page and I've spent a lot of time just staring at his work) or a page by Milt Caniff you will see that there is grey ink, white out, rough lines and numerous other details that simply don't show up when the work is in print.

Also, when you scan your drawings try scanning on Black and White or Lineart setting, not on Greyscale or Color. The former settings will pick up only your artwork on not little smudges, greyness of paper, etc...that the other settings will "see".

And the best advice which I say in all honest earnestness is to keep drawing. Give yourself a few months of regular inking to get used to the #3. Try a #5 or #6 and go really FAT with those lines. Use a #2 to go thin within the fat lines. Play around.

I use super cheap #3 brushes that eventually split. Because they're cheap I toss 'em when they're beyond saving (which really goes against my environmental consciousness but I'll have to sort that out karmically at a later time).

Let me know how it turns out for you, Tim. I'm happy to help if you have further questions.

best,
j.

Tim DeMoor said...

J,

Man, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to talk with me about this!

Up until a week ago, I've been using a waterproof Higgins india ink, and the thing that's strange is that sometimes the ink comes out in varying degrees of light and dark. It obviously doesn't make any sense, but I have separate pieces I've done on the same day that look like they've been done with two different types of ink. So, I bought a bottle of the black magic, and I actually can't tell the difference between the two. I'm a bit limited on arts and crafts stores nearby, so those are pretty much my selections if I want to stay with waterproof ink. Do you use a different type?

My brushes are usually slightly damp, though I try and dry them as much as possible after a quick rinse (I sound like I'm describing shampoo usage. heh).

And I see what you mean about the slight-slight rough edges on your work; I reread the Wonder Woman story you drew for the New Frontier Special (EXCELLENT art, by the way; I REALLY wish more superhero books were drawn like this), and I see the subtle softness now; I had to look REALLY hard to see it, and now that I'm conscious of it, I think that's one of the things I've liked best about your inks -- they look like they were drawn by a human instead of a computer. I think I was just freaking out because I was making copies on those low-grade, do-it-yourself Office Depot copiers before I could even attempt to make scans; I only have access to an old 8.5 X 11 scanner.

I'm going to run out and get a few of the larger brushes today, so I'll let you know how the work turns out (I'll probably post it up on my blog at some point).

Thanks again, J! I REALLY appreciate the suggestions!

- Tim

Ben said...

Man, nicely Chicked indeed! Love that Devil at the top, excellent October material!

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