Avengers 34 (Final Issue) Variant Cover

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Avengers 34 Variant Cover. 2012. Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on Marvel board, 11 × 17.25″.

I guess I miss a lot when I leave the country. This variant cover is out now, though I'm not sure how easy it will be to find. It features more characters than I'm used to drawing in a single image, but I had a lot of fun with it (I don't know how other artists manage do a team book every month). I had a great deal of help from my art director, George Beliard, who provided me with mounds of reference for each character and situation.


Flats
Inks

I usually keep track of my "man hours" for every project and I'd like to start sharing those numbers with readers, especially for those who are artists themselves. My total hours were about 32, which doesn't include flatting and inking. Here's the breakdown:
  • Pencils: 14.5
  • Composite: 4
  • Layouts: 6
  • Colors: 7


Blue-line
Pencils


Digital Composite
Digital Sketch


Digital Layouts



10 comments :

  1. Thanks for including your hours on this! It drives me nuts when artists online say, "Here's some garbage I made in 10 minutes," and it's a totally refined, fully inked and colored masterpiece.

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    Replies
    1. Glad I could help. I've had the exact same feeling.

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    2. I second UNKNOWN's sentiments--Thanks for including your breakdowns for time spent on projects! Not only does it help to gauge how much time to realistically expect to work on something (give-or-take, or course), but also demonstrates how much time you have to commit to get work on a professional level.

      You do (ahem) AMAZING work and your hours of dedication show. That said, I better get back to work, too, or I'll never get to a professional level, myself... :-D

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    3. Thanks, John! That's precisely why I started posting it. I keep track of the hours for my own records, so it was just a matter of including it.

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  2. Why do they have you on the 'variant'covers? I guess so people will be sure to buy them.

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    1. Well... that's pretty much the hope. Honestly, I've always gotten offers for them, but it's only now that I'm able to accept the gigs. I generally like doing them because they often entail a lot more freedom that your typical covers.

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  3. Another great cover! I'll be honest and say, I didn't see the 'A' until the layout image. Very clever.

    I'm curious about what flats are used for? They're not necessarily color studies, and the final colors may or may not reflect what's going on in the flats.

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    Replies
    1. Nice! That's the effect I was going for.

      As for the flats, those are just the basic shapes that my assistant breaks the piece into. The colors can be completely arbitrary, but they help me select and alter each and every element. I like to show them because it reveals what a difference color can make.

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  4. I'm also really digging that you're posting your time.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, it seems to be a good move. It's certainly one of the most frequently asked questions at cons, right after "how did you break in?"

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