Jim Boswell: My Lonely Journey to Comic Stardom!

Has it really been this long?

2010-12-14T17:28:00.014Z

Wow.... so March was the last time I posted here? That is shameful!!!! I really can't let that happen again (yes, I know I've said that before...)

So what have I been up to all these months - well, work on Project Luna: 1947 continues, and I recently had some time to really hammer out some pages and it was great fun. This book is going to be fantastic, and I'm almost at the halfway point now, when things really start to heat up! I'm still loving the drawing, the colouring AND the lettering. I'm also learning a LOT as I go. Here are a few unlettered pages (I don't know why they aren't clickable - stupid blogger, I'm going to Wordpress soon):

I've also been hard at work on my monthly football strip in KiCK! magazine, as well as all my other cartooning work. Here is a recent strip:

So it's been comic artist business as usual! My early New Year's resolution is to update this blog more regularly... let's see how long I can keep it up (but with the new Battlefield Vietnam coming out next week, it isn't going to be easy!!)

Blog Banner!

2010-03-30T10:13:00.012+01:00

Latest work! I've just finished this commission - a banner for David Fletcher, for his blog Dark Knights White Soul, which you can see here.

I've also just finished some artwork for an NHS website, a poster for a play, and of course I'm working on the latest issue of KiCK! magazine - this time featuring Zidane - the David Beckham strip shuld be in the shops soon. All of this has left me little or no time for new Luna pages (I have now officially finished book one, though!)

Becks

2010-03-11T12:32:00.000Z

Today I have mostly been colouring David Beckham.

Rooooooneyyyyy!

2010-02-03T10:10:00.003Z

Circa 2004 (England v Switzerland) (c) Attic Media Network

New for 2010

2010-01-27T20:04:00.008Z

It's been pointed out to me that I have wofeully neglected my blog lately (again!) so I thought I'd better make the first post of 2010!

I've been plugging away at Luna as usual, and the first book (of four) is almost in the bag. I'm also working on a 4-pager for Insomnia, as well as my monthly gig drawing the Game of My Life strip for KiCK! magazine. I also had a few Xmas-related cartooning gigs over the festive period, as well as some web design bits and pieces.

So the lonely journey continues into a new year...

Colouring...

2009-11-08T19:12:00.002Z

Here's a simple panel from Project Luna, showing the stages of colouring: First the bare inks, then a little background colour, then I've done the "flats" (just flat basic colours - the bit that takes the most time!) and finally I've added the shadows, shades and highlights. At least this is the way I do it! Next time I'll pick a more complicated panel.

Grusov

2009-11-03T21:05:00.001Z

More new teaser panels from Project Luna, hot off the press...

Lavoisier

2009-10-29T13:01:00.001Z

Another sneak preview from the forthcoming Project Luna: 1947.

More Kick!

2009-10-24T18:34:00.005+01:00

Here is the latest page I've just finished for Kick! magazine (c) Attic Media Network.

Now I'm back to drawing Luna again (page 17, where we meet Dr Jacques Lavoisier...)

Luna colours

2009-10-20T22:35:00.002+01:00

Luna inks...

2009-10-19T21:00:00.009+01:00

Squadron Leader William Fitzwilliam Brown; London, 1947

Kick! it

2009-10-13T11:12:00.006+01:00

A page from my latest strip for Kick! magazine (out soon!):

(c) Attic Media Network 2009

Crowd Scene Hell!

2009-10-08T18:38:00.004+01:00

Oh, how I love a good crowd scene - it takes a hundred times longer to draw and colour than anything else! It probably is my fave panel of Project Luna so far though... here is the whole page without dialogue, so it doesn't give any of our scintillating plot away :-)

BICS 2009 Report!

2009-10-05T11:17:00.013+01:00

Have I really not posted since JUNE?! Good grief, that's a poor effort... I will endeavour to put that right, starting now.

Just back from the Birmingham Comics show. I've been busy drawing football action for Kick! magazine, and of course working on Project Luna: 1947 for Markosia. I've been discharged by my Physio, so he's happy with my progress and it's now up to me to keep doing the exercises and build a back of STEEL so I can continue to sit hunched over a drawing-board for hours at a time :-)

BICS was fun, but a slightly more low-key affair (I felt) than the last time I went (2007), probably due to the dark times we live in, etc. Met up with Martin Hayes, writer of Luna - who endured a 6.00 am start to fly over from Ireland, and proceeded to stay up drinking until 6.00am Sunday morning... much respect! Sharon and myself were tucked up in bed before 11.00, watching Lord of the Rings on telly - hardcore.

A demonic Cy Dethan, Martin Hayes and myself

With artist Kev Levell and Martin

We had a good chat with Markosia chief Harry Markos - met up with fellow blogger Kev Levell (who really should be working for 2000AD), Cy Dethan and Nic, the Futurequake boys, bumped into Tony Lee briefly, had a quick chat with Sean Phillips and many more. Oh yes, and Tharg gave my portfolio a quick perusal too. The Leeds Thought Bubble con is next month, so I may drag myself up there too.

Stay tuned for more Luna updates coming soon, as I attempt to make this blog a livelier place!

Luna Characters

2009-06-27T12:31:00.004+01:00

A few panels from my latest Luna page, showing some of the "top men" involved in the story...

... and my latest strip for Kick! magazine - on sale now! Artwork copyright (c) Attic Media Network:

English Country Garden...

2009-06-14T11:43:00.003+01:00

Another panel from the forthcoming Project Luna: 1947 - tea and crumpets on the lawn, you can't beat an English summer can you...

Lamped!

2009-05-28T14:08:00.005+01:00

Out now! Latest issue of Kick! hits the shelves, complete with my latest Game of My Life! strip (Lampard this month!). Artwork (c) Attic Media Network:

Gooooaaaalllll!

2009-05-04T10:48:00.014+01:00

Well it's been a busy few weeks - my deadline for the latest Kick! football strip is this Thursday, so I've been hammering away at that, as well as a new cartoon for Global Integration and of course more Project Luna work.

In one week's time, the Bristol comic expo kicks off - and sadly I won't be there, despite looking forward to it for a year! My bad back problems have forced me to cancel. The prospect of a 3-hour train journey with crippling back pain doesn't appeal - and after researching the train tickets, I'd have to change 3 times on the homeward trip on Sunday! Running about with portfolio and bags, trying to find the right platforms for connecting trains with a knackered back - no way. We considered staying until Monday, when you can get direct trains, but the costs just started getting silly - as Sharon pointed out, we could have a European holiday for the same price. I definitely can't drive that far right now, so we had to cancel.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's photos and con reports! I'll be making the effort next year for sure, and we even have plans to bring Scott James over from the States for the occasion! After many months chatting online to the likes of Scott, Cy Dethan and Martin Hayes, a face-to-face meeting/drinking session is long overdue!

I'm aiming for the BICS con in Birmingham later this year, so hopefully my plans won't be scuppered (is that a word?) for that one, and we should have a preview booklet of Luna put together for the event - watch this space.

In other news, Sharon has given me a crash-course in Adobe Illustrator, and I am now capable of doing my own comic lettering - something I've been threatening to learn to do for years. I have no idea why, but I really enjoyed lettering the first 8 pages of Luna, and may offer my services out as a letterer at some point in the future!

As soon as the latest Kick! strip is done, I'll be right back on Luna duties - the back ache is thankfully getting better at long last (since I stopped going to the Chiropractor coincidentally...) so I should be firing on all artistic cylinders again soon.

Hmmm... that was possibly the longest blog post so far... who knew my life was so interesting, eh?

New Luna Pages

2009-04-17T19:07:00.004+01:00

Hello loyal readers (I'm hoping there's more than one of you)... despite my crippling back ache, I've managed to get two more pages of Project: Luna 1947 done, and as they don't give away any big surprises here they are!

These "talking heads" pages are often more difficult than a big action scene - at least for me. For one thing, you always need to leave more room than usual for all the dialogue balloons - something I managed to get wrong on a couple of these panels. I'd drawn the characters too big, so reduced them down in Photoshop to leave more room in the panel for the text, before colouring.

Anyway, hope you enjoy looking at these two pages and wondering what the hell is going on :-)

Roooooneeeyyyyy!

2009-03-22T09:57:00.003Z

Crowd scene panel from the next issue of KiCK! (c) Attic Media Network:

Project Luna: 1947

2009-03-19T10:25:00.002Z

Here's a sneak preview of page 6 of Project Luna - Only 82 more to go! Loving every minute of it though.

Futurequake

2009-03-11T21:43:00.002Z

Also out now! Issue 12 of Futurequake, featuring the "ASBO Aliens" story by Martin "Project Luna" Hayes and myself. Here's a taster:

KiCK! Finished pages

2009-03-09T16:17:00.007Z

Here is a look at the (unlettered) pages of the Michael Owen strip from Kick! that is on sale now! I've now finished the second one, and should have the script for the third in a few days. All artwork is copyright (c) Attic Media Network 2009.

SUPER STRIKERS!

2009-03-07T15:53:00.004Z

Out in all good (UK) newsagents, supermarkets etc, now! Rush out and buy it for my two pages alone!

I am minutes away from finishing the next KiCK! strip as well - this time it's about Wayne Rooney... one panel has been crowd-scene hell, but it's almost done :-) I'll put up some full pages soon.

In other news, I've managed another page of Luna, and our main alien bad guys have officially been designed...

KiCK!

2009-02-11T12:14:00.008Z

Long time no blog!

Apologies for my absence, I've been knee-deep in work... I've just got my grubby fingers on a new gig - drawing a football strip for KiCK! magazine (aimed at 6 to 12 year olds). It's been a lot of work, but surprisingly fun, too. The editor has been fantastic, sending through a tonne of good ref photos and links to youtube clips of the actual match I've been drawing. These have been invaluable, as they're very keen to get the players' likenesses spot-on. Below is a panel; once it's published (early next month) I'll put the pages up here.

I now have another strip to draw for the good people at Manitowoc, and then I can get back into Project Luna again.

In other news, I'm now seeing a Chiropractor twice a week to sort out my back pain - so far it seems to be working!

Blast Off!

2009-01-17T15:53:00.003Z

Project: Luna 1947 is GO!

I have drawn and coloured 3 pages, we have officially started... only 85 more to go (but I'm trying not to think about that!) Here are a few teaser panels - I don't want to post up any full pages for fear of giving too much away.

Where Evils Dare

2008-12-23T14:26:00.014Z

Unfortunately I won't be continuing with the pitch for Where Evils Dare written by Tony Lee, because of my commitment to Project: Luna 1947. Tony needs to crack on with the project and I have 88 pages to draw and colour for Luna, so Stefano Martino (who has worked with Tony on Doctor Who: The Forgotten) will be taking over on art duties. I'm sure he'll do an awesome job, so look out for it!!

Above are the first two pages I managed to do - I'm particularly happy with the mad splash page, great fun. Be sure to check it out, kids!

Project Luna: 1947

2008-12-15T21:00:00.007Z

I'm really happy to be able to announce a forthcoming graphic novel I'll be drawing and colouring for Markosia!

Project Luna: 1947 will be an 88-page graphic novel written by Martin Hayes, who I worked with recently on the "Intergalactic Bank-Robbing Aliens" story for Futurequake. We've signed the contracts and we're ready to rock - above is my first attempt at the main characters in colour. This is basically a mock-cover, and a good way for me to get a feel for the characters I'll be drawing (and the various spaceships, spacesuits etc...)

I won't give away too much of the plot - I'll just say it will be awesome! Martin is a fantastic writer and we're going to have a blast doing this. I'll post some teaser panels and pages here as we go along, so stay tuned.

Commission

2008-12-02T11:37:00.005Z

My knowledge of Warcraft goes no further than that now-classic South Park episode (which, if you haven't seen it, is probably the best episode EVER). That didn't stop me doing this recent commission for someone - I was given several screenshots from the game, so I could check out the characters, and I'm happy with how it's all turned out - it was a LOT of work, though!!

Exciting comics-related news coming SOON! As soon as I get the OK, I'll tell you all about it...

In other, non-artwork-related news, I have a crappy cold, but have to sing and play with my band at the Key 103 Xmas party on Friday in front of a few hundred people... should be interesting.

Just missed Halloween...

2008-11-05T16:05:00.002Z

...but here's a Werewolf for ya! From the forthcoming Where Evils Dare by Tony Lee and myself... I'd love to show more but that would ruin the surprise.

I'm not dead!

2008-10-28T10:45:00.006Z

No, I'm still alive - apologies for the lack of posts recently. Three weeks ago I did my back in and have been unable to sit at a computer or drawing board (or teach the guitar) since then! It was utter agony and I don't recommend it. I had to call out the emergency doctor, who filled me with pain-killers and anti-inflammatories, and at long last I'm on the mend.

This has cost me a lot of money, as I had to turn down a big commission and 3 weeks worth of guitar lessons! The problem comes from the 3 things I do ALL DAY:

1. Sit at the drawing-board
2. Sit at the computer
3. Sit teaching Guitar

Not enough exercise, not enough stretching. That's all going to change, as there's no way I'm going through this again (anyone who has had a really bad back will understand - you can't even sleep some nights you're in so much pain).

I basically took on too much work, which led to my back saying NO - had enough! Earlier this year I did the same thing when I injured my hand and couldn't draw, just overwork and not enough rest/exercise. So from now on, when I feel the pain coming I will say NO to big art jobs that come my way.

By taking on so much paid work at once, I eventually made a loss because of my resulting back problems! Now that's not good business...

Big thanks go to Elliot Elam for stepping up and taking over my Manitowoc job when I could barely even move, let alone draw a comic strip. Thanks also go to my better half Sharon for finishing off another job for the NHS.

Now that I feel almost human again, I have 2 cartoons for Global Integration the finish, as well as a commission for someone else, plus some new Dredd samples and Where Evils Dare.

Scott James

2008-09-19T13:05:00.004+01:00

1. My artist buddy Scott James now has a blog up and running (Scott also worked on Starship Troopers). Check it out here and add him to your favourites!

2. Yes, I know "Fascists" is spelled wrong on the post below.

3. I've landed a big art job which is keeping me incredibly busy... I'm not allowed to talk about it or show any of the work to anyone which is a shame, but there you go! I'll be back in the land of comix once I've finished, stay tuned...

Facists!

2008-09-03T15:59:00.004+01:00

Working on the last page of Intergalactic today, as well as some paid stuff for the NHS, would you believe (and more for Easy Jet tomorrow).

In other news, I've slowly been working through my entire DVD collection of the Sopranos, and it's still the most awesome TV series EVER. Well, that and Band of Brothers.

Troopers Preview

2008-08-27T21:16:00.002+01:00

Still working on 'Intergalactic' this week, so in the meantime here's a sneak peek at one of my pages from Starship Troopers #10!

Galactic Goodness

2008-08-16T16:01:00.003+01:00

Here's another panel from the forthcoming "Intergalactic Bank Robbing Teenage Space Aliens on the Run" for Future Quake. This was written by the mega-talented Martin Hayes and is really funny - I should start drawing more sci-fi craziness, as this first page has been so much fun (it's a 4-pager). I also get to "colour" this in grey tones, which is something I've never tried before.

Starship Troopers is FINISHED, so I can now work on this new project, as well as Where Evils Dare and some more Dredd samples.

In other news, I have taken posession of my brand new Vauxhall Corsa VXR - it's bloody quick and extremely good fun to drive - I have proudly joined the ranks of Boy Racer. WOOOH!

My covers band The Electric Detectives have begun recording a new demo (drums done yesterday) and our new Flash site should be up and running in a week or two.

And with that, back to the drawing-board...

YE GADS!

2008-08-15T15:52:00.004+01:00

My new project is a BLAST to work on!! More soon...

Trooping Onwards!

2008-08-05T08:33:00.010+01:00

Just got my copies of Starship Troopers #9 and it looks fantastic - niiiice print job! My colours came out exactly as I wanted them to. My Stateside buddy Scott James' pages look great as well. This project was no easy ride (just ask anyone who worked on it!!!) but holding the end result in your hands gives you a real sense of achievement - very nice to have your first published comic work.

And on that bombshell, here's a sneak peek at another panel from issue #10:

Starship Troopers #9

2008-07-29T08:47:00.007+01:00

So Starship Troopers #9 "Triple Threat" is now out, in all good comic shops. I haven't seen it as I haven't been sent any copies yet... but Scott James picked one up at his local in the US and says it looks great. Here are a couple of my pages, with my colours (I won't be colouring my pages for #10 - I have a newfound respect for people who colour their own work and hit their deadlines - it takes FOREVER). Cover is by Scott.

Anyway, rush out and buy it - enjoy!

War Wound

2008-07-24T10:18:00.003+01:00

You don't even want to know what this poor guy is looking down at...

More Troopers

2008-07-21T09:06:00.007+01:00

Haven't updated my blog in a while - still wading through the second installment of Starship Troopers, although this time it's been more of a breeze as I'm not colouring my pages as well. I seem to have much more of a rhythm going when I'm working in black & white, not to mention it being a hell of a lot faster!

When this is done, I'll be continuing work on Where Evils Dare, as well as a 4-pager for Future Quake, then more samples for 2000AD.

Nazi Hobos

2008-06-27T10:40:00.003+01:00

This was a character sketch for Where Evils Dare - I misunderstood what Tony was after for these characters and had to redesign - but it's still a pic I quite like :-)

More Evil!

2008-06-24T15:50:00.003+01:00

The above is another panel from Where Evils Dare, written by Tony Lee. I won't show too much more right now as we don't want to ruin the awesome surprises to come!

I have finally been sent my script for the second part of Starship Troopers: Triple Threat and I've started on the rough layouts today. Eight pages need to be done by the end of next month, but it looks like I'll have a colourist this time round (yay!)

Evil...

2008-06-14T21:14:00.005+01:00

Long time no post!

Well, I've finished my first episode of Troopers and I've started work on another project that I'm pretty excited about, written by Tony Lee. Look above for a little sneak preview - more soon.

In other news, my damn hand problem reared it's very ugly head again last week and I had to cancel all my guitar teaching and stay away from the drawing-board and the mouse for several days. Back at work now, but from now on I will listen to my body when it tells me I'm slowly injuring myself... not to mention the money I lose when I can't work!

HATE

2008-05-29T10:15:00.003+01:00

Sometimes you just hate drawing. Everything you do comes out shit, no matter what you do. Yesterday was one of those days. Thankfully, today is going a lot better - but I'm going back and redrawing a couple of panels that are so bad I'd cry for a month if they were published.

You talkin' to me?

2008-05-23T16:42:00.004+01:00

Work continues on Starship Troopers - I should have my first episode finished by next week :-) My comic schedule has been knocked back the past 2 weeks by all the paid work I've had recently - a comic strip for Manitowoc, more cartoons for Global Integration and more stuff for Easy Jet, all in colour. It's all paid work though, so I'm all over it, as they say... even though my drawing hand feels like it's about to fall off.

Bristol Comic Expo 2008

2008-05-12T20:45:00.030+01:00

Well, we survived Bristol - and bloody good fun it was too! Met some great new people, showed my portfolio all over the place, met some editors, ate expensive food, drank expensive drinks, got arrested by some Stormtroopers (twice)... the perfect (very hot and sunny) weekend. I'll post a load of photos here for your amusement :-)

Cool new people we met: Jon Davis-Hunt (below, who recently drew Tempest for the Megazine). We bumped into each other throughout the weekend, and had a great artists' chinwag while waiting in line for a portfolio review - what a nice guy! He's going to be working with Tony Lee on a new series for 2000AD.

Lee Carter was another top bloke (he recently finished Dead Eyes for 2000AD) - I was amazed at how bright and vibrant the colours were on the prints he had of his pages - apparently there was a problem with his monitor's brightness settings when he was working on Dead Eyes, which led to the printed version in 2000AD looking too dark. So to everyone moaning about the "muddy" art, that's the reason!

Caught up with Tony Lee, who is truly the king of conventions - he knows everybody! After Starship Troopers, we're going to be working on something new and very cool, which I'll post about soon. Tony was responsible for the high point of my weekend - he brought none other than Comic Art God Dave Gibbons over to our table at the Ramada bar (I was fighting my inner fanboy instincts all the way). Dave was more than happy to sit with us and look at my portfolio and gave me some great advice and a few compliments too - it was a pure artist/fanboy moment I'll never forget. Thank you Tony - thank you Dave.

Another fanboy moment for me was meeting a very hungover Simon Bisley on Sunday Morning:

Sharon and I were impressed with the Ramada - nice room, great restaurant and (expensive) bar - we'll definitely be making the trip again next year. Another highlight was walking past the massive queue to get into the con on Saturday morning - and getting in for free, no less. It pays to be a creator!! A few more pics:

Lee Carter with Dave Taylor:

Harry Markos at the Markosia booth:

Sean Phillips with his son and friend Lewis:

Matt "Tharg the Mighty" Smith:

Dave Gibbons:

And last but not least, a Dredd page from my portfolio (still no work for 2000AD yet, but I'll be doing more samples when I have time). I did have a good response from some other editors, so I'll post any news on that in the coming weeks. And now... back to the drawing-board :-)

Look into the eyes, not around the eyes...

2008-05-07T22:07:00.006+01:00

Well, the Bristol con is only 3 days away - we've got the train tickets and the hotel room all booked, portfolio is choc full of arty goodness, I have new business cards and for the first time ever I'll be a "guest" rather than a punter (which means I get to swan about with a name badge on, like I'm actually a somebody in the comics industry!).

Starship Troopers goes well - just 2 more pages and I've finished my first part. My damn hand problem reared its ugly head again last week - a full day of drawing followed by over 3 hours guitar teaching... I don't recommend it. My right hand had a shooting pain through it, which lasted almost a week - I couldn't draw, play guitar or use a mouse. Almost better now though and I'm back on track.

I'll take photos at the convention and post here when I get back back - looking forward to showing my stuff to the likes of Simon Bisley, Dave Gibbons, Duncan Fegredo, Dave Taylor, etc - and most importantly of all, Tharg the Mighty. There will be a few editors from DC Comics there too, so I'll take my chances with them as well.

Scary Bald Kid

2008-04-27T16:50:00.002+01:00

Still hammering away at Starship troopers... should have another project to announce soon, stay tuned!

Triple Threat

2008-04-18T18:21:00.004+01:00

Well it's been a while since I posted - I've been slaving away over Starship Troopers and it's looking good; fortunately the deadline has been pushed back, so that's taken some pressure off! I've had other illustration work to do as well as the comics, so the delay is more than welcome.

My story will appear in issues #9 and #10 and is called Triple Threat. There are three artists and three writers in all, writing and drawing the three parts to the story. One of the other artists is Scott James, who I've spoken to on the phone a couple of times - and his work is fantastic - he doesn't mind calling me all the way from the USA to talk comics, so he's a good guy in my book! He's also done the covers for the two books, and they look great.

Here is a sneak peek at one of my panels - I can't show more or I'd be giving away the story :-)

Troopers

2008-04-02T21:27:00.002+01:00

Right now I'm working hard on Starship Troopers; 7 pages need to be pencilled, inked and coloured by the end of the month! The Bristol comic con is coming up fast too, so I've started putting together my portfolio for that.

More Dredd Colours

2008-03-24T21:27:00.002Z

A before-and-after look at a panel of the Judge Dredd samples I'm working on.

Mega City One by night

2008-03-21T19:19:00.003Z

How romantic... they should really be holding hands with a view like that...

Working on a few new Dredd sample pages this week, in preparation for the Bristol con in early May. I've taken the plunge and gone for full colour this time.

My big news is that I'm going to be doing a few pages for Starship Troopers comic (Markosia) - my first "real" published comics work! This is thanks to Editor/Writer Tony Lee; you can read more about it in the last paragraph of his latest column over at Comics Bulletin here:
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/hoaw/120579061026864.htm

Bloody hell, I better do a good job now, hadn't I! The Dredd stuff is a nice warm-up for the Troopers gig, as I'll be doing full colour pages for that as well - just waiting for the script...

Website Updated

2008-03-15T18:51:00.005Z

I've updated my main site at last - I've changed the design to a much simpler, faster-loading no-nonsense look. No more rollovers and i-frames thank you very much... from now on it's clean and simple all the way (God I hate web design - I used to love it, now I want it as simplistic and unlikely to go tits-up as possible): http://www.jimmibo.co.uk/

The Creative Process (well, how I do it anyway)

2008-03-06T15:15:00.010Z

Here is a little look at the various stages a page goes through - at least the stages it goes through when I draw it! This is another page from Imposter.

Pencils: The space on the lower left is for the titles and credits. Tony pointed out that I hadn't left much room for the dialogue in panel 2, so I enlarged that panel before inking...

Inks: I'm very into my brushes and dip-pens these days, they're really starting to work well for me. I used to use various technical drawing pens from 0.1 to 0.8 - and I still do for some bits and pieces, but it's 90% brushes and dip-pens now. The line is so much more varied and "alive." You can see below, how Photoshop saved my arse once again - I drew more space for the panel 2 dialogue, then photoshopped it to overlap the main panel.

Colours: Photoshop once again for the colours. Here's a shot as I started work - I wish I'd taken more as I went along, I'll try to do that with the next thing I colour. I always do the backgrounds first obviously, and the foreground figures are the last thing to work on.

... and here is the final coloured page!

Imposter

2008-03-04T11:15:00.000Z

Here's a look at a couple of pages from Imposter - which is a pitch I've been working on with writer Tony Lee (Starship Troopers, Doctor Who, etc). I'm not sure if we'll be doing much more of this, but it can't hurt to show a couple of pages off!

Vodka!

2008-02-21T13:48:00.000Z

According to my sources, my cartoons now adorn the new food/booze menu at Revolution Vodka bars around our fair nation... and I haven't even seen it! As I have no life and never leave the drawing-board, I have one of my trusted minions out there stealing one for me as we speak. Here are a few of the caracatures (did I spell that right?) that I did for the menu. If you can't tell who they are, I haven't done my job very well have I?

All images copyright (c) Revolution 2008:

More Goldfish!

2008-02-04T21:13:00.000Z

Here is a look at the finished goldfish cartoon - this was for Global Integration; you can see it used on their blog here: www.lifeinamatrix.com I've almost finished the next one too.

In other news, I'm still working on that other special little project, so stay tuned for more on that - and I may actually be published as a comic artist later this year on another project! As soon as it's a "go" I'll be posting the news here.

Booked my hotel nice and early for the Bristol comic con later this year - this time we'll be staying over two nights, so it should be less stressful than the sprint down to Birmingham last year!! We can mosey on down on Friday, and not be so knackered on Saturday morning, so I'm looking forward to that. Now it's back to the drawing-board for me...

Talking Goldfish

2008-01-19T20:36:00.001Z

This job is never boring... you really don't know what you'll be drawing next.

Just finishing up the colouring for this latest commission, for a compnay called Global Integration - then it's back on to the comic stuff.

Sneak Preview...

2008-01-15T19:30:00.000Z

Here's a little peek at the pencils and colouring for the next page of that special little project I'm working on (currently pencilling page 3). I'm definitely getting the hang of the graphics tablet - bloody great, it is!

I have some more commercial work which I'll be starting on tomorrow when I've rung the client, so the comic stuff will have to wait a wee while - but I'll be right back on it as soon as that's done and dusted.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-01-08T10:23:00.000Z

Turned 36 today... 36!!! Should I be feeling like an adult... because I really don't! When does growing up start then, around 40? Sharon bought me an A3 graphics tablet for my birthday, so my morning has been spent playing with that - it's going to take some getting used to, it's harder to use than I imagined, but for colouring in Photoshop it's fantastic.

So here's another sneak peak at a panel from that special secret project I've started work on, and a look at my "colouring workstation." I've got the whole setup now - A3 scanner, new printer, A2 lightbox and graphics tablet - so there's no excuses!

Bad Cop

2008-01-06T00:08:00.000Z

I'm excited about this, it's starting to look good... stay tuned for more!

Wahayyyy!

2007-12-26T13:03:00.000Z

Well it's Boxing Day morning - Sharon bought me a fantastic A2 Lightbox for Xmas, and I have just solved a comics-colouring mystery that has annoyed me for YEARS!!!

How do they colour the actual line-art in different colours? Like when that GENIUS Dave Stewart makes Guy Davis' characters stand out from the background so well in BPRD comics... well I finally sussed it this morning - see attached image. The foreground characters have solid black line-art, whereas the background line-art is brown, giving a nice depth-of-field appearance. This may not sound like a big deal, but it bloody is to me!!!! Now I can colour fire with nice orange lines, etc...

In other news, I've had to work during this Xmas week, as I received a new script from Manitowoc (a crane manufacturer) so I've managed to almost finish the drawing side of things - next up is colouring and adding all the company logos. I've also just finished three more illustrations for Easy Jet, as well as a Xmas commission for one of my guitar students.

I'm due to start work on an exciting project which will be pitched to Image, etc sometime in the new year - stay tuned for that!! I should be starting character designs as soon as I finish the Manitowoc job in the next couple of days.

Inks and Colours...

2007-12-08T20:10:00.000Z

Now I have a little "me" time for drawing, I decided to practice my new inking skills a little more - I'm really getting into the brush and dip-pen approach.

I had this single page pencilled, from a story written by someone who's name I completely forget now... anyway, it was begging to be inked so I went ahead. I was really happy with it, so thought I'd colour it as well, in my new "blocky" style - that is, solid colours for the most part, rather than airbrushing absolutley everything!!! I feel this style has more impact, but is easier on the eye for storytelling - not to mention being quicker than all that airbrushing.

So here's the first panel - I'll post the rest when it's done.

In other news, I have a new commission to do the artwork for two superhero t-shirt designs, which I'll post if I get permission (when I've done them!).

Spending time with Nigella...

2007-12-03T09:55:00.000Z

Well I've actually had to WORK hard this past week... tight deadlines on the Revolution Vodka illustrations - 3 covers and 13 cartoons, all in colour - and I've never had to do so many caracatures before! Added to my repertoire this week were Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, Lily Allen, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Paul McCartney & Heather Mills, Jamie Oliver, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, Sharon Osbourne, Dani Minogue, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss - the list goes on! I have big respect for caracature artists, some people just ain't easy to draw... particularly tough was the new Bond, Daniel Craig - I just couldn't get that guy right - got there in the end though (I hope). I'll post some of this work here when it goes to publication (this is all for the new menu for Revolution bars around the UK).

I've inked all of the cartoons with a brush and dip-pens, and it's gone surprisingly well. I will definitely be doing this from now on, it adds a lot of life to the artwork - not as accurate as a pen, but adds "character" - I just wish it was quicker! I've been looking at Joe Kubert's stuff, and I just love what that guy can do with a brush, he makes it look so easy. I should be starting some new comic pages soon in some form or other, and also practicing my inking. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is another character I drew for the ICO website (before I started experimenting with brushes, etc):

The Word of Tharg!

2007-11-25T00:00:00.000Z

Well, word has come down from the Mighty One - he is impressed with my story-telling, but I need some work on my figures here and there - and possibly some heavier inks would help too. This is all do-able!

Luckily I also have the advice of two of Tharg's top Art Droids, who have already given me exactly what I need to forge ahead in my holy quest to become an Art Droid myself... the journey continues! I've posted my latest 4 pages above for you to see (you know, you... the 3 or 4 people who read this blog!).

My next comic work will be a strip for the small press mag Future Quake - this is a 4-pager written by Martin Hayes, and it's funny and totally crazy, just what I need. But before I can start work on that, another juicy job has landed in my lap - this time a whole bunch of cartoons for a company that makes flavoured Vodka! Ahhh, if I still drank, I'd be angling for some free samples...

In other news, I have finally begun work on re-designing my site, http://www.jimmibo.co.uk/ - it's looking good so far. Not that there's much wrong with my exisitng site, but it's been a while and it could use a facelift.

And on that bombshell...

Comedy Photo ref!

2007-11-20T17:51:00.000Z

Ahh the joys of drawin' comix!

Digital cameras are the way forward - why trawl through endless web pages looking for photo ref on the net when you can persuade your girlfriend to take photos of yourself acting like a complete idiot?! I'm well and truly back on Dredd now - all my deadlines have been CRUSHED and I can finally finish a few pages of this sample script (only one and a half panels to go).

(Did the script ask for nose-picking? No it didn't, but damn it all to hell I did it anyway).

Feeling ill, ill, ill...

2007-11-14T17:07:00.000Z

Yes, feeling like utter crap this week - caught the dreaded bug going around: headaches, sore throat, you name it. BUT! The show must go on... still hammering away at the work-load, and I've finished 3 of my 4 jobs - just 2 illustrations left for the final one then I can collapse. Except I can't! Got to plow on with the Dredd script as soon as I can.

Here is a look at one of the characters I've been designing for a government website - copyright (c) ICO 2007:

I am SO in demand...

2007-11-05T18:06:00.000Z

Yes, MORE work is flooding in - it seems I can't start one job without another one landing in my lap... I am definitely happy about this! The Judge Dredd script has gone on hold (agaaaain....) while I work to meet these deadlines.

I have 4 characters to design for a website, (deadline for final art is this Thursday) with another possible 4 comic strips featuring those characters (short 4 panel newspaper types). So far it's going well, and I'll post some here if I get permission. I've also been working on storyboards for another animated advertisment for Easy Jet, and there's a possible private commission of 3 illustrations in the near future, too.

As soon as I get back in the comic artist saddle, I'll post some more panels... stay tuned!!

Typical!

2007-11-01T08:19:00.000Z

Yes, typical - I get stuck into the Dredd script, and a load of other work comes pouring in! I'm not complaining mind you - it's paid work, and right now that takes priority. I've just finished the latest comic strip for Manitowoc (a company that manufactures cranes) and some character designs for KinoDV.

While I'm waiting to hear back about the designs, I'm getting stuck into page 3 of the Dredd script, which is looking good, and is a TONNE of fun to draw!!! I really think this would be my dream job, so I'm going for it with everything I've got (and learning a lot along the way).

BIG F$%*ING GUN!

2007-10-22T14:32:00.000+01:00

Working on the Judge Dredd sample script at the moment... things are going well so far. Not much else to report - I'm chained to the drawing board... occasionally I venture outside and squint up at the sun, then quickly scurry back to my dungeon with my pencils and pens. It's the only way to live.

More Brum!

2007-10-15T12:08:00.000+01:00

Here's a look at a couple of my finished pages:

Brum!

2007-10-15T11:16:00.000+01:00

Back from the Birmingham Comics Show - and great fun it was too. It's been over 10 years since I went to one of these things, and it was great to see some familiar faces, and meet many new ones.

Matt Smith from 2000AD seemed to like my work, and is going to send me a sample script to work from, so that's going to be priority number 1 when I get it! I managed to show my portfolio to lots of artists, to get their opinions and valuable advice... PJ Holden was, as ever, a wealth of knowledge! That guy really knows his stuff and was happy to spend time with Sharon and myself, pointing out ways to improve my work.

The Rebellion 2000AD stand:

Here's me with PJ - look how pleased he is to see me!

PJ drawing a sketch of Mean Machine for a fan:

Mike Mignola was great, and made my day when he looked at my portfolio and said he would assume I was already working in comics - that put a big grin on my face. I've been a huge fan of his stuff for many years - his artwork and now his writing.

Meeting Mike Mignola:

Mike again, sketching on Sunday morning:

Another highlight for me was meeting the legend Mick McMahon - I was a major fan of his Dredd stuff back in the 70's and 80's, so to have his advice was fantastic.

Mick Mcmahon, who is obviously thrilled to meet me:

I have to give a special mention also to Rufus Dayglo, who sat down with me and gave a great crit of my work - he has real passion and enthusiasm for comic art and was a pleasure to talk to, as well as writer/editor Tony Lee, who said I should get myself down to the Bristol con next year. Duncan Fegredo was also a star! He was happy to chat for ages, giving me great advice and showing us his portfolio of Hellboy: Darkness Calls pages, which were friggin' fantastic.

AAARGHH!

2007-10-08T14:40:00.000+01:00

Making a few changes to my Dredd pages today, and redrawing a few panels, on the advice of all-round top geezer PJ Holden. I'm also learning a lot more about tweaking and cleaning up my artwork in Photoshop - PJ sometimes recommends I flip a panel here and there, to help with the storytelling... and of course, he's always right.

BLAM, BLAM!

2007-09-25T18:34:00.000+01:00

The carnage continues!

Work is going pretty well - the Birmingham con is less than 3 weeks away, so I'm hoping to find time to do a few more pages before then...

POW!!!

2007-09-20T21:21:00.000+01:00

What's more fun to draw than Old Stoney Face punching a perp in the mouth? Not a lot, that's what!

Back to the Drawing Board

2007-09-18T14:02:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm back from sunny Corfu (except it wasn't... it bloody rained twice!) and I'm back at the drawing board... did a sketch for the Easy Jet people this morning, and I'm working on a few more Dredd pages in preparation for the Birmingham Comic Show, which is just under a month away... so I'll post a couple more pages when they're done.

Pencils...

2007-08-28T09:26:00.000+01:00

Well here's a look at the latest page, in pencils and then inks. I'm redrawing 4 pages or so of a strip originally crafted by the great Cam Kennedy:

UFC!!!!

2007-08-26T21:07:00.000+01:00

Well, this has NOTHING to do with comics, but it is VERY cool... if you've never heard of the UFC, this will mean absolutely nothing to you:

I went shopping this morning with my girlfriend in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. I was in HMV looking at DVDs, and I saw this guy who was the spitting image of Rampage Jackson (who is very famous in the USA - he's the UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion of the world!) standing in line to buy something! I was thinking, there's no way that's him... then I turned round, and Michael Bisping (British UFC fighter) is stood next to me! He said "haha, bet you thought there was no way that could be him!" I was amazed, both these guys out shopping and I bumped into them. They were both really cool, very funny, and their friend took a couple of pics on my phone for me. They're both fighting at UFC 75 next week, at Wembley Arena.

So anyway, here's a couple of pics of me looking like a dork next to two of the UFC's top fighters!

Hot Comic Action!

2007-08-26T20:41:00.000+01:00

Whelp, my blog starts here...

I'm going to chronical my efforts to become a Pro comic artist in this blog! The road will be long, hard and filled with thrills and spills... and long boring hours sat at the drawing board. My first target is going to be 2000 AD - the galaxy's greatest comic. I've been a major Judge Dredd fan since I was a nipper, and to draw Old Stoney face would be a dream come true, so I've begun work on my Dredd sample pages.

First attempt will be to show the 2000AD editor Matt Smith my work at the 2007 Birmingham Comic Show (Oct 13th I think it is), so I'm working on a (hopefully strong) portfolio for this event. My trusty sidekick, the beautiful Sharon will be accompanying me on this epic quest... this will be her first comic con, so I'm going to have to prepare her for the multitude of fanboys who will gawp at her, excited by the prospect of an actual real girl in their midst. Should be fun!

So here are a couple of pages from my portfolio... I may colour a few as well, if I have time - but I'm mainly looking at b/w stuff for now: