I originally created this image of Cobra Commander to be the cover for the G. I. Joe: Field Manual Volume 1. But ultimately we decided we wanted a good guy on the cover and went with a great image of Duke waving the American flag by the Sharp Bros. None-the-less, this image was used for Amazon and other promotions before the book came out.
I was sitting next to master artist Livio Ramondelli at a signing in a comic store one day and began asking him about his methods and process. Afterwards I went home and applied it to this piece. Basically I penciled it in full detail (shadows, textures, etc.) and then digitally colored it with no inking.
The image reflected in Cobra Commander’s mask is the character model for Roadblock that is used in the book. Contrary to my Transformers work, there are no hidden messages or meanings in the numbers. However, the opening dialogue from the cartoon, “G.I Joe is the code name for…” etc, appears. Also that’s where I signed my name. Seemed appropriate considering normally my signature is backwards.
You can check out Livio Ramondelli’s art here: http://www.livioramondelli.com/
And you can get the G.I. Joe: Field Manual Vol. 1 here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613773501/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d3_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=08BM6QVW0F974CQZVF1E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938451&pf_rd_i=507846