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Spike vs. The Diamond Dogs – My Little Pony

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I have a lot of My Little Pony stuff, don’t I? Hmm… Next post I will do something slightly more serious. …Slightly! Until then, here’s Spike defending the honor of his beloved Rarity from the dreaded Diamond Dogs. I know, Rarity can take care of herself. But it never hurts to have a dragon on your side.

spike_versus_the_diamond_dogs_by_billforster-Comic book art Comic artist

This is sorta my process: 1) I sketch out the idea on whatever scrap paper I have laying around. 2) I pencil it. I usually pencil on cheap copy paper. You can see I used two pieces taped together here. 3) Using a light box I ink the pencils onto a standard comic board. 4) If crayons and finger paint aren’t readily available, I scan and digitally color the image. So simple, even a Diamond Dog can do it!

Bill_Forster_My_Little_Pony_Comic book art Comic artist Bill_Forster_My_Little_Pony_Comic book art Comic artist Bill_Forster_My_Little_Pony_Comic book art Comic artist

Your question is, “Why don’t you just pencil directly on the comic board and cut out the use of the light box?”

To quote boy genius Master Billy Quizboy, “That’s an excellent question. …I have no idea.”

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Transformers In Color! – comic book coloring

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It’s about time I posted some Transformers. Here are some comic book coloring samples I have done.

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These are the same colored pages next to their uncolored selves. I think the comparison is kinda neat.

Transformers_Comic Book Coloring_Bill_ForsterTransformers_Comic Book Coloring_Bill_Forster

Bill_Forster_Transformers_The_Ark_book_Coloring_Comic Book ArtHere’s my first attempt at coloring Transformers on Don Figueroa’s cover for The Ark Volume 1 so many years ago, I like to think I’ve gotten a little better! The same image was later reprinted on the combined version The Complete Ark, which has both Volumes 1 & 2 and some bonus stuff in there too.

The best complement I get from the Ark books is when I go to a Transformers show and all the artists have a copy with them for reference.

Some interesting Ark trivia for ya! We got Don to draw the cover before we had a book deal with IDW. In fact, we used Don’s art work as the cover for our pitch document. Turns out editors like to see initiative and The Ark became a reality.

Here comes the cheap plug… Which you can buy here: http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Complete-Compendium-Animation-Models/dp/1600100805/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378682781&sr=1-13

 

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A Hairy Situation! – Sedusa vs. Powerpuff Girls

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A quick little cover sample of The Powerpuff Girls!! I went kinda nutso on Sedusa’s hair, I know. The big empty area on the upper left side is there for a logo to be dropped in. I would have had the logo slightly askew and some hair holding it up. I always have to remember to leave room for dialogue, sound f/x, and logos, but mostly the artist credits. That’s most important!

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Here is the uncolored inked page:

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I don’t like posting one small image at a time. It makes the blog look sloppy,…so sketches! These are some character studies of the girls just to fill space.

 

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Hmpf! Chief Thunderhooves of My Little Pony

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So I was drawing a few comic book art sample pages for My Little Pony and in the middle of my little story I had Rainbow Dash take off and fly at super sonic speed across Equestria. I thought, “How can I show both the fast paced urgency and the distance she is traveling?” It occurred to me that having her “buzz” a relatively static character in a field would do quite nicely. Who better than the stoic Chief Thunderhooves?

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Bill_Forster_My_Little_Pony_ThunderhoovesHere’s the inked page!

This page turned out to be a fun little story all on it’s own. I like that I didn’t draw in Rainbow Dash but rather solely her rainbow wake to indicate her zooming by.

…and yeah, I drew the background three separate times. I’m kinda dumb like that.

 

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Unicron Sketch for a Transformers Fan!

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Oh this is fun! A Transformers fan connected me and asked me to sign his copy of The AllSpark Almanac for him via the US Postal Service. He asked if I could include a sketch of my interpretation of Unicron. So I sent him this:

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He then posted this great video of him receiving the sketch. Thanks Zeltrax Millenium for the super vid! (Transformers folk always have the best names!)

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Highball on the Low Road – comic book coloring

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Outlaw Territory_Comic Book Coloring_Comic Book Artist Bill Forster Some more comic book coloring. I “slapped down them colors” on a story for Outlaw Territory Volume #3 for Image Comics. The story was written by Chris Ryall and the line art was done by Drew Moss.

Outlaw Territory_Comic Book Coloring_Comic Book Artist Bill Forster Outlaw Territory_Comic Book Coloring_Comic Book Artist Bill Forster I’ve know Chris for a while having published some Transformers books with IDW, but it was quite a thrill to actually work with him directly on a story he wrote. Working on Drew’s art was icing on the cake. 

If you haven’t read any of the Outlaw Territory books, you should. They’re a good time!

Check out Chris Ryall’s collection of “comic stuff and nonsense” at Ryall’s Files here: http://ryallsfiles.tumblr.com/

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