![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ebSlCm51udh7IkHlWIV8n5Q0cFrEEJ0eR2HH7DbbnJBoKu2ln9DtltqcCEBNPOgMGlWkQC3jOaohWZHqAs5b-PDiJrUZp2ZgrVG9DiEv_2_xEw28syMHmrOd-00JsaZw5MV5Gu5-yteL/s400/Dandridge+Cover+07+Final.jpg)
As usual, Jon has sent a brilliant step by step breakdown of each stage of the creative process as well as some superb commentary. A top guy! So, over to Jon:
"I usually send Tharg three or four sketches initially for a cover, but in this case, I had a pretty clear idea in my head what I thought the cover should look like. So, I sent Tharg this sketch with an short accompanying email, just explaining the final look for the cover. While I'd been doing the initial research for the Dandridge series, I'd found a load of Vaudeville Edwardian style posters online, so wanted to capture some of that feel in this cover. At this point, I still hadn't finally decided on the details of the ghosts armour, so in this sketch, he has solid steel gauntlets. He also has a visor as I wasn't 100% sure how it was going to look yet."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKv10MLCJZsmJ_9zw5vIRJ_kJD9USO_5gR9aBJu-kYFrYXud6Z2y5-esgE80q41GNeyrhqRlTEZIjMwxx1IvbLLEL5Xk6cpraY9K0vcGhPXoVGCbJXs3tQkiV4y9PvqjxzPJUG30s18bZ/s400/Dandridge+Cover+01+Rough.jpg)
Man, I love this next image. Jon says "For this cover I inked Dandridge in full first. The original idea for this was that I was contemplating have the ghost armour slightly transparent, so I intended on effectively inking the ghost in on a separate layer in photoshop and then taking the opacity down later. However, shortly after I finished inking Dandridge, I decided against that, as I wanted instead, to make the armour look really heavy and reflective and as the background was going to have a delicate and intricate Edwardian design, I thought this might clash if the inking on the Ghost let the background show through."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLMeNoN0oD1yDtl6YvDRrAlNcAdDXUgh2EYYWnJHfX7ITdK4tV_pff1dXR784svY2elXNm1HEmM9p0t3R8QHtpWqSIhEf41K7UGcebjrzZsq6LHFl8n-xeUQf_6PiFj6KHrCwBNJ5yAiK/s400/Dandridge+Cover+02+Dan+Inks.jpg)
"So I went straight on and inked in the ghost. It was at this point I decided to give the Ghost's gauntlets the segmented metal look - mainly because I always loved this effect when Marc Silvestri used to ink Colossus back in the Xmen in the early 90's."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQaSj1o_VWaHiEclR6OQKYlHgbtFFHDgekQSX9mkcRhGlC3UvIjlsDwIt_mngIDdU6q75HIHeHbkKeSRh1MKuWI15pGQnat3Rj7pGlf88ygA7Xwc4_F-Ze951LWZ6eVgh1109wasSHxW2/s400/Dandridge+Cover+03+Full+Inks.jpg)
With the inks in place, it's time for some of Jon's exquisite colouring; "I then flat coloured the image, using the colour swatches I had already built up from doing the series."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3LmOvdHRkJZTI4QvFUuKkrLfcxpQJ9KOaz3ZwHIU2ToWceDUkqvSmTOo7zh9Qwj_3wDHIQTnM7mCEfrLSoFZLLueOU0aEh_PTwLEiNFLIAyhSOFtn975cL1tekAvPjxsrNIfG0DcZMVc/s400/Dandridge+Cover+04+Flat+Colours.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NtoFfMJyN0yOO2MdrhpdCMbW2ZFqEsZ0QlRqWAI1veKsw-16mLO3LI8qXu7lt51AjCfXzrC4bfc__DuoPrPiygKcaLh27PeRYXB0aaFVWr2KL3Tcd6OpduSFmN_nCoDXy0f6hYI7LmAv/s400/Dandridge+Cover+05+Full+Colours.jpg)
Jon adds the background detail - "I then added in the background, which I just kind of made up on the spot, based on a whole host of Edwardian posters and playing cards..." Bloody show off!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHS2GYzV3yhjWUvjEY_R9FcTjDJ8YQSHsRXFVYzcXBns9E-KVFFQmlpQDoja_upMYBZepwStoJ_UKKCig8_SHvxvK6OaUHAfX0y1zD3_IF-0X2LKRnQfgkOPpjqdIqZ_xioAcO046_9Bt/s400/Dandridge+Cover+06+Background.jpg)
And finally, some of the old JDH magic, "The final stage was to add in the shine and glow effects for the ghost and armour and also Dandridge's blade. I then added several washes to the overall image, to pull the colours together and to slightly age the image, which I then enhanced by adding in several textures, from scanned in pieces of paper and from sources I found on the web of interesting textures. Again, I wanted to really give the poster a worn, aged, Vaudeville quality."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEECK7S7Cyz9qiVecsAGPZocY18h-v8FvCB-S4F25LZuTaCQP74yaWpcNXA1ZxCUzOuQEp1bi20g2uwymI6zsJQTifxUEnFoLYsZUToohyxlW-2yb6KhHu9t6Wk8uD_ZqHvqjzrXLMlP5/s400/Dandridge+Cover+07+Final.jpg)
Jon's artwork on this strip has been amazing, below is an actual page from the story...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kr6Rr8pYtmWVo9LjGOEbwI54VYM0FBzrzMYnqFgDAaJpa7OG4zSW-qHxrARNGnaChfbCxcs1MKyaR5mo7xKiyDiKF0N9z3FMrT7Dn2XU3dLwVLf972Z2sJVRQRPMQWSOBBaWDUS_OuAs/s400/DanSplash01.jpg)
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