No go for Defoe on 1704!

Poor Leigh Gallagher felt the wrath of the Mighty Tharg when coming up with this beautifully designed Defoe cover for Prog 1704. Over at his fantastic blog he tells a sorry tale of pride and rejection. After coming up with some great ideas (shown below) he decided to replicate the painted style of his beautiful cover for the TPB of Defoe 1666.

So, Leigh kept his pencils fairly rough as he was going to paint over 'em anyway...
Which he did, to produce this awesome digital painting...
However, Tharg the Grumpy decided he wanted to see more line work, giving poor Leigh the choice of either inking his already painted image or face a session with Mek Quake. Modest and professional to a fault, Leigh agreed with the bad tempered Betelgeuisian and added some outlines to turn out yet another amazing cover...
Please read Leigh's hilarious version of events over at his brilliant blog. Oh, and I'm sure the ladies would pay handsomely to see the photo refs he did for this cover!

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Yet another stunning cover by Jon Davis-Hunt, it's absolutely outstanding! This is for the superb story Age of the Wolf written by Alec Worley with beautiful art by Jon. The cover depicts Rowan, our plucky heroine, pursued through an eternally moonlit, snow-filled London by a pack of rabid werewolves and their as yet, unnamed leader.

Below are Jon's inks. Jon is a big fan of Katsuhiro Otomo's work, the artist responsible for Akira, so I'm sure he must have been thrilled at the prospect of drawing some bike chases of his own...
Next flat colour is added and a box to denote the 2000AD logo...
Rowen is shaded, bringing out essential detail such as the highlights in her hair, the shape of her nose and those all important cute freckles!
Crikey! The git big wolf is inked into the background!!!
And again, flat colour is added...
The wolf is staggeringly brought to life with the use of highlights and shading, a bit of saliva and some fantastic fur. The dark skies set the picture off...
Finally the finishing touches are added to bring the whole image to life - a whirling snowstorm, that cool headlight and a motion blur that brilliantly suggests a roar! Truly a classic cover!
Here's how it looks on the news stands...
Thanks yet again to Jon for being so kinds as to send the images. Remember to visit his site at here where you will find all kinds of goodies! Examples include the beautiful teaser for 'Age of the Wolf...'
This stunning page from a 'Tales of the Black Museum' story called Purgation (by Arthur Wyatt) sees a perp falling through Dredd's chilling alternative reality...
Finally this amazing spread from Tempest - brilliant!

Ding dong! Dredd calling!

Wow! The amazing Mark Harrison, Rebellion's head of concept, is back with an explosive Dredd cover to accompany the current 'Skinning Room' tale. The cover is packed with movement and intelligent little nods to some of Mark's favourite movies. Fans of Mark's work know that he loves to 'audition' Hollywood actors in his art and add cinematic 'Easter Eggs' to enhance the experience for the reader. This cover is no different so, over to Mark...

"Here's the Dredd cover story: I took a couple ideas of Dredd to Tharg as possible covers; The first was Dredd referencing a "Dirty Harry: Magnum Force" poser with the Statue of Justice in the background..."

Mark's Idea (above) and the very cool Magnum Force poster below...

Mark's second cover idea was also based on a couple of no-nonsense American Cops, John Wayne's James Brannigan from the 1975 action flick Brannigan (see the trailer here) and Sylvester Stallone's controversial portrayal of Megacity-One's finest. "My other idea was Dredd kicking in a door blasting; partly inspired by the John Wayne film "Brannigan" where he kicks down doors with a "Knock knock!" and the moment we first see Dredd in action in the film Judge Dredd as he "pacifies" Block war rooms. In fact the latter choice would define Dredd for me as I struggled to put my take on the look of Dredd..."

Above, Mark's sketch for the cover.

As we all know, Mark was a pioneer of digital art and it's use is still an integral part of his craft. He continues "The sketch approved, I quickly knocked up a Poser figure in a Bryce corridor (both 3-D apps I use occasionally) , a very basic texture overlaid onto the background (same one I've been using for years on Durham Red) to give perspective and some dynamic lighting to give me a foundation point. I had something clearly in mind; as in the movie, Dredd has blasted open the door and eased into the room into a half crouch as he rapid fires in an arc, taking out all the perps. A lot of repositioning; balancing the silhouette of the figure in the doorway. Not too low as to be lost, but not so high as to be a giant. Also space for the dynamics to work, the guns spinning out of flailing hands. A good chunk of time finessing this spacial relationship, where 3-D really helps (although i fudge it in the end!)"

"I'd had a chequered past illustrating Dredd in the past, first trying to realistically portray him then following the art styles of others. I decided I wanted to do "my version" for a change, a hybrid of the comic and the movie. Whatever you might think of the movie "Judge Dredd," there are some good design choices there. I liked the chunky, blocky look of the design throughout. My favourite comic version of Dredd is the very first Ezquerra/McMahon "Motorcycle Helmet" Dredd. The scaling of the uniform is at it's most practical and Dredd looks like a young, lean, pouting and arrogant Clint Eastwood from the Dollars movies."

Mark continues "The movie had a great helmet look. One thing I liked was how it squared off the "Death mask/skull" red flashing on the helmet. Rounded I think it looks weak and the movie one front on it looks quite devilish, so I incorporated that look into the helmet. I also preferred the turned up collar. It feels more military, stiff, tight and formal and more in keeping with the discipline of a Judge."

Above - The Block War scene that was obviously an inspiration and the 'devilish' movie helmet.

"The helmet alone accounted for 30% of the time spent on this image, refining it and getting it right. Even now I'm looking at the eyes thinking should I have dropped the angle a millimetre or so."
"In the sketch I originally had Dredd bursting in, respirator down, having Stumm gassed the place, gasses swirling dynamically, but thought it would be better to see his face. The chunky angular respirator, eagle and shoulder pads also fell into that blocky, utilitarian look. I should have carried to look through to the badge and belt buckle but I had been generously given a Termight Replica badge by Wakefield Carter and I thought it would be a shame not to use it!"

WARNING! The next part may be controversial!!! "Elbow and Knee pads were a pain. I confess I don't like them- the green just doesn't work. (Sorry Carlos!) So I darkened them down to muddy green and had the scene lit by green muzzle flashes. Why green? That's a nod to the Sandman's gun in the film "Logan's Run". (In the book the Sandmen were judge, jury and executioner and their guns fired 6 types of round including heat seeker. I "challenged" Mr. Wagner that "Logan's Run" was an influence on Judge Dredd and he growled that he "read a lot of books"....)"

Mark lets us in on some of the in-jokes in the text on the piece and manages to squeeze in another film reference! "A key ingredient in any Dredd story is a dark humour, so I have a sort of scrolling LED display above the door saying "YOU HAVE A VISITOR" that you can imagine being cheerfully announced moments before Dredd bursts in and guns down the occupants!
The "Smart door" also carries a bit of text (and some in-jokes) on it; an overlay that suggests that Judges in a crackdown situation can render all doors unlocked. I always liked it when the world of Dredd whilst exciting and heroic also carried this underlying feeling of oppression and the denial of human liberties. Dredd is not a nice guy. He's just better than the alternative!"

As for the door text, the "1187 Hunter Gratzner" was deliberate; I changed it from Blade Runner's "1187 Hunterwasser- I loved those model maker guys!) "K.Howell" is a friend of mine who *HATES* Judge Dredd. Dredd isn't too fond of him, either!"

"Finally, some gun smoke and debris and motion blur to suggest kinetic movement in the scene. Again, another balancing act of too much vs too little.

Some background detailing from the inside of a helicopter for the corridor (probably not necessary, my biggest weakness, knowing when to stop) I wanted it to look like the bowels of a ship or cargo containers. Not nice living quarters.

Some colour passes and tweaking, bring out the red of the helmet and bringing up the values on the eagle pad and face to centre the readers eye (and hopefully lessen the naturally lighter lit corridor behind.) Some specular light from the gun flash right on the bridge of the nose. Okay, we lost some red but the high point centres the eye. Check back with the sketch to see if can restore some of the energy lost in the process. Add a bit more "whoosh" and "zap" brush marks... done! (Entirely painted in PhotoShop CS2)"
"Efforts prove a hit with Tharg who likes the movement in the scene."

And dammit, so do I. A fine cover that is superbly cinematic, taking the best elements of the flawed old Dredd movie and creating a masterpiece. Ironically, Mark tells me that "A few days after submitting the work it was announced a new Judge Dredd film was being made!"

So here's hoping the new movie has half the passion and intelligence that Mr Harrison puts into his work! Thanks to Mark for the fascinating info, especially as he wasn't at his best when he sent it. True services to thrill power!

Leigh Gallagher (Crocodile) Rocks!

Hey you stinking Reeks! Shuffle over to Leigh Gallagher's wonderful blog to see how he put this weeks' superb cover together. There you will see his rough proposal for Tharg (complete with cheesy tag line,) hilarious (but ever-so-sexy) reference photo, pencils, fantastic inks (shown below) and the final, zarjaz image!

Naturally, Leigh explains the processes involved at each stage in his humourous style. One of the things that made me chuckle is that he was very pleased with the way the light shone through the water; however, both the preview image at the back of prog 1700 and the actual cover has this obscured by lettering! It's Karl Richardson's Big Ben all over again!
So, head off immediately to Leigh's Blog to get all the info. Also, be sure to check out his hilarious interview with Everything Comes Back to 2000AD's Richard McAuliffe's over at Geek Syndicate.

You can see the rest of Leigh's amazing 2000AD covers here too.

Jon Davis-Hunt's Legendary Prog 1700 Cover!

Wow, the truly stunning cover to the landmark Prog 1700 by the fantastic Jon Davis-Hunt. As well as on the prog, Jon's brilliant art features in it too as we finally get to see his and Alec Worley's gripping new strip 'Age of the Wolf.'

As ever, Jon has been very generous with his time, sending a fantastic set of images and fascinating insights into each stage of his Zarjaz cover. Of course, regular readers will know that Jon kindly sneaked MY name on the image (when I'm not writing this blog I'm Shift Manager at the Nerve Centre) and again, I'd like to express my eternal thanks. I don't think I slept on Friday night I was so excited!

So, over to Jon...

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 01 Sketch

"I did a series of very quick small, thumbnails first, just to get the rough composition right. When I was happy with one, I then enlarged it to the size of the cover, reduced the opacity by about 75% in Photoshop and then did a slightly tighter, more detailed sketch over the top. I then used this as my roughs for the cover..."

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2000AD Thrill Power Cover 02 Inks

"I tend to ink in Photoshop now, so once I'm happy with the penciled or digital rough, I move everything into Photoshop, add a layer of 100% white over the top (which I switch on/off as needs be to hide my roughs) and start inking on top on a further layer. I tend to ink the outlines first, then go in and block out shadows afterwards. With this image, because I knew it was going to be a really detailed cover, I decided to separate the Inks into a foreground and a background layer. I did this to make it easier to colour later, and also, just in case I wanted to slightly tone down the blacks of the inks in the background at a later stage (which, in fact, I did.) I did this to better distinguish the foreground from the background and give the image a better sense of depth, rather than it becoming just a flat mess of wires."

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 03 Base Colours

"I'd already done a few quick colour swatches for the image and decided quite quickly that I wanted to keep the tech a light, almost off-white grey colour. I thought this would contrast better against the dark blue of Thargs suit and also, it would better reflect the strong colours I knew I was going to use for the large vats of 'Pure Power' and 'Thrill Concentrate'. When I first add colours, I simply colour flat, then add a very light directional gradient to give some slight form, which I then emphasise more at a later stage..."

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 04 Background Inks

"I added more colour to the foreground and some texturing to the metal also, then moved on to the inking of the background. As I mentioned before, I inked this on a separate layer, so that I could greyscale these inks, and drop them back from the foreground if I wished."

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 05 Background Colours

"I then coloured the background and also began laying in some additional dirt and steam effects, to add some depth to the background."

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 06 Background Complete

"I finally finished the inks and tech around Tharg's arms. Originally, I had thought about putting Tharg in an actual exo-suit, but decided upon the more 'puppeteer' style controls, as you could more clearly see his costume and the details of his hands and how they matched with the arms. I also thought it was a nice contrast between the really chunky feel of the robotic arms themselves and the fine, intricate workings of the controls.

2000AD Thrill Power Cover 07 Final Lighting and Amends

"This step is actually dozens and dozens of steps, all merged into one. I added the text and additonal texturing first, then began the process of lighting the scene. I started at the top, where the two main sources of lights would be coming from, and just slowly 'painted' the red and blue highlights over the mech. I always find it hard at this stage not to get too carried away. The first version had a huge explosion coming from the 'Thrill-Vat' that covered most of the bottom of the image, but it was just too over the top and covered a lot of the detail I had already done, so I reigned it in considerably to the smaller chemical reaction, which I think works a lot better. I also made several amends at this point, mainly the logo on Thargs costume which had to be changed and also some small lighting and texture changes. And finally, I added in the all important computer screens. : )"

Below is a close up of that 'all important' computer screen with my name proudly on it. A dream come true!
So thanks again to Jon for a typically entertaining Blog entry and certainly one of the best 2000AD covers ever! Remember to visit his wonderful web site here and use the search function at the top of this page to see more examples of his breathtaking covers!

Avast me hearties - Ten Years of Captain (Boo) Cook!

Ahoy there landlubbers, cast yer beady eyes on this amazing Red Seas cover by the amazing Boo Cook! It's exactly ten years since Boo began to work for the House of Tharg, his first credit being in Prog 1208, dated 30th August 2000. It was a Steve Moore penned Future Shock called "Home from the War." So to celebrate ten zarjaz years we have this absolutely jaw dropping cover. Boo was thrilled with the subject material, he says, "I've never done pirates before, so I got kinda excited about this one!"

He continues "Here's the roughs; they're basically the same, but Matt wanted a background, so I threw in Steve's pegasus wreck."

And, as Tharg obviously forgot to add 'shame circuits' to the Cook droid, he was also kind enough to send these brilliant reference photos! Note the grabbing hand toy, perhaps Captain Hook would have been better off with one of them... Hmmm, it always amazes me how lifelike Tharg's droids can be...
Next we have Boo's stunning inks, he says "Having worked for 2000AD for exactly 10 years now this cover marks a full circle for me, in as much as I inked it with a good ol' Smiths 49p biro, just like the old days.... ahhh...bliss!"

Biro!?! Absolutely amazing work...

And finally, the beautiful finished version. "I wanted to try and give it a really Turner-esque boiling seascape sort've sky," says the artist, "And it would be remiss of me not to add that I was really studying, and greatly influenced by, the work of Jose Ladronn when painting this one up in Photoshop."
Absolutely stunning work, I'm sure you'll agree. So here's to another ten years with Boo and the galaxy's greatest read!

You can see more of Boo's mind blowing covers here and follow his outstanding blog 'All Tomorrow's Particles' here. Thanks once again to Boo for being so generous with his time and talent!

Mutiespotting!

Above we have the fabulous cover for Dogbreath number 23 by rising star artist James Feist. Based on an idea by writer, Hi-Ex organiser and all round whore Richmond Clements. Obviously the image is based on the classic Trainspotting poster (shown below) and features some of our favourite mutant bounty hunters, as well as Mr Sun and Mr Moon, from the much loved Journey Into Hell story (as well as staring in some Dogbreath tales of their own.)
And here's the image with the full text, brilliant!
Next up, the cover of the forthcoming issue of Zarjaz by super artdroid, Leigh Gallagher. Leigh has written a typically entertaining post on his own blog about the piece (including a rather gratuitous shot of his arse!) so I won't steal his thunder here.

The cover is for the Flesh tale 'Flesh-Extinction' by Mark Howard and Chris Geary. Below are Leigh's roughs, pencils, inks and the final awe inspiring piece. Please check out Leigh's blog to find out more.




Zarjzaz and Dogbreath will be available soon, keep checking The Quaequam Blog for news!

Thanks as ever to Bolt for sending the images.

EDIT - The ever-wise Emperor from the 2000AD messageboard informed us in the comments section that James had done a version with the line up in the same order as the Trainspotting poster. Here it is, cheers Emp!: