Cover art for SWEETS #5 !

Here you go! Click image to enlarge.

Cover!

Here's a look at the cover for issue #3 of SWEETS. Note, I did already show this on Facebook and Twitter last week, so everyone on those pages got a sneak peek last week.

Enjoy! (Click image to enlarge)

There it is, a look at the entire first issue of SWEETS!

DANG! Too bad the photo is too small to actually see anything. Oh well. :)

First two covers, side by side.

Click images to enlarge.

Sweets panel!

Here's a new panel from SWEETS. Reminder, please pre-order this comic with your local comic shop retailer. It has a huge impact on the success (or failure) of a comic book. Go here to find a comic shop near you, then print out this code and have them reserve you a copy: MAY10 0427

Click image to enlarge:

Sweets preview!

(click images to enlarge)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SWEET ON DARK AND GRITTY CRIME

Newcomer Kody Chamberlain writes and draws SWEETS for Image Comics

Berkeley, CA - 22 April 2010 - Newcomer and Louisiana native Kody Chamberlain makes his Image Comics debut with SWEETS, a five-issue crime drama set in New Orleans shortly before Hurricane Katrina strikes.

"New Orleans is a great town for crime comics. It's rich with culture, architecture and all the little details that rarely show through in comic books," says Chamberlain. "I've lived in South Louisiana all my life: I don't have to jump on Google to find tourist photos. The music is my music, and the slang is my slang. Hopefully, that shows through and makes the city come alive for the readers."

"Kody has one of the freshest perspectives I've seen in a while," says Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. "His artwork is fantastic, but he's a great writer as well, and SWEETS is going to be the book to read."

SWEETS: A spree killer terrorizes New Orleans days before Hurricane Katrina makes landfall. Detective Curt Delatte just buried his only daughter, and he's in no condition to work. But when the bodies pile up, Delatte masks his grief and joins the hunt through the bowels of the Big Easy. It won't be long until his city---and his evidence---gets washed away.

SWEETS #1, a full-color 32-page comic written and drawn by Kody Chamberlain, will be available for $2.99 and in stores on July 14, 2010. A special preview of SWEETS can be found in CHEW #11, in stores on June 9, 2010.

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

Issue #2 Cover Sketches

Cover sketches for issue 2 of SWEETS. Just wrapped up the inks, and I'm nearly done coloring. I'll upload a peek soon. Enjoy!

Full page!

Here's a finished page from the pitch. (Click the graphic to enlarge) Someone asked recently about the spatter effects I'm getting on the pages. Those are all done on the original page. After penciling, I dip an old toothbrush in masking fluid and scrape my thumb across the toothbrush to spray the fluid in certain areas. The masking fluid protects the paper from the ink. I also dip my quills and brushes in the masking fluid to create what will eventually become white lines on the page. It's almost impossible to find a quality white ink that's easy to work with, so this is just an easier and faster solution for me. Once I'm done inking the entire page, I can just rub off the masking fluid to reveal the white paper underneath.

Once I'm done rubbing away the masking fluid, I dip the toothbrush into my india ink and spray a bit of black around the page. It's subtle, but I enjoy having a bit of spatter and texture in my work. Since this is a gritty crime story, I want that edge to the work. Clean slick lineart just doesn't work for me on this type of story. Whenever possible I do try and keep it all on the original art page, but I have created a set of spatter brushes in the past for this type of thing. I used them a bit on the Luke McBain comic I just finished for 12 Gauge Comics. If you're interested, you can grab those brushes here. Sorry, but I offer no assistance on using or installing these brushes except that you should only click once to create the spatter. Dragging the brush will not work properly. Hit Google and look for some Photoshop Brush tutorials, they'll have a ton of helpful info.

The pitch!

The pitch pages are done! Finished up the lettering today, and now I've got to comb over the script a few times to make sure it's solid. Should have it in the mail to the publisher on Monday. More info on that soon.

Coloring a page

Here's a peek at a SWEETS page, in progress. Mostly brushing in the solid colors and creating some depth. I'm sticking with a limited color palette to maintain some unity in the pages, something black and white comics have by default. I'm still experimenting with this, I may end up doing something completely different for the finished book. 

Color experiments

Some color experiments using the iPhone app called Peppermint. I do these when I'm stuck waiting in line somewhere or when I take a little break. It's a good way to take a quick break from drawing and avoid wasting time on Facebook or Twitter. I've included a screen grab of the Peppermint app so you can see one of the color wheel tools.

Anytime I need a new color palette for an illustration or design, I pull these up to help speed up the process. Adobe's Kuler works in a similar way and ties into all the Adobe apps, but I do find the Peppermint iPhone app a bit more convenient since I can play with it just about anywhere and quickly crank out a few color experiments.

Colors

Experimenting with colors on an iPhone app named Peppermint. At this point I'm considering using a limited color palette throughout the book.

What's all this about, anyway?

Welcome to my BLOG.

Here's a bit of info on why I started a blog, and why you may, or may not, find it interesting.

I'm in the early stages of a new creator owned comic currently titled "Sweets." On this particular comic I'll be doing ALMOST everything including writing, drawing, coloring, marketing, logo design, etc. I'd probably run the printing press if they'd let me. I just really enjoy the process of making comics so I get involved with as much of it as I can. Why let someone else have all the fun?

So I've decided to disclose as much of the process as I can without causing trouble. That means I'll avoid story spoilers, and I may shy away from certain things (like specific financial details) because it could hurt my ability to negotiate certain things down the road. But I will try and be as upfront and honest about as much as I can, and when I'm not able to disclose specific information I'll make an effort to explain why. I'll also be mirroring all this info on my forum over at Digital Webbing since some enjoy reading the forum format more than the Blog format.

What's going to be discussed? I'll talk about all sorts of things from art tools, software, inking techniques, tips and tricks, thumbnails, business decisions, marketing strategy, design tricks, dealing with publishers, storytelling decisions, Hollywood chaos, etc. However, I won't make any promises about posting daily or with any guaranteed frequency. Deadlines can be hell, and that means I'll be going 'off the grid' for a while when I need to.

Along the way I'll answer as many questions as possible.

How's that sound?