Deadly Garden: Banner 8/6/09

As you've probably noticed, there's a new banner for the blog. The original banner was more or less a place holder until I could come up with something unique. My style is...well I don't know how I would self identify. I prefer a pin-up style; gorgeous and glamorous depictions of people and life. Poison Ivy is an ideal candidate for such a thing. Her coloring and shape (including the spiraling hair and vines) lend themselves to fantasy and beauty.

My original concept was fairly cliched. Poison Ivy casting lusty gazes while surrounded by lively plants. And you know what? It works. That's why it's been done hundreds of times. Below is my original sketch for this piece. I'm fairly no nonsense (and often broke) so I just doodled this on a page in an old sketchbook.


I tend to not follow rules when it comes to inking. In fact, this time around I used nothing more than a simple Bic ball point pen. It's easy to push/pull a line in any direction without a lot of mess. I also don't do a lot of crosshatching. I'm not good at it so I rarely bother. However, it does leave the inked image looking a bit "coloring book-ish" in appearance. Pretty though.


When coloring images I like to mix a slightly airbrushed effect with a mostly flat background. I've figured that if everything is eye-popping sparkly you run the danger of treading into Lisa Frank territory. So the more detailed surfaces and colors go to the focal point. I prefer a more sallow skin tone for Poison Ivy rather than the She-Hulk green that is often used. There is such a thing as too much green (even in this instance). To push the image further I decided to go with colored ink lines instead of the standard black. It really makes things pop. I recently learned a new Photoshop technique to do that very thing. I had been doing it the hard way -- but this new process is so much easier.


And there you have it. My little effort to bring beauty to this neck of the woods (pun intended). I really do enjoy drawing -- especially this character. So we'll see what the future holds. FYI by clicking on those images you can see larger versions.

Posted in: Art