Inazuma Studios

ZEGAS

2011-08-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Approx. 8.5"x11"; India ink, colored dye, watercolors, and colored pencils on watercolor paper

My friend, cartoonist Michel Fiffe, released the first issue of his self published 'Zegas' a couple of weeks ago. In fact, he just had a release party for it this past Friday in Brooklyn, New York.

I've been a fan of Michel's art and excellent articles on comics/cartooning for a while now. And I more than enjoyed my copy of 'ZEGAS' when I ordered it from him. It's great fun with fabulous art.

Since I'm not the most eloquent talker, as appreciation, I asked Michel if it would be OK to do some 'fan art' of one of the main characters, Emily. Michel said 'cool' and here we are.

If you get a chance, check out Michel's work and contact him to order a copy of 'ZEGAS'. He's a great cartoonist and an even greater guy.

The link to Michel's website is in my Favorites to the right of this page.
Or just go to www.michelfiffe.com.

-ADRIAN

ART FOR SALE!

2011-07-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hey gang!

See a piece here on the blog that you like? Unless it was a private commission or a personal piece, it will most likely be available for sale at the brand spankin' new Inazuma Studios store at Etsy.com!

The storefront just went live tonight with more pieces being added soon.

You can visit the Store right now or anytime by clicking the banner in the 'Art For Sale' sidebar to the right of this page.

Thanks for your support!

-ADRIAN JOHNSON

ROY BATTY

2011-07-09T15:30:00.001-07:00

9"x12"; India ink and acrylics on watercolor paper

Continuing my movie theme (and now my second piece connected to Rutger Hauer), I did Roy Batty from 'Blade Runner'. Aside from a couple of reference shots, I really made very little concession to keeping the likeness. In fact, after laying down my initial pencils for this, I put the reference aside and went with my own recollection of the scene. This was a lot of fun and educational for me in terms of process.

Speaking of, here are a few process shots I scanned:

1. I started by emptying shavings out of my lead holder and scrubbing them into the paper with a paper towel to establish a shadow. I picked out lighting with a kneaded eraser. Then I laid down the linework and indicated spot blacks. Lastly, I took a colored pencil and put a tone around the usual places to be worked over later in the painting.

2. Next, I filled in my spot blacks.

3. I skipped a few process shots as i was getting into the painting. But I started the color with laying down the blues. Next, I washed some Process Yellow to start establishing skin tone and throw some light onto the body inside the hole in the wall. Then, I washed Process Magenta to mix with the Process Yellow to finish my skin tones and bring my colored pencil tone from earlier.

I mixed some Process Yellow and Titanium White together in increments to starting blasting the scene with highlights and start on Roy's platinum-blonde hair. I placed a light touch of Pthalo Blue in the eyes and mixed a red from Process Magenta and Process Yellow for the Replicant reflection in the pupils. Then i took a razor blade and scratched up the tile and some of Roy's face.

Lastly, I noticed that there was still too much of the yellow showing on the highlighted side of the face. So I blasted it with highlights of pure Titanium White and called it done.

WULFGARRR!

2011-07-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ballpoint pen, ink, and watercolor on watercolor paper

Quick color sketch from my favorite scene of one of my favorite movies, Nighthawks. It's got Sly Stallone and Billy Dee Williams matching wits with international terrorist 'Wulfgar' played by Rutger Hauer. It's a neat little crackerjack thriller lost in the shuffle of films of the early 1980s. - AJ

WONDER WOMAN!

2011-05-05T04:36:00.001-07:00

12"x17.5", ink, acrylics and watercolor on watercolor paper

A recent commission (Thanks, Tisha!).

Joan Crawford

2011-04-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

6.5" x 6.5", pencil and electric eraser on copy paper.

'LIZ'

2011-03-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

9"x12". Acrylics, watercolor and Micron pen on cold press watercolor paper

WATCH THIS SPACE

2011-02-25T04:43:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Inazumastudios.com is finally preparing for its grand relaunch!

My previous web host completely bungled my site and associated e-mails for the last two weeks. After trying to contact them for repair, they were unavailable for good reason I discovered... turns out they've been defunct since September 2010. But still taking money from customers for service!

Live and learn...

So I made the switch to a new provider to get things cracking again and so far so good. The proper site should be up shortly once the content and design is produced.

In the meantime, watch this space: InazumaStudios.com

Thanks,
ADRIAN JOHNSON
Illustrator/Owner

MY EARLY VALENTINE

2011-02-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

7.5" x 14", Micron pen, brush, India ink, and X-Acto blade on Bristol board

This is for the monthly 'Sketchbook Challenge' featured on the 11 O'Clock Comics podcast forums. The theme for this month was 'Comic Book Couples' in honor of Valentine's Day. Instantly, I knew exactly who I wanted to do: my faves Big Barda and Mister Miracle.

I loves me some Big Barda, so any chance to draw her is a good time. Plus I've always wanted to draw Mister Miracle wrapped in a gaggle of chains a la Kirby. It was also fun to take my X-acto knife and rip up the board to make the lighting of the chains. I wanted a rough, rusty texture on the chains, and drybrushing white acrylic on them would not have done the trick.
And it feels good to run my hand across it and actually feel the texture.

There are a couple of things off in this piece, but oh well. It was tons of fun and I got an image out of my head that I've wanted to draw for a long time.

-A

A Princess of Themyscira Redux

2011-02-01T05:22:00.001-08:00

9"x14", Micron pen, india ink, and white acrylic on Bristol board

This month will mark the first anniversary of this blog. Thanks to all who have followed this blog and left great comments and critiques. The first ever post in this blog was a Wonder Woman piece. So for the sake of celebration, here is a new Wonder Woman piece.

I worked up this piece for the Big Beautiful Wonder Woman blog, It's headed by Jamar Nicholas, a talented cartoonist in his own right. As an ardent admirer of the rubenesque female and a fan of the character, this was an absolute joy to draw.

I have a color version coming in a couple of days and that will be what I submit to Mr. Nicholas' blog. In the meantime, visit his blog and check the very nice art in all types of styles there. It's very cool.

Now if somebody created a BIG Beautiful Big Barda blog (say that three times fast), I'd really be in trouble...

JUNGLE ACTION

2011-01-19T05:38:00.001-08:00

A much belated commission for my buddy Jason 'Woooood' Woodrow.
(Big ups to the Eleven O'Clock Comics podcast!)

11"x17", colored pencils, India ink, and acrylics on toned paper.

KING

2011-01-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

For the last three years, I've wanted to take the MLK holiday and visit the King Center and birth home here in Atlanta. I had been once when I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, I did not remember too much from the experience. Therefore, I wanted to make that happen today and I'm looking forward to it. In many ways, I would not be here typing this post if it were not for Dr. King, the Civil Rights Movement and others both nameless and renowned in the span of over 400 years prior and through the present.

I also felt compelled to do a painting of Dr. King (above) yesterday afternoon. It was perhaps in haste but I was strongly committed to doing so by Dr. King's birthday today. Here are some process shots:

I started with a 16"x20" illustration board with grayed gesso (left). Once dry, I projected a small rough onto the board and tightened the pencils.

Next, I airbrushed a golden tone with colored ink (left). This also 'locked' the pencils underneath.

Then, I filled the outside of the portrait with a mixture of blue/black acrylics (left). I also take the opportunity to tighten the edges of the portrait that are adjacent to the black fill.

Once the black/blue fill was dry, I painted green midtones and shadows with acrylics (left). Why green? Because it complimented the golden tone and the blue in the fill. Next, highlights were added with white Prismacolor pencil. And then, it was done.

Overall, I didn't capture as much of the likeness as I wanted to. Then again, this painting was done very quickly and I just wanted to get my feeling on the canvas.

If you are able, please take some time today to give at least a moment to Dr. King's memory.

Thank you.

Black Widow

2011-01-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

A belated Christmas present for my friend Swain.

18"x24", colored pencils, acrylics (highlights), and India ink (eyelashes).

It was a very conscious choice on my part to do as much of this in colored pencil as possible. For one, I'm finding colored pencils to be as versatile as paints. You can really get in there to mix very nice gradations/transitions. It does take patience and it forces you to make decisions on the fly.

And for two, I wanted to try a piece with no solid blacks at all. If it is dark, then I wanted it to be dark through color rather than just a solid black. The only time I used an actual black on this was for the eyelashes with my sable brush and India ink.

Also, once the colored pencils become built up into a waxy film, you can manipulate them to a degree to get a nice blurring effect. This is most prevalent on the leg closest to the muzzle flash.
I took my Yellow colored pencil and really scrubbed across that leg. This technique tends to work best with light colors. I know that blender pencils are available for this very reason, but I don't like them. I'd rather use a color for the same effect instead.

There are more than a few things way off in the drawing itself, but I'm very satisfied with the coloring.

STARFIRE

2010-12-23T14:48:00.001-08:00

Christmas present for my man Dwight Clark.

18"x24", acrylics, colored pencils, ink wash, colored dyes on watercolor paper

WE ARE VENOM!

2010-11-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

Commission
Acrylics, colored pencils, and India ink; 11"x17"

2010-11-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Gouache & colored pencil on cardboard, 9"x12"

¡CINTIQ MAGNIFIQUE!

2010-11-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

This past weekend, I finally gave a Wacom Cintiq a test drive. I've heard a lot about the Cintiq, but never actually seen one in person. The Cintiq belonged to a buddy of mine, Braxton Harrison. While I am dipping my toe into the digital pool, Braxton has completely cannonballed/belly-flopped into the pool and is making quite the splash! He is currently working a graphic novel that he is doing all digitally. It's going to be the bomb.

And along with my other good friend/all-digital advocate and one of my co-hosts on the SiDEBAR podcast, artist Dwight Clark, we all sat down at a local restaurant and gave the Cintiq a what-for.

Here's me in progress with Brax looking on. Amidst the tangle of wires and cables, he said I looked like an 'Operator' from the Matrix:

Lastly, I think it was Dwight who suggested a jam piece with the three of us on the Cintiq to mark the occasion. Braxton went first and laid down an AWESOME Punisher in no time flat. Zipatone and textures and everything! The gauntlet had been thrown. So to keep the Marvel Comics 'street-level' theme, I did Elektra and Dwight did Moon Knight. We also threw on some Zipatone. Here is the final jam piece signed by each artist:

Thanks guys for an awesome Sunday afternoon!

You can find the blogs of Braxton Harrison, Dwight Clark, and the SiDEBAR podcast in my 'Friends and Favorites' section to the right. Please check them out. You won't be sorry.

MAKING A SPLASH

2010-11-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Huntress and Black Canary

2010-10-11T23:08:00.001-07:00

Just finished this commission tonight. 11 by 17, colored pencil, acrylics, colored dyes and India ink.

INFLUENCE MAP

2010-09-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

Basically, this is just as it says: a roadmap of your influences that inspire and contribute to your art. The bigger the section devoted to the influence, the greater you consider it to be a strong factor in your artistic decision making and production.

I also found that this map works the best when you are completely honest with yourself and distinguish your true influences from what you simply consider your favorite artists or likes. The more I took that approach, the easier it became to nail down my map. Pretty much everything on here runs through my head consistently when I'm drawing or painting. These are themes that I unconsciously put in my work like strong normal women and sunsets. It definitely goes a long way to laying out why I do the things I do.

I had mad fun putting this together and all told, anyone could look at this and then look at my art to see these things at play.
Looking forward to printing this out in color and taping it to my studio wall.

You should try it.

Special Thanks to Rico Renzi for posting his map on the Kickstand Kids blog, which is where I first heard about this.

An Extra Special Thanks to 'Fox-Orian' at fox-orian.deviantart.com as the creator of this fantastic idea.

Apocalypse

2010-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

A color commission just finished this evening.
8.5" x 10.5" watercolor, acrylics, and colored inks on watercolor paper.

Also, I am currently accepting color and B&W commissions for extremely reasonable pricing.
Contact me if interested.

Now We're Cooke-ing!

2010-09-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Dragon*Con was this past weekend here in the ATL. I was in the spot manning a table with my buddies/co-hosts Swain and Dwight for our SiDEBAR podcast. Though spreading the word for SiDEBAR and scoring some great deals on back issues were most prevalent on my mind, I definitely had my eye on the prize of meeting Darwyn Cooke when I saw that he would be at Dragon*Con.

Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite cartoonists and certainly one of the preeminent storytellers in comics today. I adore all his work, perhaps none more than DC: The New Frontier and his current adaptations of the 'Parker' novels by Donald Westlake. Just killer stuff (No pun intended)! He hits on all the great comics artists that I worship like Jack Kirby, Frank Robbins, and Alex Toth while injecting his own keen sense of storytelling and style. Darwyn is one of my very short list of current creators that I will buy their work unseen.

Flash forward: closing time on that Sunday, I made my way to Darwyn's table along with Swain. Darwyn was talking with another fan, so I hung back. I think I hung back too far because Swain tapped me on my shoulder and said ' You about to miss him'. Sure enough, Darwyn was packing up his gear as I got to the table.

Kind of like Ralphie from 'A Christmas Story', I blurted out how much I adored his work and was hoping that he could sign my copy of 'The Hunter'. I'm sure I looked like a big goof (well, more than usual). But Darwyn said 'Sure' and:

I decided to press my luck (no whammy) and asked for a picture. Luckily, Swain had his camera handy and:

(I'm the big goof on the right.)

Darwyn smiled and shook my hand firmly. I thanked him very much.

It was an awesome moment in a weekend filled to the brim with great personal moments of sharing and fellowship. Huge Thanks to all who stopped by the SiDEBAR table and blessed Dwight, Swain and myself with your time, appreciation, and fantastic conversation! Thanks again!

To learn more about the SiDEBAR podcast on Comics, Art, and Pop Culture, check out: www.sidebarnation.com

-ADRIAN

BULLSEYE

2010-09-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

The other night, I was rereading one of my favorite single comics ever, Daredevil #181. Fantastic storytelling and art by the Miller/Janson team at their apex of their run. No matter how many times I read this, the death of Elektra is still touching to me.
And Miller's characterization of Bullseye from his entire run and this issue in particular is definitive to me.

(UPDATE: The eyes were off in the original post. I fixed them and this is the corrected version.)

HULK

2010-08-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

A much belated birthday sketch for a friend of mine.

The Final TRUTH in Vietnam

2010-08-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

Here is my entry for the Project Rooftop Captain America redesign contest I mentioned in my previous post. I had also previously stated that I would be adding two more images to the headshot. I only had time for one and opted for a full figure front view,

The 'Double V' emblem that emblazoned the shield of Isaiah in WWII would still have been relevant in the Vietnam era.
The Double V was adopted by African Americans in WWII for 'Double Victory': Victory against the Axis and Victory against racial injustice at home. Circa 1968, not much had changed. War was on and African Americans were still fighting for civil rights at home.

All in all, this was fun and a learning experience artistically. This represents my first all digital work and I'm looking to doing much more of it very soon.

TRUTH in Vietnam

2010-07-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is for the latest contest over at Project Rooftop. The contest is to redesign Captain America. And it doesn't matter what version of Captain America or Bucky that you choose. I jumped straight for doing a version of the black Captain America, or 'Truth' as he is called after his mini-series of the same name. I also wanted to place him outside of World War II as he had been portrayed in that same mini-series. Vietnam popped instantly to mind. This piece is one of three pieces that I will compile together as a single page for my entry to the contest. This is also my first full effort into digital painting. (Thanks, Dwight!)

We'll see how it goes...

FIERCE

2010-05-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

This is a pin-up I did for a friend of mine, Raymond Sanders, and his comic 'Fierce'. I recently attended a one-day comic convention and spoke to Raymond for the first time in a long time. He puts out his own independent comics as Fantasy Art Comics. It was really inspiring to talk with Raymond and see him doing his thing. He asked if I wanted to contribute a pin-up to any of his books. I enthusiastically agreed and this pin-up is hopefully the first of many that I'll have the pleasure of doing for Raymond.

Frank Frazetta (1928-2010)

2010-05-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Truly a monolith of 20th Century American illustration, fantasy or otherwise.
To say anything less would be erroneous.

COMICS FOR CURES - PART 3

2010-04-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here is my last card for the Comics For Cures art auction. Once again, I ask that you check out www.comicsforcures.com for details of this wonderful cause. The auction is scheduled for May 15, 2010. Save this date! Your contribution can make the difference in the fight against breast cancer.

COMICS FOR CURES - PART 2

2010-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Another card for the Comics For Cures art auction. Please check out www.comicsforcures.com for details of this wonderful cause. The auction is scheduled for May 15, 2010. Your contribution can make the difference in the fight against breast cancer.

COMICS FOR CURES

2010-04-13T21:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a sketch card that I just finished for the Comics For Cures art auction. This is an annual event to help raise funds in the research and eventual eradication of breast cancer. Please take a moment to stop by their site at www.comicsforcures.com.

And mark your calendars for May 15, 2010! The auction for the sketch cards and other art donated for this cause will take place on eBay! Please consider giving what you can to own a great piece of art that helps a very worthy cause at the same time!

For Addyson

2010-04-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is my oldest daughter Addyson as a Super-tyke.
If she was in the Legion of Super-Heroes, her code-name would be the 'Maiden of Mischief'. I kid, I kid... mostly.

Definitely a daddy's girl ( a spitting image most actually say)
and she's always in my studio playing with stuff.
I have Batman and Joker action figures from Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns propped up by my computer monitor.
She's always asking to play with them and refers to Joker as 'Scary'.

'Daddy, I want to play with Batman and Scary!'

Gotta learn 'em while they're young is what I say.

Black Canary

2010-04-03T13:27:00.001-07:00

Here is my entry for 'The Canary on The Catwalk' contest over at Project Rooftop. Pencils, inks, and color by me.

The contest is for a redesign of Black Canary's costume. For my money, I don't draw cheesecake or sexy well AT ALL. So I took the thought of Black Canary as a ninja since she has martial arts training. Plus, I'm sorry, but BC's trademark fishnet stockings have been played out to me for years (except on Zatanna). So I juxtaposed the fishnets into a veil to sell the ninja theme. The prongs on the shoulders could be interpreted as talons for the 'bird' aspect. Thought it turned out alright. Let's see what the fellas at Project Rooftop think...

READY TO DYE?

2010-03-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago, I went to the art supply store and picked up a tray of Dr. Ph. Martin's colored India inks. I've had my eyes on these inks for quite a while because I like to lay down rich, bold colors when I paint. Plus, after I found out that Charles Vess uses colored inks, then that was good enough for me.

I'm really digging the way that the line art stays nice and dark underneath the inks instead of getting faded like with watercolors. Plus a little dab will do you for this stuff. It's highly concentrated, so you can stretch a little a very long way.

These inks are also kind of similar to what old-school comic book colorists used. So now I can live out my delusions of being Lynn Varley, Tatjana Wood, or even Klaus Janson when he did color work.

Speaking of which, long time comics letterer Todd Klein posts two excellent articles here and here on old school comics coloring. Definitely worth the read. I'm totally a process junkie for old techniques like this.

Looking forward to trying some finished pieces with these inks. Can't wait!

The ARTIST'S ARTIST - JORGE ZAFFINO

2010-02-23T02:54:00.000-08:00

Jorge Zaffino (right) remains perhaps an acquired taste for some. However, once you do acquire it, his work continues to reward with every reading. Breathtaking was his command of light and shadow and the fearlessness of his slashing inks and blotted blacks, which was all underpinned by his superb draftsmanship and keenly researched detail. Though Zaffino's total comics output was not very prolific, his influence from that output is absolutely palpable even to the present.

Born in Argentina in 1959, Zaffino entered comics at the age of 17 with a series called 'Nippur'(right) by Argentine creators The Villagran Brothers. In the early 1980s, the Villagran Brothers began making inroads to American comics and represented Zaffino as part of their studio. Zaffino soon garnered with writer Chuck Dixon on a mini-series called Winter World from Eclipse Comics. From there, Zaffino soon broke into Marvel Comics to work on the character he became best associated with: The Punisher.

Zaffino's first job with the Punisher was the Marvel Graphic Novel 'Assassin's Guild' (above) with writer Jo Duffy in 1987. Upon its release, it was revered throughout the industry and made notice of Zaffino as a rising star. The clean, yet gritty draftsmanship and taut storytelling of Assassin's Guild is undeniable. For most fans, this is perhaps the most cited gateway to Zaffino's work and remains a favorite of many comic artists to this day.

Zaffino continued work for Marvel with art for Savage Sword of Conan (first picture below), the 'St. George' series for the Shadowline Saga and Hellraiser under the Epic imprint of Marvel. He teamed once again with writer Chuck Dixon for two graphic novels: Seven Block and Punisher: Kingdom Gone both in 1990. It is during this period that Zaffino began to evolve his approach. His inking became much bolder and looser and a startling command of light and shadow permeated his finishes.

Of this approach, Zaffino had stated [1]"What I do is not pure comic, but illustration... Actually, I do not consider myself a comic artist, because the comic is not only drawing well, but also telling something. My stuff is more a matter of creating an atmosphere, than telling a story."

Zaffino continued sporadic comics work through the mid 1990's with 'Terror, Inc.' for Marvel and a 'Batman: Black and White' story for DC Comics. In the last years of his life, Zaffino left comics altogether to devote his total focus to painting (below). It was said that he was dedicated to the study of the works of Rembrandt in his quest for [2]"total synthesis and absolute control over the use of light and shadow."

Jorge Zaffino passed away in Buenos Aires, Argentina on July 15, 2002 at the age of forty three, the victim of a heart attack.

Official website: www.jorgezaffino.com

RECOMMENDED READING:

WinterWorld hardcover (IDW, 2010)
Punisher: Assassins' Guild graphic novel (Marvel Comics, 1987)
Punisher: Kingdom Gone hardcover (Marvel Comics, 1990)
Seven Block graphic novel (Epic, 1990 [reprinted by IDW, 2004])
Savage Sword of Conan magazine #162 (Marvel Comics, 1989)
Jorge Zaffino Sketchbook (Ancares Editora, 2003]

[1] - From an interview by German Caceres, published in his book 'El Dibujo de Aventuras, 1996, Editorial Almagesto.
[2] - From the Jorge Zaffino Sketchbook, 2003, Ancares Editora.

Text article ©2010 Adrian Johnson
All images ©2010 of the respective holders.

A Princess of Themyscira

2010-02-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, I'm actually a Wonder Woman fan but I don't read the regular book at all. To me, Wonder Woman has always been given short shrift in comparison to the other Big Two in the DC pantheon, Superman and Batman. I thought it might be interesting to do some designs for fun in a 'Year One' sense. We'll see where this goes...

Primed and Ready

2010-02-18T03:52:00.000-08:00

Don't mind me. Just kicking the tires on my new blog.
Never had one before.
Please check back tomorrow (or perhaps even sooner) for my first new post!