HERESY alternate cover 2B

As I said, chicks and chains. That's what sells comic books.

Alright, alright, I'm not quite that cynical. Chicks and chains could probably sell anything.

Anyone who read Heresy would know that this character isn't a main character in the book. But she is arguably the most visually arresting character. Second would be the huge Russian vampire.

So it seemed like a no-brainer that it should be the two of them waltzing around this cover.

Then I needed a contentious subject matter that would stop people in the aisles of San Diego and get them to look at this piece. Chains. Bondage. There we go! See? I can be naughty without showing any nudity! Huzzah! My range of sketchiness has just been extended.

I did have several of the people at work express some concern about my sexual appetities at a drinks function once. I told them that's the least of what they should be concerned about.

BLACK AND WHITE LINEWORK

I really like the piece at this stage. I love the balance between noise (her bra and jeans) and then the open skin areas. It's got a nice feel. Graphically speaking I mean, cos you can't really go feeling up an imaginary character. Although, if someone cosplayed her, I'm sure you could ask really nicely. Or better yet, if you have a significant female other, you could ask them to dress up as her and find out exactly how she feels. Or, if you're a girl, you could do this for your significant other. I'd love to hear any feedback on how she feels exactly. Photos would be appreciated too.

But I'm not dodgy or anything...


TONE & RENDERING

"Don't hate me... I'm just drawn this way." I'm sure Jessica Rabbit said something to that effect. This chick would say, "Don't hate me, I'm just rendered this way." This has happened to me before. I draw a relatively curvy chick and then at the rendering stage her breasts just magnify to incredible proportions. It's in the way it's rendered! I think it's the overhead lighting that makes her fun bags look like a bouncing castle. But if you were to read the inside of the book you could see that I've probably understated her assets.

On a totally technical level, I think the rendering of her is some of the most realistic I've done. The shadows just seem so convincing to me, and the anatomy incredibly believable. Perhaps that's what makes the piece sexier?

COLOURS

This is a fairly monochromatic piece. I slapped a dna chain behind them and made it red. See? That's genius folks, you should be taking notes. The vampires are genetically engineered, so let's make a dna chain... red. Ta daaa!!! God damn it! With groundbreaking design ideas like that they should rename MENSA after me!

Of course I'm kidding. MENSA totally understates my brilliance. They should name NASA after me.

Those of you paying attention will notice that there's a tiny picture of her on her belt buckle. It's a portrait of her stolen from the other pinup that I did. I kinda wanted to allude that she's been alive for a while.


FINAL

Here's the piece with some additional texture on the background of some city silhouettes and blood spatters. Ok, LOTS of blood spatters. I don't think we can really deny Ben Templesmith's effect on the design of vampires with 30 Days of Night. Especially cos these vampires don't have fangs either.

The overall effect I hope is sexy without being submissive. Sure she's chained, but I don't really think you should go near her. Especially her mouth. I mean, don't be alarmed or anything but I think she bit something or someone that bled alot. And she still looks hungry, so I'd keep anything containing a vein well away from her.

The big guy looks more like he's going to rescue her than attack her, and I think the synergy between them is interesting in that it is unusual. So if one partner dresses up as her, the other can dress up as him.

Don't forget to send in photos.

I'm also way behind on posting those 25 trivial things about me. Here's the next three as catch up:

2. <3 the Rock (which doesn't help my first point).

3. Had a life changing experience in 1999 when I met Grant Morrison - that just because you're getting older, doesn't mean you have to slow down and lose your energy and passion.

4. Eats about twice what any other normal human being eats. My record is 18 pieces of large pizzas, a serve of pasta, 2 salads and then 3 deserts. Another time I ate 29 prawns/shrimp and stopped because I got sick of the taste of prawn rather than I got full. Recently measured, I have the metabolism of a 9 year old. I could be younger but the device didn't go any lower.

NEXT: Uhhhh.... Zero G I guess. I'm just gonna leap in. This isn't getting any easier anytime soon.