Month: February 2023

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Change of Scene…

A while ago I did a large, very complex piece for Paul at Planet Slade:

Paul contacted me again with an idea to “Gerhard-ize” this Roger Langridge ‘Murder Ballads Brawl’:

Here’s how it turned out:

Below is a GIF showing the various stages involved in the relocation; original, grey scale, backgrounds removed, rough layout, tight pencil, inking stages, and finally, shading:

 

Next:

Some Time Off (pain in the back) …and doing taxes (pain in the ass)

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Gerhard to Gerhard…

The next commission is from someone named “Gerhard”, he writes:

Hi Gerhard,
 
Let’s get this out of the way first: it’s slightly embarrassing to address someone with whom you share a name, but I had no choice, my parents just decided that Gerhard is a fine name, so I’m stuck with it.
 
Fate, probably, since the name certainly caught my eye when I saw my first Cerebus phone book in a comic shop, many years ago, and bought it. It was “Guys”. Slightly fewer years ago I managed to buy one of your sketches, see attached. Since then, that pub has a special place in my personal Cerebus world.
 
And recently I realised that I’ve reached a point in my life where I can afford to actually think about getting a Commission, real art, from THE Gerhard! You definitely acquired the upper case ‘THE’ honorific in the internet; given my name and email domain, I get quite a few awestruck mails asking if I was THE Gerhard… 
 
That little sketch for me always was set in an empty pub, a summer Sunday morning, when the sun just creeps through the window. It’s hours after closing and hours before reopening, and the world still sleeps. No human or Aardvark present, just a few dust mites hovering. I always thought, wouldn’t it be nice to see what some other parts of the pub look like.
 
In your portfolio, you have a piece called “Fallen Mop”, that comes very close to that idea already. Just lose the mop and shift the perspective so that the little table is in focus. Since it started the whole idea.
The colours beautifully catch the early sunshine atmosphere, but I’m not sure I can stretch to a fully coloured work. I’m not particularly bothered about the details of the pub/bar/tavern, as long as it fits with the style of the sketch.
 
Is that something you could imagine working on?
 
Looking forward to hear from you,
 
(just a) Gerhard
 
***

Well… I could totally imagine working on such a thing…

I sent him a rough outline to make sure I was on the right track:

He asked if I could have, “…slightly fewer things on the table, or something tipped over, to emphasize that this is out of hours, and not a laid table. And just for a little link to my personal world: could you smuggle the attached mask somewhere on a wall?”

 

Absolutely!

Here’s the finished pencil drawing:

…and inked:

After some consideration the two Gerhards agreed to leave it black & white.

It’s good when Gerhards agree.

***

Next: A Return to Planet Slade

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Pair-o-‘barians…

Josh emailed, “I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing a commission for me of a barbarian TMNT and Cerebus team-up. That’s the major thing I’ve been collecting lately. I’ve got some really amazing pieces, all different styles, but I would really, really love to see your take on it.”

When he says, ‘…major thing I’ve been collecting lately…’ he’s not kidding.

Check out his Comic Art Fans site: https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=216686

Here’s the pencil drawing of my version, ready for inking:

Actually… NOT quite ready, as I discovered when I started inking. I thought it needed something in the middle distance behind the characters; something other than just indistinct ground cover.

I decided on a moat with a bridge:

Next up… a March 2022 commission request from someone named… “Gerhard”.