Long John

When doing fan art, especially, I’ve been entranced by the idea of playing with negative space. I’ve posted a few attempts in the past, and while I’ve been happy with all of them, I still don’t feel like I’ve nailed the idea. Perhaps stirred by the artistic stylings of Mike Mignola, Chris Samnee, Becky Cloonan, and James Harren, I see in their art expressive lines and composition that is lacking in my finished pieces. It’s funny because I don’t feel this is the case with my comic pages, and I get frustrated with the apparent disconnection between the vivaciousness I see in my comics versus the “art” I make on the side. This is probably why I don’t do a lot of prints and stuff like that.

All that being said, I did my best to get through this idea quickly with the hope that I wouldn’t second-guess all the spontaneity out of it by the time I called it “done.” And, aside from some sloppy stars in the background, I think it turned out pretty well capturing the essence of what I was going for: a simple, graphic composition that is fun to look at.