Inked Cover looking for color

[Rich Leazer]

I'm working on a story called The Sword with Trin Gutierrez. His pencils for the cover were inked by Diana Greenhalgh. We're hoping some of the talented coloring folks here might be interested in coloring this cover and possibly the book.

If you want the high-res image, just PM or email me.
Thanks!
http://www.achieveitsolutions.net/TheSword/TheSword-COVER-inked.jpg

[Sean]

yep - easy one. send it my way - the cover that is...not the whole book.

I'm still waiting for walter to get his drawing together for our collab so am twiddling thumbs just now

when does it have to be done by?

need a background of sorts added??....personally I think it stands alone on white.

any particular colour schemes...?

sean@seanellery.com

cheers
Sean

[Rich Leazer]

file sent.
Thanks!

[Trin Gutierrez]

A little bit of help.

The top hand is the bad guy so dark colors would be good. From his hand down the left side of the blade is blood and it runs into the feathers of the eagle. The bottom hand is the good guy so lighter colors are appropriate. The back ground is open for any color design. The sword should have some sort of glow to it as it is a powerful weapon!

Trin

[logan57]

Ive done a low res version Im going to post later today. I woule love a copy of the hi res to do a finished version , ( if you lke it of Course.):D

[logan57]

Here is the low res finished piece please let me know what you think.:D

[Rich Leazer]

Hey Logan,

I think this looks awesome. Just let me know where to send the hi-res inks to if you want them.

We're hoping to get several looks at this pic in color. The best one will be the cover for the book.

[mudcat]

Nice job logan57. I like the flames reflecting on the blade.

[Trin Gutierrez]

Wholly S^$%&*!!!!

I love the concept but I do have some problems with it that may have something to do with the low res version. It seems a little rushed and some areas seem to have been missed. I also don't like the bright silver and blues. With the flames and darker leather tones, the bright hues stand out too much. I found my eyes being drawn to the blues and silver on the fingers. There are also some small misses with the bottom arm having blood where the long cut is. Also one of the fingers in the top hand is only partially colored. i know it seems like I'm being too critical but I want to say that I appreciate the time it took to do this and for you taking a chance at it then posting for us to see. Clean it up a little bit and we'll see.

Trin

[logan57]

Trin thanks for the observations, I wasnt sure if there was blood on the other arm or not it wasnt real clear Im working on a much higher res version and Ill make those revisions their.:D

[logan57]

Im glad that you brought those items to my attention. I hope this is much more to your likeing.:D

[Sean]

hmmm... is there any point in my doing this now...?

personally I think Logan's flames look extremely fake (lemme guess - eye candy plugin huh?) and out of place and I'm shuddering at his background in general... but if that's what you guys like...????

So far all I have done is the flats...

Sean

[Alfred Paige]

Don't keep us waiting Sean, Let's see what you can do with it!!

Also do you have an email I want to show you something

[Sean]

sean@seanellery.com

cheers
Sean

[logan57]

Sean Im sorry that you dont like my background, I tried to ask myself what you might do For something like this, I guess I was wrong. Sean you are the master of color, I Look forward to seeing what you do with it.:hail

[Trin Gutierrez]

Now, Now. He might be the master of color but I'm sure that someone out there might have a different idea about how to approach this. Tell you what. Since everyone is already conceding this to Sean, let me bump this up a bit. A contest. I am going to give a couple of weeks for anyone who wants to submit a colored version of this. After two weeks I will close off the submissions. Then we will all vote for the best one. If Rich and myself like it the best then it will become the cover. If we decide to go with a different version then the one that won will go into the book as a pin-up and the colorist will also receive a signed copy of the book. So get your High res versions from Rich and get to coloring.

Deadline is 1 Nov

Trin

[Thomas Mauer]

I would love to see you color this, Sean, and I agree with your point's on Logan's version.

[Alfred Paige]

Lets not discredit Logan57 colors.
I for one think he did a great job and is very talented.

Also Sean i sent you an e-mail.

[mudcat]

Well I was coloring it for fun, but now I guess ima color it for real n stuff!

[Rich Leazer]

It's really cool to see the interest in coloring Trin's and Diana's work. Trin planted athe idea in me for this story and the first issue is pretty cool (if I do say so myself) and Trin is turning it into something just incredible.

Any and all efforts at coloring the cover are very appreciated and I will gladly put the winner on the cover or as Trin decides a full page pinup in the book. I will also put the next four top voted covers on one page to put on the back side of the winner if that is okay with the colorists who get the votes.

Again, thanks for the interest. I hope you will read the story when it comes out, but I know you'll want to see Trin's incredible treatement of this gritty world of honor, passion, and courage. Not to mention the visceral battle scenes. :)

[logan57]

Thanks AL for the kind words. Im working on the hi res imae that rich sent me it should be done in a few days.:D

[Sean]

Ok here's my version... still fiddling with it here and there and for the judges, if there's anything you don't like it'll be easy to change.

I figured that the 'evil' top hand is someone who doesn't give a shit about his armour or how it's looked after so its all rusty and beat up while the bottom 'good' hand is all nice a neat and shiney. I couldn't add any real sort of 'power energy' to the sword - not anything that looked good anyway - so did the start burst at top to give it a thrusting energy and focus for looking at the top of the picture. - well that's the idea at any rate...

http://www.seanellery.com/photoshop/sword.jpg

Here's a couple of detail shots as well for closeups

http://www.seanellery.com/photoshop/sword_detail.jpg

and

http://www.seanellery.com/photoshop/sword_detail2.jpg

cheers
Sean

[John Schlim Jr]

Holy shit

[Tom Schloendorn]

Like I said on DW very nice.
Now if you could only get the time to work on one of the many you got from me.:D

[RudyVasquez]

That is so nice!! The illustration and the color. Sean, you gotta color one of my pieces dude. That's sweet!

[RudyVasquez]

John, I was viewing this thread backwards. I love your version man, I think that would POP more on the shelves than the subdued version. Wow

[Adam Geen]

I really like that Sean, great work.

One thing to keep in mind tho, if the sword has cut their gloves, then would there not be some sort of blood smear, markings, etc around the open areas? On their skin?

The background with the clouds looks really nice but I don't think it works with this piece. I just don't think that these two people would just happen to be standing in front of some clouds like that....... no? Take it what you will. I do love the mist effect at the bottom tho. So maybe the mist with a textured-type background?

[matthew_spatola]

Both versions are very good in their own style. Personally I lean towards Sean's though. I also would like if our critiques of the works be just that and not negative comments. They are two separate things.

[logan57]

First let me say Sean WOW, yours really looks great, Increadable attention to detail. With that said, thanks Rudy for the kind comments. Im working on a hi res version now and it should much better that other version was a low res version. I really do look up to Seans work its great, but I think that mines not to bad either.:hail

[Trin Gutierrez]

Ok, here we go. The level has just been bumped up a notch but it's not quite perfect,.......yet. If you take a close look at the cross piece of the sword you'll notice blank areas under the wings (towards the blade). It was my intention that this be the blood running down into the feathers of the bird. The blood should pool under both wings close to the body. A small fix that should bring it to where I was thinking. I love the contrasting colors of the good vs bad. I realize you tried to give the sword a power effect with the star burst at the top but keep in mind that the logo will cover most of the top part up. I'd still like to see a version with some kind of glow effect. I also agree with Adam about the whole blood thing. Could you throw some blood splatter around the cut fabric of the gloves? Two great pieces so far.

Trin

[Sean]

ok - new version with stuff changed and a sword glow of sorts added....I tried out some blodd splatters to the lower glove but it looked 'bleah', but I did add some to the top blue glove.

http://www.seanellery.com/photoshop/sword_glow.jpg

Might I add that it would have been a hell of a lot easier if Trin had said all he has BEFORE WE STARTED! :rant .....

anyway, I'm just about done with this until the winner is declared, and then if it's me, I'll do whatever has to be done to round it off.

Sean

[matthew_spatola]

I like it much more now.

[Thomas Mauer]

Great work, Sean. I liked the star burst as well, btw.

Question: Why isn't Trin's signature on this piece, did he forget to sign (inked version, too)?

[Victor Cabanelas]

That looks even hotter than before!

[matthew_spatola]

Great work, Sean. I liked the star burst as well, btw.

Question: Why isn't Trin's signature on this piece, did he forget to sign (inked version, too)?


I wondered that too. By the way I believe that Diana did a great job on inking if it hasn't been mentioned before.

[mudcat]

I wondered about the sig, too. I noticed it missing when I was flatting it. And Diana did a great job on the inks.

Great colors Sean. You definitely raised the bar on this contest.

[Rich Leazer]

WOW! Absolutely amazing colors. Nicely done Sean.

[Sean]

I'm getting some good crits and comments from the pros at gutterzombie.com (Steve Firchow, Scott Johnson, Reber, Khary et al) about the relative merits for the two versions

worth a read for the judges..? --> http://www.dave-co.com/gutterzombie/viewtopic.php?t=4710

cheers
Sean

[matthew_spatola]

Here's a question though. As much as I love the two pics, if you are using this as a cover I'm concerned as to where the logo etc. will be placed.

[Thomas Mauer]

If the logo is placed on the top, the "overpowering" effect that some people see in the starburst would be covered while still having this nice starburst effect. I really like that one. And it seems like the peeps on the other forum generally do as well.

[Trin Gutierrez]

Ok, I asked Sean to try one with a glow effect and after seeing it I agree with the fans that the Starburst is probably the way to go with this one. Sean, if it's not too much trouble, could you change it back to starburst for the contest. No other changes need be made at this time. Tom, the Logo will be a standard top center placement.

Yes, I forgot to add my SIG to the artwork when I originally sent it off. I will have my SIG added to the final cover though, so don't worry.

Finally, Diana nailed it and I couldn't be more proud of her with the way she handled this cover. I am going to make it my personal mission to try and get her to ink any and all of my future work to include this book. It's very hard to find an inker that meshes well with a specific style and her inks are incredible.

[Trin Gutierrez]

I almost forgot to appologize to all the people coloring this if I seem anal about this cover. My original pencils had indicated the blood pattern on the blade but for obvious reasons weren't included on the final inked cover. I appologize for not giving more clear instructions about that. Despite my lack of info, so far you two have done an awesome job interpreting the cover. Good luck to everyone else trying this.

[king]

my entry.:crazy
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2572/swordy0jm.jpg

[Sean]

Trin - the two versions are saved as separate files (80Mb+ each!!) so I can mix and match any of the differences between them easily enough if need be, so choose whichever.

King - yours is looking good. Nice colour choices but very flat and murky looking overall IMO. Needs more contrast between light and dark

[Trin Gutierrez]

Very Nice King. Why do you put Ho-Hum? The competition steps up to the plate. I have to say that of the three, you've come closest to getting the blood right on the crosspiece. Everyone take note. Take a look at the body of the bird. Notice how some areas have small hatching to indicate feathers and other areas are smooth or blank. King, there are three areas on the bird that you missed, one: in the left wing between the two rows of feathers, two: the left leg area is also supposed to be covered in blood, and three: A small area on the right leg. Also notice the left side "teeth" or "claws", the blood flows through the inner two. I like the Blade. Could you try to give it some kind of highlight or glow to indicate power? I'm also going to agree with Sean in that it seems flat. I've seen other people use a trick to see how the colors work. Try saving a copy and then converting it to greyscale. In the greyscale format you'll get a better idea of the contrast between the lights and darks of the piece. Solid piece. You've got time to fix it if you want.

[Trin Gutierrez]

Sean,

Good to hear. I'm not sure if we are going to limit the contest to one entry. Probably not. Hear that guys, you may enter more than one if you want.

[Diana Greenhalgh]

Whoops guys I did send Trin and Rich a copy with Trin's intials on it I don't know where it went lol. He hadn't signed the pencils so I put his intials on it at his direction. :)

Logan I think you have a really good sense of colour but you rely far too much on ready-made effects that should really be saved for after-effects and used with a lighter touch. If you focus more on the actual colour and shading I believe you'll be one kickass colourist (competition eh Sean? ;) )

Sean I freaking love your colours. I liked the starburst effect more than the glow though, but the added textures on the gloves in the glowing ones were subtley neat. :)

King, nice colours but it does look very flat. Try a broader range of shades and highlights in the colours as well as some opposing highlights to make the image stand out more.

Thank you Matt, mudcat, Trin for the compliment on the inks. I had fun with this one :)

I agree with Thomas about the logo and the starburst. The starburst wouldn't outshine the rest of the cover then and may even draw the eye to the logo.

Yeah um the blood spots were marked with B's on the pencils >_> but after asking Trin about them I didn't ink the letters hehe. I guess it would help to include a guide pointing out the bloody sections to the final colourist :)

I have a friend of mine that should be tossing his colours in here sometime, I haven't seen him around lately.

Trin you rock :P

[logan57]

Thanks Diana for the constructive critisisum of my work I really like this piece and Im working on a hi res thats really going to knock everybody out,(I hope!) Ive heard what everybodys saying and Im applying it, cant wait to show this one off.:D

[Diana Greenhalgh]

Cool I'd love to see it :)

[Trin Gutierrez]

Thanks Diana. I'm glad that everyone is getting as passionate about this as Rich and I are. Logan, I can't wait to see the new one also. Even though this will take awhile to get done, it should be one kick ass book. Just wait and see.

Trin

[king]

hey thanks Trin..i'll fix this up...its just my partial design. crits are really helpful...i can't top Sean's work but i'll try my best to get closer a little bit more even if i know i can't...man, i suck.:D

[king]

just wana ask when is the exact deadline of this 'contest'?...

and last thing, i know Sean's work is great but from Logan to me i think he's stepping out of the line. embarassing others, influencing judges with forum crits from his buddy pros, giving crits to others work? thats saying in our faces that he's already the winner...gaaah...

all im saying is its all too unfair.

[logan57]

Thanks for saying what others have been thinking.:D

[Diana Greenhalgh]

Actually I think Sean is in a position to critique, he has the experience and all, and he's on a lot of forums to gain expert opinions on his work which I think we all should do. He's not very lighthanded regarding crits, granted, but those receiving crits should understand that you take all good and bad opinions in perspective.

[logan57]

Diana, you also bring up a good point, but if your going to give a critique make it a fair one, you shouldnt just point out the bad but also the good points. I dont mind critisum but if Ive done something right let me know. I love doing this stuff and Sean is a definite role model for all of us, so we should be working together not fighting with each other.:D

[Rich Leazer]

Is there anyone I didn't get the high-res inks to? Just asking as some emails were returned with "unable to deliver"

Just let me know and I will try again.

[Trin Gutierrez]

Settle down folks. Remember one thing. As Logan said, " I love doing this stuff." We all have role models and we all aspire to be better at what we love to do. How do we get there? Each person must find their own way. For some it will be to get feedback from as many people as they can, pros and amature's alike. For others it will be an inward search for self improvement. Either way, our experience grows everytime we produce something. I haven't conceded anything yet!!! There are 11 more days before the deadline (1 NOV 05). I challenged everyone to produce something and I've gotten three very good pieces so far. Imagine if Sean turned in a knockout cover and that inspired you to turn in your best piece ever. Sooner or later someone will and I say why not sooner. On a more realistic note, Rich and I are trying to put out a book that will drum up attention and the first thing people will see is the cover. Rich and I are going to pick the cover that gives us the best chance for recognition. No more, no less. So, keep creating and keep improving.

[logan57]

OK heres my new piece I hope everybody likes it:D
[img=http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9310/swordhires2copy1ah.th.jpg] (http://img482.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swordhires2copy1ah.jpg)

[Trin Gutierrez]

Alright!! Now we're talking. You were right that is much better. Crits coming: The bottom hand needs to have the blacks be black. The Blood splatters look more like a disease. I think if you reduced the amount of splatter and localize in tighter spots you'll get the look of it. Good stuff: Finally, the blood is covering where it is supposed to. Can you make it darker, not so bright? I like the green background, good contrast.

Trin

[Sean]

Logan - I like what you've got going on the blade at the top. Nice swirly things there. Overall though the skin looks like they've both got measles. The blood splatters are too even and uniform all over the skin bits

meanwhile here's my 're-adjusted - adjusted' version with bits added from the glowing version and other changes following various crits on other forums. I'd say it's getting close to final by now but there's still a few days to go!

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/3290/sword24mo.jpg

cheers
Sean

[Trin Gutierrez]

For me, I have one last adjustment. The blood near the head....either lose it alltogether or add a trickle line feeding from higher on the crosspiece to connect the areas. Nice job with the blood work. Sorry, I just noticed that the left leg of the bird should also be covered in blood.

[Rich Leazer]

WOW! I really like what you guys have done with these. I love the gritty feel portrayed. Very nice work. The textures add a whole dimension to the picture. Very cool.

[logan57]

Thanks everybody for the crits, Im making the adjustments. I will post the revised later. Great work Sean I love the way your piece came out.:D

[logan57]

Let me know what you think now.http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3521/swordhires2web9gj.th.jpg (http://img490.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swordhires2web9gj.jpg):D

[Trin Gutierrez]

Better. The bottom hand's dark areas still look a little faded though.

[Sean]

umm...I suppose it would be appropriate at this point to ask....

Just what *IS* the name of this comic and what's the story about????!!!

...hmmmm....

[Trin Gutierrez]

It's an epic love story set in space with various aliens cultures and a struggle between good and evil. There is an ever pervasive "force that runs through everything and we'll follow a story through three generations as our heros struggle with their "Dark Side".

NNNNAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Actually, it is about a sword of power and how an unlikely person came to wield it. It's set in a medievil setting and is part of a three part story. The first book is apptly called "The Sword".

[logan57]

I think this is what you want.http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/1165/swordhires3web6wc.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swordhires3web6wc.jpg):D

[Trin Gutierrez]

Very nice and Good luck on the voting. Thanks for all the time and effort.

[Trin Gutierrez]

TWO DAYS LEFT!!

C'mon guys!

[mudcat]

Well here's my shoddy attempt(s).

The lineart for the map in the background can be dropped out easily to be replaced with a map from the book. Same with all the little names on the maps. I was just throwing anything in there, but changing em to fit the story is easy enough.

Oh well, enough yakkin. Feel free to crit em (cuz I do love me some crits), but I won't make any changes regarding the crits until after the judging is finished. It's a silly little pride thing.

Version 1:
http://www.underguild.com/images/Swordglow.jpg

and Version 2:
http://www.underguild.com/images/Swordlightning.jpg

[Trin Gutierrez]

Alright,

The fans are going to have a blast voting on these. Unless I get a flood of submissions at the last moment, it looks like everyone here will at least get into the book. Congrats to you all and good luck. Thankl you again for all the hard work.

[Trin Gutierrez]

Mudcat,

You turned in a great pair. I totally love the map idea. Initially, I wasn't sure about the lightning also but it's growing on me. Great job!

[mudcat]

Thank ya sir. Like I said, the map can easily be changed to fit the story if I'm lucky enough to win.

[logan57]

Holy @#!*, wow , I love the map and the engraving in the blade! Great job!:hail

[mudcat]

Wuwu! Logan gave me a colorful expletive! :boogie

The map is the old D&D geek coming out in me. Glad ya like it bud.

[Trin Gutierrez]

D&D Geek? Aren't we all just a little bit? That's why i love drawing Medievil Fantasy. I was wondering if that map was an original? If so get a copy to Rich. I think it might be cool to use in the book if you don't get the cover.

[Diana Greenhalgh]

I love the engraving effect you created, that's a really cool and original idea :) Not so sure about the blue lighting on yours but it's okay. And you handled the rest of the image really well :) The map background is an awesome idea too :D

[mudcat]

Thanks Diana. It was a fun piece to color. As for the blue, yellow was already taken :D Plus it woulda blended with the map too much. I did try white, but it just made everything look washed out. But with the "turquoise" glow, I can say I have an "arizona" palette!

[Daniel Silva]

Here is mine.
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/937/swordinkcolored9et.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Trin Gutierrez]

Daniel,

Where the hell did you come from! Wholly cow, that's sweet! I'm in cover color overload!

Eyes....fading!

[mudcat]

Here's titaniumgorilla's entry. He's registered for the boards, but it won't let him post.

http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/9362/swordcolorslorestitaniumgorill.jpg