Dra’Zun, Guardian Droid Original Inks

Dra-Zun-Guardian-Droid-Inks
Dra’Zun ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Dra’Zun, Guardian Droid Original Inks

Here is the inking to my character of Dra’Zun the Guardian Droid. This was for the 30 charterers challenge held every November. I created a back story where this Guardian Droid has gone a little crazy. He’s raising and training a group of orphans. Eventually, there will be only one. He’ll put them through tests and trials to find one he believes is fit to live.

This inking was done on the original pencils. On 9×12 2ply Bristol paper. I use a 102 nip tip pen.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Black Adam Inking

Black-Adam-Shazam-Inks
Black Adam ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Black Adam Inking

I’ve been listing to the DC 52, a Graphic Audio Book for the past few weeks (when I’m on the bus or during my lunch). One of the main characters is Black Adam. I’ve really enjoyed the adventures with the Black Marvel Family. So I was inspired to pencil and ink this drawing of Black Adam.

For the pencils, I used a .05 HB mechanical pencil. (which can be seen in a previous blog post: Black Adam Pencils ). For this inking, I used a 102 nib pen and a #3 sable brush with black India ink. My standard inking tools. I have fun with this one. In the next few days, I plan on coloring it next. SHAZAM!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Inking of Skull One Veritech Fighter from Robotech

Valkyrie-Veritech-Fighter-Skull-One-Robotech-Inks
Skull-One ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Inking of Skull – One Veritech Fighter from Robotech

A few weeks ago I watched a Robotech marathon and was inspired to draw my own Veritech Fighter. So I drew the Skull Leader! Originally Roy Fokker then Rick Hunter fighter in the Macross Saga. I finally got to inking it this weekend. Using only my 102 nib pen, I really like the way it came out. For this inking, I used thicker lines than I usually do. It gives it a nice solid feeling. Plan on digitally coloring it in the next few days too. so keep an eye out!
-SHAZAM

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Quick Spider-Man Sketch and Inking

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Spider-Man ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Quick Spider-Man Sketch and Inking

Here’s a quick Spider-Man sketch and inking I did. The pencils took me about 10 minutes to draw and the inking even less time. This was a personal exercise to test out my newest inking tool. A Pentel Medium Tip Brush Pen.

pentel-brush

I saw the brush pen at my local Hobby Lobby and thought…”What’s this?”. So I had to buy it and test it out. When I ink my work I usually like to use a nib pen, I’m not very proficient in using a brush. This new discovery bridges the gap I have between the nib and brush. Its nylon brush tip inks like a standard brush but gave me the control I like with the nib pen. I really enjoyed the look my inking has too. I was able to get some nice thick lines. The inking looks and feels looser than my usual inks. I’m excited to see how I can incorporate this into my evolving inking style. – Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Bloodshot Inks

Valiant-Bloodshot-Inks
Bloodshot ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Bloodshot Inks

A few weeks ago I posted a drawing I did of Bloodshot in the 90s. Excited by the announcement that Valiant Entertainment would be publishing comics again in 2012. I wanted to share this piece I did as a kid. I then was inspired to create a new Bloodshot drawing. I penciled this Bloodshot with a more lean and slick look.

Here are the final inks of my new Bloodshot piece. I inked over my original pencils, I’ve been doing this lately with my work. I used an India ink with a 102 Nib pen, #3 Sable Brush, and a Micron 0.25 pen. I modified the piece from the original pencils. His hair is now solid black and I’ve given the pants folds instead of leaving them solid black. I had a lot of fun with this one. I’m planning on doing some more Valiant characters in the near future. – Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Bloodshot Drawing I did in 1993

Bloodshot-Ink-Drawing-1993
Bloodshot ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Bloodshot Drawing I did in 1993

I started reading Valiant Comics in the middle of Unity and I was hooked. The stories were so different from what I had been reading, mostly Marvel. I was sorry to see the company stop publishing when it did. My favorite characters were X-0 Manowar, Rai, and Bloodshot. Yesterday CDR announced that Valiant was coming back to the comic scene and would start creating comics again in 2012. Valiant has a great promo ad that is very reminiscent of Rai #0 showing a silhouette of Bloodshot in front of a huge red dot holding a gun and katana sword.

Looking at the new promo I remembered that I had created an inked piece of Bloodshot back in 1993. I had intended to send it to Wizard Magazine. At that time Wizard had a section where it would publish fan art. I don’t remember why I didn’t send it in, but I think it’s time to showcase some of this older art. I know I worked really hard on this one, I think it took me a few days. It was drawn before I took any art classes in college, so my style is very raw and ’90s comic style influenced………..lots of random hatching, lol.

I think in the next few days I’ll do a new Bloodshot drawing in anticipation of the new comic series next year.
– Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Penelope Chamber – Characters Inks

Penelope-Chamber-Inks
Penelope Chamber ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Penelope Chamber – Characters Inks

A few months ago I participated in the second annual 30 Characters Challenge. We create 30 Characters in 30 days. It’s a very fun challenge. I had planned on penciling and inking all my character designs. As the months went by I only inked 3 designs. So I’ve decided to go back periodically to these character designs and ink them.

Here’s Penelope Chamber Characters Inks!
I used a 102 nib pen with black india ink. I’ve been enjoying inking with nib pens. I still need a lot of practice inking, but I feel like the nib pen is right for me. So far I don’t have much of a history for this character. Just that she’s some sort of adventurer. – Shazam

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Comic Page Inking! Deadpool vs Hitman Monkey

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Deadpool, Hitman Monkey & Spider-Man ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Comic Page Inks – Deadpool vs Hitman Monkey

Here’s my latest full-page inking, Deadpool vs Hitman Monkey. It comes from Deadpool 20 page 22 by comic book artist Carlo Barberi. I’ve been inking pencils of professional comic artists to strengthen my inking skills. I found the original pencils on Barberi Deviant Art page. It’s a fun action shot with Deadpool getting shot up by Hit Monkey while Spider-Man watches. Looking at this inking and the past ones, I see where my strengths and my weaknesses are. You can see I need to work on my hatching and action lines. I’m ready to keep this in mind in my future inkings. Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Comic Page Inking! The Dark X-Men

Comic-Page-Inks-The-Dark-X-Men
Dark X-Men ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Comic Page Inking – The Dark X-Men

Here’s another comic page inked by me. It’s from the cover of Uncanny X-Men #514, originally drawn by super-talented comic book artist Terry Dodson. I found the high-resolution pencils on his DeviantArt page. It features the Dark X-Men, Namor, Emma Frost, Dark Wolverine (Daken), Cloak, and Dagger fighting robots!

Dodson’s original pencils were drawn on a 13″x19″ 2 Ply Strathmore Bristol Board with Light Blue and HB Lead. From the high-resolution image found on his DeviantArt page, I took the pencils and turned them into very light blue lines, and printed them on a sheet 11″x17″ Bristol Board. I inked it with a nib 102 pen and a  size 4 sable brush. I had fun inking these pencils. I’m still at the beginning stages of sharpening my inking skill, but I feel this piece came out well. – Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

Comic Page Inking! Thor vs. Taskmaster

Inking-Thor-vs-Taskmaster
Thor & Taskmaster ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Comic Page Inking – Thor vs. Taskmaster

I’ve recently started to enjoy inking with pen and ink. In the past, I’ve focused on inking digitally using either Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. But I decided to tackle inking in the physical world. I have found inking with pen and bush to be more satisfying to me personally. I still believe that digital inking is a great technique. But for the time being, I will try to sharpen my skills in more traditional ways. My tools of choice have been a 102 nib pen and a size 4 sable brush.

I’ve been inking my own work, and that has been a great experience.  I’ve decided to try inking other comic artists’ work too. My hope is that this will help me learn new creative approaches to comic art. I looked all over for a penciled piece I’d like to ink, then I found this super awesome piece of Thor vs. Taskmaster by comic book artist Mahmud Asrar. It comes from Avengers: The Initiative #32 Page 4. I found this on Mahmud’s DeviantArt page. I had fun inking these pencils. I will definitely be inking more comic pages in the future. – Shazam!

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

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