Bloodshot Archives

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 Pencils

Last week I posted a drawing I did of Bloodshot in 1993. With the news that Valiant comics was coming back in 2012, I got very excited and wanted to share a drawing I did of one of their main characters when I was younger. You can check out that drawing here: Bloodshot Drawing I did in 1993

After looking at the piece I did, I got really inspired to draw a new Bloodshot pin-up. The one from 1993 was drawn before I had taken any art classes some 18 years ago. (wow) I’ve really changed my approach and have found my own drawing style since then. So last night I grabbed some paper, clipped it to my artboard, and started a quick sketch while watching a marathon of the Office.

In the new promo art from Valiant, we see a silhouette of Bloodshot that is not a huge dude. So I decided to go with that and draw him more lean and athletic, not as bulky as he’d been drawn at the end of his comic series.

I enjoyed reading those earlier issues of Bloodshot back in the 90s. It was a time when I was discovering there were different types of comics other than Marvel and DC. Valiant stories seemed more hardcore and real, still heroic and fantastic but with a darker edge. I look at some of my own character designs and I can see how my imagination was inspired by characters like X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, and Bloodshot.

I enjoyed working on this piece, It was nice to just let loose and had fun with it. I used an HB .05 Mechanical pencil and drew on a 9×12 piece of Bristol paper. I’m planning on inking it tonight, so keep an eye out. Also, more Valiant characters are to come in the future too.

-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.