Kelci D Crawford

September 10, 2014September 9, 2014

New Comics In Progress

I do enough talking of other people’s work on my blog. Weirdly enough, I don’t talk about my own work that often anymore (except for my post about recent personal projects).

Let’s remedy that.

I won’t lie, though: part of the reason I haven’t written that much about my work is because I’ve been drawing nonstop.

There are a few comics I’ve been working on, like…

Comic 1: Claire and The Hoard

In Claire and The Hoard (which, that is just the working title), a young woman named Claire makes a living fighting The Hoard across what is left of the world. On her trek, Claire has to stop in a small town named Citadel to resupply. However, the small town is growing more paranoid, and one lone girl named Tracy is the only one who notices that something is wrong.

This is still being scripted. Actually, I’ll be doing a massive re-write of the second chapter.

I am, however, satisfied with the character designs for this project. Next I’ll be doing some location sketches. That should be easy, since I’m basing the town of Citadel on a small town I grew up in.

Comic 2: The Uthers

This story is about a young lady named Riley, who’s out searching for a cyborg named Nautilus. Nautilus is a creation she made with her father, but Nautilus up and killed Riley’s father. Riley treks through a world where humans have been colonized by a race of aliens they call The Uthers, to find Nautilus herself.

Developing the alien race in this story is proving to be really fun, even if I’m not done coming up with designs for the Uthers themselves. Here are some concepts I whipped up recently.

I’m not sold yet, but they’re close to what I hope will be the final design.

As for Nautilus and Riley, both of these characters are fascinating to me. Riley is an engineer, and a smart one at that, who actually knows how to manipulate people for her best interest. If she weren’t a hero, I could see her being a Bond villain.

Nautilus, even though he killed a man, is actually relatively sweet. He’s mute, but his gestures and his facial expressions will be fun to play around with. And he loves hanging out with kids. Who knew?

Comic 3: Auxaton

Auxaton is the story of a Mountain Ridge elf who lost his village to a band of thieves. He’s on a quest to travel the world and reunite with his lost brethren and settle a new land. Along the way he’ll come across half-orcs, thieves, and hopefully more of his kinsmen.

To tell the truth, I haven’t written this yet. I just really enjoy the concept and drawing the characters. I’ve written blog posts about this story before, but I’m just now getting back to it. I look forward to seeing the direction this story will take.

Comic 4: Rosetta and the White Swan

The simplest way to describe this is “It’s a gender-bent Swan Lake.” The princess Rosetta is a huntress who encounters a swan, who reveals himself to be a cursed prince.

Honestly, I don’t know if I want to make this a comic. I imagine this as a childrens or young adult novel. But who knows?

This is the newest concept on this list. I only came up with this idea a few days ago, after having watched Nostalgia Critic do a review of Swan Princess and reading some of the comments there. I thought to myself, “You know, it would be great to have Swan Lake told as a story with a tomboyish princess.”

Combine that with my fondly remembering Patricia C. Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons series and The Paper Bag Princess, and I went, “I know what I must do!”

I still need to do research (my favorite part of writing) and develop the characters. Otherwise, this project is really exciting to me!

Comic 5: The Legend of Jamie Roberts

According to legend, a trio of pirates, lead by the genderqueer pirate Jamie Roberts, abandon their old ways and search for treasure in the country of Corith. On their journey, they meet dangerous creatures called Mocktaw, a band of women warriors, and Dragons. One dragon, Raguna Ranki, seeks to take over the country of Corith and place himself as emperor. It’s up to the pirates, the women warriors, and their allies to stop him.

I’ve written about this story before, and I’ve posted many sketches for this work. I even have a section devoted to this project on my Sketches page. I’ve been working on this for years.

So what’s happening?

Right now it’s on hold. I have too many projects on my plate and I want to finish a few of them before I return to this.

The rough draft of the script is finished. It’s just a matter of making edits and rewriting bits I don’t like.

Comic 6: Wahid

This is actually a short story I’m illustrating with Kristen Kellner for a comics anthology. It’s about a young lady with severe depression, who finds new purpose in life when she adopts a one-eyed cat.

Fun fact: “Wahid” is the Arabic word for “one.” The title of the short story was decided on by Kristen, who learned to speak Arabic in the Air Force.

I’m still making pages for this. It’s taking a while. Sorry!

That’s all the comics I’m making right now (and that’s not counting the soon-to-be-released Charlie & Clow).

However, here’s an extra sketch I did recently.

This is one I made on my way to Intervention Con. Along Interstate 70/76, in Pennsylvania, there was a long stretch of forest with a line of dead white trees. And this line of dead white trees was perfectly straight, running parallel to the highway. It was one of the creepiest things I saw in my life.

And on that note, thanks for reading! I’ll see you on Friday.

September 9, 2014September 9, 2014

Review Day Tuesday: Mass Marvel Special

Today is a special Review Day Tuesday. Rather than reviewing one book, I’m reviewing a slew of Marvel (and other) books at once! All of these books have been out for a while, whether it’s a year, a month, or a week. Still, if you don’t visit a comic shop very often, I hope these are helpful.

Now, since I’m reviewing more than one book, these reviews are going to be as concise and short as possible. Like, one paragraph (ish) each.

Let’s go!

Captain Marvel #1

Writing by Kelly Sue DeConnick and art by David Lopez and Lee Loughridge.

The colors are a softer quality to me, but it works well with the dialogue and the environments the characters are in. The characters themselves are fabulously relatable and have great moments with each other. The first issue doesn’t have a whole lot of action in it, but for a first issue, it doesn’t have to. It can just show off the characters, and this issue does it well.

Fun fact: Kelly Sue DeConnick is married to Matt Fraction? What the hell?

Rocket Raccoon #1

Writing and art by Skottie Young.

It’s good to see Skottie Young do something besides Oz titles (but after reading this book I really want to read them). His playful lines and vibrant colors makes the sci-fi space adventure really stand out in comparison to other sci-fi space titles. Seriously, it’s a breath of fresh air in a genre full of gritty technological realism and drama.

Plus, you know, Rocket Raccoon and Groot are fun characters in general.

Ms. Marvel #1 and #2

I have to review these two together because reasons.

Writing by G. Willow Wilson (whom you might remember as my favorite comics author after I read Cairo, another title of hers). Art by Adrian Alphona and Ian Herring.

I adore this series. Absolutely adore it. G. Willow Wilson’s writing is, of course, stellar. I wasn’t sure how she would write these teen characters, but she did a lovely job. I also love seeing into the life of an Islamic family in America because it’s not a perspective you see often (there need to be more of those stories in general, not just comics).

Also, the art is bright, softly lit, and full of great expressions and character moments. These are great gestures captured here in this comic.

I’ve blathered on enough. READ THE DAMN THING.

Rat Queens

Writing by Kurtis J. Wiebe. Art by Roc Upchurch.

Oh hey! An IMAGE title!

Anyway, if you’re a woman who loves playing Dungeons and Dragons, this is a must read. It reads like a D&D session, but without a pesky DM (or if the DM is there, the presence is weak). Reading the adventures of these ladies is risque, raunchy, and even very bloody at times thanks to a group of assassins out to get them for some reason. I’m sure future issues will explore what the assassins’ intentions are, and I look forward to reading them because these ladies (though not fully developed yet) give enough of a glimpse of their characters to keep me intrigued.

Have you read any of these titles? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow with some new sketches.

September 3, 2014September 1, 2014

My Recent Works-In-Progress

Man, between all the blog posts, Validation comics, Johnson & Sir comics, freelance work, and the day job (yep, I got a day job) keeping me busy, do I have time for personal projects?

Yes. Yes I do!

Project 1 is very different from what I usually do. Project 1 is a large acrylic painting.

acrylic painting work in progress by kelci d — Step 1.

By “large,” I mean it’s larger than my usual scale. I’m used to working on, at most, 9 inch by 12 inch pieces of paper. This is 16 inches by 20 inches on canvas.

This is a painting that my mind demanded I make, because there are lighting techniques I want to try with this.

Project 2 is connected to Validation. It’s a portrait of one of my favorite characters ever…

Roxie.

This is a piece I’m doing in colored pencil, which I haven’t used in years. It’s a good refresher to brush up on my old skills. I’m also doing my best to use colors in ways I haven’t before. I’ll post more pictures as I work on it.

Project 3 is a comic I’m hoping to get out by October. I’ve mentioned it a few times previously here on the blog.

It’s Charlie & Clow.

The cover is done and I’m so happy with how it turned out! I need to make the next few pages and take care of a few other things. With any luck it should be online by Halloween.

The story is about a young punk lady named Charlie. When she’s walking home from classes one day, she discovers a monstrous golem, and it decides Charlie will be its next meal! Charlie runs for help only to find a tall goth man who calls himself Clow. Who is Clow? And will he help her fight off the golem menace?

Of course, there are other projects I have in the works, but they’re all either very personal or top secret surprises. So I won’t say any more.

Which project are you most excited to see? Do you have any personal projects in the works? Let me know in the comments!

Also, I’m skipping the Favorite Artist Friday feature this week because I’m still scouring the internet for new artists to add as my favorites. If you have any suggestions for artists I should look at, let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

September 2, 2014September 1, 2014

Review Day Tuesday: Bartez

Bartez is a comic I found at Intervention Con, mostly because the author, Ryan, was right across the aisle from me. I never heard of the project before that weekend, so I bought a copy of the book. Once the convention madness died down, I finally sat down to read it.

And you know what? I like it.

Is it life-altering? No. Is it fun? Yes, and delightfully silly to boot.

The story follows Jimmy Barton, an average guy who works in IT, who still hangs out with a lot of his old high school buddies, and lives in the town he’s always grown up in. He’s also a bit of a quitter – he tries new things, but he never sticks to them for very long. Tae Kwon Do? Wrestling? Parkour? Nope, nope, and nope.

That is, until he discovers one of his old friends was murdered by a rogue member of a secret society. And now, Jimmy might be next on the murderer’s hit list! Will he be able to actually stick to something and learn how to save himself?

The book I read is the first volume in a series, but I don’t know how long the series will be. It’s a series I want to read, though! Now let me tell you why.

The art, which seems (very) influenced by the likes of Bryan Lee O’Malley and Vera Brosgol, is sharp, clean, and easy to read. In an art style like this it can be easy to make the characters look alike. Thankfully, the artist (Gale Williams) does a wonderful job creating unique character visuals. I could tell Jimmy apart from his friends, and even the ladies look varied and stylized.

The action scenes are sporadic, but are drawn very well. I look forward to seeing what future action scenes in later volumes will look like!

The writing is, at the start, slow. The writer definitely takes his time developing the characters and scenarios, which isn’t a bad thing. I appreciate the slowness a bit because in too many comics nowadays people are rushing to get to the action. In Bartez you’re supposed to see what life is like before things get crazy. And Ryan Peraro does a great job showing everyday situations.

Once things start getting crazy, Ryan has built up the characters and the scenario enough that you believe what happens in the story. It’s actually pretty brilliant.

And you know what? The art and the writing work fantastically together in this comic. There are two creators on the project but it feels like one unified voice. That, to me, is wonderful.

If you want to read Bartez, they have the comic online and in print. My vote? It’s worth the $10 to get the first volume.

Have you found any comics worth reading? Did you read Bartez? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow with new artwork.

September 1, 2014August 31, 2014

The Art of Chloe Rose

I don’t usually update on Mondays, but when I do, it’s for a friend.

Chloe Rose is not only a good friend, but a fabulous artist. So maybe consider this a bonus Favorite Artist Friday…on a Monday?

Anyway, to Chloe’s work, because it’s worth talking about.

chloe rose artsycloudypard frozen artwork — Chloe made this piece for the recent Toledo Art Walk.

She doesn’t have any webcomics out (yet), but the things she would perhaps be best known for are her fanart (on her Tumblr) and her concepts for her original work, Queen’s Heart.

For example, this is perhaps one of my favorite things she’s done with Queen’s Heart.

Yes, it’s unusually large, but look at it! The colors, the amazing lighting, the visual effects, all of it is still stunning. This was originally made to be a three- to four-foot tall poster as part of a show she exhibited at, and you can see why it needed to be so large: the dichromatic colors and the intense lighting demands to be seen on a larger scale.

Chloe and I actually did a few pieces together, as part of our doujinshi circle called “MACPILT.”

We’re both huge fans of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and we wanted to make our tributes to such great characters, stories, and art.

While she does great work with character design and line quality, her best strength (in my mind) is her use of color.

Do you see the Madoka Magika piece above? With the five girls illustrated? That’s Chloe’s mad coloring skills at play. And she has only gotten better since then.

This lady knows how to blend colors, how to design characters with colors that highlight their personalities, how to make light and shadows mix well, and how to use color to show mood. She’s even taught me a few Photoshop tips and tricks, and flipping through her sketchbook always makes me try harder to use color.

She updates her art mostly on her Tumblr nowadays, so if you haven’t seen her other work, you should. She also recently got a Facebook page.

She’s also getting ready to go to grad school, starting this quarter. So, to help fund the effort, you can get either of the MACPILT prints by going to my online store. For September only, all sales from either of these prints will go straight to Chloe, to help pay for classes and things. After that the sales are split evenly between the both of us.

Thanks for reading! And I’ll see you all tomorrow, where I review one of the comics I got from Interventioncon.