The inked first page of “Americano: The Painted Ladies of San Quentin” the inks were- well a PAIN!!  The building renderings were brutal, I had 10 hours in the india ink phase of this, and I have a real appreciation for the difficulty in hand rendering buildings at this point.  I think the piece is a great setup for the hard core western story to follow- enjoy the pencil comparison to the inks.  Special notice to the wierd vein that breaks the panel on Elijah’s right hand and the detail in the burned building in panel two – hats off to the master of illustrated rubble/destruction- Katsuhiro Otomo who inspires me to do better destroyed stuff than anyone else!!  

The Complete Wrap Around Cover: I think the old time Flag really brought this image home by unifying the image.  I also felt the image tells the story and gives us a look at the style and imagery of this project (an old 19th century “engraved look”), and a “who’s who” of all of our characters in San Quentin. Finally, I thinkwhat the second issue of UGLI STUDIOS PRESENTS is all about- unique artwork done at a high level of detail, with new takes on older story styles (in this case the classic western genre)- while also being a solid cover that also doubles as a great print/poster to promote the project!

~ Viva UGLI!!

 The inked front cover to complete the Wrap Around poster cover of UGLI STUDIOS PRESENTS #2- Featuring our Protagonist Elijah Holman, and Antagonist Jessica Belmont in front of the 1850 U.S. Flag.  The hardest elements to draw turned out to be the best- the old revolver, the silk hand fan , and Jessica’s evil face- with a touch of fun/sexiness- all worked, and really made this image pop. Hello “Painted Ladies of San Quentin” and the beginning of USP #2!

The inked back cover to USP #2.  I tried to go for very little solid black, and really work to have a lined set of textures like an old engraving to give it an old time, antiqued look.  The Star Field on the flag was a pain to stiple, but I thought it really was a nice backdrop that looked like an old weathered flag.

The inks on this project have been some of the hardest I have ever done, lots of liquid paper, lots of mistakes and lots of edits.  I’m not totally sold with the final piece for this, so I might correct it and or redo the piece. but’s it been hard to get this far on this project- If anything, it’s a good character style analysis and study for outfits, themes and costumes/clothing.