Roquefort's old stuff

[Roquefort Raider]

While moving old boxes in the attic I came across
old comics I drew back when I had no kids,
no spouse, no job and plenty of free time!!!

Some are a bit naive or dated, but in case they
offer some interest, here are a few of them!
(More to come as I translate them).

First an oecumenical tale of the crusades:


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Crusades1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Crusades2.jpg


..........

[Roquefort Raider]

Then an unashamedly melodramatic story with a Dickensian flair.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Fir1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

.....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Fir2.jpg
.....

[Roquefort Raider]

.....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Fir3.jpg
.....

[Roquefort Raider]

Too bad I'm a month late for this christmas story. Ah, well.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ogres1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

..........
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ogres2.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ogres3.jpg

..........

[Roquefort Raider]

A page about Man's hubris. (Plus it's always fun to draw ships)!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Cristobal1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Cristobal2.jpg

..........

[Typo Lad]

Roq, I'm loving these. I didn't know you had so much talent?

[Winslow]

Your spotting of blacks and inking is very impressive.

Good stuff.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Typo and Winslow! I appreciate your input!

Here's another one I submitted to a local comics contest. I admit to have pandered to what I expected to be the judges' tastes: draw water, because everyone knows it's pretty darn hard, and include dolphins, because everyone loves dolphins. Still, I like the way it turned out! (I like dolphins too)!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Delphinus1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Delphinus2.jpg
..........

[Captain Exaggeration]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Crusades2.jpg


..........
Priceless.

[howyadoin]

Great stuff, Ben. I'm glad you're posting more of it.

[cleofus1]

the dialoge is a bit much...but the art is wonderfull...your story telling is top notch...the style reminds me of the comic strips of my youth...great work! i love it...

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Howie and Cleofus.

Here's a picture I made for the t-shirt of a local dragon boat team. (These guys also put it on reusable cotton grocery bags which they sold to raise money for their competitions; a clever and eco-friendly idea).

It's inspired by the Canadian legend of the chasse galerie, in which a bunch of lumberjacks made a deal with the devil. They'd get to use a flying canoe to go see their girlfriends (hundreds of miles away) on Saturday night, but they had to be back to camp before sunrise or else their souls would be forfeit. Luckily for them, after they managed to get so drunk that they forgot what time it was, their pilot was so inebrated that he ran the canoe in a tree on the way back and they all fell off before the boat went back to Hell.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bateau-Dragon.jpg

[howyadoin]

Thanks, Howie and Cleofus.

Here's a picture I made for the t-shirt of a local dragon boat team. (These guys also put it on reusable cotton grocery bags which they sold to raise money for their competitions; a clever and eco-friendly idea).

It's inspired by the Canadian legend of the chasse galerie, in which a bunch of lumberjacks made a deal with the devil. They'd get to use a flying canoe to go see their girlfriends (hundreds of miles away) on Saturday night, but they had to be back to camp before sunrise or else their souls would be forfeit. Luckily for them, after they managed to get so drunk that they forgot what time it was, their pilot was so inebrated that he ran the canoe in a tree on the way back and they all fell off before the boat went back to Hell.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bateau-Dragon.jpgGreat concept, Ben.

[Nikita]

Heh, those strips were great.

[Roquefort Raider]

"Clone" was supposed to be a funny fantasy series that I started something like... 25 years ago (ouch). I never went beyond the origin story for the character, so the series ended up as a single 11-page story!

The art is a bit clumsy, I'm afraid, but a parent must love even an ugly child!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone1-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone2a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone2b-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone3a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone3b-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone4a-eng.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone4b-eng.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone4c-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone5a-eng.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone5b-eng.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone5c-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone6-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone7-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone8a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone8b-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone9a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone9b-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone10a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone10b-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone11a-eng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone11b-eng.jpg

[Kara Zor El]

You can't half draw comics. Love the detail. Reminds me of the old British comics a lot. It looks like you drew it with the intention of it remaining black and white but did you want it be coloured later by a colourist? Especially like Santa!

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Kara!

I'm an awful colorist, so all my strips are meant for B&W. It's not that I don't like color (I love it!) but I know my limits!

[Jaye]

These are great, my favorite artistic bit so far is this one:


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone8b-eng.jpg

[howyadoin]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Clone8b-eng.jpgI just wanted to say, I freakin' love this panel.

[Kara Zor El]

That is one hell of a panel.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Jaye, Howy and Kara. I was going for a very quiet panel to mark
the transition between the kinetic slapstick of the story's begining and the talking heads section at the end. I also wanted to summarize the new status quo: Clone is suddenly alone, with his "father"'s blood on his hand to hint at the guilt he somehow feels for not having done what was asked of him, and with Manu in the background taking an interest in the new kid on the block.

Now for something completely different... This is one of the cartoons I produce monthly for our Faculty's newsletter.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/CountEng.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

A Lovecraft-themed old piece.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Cavern.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

Jazz!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Jazz.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

Once upon a time, because I was alone and unsupervised at home, I couldn't resist the siren call of the felt markers and the sketch pad (while I was supposedly writing my thesis). Good thing my supervisor never found out how I was occupying my time!

Here are two sketches of Robert E. Howard's character Bran Mak Morn, king of the Picts.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranMakMorn1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranMakMorn2.jpg

(Yes, he's supposed to have hands. This picture is formatted to fit your screen! ;))

[Kara Zor El]

All amazing work.

Guilotene scene very funny.

That staircase is wild. King of the Picts and Jazz are cool.

Speaking of Picts, have you ever heard the Pink Floyd track - Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict?

[howyadoin]

Here are two sketches of Robert E. Howard's character Bran Mak Morn, king of the Picts.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranMakMorn1.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranMakMorn2.jpg
Jeez, these are fantastic, Ben. Don't think I've ever seen 'em before.

And I really like the way you've got the secondary cross-hatching done in brown on the latter piece. Interesting technique.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Can't say that I remember that Pink Floyd track, but as my dad was a big fan I suppose I probably heard it.


Here's a picture inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's story "the angel of the odd".

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/AngelOfTheOdd.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Kafka.jpg

That one is actually a modified photo of Kafka. Very little of the original is still visible!

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Erik.jpg

I know, I know, Vikings never actually wore little wings on their helmets...

[howyadoin]

Great use of colour in those.

[Kara Zor El]

These are fantastic. The Edgar Alan Poe one blows me away. difficult compestition, pulled off with finess.

Kafka is a blast. Love it. hair and eyes really make it. And the Viking is glorius.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, guys. I haven't done a lot of color work, but I enjoy watercolors. I'm always amazed by how easy accomplished painters make it look to create shapes with just nuances of color (like thos guys on the "Joy of painting" TV shows, who whip up a complete landscape in less than 15 minutes).




http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Womb.jpg

[Kara Zor El]

The baby is absolutely amazing. Eirie yet vunerable. Great work man

[Roquefort Raider]

Cartoon time!

[Roquefort Raider]

For this one I wanted an ambiguous title, but never settled on either "greeting the natives" or "brave new world".

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Natives.jpg

[Renae De Liz]

Wow! Very cool stuff! :D

[howyadoin]

For this one I wanted an ambiguous title, but never settled on either "greeting the natives" or "brave new world".

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Natives.jpgReminds me a bit of Kliban, Ben.

[Roquefort Raider]

Some more back-of-the-envelope cartoons...

[Roquefort Raider]

............

[Roquefort Raider]

Howyadoin's recent work isn't only gorgeous: it's also inspiring! Following his example, I took my tubes of acrylic out of their box. (The brown, black and white tubes had dried long ago, but I managed with what was left).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Maasai.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

The alchemist. That was the line art for a poster advertising a biochemistry class.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Alchemist.jpg

[Typo Lad]

Wow. This is going to sound cliche but... nice use of blacks.

[Kara Zor El]

God to se yet more of your fabulous work. And different to boot. Man of many talents.

[howyadoin]

Howyadoin's recent work isn't only gorgeous: it's also inspiring! Following his example, I took my tubes of acrylic out of their box. (The brown, black and white tubes had dried long ago, but I managed with what was left).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Maasai.jpgAll I can say is...





MORE!!!

[Winslow]

Howyadoin's recent work isn't only gorgeous: it's also inspiring! Following his example, I took my tubes of acrylic out of their box. (The brown, black and white tubes had dried long ago, but I managed with what was left).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Maasai.jpg

I agree with Howy . .that's pretty sweet. Evokes all kinds emotion.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

Here's some new dabbling in leftover acrylics! (Does it show that my last two good tubes are blue and ochre)?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Sael.jpg

Some stuff is a joy to do with acrylic (like the possibility of just painting over) but I really have miles to go before I can get it to do what I want.

[howyadoin]

Here's some new dabbling in leftover acrylics! (Does it show that my last two good tubes are blue and ochre)?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Sael.jpg

Some stuff is a joy to do with acrylic (like the possibility of just painting over) but I really have miles to go before I can get it to do what I want.That's pretty sweet, Ben. You oughta do a Dune piece.

[Roquefort Raider]

Many thanks, Kara, Typo, Winslow and Howie.

That last piece actually started as a Dune project, but I veered away halfway through. I wanted something a little more down to Earth.

To make up for my change of mind, here's a Dune piece that I did... oh boy... must be close to 25 years ago now...

[Pól Rua]

Good gravy, but this is some sweet stuff.
The earlier stuff reminds me of the 80's B&W explosion stuff. I can see a bit of Barry Windsor Smith in amongst your work, especially the Viking piece.
Dang.

[Roquefort Raider]

Good eye on both counts, Pól; I was an avid reader of Marvel B&W mags in the 70s and 80s and considered Windsor-Smith an artistic god.

Here's some more acrylic work.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Venice.jpg

[adam warlock]

seriously top notching line drawing, shading cross-hatching (like on the walls)

i have been pwned.

[adam warlock]

A Lovecraft-themed old piece.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Cavern.jpg

nice.. reminds me of my first-time somewhat :D (journey into erm.. mystery lady bits)
*runs*

[Roquefort Raider]

nice.. reminds me of my first-time somewhat :D (journey into erm.. mystery lady bits)



Well, that certainly seems to have been something unsettling to Lovecraft!

[Roquefort Raider]

A new acrylic piece. First a pen and ink sketch:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranBW.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

I scanned the image in four pieces (it's about 16 x 20 inches), printed it on four pages, glued them to a piece of cardboard and started painting over.

I skipped the crows because they might have been distracting... The dark clouds are enough.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bran.jpg

(You'll notice that there's a dark line going across the piece... That's where two sheets of paper meet. Luckily it's not as obvious on the actual painting; somehow the photograph amplifies the flaw).

[howyadoin]

That's beautiful, Ben.

[Kara Zor El]

I look at the black and white and think, this is perfect. Then I see it in colour and you blow my mind.

Both pieces are magnificent. if the black and white were in a comic and colored in a basic comic style. It would be top gear comic art. But then you turn it into a painting, and all the comic aspects are gone and it's a work of fine art.

That's some skill.

It tells a story. I agree about the birds.

Can you tell us a bit about the man in the picture and what has happened?

[Gary_B]

Wow, that is a fantastic painting. Thanks for sharing some of your process with us.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks guys!

Can you tell us a bit about the man in the picture and what has happened?

It's the aftermath of Robert E. Howard's story "Kings of the night", where Caledonian Picts and their allies stop the advance of a Roman legion.

The central figure is King Bran Mak Morn of the Picts, a fellow whose breeding sets him apart from his more brutish-looking fellows (Howard shared the weird ideas of his time about races). Although he's won a victory that day, Bran knows that all he's done that day will be in vain in the long run: their way of life is doomed, and all his people can do is retain their self-respect by refusing to surrender all the way to their inevitable defeat. Hence the lack of cheering from the victorious Picts in the background, and the grim demeanor of the king.

[Winslow]

Thanks guys!



It's the aftermath of Robert E. Howard's story "Kings of the night", where Caledonian Picts and their allies stop the advance of a Roman legion.

The central figure is King Bran Mak Morn of the Picts, a fellow whose breeding sets him apart from his more brutish-looking fellows (Howard shared the weird ideas of his time about races). Although he's won a victory that day, Bran knows that all he's done that day will be in vain in the long run: their way of life is doomed, and all his people can do is retain their self-respect by refusing to surrender all the way to their inevitable defeat. Hence the lack of cheering from the victorious Picts in the background, and the grim demeanor of the king.

You captured the moment very well Ben.

I really enjoyed it.

[Roquefort Raider]

We wanted something for the kids' room, so I made a Barrington picture in acrylics. The character on his own made for a somewhat empty picture, so I took the opportunity to indulge in a little pastiche of Henri Lievens (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=159057) for the background.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Roosterbarrow.jpg

[howyadoin]

We wanted something for the kids' room, so I made a Barrington picture in acrylics. The character on his own made for a somewhat empty picture, so I took the opportunity to indulge in a little pastiche of Henri Lievens (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=159057) for the background.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Roosterbarrow.jpgNice use of colour there, Ben. He really pops off the background.

[Joe Rice]

A new acrylic piece. First a pen and ink sketch:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranBW.jpg

The colored version is quite nice, but I just really like this in a more intrinsic way.

[Kara Zor El]

Thanks guys!



It's the aftermath of Robert E. Howard's story "Kings of the night", where Caledonian Picts and their allies stop the advance of a Roman legion.

The central figure is King Bran Mak Morn of the Picts, a fellow whose breeding sets him apart from his more brutish-looking fellows (Howard shared the weird ideas of his time about races). Although he's won a victory that day, Bran knows that all he's done that day will be in vain in the long run: their way of life is doomed, and all his people can do is retain their self-respect by refusing to surrender all the way to their inevitable defeat. Hence the lack of cheering from the victorious Picts in the background, and the grim demeanor of the king.


Thanks for that.

Your kid's very lucky to have you painting the room.

Great Barrington picture.

[Roquefort Raider]

My dad, as the wise, strong and dashing world-roving man he'll always be in my memory.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pops.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

The colored version is quite nice, but I just really like this in a more intrinsic way.

Thanks, Joe. I feel much more comfortable in B&W anyway.

[howyadoin]

My dad, as the wise, strong and dashing world-roving man he'll always be in my memory.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pops.jpgWhere was he on his way to?

[Roquefort Raider]

Where was he on his way to?

Metaphorically? The Happy Hunting Grounds. Geographically? Anywhere a ship can go. Dad was a merchant sailor as a young man, and even when he turned to a land-based career he always enjoyed traveling with my mom (and us kids when we were small).

I know he had a particular fondness for the Netherlands, and great seaports like Amsterdam or Rotterdam. He even learned to speak Dutch on his own! Which means that from then on, I never could utter Van Gogh's name without having my pronunciation corrected!!!

I find it difficult to make a picture of someone I care for. I can never put in it all that deserves to be seen (or at least hinted at). The subject is just too vast.

[howyadoin]

Metaphorically? The Happy Hunting Grounds. Geographically? Anywhere a ship can go. Dad was a merchant sailor as a young man, and even when he turned to a land-based career he always enjoyed traveling with my mom (and us kids when we were small).

I know he had a particular fondness for the Netherlands, and great seaports like Amsterdam or Rotterdam. He even learned to speak Dutch on his own! Which means that from the on, I never could utter Van Gogh's name without having my pronunciation corrected!!!

I find it difficult to make a picture of someone I care for. I can never put in it all that deserves to be seen (or at least hinted at). The subject is just too vast.Well, you did a bang-up job, at least from my perspective.

I know what you're sayin', though. And there's even more pressure if the person in question isn't with us anymore.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Bret. I appreciate that.

[howyadoin]

Thanks, Bret. I appreciate that.Any time, my friend.

[JadeDragon]

My dad, as the wise, strong and dashing world-roving man he'll always be in my memory.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pops.jpg

That is really sweet. Ben!

Great seeing some new work here! I need to check in more often, I didnt realize I had missed so much.

Awesome paintings, Ben! Cheers!~~~Patrick

[Puma]

Once upon a time, because I was alone and unsupervised at home, I couldn't resist the siren call of the felt markers and the sketch pad (while I was supposedly writing my thesis). Good thing my supervisor never found out how I was occupying my time!

Here are two sketches of Robert E. Howard's character Bran Mak Morn, king of the Picts.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BranMakMorn1.jpg

I love this one. It looks like an old wood cut.

[Kara Zor El]

My dad, as the wise, strong and dashing world-roving man he'll always be in my memory.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pops.jpg

love that sky and the whole looming perspective.

[Jaye]

My dad, as the wise, strong and dashing world-roving man he'll always be in my memory.


This is fantastic, the viewer really gets a sense of your dad.
Amazing.

-Jaye

[Roquefort Raider]

Another Barrington in acrylics!

This one didn't turn out as I wanted: the village is too far in the background. It's also not quite as sinister as I wanted!

But hey, learning is the goal here!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Barrington2.jpg

[originalJAM]

I scanned the image in four pieces (it's about 16 x 20 inches), printed it on four pages, glued them to a piece of cardboard and started painting over.

I skipped the crows because they might have been distracting... The dark clouds are enough.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bran.jpg

(You'll notice that there's a dark line going across the piece... That's where two sheets of paper meet. Luckily it's not as obvious on the actual painting; somehow the photograph amplifies the flaw).

Nice work my man........

I think leaving the crows(limiting the amount of crows, though) in, would had helped gave the pic more depth, other than that R&R that's money! Nice

JAM,........................

[Roquefort Raider]

You oughta do a Dune piece.

Agreed!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ibad-1.jpg

[howyadoin]

Agreed!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ibad-1.jpgThat's awesome, Ben. Is that wispy bit of fabric something you painted, or is it an actual bit of cloth?

[Brad Barton]

Wow. First I'm seeing of your work, RR, and it really is fantastic.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Beetheb!

That's awesome, Ben. Is that wispy bit of fabric something you painted, or is it an actual bit of cloth?

Oh, it's real cloth all right. I wouldn't have the skill to paint cloth that would look half as good. Actually, the entire scarf is real cloth that was glued over a painted version, and then re-painted over. I managed to botch the photo (way too much light!) so it appears glossy here, but the original headscarf is actually very grainy.

[Roquefort Raider]

A friend of mine has a kennel where he raises sled dogs; having recently switched from malamute and eskimo dogs to Alaskan huskies, he asked me for a change in his logo. Here are the two versions I came up with:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pixiun-shadow.jpg

and

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Pixiun10.jpg

[LewMoxinsghost]

This stuff is all really impressive. I don't know where to begin. On your older comics... how did you accomplish the lettering?

[Roquefort Raider]

This stuff is all really impressive. I don't know where to begin. On your older comics... how did you accomplish the lettering?

Thanks, Lew. The hand-writing of my comics is all in French, so for the purpose of this thread I re-lettered everything in Photoshop. As I recall, I used a simple font like Arial or Helvetica.

[Roquefort Raider]

I've started working on the next book of my space opera ("book" in the sense of "story", since it is most definitely unpublished!) and I'm quite happy about not messing up this page.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal4.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal4b.jpg




Four pages down, 42 to go... ugh...

[howyadoin]

Off to a fine start, my friend.

[Roquefort Raider]

A bit later.

The main character is proceeding to the capital planet. Said planet is defended by massive forcefields that cause huge auroras, making the place look as if there were two sets of rings around it -and rings that intersect, something that's obviously impossible. Still, it looks pretty and allows people to see better at night.

This page feature one of my recurring headaches : the bridge of the hero's ship. I have to make sure that every damn button is at the right place each time I draw it.

Note that the hand in the lower left image is in the same perspective as the headshot of the middle frame, even though I broke the image to suggest a brief passage of time.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal5.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

Page 6, and finally the title appears! I drew this full-bleed on a 14x17 board and still managed not to get the result I wanted in terms of depth. GAAAAH!!!

The ship is also sort of hard to see against the backdrop of the aurora-ring. It wouldn't matter in color, but here it's a little clunky.

There aren't as many shadows as would have been needed to make the thing look more realistic, but I thought that between the sun, four moons and an aurora, there were too many light sources for there to be much shade left anywhere!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal6.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

After docking, a futuristic version of an airport waiting lounge.

No independent ship is allowed on the capital planet. Visitors have to dock orbiting stations and take a shuttle down to the planet (through tightly regulated gaps in the force-field).

In the next pages, we'll see how our proletarian hero has to suffer the indignities of public transport, while his nemesis just flies through thanks to his VIP credentials. It's the least of the reasons why we don't like the guy, but every bit helps to make the villain look nefarious!!! :)

Now I'm facing a dilemma : I have lots of sketches showing how opulent the capital is, but the pace is already a bit slow at the moment and I don't want to spend more pages on a sightseeing tour. I suppose I'll just have to throw in a nice building here or there in the background while the talking heads do their stuff.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal7.gif

[howyadoin]

This stuff just gets better and better.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, my friend!

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Black-stone.gif

I started this one just to practice painting clouds (we've had some lovely stormy skies recently), then I thought I'd practice autumn foliage as well. In the end, it was a simple trick to add some out-of-place element to try and tell a story!

[Roquefort Raider]

I've been re-reading some REH and there's just something about the Bran Mak Morn stories that get me to doodle.

(I'm afraid the scanner flattened the colors somewhat, but here's an impression of the latest piece. It's acrylic on bristol board, 14 x 17 inches).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Wolves-1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/8a.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/8b.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/9a.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/9B.jpg


(to be continued!)

[originalJAM]

Very COOL!

JAM,............

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Jam!

Just so rapidographs won't clog, they have to be used regularly. Here is today's unclogging exercise!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Man-thing.gif

[howyadoin]

Thanks, Jam!

Just so rapidographs won't clog, they have to be used regularly. Here is today's unclogging exercise!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Man-thing.gifOh, yeah.

.

[Roquefort Raider]

Working on a christmas card for this year :

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Noel.gif

[originalJAM]

Thanks, Jam!

Just so rapidographs won't clog, they have to be used regularly. Here is today's unclogging exercise!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Man-thing.gif

NOW THAT'S UNCLOGGING IN A VERY SERIOUS WAY! Nice, my man!

JAM,.....................................

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks!

The space opera continues, as a soliloquy basically reveals what the plot is all about.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/10a.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/10b.gif

[Kara Zor El]

All the new stuff you posted since last I was here is amazing. I love the comic to bits and the Christmas card is wonderfully creepy.

The cloud and autumn leaves picture really grabbed my eye and Swamp Thing is probably the best I've seen him drawn.

[Roquefort Raider]

Page 11. The admiral is a creature used to a very warm climate, so I wanted the architecture of his home to reflect that.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Ball11Eng.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

I printed a few more "science isn't for sissies" t-shirts for a student auction. The money will go to pay for their graduation ball. Ah, to be young again...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Science-moumounes.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

I used a lot of sharpies here, along with a new brush. Somehow my rapidographs have been clogging more and more (two were actually clogged beyond use)... but sharpies' ink tends to smear a lot more than india ink.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/12.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/12a.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/12b.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/12c.gif

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/12d.gif

[howyadoin]

That lettering style is a nice touch. Takes a bit of effort to figure it out at first, so even though you can read it, it still gives the impression of a foreign accent or language.

[Roquefort Raider]

That lettering style is a nice touch. Takes a bit of effort to figure it out at first, so even though you can read it, it still gives the impression of a foreign accent or language.

Yep, that's exactly the effect I was looking for. It's a bit hard to read but just understandable, just as a foreign accent is.

Other characters with foreign accents have their own fonts, but luckily none so hard to read as this one!

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal13ENG.gif

----------

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/BalENG14A.gif
...........

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal14bENG.gif
..........

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal15ENG.jpg



(to be continued, of course!)

[howyadoin]

More great work, Ben. I'd love to visit the world these characters live in.

[Winslow]

Sweet inking Ben. Great spotting of blacks and attention to detail.

What do you use for inks?

[DaveHedmark]

Excellent work. I too like the lettering in the aliens dialogue it brings to mind cryptic warblings of an alien tongue. the panels are very easy to follow. I look forward to reading what happens at the ball.

[Count Yoda]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Crusades2.jpg


..........

As that other lad said years ago; "Priceless."

[Roquefort Raider]

I'd love to visit the world these characters live in.

Thanks, Bret. It's an interesting place!


What do you use for inks?

For the figures, mostly a speedball C-6 pen nib and an assortment of brushes. I use a Hunt 102 nib for very thin lines in the background.

For straight lines (machinery, architecture) I use a 0.35mm and a 0,5mm rapidograph.

I have a hard time finding an ink I like nowadays; Pelikan apparently doesn't make its really black ink (which came in an inkpot with a yellow sticker) anymore, and although Higgins and Speedball both make a good black ink they clog rapidographs more than the Pelikan did. (The Pelikan ink for rapidographs is far too pale).

For large black sections, I use a trick Dave Sim once mentioned : I leave an inkpot open for a while, so that water evaporates. The resulting thick syrup is quite opaque (and can't be used with a pen, but a brush works fine).

I look forward to reading what happens at the ball.

Thanks, Dave! Stay tuned!

As that other lad said years ago; "Priceless."

We aim to please. Cheers!

[Roquefort Raider]

Page 16 of book 3.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Bal16ENG-1.jpg

[DaveHedmark]

fantastic illustrations on this one. I like how the setting is someplace grand since the narrative is long it makes it more digestible. great balance.

[Roquefort Raider]

The battle of Shamla pass from Robert E. Howard's short story Back Colossus starts with this rough draft : a big Stygian, his weapons and harness having been hacked away, tries to bash Conan's head in with a rock.

The scene is set in a pass at the foot of high rocky hill range that gives way to the desert.

I didn't like the position of the characters; the idea here was to show the split second where the rock is just poised and ready to fall : that brief fraction of a second where time seems to stop. The characters in this rough sketch are moving too much.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/rough.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

A little work on the figure of the Stygian; at left, the weight of the rock is emphasized, but we can see he's not a threat yet. At right is what I was looking for; there's strain apparent, but little movement. Conan still looks a little too busy for my taste.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/figures.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

Rough placement of lights and darks. I want to show the desert in the background, with two armies of ant-like soldiers clashing.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Background1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

The next step, with the mountains more clearly defined, show what lousy technique I have. In all honesty, I'm constantly struggling against the urge to draw with paint instead of actually painting. I noticed that using broader brushes and big bold strokes gives a much better result than trying to paint every single pebble, but I'm far from actually understanding how to do it... any good result is usually a lucky accident!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Background2.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

On to the final version, which didn't quite turn out as I wanted. I wanted to make it obvious that a big battle was going on, so I started adding pieces of equipment, corpses and junk all around... but that took away from the dynamism of the picture. The more stuff I added, the stiffer it looked! I wanted to capture the moment where time freeze, but not have time frozen over for good. So I added a few guys fighting in the ledt corner, and then added a few arrows (one in the process of hitting a rock and breaking in two) to show that things are still moving around the main event.

I wanted to make Conan look unbalanced and slightly vulnerable(he just fell off a horse) but he looks a little too stiff himself, as if he had broken his arm. But I really, really don't feel like painting that arm over!!!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Shamla-Pass.jpg

All in all, this was fun. I'll try to practice using "lower resolution" brushes to curb that tendency to draw.

[Count Yoda]

Very nice painting.

[howyadoin]

It looks pretty good, Ben. But you're right, you are drawing with the brush. My advice? Get out a big brush - no, not that one. The big brush - and try some loose sketching with it. Try to roughly block in areas of colour instead of delineating edges.

You might also try using some kind of time constraint. Set a timer or something.

As for Conan's anatomy, why not just bend the left arm?

[Roquefort Raider]

A little something in the Fu Manchu / pulp era vein. Acrylics on wood (and frankly, working on wood was very pleasant).


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Red-room.jpg


Here's an amusing tidbit: I usually leave my painting on a shelf for a few days before stashing them away, but in this case my wife asked that I take it away because she thinks it looks too much like her! Feel free to envy this lucky hubby!!! :wink:

[Roquefort Raider]

We've had extremely hot days and assorted lightning storms in the past few weeks, which prompted an image of a dark, dark storm front moving in while someone sitting on an old VW beetle looks on.

Here's the basic background (minus the VW, which you can see on the sketch on the left). A red-roofed house should be visible in the right corner eventually).


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Storm-front.jpg

[howyadoin]

That's off to a fine start, Ben. Nice and moody.

[Global Honored]

A little something in the Fu Manchu / pulp era vein. Acrylics on wood (and frankly, working on wood was very pleasant).


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Red-room.jpg


Here's an amusing tidbit: I usually leave my painting on a shelf for a few days before stashing them away, but in this case my wife asked that I take it away because she thinks it looks too much like her! Feel free to envy this lucky hubby!!! :wink:

love this and envious.....of your work of course:smile:

[originalJAM]

Great work/skill.... nothing like old school medium! The table with all the work/tools of the trade, great pic.

JAM,..........................

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Storm-front-1.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Touaregs.jpg

[howyadoin]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Storm-front-1.jpgI fucking love this.

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Souk.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

A student and I once discussed how it must be to be accused of a crime (real or more probably imagined) in a totalitarian state, without rights, without any hope of seeing a lawyer, without even the right to know what you're being detained for. We talked about how you're just taken from wherever you are, without a word to anyone, and brought to this incredibly bleak building that just seeps fear and misery. Once in there, they take you down in the deep basement, to a room in which there's nothing at all, not even a creaky table nor an interrogation chair... just a drain at the center of the floor! And then you realize that they're probably going to blindfold you and ask you to kneel... and you story won't last long after that.

Ladies and gents, I give you the drain room. In all its depressiveness.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/DrainRoom.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/RapaNui.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

The Shadow, in the Kaluta vein:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Shadow.jpg

An alien (scribbled on benchkote with a heavy marker):

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Alien.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/Young-woman.jpg

[Roquefort Raider]

Kosru Malik

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/1-3.jpg


and Eric and Malik, facing their last stand:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/EricKosruMalik.jpg

[howyadoin]

More brilliance. I love all of these.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks, Howy!

And now another Bran Mak Morn piece. That Howard fellow wrote a lot of inspiring stuff.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RoquefortRaider/KingOfThePicts.jpg