Friday, March 30, 2007

anatomy of a cover :: D.C Comics

tomer :: The Unmen are a group of deformed creatures living in a city of freaks in the Nevada desert. their origin dates back to the 70's as a group of villains on Berni Wrightson's classic Swamp Thing. The city is a mix of Tokyo, Las Vegas and a side show tent parading your worst nightmare. at the center of the story is Cranius, a humnan brain sewed onto a hand. there's also a winged one arm woman (a real life Winged Victory), a two headed CEO and an FBI agent who is an African american albino, leading the plot after an unsolved murder.
since it's the first cover of an ongoing series it needed to depict a broad idea showcasing the series as a concept rather than a specific scene.
the atmosphere of the book is rather flesh-centric, and by that I mean it doesn't hold back on the gore. many of the freaks are manmade, so operations, extra limbs and a variety of animal+human combos are always present. it made me think about old medical book illustrations, which provided a starting point for the coloring-- they keep an emotional distance from thier objects with a monochromatic utilitarianism, and spots of saturated color to point out certain organs.


colored in Photoshop, 600dpi. (the logo's color/placement is a personal projection)


-----------------------------
in other news, the Marquis De Sade cover showcased here a few months back was awarded the Gold medal at the Society of Illustrators. the show is up, so if you're in NY you can still catch it.

20 comments:

  1. awesome cover. great to see the process of it. nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on cover medal , and once again, a real pleasure seeing the process for this piece.

    Turned out great.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome cover here! And BTW I purchased the de Sade book just so I could have your cover.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:27 PM

    I'm very surprise to find your blog,fantastic works, 10 in drawing, 10 in composition and another 10 in color, there are much to learn of your work

    ReplyDelete
  6. this is badass tomer. how you been man?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jeez!!! What amazing stuff! Love this blog!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. whoa, man.
    is very good job
    i don't talk englisch
    but i look your work in photoshop n' i like
    take me consejo
    visited my blog
    www.emilioutrera.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey what's the name of the book that has those awesome looking medical illustrations? Current stuff just pales in comparison.


    Oh,and thanks for posting your process. It was quite enlightening as always.

    ReplyDelete
  10. totally gross and awesome at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! Great works. Jan Feindt give me the link to your Blog.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is Mike Hawthorne, artist on the Un-men. I was pleased as hell to hear you were doing the covers for the series. Love your work, and this cover is no exception.

    Best,
    mike

    ReplyDelete
  13. thanks for the kind words guys.
    tony c- hope you've been enjoying the story, it's quite out there.
    the clownninja- hey man, been a while...
    me- these books are all over the internet, scanned and ready for our abuse and misuse.
    balkandude- my best to Jan.
    mr. hawthorne- Mike, your name is what sold me on this project-- the interiors are looking super sharp. it's going to be a fun ride.

    ReplyDelete
  14. "Mike, your name is what sold me on this project-- "

    That's a hell of a nice thing to say. I can not wait to see what you come up with next!

    best,
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  15. just great! i love when artists can use purple effectively. and congrats on the society win.

    ReplyDelete
  16. i like the fact that there is an actual thought process behind the colors you chose. really nice piece.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your covers, Mike H.'s interiors and John W.'s scripts are combining to make The Un-Men a great series. I've enjoyed the first two issues very much and can't wait for next Wednesday to find out what happens next...

    Sincerely,
    Rich Handley
    Roots of the Swamp Thing
    http://www.swampthingroots.com

    ReplyDelete