Big Time Attic

Bioshock 3 Game Infarcer cover!

noreply@blogger.com (Zander Cannon) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:02:00 +0000

[click on images to see a larger size]

It's that hilarious time of year again, at least as far as magazines are concerned. The April issue of Game Informer magazine, out this week, has a small section inside called Game Infarcer, which mercilessly mocks all the games that they stare at all year. This year: Bioshock 3. HA! Take that, 2K games! We love your game enough to mock it!

This issue marks our fifth year drawing the cover to the section (Thanks, GI!), and to celebrate, we'd like to go through the process of creating the cover, from concept to delivery.

CONCEPT

At the beginning of every February, I start wondering when someone from Game Informer is going to call for the Game Infarcer cover, and sure enough, Bryan Vore calls up and sets up a meeting, and asks if this cover can be "in a more realistic style". Naturally, I say sure thing, then end up drawing it the way I draw everything. Professional secrets revealed!

When I get to Game Informer World Headquarters (about 3 miles from here), the guys all sit down with me and give me the pitch: Bioshock 3, with Big Grandpas. But the best part is: they give me a sketch.

[notation added by me]

I love it when people do sketches. Sometimes people think I'm going to laugh at them or are embarrassed to show what they've done, but I love seeing what people have in mind visually even if they "can't draw a straight line", because it saves me from trying out all the composition pyrotechnics at my disposal. Any artist knows there are millions of ways to lay out the same picture, but the simplest ones are frequently the best, and if that's what the client has firmly in mind, it's usually a good idea to go for it. In the process of making the sketch, the client can also see some potential for ideas and put them down, instead of just making a list or having to remember them. It also lets them see if they can even envision a visual way to communicate the joke, which is a good indicator as to whether I can, as well.

During the meeting, since everyone could see the sketch, we could jump off into ideas a lot faster, and we quickly came up with things like the daily pill container, the Fiber valve (that was Joe Juba), Android Ryan (also Joe), the idea of being at a Denny's-like breakfast place, the Rapture background, and the Prune Juice syringe. These sorts of "list" drawings--ones that contain subtle in-jokes around a given topic--are always my favorite because they're very information-heavy, and are less concerned with rendering, which I enjoy, but is not my particular forte.

Also, Joe lent me a Big Daddy doll--er, action figure at the meeting, which was very helpful in drawing details.

INITIAL PASS

What I like to do when I start a job is to try to ride the wave of enthusiasm as much as I can, and frequently this means I can really make some headway. When I come back from a meeting with the guys at Game Informer, we've been brainstorming and joking about the image, and the game, and other funny obscurities that could make it in there, and so I'm bursting at the seams with ideas. So even though it was late in the day and I needed to get home, I quickly sat down and sketched out what was in my head for the Big Grandpa and the Little Sister Nurse.

This gave me the chance to distill down some ideas, cement some gags in there, and think of some new ones when a corner of the drawing is looking kind of lonely. As you can tell, it also allowed me to basically lock in the general "camera angle" of the drawing. This was a pretty lucky break--it doesn't always happen that way--but just dashing stuff down without overthinking it often gets the simplest (and best) results.

The next day, I took another sheet of paper and drew around all the other elements of the drawing: the environment, the signs, the greeter, etc. I married these two images in Photoshop and dropped in a Game Informer logo and Bioshock 3 graphic for placement so that I could send it off to the guys for feedback.

This part also allowed me to add more jokes--the Denny's-like Ryan logo, the sign advertising the specials that looks like the Plasmid upgrade graphic, the Little Sister ornate escape hatch, the detailing on the seats and host stand that are similar to the doors in the game, and the gold-glowing rose in the tonic container way in the background. If you look closely, there's even a cash register on the far right, just like in the game. But then I realized host stands don't have cash registers. This drawing will be nothing if not accurate!

PENCILS AND INKS

The sketch is relatively tight, as you can see from how similar it is to the final drawing, so the next step is to blow it up in Photoshop and print it out in 10% cyan on a big sheet of paper. From there I can go in with pencil and brush and create the final linework.

Now, normally, people pencil the whole image before inking, but I'm kind of impatient, and sometimes if you're sure about a section of the drawing (that is, you're sure it's going to be in shadow or something), it can be useful to go ahead and ink it. It can frequently give you better ideas on how to pencil the rest of the page, and it sets a certain style.

When I was finished with the foreground inks, I sent the image to Game Informer again, just to show them some progress, and it yielded a valuable addition. While I had added jokes to the sign and the menu, I had entirely neglected the "Please wait to be seated" placard. If you've played Bioshock, you know that there is a perfect addition to make to this sign, and Jeff Cork pointed it out. "Please..." was changed to "Would you kindly..." and our drawing was now officially stuffed as full of jokes as we could make it.

COLORING

Coloring is difficult for me, particularly things that have to be relatively atmospheric. I tend to like to color with flat colors rather than with a layered, textured look, but I tried to blend the two for this illustration.

For the background, I drew outlines of the buildings with dots for windows, then made several layers, each with a layer of blue to indicate distance. Here was the final opportunity to make jokes, so I threw in a few Ayn Rand references (the signs saying "Roark" and "Galt", two Randian heroes, and the Atlas-shaped building (pre-shrug). In case you don't know, Ayn Rand's works, particularly Atlas Shrugged, were a major influence on the philosophy of Bioshock and Rapture, its underground city.

Gloomy blue and glowing gold were the basic colors for the game of Bioshock, so I created a warm gold light spot in the lower right to focus attention, then colored all of the figures with gold highlights coming from that direction to unify the scene. The background could stay a largely uniform neutral blue that would pop out the figures. As a final consideration, I did something I rarely do--I added a glow to certain things: the Big Grandpa's eyes, his lightning bolts on his hands, and the Little Sister's eyes. When put into an image that is mostly flat colors, effects like that can be quite striking.

PRINTED IMAGE

When the image makes it into the magazine, I always hold my breath a little, hoping that it will look okay. These days you can be pretty sure that what's on your screen will print out okay, but you never REALLY know. I was thrilled when I got this one in the mail. As you can see, they moved the image up and zoomed in a tiny bit, overlapping the top of Big Grandpa's fiber tank with the logo (I provided another layer of just the top half of that figure in case they wanted to do that), and they extended the shadow in the lower left to get in the copy for the joke, which I'm glad they did. I feel like the image is solid, and a good joke, but it does need a little explaining.

So go out and find the April issue of Game Informer! It's the one with the Portal 2 cover. Ah, not only a drawing in an issue of Game Informer, but one about the sequel to my favorite game. It's the icing on the cake.

Busy August for Minneapolis Cartoonists

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:04:00 +0000

Prepare for two big cartooning events to drop in Minneapolis this August. First is the nearly-perennial Lutefisk Sushi mini comics show at Altered Esthetics (view last year's website). I'll have much more to say about this show at the end of the this month, but for now just know that it's happening, and it's time to start planning your mini comic.

The other big event is the first ever MIX: Minneapolis Indie Expo, organized by Sarah Morean and Andy Krueger. The show is a one-day celebration of indie comics and local talent, and there will be a bake sale! The show is free for visitors if you want to just wander around, but if you want to sell some stuff the table rates are cheap! Sign up here. The official bullet point list of amenities is as follows:

Affordable exhibition space (starting at $20)
Free admission
Plenty of outlets for electronics
Free wi-fi on site
A reading room
A bake sale
And more!

It all drops August 21, 2010 at The Soap Factory, with a major party at Altered Esthetics afterwards.

But don't take my word for it ... check out the King Mini-adorned website, and see how many local cartoonists you can spot in the intro video:

mplsindiexpo.com

Tim Sievert Comic in Metro Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:07:00 +0000

BTA alum Tim Sievert graces a page of Metro Magazine, not as an underwear model this time but as a cartoonist:

click to read a bigger version

Congrats, Tim!

The Cigar Maker Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:52:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I only knew of Ybor City as a reference in a Hold Steady song. Now I could probably do a decent job giving walking tours of the place. That's all thanks to local author Mark McGinty, who enlisted me to draw two maps for his upcoming Ybor City-based novel, The Cigar Maker. Mark blends fact and fiction to take an engaging look at the Ortiz family as they move from war-torn Cuba to newly founded Ybor. I had the pleasure of receiving an advance copy of the book, and in all honesty I couldn't put the thing down -- it runs at a fast clip, expertly blending pulp adventure with a thoughtful portrait of turn of the century Cuba and Florida. Keep an eye out for The Cigar Maker during Art-a-Whirl this spring, when Mark plans to release it to the public. In the meantime, you can read more about the novel (and even PREORDER it) at TheCigarMaker.net. And keep an eye out for the book's cover, which will be created by veteran cartoonist conspirator Lupi McGinty.

Ybor City (click for larger image):

Florida and Cuba (click for larger image):

TheCigarMaker.net
TheBoogle.wordpress.com

Hacker's Guide: The SEQUEL

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:54:00 +0000

With the Winter Olympics gearing up tonight, golf is probably the last sport on people's minds. But take heart: the snow will eventually melt, and soon you'll be traveling all around the Minnesota and Western Wisconsin region, wondering which golf course to check out. That's where Bruce Stasch and his popular Hacker's Guide comes in. He's introducing a fat new addition to the Hacker's Guide series, and Zander and I designed the cover and the illustrations. Here are a few art samples, but check out the book for more. And consider PREORDERING a copy -- it's the perfect book to keep in your car along with your Hudson Map and the first Hacker's Guide.

Fan Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:30:00 +0000

If you're wondering what the best part of our job is, that's pretty easy: It's getting to open letters like this one from 7 year-old Michael, a budding animator who took a tour of Big Time Attic headquarters last week:

Detail:

[ click for larger image ]

City Pages Illustrations: Meet the Lobbyists

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Wow, it's been a long time since we've blogged, etc, etc...

Hey, grab a copy of this week's City Pages to see some illustrious renditions of your favorite capitol lobbyists. Here are my top three favorites, in order of how enjoyable they were to draw:

MARYANN CAMPO:

DICK DAY:

KEVIN GOODNO:

Pink Hobo Wins L'Etoile's Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Congrats Pink Hobo! L'Etoile has named you best new gallery of 2009. But you already knew that, because you mentioned it on the Twitter.

Far Arden Sneaks on to a Few "Best of the Year" Lists

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:51:00 +0000

It's the end of the year, and comics bloggers everywhere are constructing their "best of" lists for 2009, and it'd be a gross understatement to say that I'm thrilled to see Far Arden grace some of these lists.

Here are three that I've run across:

New York Magazine

Flashlight Worthy

The Montreal Gazette

Far Arden Hits the Airwaves

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:59:00 +0000

By some strange alignment of the planets, Far Arden is the focus of three recent podcasts:

First, an interview with Robin McConnell over at INKSTUDS. Tom Spurgeon's blog turned me onto Inkstuds about a year ago, and it's really an honor to now be listed among the ranks of Robin's interviewees.

Also, the gentlemen at THE MILD MANNERED PODCAST made me blush with this lengthy analysis of FA.

Finally, I had a fun time hanging out with Charlito & Mr. Phil over the summer behind the Top Shelf booth, and at one point we sat down for chat. Check it out at INDIE SPINNER RACK.

Thanks guys!

"Forgotten Miracle" in NY Times

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Stu Hackel has a great write-up of Forgotten Miracle in today's New York Times "Slap Shot" blog.

Also check out a post by sportswriter E.M. Swift, who was one of the experts interviewed for the film.

Forgotten Miracle trailer
Forgotten Miracle website

Steinlicht Book Signing This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:09:00 +0000

This Saturday at Big Brain Comics, David Steinlicht will be signing copies of his new book Cornered!, which is a collection of his strips from the Pioneer Press. David writes:

Now available: “Cornered!” A collection of comics from the Pioneer Press newspaper by David Steinlicht — published by Nodin Press.

This Saturday, from 4 to 6 p.m., you can buy the book and get it signed by the author, at Big Brain Comics in downtown Minneapolis.

Great Christmas gift. Excellent Chanukah gift. Perfect Kwanzaa gift. Super solstice gift. Nice stocking stuffer. Use ‘em for holiday party favors. Just the thing for grads. Mom will love it — Dad, Sis and Junior will, too.

And at $19.95 per copy, it’s budget friendly. Color cover, 274-page B&W interior.

(Note to those of you who purchased the self-published edition of “Cornered!”: Don’t get all worked up. It’s the same book, mostly. There are 11 additional comics, one more intro page, another index page, a Library of Congress number, a ISBN number, a bar code, an author picture and a snappy new cover design.)

The signing is from 4-6 pm, but if you can't get enough Steinlicht in just those two hours, swing by the MCBA next door from 12-4 for Saturday Open Studio.

Details on the BOOK SIGNING.

Details on the OPEN STUDIO.

Happy 7th Birthday, Cartoonist Conspiracy!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

In honor of the Cartoonist Conspiracy's seventh birthday, I thought it would be fun to publish a version of this month's jam that would actually be appropriate for a 7 year-old. Enjoy!

[ click image to read pdf -- caution: 10 mb ]

As always, you can read the original jam -- and all previous jams -- at cartoonistconspiracy.com.

City Pages Turkey Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving break. If you're not too sick of turkeys yet, swing by your local coffee shoppe and pick up a copy of this week's City Pages. I've got a few illustrations in there, as evidenced by these fine snapshots:

This issue of CP should be on stands until Tuesday.

Forgotten Miracle Illustrations

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Forgotten Miracle Trailer from Forgotten Miracle on Vimeo.

If you haven't heard from me over the past few months, it's probably because I've been working nonstop on illustrations for a documentary film called Forgotten Miracle. The film chronicles the 1960 US Olympic hockey team -- the first of only two hockey teams to bring home the gold for the US (the second being the much-lauded 1980 "Miracle" team). But the 1960 team had its own miracles; it's a David and Goliath story but this time Goliath is played by the Canadians.

The film was produced and directed by Andrew Sherburne and Tommy Haines, who also co-produced Pond Hockey. They asked me to illustrate several scenes in the film where they're short on actual video footage (it was only the first televised Olympic Games, after all). The drawings -- around 60 total -- are blended throughout the film and serve as recreations of some of the great stories told by the Olympic players.

The illustrated scenes are animated in a motion design sort of way -- the pencil drawings were produced in layers so that Sherburne could create a 3D motion design effect in AfterEffects. It's hard to describe, but you can see some of that subtle movement in the trailer.

Anyway, the film was a ton of fun to work on, and I highly recommend getting a copy for the rink rat in your family. I'll probably have a few copies to sell at conventions this spring, but if you can't wait until then, you can purchase a copy at ForgottenMiracle.com. (The DVDs ship in early December).

Some teasers:

Early Review of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Ghosts #1

noreply@blogger.com (Zander Cannon) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

The first issue of Star Trek: TNG: Ghosts came out this Wednesday, and there's an early review up on TrekMovie.com!

TrekMovie's Ghosts Review

I'm pleased that Mark Martinez (the reviewer) feels that the story hews closer to the more detailed and serious Next Generation stories rather than the action-focused recent movie, and states that "...those of you who grew up with the Enterprise-D will feel right at home." High praise, indeed. I hope readers will feel like this comic comes close to capturing the spirit of the 24th century.

UPDATE: Another review has popped up on TrekWeb. It's less positive, but I do like that it posits that there are more words in this comic than any other Star Trek comic. Why thank you very much! It also has this comment:

...The remainder you can write yourself if you're vaguely familiar with The Next Gen: Riker is impatient (Page 2), Picard is diplomatic (Page 2), Troi feels overpowering emotion (Page 5--but not addressed until Page 16!), and Geordi solves a problem with 24th century science (Page 19). All that was missing was Data commenting on humanity and Worf jumping over his console.

Well, all I have to say is don't count us out yet! We'll make this a drinking game if it kills us.

TrekWeb's Ghosts Review

Ex Astris Scientia!

I-Con 2009 Scanboree (Literally, a Jamboree of Scans)

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Today is my first day back from an intense, novelty-filled weekend in Iowa. The excuse for heading south was the Iowa Comic Convention (I-Con) put on by the Iowa Comic Book Club. The organizers put on a fun little show, with lots of freebie tables and a big buffet at the end (or least that's what I'm told -- I had to duck out a little early, unfortunately).

The best part of the show was getting to hang out with fellow conspirators Ryan Dow, Danno Klonowski, and Dan Olson. Everyone should check out Danno's latest Manly Tales, which reveals the true origin of Army Shanks. Traffic was a bit slow, which was fine because it gave me an excuse to doodle, something I feel like I haven't done for months. So here are some scans of that madness:

First, Danno's Fleming Hazmat taking a jab at Atlantis Lad. Of course, this would never happen in real life:

Here's a quick sketch of Shanks Winning the Big Game, inspired by a soon-to-be-revealed project that I've been working on night and day for the last month:

And a Shanks cartoon, created in response to Danno's new Manly Tales epic:

And here's a Klonowski original, which is not supposed to be representative of anyone we met at I-Con:

Metromix Des Moines traveled to beautiful Adventureland to record the festivities and I wound up in a few shots. Check out the whole slideshow at desmoines.metromix.com.

Credit: Dani Ausen for Metromix

Oh, also we learned that there's another comic convention coming up in Minnesota, but I can't remember when or where. If you want to know you should bug Dan Olson, because he's got it written down somewhere.

The rest of the weekend I spent at the House on the Rock, which I'm not going to attempt to summarize because it would take all day, so please just go yourself. Here's a little taste:

Tintin Sketchbook

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Leigh Walton of Top Shelf fame has produced a massive Tintin sketchbook, accumulating sketches from the likes of Bryan Lee O'Malley and Kate Beaton. I drew the pic above during MoCCA this past spring.

Laura Hudson has a write-up of the sketchbook on Comics Alliance, and you can see the entire book's Flickr Set!

Some of my favorites:

Tim Sievert

JP Coovert

Will Dinski

Niklas Asker

Brian Hurtt

Alec Longstreth

... and something like 500+ more HERE.

Far Arden on Graphic Novel Reporter

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

I recently did an interview with John Hogan over at Graphic Novel Reporter. Check it out!

Also check out their main page -- there are some great interviews with Junot Diaz, Emmanuel Guibert, and local physics hero James Kakalios.

Stuff of Life a YALSA Nominee

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:23:00 +0000

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has nominated The Stuff of Life as a "2009 Great Graphic Novel for Teens." Says YALSA's website:

"The list of 53 titles, drawn from 154 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens."

Thanks to Steven Stwalley for the heads-up, and thanks to Tom Spurgeon for showcasing Stuff's beautiful cover here.

For You Kill Bill Fans Out There...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Thanks to Miguel Vasconcellos for scanning and sending me this sketchbook drawing I did in San Diego this year. God bless themed sketchbooks.

Punch for higher resolution

Fallcon Fotos 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Zander Cannon) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Convention neighbor and collaborator Gene Ha

The convention floor

Verily, only the worthiest may lift yon mighty hammer!

The closest safe distance from Lord Vader and his entourage

The drawing I later bought from...

...Brittney Sabo.

Jin "Little Jin" Cannon meets Gene "Big Jin" Ha.

Peter Gross wearing his new adjustable reading glasses. And holding a Gene Ha drawing of Phantom Girl (for his Legion of Superheroes fangirl daughter).

Ryan Kelly

Paul Fricke

24 Hour Comics Day EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Cannon) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Check out Sarah Morean's great video of this year's 24HCD event in Minneapolis. Watching the documentary made me regret missing this year's event, but at same time I'm glad that I didn't set out the welcome mat to H1N1 like Sarah did.

Read the completed comics at the official Minneapolis 24HCD site! Zachary Garrett's wonderful watercolor strip particularly caught my eye. Congrats, everyone!

Kevin and Zander Cannon at FALLCON 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (Zander Cannon) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Surely everyone in the Twin Cities knows about the MCBA's FallCon, the best local comic convention ever.

This year, both of us will be in attendance, though not on the same day. Zander will be there on Saturday (coming in at 11 due to a previous engagement) and Kevin will be manning the booth on Sunday. We will have comics, minicomics, ultra-secret previews of upcoming comics, and originals, and Zander will be doing sketches. We will be accepting credit cards on Saturday.

Come for the guy dressed as 1960s Batman, stay for the 25 cent bins! Oh, and don't forget to bring your copies of HATE and ATARI FORCE; Pete Bagge and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez are gonna be there!

Watch this space, there will be moblogging of the event, you can be sure.

Zander Cannon's 2009 12-Hour Comic!

noreply@blogger.com (Zander Cannon) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:03:00 +0000

It's true, the pressures of having a child have caused me to dial back my output and led to this year's mere 12-hour comic, "The Mysterious Skeleton".

I completed it in the same manner as a 24-hour story, deciding the genre beforehand (a spooky mystery) and then drawing a Pictionary card to determine the plot points. The words this year were:

Skeleton (lucky draw!)
Gong
Fingerprint
Drought
Black Eye

I also had a cast of characters I had to name, so I drew another card for that:

Centipede
Earmuff
Amputate
Reporter
Pothole

The comic was completed in 12 hours, 1 hour per page. I wrote, pencilled, and inked each page before moving on to the next one in order to keep on schedule.

The result is obtained by clicking the link:

I also changed the formatting of the book from the 5.5" x 8.5" I've done for 24 hour comics in the past to basically a 5.5" x 5.5" format, where each page is half as wide and one-third as tall as an 11 x 17 sheet of paper--that's 6 pages on each side. That way I can photocopy a 12-page minicomic on one sheet of paper. No one ever said Zander Cannon wasn't thrifty!

There are also a bunch of names in this comic that are homages to friends and people who have interesting names: Jesse Gillespie, Alice McGee, Jason Horshaw, Danno Klonowski (nee Ochsendorf), Tom Nguyen, Shawn Van Briesen, Ryan Dow, Lupi McGuinty, and my grade school gym teacher, Mr. Udovic.

Many thanks to Steve Stwalley and David Steinlicht for their camaraderie during the event!