The Color Chronicles
Man, this cover was lookin' fly in ink, but oil paints on Bristol? Nah, that's a recipe for disaster. Digital it was, baby! Fresh outta art school (where they charged enough to launch a damn rocket for Photoshop lessons), I was ready to rumble.
Just Six
This bad boy was bigger than a Texas steak, and my scanner? A postage stamp with a magnifying glass. Had to scan it in pieces, like some kinda cyborg T-Rex puzzle. And the shadows, man, the shadows! Lurkin' around like bad debt collectors, I Photoshopped 'em into oblivion. Six hours later, I emerged from that pixelated warzone, bleary-eyed but victorious.
Snap! Focus!
But hold up, colorin'? That's a whole 'nother story. Palette paralysis hit me harder than Thanos snappin' his fingers. Colors swirlin' in my head like a kaleidoscope on tequila. But I dug deep, channeled my inner Monet with a stylus brush, and laid down layers like mama bear makin' pancakes. Soft edges, vibrant hues, shadows dancin' like Sugar Ray Leonard on amphetamines. Took a damn month, y'all! Stolen moments, fueled by coffee and the siren song of "just one more tweak." Back then, my "zone" was a bottomless pit of creativity, swallowin' up four hours like they were Tic Tacs. Now? Thirty minutes is a personal Everest, achieved only through meditation and a good yell at the neighbor's yappin' chihuahua.
FaceLift
Speakin' of tweaks, the background? Originally, it was about as exciting as beige wallpaper in a dentist's office. But then, at some comic con, this old sage with a beard like Gandalf dropped some knowledge bombs on my sorry palette. Bam! New colors, brighter than a disco ball on a supernova. And Eve, the little gremlin on the bottom right? Let's just say her ink-drawn mug needed a digital makeover. A couple pixels here, a brushstroke there, and voilà! Renaissance beauty, ready to grace the cover of your dreams (and maybe mine, after I catch some sleep).
So there you have it, folks, the glorious, tedious, soul-sucking saga of a digitally colored cover. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a blank page and a promise: no more epic battles with shadows. Unless, of course, they're the kind you draw, not scan. Peace out, and keep your pencils sharp!
See you later,
-Haro!