Glade TRC3263827

Well here it is: the last ship I've had to design for INSURRECTION. Designing stuff has been one of the best parts about drawing the story. Concept designers have a great job, but I like mine better. Visual storytelling allows me to wear many different hats: director, actor, cinematographer, editor, concept designer, etc...

I made this in Google Sketchup. Anyone who uses the program will immediately notice how shoddy my work is. I do okay with sketchup but what I'm learning is that the more you preplan, the easier your job will be once you're in the program. My problem is that I usually start working in sketchup with only a rough sketch or vague idea to go on, hence all the patchwork and makeshift techniques. Still, I don't worry too much since all the stuff I do there is only as a guide for my drawings.

I know this sounds like sucking up, but serious thanks to Google for creating this program! For comic book artists it is the best thing since sliced bread (and by sliced bread I mean Photoshop).

And while there are some purists out there who think using Sketchup amounts to cheating, I say Ka-Phooey! I designed the thing, built it, used the model to get the shots I needed, then printed the results in blue-line with the rest of my pencils to ink the old fashioned way. During that process I still have to make all the same choices I would had I drawn it from scratch. Besides, comics is a grueling medium and anything that helps things get done in a timely manner is fair game. Save the purism for pet projects, says I. :-P