Ye Olde Loren Lorente's Workshoppe

Hasta pronto, farewell, goodbye...

2010-07-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hi, folks. Much time has passed since the last post and I think it will remain so for a while. I'm in some serious projects and I lack the time to update regularly. I hope you'll have a very happy summertime. We'll see asap.
Greetings!

I've seen that face before...

2010-06-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

After so much time and of so many entries, I really do not remember if I have posted this page before. Anyway, here it is. From the first chapter of The Hypothetical Lizard the stellar appearance of my elder brother as a haughty-seller-of-forbidden-things.
It was so funny to be able to draw well-known people in cameos.

Underwater!

2010-06-18T02:18:00.001-07:00

A very old picture of an underwater Judge Dredd. I thought it would be interesting to see such a great city dweller in a rare medium. I have tried to adjust the gray levels 'cos the original was drawn on a transparent sheet and the were still a lot of traces of pencil. This illustration was designed to be printed on a black t-shirt, so I would use a negative image for this purpose...

Can you notice everything?

2010-06-15T03:15:00.000-07:00

Another page from Mool. Once more.
A splash page full of little details and even little lines.
When I now see so much work (fishing nets, the links of the chain, the mollusks in the post, the rope...) made me wonder "really worth it?".
Fortunately, most times I answer "yes".

Fast and sloppy

2010-06-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

More stuff from Mool. This page is titled "run and hide". The end of the saga was so near that everything became much faster and brutal... Even my way of drawing, as you can see in the absence of background in some panels.

Brush tribute

2010-05-26T06:06:00.000-07:00

I've always been a great admirer of black and white artists. Artists like Frank Robbins, Alex Toth or the spaniard Jordi Bernet.
Indeed, this old illustration is about Bernet. My brother was working in the latest spanish edition of Andrax, and I was asked to draw the main characters.
I thought it would be a good idea to imitate Bernet in the brush stroke ... I even did it with his signature, as a small tribute.

Abstract drawing

2010-05-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that Moore's prose in The Hypothetical Lizard was very difficult to move to a basic visual level, which is why I tried through the drawings and page composition substantiate the atmospheric feeling into something much more tangible.
This page is an example of what I say.

A lot of gray matter

2010-05-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

From Hypothetical Lizard, a full size page.
I think that brain is so real that even you can see how the neurons connect to each other ...
I'm joking. of course.
But, don't you think it's a little disturbing?

Mool means Death!

2010-05-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

Time without posting, folks. Today I will solve it with another page of Mool. I think that ye have seen in a very small size some time ago. Now I post it in a larger size that ye may be witnesses to the brutality of the Dark God.

Waking up with the devil inside

2010-04-25T04:25:00.000-07:00

More from Mool.
A quiet, talking scene...
...before the nightmare begin.
(what else can you get with a boy and a cursed god in the same place?)

Good Advice

2010-04-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, my friends. These are some of the readings that I want to enjoy this weekend.
As an artist, I always hope to learn from other artists.
As a comic fan, I really enjoy the great authors.
In this photo you can see works by Jordi Bernet, the classic Creepy, the fabulous Kick-Ass by Millar and Romita Jr., and The Veil, work of two friends: El Torres and Gaby Hernandez. And believe me, The Veil is so good I bought two copies.
If you are in, you ought to take a good look.
Worthwhile.

No substance

2010-04-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

I remember when I designed Mool character I thought I'd draw it as a translucent being, without shadows or reflections. The original idea was that he was feeding off the shadows of his victims, and so, gradually, he would be turning dark and massive (in this page Mool has swollen the shadow from the Priest of the Dark Order, so you can see little black spots on him).
Today this would have been easy to do with computer effects, but at the time was more complicated.
Just try to draw something without substance...

With great power comes...

2010-04-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

...great voice!
From Mool.
A priest of the dark order conjures the God spirit through the gem of blood. I used the graphic appeal of the runes around the priest to indicate that his words were not those of mere mortals. Aesthetics, again, derived from my vision of Dark City. Great movie, indeed!

In a Dark Hole

2010-04-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite pages from whole Mool series.
In fact, it's the fourth page of the first chapter, and I was very excited to translate graphically many of the ideas I had in mind about this character.
I remember that at that time I saw the film Dark City, by Alex Proyas, and I was very surprised and admired by its aesthetics (and for the great soundtrack too!).
So probably part of the paraphernalia of this temple can come from my admiration for that film.

Save some time!

2010-04-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

"Your time is precious! The day still has 24 hours but from now on you'll have more extra time due to the power of the totally new Super Black India Ink, that makes inking easier".
Great!

Lines and Shadows

2010-04-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

Another page from Mool, where I take the opportunity to expand the silhouette of the protagonist, created by using lines and shadows, creating a contrast between the first shot of the character based on solid shades of black.

Every f*****g detail!

2010-03-27T12:15:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to find the original pages of the comic Thousand Gods and a single heaven, as my friend, as my friend Cromsblood asked me to do. So far I've found an old folder with a bunch of old pictures and character tests. I think some of them do deserve to be shown. Like this one I'm posting now. This is an full detailed illustration of Thazer, a character I created with my brother as a writer 15 years ago! Who knows: maybe one day we return to that story for a major publisher...

Best shot

2010-03-21T02:06:00.000-07:00

Another example from Mool. I emphasize the best shot of the entire page.
In this series I used a lot of brush, although not my favorite tool for drawing and I've never really felt comfortable with it. But I really like the contrast between the thicknes of lines that it provides.
I take this opportunity to inform you that last week José González died, one of the best spanish cartoonists and illustrators. Perhaps you know his Vampirella, but there are a lot of work that you should seek to understand the greatness of this artist.

Gripping narrative...

2010-03-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

So long, my friends. I've been really busy with some deadlines and a lot of commissions, but now I'm back. Today I bring you one of my favorite pages from Mool, the god of shadows.
I posted time ago this page in a very poor resolution, so now I get it back directly from the magazine where it was published into a much greater size.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Team Triumph...

2010-02-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

...Triumph time! This picture (quite old, it must be said) corresponds to my vision of the heroes of the team Triomphe. A genial spoof of superheroes created by my good friend Torres, Machuca and Pepe Diaz. We all were working at the time in the same editorial, and it was quite often to see little contributions from ones to anothers...

Pandora (before Avatar... or not)

2010-02-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

A good friend, Paul Adams, from Vancouver, Washington, sends me a digital copy of Threshold - Mythic Sirens Pinup from Avatar Press. In this magazine, on page 23, is my contribution: a Pandora's pin up.
I posted that picture long ago in this blog, but now I am able to display to a really fucking good resolution . I hope that you enjoy it.
Thanks to Paul!

So near, so far

2010-02-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

I've always liked to see the original sketches that lead to an original drawing. I have always tried to find examples of my favorite authors: Buscema, Charest, Texeira, Yu, Kubert ... because I think is important for an artist to see how from an initial sketch reaches a final illustration.
What I'm posting now is not my favorite one, but it's worth to check what I have said so far.

The principle of things

2010-01-30T12:29:00.001-08:00

This was the first proposal for our character, Sage, we sent to our publisher. My brother sent an outline of the script and I attach a couple of pencilled pages. All this seemed to be enough, because we had green light for our series. I am sorry about the quality of reproduced pages, but I don't have the original and I am posting directly from a scan of the comic page where it was published.

Bunch of oldies

2010-01-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

An old work than you already have seen some pages: Mortualia. From a closeup of the main character, Plague, to a splash-page, only to show the storytelling that I was doing 10-11 years ago, early into my professional career...

Caza...hunters

2010-01-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

Cromsblood from ultimateconanfan.blogspot.com (if you are a true fan of sword & sorcery genre, please: visit the blog. You do not be let down), was kind enough to translate my Conan's short story Hunters.
Now I'm using that translation for you all to see.
Y'know: big hugs to Cromsblood!

So many visits...

2010-01-11T03:02:00.000-08:00

So many visits lately. I only want to say "hello" to all the brand new friends from all places like Sydney (Australia), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Garland, Marietta, New Hampshire, Camarillo (United States), Hamm (Germany), Kamloops (Canada), London (United Kingdom), Athens (Greece), Reims (France), Tampere (Finland) and -thanks God- almost all the cities from Spain.
Thanks to all of you for seeing and, I hope, enjoying this artwork.

Wrap me single cover!

2010-01-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

It's time to continue with the hypothetical lizard and other oddities from Mr. Moore. If in the previous post I showed the wraparound cover for the #1, now I'm showing the standard cover for the same issue. It is customary for Avatar Comics to launch the same number with two or three different cover versions. Now I'm not sure I showed this picture before, I think if I did, it was with the logo --that's why there's so much room at the top of the cover-- and color edited.
Hypothetical evil memory ...

Blinded Tower

2010-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is the wraparound cover that I drew for the Hypothetical Lizard #1. Before receiving the script I was told that the story unfolded in a magical and mysterious world, full of witches, wizards and mystical and mythological beings. So I drew what I considered a dream world filled with flying carpets, gnomes, trolls and big towers for sorcerers. (Anecdote: I introduced an homage to a symbol of my hometown, Cartagena. It's called Blinded Tower: The oldest towershaped monuments preserved in the Iberian Peninsula).

Where nothing is what it seems

2009-12-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ends the year. Ends this first episode of Elder and Roc. What your eyes had seen as a human army, now reveals itself as a group of reptilian humanoids. Only Elder, whose eyes are different from ours, could see beyond that appearance and fight them.

Now is the time when I will shake hands with each and everyone of you, and wish you, all my firends, a Happy New Year. Thanks for following this blog.

See you in 2010 --

(Pre)historic mayhem

2009-12-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Ok. I have to press the accelerator to finish showing these pages before the year ends. On one page is the classic disaster from a heroic fantasy gore pushed to the limit, and the next we see Roc findindig the last survivor of the army that was hidden under a large beast.
In the last panel Elder is asking Roc not kill him ... still ... We can see the strange Elder's eyes, and we realize that, hey, he's not blind at all!
Very soon the last page.

A Christmas Eve massacre

2009-12-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

Well, my friends. Here I'm showing you another couple of pages about my favorite barbarian: the giant troll with no brain, and the old man specialist in melee combat. Drawings may not be the best suited for the day before Christmas Eve, but I have not time to prepare anything special for these days.
I wish you so much happiness!

Trolls keep falling on my head

2009-12-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Two more pages from Elder and Roc. We can see the skill of an old blind man with his stick and the emergence of the giant troll named Roc. After so long, I still like much this first appearance of Roc, jumping over the cliff. It would look so good in slow motion for an epic movie ...

Pointing the fate

2009-12-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

Third page of the Elder and Roc series. I still realize the amount of detail used in each panel. When now I see the amount of brocaded in the sleeves of grand vizier, I feel a little sorry for the loss of energy and effort involved, especially if we consider that at the time I was drawing 32 complete pages (pencil and ink) per month.
Old times, good times.

An old man and his beast

2009-12-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

When we finished the Mool series (abruptly, I must say, because the magazine changed its format and we had to summarize 16 pages in just 8), my brother and I created a premise for a new series: Elder and Roc.
You have already seen a couple of pages of this first chapter, but this time I will post the whole 8 full pages. The quality of reproduction is medium, as I only can find scanned copies in black and white in a very poor resolution.
P.s:- All the blank space above the first page was reserved for the title and logo...

Waving goodbye

2009-12-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

These are the two last pieces from Engaging the Belial. A struggle between the protagonist and a pirate zombie, and a farewell into the horizon with sunset included.
In the next post, something different.
I'll wait for each and everyone.

Engaged and displayed

2009-12-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

This time I brought two illustrations that have been displayed, but now in a better resolution in order to get most of the details. These are two more illustrations for Engaging The Belial. Soon I'll post the last two andit will be time to start with other drawings. Until then, good voyage, my cabin boys!

Cartoony

2009-12-01T03:54:00.000-08:00

I've always been a big fan of caricatures. My favorite authors are Jean Mulatier, Jan Op De Beeck and Sebastian Krüger. My style doing caricatures for my friends is more cartoony, but a few times I have tried to make caricatures in the style of these great artists. This is one of them. The sitter was the editor-in-chief of the Comic-book division of Planeta-DeAgostini Editorial, where my brother and I contributed with articles, pin-ups and series such as Sage.

Vindictiveness

2009-11-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

"This fog comes from Evil, and the soul of the crew is on the burning wood until nothing was left but ashes..."
In the history Engaging the Belial occurs a clash between twelve Knights and a lot of pirates' dead bodies from the Black Galleon.
An epic and mystic tale of pirates, miracles, demons, faith and fire. And a bloody big illustration for all of you.

Duel of Fates

2009-11-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

I also illustrate a pirates history for Sulaco Ediciones. It was called Engaging the Belial. You may have already seen a couple of drawings from that series in previous posts.
Now I will show you one of my favorites in that story.
It is a pencil illustration about a duel with swords. I enjoyed so much the scene, that I drew details from all sides.
I'm posting it in a high resolution so you may enjoy it.

Creatures of the Night

2009-11-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Bats, Owls, Vampires, and other things that go bump in the night reminds me a little poem (in freestyle!) about Halloween that fits perfectly with the illustration I'm posting this time....

"Having Witches cast their spells
an absolutely frightening night
living vampires roam about drinking innocent peoples blood
lights can very well go out without being shut off
Owls hoot ominously in the night air
Werewolves eat the flesh of any animal
eating bears and raccoons alike
evil spirits fly about with the intention of bringing fear.
No where to hide,and no where to run"

And the original goes to...

2009-11-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

The drawing has ended, my friends.
The winner is Elisabeth Bathory. Please, feel free to contact me and let me know your real name and the address where I can send the original Daredevil page. Congrats!

Now I'm posting an old model sheet for the main characters in Sage series.
Brand new day, old stuff.

Have no fear (or a litlle...)

2009-11-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is! This is the original page (A3) I'm going to give for free tomorrow. Only for all the registered followers of this blog (if you're not, register now!).
It's a pencil work from a Daredevil submission.
I'm posting it in a high resolution for you to see.

Do you feel lucky?

2009-11-08T01:08:00.000-08:00

I have thought that to be grateful for your loyalty, next November 13th --first birthday of Loren Jr.-- I will give one of my original drawings to one of the friends who follow this blog (I mean: only for the registered followers).
I still haven't chosen the drawing itself, but I truly believe that it will be a good occasion to share friendship and art.
Good Luck to all of you!

Ruddy and Dark Countenance

2009-11-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

In my professional career I was tied a lot of time to Sulaco Studios (now it's called Malaka Studios). One of my works there was to illustrate a book on vampires. I drew several illustrations, some of which already have been showed. Now it's the time to do the same with the rest.

Vampire Bats: Although many cultures have stories about them, vampire bats have only recently become an integral part of the traditional vampire lore. Indeed, vampire bats were only integrated into vampire folklore when they were discovered on the South American mainland in the 16th century. The literary Dracula transforms into a bat several times in the novel, and vampire bats themselves are mentioned twice in it.

Pirates boarding!

2009-11-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Another Conan's pin-up. This time, paying more attention to Bêlit. Who is she? In the fictional universe of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Bêlit is a pirate queen who has a romantic relationship with Conan. She is Conan's first serious lover. She appears in Howard's Conan novelette "Queen of the Black Coast". And now, she is here, fierce, asking for boarding an enemy's ship...

Learning to fly

2009-10-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

"Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?"
(Learning to Fly - Pink Floyd)

Third illustration for the magazine...

Didn't see the stop?

2009-10-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Another erotic illustration for the Swedish magazine. This time, a gorgeous police stopping an absent-minded driver. And, yes, the man's face is an homage to Glenn Fabry's cover for Preacher #4 (I've always loved Fabry's facial expressions, so I used it and put the copyright on the t-shirt as a logical joke!)

Hot business

2009-10-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

Some time ago (oh, my God: it seems that everything happened too much time ago) I was hired to draw a few erotic illustrations for a well-known Swedish magazine. I drew -and they were published- 6 of them. You have seen one of the bunch here. Now I have found some of them in an old CD. The scanning was not very good, so the reproduction is not faithful to the original. But it is the best way I can show them.

Four minutes

2009-10-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a quick convention sketch I did some time ago for a spanish site called Los Manuscritos Perdidos. By the time I was doing Rogues!, so I drew Bram and Weasel posing for my friend Oscar. It was a four-minutes-sketch, with no blue-pencil line.

From time to time

2009-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you have asked for the illustration from the very first post of this blog without the text. Here it is. Ghost Wolf in all his brilliance and fierceness. The original character design came from Siku, but I felt terribly comfortable drawing him in my own style. I really I like the three-dimensional sense of this drawing. I hope you do as well.

Conan the pencilled

2009-10-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

This one is one of the first examples that I sent to the publishers to show my artwork. Probably about 1994-1995, and it's Totally drawn in pencil. I drew it on 2 oblong A4 and took advantage of this size to draw little details as the hair of the girl, Conan's axe or the scaly skin of the monster.
I sent the original ones to the publishing house and I only kept a photocopy of the work, where there were lost the majority of these details. But what is worse: the two a4 were not fitting good and you can see the shade that appears where they join, as well as certain twisted image... Anyway: I got the job.

Remembering the Wizard

2009-10-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

Jaime Brocal Remohí was one of the greatest spanish comic-book artists. He was one of the very first artists to draw Sword and Sorcery comics. Some of his characters has been the most powerful visions of Heroic Fantasy: Katan, Ögan, Kronan, Arcane, Taar...
I was lucky because I met him in several occasions and we talk about comics, drawing styles and music (he was a terrific rock'n'roll fan). Also, my brother was collaborating with articles in Taar's last spanish edition and I was asked to do an illustration about the character in a special number. And this is what I did... 11 years ago!

Little big HORNS

2009-10-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

More from Elder and Roc. Some time ago posted a couple of pages. Now I'm showing other two. The plot was really fun to drawing, and I enjoyed a lot with both main characters, 'cos they were like a Tarantino's vision of Hyborean heroes.
Probably one of these days I'll draw a pin-up about them only for my own enjoyment.

Stormy weather

2009-09-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

"Storm (Ororo Iqadi T'Challa) is a fictional character that appears in a number of comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975), and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum. Best known as a longtime member and sometimes leader of the X-Men, Storm is currently the reigning queen of Wakanda, a title held by marriage to King T'Challa, better known as the Black Panther." (from Wikipedia)
Another drawing I was asked for Marvel's trading cards. I really don't know it this was used and published. If someone knows about it, I'll be glad to hear from you.

A matter of face

2009-09-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the drawing for the Wolverine trading card?
This is the original drawing for that. The publisher asked me "to "smooth" Logan's face to give a more identical tone to the image from the X-Men movie, so I did it, although the card -as far as I know- was never printed, and I self-rejected it.
But my idea of Wolverine is that of a wild being led by his animal instincts. And I believe that this one is the face that should have a savage, wounded x-men, surrounded by enemies.

Punishment Time

2009-09-11T01:27:00.000-07:00

"The Punisher (Frank Castle) is a fictional comic book character, an antihero in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru, the character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)." (Wikipedia)

I drew three roughs for the Punisher trading card. I sent them to my publisher and they inked digitally one of them (not my favourite) and published it as a card.
If I only knew that they were going to use it as a definitive artwork, I'd finished it in other way... at least, I would have drawn a good neck on him.
Punishment, punishment!!

Mystical Paralysis

2009-09-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

"Ahh, the exquisite triumph of this moment is beyond description..."
Doctor Doom dixit. (Victor von Doom is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four, as you can see).

Flying out of the closet --updated--

2009-09-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

"Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Through his mutation, Northstar gains superhuman powers, which he uses for the betterment of society. Although originally a member of Alpha Flight, a fictional team of Canadian superhumans, Northstar is later portrayed as a member of the X-Men. He is one of the first openly gay superheroes in American comic books." (Wikipedia)

Just found the original pencils and added to the entry.

Surfing the web --updated--

2009-08-31T03:08:00.001-07:00

Amazing... just type your name in google and see what you can find! I had forgotten this Archangel card.
I gave the original for free to a friend and just forgot it, and now, it comes again.
Bad resolution, good memories.

(Just found the original pencils and added to the entry.)

A force of nature

2009-08-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, my friends.
I have just seen the documentary on Frazetta, Painting with Fire, and only I can say that the great Frank continues being an inspiration for everyone that wants to draw great art. I have looked for a few drawings that I did after reading the book Icon, long time ago, and I've selected this one that I'm posting now. Certainly I do not want to imitate Frazetta --you know: Frazetta is inimitable. Everything he does, he does terribly well--. I only try to show the very much that his work can inspire and guide to the ones that want to achieve artwork for his own pleasure.

Manfred and Cappa

2009-08-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, a group of comic-book fans -which I belong to-, offer an honoring to the great Spanish draftsman Manfred Sommer. For the occasion I drew a great poster with the figure of one of his more famous characters: Frank Cappa. (In fact, I drew the upper figure, while my friend Mariano Saura drew the lower part). I also designed and realized a sculpture of Cappa (a golden Cappa!), which was very celebrated. That was my first sculpture. Later I realized other about both characters of Rogues! Also I have photos of these. If I locate them, I'll post them for you to see.
Bye now!

To the end of Hell (or Love Is A Burning Thing)

2009-07-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

End of the trip.
These are last Hellina's two pages that I'm posting. A beautiful woman, a little of sex, a disgusting demon and a bit of gore. Is this what they call Hell? Probably.
Happy summer to all of you, my friends.
Be happy.

Bat out of Hell

2009-07-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

So long, my friends!
Despite off my daily obligations, today I manage to rescue a couple of Hellina's pages. It's my intention to post each and every of them. Many of you have asked about these pages. So here they are.
As a curiosity, Hellina's complete figure of the page 35 is a particular homage to Mark Texeira, one of my favorite comic-book artists.
Thanks again to all of you that have mailed me to express your friendship and fondness.
We'll meet again very soon.
Best regards.

This is Hell

2009-06-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this is what I call a splash-page. There's a big scenery full of action. You can see almost each and every figure doing something. You can see archers, little demons falling from walls, big trolls opening paths, wing-demons flying like dragons... It's something similar to the Massive computer software used by Weta Digital for doing battles in the Lord of the Rings' saga, but hand-done.
And it's a bloody hard work, I can tell you, but as Hellina says, it's beautiful!

Road to nowhere...

2009-06-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

This page is my least favorite of the whole lot. The selection of shots is very simple. They're mostly talkong-heads. But everything has an explanation: the deadline was very near and I was saving some time to be able to draw the following page. When I'll post it, probably you'll know why.

Something happened on the way to hell

2009-06-13T01:13:00.000-07:00

Sandra Lords is Hellina, but she doesn't know. Or she doesn't remember. Or whatever.
The fact is: if you press the right button in the right time, she'll remember everything. But if you press it in a wrong time, you may loose your head.
Curious case of button, indeed!

It's in his kiss

2009-06-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

I really love in this page the kiss sequence. I think that it appears in a natural, simply way, but at the same time it reflects the disgust that she feels on being kissed (you can almost feel devil's tongue in her mouth, but as the old song says "hug him and squeeze him tight. Find out what you want to know If it's love, if it really is, It's there: in his kiss").
The last panel is pure Giger.
I wouldn't like that he was decorating my house...

Little big... horns

2009-06-03T00:56:00.001-07:00

Second page from Hellina.
Continuing the story, in a splash-page appears a great red horned guy (I suppose that he's red ... at least, he's horned) threatening our heroine. Curiously, Hellina's room-mate continues sleeping so placidly.
That little things from comic-books, you know...

What the Hell do I know?

2009-05-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

Another Hellina short story (10 pages). Written by Doug Myers. Threshold #50. April 2003. Avatar Press. I enjoyed so much drawing these pages. When we reach the next one, you'll see how much.
Really.

Sounds of Hell

2009-05-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

A couple pages for Avatar Press' Hellina #0.
I was credited as Loren Hernández (it is my second surname).
This one was my first job for the USA market.
By the way: I don´t have this issue. If someone can send me some copies, I'll be very grateful.

Colors of the snow

2009-05-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

Tim is working now on the second page. He says that this sample is not definitive, although I think it's pretty good.
Just take a look yourself.

Better shots

2009-05-21T02:32:00.000-07:00

Some of the Marvel trading cards in a better resolution. Well, better than the old ones...

All over the world

2009-05-19T01:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a record day of visits in this blog. I'm very glad and thankful to all of you for making this such a great experience!

Cimmerian colors

2009-05-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Tim Tilley (http://www.linkedin.com/in/timtilley) is a freelance colorist who is doing now his magic in the Conan's short history you've seen in b/w.
I am eager to see all these colored pages. By now, you can verify how he's doing with the first one.

High ground

2009-05-12T01:55:00.000-07:00

This one is the last illustration for the Anna Mercury's Artbook. I tried to flee of known poses and draw something different. In this one I was trying to capture the movement, but avoiding computer tricks, like motion blur or panning. At the time, I was inking with a pentel brush, I was very proud of the shades I could make in the engine and the smoke. This time, I really really love the colors by Digikore.
Again, pin-up in three stages.

Do I look all right?

2009-05-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

This was my very first pin-up for the Anna Mercury's series. I didn't knew the character at all, so I used the typical pose for a female one. Colors, again, by Digikore.

Both lives

2009-05-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

Anna Mercury's new illustration for Avatar Press. This time, my favorite of the five I drew. I title it as "Two Anna Mercury's lives". I liked the idea of superposing both personalities of the character. I was so satisfied with the drawing that I it used as cover for my portfolio in the Granada Comi-Con '09.
Again, three versions: the original illustration, the fake cover from Previews, and the colored one by Digikore.

Watching from above

2009-04-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

New illustration for Anna Mercury Artbook.
Pencilled half way inked, fully inked and colored by Digikore.
I drew 5 illus for this Artbook.
I'll post them litlle by little.

Hell-Work in progress (II)

2009-04-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Another illustration of the great red guy. I have played with several roughs until I agree with this figure.
The idea is to take advantage of the red color of a cardboard to "shape" Hellboy's face directly with ink and crayon.
A graphical experiment that I hope you like.
Still working on it...

Brand New Anna

2009-04-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

Three moments of an illustration.
First, the rough sketch.
Second, the definitive drawing, with the same concept but changing some details and the whole figure of Warren Ellis' Anna Mercury.
Third, the illustration colored by Digikore (great work!).
You can find this one and other magnificent illustrations of great artists like Richard Ortiz, Facundo Percio, my friend Juanjo RyP or Paul Duffield in the Anna Mercury Artbook edited by Avatar Press.
Don't miss it!

The daltonic colorist

2009-04-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

"Another Conan's face" as was published in the #53 of the Spanish edition of Conan the Barbarian.
I really don't know the name of the colourist, but I do not like the way in wich he gave the colors.
There is no depth in the jungle. Rarely I have seen a blue sea serpent and water of green color.
I am sure you can make it better.
The original b/w illustration is here.

From the dead (8-8)

2009-04-12T09:07:00.001-07:00

Well, the last page isn't among my favorites. I had to hurry many things to close the chapter, and the 6 panels turn out to be a bit confused. Into the original size, the lines are much clearer. But I realize that I must have lightened the details to grant major clarity to the set. Many suggested things stay, others remaine outlined, and the sensation of urgency invades what till then had been a good narrative.

From the dead (7-8)

2009-04-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

Battle was coming to an end. It continued to rage for long hours. The warriors were brave, and ferocious, but... how to defeat a dead army?
And now, Slam-Kath, the lord of the frozen lands, is coming towards you.
Can you feel the cold, cruel, insane air that surrounds him?

From the dead (6-8)

2009-04-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

The ferocious battle of good vs evil.
The battle axe vs the allmighty sword.
A very dark, strong and dynamic page, where each panel have his own personality, creating powerful provocative montage.

From the dead (5-8)

2009-04-08T05:59:00.001-07:00

Here we have the bad guy. Slam-kath, the lord of the frozen lands.
I thought that it would be interesting to draw him as an albino, to reinforce the idea of his link with the ices.
I remember to have drawn this page in a frantic way, almost directly inking from the beginning. The darker were getting the characters, the more I liked the final result. I was finding it almost dramatic.

From the dead (4-8)

2009-04-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

I used to call this page the "BraveHeart scene". There's a speech from Sage's father which succinctly says "compromise of liberty leads to tyranny; but dying for liberty leads to freedom". And then. the battle comes.
But it will be in one more day.
Or two.

From the dead (3-8)

2009-04-05T04:38:00.000-07:00

Here you have an old druid (in fact, a mixture between a druid and a shaman) bringing some bad news according to a prophecy. A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies of Western Europe, Britain and Ireland. The Celtic communities that Druids served were polytheistic. They also show signs of animism, in their reverence for various aspects of the natural world, such as the land, sea and sky, and their veneration of other aspects of nature, such as sacred trees and groves (the oak and hazel were particularly revered), tops of hills, streams, lakes and plants such as the mistletoe. Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with cleansing. Purported ritual killing and human sacrifice were aspects of druidic culture that shocked classical writers:"These men predict the future by observing the flight and calls of birds and by the sacrifice of holy animals: all orders of society are in their power... and in very important matters they prepare a human victim, plunging a dagger into his chest; by observing the way his limbs convulse as he falls and the gushing of his blood, they are able to read the future."

From the dead (1-8) (2-8)

2009-04-03T01:55:00.001-07:00

Many of you you have asked for a new complete story. It's funny: you ask for it by private e-mail but you don't use the commentaries in the blog. Last Wednesday there were 240 visits and even not a single commentary. You are very shy... I'll close again the comments.
Anyway: there are holidays in my hometown and I'm going to spend my free time with my family. So, I'll post today two pages of the Sage's first comic-book. You have seen some samples in previous posts, but now I am going to show the complete 8 pages.

Sage was drawn in a big format. Paper was bigger than a A-3. The reproduction size was so small that a lot of lines were deformed and mixed. At the time, I was very influenced by Luis García's artwork (you can take a look to his superb genius here), so I was using a lot of line artwork instead of big black masses. Probably, if I had to redraw this stuff I won't use the same style. But I was so satisfied with it at that time.

Confession of news man, chapter one

2009-03-31T00:50:00.000-07:00

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC in 1974. It featured a newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities won't accept or pursue. "
Some quick sketches with a new Pentel brush-pen, trying to capture the ironic and unique McGavin's face: the one and only Carl Kolchak!

HUNTERS (8-8)

2009-03-28T02:17:00.000-07:00

Closing the circle: Conan the triumphant.
Where there was a small bonfire, now there is a great bonfire.
Where there were a few wretched surpluses to eat, now there is a banquet.
Where there was a shabby cap, now there is a great fur coat.
Where there were two enemies, now there is an alliance.
Where there were a monster beast, now there is a legend...

HUNTERS (7-8)

2009-03-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

The battle in the snow:
"I feel a change
Back to a better day
(shape shift)
Hair stands on the back of my neck
(shape shift)
In wildness is the preservation of the world
So seek the wolf in thyself"
(Of wolf and man - Metallica)

HUNTERS (6-8)

2009-03-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

And here is the beast...
the ripper...
the tearer...
the slasher...
the teeth in the darkness...
the talons in the night...
his name's strength. And lust. And power!!!

HUNTERS (5-8)

2009-03-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

An iconic Conan (Poledouris' music, please) and a beast coming. By the way, I drew this story with one idea in mind:
I'll never show the whole beast, leaving the figure to the imagination of the readers.

HUNTERS (4-8)

2009-03-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Now that I am re-visiting these pages I realize that it could have been interesting to respect the pure black and white, but I could have used some grey color in the figure of the wolf.
The visual contrast could be very powerful.

HUNTERS (3-8)

2009-03-23T00:59:00.000-07:00

"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight. Rising up to the challenge of our rival. And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night. And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger"(Survivor)

HUNTERS (2-8)

2009-03-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

As the history took place in a snowed forest, I thought that a b/w style with big contrasts would be fine. At the time, I was drawing Ghost Wolf and was feeling very comfortable with the simple and stylized lines that I was using there. The editor agreed with the idea.

HUNTERS (1-8)

2009-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
— Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.
This is the first of a 8-pages story about Conan. Previously, you've seen a whole page and a single panel from another here. I'm going to post the whole lot, but written in spanish. The original pages, without text, were sold in a Comic-con some time ago.

2nd -or even third- opinion...

2009-03-19T03:47:00.001-07:00

From Mortualia's pages. Hospital sequence. Old work with a very rough color test.

Tales of the Black Maroon

2009-03-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

"Marooned chronicles a castaway's increasingly desperate attempts to return home to warn his family of the impending arrival of the Black Freighter, a phantom pirate ship which houses the souls of the damned. To escape the deserted island he uses the gas-bloated bodies of his former crewmates to float a raft, fending off sharks en route".
Ok ok, ok. This drawing does not belong to Tales of... In fact, it's a single panel that was illustrating a pirates' story entitled Joining the Belial. You've seen another illus from it: Delicate sound of cannon. But I have thought that there can be placed here and now as honoring the comic-book from Moore and Gibbons.

Spinning the WWW

2009-03-17T03:45:00.000-07:00

An old friend of this blog, Mike Brill, sends this scan where my name --and artwork-- appears together with those of big artists whom I deeply admire: Hughes (though it's bad written), Kubert, Noto and Green.
I am very very grateful for this type of sendings, because I do not have many references of all the places where my work has been published.
Thank you Mike!