Sunday, April 26, 2009

Don't tell Tom!

A Jert + Bluhm Collaboration




*click on images to enlarge

you can also see the pages full size at joebluhm.blogspot.com

This is a four page comic that recently appeared in the latest issue of the caricaturists quarterly magazine Exaggerated Features. It is a collaboration with myself writing and providing art direction and Joe Bluhm drawing and digitally painting.

This comic started out as an idea in my sketchbook from there I developed it into a series of loosely sketched rough drafts.
below is a (very LOW quality) page from the 3rd rough draft



After I was happy with the the pacing and the dialogue I then mapped out and sketched each individual panel, .....I like to treat each panel of a comic as important as the page itself. It's during this stage that I fine tuned all the gesture and movement of the characters and I double checked the dialogue.
below are some panels from the final strip with my original direction sketches underneath the finished drawings.










after I finished mapping out each individual panel, I then mapped out the final page compositions.
I designated each panel with a number to help make communication with Joe easier.


After all this Joe and I discussed the color scheme and design of the project. I told him that funny and interesting characters were more important to me than achieving a perfect likeness' (but to my surprise and joy he was still able to pull really good likenesses) After our initial planning discussions he began Penciling the pages and submitting them to me for approval. After I signed off on the pencils he then Inked and colored the pages.
below are some "in progress" pages Joe sent to me during the inking process


I had a lot of fun doing this project with Joe and the final product is VERY ( and I mean very) close to how I envisioned it.

there are two big questions about this comic that I've gotten from the people that have seen it already. Let me try to answer them now

1. "Jeremy, Why didn't you draw this yourself?"

the answer to that question is I didn't have the time to map out , draw , and finish this comic myself by the e.f. deadline, becaaaaaaaaaaaause among other things I am currently working on writing and drawing my first comic book. I'll have to give more information about that as I get closer to printing:) I also have been looking for an excuse to work with Joe Bluhm because I am absolutely blown away with his incredible abilities.

2. "How did Tom and Ed like it?"

Ed found it flattering, I think (at least that's what he told me:))

and Tom tweeted to Joe on Twitter :

" yes. Loved your comic. Fact that Jert was an irresponsible asshole not news to me, however."

Well that sound like a ringing endorsement to me:)

I like trying new things and this was a positive experience for me....

lemme know what YOU think....leave a comment:)

32 comments:

Dave "Rock" Cowles said...

Great Jeremy and Joe! Lots of fun, clean, and well rendered!

bert5693 said...

great stuff dude you guys should team up more often.

Kelton Hamm said...

Fantastic Comic Jeremy! You and Joe make a good team... now I don't feel so bad about all of that stuff that I didn't tell you about...


Can't wait for the comic book


-Kelton

Pat Bollin said...

DUDE! GUY! This absolutely ROCKS! And now I feel a lot better about the time I pissed off the retail manager at six flags! :) And now I understand why you handled it so well.

SEILER said...

Nice job Jert, that cartoon rocks!

Angie Jordan said...

LOVED the cartoon and it's great to see your storyboard layout!
Fantastic job!

Psst...still don't see link!??

Chris Collins said...

Loved it, Jert!

Trevour said...

Finally saw this in EF. Comic of the year!!!

Brad said...

comic is brilliant! love to see some more, brings back good memories...was this in St. Louis? I had to wear the same uniform there (barber shop suit) bleech!

Cedric Hohnstadt said...

Great job! I used to work for Tom at his Minnesota theme park. This made me smile and brought back memories.

Emily Byrne said...

LOVED IT!!!!

Howard Shum said...

Funny stuff!

Mike Briggs said...

this is great Jert! I like that you showed the step by step.

Terry Elliott said...

GREAT job! This is your best post ever. Thanks for taking the time to show the process. I want more!!!

Art Fan Ako said...

First, "hi!". Second, fabulous and amusing comic strip. Third, if this is based on real event, you're a rascal! Enjoyed myself!

Anthony Pascoe said...

Great post Jert , thanks for sharing

Kamal Dollah said...

I liked it a lot Jeremy.

Brian Oakes said...

Dude! Thanks for posting that! Really awesome!
That cover and the comic is what makes that issue the best in a long time..or EVER

jer townsend said...

Rock and bert-
thanks you guys, you were my target audience!!:)

jer townsend said...

Kelton- thank you for not getting caught....that is the greatest gift an artist can give his manager

jer townsend said...

Pat- :) haha I forgot about that

jer townsend said...

Jason-thanks so much!!!

jer townsend said...

Angie- thanks I'll get that link up soon

jer townsend said...

Chris, Trevour-
thanks for the comment

jer townsend said...

Brad-
yup this incident happened in good ole' six Flags St. Louis....

jer townsend said...

Cedric- Thanks for your comment, I admire your work!

jer townsend said...

Emily, howard, mike,-
thanks for your comments!!!

jer townsend said...

Vicki- HI!!!!!thanks for your comment! I was a bit of a rascal:), tell meesey I said hello!

jer townsend said...

Terry, Anthony, Kamal, thank you guys so much for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment, I really apreciate it!!!

jer townsend said...

Brain Oakes- biiig compliment man, thank you so much...I'm loving your chairwork...yer killin'it man!!!

jer townsend said...

I hope I got everybody, If i didn't thank you for visiting, THANK YOU FOR VISITING I love you!!!!

Anonymous said...

Perfect imagery and text... loved it, loved it, loved it. Elevates and proves cartooning as a vehicle for classic storytelling. Superior. LOL.