Gabriel Ba explains the process he goes through to create the alternate cover for the new “The Umbrella Academy; Apocolypse Suite” Graphic Novel, coming out this summer.
Below is the pictures and a translated version of his own words from his blog.
All the processes of a new layer
I share every process of the cover of the bound Umbrella Academy – Apocalypse Suite I made last week.
First comes the draft. As the pages of Comics, I always do before a draft, and smaller, because it is easier to think of the composition in size, you have a better sense of space. Usually, the hardest part is in this stage, the part to break the head, working in the plans in depth, balance between black and white, the general composition of the page. If I am satisfied with the draft, the design is almost ready.
This design was made to a size of 1 / 2 page A4 practically. I had on Monday in the same day it had been approved.
Then comes the pencil. For this work, I use what Dark Horse, the publisher, sends me. Others sometime use a Canson that costs $ 11 the pack of 20 sheets. For those who will work with nanquim and pens, it is more than good. The size of each page (this is double layer) is from 25.4 x 38.1 cm (the famous 10 x 15 inches). Are people who extends the draft and does the pencil in a light table based on it (because it is easier to balance the composition in the design less), but I tend to do everything “in the hand” even. I all over again, from scratch, looking to the draft in my hand. It was very difficult to hit the same proportions, but with time and practice it has been getting easier.
I pencil all Tuesday afternoon.
My favorite part: the final art. The design is only ready when you have done the final art, the rest is the rest. Of course there are styles in graphite, there are painted style and other techniques, but the basics of the design is the black and white and it reaches its apex in the final art.
Many people are doing ”End-art digital” today. I am not talking about doing this in Tablet directly on the computer, as seen in the video of the soldier, but to simply treat the pencil for achieve the contrast enough to use it as a final dash. In my opinion, is one shit. Whether it is the design of an impish newcomer and lazy or Frank Quietly (which probably delivers pages because it is the designer lerdo most of the world).
If you are a designer, learn the art-finish their work. You will never be an artist of Comics complete without it.
I had the art-final on Wednesday morning.
And the final alternate cover in color from TUA’s Myspace Pics.
CLICK HERE to go to Gabriel Ba’s official blog.
CLICK HERE to go to The Umbrella Academy’s Myspace.
Special thanks to MyChemicalObession in Brazil for the info.
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Slowly but surely, we are getting more and more info on Gerard’s lecture at the School of Visual Arts.
Below is another girl’s account of some of his lecture and a couple of pictures.
I was there too yesterday, with my friend. We were the two Russian girls that raised our hands.
I thought the Detroit thing was really funny. We were laughing about that a lot later.
I asked the question about meeting one person in history. I remember he scrunched up his face in that trademark way of his for that one. Haha. And the answer was just, so cute.
My friend asked the question about what his favorite font is. He got really excited about that one. The first time he’s been asked that!
He mentioned Trajan and Futura Bold as his favorite fonts. Everyone was like, please don’t say “Comic Sans”. Lol. He said something about a Fiesta font too. And Serif and Sans serif. (Forget which one he said he liked)
And Alex Toth-that was the artist he mentioned as his biggest inspiration. “I will always be chasing that…”
I forget though, what was that Comic book that he mentioned as “changing his life”. It was issues 00 and 01 that he specified.
Omgosh, and X-Men! He bought the issue with Wolverine Crucified on the cover. And he was saying how, being Catholic, his parents weren’t going to like that. Lol.
Oh, and my favorite quote from the evening was, (It just really spoke to me, I guess, because I hope to go to SVA next year. I recently got accepted! )
“You have to live, breathe, eat, shit art” or at least, it was something along those lines.
From a girl called “softspirit” on INO.net
Pictures are not mine, if they are yours let me know.
I will gladly credit them to you.
More info on the lecture?
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Gerard Way lectured a large group of students at New York’s School of Visual Arts this week. Below is one student’s account off the whole affair. Sorry for the lack of punctuation. I copied and posted as she wrote it.
“g.way at sva.
so, i just drove home from the school of visual arts in new york city to my place in new jersey and i just re-fell for gerard. i attended the lecture he was giving at his alma mater courtesy of a very good friend and pseudo-sister who is a photography major at sva. contrary to what we had heard, they didn’t check student id’s. rather, they gave out tickets to attendees as they walked into the building to see the lecture to guarantee them a seat. my good friend and current photography major at sva and another friend (who’s a fan) and i got our tickets and went to the back of the line. after about a stuffy ten minutes in a small hallway, everyone filed into the room in an extremely orderly fashion. the room sat about 100 (according to my friend) and it didn’t fill up at any point during the lecture. after sitting for about 10 minutes, gerard quietly walked into the room to a small round of applause wearing dark pants, a white button down shirt, a black tie and a jacket very reminiscent of the “i’m not okay” video, but with more embellishment. for the entire 1 hour and 11 minutes he spoke, i completely forgot he was GERARD WAY, frontman of mcr, and got completely wrapped up in gerard way, the regular pale guy who really likes comic books and holds an affinity for his professors at sva. he pointed out some familiar faces in the crowd, commented that SVA has always been stuffy and hot (indeed, it really was) and kept up the face smushes, nose swipes and talking out of the side of his mouth that we know so well. after his q&a–moderated by a former professor of his–he did a meet and greet with everyone and remained so nice throughout (we were pretty much the last to join the line). he spent as much time with each person as they wanted, signed copies of the umbrella academy and took pictures with everyone. it couldn’t have been a better time. he discussed a potential comic book written AND drawn by him, the second installment of the umbrella academy, his favorite silent films and his feelings about garfield (yes, somebody asked. and no, he’s not really into it.). below, i’ve listed some quotes i found particularly amusing/intriguing. i hope you enjoy them (sidenote: i taped the session, i just have to figure out how to get that onto a computer. if i ever can). he was candid and awesome and cursed a lot. here are some quotes, tips and tricks on how to get into the art business and general points of interest. did you know he can tie a cherry stem into a knot with his tongue?!(On the Xmen) You could never take a picture of them. How nuts is that?
They’re like the Amish.(He played the snare in band camp and promptly quit)They’re waking me up at 2a to play the drums? I couldn’t believe it.
(On getting into the art business)You should never do anything for the money. Do what you’re great at.
Be in it more for your passion than in it for the money.
(On doing an interview in an intimate setting) Playing in a rock band is different than this. I’m really shaking.
If I don’t make it. I’m done. I’m never gonna make it. Kept chasing. No
gotta live have to make mistakes, suffer. Gotta put yourself out there.
No one ever really “makes it.” You’ve got time. Still doing comics at 30 and
making lousy pages. Wish I had a professor to tell me to just chill out. If
you don’t have anything to say, go find what it is that you have to
say.
(on why he didn’t pursue the breakfast monkey. they wanted him to make pillowcases. some merch got carried away and he threw out the idea of breakfast monkey tampons. eeeesh) Breakfast monkey fucking pillowcase. A breakfast monkey tampon??!
Art is not bullshit.
(on working on more art after he got clean because he needed something to take up time) When you first get clean. Fucking burst of energy.
And you can’t play warcraft all day
The show is fleeting it’s gone
(on his favorite part of comics) I’m really attracted to fonts
(his favorite show. it’s english and called )The prisoner. English show 13 episodes.
(on not being employed immediately out of college) If you suffer for a bit, you get a little desperate. When you go
forward, be careful what you sign. No matter how desperate you are to get
a bite, question what you get in the long run.
(apparently he didn’t know he had a reputation about him) I’m considered a little gothy?
(on potentially sucking in art school) There will be a stretch where you could suck. But that’s when you’re really learning.
(on finding inspiration) Draw from an actual source. Don’t draw from Tim Burton…because he’ll be sad you copied from him and not his original inspriation.
(on his female characters in the umbrella academy) I didn’t intentionally make the the two women in the book a profession liar and a villain.
Your least likely source is often the coolest.
(on why he didn’t draw the cover for the umbrella academy) Drew an alternate cover. It was way past deadline and so late because paper got stolen. I think it was stolen in Russia. I thought I was in Detroit. Anyone from Russia? {one girl answered yes} You ever been to
Detroit? It’s like Russia.
[There will never be an ]umbrella academy/mcr music video.
[if i could choose] Anyone in history to spend a day with…i would choose to spend it with my wife.
It’s all winging it.
(on networking) Getting to know people, be sincere, not full of shit. People smell passion andbeing a good person. That’s always going to win out. Network on a smaller scale.
(He had laid out a storyboard for the black parade video and it was almost made into an animated video, that’s how detailed the board was. ) I’m inspired by life. Life is what’s really going on.
(on the boundaries of scriptwriting and comic books) Novels there’s never a limit, but there probably should be.
(getting into art)If you’ve got it, it’s easy to break into, but it’s hard to keep it.
(on the beginnings of MCR) Just wanted to be an amazing fucking live band. Wasn’t sure we wouldplay again because we were careless about our bodies. If you can do something else that no one else can freaking do, you’ve gotit.
(on his secret talent) I can tie a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue.
so, there you go. i took notes on my sidekick. i hope you guys enjoyed a more candid and sort of all over the place gerard. it was great and made me remember that he’s an actual person and not just a frontman. viva g.way!”
To view this person’s Live Journal entry CLICK HERE.
Follow the link below to see Pulp Secret’s look inside “On Raven’s Wings”. They have posted scans of the 16-year-old Gerard’s comics.
Written on the attached page, is an entry into a blog that Hart D. Fisher contacted directly on the 27th of February. He keeps saying there is more to the story. My question is: Why aren’t we hearing the rest of the story?
Is he waiting to tell more in order to keep the spot light on him?
Does he really have instances where Gerard actually plagiarized his work?
If Gerard did plagiarize, why is he bringing it to the web and not to a court near him?
Do we really believe that Gerard took his lyrics from anything other than life experiences?
I had decided I wasn’t going to promote this nobody’s claims anymore, but I am about current issues with the guys. This is a current issue.
Do we here at My Chemcial Freak think there is anything to the allegations? No, I really don’t believe that there is. I truely think this is his way of making money when he needs it. Does my heart go out to him and his wife for their woes? Yes, it does go out to them, but its no excuse for the way he has chosen to go about this.
I have examined the situation, thus far, and have come up with this. Dark Horse comics did, indeed, claim The Umbrella Academy to be Gerard’s first run at comics. Gerard, however, never stated this. Dark Horse has, in the last two days, stated they were told from the get-go about the “On Raven’s Wings 1 & 2″ comic. They knew that it was a dabble in comics for a 16-year-old Way. I believe it was a simple oversight on their behalf, calling it his first.
So far the only statement Gerard has made on the matter is the following:
I sent [Hart] an email years ago, before we finished ‘Revenge,’ thanking him for believing in me, and never got a response. I think I emailed him once again as well…never heard anything back. I’m not ashamed of what I did for him, and wanted to see him in person and thank him. I’ve never had the chance.
-Gerard Way, through Dark Horse Comics
The article in which Dark Horse deemed The Umbrella Academy, Gerard’s first comic can be found HERE. It simply states…
Way’s first comics work is remarkably polished, and he takes to scripting far better than many of the other celebrity comics writers coming to the field from other media, most of whom evidence a still-getting-the-hang-of-it learning curve for a while. Beyond simply being not bad, Way’s loony action adventure tale fits squarely into his publisher’s zanier pulp riffs, like Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and Eric Powell’s The Goon.
-Review from Dark Horse Comics site
Apparently the above snippet is the root of Hart’s ranting. I, as well as others, will have to see the proof of the plagiarism. I could be wrong, but again I do not believe it exists.
CLICK HERE to read the blog entry in which Hart D. Fisher discussed the subject he “isn’t discussing”, which is his wife’s on-going battle with cervical cancer.
Today, February 20, 2008, the final issue of The Umbrella Academy’s Apocalypse Suite goes on sale. Dark Horse Comics’ blog tells us more…
Every orchestra knows that the most important part of a performance is the finale, and what could be more final than the apocalypse?
Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s magnum opus comes to its dramatic conclusion in Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite 6 – out today! As the world lingers on the brink of complete annihilation, this dysfunctional fighting team must put their issues aside as they attempt to save planet Earth.
“The Umbrella Academy knocked my socks off. I can’t really recall the last time I picked up a book and was so unbelievably surprised at how good it actually was, but it happened here.” -AintItCool.com?
“An ultraviolet psychedelic sherbert bomb of wit and ideas. The superheroes of the 21st century are here at last . . . ” -Grant Morrison
CLICK HERE to order your copy.
Do you feel the need to read? If so, then this is the blog entry for you! Below is a compilation of things from around the web that I have found. From information on upcoming tour stops, to a preview on the new issue of The Umbrella Academy. Simply click each title and enjoy!
The Umbrella Academy: Issue #6 Preview
My Chemical Romance sets date at Fillmore Detroit, Detroit News
New Skeleton//Crew Site
With another dream coming true, Gerard tells how he broke into comics with a chance meeting.
READ MORE…
Did you know that Gerard Way has written the foreword for the Graphic Novel “Heartbreak”?
When we think of Gerard, we think “front man” and “artist”. Some would classify him as an author with the new, successful Umbrella Academy comic series. He attended art school in New York and attempted a career in the animation and illustration fields. When that didn’t work out, we all know what he ended up doing.
Gerard met quite a few people during his artistic endeavors. Two of those people were Jonathan Rivera and Nick Destefano. As authors of the graphic novel “Heartbreak“, Jonathan and Nick looked to their old buddy, Gerard Way, to write the book’s foreword.
“Heartbreak” is the autobiographical tales of two cartoonists’ life long searches for love. This graphic novel and its seventeen stories, weave the tales of the crazy adventures in dating, we all must face. The two author’s are putting the finishing touches to a sequel oas we speak. For more information on this graphic novel and its soon-to-be sequel, visit the links below.
To order, or as of right now backorder, your copy of “Heartbreak” CLICK HERE
To learn more about “Heartbreak” and its authors, click the following links:
“Heartbreak” Myspace
“Heartbreak” Fan Site
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