Looking back at issue #1 (Part 6)

Jul17
by on July 17, 2021 at 8:44 am
Posted In: Lloyd and the Bear

So page 14 allowed me to have some fun giving a nod to the popular lines used by some awesome comic book characters.

(Okay, a hefty nod and also a wee moment of Bear being moody and knocking one of the lines!)

It was a throwaway panel that I just wanted to have some fun with but then when I re-did issue #12 I had the opportunity to revisit the scene and have Bear coming out with a line!

Which (thankfully) Lloyd didn’t recognise. Hey, he’s not old enough to watch Terminator 2 yet!

I had a hard time with the issue #12 panel as I wanted it to look similar to the panel in issue #1 but obviously my style had changed a lot over the years (like, so, soooooo much!)

I’m really happy tying those two moments together, especially as issue #12 was the end of the first big arc on the book!

Okay, more soon! Bear hugs!

PS. I TOTALLY saw movies above my age range as a kid so, um….

Looking back at issue #1 (Part 5)

Jul10
by on July 10, 2021 at 8:37 am
Posted In: Lloyd and the Bear

Bear dancing!

I was so happy with this that I ended up re-jigging it and making it a print!

But I realised after I had come up with this idea of Bear being able to control people that he could easily do it every issue so other than a reference in issue #7 where he’s asked how was he taught the skill it’s not been used again!

It’s not that I’ve forgotten it though, I just didn’t want the ‘power’ to keep being used. In my head (although it’s not been explained) it does take a wee bit of time for the dancing to control someone’s mind so it’s not something that can be used at the drop of a hat.

And then in issue #7 there were some questions on how he was taught it…

But I do have a plan and it will be referenced (and the power used) again! Promise!

As a side note, I came up with this idea years before the movie Suckerpunch got released. I feel the cute, fun, happy dance I came up with now feels a bit icky.

Humph. Ah well… more soon! Bear hugs!

Looking back at issue #1 (Part 4)

Jul07
by on July 7, 2021 at 10:27 am
Posted In: Fenton Hud

My first (kinda) splash page! I had a lot of exposition to hit with this and was super concerned that it would be more words than pictures and be a bit of a slog to work through.

I figure I got a good balance but man I don’t like the panel layout…

I wanted it to look interesting so did the different panel sizes but feel it just looks a bit cluttered. Didn’t stop me using the same layout two more times in the first twelve issues though (but never again)!

I did enjoy working on the actual panels themselves though – especially adding all the pieces to Lloyds room. I dunno, I kinda feel sad sometimes when I think of Bear just lying there just looking up at the ceiling and wondering how his fellow Burians are but then I have to remember that he met Lloyd and all was good. Well, at that point before the Shoal found him!

And hey, wee note before I leave. What happened to Bear’s pod? I mean, I’m just asking… where is it?

More soon! Bear hugs!

Not everything about lockdown sucked…

Jul05
by on July 5, 2021 at 4:52 pm
Posted In: Fenton Hud

So we can all agree that 2020 sucked but during that time, and lockdown, I managed to find something positive while out walking (other than getting exercise – and by exercise I mean playing Pokemon Go).

With everywhere being so quiet and also being lucky enough to live close to the London West End I was able to take unique photos of London’s empty streets, parks and popular landmarks.

This resulting photos meant I had complete freedom to add characters in to a scene without having to worry about removing or hiding anyone that happened to end up in the photo which was super awesome!

I had already been toying with the idea of doing photo backgrounds for exterior shots but this guaranteed it. Although I toyed with also doing photos for interior shots I decided instead to draw them as not only would it be easier than trying to get a ton of photos of furnishings (at one point I considered using whatever we had around our small flat but that wasn’t going to work!)

Am I going to try having more exterior shots so it saves me drawing interiors? I sure hope so! Do I have enough photos for the rest of this series? Ehhhh, if not I guess I’ll be up early to take some more photos!

More soon! Bear hugs!

Looking back at issue #1 (Part 3)

Jul03
by on July 3, 2021 at 5:42 pm
Posted In: Lloyd and the Bear

Okay, so it’s early days and I don’t think I’ll be going over EVERY page of the early issues of Lloyd and the Bear but this page did catch my eye for a couple of reasons.

First of all I totally gave a nod back to page 2 with Lloyd looking away from Bear and then looking at him but this time I had the chance of Bear reacting too.

I like to think that this early on I had the voices down for both of them and how they’d act. (Big secret – okay, not that big as I mention it at conventions – but I voice Bear very much after myself and Lloyd after my better half). But yeah, Lloyd’s reaction? Totally makes sense. Bear feeling bad? Yup. Bear doing that thing where he’s playing with his hands? Okay, that’s more my other half but I really wanted Bear to do that.

Secondly, Bur? The islands totally make the shape of a Bear’s face! What’s the odds? But that’s the only islands on Bur yeah? Yeah….. um.

Okay, so yeah, I really don’t intend to cover every page BUT you never know. I wanted to talk about this as I really liked it. Hope that’s okay!

More soon! Bear hugs!

PS. If you’re enjoying this and not read Lloyd and the Bear before why not check out the free preview of the first issue? Just click on the picture link at the top left of the screen and hey, if you enjoy that click on the picture links on the right to buy digital or hard copies of the books! I hope you like it!