Bruce’s Blog!
Hence forth–
So, this sight isn’t easy to update and i’m tired a lot.
You can find me other places on the internet if you must… and you must!
You can always just email me about stuff too.
Blah.
October 14th 2016
I have a new store!
It’s a work in progress but there will be progress…
Speaking of which, finite episode 3 in underway!
And while this may look like a mess to you it looks like progress to me. It’ll all most likely change but it’s a great start!
September 21st 2016
This weekend (September 24-25) I will be at the –
I’ll be selling most of the stuff ive been slinging for a while but ill also have a new book. finite episode 2! This will be it’s first show and i’d like to show you how i made the cover for her before i just throw it out there for you to see. Here we go!
It all starts with math. I laid out the base elements (two suns, some hands, the horizon fo the desert planet and a few aliens on mounts) here in Adobe Illustrator.
Next i work in some elements from the bottom. The planet was in 3D. I found some photos of hands and filled in the foreground ones with rough drawings.
Here i figured out my interlocking suns. It’s not all exciting.
Here i added some scans of tiny rough drawings that i’ve done on scraps of paper during the day job.
The logo as well as the sphere/ship make an appearance! It is a must to leave room for your books logo. Duh.
And on to the inks… or at least the digital inks. Up to this point weve been in photoshop. The inks here were layed out over the previous image in Manga Studio. I like this program.
We add some color to the lines…
Then some color between the lines. Sounds simple right? It’s not…
Some highlights and shadows here and there help define the depth of the subjects.
A few gradients, some noise and some black for the cold death of space and we are mostly done. Mostly.
Don’t forget to give yourself credit on your cover. It’s also a good idea to let them know what issue it is… or episode in our case. We are pretenous!
And i’m tired now. Goodnight internet!
September 10th 2016
Sometimes I draw things for kids.
When birthday parties roll around i am often ask if i could draw something for the child rather than just buy a gift. I have no problem with this. It’s more personal and much more fun than randomly grabbing something off a shelf at a toy store.
This time it was for two kids. Nephews of mine. I was told they liked Iron Man… and the Hulk… and Spider-Man… and that i could just pick one. So, of course i drew all three. But don’t let me get ahead of myself. First i started with a layout!
I wanted to go with something simple to start out with. A nice symmetrical design. An X!
I then roughed in some bodies fighting. Not being a fan of Iron Man or tech in general i pushed him tot he background. (it should be noted here that these were done on notebook paper at work. That’s why they have horizontal lines in them.
Step three; i clean up the rough scans a little in Photoshop. Sizes change. Positions shift. It’s all in flux.
Then i clean them up a lot. A lesser person would have stopped here… i am not a lesser person.
I took my “rough” into Manga Studio and “inked” it. I use “quotes” a lot.
Here i dropped in some color. This was done back in Photoshop for those playing along at home.
I add some adjustment layers to round out the shapes a little…
Here i did a few things in one step. 1-i added a star field in the background to break up that solid shape. 2-i “blue-d” up all the colors to bring them in line with one another. 3-there is also a slight recycled paper texture over the whole thing now to again bring all the elements together.
This entire process took a few hours. I’d say 7-8 maybe. I don’t think that’s bad.
September 4th 2016
Three days later and I have not forgotten I have a website. Who would have thunk it?
I’d like to talk about the evolution of a character. These are a few drawings of the Perceptionist from finite.
She started out a bit more rounded in the hair and face than i intended… then she got lean and buff. Things change.
This was the first drawing of her with the intention of being printed.
(i’m not going to really talk about anything but her head here. Yeah she only has 3 fingers and a toe on her heel. Thats not important for this.) Her hair was rounded. Her face a bit fuller and the eyes “dead”. This didn’t really work for me.
Heres the same drawing but not poorly inked on paper. This one is poorly inked in Manga Studio!
Note the slight differant in the nose. I wanted to push the african ascetic. Her eyes still dont shine the way i wanted and her expression is… missing.
I figured out the problem right after i got 100 or so of those back from the printer. She had no brow!
Here she is in the book. She has a brow and it moves! It instantly gave her an expression. She could not emote! By the way her eyes are modeled on octopus eyes. I like the fact that they are not round pupils. It’s cool.
The further i went into the book the less round her face was.
This oblong shape makes the round shape of the eyeballs stand out more. Also notice her hair continues to lean more and more to one side. Symmetry isn’t natural. People are not perfect. Actually they are often the opposite.
Here she is in the latest (and only the 2nd) issue. Sorry about that.
The shapes in her face are perhaps a bit less feminine than i intended but look at the eyes! They have personality. They are each looking for/at something and relaying info back to her.
It’s all a work in progress.
Somethings get better. Some don’t. You just hope that they don’t get worse.
Thanks.
September 1st 2016
I have decided to start updating my site again. You’re welcome.
Let’s start with some comicy goodness! Here is the breakdown of a page from my next comic “finite: episode 2″.
We start with a really rough thumbnail. Really rough. I draw these about 3 inches tall.
Now we throw some math and shapes at it to claen those lines up. I usually handle this in Adobe Illustrator.
Now i grab some still from a 3d world i built. I have the planet in Cinema 4D so that i can get the geography right from ever angle. This saves me time. It’s crazy work up front but worth it. I even built a rough ship and some dudes.
Now i do some rough digital pencils over my shapes in photoshop. This is where all the personality comes thru. Remember this stiff 3d shapes? I dont’…
I take the digital pencils into Manga Studio and ink away. I ink in multiple colors on different layers so that i can color the lines as i see fit for the next step. Speaking of which…
Behold my flat colors! I take care of this back in Photoshop. Only 3 more steps!
Here i have added the shadows and highlights. I just slightly hit at the shapes of things with a light adjustment level for each variation. I’m crazy.
Now some glows. For the suns and such. It makes it a bit more spacey right?
And it’s lettered. There is a whole “write the script part somewhere in here but that’s an update for later.
Good night everybody.
April 2nd 2016
It has been a while since I’ve updated this bad boy… So let us play catch up!
I was on a great podcast.
Myself & Mike continued our own podcast.
I finishe my western, Iron & Ink, and have a preview of the first issue up on my site. All four issues will be collected soon and for sale in my store… soon.
Other things have happened as well but i don’t have links for them.
I promise to update my lil site more often. Promise.
If you need a fix of me int he mean-time i am on twitter!
September 16th 2015
I will be selling this fine print this weekend at the Cincinnati Comic Expo!
Come on out and see me at Table C11. I’ll be the big bald guy with a beard in between a much slimmer bald guy in a hat and Uko Smith.
I should draw a children’s comic someday.
August 22nd 2015
I drew this recently.
There are some problems with it but over all i think i did pretty good. The coloring is top-notch in my opinion.
I might post a “making of” in a few days.
Jan 24th 2015
This is the worst photo i have ever taken.
but… it is also the coolest! These are two brand new books that i will start selling today at the ICE Expo!
I wish that I could have done more prep work to push this convention appearance but life gets in the way sometimes. The important part is that i’ll be there and will have some pretty awesome stuff to sell.
I’ll even have Mike (from the podcast Collected Issues and co-creator of finite) with me.
Nov 24th 2014
Everytime i draw this guy i thank myself for giving him such a long neck. It’s weird but so much fun to play around with.
I like this book…
Oct 17th 2014
I’m flatting…
Yes-sir-ee, I’m flatting.
Oct 9th 2014
Finally prepping this for print.
Yes. The third issue of my western ends with the Fantastic Four & a unicorn.
Sept 4th 2014
More freelance = less comics. It’s a sad fact of life that money is good.
Maybe i should set up a paypal donation button so you people can pay me not to take freelance but do comics…
July 29th 2014
Just wrapped up a big freelance animation project and now i’m back in the thick of FINITE!
This brings me joy.
In other news… Mike & I have a new podcast out. Check it.
July 6th 2014
I’m still working… and i think i love drawing alien people.
It’s slow going but awesome.
The new job is still killing me but i plan on changing bits of that.
I’ve also entered into another gigantic freelance project that is crazy as well.
i am an idiot. idiot.
June 22nd 2014
I promised you more… this is it!
I’m continuing to work like a dog for you people.
Issue 3 of I&I needs to be printed…
Issue 1 of FINITE is moving ever so closer to double digit page numbers…
& I’m doing more freelance now than ever!
Also the new job is kicking my ass. Kick!
June 15th 2014
My PBS interview is online now!
Some other stuff is happening as well. I’ll post more later. Promise.
May 27th 2014
So, The Art Show on PBS aired… people watched it and i have received a few new clicks here and there from it. Watching myself talk about comicbooks, drawing, writing, etc. was exciting. I may have actually inspired myself.
Speaking of which–
Here is some more of mine and Mike’s space comic. It should be amazing.
May 7th 2014
This is a quick coloring animation of what I’ve been working on the past week or so. It’s that Space comic i mentioned a while back that Mike Adams and myself are slowly working on. I’m really happy with it so far!
And… did i mention that i’ll be featured on a PBS art show the 25th? Well, i will be!
I hope i don’t look like an idiot.
April 20th 2014
Again, it’s been a while.
So… I never heard anything from BOOM! But that’s alright. Their loss.
I’ve made a great deal of money on a great deal of non-comic related things. Those make me sleepy.
Almost found a new job…
Finished issue 3 of Iron & Ink.
Spent some quality time with my family.
Recorded some more episodes of The Break-ins…
Talked to Mike about starting a slightly different podcast Called ________ for now.
Worked on a new Baron Von Porkchop piece.
And finally started on Finite!
Whew.
Now for another two month break (joke).
January 17th 2014
The last of the Boom submission pages.
now back to work on the never ending western!
December 26th 2013
I mentioned this here…
This is the first part of a Boom Studios submission.
I have plans for 2014 people. Plans! Please stick with me…
September 24th 2013
What would you do if i drew a page out of tune? Would you stand up and read another book on me?
I worked some more on Iron & Ink issue 3…
Then i read about three contests to break-in to comics. So, i’m torn. I like Iron & Ink. It’s a great comic that’s going in a direction that i love & i feel real comfortable with the characters and the art… but i do do a little podcast about breaking into comics and it would be nice to have an ending to my real life story of struggle.
I don’t know what to do.
I’m also looking into getting a news job. That’s why you’ve probably noticed my resume and demo reel under ABOUT BRUCE at the top of the site.
I don’t know what to do.
I’ve also got some stuff going on with my wife having a new job & my son hitting his “terrible two’s” at three years old. It’s a crazy time at the ole’ Hughes house right now!
August 3rd 2013
It’s been a while. Sorry. I’ll try to make it worth it though…
There are two new podcasts since we last spoke!
Episode 53 (Philosophical banking!)
Episode 54 (Ping.Ping.Ping.)
And for now those of you who like art a bit more here is some Hulk pics.
Let’s start with my rough pencils. These are digital. I do most of my roughs in Photoshop now-a-days.
Here are the finished “inks”. I did these in Manga Studio. I love this program for it’s ink like capabilities.
These are the flat colors. I took the art back into Photoshop and added the basic tones.
I added some more elements (breaking DNA & an atomic blasts) to fill out the space. I love stark simplicity but are not capable of pulling it off. I keep trying…
This pic is after i added some more tones to each color. I like to bring in some darks & lights over the flats to round the objects a bit more. I also threw in a radioactive symbol to really drive home the Hulk’s origin.
And this is the finished product. The only change here was me adding a brush-stroke texture. I added it in Photoshop and set it to Overlay. This really bring out such warmth in the colors.
I hope you all enjoy it. I know i had some fun working on it.
By the way, i did this for my 3 year old son. He loves the Hulk & was excited about this!
June 27th 2013
I will be at the Derby City Comic Con this Saturday. At table D-51 to be more specific… I will also have the other two Break-Ins with me. It’s going to be awesome!
The first year at Derby i sold an Aquaman print & got rich. The second year i sold a Hellboy print & lost money. This year i have an Adventure Time print & i want to rule the con with it!
It’s got Jake, Finn, Marceline, Ice King, BMO, Lady Rainicorn, LSP, PB & then all their gender swapped selves… Hell, i even threw in the snail. I. Am. Awesome.
Come to table D-51 this Saturday & i might… just might give you a few bucks off if you mention this post. Might.
I’ve even decided to give the original art for this fine Adventure Time print away to their charity auction. Boom.
In other news; Check out my updated store. It’s slightly fancier & has a few more things floating around in it.
June 12th 2013
I am still working on issue three of Iron & Ink & boy are my arms tired… wait, that’s not right.
I have been so inundated with paying work that i have not had time to work on my own comics. I fell like a rich kids unappreciated dad. So tired…
May 24th 2013
I have had to much freelance work recently that I have neglected my comics. I apologize. To those of you who are waiting for Issue three of Iron & Ink & to the comics themselves. Sorry, but the money was good!
I have a few quite days coming up & i hope to be able to jump right back into my basement & get some pages out of the way. Wish me luck!
Don’t forget that me & the entire Break-Ins crew will be at the Derby City Comic Con June 29th at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY!!
May 5th 2013
I know it’s been a while. Sorry. I haven’t made much progress in the comic area. I’m still working on Iron & Ink. I’m still going to Derby City soon (the Adventure Time print previewed last time turn out great) & actually just got some more Clobber Vance trades printed.
Most of my time has been spent on freelance work. It’s not comic related. It’s not even illustration based. It’s animation for various people who do various things… but it pays. Again, sorry.
I promise that the next update will be a few new pages of Iron & Ink. That fair?
Don’t forget that me & the entire Break-Ins crew will be at the Derby City Comic Con June 29th at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY!!
April 9th 2013
I’ve been busy.
The Gem City Comic Con was amazing! I made money, met some people & just overall had a great time. It’s always good to hang out with Chris Pritchard, Scott D.M. Simmons, Mike Adams & even Tony Moore! Okay, i didn’t hang out with Tony Moore… but i did sell him some of my Iron & Ink comics.
Mentioning Chris Pritchard… this guy has a Kickstarter going on for his awesome book Sunsara! Please drop by the Kickstarter & give the guy a few bucks. It’s a quality comics from a man with real passion for his craft.
Alright. What’s next… Oh, for me it will be The Derby City Comic Con! I’l be there for it’s third year with Justin & Mike in tow. It was a blast last year & i’m guessing this time will be even better.
Here are some sneaks at the project i’m working on for Derby–
Yep. It works either way!
One more thing! Don’t forget about mine & the guys podcasts! They are getting good. Okay, good-er.
March 22nd 2013
The Gem City Comic Con is upon us again & just like every year they are holding a charity auction to benefit the Hero Initiative! I knew i had to come up with something to help this great cause so i set my geek detector to max… i heard that Peter Dinklage had been cast in the new X-Men movie & then i heard a rumor that Apocalypse was going to be the main villain. I put two & two together & had this weird idea.
Since my wife & i had been watching Game of Thrones recently & Dinklage was in that i though I’d merge the two universes to make it even more geeky.
It all starts with a sketch… Just something to get the ideas down. Him at a downward angle, holding the globe, skulls around his feet, maybe fire in the background.
Then the sketch gets a bit cleaner. I decide to define the scene a bit more. I bring in his character’s axe from Game of Thrones, move the globe to the other hand, keep the hair on even though Apocalypse is bald, add a book, some blood & a skull as a base to ground him.
After that i worked on his face until i felt it looked enough like the two character as one. This is tricky. Not only does it need to look like the actor but also a character he’s played in one particular TV show & then merge that with a fictional character that we’ve never seen in the 3D world.
This brings us to the pencils. These are done digital… but i lost that file so this is a scan of the print outs i used on my light-board. I pencil digitally in photoshop, print them out & ink on to the paper. As you can see i added some text to better sell the idea as well as a vertical background to best fill an 11×17 piece of paper.
For some reason i decided to paint this! My 2 year old son has started playing around in water colors and in turn so have I when he lets me use his… This was my first attempt & i think some of it is brilliant but it was taking forever & i always doubt myself when it comes to color so i ask for help.
Here is the final. My little wife did some magic with colored pencils & adult water colors, i provided the defining inks & it’s complete!
I hope someone enjoys this enough to give a few dollars for it. It’s for a good cause (and I’d like to think the picture isn’t half bad).
March 4th 2013
I am 6 pages & half a cover into Issue 3 of Iron & Ink. This excites me.
I also want to take some space here & remind people about The Gem City Comic Con. Mike & Myself will be there selling mine & Justin’s wares. Please come out & throw money at us. We will dance.
February 18th 2013
Issue two of Iron & Ink is sitting about seven feet away from me in all it’s printed glory. It feels good.
February 9th 2013
This is supposed to be my simple little comic about a butterfly collector. It got out of hand. Three more pages to go!
Janurary 23rd 2013
Something like this can be yours for $25.
It’s black ink on a 8.5×11 sheet of cardstock paper.
Leave me a message here of email me at the contact tab on the top of the site. I can make your drawn dreams come true!
Janurary 18th 2013
The Derby City Comic Con is quickly approaching & I do not have an idea for an exclusive print yet…
The first year I did Aquaman riding a sea horse in the Kentucky Derby. This sold out quickly!
The second year was Hellboy beating some Nazis up with a Louisville Slugger. This did not sellout or even well.
So i ask you internet friends; what should i do for this year?!?
December 21st 2012
Still here. Still working.
Issue three of Iron & Ink is underway. Finite; mine & Mike’s space comic is on hold for the minute. The Break-Ins are done for the year. I have another commission that i refused money for.
So, some good news, some bad news. You get used to it.
December 9th 2012
Recent commission. You could own something like this for around $75. I’m willing to negotiate. Contact me.
November 27th 2012
I am a coward! Or at least i almost was…
A few days ago i posted some rough pencils of my next project. In that post i said i was going to do the project digitally & i did start out that way, then it became difficult.
I couldn’t get the pen pressure right. The angle of the brush was inconsistent with the angle of the pad. I didn’t like how the lines were curving at the tips. What should have been close to a straight line was anything but. It was nasty. So i switched back to paper & pen.
I finished the piece in two hours. Less than half the time it took me to do half of the digital one. I was happy. My wife was not.
I showed her the two versions. The pen & paper first then the digital a few minutes later. She instantly told me the digital one was better. She had some fancy terms she used for how the traditional one looked muddy, cluttered, ugly & went against everything i had ever been told by a professional.
I told her she was right. Then i started the digital version over. Here is a taste of the two together.
My wife often calls me on my bullshit. That’s one of the many reasons i married her.
Thanks baby!
November 21st 2012
This is what I’m working on.
This is a rough done in pencil that i am scanning in to ink digitally. This is the opposite approach i am taking with Iron & Ink… because this is the opposite project! This one takes place in space & has no humans in it. Blam.
November 9th 2012
I will be at Gem City Comic Con next year!
More info to follow as soon i think of any…
November 8th 2012
No picture this time. Sorry.
I’m still going through the files of my last site & updating the Comics section of this one. Check it out HERE.
I still have about half a dozen comics to re-post & will get to it eventually… in between all the hush-hush things I’m working on right now.
Thanks for taking time to check out this site & to all of you who have posted something here another big thanks!
November 4th 2012
Here is a project i just finished for a good friend of mine!
If you are in need of some illustrations like these just drop me a line at contact at bruce o hughes dot com & i could make all your dreams come true for just $75!
October 28th 2012
Digital pencils of panel one from the last page of Iron & Ink number two.
I know I’ve been dragging my feet on this. But sometimes you have to stop doing what you love to make some money.
Maybe next project I’ll run a Kickstarter for so i can devote more time to it. Who knows…
October 23rd 2012
Working on another project for Dayton’s very own horror movie host, Baron Von Porkchop!
Doing some new things with this one… like this “ghost hand”. I love transparency!
Still a work in progress but very happy with it so far. Here’s hoping i can keep up whit momentum!
October 19th 2012
New podcast is up. Exciting times.
Working with Mike on a space adventure comic. Waiting on Justin to help me with my western comic… which I’m finishing issue 2 right now.
Very exciting times!