Rob Lisle talks The Devil’s Toilet #2’s cover art.

February 26, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Rob Lisle talks The Devil’s Toilet #2’s cover art.

Rob (00:06):
Hey there. Uh, I’m Rob Lisle, AKA Spedsy and creator of The Devil’s Toilet. I am here with Shane, from ComX. Who’s putting together an awesome calendar to support, not only me, but a whole bunch of Australian artists. Um, so support Shane by supporting us so he can support just everyone’s support everyone. Let’s make some cool stuff. All right, Shane, let’s talk about that.

Shane (00:33):
So the piece we have here is The Devil’s Toilet. It’s cover number two. So what is it about this piece that you like?

Rob (00:40):
Um, well, I like this cause I was trying to make it sort of something big, jump off the page sort of vibe and I was going for, I would say so that’s the devil there, as you can see. And I referred to him in the book is a big horny Kaiju and so I guess I was going for a big sort of Kaiju look as cadre as I could get, um, I couldn’t find any – I could not get that pose right. I guess this is more the challenges question.

Rob (01:08):
Um, but so I ended up having to do the reference for that one myself, um, complete in my undies and everything. Not like a photo of me doing that from multiple levels. Um, yeah, no, I’m pretty happy with the way it came up.

Shane (01:25):
Same undies?

Rob (01:27):
No mine was stripe.

Rob (01:31):
Didn’t entirely get the full reference. Okay. I only have the one pair of this stripe. Yeah.

Shane (01:35):
So I guess that’s what inspired this piece. Was that, um, reference with you.

Rob (01:40):
Yeah, well, yeah, trying to get. Uh, So, um, the end of Devil’s Toilet Issue One, uh, the devil launches out of the devil’s toilet. So the devil’s toilet serves as a, uh, a portal. So it, long story short, the devil’s toilet is an actual toilet from hell. Uh, it’s the devil’s toilet as is in the name. Uh, it escapes from hell, um, which the devil allows it to do because, uh, it serves as a gateway for the devil to escape and inflict hell on earth.

Rob (02:12):
So the end of Devil’s Toilet one, the big sort of crash bang cliffhanger is the devil coming out of the toilet and issue two starts with the big horny kaiju, uh, running rampant on earth. That’s the vibe I was going for. And yeah,

Shane (02:29):
So that, I’m guessing that was also the challenges, like you said, the challenges was that pose, right.

Rob (02:34):
So, yeah, yeah. Trying to get that pose. I really wanted to, I love so, um, uh, more of a cartoonist than I am. Uh, I would love to be a comic book illustrator that could like draw, huge scenescapes and, you know, with, I just love like any of that big monster imagery where there’s the big, massive Godzilla type creature in the background and the tiny little heroes. Um, this was me attempting that while within my sort of cartoony style. Um, yeah, so it was a challenge trying to get that sort of, um, have him look big and menacing while still people don’t. Uh, so it says the Devil’s Toilet, but then when I, I like to tie and have the toilet on the cover, so people go “Wait, it’s about an actual toilet.” So having him – having the main characters still somewhat prominent, but being overshadowed was kind of the, was the challenge.

Shane (03:31):
Well, you did a good job. It’s a, it’s a cool cover. I like it.

Rob (03:33):
Oh, cheers mate. Cheers.

Shane (03:36):
Um, so did you have to learn anything new to, to, to do this, um, particular cover or, um, was it just your skills in the reference?

Rob (03:47):
Um, lighting was a big, so obviously you see the moon in the background, um, and then the shadows that, that the shadows that it’s brought out, I’ve never done that much shadow before. Like I do shadows to sort of give people a sort of like a 3d-ish sort of look, but that’s, as far as I go, this was like shading the entire character, except for highlights around the side.

Rob (04:10):
I’d never done that before. So that was, I guess, a challenge and something I had to learn make it, make it work. So, yeah.

Shane (04:19):
Yeah. It’s nice. You did a good job. Um, yeah, that’s cool. Um, just, so what do you think about this piece that would connect with your fans?

Rob (04:30):
Uh, I’m hoping that it sort of attracts the eye when it’s on the, on the comic book rack, um, that it kind of conveys that it’s a jokey book, but it has real stakes sort of thing. Yep. So are these characters about to get squished? You’ll have to read the book.

Shane (04:51):
Nice. I like that.

Shane (04:55):
Thanks very much, Rob. It was great to talk to you today. Um, it was good to learn about your art. Um, so, um, catch you either in the next video or you can check out the next person’s video.

Rob (05:06):
Yeah. Cheers man. Thanks for having me.

Shane (05:11):
If you’d like to see more of Rob’s work, go to psychojanitor.com to see what Rob has contributed to the calendar. Go to ComX.link to register your interest and just sign up with a Kickstarter and register to get a reminder when the campaign starts, uh, thanks for your support. Have a great day.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

** All claims made by Comic Creatives are their own and not those of ComX.net.au
*** All art remains the intellectual property of the artist and may not be used or reproduced without explicit permission from the actual artist

Let’s talk Vamoose issue 1 cover with it’s artist Rob Lisle

February 26, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Let’s talk Vamoose issue 1 cover with it’s artist Rob Lisle

Shane (00:00):
[Intro]

Shane (00:32):
Okay. So this piece is the cover to Vamoose number One, uh, Too Many Chooks. I love the title. So what do you like about this piece?

Rob (00:42):
Um, well, I like, I like a lot of things about it, uh, that don’t necessarily come straight from the artwork, but the whole, just the concept of this book. Um, it’s a team up with a friend of mine, Nick May, who, um, is the brother of my best friend, basically a friend who I’ve been friends with for like 30 years.

Rob (01:03):
Um, and Nick always had drawings everywhere all over his house. He’s an amazing illustrator. And me as I was, you know, I’m a couple years younger than Nick. And so I would see his drawings and they would be like, everything that I wanted to do Nick was doing. And, um, so he didn’t realize, but he taught me a lot about how to draw just by me, always, uh, you know, stalking his drawing table and going through his drawings. So this book is me and Nick teaming up to do, um, each issue we’ll tackle, a different, um, concept of this one – concept or theme or whatever. This one is too many chooks and so we both interpret that however we like.

Rob (01:50):
Um, so the only instruction you have is make a comic that’s got something to do with too many chooks and he’s done his, I’ve done mine. And then we’ve got a few guests I’m also contributing Peter Wilson and the Haydn Spurrell. Um, and then, so I was tasked with doing the cover and so what I wanted to do much like the Devil’s Toilet sort of vibe was so some ridiculousness, um, and hopefully get people to open the book, then go, what’s all this about.

Shane (02:21):
Well it makes me want it.

Rob (02:23):
Oh, cool.

Shane (02:23):
Hold on. I’m going to get up to, yeah.

Rob (02:29):
Yeah. Well, that’s Old Man Biscuit. He’s a character I’ve had for a long time. Leroy Biscotti “Old Man Biscuit.”

Shane (02:36):
Oh, nice. I like the name character. So it was just, um, the, the theme of the book itself that inspired you for this piece or was there more?

Rob (02:48):
Yeah. So, um, to try, like, it’s got a similar sort of shading sort of thing to the Devil’s Toilet cover. Um, I just wanted like sort of an ominous sort of, you know, these chooks mean business sort of look, and it was a bit of a challenge to, like, to have that many sort of characters on the cover in one piece and, and getting all those shadows right. I don’t know if I nailed it, but I got near enough to where, what I was, what I envisioned in my head. So,

Shane (03:19):
No, it looks good. It looks like he’s got the spotlight on him, so.

Rob (03:23):
Yeah, that was kind of the idea. At one point I had a literal spotlight on him, but I just couldn’t get it to work. So that’s the idea is that he’s kind of highlighted a little bit and, yeah.

Shane (03:35):
Cool. So the challenge was, um, the number of characters for example, or anything else?

Rob (03:40):
Yeah. Yeah. And lighting and, and just making a dynamic cover. Like when I was a kid, um, my favourite I’ve been making comics forever, like, but, uh, comics that not many people were seeing, cause I do would just make them for my own enjoyment when I was a kid. Like I would, I had hundreds of comic covers, very few comics cause I just loved making the cover. Um, and now if I actually find it more challenging doing the cover, then doing the interiors, I mean, because just trying to get something to just launch off the page and make people open the book, is it picking the right sort of vibe and everything is a challenge.

Shane (04:21):
Makes sense. Um, I guess that would be a bit of a challenge, so yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Um, did you have to learn anything new to do this particular piece or was it same old, same old?

Rob (04:32):
Yes. Kind of. I, um, the shading of his skin is a technique that I’m so not good at. Like I am trying to learn it, but I just can’t wrap my head around it. Um, I, how do I explain it. So if you look at the, like the shading on the chickens, it’s all very like, um, is the bright bits and here’s the dark bits. I couldn’t get the, I couldn’t get the bright bits to work on him without look making it look like he had like a shadow on his chin, made it look like he had a bead and light on his head, made it look like he had white hair. So I tried to shading technique that other people are awesome at. I just can’t wrap my head around it, but it kind of works through the skin wider at the top and lighter on his shoulders. That’s kind of the vibe I was going for. Yeah. I need to study up more on that sort of shading of skin and stuff. Hi.

Shane (05:28):
Yeah. Well it worked. I can see, I don’t see a beard or a white hair, so.

Rob (05:32):
Oh, good. I mean, they probably should be more shadow on his chin and stuff, but I just couldn’t get it to work without making him look ridiculous.

Shane (05:42):
Well, what works is what you did. So that’d be helpful. Thanks. Thanks. Right. So, um, is there anything about this piece that would connect with your fans? I mean, you’re saying how it’s going to pop out is, is that mostly what you’re thinking or….

Rob (05:57):
Yeah. Well, so, um, it’s sort of like I wanted to do a comic in-between the, uh, so Devil’s Toilet too is about to come out, um, maybe in a week or so this will come out in about, in about a month. So I wanted to do something, uh, that was different to Devil’s Toilet, but still, you know, if I have people who know me for Devil’s Toilet, I wanted something that thinks like that it’s equally ridiculous. So Devil’s Toilet is a talking toilet. This is talking murderous chicken. So yeah, I think my serious stuff to writing for Torn and Rick McClune for Reverie when I’m drawing it’s ridiculousness, because that’s what my style lends itself to.

Shane (06:39):
I like it. So it’s good. Excuse me.

Shane (06:43):
Thanks very much, Rob. It was great to talk to you today. Um, it was good to learn about your art. Um, so, um, catch your, either in the next video or you can check out the next person’s video.

Rob (06:53):
Yeah. Cheers man. Thanks for having me.

Shane (06:59):
If you’d like to see more of Rob’s work, go to psychojanitor.com to see what Rob has contributed to the calendar. Go to ComX.link to register your interest and just sign up with a Kickstarter and register to get a reminder when the campaign starts, uh, thanks for your support. Have a great day.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Rob talks about his Awesome Team splash page

February 26, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Rob talks about his Awesome Team splash page

Rob (00:06):
Hey Nance. Uh, I’m Rob Lyle, AKA Spedsy and creator of The Devil’s Toilet. I am here with Shane, from ComX. Who’s putting together an awesome calendar to support, not only me, but a whole bunch of Australian artists. Um, so support Shane by supporting us so he can support just everyone’s support everyone. Let’s make some cool stuff. All right, Shane, let’s talk about that.

Shane (00:32):
So this is a cool picture. What is it you like about it the most? Uh, yeah, so this is the debut of Awesome Team in, uh, Devil’s Toilet 2, which I think is page three. It’s the sort of first splash page. Um, the idea here was to basically show off these characters as big as I could. Um, and really I wanted to take Devil’s Toilet 2 to the next level. Um, my drawing had improved between Devil’s Toilet 1 and Devil’s Toilet 2.

Rob (01:02):
And so I kind of wanted to do something that showed that off. Um, I was introducing characters that I’ve had for a long time and yeah. So at one point Devil’s Toilet 1 hadn’t been released, this is in Devil’s Toilet too. Uh, and I wasn’t sure if, if Devil’s Toilet One was ever going to come out. So I just started, there was Devil’s Toilet 2, just for my own fun. And so I wanted to, if this was my sort of last hurrah of like, just making a comic, I just wanted to put all my characters into it. So I wasted no time with that Awesome Team on page three.

Shane (01:37):
Awesome, they seem like awesome. Yeah. So, um, is there anything that inspired this piece, like the look of it or the, characters, that sort of thing?

Rob (01:48):
Yeah, so I wanted sort of like a Kitty Pryde and I didn’t really get it here, but like Kitty Pryde coming out of, you know, how she phases through a wall later in the issue, um, they go back through a portal and it’s more sort of like that half phasing through, but the idea of this was a big “Holy sh*t, who are these guys jumping through the – jumping through a portal.

Rob (02:12):
And I mean, the whole reason Devil’s Toilet exists is because he’s easy to draw. Um, when I wanted to make a comic book and you’ve got to draw the same characters over and over and over, I was like, what’s easy to draw on a square.

Rob (02:26):
What’s something that’s square and a toilet came to mind and that’s why the three main characters, according to kind of very simple, simple designs, whereas Awesome Team, uh, more people, more peopley sort of Simpsons Rick and Morty issue or something, um, which was a challenge in itself. But, um, that’s why this page is also important to me because when I finished it, I was very, very proud of this because I don’t think I’d ever drawn anything that good up until then. Um, so when I first did it, like, I was like, “Whoa, I actually don’t hate that. So yeah,”

Shane (03:06):
Which I hear is very common with artists. Um, yeah. Yeah. I like it. It’s a good page. So, um,

Rob (03:13):
Oh, thanks.

Shane (03:14):
Did you do the, the effect of the portal as well?

Shane (03:17):
Yeah. Yeah. Everything there is, is me.

Shane (03:20):
Did you have to learn that or like the new technique to do that portal or different than other art you’ve done?

Rob (03:26):
Yeah. So, um, I did have to learn that and I just sort of, I mean, I just found a cool brush that I thought was awesome. And, um, it just lent itself to that sort of idea and layer upon layer upon layer. I’ve got sort of the effect I was looking for. Yeah.

Shane (03:45):
Well it works, it works. It’s, it’s very easy to see the coming through a portal, so.

Rob (03:49):
Oh, cool. Awesome.

Shane (03:52):
Um, so I guess my next question will be, how do you feel this will connect with your fans in your best piece?

Rob (04:02):
Well, so I put this on Twitter like six months or so ago. Um, and I did get a few comments about people saying that, “Oh, wow, that looks fun. What is that? I want to see more.” And that just made me happy. That was like totally the vibe of the Devil’s Toilet. And Vamoose for that matter is just fun.

Rob (04:23):
Like, um, yeah, like there are stakes and there is emotions and whatever, but it’s just meant to be fun. And the fact that someone saw this image and thought it looked fun and I’m like, that’s exactly what I kind of, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. So if, if people look at that and think it looks fun and then that’s exactly what I hope for.

Shane (04:48):
Excellent. Well, yeah, that’s what I see. I see a lot of fun. I definitely want to pick this up myself now.

Rob (04:53):
So yeah, if you, if anyone’s interested in grabbing, uh, Devil’s Toilet One and Two, or even Vamoose, number One, uh, the Devil’s Toilet is currently on sale at All-Star comics, Alternate World and Dee’s Comics, um, and hopefully a handful of others coming up. Otherwise you can grab all my [email protected] or on at Spedsy on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, all that good stuff. Yeah. Thanks for checking it out.

Rob (05:24):
Thanks very much, Rob. It was great to talk to you today. Um, it was good to learn about your art. Um, so, um, catcher either in the next figure, or you can check out the next person’s video.

New Speaker (05:34):
Yeah. Cheers man. Thanks for having me

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Find out more about the calendar that Rob is contributing to go to ComX.link. This will take you to the Kickstarter pre-launch page, where you can register your interest or get notified of when the, um, Kickstarter starts. So, yeah, go on over there, click the button and, um, give, given your email. Thanks for that. Um, have you all have a good day.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Peter surrounded himself with cane toads for this one.

February 26, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Peter surrounded himself with cane toads for this one.

Shane (00:23):
So this one, you call this “Toad” in the file. Is that his name?

Peter (00:31):
Uh, his name is Mr. Cane.

Shane (00:33):
Mr. Cain.

Peter (00:34):
And he is like the, the leader of the, villains of the Torn comics. Basically big guy with the long game, essentially with him was come up with somebody with a frog head in a way that hasn’t been done a thousand times before.

Shane (00:55):
Yeah,

Peter (00:56):
They’re saying that Toad in the X-Men comics, [unintelligible] to try to come up with a way to do it that isn’t that again?

Shane (01:12):
Yeah.

Peter (01:13):
So essentially she actually started off in my head as mum, granddad.

Shane (01:22):
Interesting!

Peter (01:22):
Not true! Originally, he started off as Danny DeVito, but that was going to be a short little SWAT guy and Gary wanted him to be big and imposing so I went from Danny DeVito to Marlon Brando and I sort of swapped out the Marlon Brando, to get the look.

Shane (01:40):
Nice.

Peter (01:42):
Get a Marlon Brando in sweats and started doing it until it had what I wanted.

Shane (01:47):
That’s so cool!

Peter (01:49):
[unintelligible] Marlon Brando, but that was sort of where he started.

Shane (01:52):
Cool. And I guess the cane toad.

Peter (02:01):
And it would still have been Danny DeVito!

Shane (02:01):
Yeah. And the cane toad would make it a bit original too. Cause they’re, um, pretty distinct type of toad,

Peter (02:10):
Not distinctly Australian problem. Um, and isn’t, it’s an interesting character and what I know of his backstory, which the comics will explore further as we go. But, um, but yeah, he’s supposed to be sort of big and imposing, like hiding in the shadows farm loader mice kind of figure. So yeah, all that to do with keeping that line.

Shane (02:40):
Okay. Cool.

Peter (02:41):
It was really fun to design. Design took a long time to come up again and we had a lot. Yeah,

Shane (02:48):
Well it looks really cool here. It looks very, um, what’s the word imposing? No, um, is imposing the right word. Um, no, uh, I’ll continue. I’m horrible at forgetting words.

Peter (03:06):
[inaudible] got cane toads at random and we thought immediately, clearly Godfather. Couldn’t cut it in hindsight instead of a [unintelligible].

Shane (03:17):
So is that what you like? So is that what you like about this piece is

Peter (03:23):
He’s designed some that are more refined by the time I got to that place.

Shane (03:31):
Yeah.

Peter (03:31):
And he, a lot of work to design and I feel sorry for anyone else who has to join because he’s not easy. It’s a lot of work and I liked the way it came out. So yeah, that’s about it.

Shane (03:50):
Um, so I guess that was the, challenge – he’s hard to draw. Um, is there anything new you had to pick up to, um, to do this particular picture?

Peter (04:06):
Yeah. I had to learn how to draw cane toads! Well, I actually had to sit down and do all of his little nose ridges and those they’re not just sort of random pointy bits, all of these little bits and bobs on his entire head or literally all kinds of cane toad stuff.

Shane (04:27):
Oh, okay.

Peter (04:28):
So I haven’t just put a frog here and there. I’ve literally demonised the cane toads. Every bump and region, eye shapes and the little line bits and all that, are all things cane toads actually have. So I’ve literally had to sit here with images of cane toads all over a computer screen while I figured out how to put a line to it. It was a lot of work and it was fun.

Shane (05:00):
Awesome. Well, that’s what matters. Um, so how do you think he’ll connect with fans?

Peter (05:10):
I hope, um, I don’t, I’m just typing words that when people read him in the, in the comics that the messaging I want to put in him comes across, and you don’t wanna know that until it comes out. I think it’s there in that drawer. And I think sort of like the powers and stuff sort of has that about it. Um, hopefully when it comes to shading comics, it all comes out and we’ll get that impression, really not somebody you want to mess with/

Shane (05:39):
But he doesn’t look like he is. So someone you want to mess with that’s for sure. He looks quite bulky and big and scary. So

Peter (05:48):
Yeah, that’s the idea. That’s what he’s meant to be. The hard part is getting that right. I didn’t want him to feel slobby. I could have done that, but that’s not the way Gary wants me to go with it. Originally, I had him quite fat and fancy

Shane (06:05):
Okay. Now he looks very scary and gangster like, so

Peter (06:11):
Yeah, that’s what we wanted. It’s all evolved into what we built him up.

Shane (06:15):
Oh, cool.

Peter (06:18):
Um, Thank you for your time, Peter. It was great to talk to you about your art. Um, it was very insightful on what goes on behind the scenes. Um, so yeah, thank you very much. And um, catch you around.

Peter (06:18):
Peter Lawson is contributing to the comics 18 month calendar, uh, to check this out, go to ComX.link. This will take you to Kickstarter pre-launch page, where you can get a notification by email when the Kickstarter begins. Thank you for your support and talk to you later.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Up Up and Away… Red Gum to the Rescue

February 26, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Up Up and Away… Red Gum to the Rescue

Shane (00:02):
Hello, I’m here to talk with Peter from Reverie Comics. He, uh, who’s a regular on Torn. Um, he’s, uh, joined ComX in the ComX 18 month calendar. So we’re here to talk about some of his art, so we know what it is he’ll be bringing to the table. Um, I have a… we’ll just check out one of your pictures. We’ve got Red Gum here. Um, this particular drawing of Red Gum, uh, flying in front of that building. What is it you like about this picture?

Peter (00:36):
Um, I just liked Red Gum’s design. Yep. Uh, I got, then I got the [inaudible] opinion on issue one. When I got the brief from Gary Dellar about what he wanted. It was a very great, it was a character that’s designed by a 14 year old kid that comes to life. Oh, okay. And his name is Red Gum. Alright, so I just sort of got What would I, what would he do and worked off on that side I drew? I basically do it really, really simple and some of the details are my own design there, but, um, it was just as a 14 year old kid, I was copying other superheroes. So essentially I copied Captain America at the start and took off [inaudible] and added that and ended up coming up with that in design the flags on the slaves and all that to get that patriotic sort of Australian look. And, um, it was actually the first form of design I came up with and Gary just said Yes, and we didn’t change it from there. So, so that was good. That was the only one I didn’t redesign. Pardon?

Shane (01:59):
Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just saying, I didn’t realize that you actually designed Red Gum, so that’s pretty cool. Yeah.

Peter (02:06):
Yeah. All the characters in Torn are the design I look for.

New Speaker (02:11):
Oh, okay, great.

Peter (02:13):
Yeah. Um, in, in the first four issues of it anyway. Um, so yeah, basically it was like, here’s what we want, what that look like and then we went from there, so that was a big deal. Um, and the funny thing was Red Gum was one of my early sketches that I didn’t show anybody. Whereas most of the very first ones I did, excuse me, [inaudible] from the time we first drew him, Dylan drew a slightly simplified version of Red Gum we use now. And it’s actually what I do the first time, even though he never saw it, which is kinda weird, considering what I originally drew, which was quite strange. And then yeah, if you know what I mean?

New Speaker (03:15):
Yeah.

Peter (03:17):
Yeah. So in Toby, he’s a bit simpler, but he goes and appears, and then he appears, wakes up in Torn, because probably just drew him with a different routine. And that’s what I originally drew Red Gum is even though I’d never shown anybody that just the normal reoccurences.

Shane (03:37):
Yeah, that is

Peter (03:41):
Sort of couldn’t believe it when I first saw it, you gotta be joking. Um, but yeah, Red Gum, is just this design that I liked,

Shane (03:49):
I like it too.

Peter (03:52):
A lot of people have said they sort of really likely to come up with them. It’s really fun to draw cause he’s never, he never takes off seriously now.

New Speaker (04:02):
Nice.

Peter (04:02):
He’s got that little smirky grin on his face and what not. He’s just a lot of fun to do.

Shane (04:11):
Alright, cool. So what was your inspiration for Red Gum?

Peter (04:19):
Just Captain America.

Shane (04:22):
Yep. Oh, sorry, sorry. Sorry. You already said that. I wasn’t thinking. Okay. Um, were there any challenges during this particular piece?

New Speaker (04:34):
Um, just, you’re going to bet that, if I had it side by side with the original red drawing that I’d done, you’d be really amazed how that does essentially the same pose but a lot better. Um, Actually something I’d like to do is take an old drawing and compare it to a new one just to go, “Oh, okay. I am actually progressing.” That’s good to look back.

Shane (05:04):
Well, it’s, it’s all it flows. So yeah. You wouldn’t see it, the improvement unless you actually can prepare it. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, did you have to learn anything new to, um, do this particular drawing that you’ve got here with him flying?

Peter (05:25):
I think that’s the first time I did some deep focus and stuff like actually using a digital platform more like, cause most of my work I do on, on my Surface are digital. So almost watch things on that. And I think that was the first one I started using that or that like that, as the background, see how they work.

New Speaker (05:46):
Nice.

Peter (05:46):
No, that’s a nice one. And I tried to draw that with a slightly more comedic slant to it than what I normally do. So, so it was a lot simpler than what I normally do. So that was a bit of a challenge. It’s a lot more serious sort of, darker, than how I would draw him

Shane (06:07):
Oh, okay. Um, so I guess this particular picture, um, how will you think it will connect with people?

Peter (06:19):
I just think it’s a little bit of fun. It’s just supposed to be a fun drawing and get an idea that, that it’s a fun character. That’s really all I was aiming for, rather than – What I do, any character, I try to put character into it. I don’t just want to draw and make [inaudible] heroes. That’s got to be, they’ve got to have to be putting something out there.

Shane (06:48):
Yeah. A bit of personality. Yeah,

Peter (06:51):
A bit of personality exactly. That’s that’s the goal: they stay [inaudible] and the hard, the hard part comes when we do an, a comic page with all that. That’s part of the job,

Shane (07:10):
I guess so, that would be tricky. Um, well I like his little smirk it’s. – you can see that he’s having a bit of fun that’s for sure.

Peter (07:19):
My daughter calls it the [inaudible].

Shane (07:24):
No, no, that’s fine. Thank you for your time, Peter. It was great to talk to you about your art. Um, it was very insightful on what goes on behind the scenes. Um, so yeah. Thank you very much. And um, catch you around.

https://ComX.link

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 3 Cover Art

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 3 Cover Art

Shane (00:06):
So here we are looking at the cover of issue three of Battle for Bustle. Um, looks like a man with many, many guns. So what do you like about this piece?

Leigh (00:19):
Uh, the original pencils were done in 2011. Uh, Lennox Hanson is his name and Lennox Hanson is the predominant character of, uh, issue three. He is out of all of my characters, possibly my favourite. Uh, you will see another one of my favourites, Hibiki Gecko at some point, but Lennox is a young man with lots of attitude and, uh, has an awful lot of hands on him, which all hold guns.

Shane (00:58):
Nice.

Leigh (01:00):
He’s an athletic, he’s an athletic fellow and he’s very cheeky. And, uh, I love that piece because I think that sums up [unintelligible] in one shot.

Shane (01:15):
Nice.

Leigh (01:16):
I loved going from blue to red, into green. I thought it worked. And, uh, that the many years I’ve been drawing, that particular image has always against in my mind. And I had always envisioned that as the issue cover.

Shane (01:40):
Oh, okay. So that’s what inspired it or…

Leigh (01:43):
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah. Lennox is, Lennox is cool, man. He’s a, he’s a bloody hell of a character to draw. You know, like my mum said to me the other day, “Why would you draw, uh, so many hands on a man with hundreds of guns?” And I was just like, why wouldn’t you?

Leigh (02:06):
So yeah, no, I’ve always loved Lenox, man. I love that image. It’s a, it’s a very poignant image to me that well, so, yeah.

Shane (02:16):
Cool. So I’m guessing the jive works for you mate.

Leigh (02:21):
Does it work for you?

Shane (02:22):
It does. It does. I wanna, I wanna see the issue now very much so. Um, so I’m guessing the challenges for this where the many hands and many guns… not really any?

Leigh (02:36):
The challenges were not so much the hands and the guns that have, uh, held or it makes green and gray work so that something comes out up at you. Uh, it took a long time. That one, I’ll be honest with you, man. Um, but, uh, there are a few moments where that’s it, that’s it, that’s it? No, it’s not me giving another day or two, you know, so I fumbled around and stuff and come back to it and had to doctor – to darken a gun barrel or that sort of thing, you know?

Leigh (03:21):
And, uh, what’s falling on you I’d reached a point was it was one little thing that, uh, was bothering me and I couldn’t work out what it was and Lennox to me was always someone that would grab a bit of rock or something and scratch something into his gun, you know what I mean, whether it was the “091177” or “Free”, you know, “he will not wear the mask” or, you know, “Free Battle”, you know?

Shane (03:56):
Yep.

Leigh (03:57):
And then I was looking at it one day and I thought, you know what? I’ve never actually busted out a proper swear word, like F*ck in an image in any of the word bubbles or anything. And then in the bottom right-hand corner on one of the guns,

Shane (04:14):
Oh I see it!

Leigh (04:16):
At bottom of the page I dropped the Fck and it slipped right past everyone. And you were all the first people here to know that. Uh, here is a question for everyone that’s listening, but you know, yourself, even as a comic collector and mate, has there ever been a Fck dropped on a cover of any comic before?

Shane (04:48):
Not that I can think of. Not that I can think of. Um, no, not even the mature reader ones. I don’t think have it.

Leigh (04:59):
Well, if anyone would like to, you know, like chuck into the conversation mate, and you know, if they think there’s been one, then that’s cool. Uh, but my, uh, I like to swear, I’ll be honest with you. It’s like Lennox Hanson is one of those characters that I hope everyone has a little piece of that. You know, I feel like that guy, you know, cause he’s a 360 degree tank, mate, you know what I mean? He’s got 120 guns on him. He shoots to the 360 degree angle and whether, figuratively, it’s bullets you want to fire. Sometimes you want to have that confidence as an individual to stand up for yourself and what your personal beliefs are, whether they’re right or wrong or anyone else, but yourself. But you know, you just want to just, “I’m not copping that” Lennox Hansen for me is the character that does that for me.

Shane (06:03):
Very cool.

New Speaker (06:05):
Yeah, I know. So I’m very happy with that cover.

Shane (06:11):
Yep. So I’m guessing that’s how you’re trying to connect with the, uh, the fans and the followers and so forth, not with the, not with the swearing at the bottom, but, um, But with the, uh, the vibe of not the vibe, the, um, I can’t get out the word…

Leigh (06:34):
And what it boils down to man is like, I love in a, if you’ve got no hope, man, whether it’s, you know, I just want people to believe in themselves and have some hope and you know, I’ve picked a dystopian futuristic topic to put my own, you know, self idiosyncrasies, hopes, horrors, you know, like nightmares, uh, out there.

Leigh (07:08):
But before I could connect, I said to someone the other day, I don’t really care if I haven’t sold one comic, as long as it goes to the right person and the right person, I mean by that in a way, having this conversation, you and I, for a reason, and it’s because we love comics and whatever it was, whatever it was that was in the Uncanny X-Men that you read many years ago or whether it was in a relationship with, you know, a father, a mother or a, you know, a girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend, you know, anything you have to just never give up hope.

Leigh (07:56):
And I hope in the oncoming episodes or issues of Battle for Bustle that people do realize, you know, I don’t want it to be negative. I want people to enjoy it. And if one little kid out there looks at it and says, that’s awesome, I want to draw. And I want to ride and I want to do this, then I would be happy, but I would implore them “Don’t wait until you’re 43 to do it.”

Leigh (08:35):
If this is what you want to do, then do it. And that’s how I think the battle for bustle is it can be done on whatever level. However, I don’t know. I mean, I’m no legend or anything that’s far from it, man, 43 year old d*ckhead, really that had no idea that just hopes that people, uh, you know, enjoy it. And if you don’t, that’s cool, but it can do then hopefully that, you know, if one person comes out of it, then that’s, that’s a step in that for comics.

Shane (09:12):
Yeah. True.

Leigh (09:14):
So, and the Australian comic book, industry’s got a lot of great people, a lot of great acts and artists out there, and I’m just very passionate about it. Uh, you know, but I never had a choice. My dad never gave me a choice. He was always, what’s your first comic. And I chose GI Joe, Issue 12, 1983. Uh, I think it was August of that year and the next comic guy napped. Uh, I think the issue was the Uncanny X-Men issue 171, which was August 1983, I believe. And from that point on, I never looked back – I never have. Through dark times. Light times. Love comics, man.

Shane (10:06):
Yeah. Same.

Shane (10:10):
Well, thanks Lee. I, it was great to talk to you. Um, thank you for sharing your thoughts on your artwork. Uh, it was, uh, quite enlightening. So, um, yeah, so that’ll be us for the day. See you later.

Leigh (10:24):
See you man, take care. I hope you’re well, thank you very much for your time.

Shane (10:29):
Thank you.

Shane (10:32):
To check out more of Lee’s stuff, go on over to battleforbustle.com to check out what he’s doing on the calendar. Go to ComX.link. That’ll take you to Kickstarter simply click on the notified button. And this will notify you through email when the Kickstarter begins. Thanks for your support and see you next time.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 2 Cover Art

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 2 Cover Art

Shane (00:06):
So here, I’ve got the cover of number two, uh, Battle for Bustle. Um, what is it about this particular cover that you like?

Leigh (00:21):
The fact that it, the cover itself represented an awakening. You know, you go through the blues and the dark hues and slight yellow. So the first one you come into the second, and it’s red man and I wanted people to realize that, I guess, even though Christopher, isn’t quite where he should be as an individual.

Shane (00:55):
Yep.

Leigh (00:55):
He’s had an awakening there and it’s just an eruption to the next phase of the story, because the first issue can be quite dark, and I wanted to give people the notion that there was Hope.

Shane (01:10):
Yeah.

Leigh (01:10):
Because essentially these comic books are about hope, hope for the individual. Um, I hope I portrayed it correctly. I think I did – sort of in print.

Shane (01:30):
Yep.

Leigh (01:31):
And I really thought it had worked. So, I mean, look, if I could stand up right now, I don’t know if you can see it here. We get it. I’ll get interactive with you, man.

Shane (01:42):
Yep.

Leigh (01:42):
There’s um, hang on Shane, you’re recording this so bear with me. I’m all over the shop, but.

Shane (01:50):
Yeah,

Leigh (01:51):
This here, on this wall is the original idea of the sketch. So cable is on my walls and, uh, that there, if you can say it is the pencil sketch.

Shane (02:14):
Yep. I can just make it out.

Leigh (02:17):
Pardon?

Shane (02:18):
I can just make it out. So yeah.

Leigh (02:19):
Yes, sweet. Well, I came from that drawing where he gets, you know, the ship explodes, the ragged man turn up and he’s got a chance. He never had that chance before and everyone has a chance. So that’s what I hope to portray in that color.

Shane (02:43):
Okay, cool. I like it. So, um, that pretty much probably covers what inspired the piece as well, I guess, unless you’ve got something more to say about that.

Leigh (02:53):
No, not really. I just love painting and I love drawing [inaudible] work. So you just, it’s an instinctual thing. Uh, probably come across as a bit of a wank , yeah, but uh, yeah, it is just instinctual, man. I don’t know. I really don’t know whether it’s right or wrong. It’s just at the time, it’s what I’m feeling. It’s what I think of most honestly, to the best of my ability at that moment represent that story.

Shane (03:26):
Yep. Cool. So with this piece where there were there any challenges, I mean, it looks like this stuff just comes natural to you, but were there any challenges?

Leigh (03:39):
Uh, yeah, but yeah man, they were challenges. First challenge was like, what the hell do I do for the second cover?

Leigh (03:50):
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, that was a challenge in itself. And believe me, people, I close friends and stuff, um, you know, Tam, my mum, you know, Peter, you know, uh, Shane, Jason, like, you know, I have friends that I talk to about this stuff too, you know, just pointing out bumps and stuff on the road and they were all like that, see what you don’t so yeah. Realistically on a I’m sorry, I know this isn’t a kid’s show and I do apologize for that, but know he did get to a point where sometimes you just think that’s [expletive], you know what I mean? I get it, that I’m doing it. So that’s what that’s what happened. So yeah. Yeah. No, that sounds terrible. But um,

Shane (04:47):
No, not at all.

Leigh (04:48):
And mum, if you’re listening, I’m sorry. I dropped the F bomb.

Shane (04:55):
So did you have to learn, did you have to learn anything new to do this painting or was it all stuff you’ve done before?

Leigh (05:07):
I think when I was a younger artist, I used to have this real idea in my head that what was in my mind had to come out on paper and I very quickly realized that doesn’t why it’s happening. I don’t use references. I don’t have models and stuff. So, a lot of the stuff made honestly a hundred percent of the stuff that you see on page is just me bang, bang, drawing, man. I love drawing. And then when I had the two years where I just thought put the pencils, so I’d not started a painting, a real artist.

Leigh (05:53):
You can, you can build on these things. You don’t just have to do it in one hit, you can come back to it in a month. You can come back to it in two months, you know? And I guess that’s what I’m trying to put across is, you know, sometimes things don’t have to be gladly perfect mate, do you know what I mean? Like you just have to put it out there and have, um, I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. It was right for me at the time.

Shane (06:29):
That’s what matters.

Leigh (06:31):
And uh, I suppose I just went with, uh, that ideology, so yeah.

Shane (06:41):
Cool.

Leigh (06:41):
I hope that answers your question.

Shane (06:45):
Yeah. Well good. So how are you trying to connect with fans with this one? If you are at all?

Leigh (06:55):
Oh, I’m always trying to connect with people. Like, I mean, I definitely wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t want to connect with people,

Shane (07:04):
makes sense.

Leigh (07:07):
You know, whether those people reconnect with me is entirely up to the individual, but not going to throw stones at you mate but not, uh, but you know, again, you have to get that little element of luck, I suppose, the marketing side of things and what works better coming after a second issue, which is blue, then the next issue, which is red. So I thought that also worked.

Leigh (07:45):
Okay, cool. It’s um, a very distinct cover that’s for sure. So I like it.

Leigh (07:55):
That was Lee talking about the cover of issue two of Battle for Bustle. If you’d like to check out more of his stuff, go on over to battleforbustle.com. If you’d like to check out his contribution to the calendar, go to ComX.link and that’ll take it into the Kickstarter’s pre-launch page where you can register your interest and, um, get an email when it starts. So, um, thanks for your support and see you later.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 1 Cover Art

February 17, 2021 by Shane Syddall

Leigh Chalker Talks About Battle for Bustle issue 1 Cover Art

Shane (00:02):
Hi, I’m Shane Syddall. I’m from ComX and I’m here today to talk to Lee Chalker about his, um, Battle For Bustle covers, so let’s just get straight into it. Okay, so the first piece we’ve got here is, uh, the cover of issue one of a Battle for Bustle. Is that, did I pronounce that right? I always worried that I’m pronouncing it wrong.

Leigh (00:30):
Yep.

Shane (00:31):
Um, so what is it about this piece that you like? The cover? Have you got them in front of you at all?

Leigh (00:38):
No, I don’t, but I know them, uh, yeah. Uh, made that first issue many years ago, I did a pencil and ink version. Uh, Christopher was not ever meant to be someone that, uh, was all there. So I was sort of a little bit extreme back in the early days when I first started drawing it and had a moment where it was almost like a split into two personalities, you know, like the old Christopher and the new Christopher. And that image always resonated with me, even though I’ve done a few hundred drawings since then and stuff. Uh, and basically, uh, I just saw, you know, I had to come up with the first issue cover and it always stuck with me. And I thought to myself, like, you know what, I’m wrong with that? And doing this stuff, this is what it was an instinctive thing. Um, you know, you can dilly dabble around with lots of drawings and sketches and ideas and that sort of thing. But at the end of the day, man, I have found so far in this whole, um, thing that, uh, whatever the feeling was that I had 20 years ago seems to still be the same feeling of it now.

Leigh (02:02):
So I decided to add some of my drawing, uh, like, you know, a little touch here and there to it, but then I thought, you know what, because I like painting, I love painting – really love painting. And I thought I’m going to have a crack at this, uh, in like, you know, acrylic and with that dime on the, uh, I’ve got an entourage here. There’s a small blonde Kelpie called Lloyd and a, you know, a staffy called easy here as well. Okay. They’re always in this room with me. Um, and I just decided to, just decided to, you know, attack it with acrylic and it came up and I thought like, no, this is it. This is it. If I have to get this first issue out, this is what a one, and this is, It came up.

Leigh (02:56):
Well, I kind of wanted it and that DNI might it say up there, there’s no turning back now. So I’m very proud of the image. I think it’s distinctive for me as a person as well as, as my artwork. So I’m happy with [it].

Shane (03:11):
Yeah, it’s very nice. I like it. It’s what attracted me to the, uh, to the comic in the first place.

Leigh (03:16):
Yeah, that’s cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Cause a few people have said that to me, that have bought it from, uh, the comic book factory, uh, that it, you know, you walk into a comic book shop and you see like thousands of comic books on a wall and realistically, uh, I mean, this is just me, I’m talking about, I’m not talking any other individual opinions, or… Bums mate, everyone’s got one and you know, like say, I’m not a bag at anyone’s artwork, but my love and thought process was, you know, what, what if someone went and stack up the brightest colored comic book they possibly could on the wall of the comic book shop, you know, and I was almost… I contemplated doing a fluorescent comic book with just Battle for Bustle on it, just so to catch people’s eyes. So that’s essentially where, you know, like [inaudible] came from as well, man.

Leigh (04:25):
Um, uh, cause the sad part is it’s not just about artwork. Sometimes you’ve got to think of it, you know, the best way you can control your marketing and in that as well as your own product, if you know what I mean. Cause believe me before, for, from foremost of an artist and I love it, I love comic books. Um, but you do have to give those secondary thoughts to what may just catch someone’s or answer tricky market mate. You know, that is from what you’re trying to do, sometimes you just, uh, haven’t just have a bloody red, hot crack things, man, you know? Yeah. I think that didn’t stop anyone, and if they call you, a fool in the end of the day mate, then so be it. But you know what? We have had a good guy and when we all ended up in that six foot pond box, we’re going to look back and go. We had a short run. [chuckles]

Shane (05:31):
True, true, true.

Shane (05:34):
Um,

Shane (05:34):
So is there anything that say inspired this, look, this, um, this particular style or was it just something you did years ago and you worked on it and worked on it and…

Leigh (05:49):
The original sketches were done in 1996, 1997, just for the characters, just, just ideas mate, you know? Um, and, uh, look, I, honestly, my dad passed away in 1998 and he was a huge influence on me. And at that particular point, uh, in time, I guess I was looking to, uh, you know, give – find some meaning in these things. So self-reflection, uh, understanding and it started off as a small comic. The, the, the original comic was called Drive and it was a drive to keep going, but it was also about a man that, uh, drove around the city where he’d grown up, um, going to those familiar places that he’d been to with his, uh, his dad slash my dad. Um, and I got to about 24, 24 pages and stuff, and I had all these ideas in my head. And at the same time I was, Oh man, madly, almost religiously into like Dune, uh, big novels, world creatives and stuff, you know, and, and just over time, man, uh, I guess, and probably the- man, if you asked me to take this project on now at 43, I’d tell you hell no, but you know, when you’re lucky, young feller and you going through stuff and you know, everyone goes through stuff.

Shane (07:47):
Yeah.

Leigh (07:48):
It just it’s evolved into this, and uh, um, my it’s there’s, look, I’ll be honest with you and I’ve had this discussion with you and I’ve had this discussion with other people. It’s a self autobiographical book set in the science fiction world, uh, based on loss, love, happiness, hope, freedom, you know, all of those things. And I guess that I can’t really put it in any other way than what I’m familiar with. So 091177 is actually me and, uh, there you go. There’s a big reveal, no one’s listening. So yeah, I hope that answered the question.

Shane (08:52):
Yeah it did. More roundabout.

Shane (08:56):
Um, well, the next question is actually about, were there, were there any challenges with this particular piece with the actual artwork itself? Did it just flow? Were there, were there challenges of any sorts? Did you have to learn something new?

Leigh (09:14):
Well, the original piece was done, uh, I don’t have it in front of me, but my recollections of it are being done in about 2000, 2001. Um,

Leigh (09:28):
And there were challenges, always love the drawing, to be honest with you, it was one of those things that just, you know, I was trying to do like big biceps, big, you know, you know, that sort of job, you know, like it that’s cool, but you know, my mind was going in a different direction, you know, and I had those moments where I was just, man, it’s like, boom, it just feels sometimes like you’re not gonna get through it. And, uh, when I had the opportunity to do cover of issue one, it was always drawing. I was going back to, I had been painting instead of drawing for about two years, uh, painting, uh, uh, just painting. I love that man painting. And then I just had the opportunity to do it. And Gary Dellar from, uh, my publisher, you know, Reveriepublications.com.au, excellent dude said, you need to do a cover. And it was always the one that came back to, so that through the acrylic pineapple, I was happy with it and it is where it lies.

Shane (10:46):
Nice. Well, I’m a fan, as I said earlier, so yeah.

Leigh (10:52):
Thank you, Shane. I appreciate that. Not a

Shane (10:54):
Problem. Um, so is there anything like intentional in the art to connect with your fans or would be fans or is it just like you mentioned before the colors to make it stand out on the rack? I would say

Leigh (11:19):
There would not be a single person any way. We’ve all traveled long lives, made short lives, you know, things go on a journey, but there would not be a single moment in anyone’s life, whether it be past, future, present, then you have not that urge to scream and Christopher has that urge in the first issue and Dina. It may come once or twice, three times in your life. Hopefully it never comes at all, but that would be what I would try to portray. I would like to just give people food for thought, man.

Shane (12:15):
Nice.

Shane (12:17):
Well, I can see that I can, now that you’ve said it, it stands out even more than it did before.

Shane (12:23):
Um, so yeah, very nice.

Shane (12:27):
Well, thanks Lee. It was great to talk to you. Um, thank you for sharing your thoughts on your artwork. It was, uh, quite enlightening. So, um, yeah, so that’ll be us for the day. See you later.

Leigh (12:42):
So you man, take care. I hope you’re well, thank you very much for your time.

Shane (12:46):
Thank you.

Shane (12:49):
If you want to get a hold of Lee’s work, just go over to battleforbustle.com and you’ll find his comics and some merchandise I think is available over there as well. Um, if you want to get a hold of his work on the calendar, you’ll need to go to ComX.link and register your interest at the prelaunch page. And you’ll be notified by email of when the Kickstarter starts. So, um, thanks for your support and have a good day.

Work is of these types/genres:-

Talents Include:-

Secondary Talents:-

Titles Contributed To:-

State:-

Social Links :-

Buy work at :-

not yet online

Back to List

–

A Comic Creator or Creative yourself? Add yourself to this website HERE