Stiles of Art: CONSTANTINE

In late November (29^th), of 2021 I received an email from Hero Complex Gallery inviting me to participate in their upcoming ‘Covers’ group show. At first, I wasn’t sure I would be able to participate. I had several other obligations including two conventions, and two other gallery shows. It was a tight fit for sure, but I managed to squeeze the project in quickly. Its development is another story…

As December was coming to a close I had yet to start the project for this show, nor did I accept participation yet. I wanted to make sure I didn’t overwhelm myself, and I also had no idea what to create. The concept was amazing, as were the examples the gallery provided, however it was also very broad. Initially, I was going to base the project around either a popular song, or movie but while brainstorming I recalled a conversation from the comic convention I exhibited at earlier in month. At the event, my neighbor Mark (of Lesser Known Comics), spoke with me briefly, and I recall expressing interest in illustrating covers. It dawned on me then, that I should merge those two concepts, and showcase my talents. Create the job you want, right? Something like that…

I quickly picked 2005’s adaptation of DC and Vertigo Comics “Constantine” starring Keanu Reeves, and Rachel Weisz. The movie also stars some other lesser knowns like Academy Award Winner Tilda Swinton, Disney kid Shia LeBeouf, Marvel’s Djimon Hounsou, and some guy named Gavin Rossdale who was in an obscure band called ‘Bush’. I kid, because those stars are HUGE. The movie is pretty damn good too. I’m not a purist (I read Marvel), so I have no idea if it follows the storylines from any of the books, but I immediately became a fan of the character, and not just the movie (#MattRyan).

With the due date quickly approaching (January 21^st, 2022), I set to work on the piece. I developed the image entirely in my iPad in Procreate using the Sketching 6B brush. I had settled on a layout quickly, with ‘John (Constantine)’ being central, and using his trench coat as a framing device to contain the numerous characters we meet along his journey. After some initial sketching of where I was going to place my images I began collecting reference, and rewatched the film a handful of times. I wanted to capture the film properly so I often review a movie, or series multiple times before I ever finish a piece. I look for what ‘speaks’ to me, and determine then, or on a repeat viewing, what I want to include in order to represent the narrative accurately. It’s an oddly enjoyable process, which maybe sound terrible to others, but most of the selections I make are rooted in personal preference.

Having collected my imagery I was ready to start working on my renderings. I decided that this piece, in part to its rapidly approaching due date, was going to be slightly experimental. I was going to pencil render (digitally), all the vignettes, and add minimal color afterwards. Most of the renderings came along quickly, with a few (‘Chas Kramer’/Shia & ‘Papa Midnite’/Djimon), giving me an exceptional amount of trouble. Resolving what I could, I moved on to the color process and made some final adjustments in Adobe Photoshop (scale/placement/color, as I would learn early on making scale adjustments specifically in Procreate is a bad idea as the device ruins the crispness of your line work). I also vectored the title font in illustrator along with all the other ‘comic book’ cover ‘elements’ (barcode and issue number). I was asked to include ‘Easter Eggs’ in the piece if possible, and there are a few, some more obvious than others. Take a close look at the piece, you never know what you might discover.

Upon completing the illustration, I sent it to SGX for proofing. Since the due date was so close (January 21^st, 2022), I ended opting for the gallery to print the image on demand, as well as select the edition limits for it. Originally the piece was scaled to an aspect ratio of a standard comic book (6.88”x 10.5”) however the gallery pointed out that it would most likely perform better at a more traditional size. This made sense, and I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking as ultimately it was going to be sold as an image, not a book so the size didn’t need to be authentic. I had to make several adjustments to the file, before I was able to get Hero Complex Gallery a version that they could use. It was a bit more complicated than I expected, and the number of uploads it took to correct the issues is embarrassing. Live and learn I suppose.

The final piece is 11” x 17” and exclusively featured at Hero Complex Gallery’s “Covers (2022)” which opened online May 14^th, 2022. Please check the gallery’s website for all available works related to show, including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting/crafting or painting.