Painting in NYC

Color keys for Nibelheim, City of Mists, home of the Nibelungs in the opening scenes of Siegfried Book III — and a 3-hour oil-painted portrait sketch I made in Rick Piloco's great class at the Grand Central Academy.

Lolita looks

Model sessions at Joe's and at the Society Of Illustrators.

New York Twilight (Of The Gods)

A view from the studio this afternoon, with a youg Odin on the page! I have resumed work on Siegfried III in NYC. The book comes out next year : 80 pages of drawing bliss, I love working on these characters! I won't show a lot of the actual pages no spoil the surprise, but a few previews, sketches and work in progress should turn up anyway. Stay tuned!

LE TROISIÈME TESTAMENT is out !

After our initial tour together, Robin Recht will be signing in bookstore all over France and Belgium. More about the book on Glénat's official Troisième testament blog !
Thanks to all those who have shown their appreciation and support before and after the release, especialy the good people at Glénat and the retailers we've visited so far.

On to book 2!

FAQ

To all who take the time to write, thank you for your interest!
Here is a FAQ list to cover the most common subjects.

-         Where can I get your books in English ?

Siegfried should be published in English when book 3 comes out.

Le troisième testament is available in 15 languages, sadly English is currently not one of them. Go figure!

-         When is Siegfried 3 coming out ?

Some time next year. The book is 80 pages long and I hope it will be as epic in the reading as it is in the making! It is called Twilight Of The Gods and it is, of course, the end of the story.

-         When is the Siegfried movie coming out ?

The film has been developed but actual production will not start before I finish the graphic novel series – hopefully next year, then.

-         Do you do commission drawings ?

Not for the moment, I want to spend as much time as I can telling my stories.

-         Can you sign my book if I send it to you ?

No, but I’d be glad to draw a little something for you during a signing session.

Do you do signing sessions?

Yes, when a book comes out. My publishers handle the dates.

-         Pourquoi ce blog est-il en anglais ?

Je vis en ce moment aux Etats-Unis, ce blog est consulté par des non-francophones, et une version bilingue me prendrait trop de temps. Je préfère donc assassiner Sheakspeare et épargner Racine pour l’instant.

LE TROISIÈME TESTAMENT coming soon!

Buzy first days of september, as I just spent a couple of days in New York to move out of my 4th Street atelier, to relocate in 3rd Street a couple of blocks away.
The very last days over there were spent finishing the cover to the Troisième testament deluxe edition, an oversized black and white verison of the book, soon to be available at BD Must in a very limited number of copies.

...And here is the finished cover. As usual with my oil paintings, it's about a month's work. It was painted on a sturdy wood panel in order not to let the canvas texture get in the way of details.

...And I did get to work on the details.

More on the "Troisième testament"as we come close to the release on September the 28th !

LE TROISIÈME TESTAMENT Sketches

Although Robin Recht is the artist for the new Troisième testament book, I have been helping him on a few panels of a somewhat delicate nature. Here are some of the quick sketches I did, including a design for a very special kopesh sword...

Troisième testament color keys

Here are color sketches I did for one of the romantic sequences in "Le Troisième testament : Julius". Robin Recht (drawing) and François Lapierre (colors) are wrapping up the book this week. It's exciting to see this whole process finally coming together so beautifuly, thanks to these guy's talents!
Glénat, the publisher, should open a website this month with proper visuals from the book.

LE TROISIÈME TESTAMENT COVER ART REVEALED

Coming 09-29!

"Le Troisième testament" color keys

Live model sessions in Dumbo, Brooklyn

ANOTHER "TROISIÈME TESTAMENT" COLOR KEY / SET DESIGN

This is the Judean rebel hideout at the end of book 1.

LE TROISIÈME TESTAMENT COLOR KEYS

Inspired by a wonderful time in Barcelona (thanks to Jose & Felix, hi Matteo & Kenny!), I set out to paint a couple of sketches for the troisième testament prequel. The colors of the book will be by the excellent François Lapierre, who he is kind enough to let me contribute with ideas as they come along.

These will also give you a sense of the scale we're going for in this story. More in the next few weeks as we wrap up this epic volume!

Barcelona Signing

On May 6-9, I'll be traveling back to Europe for a few days. I'll be signing my books at the Barcelona comic fair with my two spanish publishers, Norma and Glénat. It will be the first time I meet spanish readers, I hope my spanish isn't too rusty. I'll be sure to visit the Sagrada Famila again, see how the construction has progressed. Last time I was in Barcelona was on my way to Toledo, where I did extensive research for El Tercer Testamento book 2...

(gracias Teobaldo Mulin)

Live model sessions in NYC

Pencil and gouache, from the tuesday "sketch nights" sessions at the Society of Illustrators, NYC

WRITING AN EPIC

I am curently finishing writing and storyboarding my next book, "Julius"- A roman epic four years in the making, and a prequel to "Le Troisième testament".
Drawn by Robin Recht and co-written by Xavier Dorison, book 1 comes out in September.

Sieglinde

From Siegfried book 1 : special edition
Available as a poster from Momie Folie

Live model sessions in Dumbo, Brooklyn

(Thank you Liam!)

"Le Troisième testament" Teaser poster

If you attend the Angoulême festival this week, keep an eye out for this...

EX-LIBRIS

Walkyrie ex-libris for the Fantasmagories bookshop in Paris - soon to be numbered and signed.

See "AGORA" !

It is a deeply moving film about reason and faith, set in IVth century Alexandria.
I never planned on using this blog to advertise my tastes, but this film brilliantly succeeds in conveying a lot of the themes, ideas and feelings I'm trying to go for in my stories... and... well, I just want people to see it. No US release is scheduled (yet), but keep an eye out if you want to see the most intelligent and moving roman epic since Spartacus.

Le troisième testament II cover preview

Work in progress : this is a close up on the cover of Julius, the upcoming sequel to the trosième testament. The first series was a medieval mistery in the wake of The Name of the Rose, this new cycle is a roman epic on a grand scale- with a twist.

SIEGFRIED nominated for Angoulême 2010

La Walkyrie : Siegfried II is part of the official selection for the Angoulême awards, including the "prix du public". The full selection here.

Coming soon

La Walkyrie plus 72 bonus pages, images and interviews (see previews in older posts)

In stores in France 14.01.2010

Happy New Year everyone !