Printing Complete!

In the last few weeks I've been overseeing the printing process on Siegfried, thanks to the great Joëlle Remy from Dargaud.
Printing is not an exact science, and more often than not choices have to be made on location. Since 8 to 16 pages are printed on a sigle sheet of paper, they cannot all be a perfect match. It's up to the artist to give priorities to certain parts of the book and so the only choice if you want the book to reflect you vision... is to be there.
I'm very pleased with the work that's been done on book III at PPO, they are patient and committed to doing a top-notch job. A lot of pages came out better than expected, thanks to Bernard and all the "drivers".
Here are a few shots taken on location...

The Colors of Twilight

The drawing part of Siegfried book III is almost finished, and now I'm finally able to flesh it out in color. It's a very satisfying time, when months of work finaly come to life in heir final form. Shown here are two pages from the opening of the book, evoking the birth of the world and Odin's initiation. These pages actually work as "bookends" to the whole sequence.

From a technical standpoint, this is watercolor on Sennelier hot pressed watercolor paper - where the black and white drawing has been printed by my friendly publisher. A transparent film (also printed in black) comes on top of the color to keep the line clear. That's Old School for you!
I find it's still the best way to keep both the richness of watercolor and the "easy reading" quality of line work.

"TWILIGHT OF THE GODS" preview

The Castle of Mist in the heart of Nibelheim - the underground realm of the Nibelungs. Stalactites, crystals, giant fungi... Jules Verne's Journey To The Center Of The Earth" is never far from my mind.
Original size : 55x42 cm

Ragnarök

In order to keep up with 2012's End of the World, I'm happy to announce The Twilight Of The Gods, last book in the Siegfried trilogy. It will come out in 2011, so you can read it in light of a dying sun, before the stars fall down and a wolf eats the moon. Happy New Year to all !

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.

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!