All Nighter- Sketches and Drawings of David Hahn

ACHTUNG! NEW SKETCHBLOG LOCATION

2010-02-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

Blogspot has served me well, but I am going to attempt to make my sketch blog part of my regular website/online portfolio. So for future updates, please go to
davidhahnart.com and click on the 'blog' category. Thank you.

2010: The Year We Make Contract

2010-01-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

This year is staring off pretty well. I am continuing to do work on MURDERLAND, as well as sink my teeth into another creator-owned comic for Image Comics with my partner, comedian John Roy (http://www.johnroylive.com/). I am also contributing to the Image anthology POPGUN on a really zany story written and created by ThreeOneFive Studios. Below is stuff to remain nameless for now.

Teen-aged Girls. That is all.

2009-12-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Drawing teen girls is something that I am occasionally called upon to do as an illustrator. It's a living. This piece was done as a sample for a proposal, which I cannot name now. Background by Google Sketchup.

Sketchy Heads

2009-11-28T12:07:00.000-08:00

Dang, it's been nearly a month since my last update. Here are sketchbook heads for MURDERLAND, as well as a penciled page I did for a 16 pager for Marvel a couple years ago with Karl Kesel. It was a fun two-part story called THE MASKED MARVEL, Karl wrote, I drew.

So Much To Do...

2009-10-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

...so little time to design Nazi zombies. Super busy with inking work for WildStorm and Vertigo, as well as other side projects, but here are some preliminary sketches for a little something, and one of my pencil pages for MURDERLAND for Image Comics. And yet ANOTHER idea for a vampire pitch.

Meeeoooowrrrr!

2009-10-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Cat fight, ouch! Panels from the MURDERLAND project I am working on in my spare time with writer S. Scott for Image Comics. Also been busy with inks for Madame Xanadu (Vertigo) and Red Herring (WildStorm). I still have a load of stuff I am dying to post, but can't yet. Stay tuned...

Cheater

2009-09-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yeah, this post is a cheat. These are pages from the BITE CLUB sequel I drew back in 2006, not new drawings. However, because I am drawing a crime noir book for Image at the moment, I thought it would be cool to post some of my other crime noir stuff, and in the rarely seen black and white format.

La Femme in Space

2009-09-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a sketch I sold at the San Diego Comic Con International this year. Nothing particular, just the bust of a woman in a spacesuit.

Criminal Activity in Bodymore, Murderland

2009-09-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some pages from a crime noir comic I am working on tentatively called MURDERLAND. Sorry they are so small.

And Then There's Mod

2009-09-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Relating to nothing, I drew this entirely digitally in about two hours when I should've been working.

Beltway Jungle

2009-09-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

These are some quick inspirational pieces I did for a pitch I've been working on. The story takes place in a future where the swamp Washington DC was built on is claiming the made-made structures there.

Less Talk, More Baseball

2009-08-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

I know I keep promising to post all kinds of stuff other than sketchbook material, and that time will come soon. I have a few new Image projects I am going to be working on over the next year as well as something else I am hoping to get off of the ground.

In the meantime, two panels form RED HERRING as well as something I threw together for fun, inspired by Phil Noto's sketchbook, which was, in turn, inspired by pulp novel covers of the 1960's.

Ahh, the Heads

2009-08-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just a bunch of sketchy heads. More stuff with some content that is not sketchy heads to be posted soon, I promise. The WildStorm book I worked on with Philip Bond, David Tischman, Guy Major, and Rob Leigh called RED HERRING (issue # 1) was released in stores last Wednesday. People seem to like it...and so can you. Go get some RED HERRING!

And for Jesse Hamm:

Just a coincidence that my pink sketch looks like her, but wow.

Ting!

2009-08-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

More designs for a TBA character and story.

Chicas

2009-08-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of designing characters for some projects I have coming up, and here are a few unlabeled sketches of assorted cuties. The first drawing, however, is a convention drawing I did of Mary Jane Watson.

Speaking of cuties, I purchased the Phil Noto sketchbook, TRANS AM CHAMPIONS, in San Diego recently and must say it is a wonderful book. Great retro paperback style illustrations, just good art to behold.

The Fantastic Four

2009-08-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the Fantastic Four piece I drew, all colored up by gifted colorist, Christina Strain.

Quickie

2009-08-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Not much time to post today, but San Diego Comic-Con was great. I have a lot of good news and potential good news that I hope to write about soon. Lots of new sketches to post here as well. For now, here is some stuff that has built up in my sketchbook over the last week or so.

Comic-Con International 2009 San Diego

2009-07-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'll be there, Artists' Alley, FF-18. I will be selling my newest LATE NIGHTER Sketchbook, which contains many of the drawings that have appeared on this site. Also, a colored print version of the Fantastic Four drawing below (colored by the incomparable Christina Strain) will also be for sale. Please come by and say hi. I mean it. Also, come with a blank piece of paper to the WildStorm booth at the times below and I'll draw you a free sketch. I mean that, too.

THURSDAY
4-5pm – SIGNING: WS booth

FRIDAY
11am-12pm – SIGNING: WS booth

SATURDAY
2-3pm – SIGNING: WS booth

A Smattering

2009-07-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

I am swamped with work in preparation for Comic Con International in San Diego this July, so I haven't been able to update this blog as often as I would like. Sooo, here is a bunch of assorted sketchbook stuff, a water color experiment, and a pencilled ALL NIGHTER double-page spread. Many of the sketches I've posted on this blog will be available for sale in booklet format at my table in Artists Alley in San Diego.

My Turn to Destroy the World, pt. 2

2009-06-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here is page two of my cleansed earth story, page one can be seen here:
http://davidjhahn.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-turn-to-destroy-world.html

I love hovercrafts, and women in camouflage bikini tops, so I made sure to incorporate both of them in to my story. What we don't see is the bitchin' robot design I finally came up with. I'll save that for a later post, along with the cool 3d model of said robot that our intern, Peter, created for me.

Drink and Draw

2009-06-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was the Drink and Draw Portland Chapter's monthly get together at Madison's Pub (or Place or Joint, can't remember which). I also don't know the official name of the Drink and Draw group, as I am sure there are many other Drink and Draw groups here in cartoonist-saturated Portland. I usually manage to make it to about every third meeting.

Here are the results of about three hours of drinking and drawing. My beers were some sort of pale ale and I ate a Greek chicken pita wrap. Because these get togethers happen in pubs, the lighting is always dim and detrimental. I get tired of straining my eyes and usually end up not finishing each sketch.

▲ I don't know who these people are, but the woman looks spooked. Or spooky.

▲ Yeah, I don't know.

▲ I think this is Superman. Yeah, definitely Superman.

▲ Some monster guys. I think I am most happy with these fellows as they just sort of came from nowhere when I put pen to paper. All three seem to have personality.

Anxious Pencil

2009-06-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've been busy working on the WildStorm book, RED HERRING, with Philip Bond and David Tischman, which is currently in this month's PREVIEWS catalog. The sketches below are just some warm up drawings I did this morning.

Robot Parts and the Lady

2009-06-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

For a graphic novel proposal I am putting together, I need to design a robot character. I haven't completed the final design yet, but here are some of my sketches that show the process I am going through. Not an easy thing to design a robot that looks cool, looks believable, and is easy to draw over and over again.

☝Okay, this is obviously not a robot design, but I don't hear any complaints.

☝Not sure exactly what I want my robot to look like, I just start out with simple silhouettes to get me started. The robot's primary function is as a support machine to human soldiers in the field. It can carry equipment, scout, and fire a weapon if need be.

☝As a type of beast of burden, I gave it a hunched over look. But it (okay, let's say it's a 'he'), he, looks too much like the original Iron Man, so I moved away from this look in my next refinement.

☝I want his mechanics to look functional, so I opted to have exposed rotary joints for his shoulders and pelvis. His overall shape looks a little like the Drej from EARTH A.D., so I might tweak his silhouette in my next draft.

That's it for now.

Sketchy Personalities

2009-05-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

Here is something that was part of my pitch proposal for the completed-but-in-limbo graphic novel for DC called ALL NIGHTER. The character, Martha Roeder, is partially modeled after a juvenile delinquent girl I went to high school with who was murdered a few years after graduation. The other sketches are pieces of pencil pages for a WildStorm project I am working on called RED HERRING. I am not sure when RED HERRING will be solicited, but when it is closer to that time, I will post more art from it. I wish I could be clever here, but I am much too tired. So, ta.

Unfinished Bizness

2009-05-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just an unfinished sketch and junk from my book. I've several irons in the fire for upcoming art projects, so more art to be posted soon.

Upper Kingdom
Lower Kingdom

Red, White, and Black

2009-05-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Just some stuff from current sketchbook, with some digital modifications. I really want to do a black and white comic book again, and ink it loosey goosey (well, loose for me anyway).

Night Flyers

2009-05-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, these panels aren't exactly new, but I am proud of them, so here they are. They were from a 48 page comic I wrote and drew called SERINA: PHARAOH'S ASSASSIN back in 2000. These panels are totally inspired by my all-time favorite comic designer and artist, Alex Toth.

My Turn to Destroy the World

2009-04-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am pitching a graphic album to some European publishers. The story, not surprisingly, takes place after an epidemic wipes out most of humanity. Swine flu, maybe? This is the first page of the art for the pitch, three more will follow.

One Hour Page

2009-04-26T13:43:00.001-07:00

Not much to post today, I've been busy with work and pitches and social obligations the past week. I am trying, with my art, to play with page design and composition, and to loosen up a bit with my ink lines. I have always believed that tight, slick lines are what it takes to get noticed in the comic business. Yet, when I look at my favorite artists, I see that they are not fretting over the 'cleanness' of their work, but rather giving the most thought to the forms beneath. So I decided to ink a little more from the gut.

Below is a page I pencilled and inked in a little over an hour on 6.75" x 10.25" paper. This was an exercise I gave myself to see how fast I could take a flash of an idea (in this case, a guy in a boat), and throw it down on paper without giving thought to making it look clean and pretty. I just wanted to to play with raw shapes and composition. What started out as "a guy in a boat" came out as something moody and sinister. Though I don't consider the quality of the drawing publishable by my standards, it was a fun way to force myself not to think about line weights and cleanness so much.

Under that are just some heads.

The All Nighter Players

2009-04-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

These are promotional head shots I did of characters from my graphic novel, ALL NIGHTER (currently complete and in limbo at DC Comics.) I don't know when these kids will see the light of day in print form.

kit
dwayne
martha
jim
sally-o

Pitch Fetish

2009-04-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am madly pencilling and inking away on the David Tischman/Philip Bond WildStorm project, RED HERRING. But I take breaks to do other stuff, like the pitch art below for a rock n' roll adventure comic.

Skinny Diver

2009-04-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

This was a piece I did for the 2009 Emerald City ComicCon Artbook. The theme was monsters and dames. Yeah, monsters. Whatever.

Gray Area

2009-04-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some scans of various comissioned drawings I did at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle this weekend. They each took around an hour to draw and were toned with shades of cool gray Prismacolor alcohol markers on 8.5" x 11" bright cardstock paper. The convention was fun, but a two day diet of Top Pot donuts only sounds good on paper.

Here, the request was to do my take on any Iron Man costume, so I did my own simple version of War Machine

Devil Woman Assassin. Yeah.

I'm not too happy with Catwoman's right hand resting on her hip like that

Until Monday

2009-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

I will be a guest at the Emerald City Comic Con this weekend in Seattle, WA (www.emeraldcitycomicon.com). Come by my table (F-05) and say hello. I will have plenty of stuff to post next week, but in the mean time, here are some low rez pics of my yet-to-be-published graphic novel, ALL NIGHTER. It is currently still licensed to DC Comics, but DC still has yet to decide what to do with it. I know what they can do with it. Finish lettering it and get it published!

Hulk, Firestar, and Co.

2009-03-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is a piece of unused pitch art from a piece Paul Tobin and I knocked around a couple years ago. It's old, but what the hay.

Forgot to Draw the Kitchen Sink

2009-03-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some panels from a short story I drew for Vertigo, House of Mystery #15. The story was written by Matthew Sturges. You'll just have to read it when it comes out. So there.

And here is me at my job before I drew comics, wishing I was drawing comics. Yeah, yeah...SCRUBS

photo by Tony Couture, used without permission

Gorilla in Spacesuit About to Clean Hitler's Clock

2009-03-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

A gorilla in a spacesuit about to clean Hitler's clock, from my sketchbook. That is all.

Make Out Session

2009-03-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since my last post, but I've been working on drawings that are not yet cleared for public viewing.

FABLES #82 from DC/VERTIGO comics is in stores today, written by Bill Willingham and with 17 pages of art by me and Lee Loughridge.

I am ramping up for my appearance at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle in April as well as chipping away on inks and pencils on a yet-to-be-announced WildStorm book. I am also drawing a short story for an upcoming issue of House of Mystery, written by Matthew Sturges.

No comment on the WATCHMEN movie, as I won't see it until this weekend and by then no one will care what I have to say (as if they would care now).

Below is the cover for the comic that I've posted art samples from previously. It's called ARABBER and is written by Stephen Scott, colored by Guillem Mari, and drawn by me. It takes place in and around Baltimore, Maryland, and Stephen is just putting the finishing touches on the pitch to shop to publishers. More news as it develops.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" good book, fair movie, awful song.

2009-02-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here are pages from a previous post colored by the awesome Guillem Mari, my partner in crime on an arc of Fantastic Four. This is for a pitch by writer Stephen Scott. I am also in the process of doing character sketches for another promising pitch and I will post them as I complete. This weekend, I am putting the finishing touches on two more pitches and cleaning house. I will spare blogger and Twitter followers the details of the house cleaning. As long they promise to do the same.

My pals Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler's book, MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE is getting a lot praise and misspellings (Mysterious) and it is my new favorite comic book right now.

My wife suspects our mailman is hoarding mail.

It's Started Already

2009-02-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

As I was getting ready for bed last night, an idea for a comic mini-series popped into my brain. And yes, I was brushing my teeth when it happened. I think I ended up brushing my teeth for almost 15 minutes. I couldn't fall asleep, as the story just started writing itself in my head. Today, it almost completely gelled and with a little focused time on it, it will be ready to pitch. I wish they were all this easy. Now I am paranoid that someone else has already thought of it.

Okay, below is a smattering of things that have built up in my sketch book the past week.

A Day of Good Fortune

2009-02-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

I can tell that this is going to be a good year for me, career-wise in particular. I am bursting with ideas for comics and graphic novels that I am in the process of compiling my pitches to deliver to my editors at DC Comics and Image Comics. I am seeing the hard work my peers have done in the past years paying off for them (that's YOU, Jeff Parker) and it is nothing short of inspiring for me.

And speaking of inspiring, I had lunch at Subway today (yes, one of the 5 gram/low fat sandwiches), and the guy in front of me in line was having every possible ingredient put on his sub, and I mean EVERY single vegetable that he could get without paying extra. That thing was towering so high with jalapenos that the sandwich artist couldn't put the top part of the roll back on. She had to wrap it separately. I was in awe that this guy really ordered this thing. Looking at that skillfully crafted mountain of mayo and olives brought a huge smile to my face. Better him eat that thing than me. Then, as if my day wasn't already good enough, I overheard this gem from a group of office workers behind me:

"My boss gave me, like, this long list of specific random stuff to do today."

I hope looking up the words 'specific' and 'random' in the dictionary were at the top of the list.

Underworst 3: Rise of the Lycans

2009-01-31T23:09:00.000-08:00

My friend and studio mate, Jesse Hamm, got me to go see Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans. The first Underworld movie was entertaining enough (though, from what I remember, there seemed to be a lot of scenes of characters dramatically throwing open big creaky doors) and I never saw the second. This installment was predictably mediocre. The first half of the movie lacked any type of B story, so we end up just following the same characters around, on the same set, from one scene to the next, to the next. It got boring fast. I still am baffled that the actor who has played Tony Blair and David Frost is back playing... a werewolf. I suspect a three picture contractual obligation here.

Anyway, I have been busy on my DC books, so I don't have much to offer in way of sketches to post. Soooo, my post today is art from a pitch I drew a few months ago, from a script by writer Stephen Scott. It's a bizarre crime noir story and I plan to post color pages soon.

Animal Farm

2009-01-25T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am drawing a scene of farm animals meeting in a barn for one of my books, so here are some of the miscellaneous penciled characters.

Yeah..

2009-01-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

Old pitch stuff. Not exactly new, but I like sharing this with people. People like you.

Spidey-Stuff

2009-01-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

I was doing some housekeeping on my computer and came across some files I forgot I had. Here is a page of sketches I showed my Marvel editors Mark Paniccia and Nate Cosby back when I started my run on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. I also came across art I did for the hardcover Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane volume 2 book.

Woman in Raingear

2009-01-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

This is just a warm up sketch I did before starting work today (that's work for YOU, Scott Peterson). Not sure what I will do with this, but I will post final results regardless. And the movie from the previous post is "The Rock".

Home Studio

2009-01-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

No sketch today, but here are some photos of my home studio. I defy anyone to guess correctly the movie on the TV. Answer tomorrow.

Half Pints

2009-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here's one of the pages I received today from the colorist for MAFF #44. This is one of my favorites from the issue because not only is The Thing shrunk down and kickin' butt like the flea in the Pink Panther cartoon, but The Human Torch is flitting around like Tinkerbell.

Out From Under, Sort Of...

2009-01-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just wrapped up pencilling and *inking* 22 pages of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #44 in just over four weeks, during the holidays no less. Whew! The past week has not afforded me time to draw much in my sketchbook or post. During that time I have also been nibbling on the edges of a Vertigo Fables issue that I am drawing (#82) and a Wildstorm book, to be announced. Soooo, all I really have to post today are a couple of panels from the Fantastic Four and some panels from my graphic novel ALL NIGHTER (which is in DC limbo at the moment).

Fantastic Four

All Nighter

Misc.

2008-12-29T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Thing pencil drawing from Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #44 panel, contrast adjusted to look like it's been inked. And a woman shocked by her credit card bill.

More Storms Predicted

2008-12-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

And here they are, Sue and Johnny Storm, sketched and inked. Sue's boots are faded to show, in my primitive way, that she is turning invisible.

Sketchy Behavior

2008-12-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

For the next week and a half, I have three projects overlapping each other: penciling/inking Fantastic Four, penciling/inking issues from a TBA Wildstorm mini-series, and penciling/inking a 17 page Fables story for Vertigo. All just in time for the holidays, but I am not complaining, given the economy. And, here in Portland, OR, we are still snowed in, so I have the time to do nothing but draw.

Today's post are some panel roughs for The Fantastic Four, which I will later blow up and trace and tighten. Just for fun, I re-sketched the figure of Sue, larger. I am happier with the smaller figure, which has a spontaneity and energy in the pose that the larger drawing lacks. I also gave her a knife. And different hair. I guess she's not really Sue anymore.

Rough Women

2008-12-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Just some roughs of women. I've been having a fun and busy week, been snowing a lot here lately. Lots of drawing, shopping, and time with family.

Perky Commie

2008-12-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

This is something I was fooling around with a few weeks ago. Just scanned a small sketch from my sketchbook and colored in Photoshop.

Sue Storm

2008-12-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

One of the panels in my current Fantastic Four issues calls for a panel of Sue Storm, just hanging out in the Baxter Building reading while her phone rings. I thought it was a nice image, so I posted it here. Again, this is a penciled drawing that has been adjusted to be dark for photo readiness.

Stern Brunette

2008-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

I ink using ballpoint, gel, and rollerball tipped pens. The best pens, I have learned, are gel pens from Japan that I get at Kunikuniya, a Japanese bookstore in my area. Importing pens from Japan isn't always timely, so I am always experimenting using different brands that I can find easily at Office Depot or other similar store. The biggest hurdle in finding the right pen is finding one in which the ink doesn't bead up or 'skip' when drawing directly on the graphite on the paper. When I get a new pack of pens, I will open up my sketchbook and start inking various drawings I previously rendered in pencil. If I bought a pack of pens that don't work out for me, I relegate them to be used for crazy things like writing checks or grocery lists.

This image is one of my "let's test out this pen" inks.

(BTW, the pen used here was a Japanese Uni-ball Signo .35, for those of you dying to know)

Sketchy Merbabe

2008-12-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

This is a preliminary sketch for a series of mermaid drawings I am doing.

Knuckle Cracking

2008-12-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

A couple of pages of warm up drawings. I spent maybe 15- 20 minutes on each page.

Pencils to Inks Done Digtially

2008-12-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Usually, for my comics, I pencil and ink traditionally, like most artists (of course, my version of traditional inking is using ball point gel pens almost exclusively). However, for my current issue of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, there is a tight deadline and no real time for standard inking. In these situations, editors can opt for 'enhanced pencils', which means tight pencils with the contrast computer adjusted so it's high enough to darken the grays for print.

Here are before and after examples. Though I am pleased with the end result, I still prefer traditional inking. In the case of this issue, I decided to only spot blacks on the characters themselves throughout the book, and not on background or foreground elements.

Fresh Start

2008-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Having once, years ago, been fairly good at keeping a sketch blog, I've decided to give it another go. Since the birth of my daughter in 2005, there just hasn't been the time, but now that she is older, I think I can manage to squeeze in a sketch and rambling every couple of days. Here goes...