TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA COLORS for Guy Gilchrist

Different layers used in Photoshop during the coloring process. Drawing by Guy Gilchrist, Colors by Philip A. Buck.

    Hello everyone! Here's something I've been meaning to share for a bit. I've been doing some color work for Guy Gilchrist lately. He did tons of the classic merchandise art for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the past & creates new pieces to sell as commissions or prints. I was super excited when he asked if I'd do the colors for his latest "full cast" turtles illustration. In the animated GIF above, you can see the layer breakdown I used for shadows, highlights & textures in Photoshop. Of course, there was a lot of work between these steps.

The TMNT cast in a rooftop scene drawn by Guy Gilchrist.

    Here is the black & white ink drawing Guy Gilchrist sent to me for colors. It's already impressive as is, wouldn't you agree?  

Character Color Reference

    When I'm coloring preexisting characters, I'll often gather together color samples & reference images into one page that I can leave open while working. I used this reference page to narrow down the colors that I'll use the most. Are the turtles bright lime green or dark forest green?! Since there's been many different versions of the TMNT characters' colors (even just in the 80's & 90's cartoon style,) this page helped me find a "common ground" for each individual color. I wanted colors that were similar enough to each version of the cartoon turtles that they wouldn't stand out as "odd" if the viewer was only used to one of the versions above.

Drawing by Guy Gilchrist, Colors by Philip A. Buck

The TMNT cast,  the final image, Drawing by Guy Gilchrist, Colors by Philip A. Buck

    After finishing the colors & sending the image to Guy, he realized the picture's dimensions were incorrect for the size prints he was making. The solution? He had me add extra cloudy skies to the top. I think it gives it more drama & compositional "breathing room." What a thrill to work on a Gilchrist TMNT piece! (And there were more to follow!)
 
    Thanks for checking in for this quick look at the process. If you have any questions or comments you can leave them in the comments section below. Until next post, Cowabunga! & God bless, you guys & HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GUY!

A Quick Peek Behind the Scenes of Coloring "Brother Rock"

Coloring some more #BrotherRock (by @guyfgilchrist & Randy Gabbard.) It takes longer than this, haha! 

A video posted by Philip A. Buck (@philipabuck) on Jan 20, 2017 at 2:39pm PST

    Hi everybody! I just wanted to pop in & share some of the very quick peeks at my coloring process that I've been sharing on social media. Above is a video demonstrating the layers I use in Photoshop.
   

   Here's some more step by step progress of my color work for the Brother Rock comic strip by Guy Gilchrist & Randy Gabbard. I first added his "base colors" or "Flats," then the background colors & finally, the shadows. These little ducks are so much fun! You can find more Brother Rock on the Facebook page, in my portfolio & on this site. Until next time, God bless!

Schoolism!

A detail of a storyboard assignment in which we depict how we came to take a Schoolism class.

Rough storyboard interpretations of a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much.

I may or may not have mentioned this here on the site, but it's something I'm super excited about. Recently I had the great fortune of randomly winning a free year's subscription to classes through Schoolism! I was, of course, shocked & thrilled. The last time I won something online, it was a shirt that didn't fit. This is better. A whole stinkin' lot better!

   Here's some rough work for the Schoolism Storyboarding class I'm taking! Such an interesting course! Thanks Bobby Chiu (founder of Schoolism,) & Kris Pearn (the amazing pro teaching the course!) It's never to late to learn a new skill & doesn't hurt when it's one you find super interesting & it's taught well!

NOTES!

    For better or worse, I'm a big time note-taker. Lots of notes from the last 2 storyboarding lessons through Schoolism. So much knowledge! Such messy handwriting!

A finished storyboard page from one of the assignments.

    I hoping to post some of the finished storyboard assignments on here soon. I'd really be interested in you guys's thoughts & any constructive criticism you may have. This class is fun, but is also certainly a challenge. It's easy to see I still have much to learn- And I'm Looking Forward To It!
Until then, God Bless & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!