Bill & Ted #2 Cover Process: False Starts and Fuck-Ups (Patreon)

I just found some more process art from the cover for issue #2, which I don't think I've posted. 

Here's an example of what happens when an image just doesn't fall into place and I find myself fighting the drawing. It was the simplest cover design of the four, and turned into the biggest pain in the butt for me.

I wasn't happy with the first take on Death, and re-drew it. 

I screwed up the Bill and Ted figures on the second cover drawing, and then had to work the figures out on another board because the pencils got so thrashed on the paper. . head. I was really fighting the page on this one. More accurately, fighting the pages. None of the inked versions of anything were complete in and of themselves. 

I couldn't get poses I liked for Bill and Ted -- especially after I realized that if they were jumping in the air, they'd look like they were floating unnaturally on the black background of Death's cloak. It looked screwy, so, I started on some roughs of standing figures, throwing most of the attempts out. I wasn't feeling too sure of myself, I remember having a really difficult couple of shifts getting this piece done (in pieces). 

Looking at them now,  I kind of like the unused attempts, and kind of wish I just went with one of those standing poses. But I remember thinking they were too stiff and not "annoying-looking" enough to make Death look irritated. Overthinking? Maybe. 

Especially in hindsight, where the Death figure I used looks a lot less pissy than the first try. And of course the figures I inked came out really stiff and awkward. I didn't like Bill's head and reworked it after several failed attempts at correcting the original. They're both less than great, six of one, half a dozen missteps. 

I basically second-guessed the hell out of this one, and made myself doubt everything. It had to get done, and I was less than happy with the finished image. Putting Ted's black hair on a black background was another bad idea, but I was stuck with it. 

And after all that, I asked Sarah to change the background color, and for all I know it was fine the way it was in the first place. Can't recall. 

This was a clear case of letting  my anxiety get the best of me, feeling that a simpler, cleaner drawing needs more thrown at it to make it acceptable, because I can't "hide" my worries in the detail and action. Something I have to work on shutting down more often. 

So, remember, folks:

The sketches always have more oomph. Acknowledge and live with that and move on.

Let the drawing breathe, relax and trust yourself. 

You got the job for a reason, not charity or luck.

You know you can draw, don't beat yourself up. 

So you're not a genius, so the line doesn't simply flow out of you. So what. Do your best. 

If the worst happens, and you're feeling nearly-panicked, take a break, walk away. When you come back, you'll usually think you were being way too harsh on the drawing (or whatever you're working on). 

Have fun. Get it done.