More art from the train: Morpheus (G)

[sigune]

Sometimes the office printer spits out blank pages instead of the text it is supposed to print for me. Whenever that happens, I get a smile on my face, because I already know what purpose that paper is going to serve :).

I drew this picture of Morpheus from Neil Gaiman's Sandman on the train (- you can tell by the extremely wonky calligraphy on the right :P), on extra smooth printer paper.





I have read most of the Sandman series (borrowed from bettyboop_comic, Purveyor of Fine Graphic Reading Materials) on the train, mostly in the morning when I was only half-awake, and in the evenings when I was too tired to create anything. The circumstances somehow made the stories even more surreal than they already are, and I have the feeling that I haven't understood half of them. I'm a bit in two minds about the series at this moment. Some ideas I thought wonderful; but more often than I would have liked, I was put off by the horror elements. I really don't like horror. But as you can tell by the fact that I did a drawing, Morpheus certainly left an impression :). I was so terribly annoyed by much of the visuals, especially in earlier issues, that I soon ached to draw my own version of the King of Dreams. More is to follow.

It's rather sad, I think, that the visual side of the books is so often terrible. I know for a fact that the inker ruined some of the art (Colleen Doran's contributions, for example, are hardly recognisable after the inker had finished with them), and those colours... My! DC might as well have hired me to colour - seriously, a sense of colour was apparently not required -_-. Fortunately there are some real gems too, by Jon J. Muth and long-time personal favourites like Charles Vess and P. Craig Russell.

It's time for my own rendez-vous with Dream now, so I must retreat ;).

Good night!

Comments

[accio-arse.livejournal.com]

I love it, very atmospheric. It makes me want to read Sandman more than ever, which I keep hearing about but keep putting off (perhaps I can get it from the library if I'm lucky?)

On a sadder note, did you hear about Terry Pratchett being diagnosed with Alzheimers? I heard the news months ago and immediately thought of you, my fellow fan. But he's determined in his illness - he's been donating loads to research.

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Sandman was my first venture into obsessiveness over a series. I have all the original comics, and slowly I will be collecting the Absolute series, although strangely enough, I like the coloring better on the rough comic books than in the redone, glossy pages of Absolute. I love Neil Gaiman, too -- such a funny and well-balanced fellow in person. You wouldn't know from the horror elements in his work. Your drawing captures Morpheus perfectly. I can't wait to see more!

[sigune.livejournal.com]

You have the loose issues?! Wow! ...At the time those came out, I had no idea what an American comic looked like :P. I only read Suske & Wiske and Tintin and Asterix, though apparently I should have been able to find comics like Spiderman and X-Men - bettyboop_comic says he read them in Dutch as a child. Me, I still haven't got completely used to the American format. I like my series to be written by one author and drawn by one artist. In Sandman I sometimes had problems recognising characters to whom I had been introduced earlier, just because of the different artists' styles.

I have never actually been obsessed with a comic to the point where I started to draw its characters. I think the main reason is that the way the characters are drawn by their respective artists is just part of 'canon' for me. It's as if when I draw them, they aren't the same characters anymore. But in non-indy comics in the States that is just the normal way of things - and Sandman seemed to sort of lend itself to it. So I ended up doing my first comics fanart :-).

[septentrion1970.livejournal.com]

It's near perfection to my eyes.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

*gurgles*

Thank you very much! XD

[bettyboop-comic.livejournal.com]

Apparently (I only noticed this on Colleen's blog) one of the perks of plonking down the seriously hard cash for the Absolute Sandman vol 2 would mean having re-inked from pencil-stat pages of Colleen's art, by Colleen...
I'm still NOT switching around to those oversized, but I'm just saying.

Nice picture, even if the scan doesn't quite reproduce (i think). The fun with Sandman is that there's so much of him to easily re-interpret & make your own.

Glad to see the character & concepts appeal, even if some of the stories don't.
Spin-offs Destiny, Death, Witchcraft & the '11th' volume are still awaiting in the wings!

Be seeing you

[sigune.livejournal.com]

The scan is actually darker than the original. I used soft, dark pencils, but the smoothness of the paper made them come out very light - that didn't look too good on the screen.

I have just read Mage, by the way. It's great! I can't wait to find out what Kevin Matchstick gets up to next... :D

[ex-neke.livejournal.com]

Lovely! :)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[death-ofme.livejournal.com]

OH NO!

I found this RIGHT after I had deleted my Morpheus icon thinking I'd never have an opportunity to use it! Damn LJ and their 15 icon usage! (and cheap me)

He's lovely. I'd like to pet him.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

You can try ;-). Glad you like my attempt!

I do have a little something with surly men in black, wouldn't you say? :D

[death-ofme.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I think we all do. All untouchable and the like.

Though I rather think Dream's insubstantial and my hand would pass right through him! (must be the ghost-look he has going)