CSN @ NEWSARAMA: CLAYTON CRAIN ON GHOST RIDER'S ART

[MattBrady]

by Cliff Biggers, Comic Shop News

When Ghost Rider roars into comic shops next month, he’ll be rriding a flaming motorcycle from hell in a return fueled by a script from Garth Ennis and brought to life in ways never seen before by powerhouse illustrator Clayton Crain, who is determined to make this the hottest Ghost Rider ever.

Ghost Rider, a six-issue limited series, begins with Johnny Blaze paying a painful price for his deal with the Devil,: he’s destined to ride the highways of Hell for all eternity. But an angel has an offer too good to refuse… an offer that may set Ghost Rider free. And the only thing he has to do is track down a rogue demon, Kazaan… but the job isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The story is the sort of metaphysical motorcycle mayhem that Ghost Rider fans have come to expect—but it’s the art that’s going to wow fans. Crain is producing fully digital art for the book—not just for its eye-catching covers, but for every single panel of every single page of the six-issue series. And according to those who’ve seen early issues of the book, the result is a Ghost Rider unlike any you’ve ever seen before.

“This is classic horror adventure; Garth built a story that makes use of every page of the six-issue series—no decompressed storytelling here! Garth has a pretty good vision of what he wants, and he specifies everything in his script. When I break down his story, it works because he has obviously thought about it visually.

“Garth and I work well together; I see the story as he sees it. I might enhance some things, but there’s nothing I’m doing that gets away from Garth’s vision. It’s important that an artist work with the writer; after all, he’s getting paid to tell a story, and my job is to work with him to bring his vision to life artistically. It’s been much more of a challenge, actually to figure out what the writer wants and to give it to him than it is to go off and do your own thing.”

Ghost Rider isn’t Crain’s first Marvel project—but many think it’s the one that’s going to put him on a lot of fan-fave lists. “I’d been working for Marvel, for a while; I had just finished Venom vs. Carnage, and I guess Ghost Rider had been coming up just about the time I was finishing,” Crain told CSN. “I was always interested in Ghost Rider, because it’s the sort of book that I enjoy personally: there’s a little more supernatural in here than in the average Marvel book, with demons, skeletons—all the stuff that’s fun to draw. The was a little darker than most Marvel stories, too; I think Ghost Rider is about as dark as titles get at Marvel, in fact, and I credit Garth Ennis with making that work.”

Crain had first begun to experiment with digital art before he ever came to Marvel. “I hadn’t worked for about six months before I got to work with Marvel. I started looking for work again because I wanted to draw, but I couldn’t get any penciling work. So for about two months I started fully painting on the computer, having fun with that; three months later, I sent some of those files to Marvel and Axel Alonso loved the stuff, so he gave me cover work.

“Since I didn’t have a job, I was doing all the digital work on an old PC that was crashing on me all the time. Once I started getting regular work, though, I splurged and bought a Mac—a dual 1.4 gHz with two gigs of RAM—and it’s been great. The Mac has been awesome; it’s rock solid and stable—it doesn’t crash like the PC did. Now that I’ve worked on the Mac for a while, I’d never go back!”

Crain’s digital skills play an important part in creating the overall look of the limited series. “When I began working on Ghost Rider, I built the bike in 3-D in much the same way, rendering it out; then I could import the bike and draw on top of that. That’s what saved me. I could take my sketch, bring it into Lightwave, then maneuver the bike, add the lighting and at the right spots. In PhotoShop, I’d paint the reflective areas, set it all up, and render it out, and the end result was a bike that I could work with. This was a sort of high-tech approach to an art form that has, for the most part, remained pretty low-tech for decades.”

While Crain is very pleased with the results he gets by utilizing Lightwave and Photoshop, he points out that this isn’t a time-saving method of producing comic art. “Doing the full illustration digitally can be as time-consuming as penciling and inking, although Lightwave saves me some time. The bike is there in 3-D, but I still have to do prep work to get it set up properly and then to make it work with the rest of the comics page. I start with a working file, with a layer called thumbnail done at the same size as the finished digital file would be.

“I sketch it into the computer using a Wacom tablet [a flat, pressure-sensitive tablet that allows you to draw using a digital pen rather than a mouse] and then I put it in the right format for Marvel and they approve it. I’d never be able to do all of this without that Wacom tablet; if I had to work with a standard mouse, or draw it on paper and scan it in, it would take forever.

“Once I get approval, I open that same file and start drawing and painting, using multiple layers and flattening them as I go. It ends up with a huge file that has everything there; there are no separate colors, because the digital file blends the linework, the colors, the lighting effects, and everything in one master file.”

It’s an all too common complaint that some modern comics creators lack a work ethic—but no one can accuse Crain of being a slacker. “I work pretty much all day,” he explained. “I start around 8:30 or so, taking breaks during the day, and I usually finish work around two in the morning. My imagination tells me that I can do six pages a week; so I try for that—but at the end of the week I’m pushing three! I’ve been able to do four pages a week sometimes, but it’s been harder than I thought it would be. I get so involved in every panel!

“I’m trying to work in full detail in every panel—backgrounds, foregrounds, main figures, everything,” Crain said. “In fact, I have to back off a little bit because I’ve been working in so much in the backgrounds. I enjoy doing it, but the pages take fifteen hours to produce because of all the details I’m putting in!”

Of course, there’s a learning curve involved with digital art. “When I look at the very first stuff that I did with Venom vs. Carnage and compare it to this work I’m doing now… it’s amazing how much better I am already! And I continue to see improvement in my work: Ghost Rider #2 is a huge leap forward from Ghost Rider #1, and issue #3 is a step forward from #2. I’m learning short cuts and getting more efficient, but I’m not producing pages that much faster than before because I’m also trying to take my work forward. I’m more attuned to color and contrast now, and I put more conscious effort into constructing a page in terms of color than I did just a few months ago. When I started doing the painting, I never thought of the color work; now I’m putting more thought into color theory and as a result, I’m using color much more effectively. And I can tell you that I’m suddenly much more appreciative of what colorists are doing! I spend a lot of time studying what they’ve done and trying to figure out how to make it work with my art.”

Crain also has become much more aware of the limitations of the printing process itself. “You can get everything just perfect on the screen, but you won’t know how some of the stuff will turn out until you actually see it printed. I look at the work after it’s printed and realize that some things just don’t work; dark scenes are a particular problem, because the artwork tends to darken up even more after it’s printed.

“I’m also learning little things I can do to give digital art a sharper, more hand-rendered look. I’m using PhotoShop and then it saving flattened files and working with them a little bit more before I send Marvel the CMYK files. I sharpen them all before I send them in, because I discovered with Venom vs. Carnage that the printing process softens that image, makes it fuzz up a bit. As I’m going along through the books, I’ll try different things, and then I’ll look at the printed comic to see what worked and what didn’t. It’s a trial-and-error process to a degree. When I get the book, that’s the first time I’ve seen it in printed form—I don’t get any printed proofs—so I have learn by doing, then waiting a few months for the printed product, then adjusting from there.”

Why does he put so much effort into each page of the book? Simple: he doesn’t want modern readers to experience the sense of disappointment he sometimes found in comics. “In the 1990’s, when I saw a painted cover, I just knew the inside wouldn’t be as awesome—and I was usually right! I want people to realize that when they see the digitally painted front cover from me, the inside will be of the same caliber and the same style.

“I treat the cover like one big panel of the entire story, and I give each interior page the same level of attention. In fact, while I might pay a little more attention to the dramatic composition of a cover image, I actually put a lot more time into the interior work.”

It’s that desire to deliver a whole-comic experience that motivates Crain artistically. “I enjoy doing the interior work; I want to tell a story visually; that’s why I want to do comic books! I don’t get the same enjoyment from doing covers; you’re not really telling a story there. Covers are demanding in their own way, of course; but interior art forces you to think more visually, to compose the page to flow from panel to panel in order to tell the story. That’s what got me into comics to start with!”

Ghost Rider #1, a $2.99 comic, is scheduled for September 7th release.

[xanderxerxes]

should be sept 7th right! but great book and artist!!! can't wait

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by xanderxerxes
should be sept 7th right!

Labor Day in the US.

MattB

[Rawle Austin]

Clayton Crain's art has been sweet ever since his Without Honor mini at Top Cow a while back.

Looks like it's just gone from strength to strength.

Growler

[looshkin]

I believe that was called No Honor and this does look excellent

[Uncensored]

I read Venom vs. Carnage, and the only thing about it that was actually interesting was the artwork.

[Shoeface]

Never read anything by Ennis but I loved Crain's artwork on Venom vs Carnage, and if he has improved like he says he has then I'll be buying this. Hell, even if he hasn't improved he still rocks, so I'll be buying this anyway.

[Charlie Hustle]

Funny b/c people assume a lot of times that I hate digital art since i rip on digital artist who i consider lazy or hacks (greg horn etc.). the real point tho is that digital art can be GREAt if somebody uses the tools but still keeps dynamics and style, and Clayton Crain is a perfect example of that. I don't support marvel books but I have to buy his work.

[Jeremy Williams]

Impressive picks. I hope Garth can knock this one out of the park(since it`s been a while since I enjoyed his work and Ghost Rider needs something cool)

[HeX111]

I must say, I greatly appreciated that article. It was a very good look at what motivates an incredible digital-painter like Crain as well as the processes that he uses to generate some incredible art. i wish we had more articles like this that have nothing to do with the hype on a book from ANY publisher and more information on the artists actually working on the book.

[Rawle Austin]

Originally posted by looshkin
I believe that was called No Honor and this does look excellent

Thanks for that, I was trying to remember the name without searching the long boxes. No Honor first brought his style to my attention. Pure class!

Growler

[DrCool976]

Is Crain signed to an exclusive?

If not, Marvel better hurry the hell up and put something together.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I'm old school. I want to see a return of AREA 52. =)

-Augie

[Winteriscoming]

Man, I'm looking forward to this. It just keeps sounding(and looking) better and better.

[Rawle Austin]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
I'm old school. I want to see a return of AREA 52. =)

-Augie

Wasn't that by Clayton Henry? Also a quality artist

Growler

[Derrick Fish]

WOW!!!! This is some fantastic work! He's really raised the bar for digital painting as a storytelling medium.

Well, I'M heading back to my wacom and practicing.

[BillReed]

Rogue demon Kazaan?



Oh, wait... that was *Kazaam.* Oops.

[looshkin]

Originally posted by Rawle Austin
Thanks for that, I was trying to remember the name without searching the long boxes. No Honor first brought his style to my attention. Pure class!

Growler

I have the trade and it is excellent. Fiona Avery's script didn't hurt and if you liked her work there you have to check her OGN Witchblade Obakemono. It is quite different from other Witchblade stories as it is set in a very accurate ancient Japan and is not t&a heavy with the exception of a few scenes. Plus it has art by Billy Tan.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Originally posted by Rawle Austin
Wasn't that by Clayton Henry? Also a quality artist

Growler

Crap! You're right. He just did the ALPHA FLIGHT series with Scott Lobdell.

-Augie

[HeX111]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
I'm old school. I want to see a return of AREA 52. =)

-Augie

WOW... I thought I was the only person that even bought that book... really fun stuff... but as noted above... it was Clayton Henry... who was also really good on Alpha Flight recently

[Bakema NL]

The art on Venom vs. Carnage was great, but this stuff blows it away, looks like Crain was born for this title. Looking forward to this one.

[Christian Otte]

Awesome art.

[Rawle Austin]

Originally posted by looshkin
I have the trade and it is excellent. Fiona Avery's script didn't hurt and if you liked her work there you have to check her OGN Witchblade Obakemono. It is quite different from other Witchblade stories as it is set in a very accurate ancient Japan and is not t&a heavy with the exception of a few scenes. Plus it has art by Billy Tan.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. Haven't bought Witchblade since the heady days of Michael Turner, David Wohl and Christina Z...

Growler

[The Creeper]

Originally posted by Shoeface
Never read anything by Ennis

WHAT?!?!?!

GO READ PREACHER vol's. 1-9!!!!

[Rawle Austin]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
Crap! You're right. He just did the ALPHA FLIGHT series with Scott Lobdell.

-Augie

Yeah, wasn't too keen on the whole comedy angle of that so I gave it a miss. Just a die hard Byrne Alpha Flight fan.

Dan Slott's She-Hulk is mighty cool though.

Hope Clayton Henry gets a higher profile team book soon. His pencils are very crisp and clear. The Champions or West Coast Avengers need a good revamp...

But back to the topic, Crain rocks!

Growler