Scott Hallett's Sketchbook

Zombies!

2008-05-30T14:58:00.004-04:00

This week at Drawer Geeks... Zombies! Anybody that knows me knows that's a topic I couldn't pass up!

Etc., etc., etc.

2008-05-17T07:57:00.006-04:00

Here are some of the things I've been working on. Character designs for a short story:

And a very quick color test for that same short story:

The last two Drawer Geeks, "Lone Ranger" and "Dinosaurs":

Fablewood Update

2008-05-04T07:31:00.003-04:00

I keep forgetting to mention that you can now order Fablewood online, as well as at your local comic shop. You can get it at Amazon.com (sorry, none at Amazon.ca), although their stock seems to fluxuate a bit. You can also always snag a copy directly from the Ape Entertainment online store. Also, here's another review from Sequential Tart.

The Story So Far...

2008-04-19T11:20:00.003-04:00

I've been very busy in my spare time (still got that day job), so I haven't had a chance to post much. I've got a few different things on the go right now, but the biggest one is a book called "Don't Get Sucked Under the Escalator" with Mark Smith (Amazing Joy Buzzards, Aqua Leung). Pretty exciting, and a great story. Here are some promo pieces I put together recently to sort of introduce the story.

Here is my entry for this week over at Drawer Geeks. The topic was "Triplets".

Samurai

2008-04-04T08:58:00.005-04:00

"Samurai" was this week's topic at Drawer Geeks. I haven't had any real time to draw anything just for myself (which is actually an awesome thing... more on that later), but I couldn't pass up Samurai! That being said, I tried quite a few new things in this one, some successes and some not so much. Interesting experiment none the less. Enjoy!

Tarzan

2008-03-07T12:00:00.003-05:00

"Tarzan" was the theme this week at Drawer Geeks. I really tried to push myself this week. I took my time, and really tried to get down exactly what I had in mind. I'm happy to say this is relatively close to what I had in mind, a few happy accidents aside. I know as an artist I still struggle with putting down on paper what I had in my head.

Fablewood Is Out Now!

2008-02-21T20:46:00.004-05:00

Fablewood is available in better comic stores everywhere! I have a copy myself and it looks great. It's still very surreal to see my little story published, let alone along with so many talented artists and writers. Here's hoping it's a sign of great things to come. Thanks so much for everyone who supported the project, and to William Ward for all the hard work he put into making this project a reality. Here are some more reviews:

Wednesday is My Sabbath
Ain't it Cool News
Comics Bulletin

Monsters Under the Bed

2008-02-21T20:36:00.004-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks the topic was "Monsters Under the Bed". I kind of just flew through this one, not a lot of time this week.

Galactus!

2008-02-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

"Galactus" was this week's Drawer Geeks topic. The focus on this one was getting a straight up cel shaded effect that I was happy with, and cutting down on my coloring time. I was pretty pleased I was able to get this one out quickly. I realized after finishing this that Galactus' pose is a bit like he's getting ready to scratch some records. Maybe he's a DJ on his off time?

Ents

2008-01-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

This was my original sketch for the "Lord of the Rings" topic at Drawer Geeks, but I ran out of time. I decided to finish it because I thought it had promise. This was done with a brush pen and Photoshop. The things I tried to focus on this time were limited palette, and no fancy Photoshop tricks such as blurs or fancy brushes. This was done using the pencil tool and a few gradients. Often times I get caught up trying to add more bells and whistles and really eat away my time.

Nazgul

2008-01-24T13:56:00.001-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks the theme was "Lord of the RIngs". I wanted to take some time and try out a few new techniques to try and speed up the way I do things. I also wanted to focus on value over hue, hence the grayscale. I think I'm going to use the Drawer Geeks topics from now on to try and push new ideas and new ways of doing things, at least for me.

Red Necks

2008-01-09T09:21:00.001-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks the topic was "Rednecks". For some reason, this was the first thing that popped into my head. More of a "red necks". I know, I know... Rednecks are obvious. I think I have too much giant monster on the brain or something.

Aqua Leung Pinup

2008-01-07T16:16:00.000-05:00

I did a pinup for the book "Aqua Leung", coming out later this year by Mark Andrew Smith and Paul Maybury. The short story in Popgun Vol. 1 was awesome, so I had to take a crack at drawing the character. Inked in Illustrator, coloured in Photoshop. Enjoy!

The Elf Polar Rescue Squad

2007-12-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks, the theme is Elves. In particular Christmas Elves. I was a little out of my element here, but since I couldn't think of a way to wrangle giant robots into a Christmas illustration, this is what I ended up with.

Star Belly

2007-11-30T06:54:00.000-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks the theme was "Star Belly" with an open interpretation. This is what I came up with. I tried to use this as an opportunity to try out new things and new methods (such as using a brush pen, spot blacks and speeding up rendering). All in all I was pretty pleased with the results. Let me know what you think!

Design a Sith Lord

2007-11-07T08:59:00.001-05:00

This week at Drawer Geeks, the theme was design your own Sith Lord. I'm not a big Star Wars fan myself (I'm of the widely accepted opinion that the last three movies totally stunk), but I did know Darth Vader was fashioned after Samurai armor. So I sort of ran with that and went for another age, sort of an Arthurian era meets Akira type vibe. I was actually pretty pleased with the way this one turned out.

Fablewood Update

2007-11-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd post a few Fablewood related news items. The media ball has started to roll, and so far things seem to be pretty positive. I've got another interview in the hopper, so I'll post that soon.

First off, you can check out the Fablewood trailer at:

There's also a review over at Fantasy Book Spot.

Interviews with the following Fablewood creators:

Scott Hallett (Me): Jazma Online
William Ward: Wednesday is My Sabbath, Jazma Online, Newseed Comics
Joe Infurnari: Jazma Online
JP Ahonen: Jazma Online
Joe Suitor: Jazma Online
Jonathon Dalton: Jazma Online
Axel Medellin Machain: Jazma Online

Remember to order your copy (NOV07 3306)!

Fablewood Available for Pre-order

2007-10-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

The first volume of the Fablewood Anthology, which includes my story "The Spirits & The Woods" is available to pre-order, and appears in this month's Previews. It should be in stores around January 30th, 2008. I cannot express how utterly exciting this is for me. The stable of talent in this anthology is really phenomenal, and it is an honor to be a part of it. Here's the official word:

FABLEWOOD GN VOL 01
NOV07 3306 (Page 208. Page 16 in the order form Catalog.)

Softcover, 144 Page Full-Color
$19.95

FABLEWOOD compiles the talents of up-and-comers like Ryan Ottley (Invincible, Superman/Batman Annual #1), Manny Trembley (Panda Xpress, Sam Noir: Samurai Detective), Joe Infunari (Oni Talent Search, Borrowed Time), J.P. Ahonen and Sarah Mensinga (Flight 4) with talented newcomers like Chris Studabaker (Howard E. Day Prize Nominee), Kevin Crossley (Event Horizon), Axel Machain (Metal Hurlant), Joe Suitor (Popgun Anthology) and more.

Our longest FABLEWOOD story “Under the Midnight Sun” was nominated for the prestigious Howard E. Day Award. Comic legend Dave Sim (Cerebus) stated that "through a balance of pencil and ink on the interior pages and Christopher Studabaker's evocative, austere and expressionistic dialogue and narration, it's a very successful experiment."

http://www.ape-entertainment.com
http://www.fablewoodcomic.com

Monsters!

2007-10-18T14:24:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I keep fiddling with the colors, and tweaking and tweaking until I'm left with two complete, but disparate choices I can't choose between. For the next Drawer Geeks. Oh well. Enjoy!

Cleopatra

2007-09-25T17:05:00.001-04:00

Just playing along at home for this week's Drawer Geeks (not a member, just a fan). The theme is Cleopatra. Enjoy!

A Little Gray

2007-09-24T12:41:00.000-04:00

Working on character sketches and the like for my next sequential project. This one's in grayscale, so it's a bit new to me.

Nautical Disaster (Colour)

2007-09-10T16:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a little colour experiment on this one. Just trying to get a little more prolific in my coloring techniques. Trying not to be such a perfectionist. Comments welcome!

Robot. Ninja. Trident!

2007-09-07T19:20:00.001-04:00

Not too sure where this one came from. Just sort of a lunch time doodle that ran away from me. Moving on...

Nautical Disaster

2007-09-06T20:07:00.000-04:00

Not exactly sure where this one came from. Just trying out a few things. Done in pen and ink. I'll try to add some colour to this later on if I have time.

Fablewood Anthology

2007-08-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

So I've been sitting on this news for a while now, but I've been given the go ahead to make an official announcement. The story that I've mentioned working on, now called "The Spirits & The Woods", (here and here) has been officially accepted into the Fablewood Anthology from Ape Entertainment.

This is a tremendous opportunity, as it means my first published work will be included in a fantasy anthology compromising quite a stable of talent. Some of the artists involved include Ryan Ottley, Manny Trembley, JP Ahonen, Chris Studabaker, Sarah Mensinga, Joe Suitor, Kevin Crossley, Joe Infurnari, and a host of others. The book is scheduled for a Winter 2008 release, and I'll keep you posted as I know more.