A couple days ago I shared a first sketch and the beginning thought process behind designing the goblins which would inhabit the post apocalyptic fantasy world of my comic, "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..."
I mentioned I'd have more to show before the weekend was out, so here I am! (Technically I'm about three hours late as it's now 3 A.M. where I'm at... but as I haven't gone to bed yet... I'll still call this Sunday night!)
I actually had a lot of fun putting together this little design sheet, although I spent more time on it than I had intended. I always go in with the intention of doing loose sketching and rough concepts but just can't resist applying a bit more polish to it before moving on.
These still aren't fully finished illustrations by any means, but they're more than sufficient for the concept design purpose I'd intended them for.
After the head sketch shown previously, I moved on to a fairly tight pencil drawing of the full goblin body. To save time I didn't ink any of the artwork and just darkened the pencils layer to a near black instead. Then I applied some rough colors to generate some palette ideas but didn't spend too much time on that rendering either.
I pulled together a couple older character designs from the series and inserted them into a little lineup that helped me demonstrate and think about the scale of these creatures as well.
Then it was on to a bit of fun. Again in the service of expediency I didn't do a whole lot of illustration, but more along the lines of "photobashing" as I began exploring some ideas of the varied props and costuming we might see in the debut issue of the comic.
These creatures are first encountered in a hospital setting and as such have scavenged some weapons, armor, and fearsome totems... (that just happen to look like gift balloons...) 😜
I think it's pretty easy to tell that I'm going for a fun and humorous vibe here, but these little guys can be quite unsettling and deadly as well. I firmly believe that horror works best when it has contrast. If I can handle it right, "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..." will run the full spectrum of emotions and make for louder laughs and deeper gasps!
Now I can take this concept back into the actual story pages and resume working on the battle sequence I've previously teased. When that artwork starts shaping up, as always, Hive will get the first look!
So what do you think? If you met these guys in a dark alley would you have a chuckle before they devoured you?
-Bryan "the Imp" Imhoff
Follow me for more behind the scenes looks at the creation of "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..." Your votes help support its production! Also look for limited edition digital artwork for sale on NFTShowroom.com
